Baseball: The World's Game

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At the all-star break in the National Association, Quebec City had the top record at 65-34, followed by Washington (62-37) and Cincinnati (60-39) as the teams with 60+ wins. The Nordiques maintained their advantage and claimed the top seed at 103-59 atop the Northeast Division. This tied QC’s franchise-best and was their third playoff trip in five years. Quebec also had the NA’s best run differential of +188.

The defending-champ Admirals maintained a close pace in the summer, but went 7-8 down the final stretch, including getting swept at Philadelphia in the season finale. Washington still repeated as East Division champ at 99-63 and earned their eighth division title in a decade. The Admirals led the NA with 879 runs scored and broke their own association record for home runs. DC set the new high mark of 319 in 2037, but topped it with 325 dingers in 2038. They also had a .484 team slugging, the third-best in NA history.

Washington’s late drop though did drop them to the #3 seed, but not to Cincinnati. The Reds had a 33-30 record in the second half, while Lower Midwest Division rivals St. Louis and Louisville both were 41-22 after the break. The Cardinals vaulted to the #2 seed at 100-62, ending a 13-year playoff drought. It was also St. Louis’ first division title since their 2014-15 repeat pennants. The Cardinals had the fewest runs allowed in Major League Baseball at 545.

Louisville went 9-1 in their last ten games to finish 97-65 for the first wild card; the fourth consecutive playoff trip for the Lynx. Cincinnati finished 93-69, which was still good enough for the second wild card and repeat playoff trips. Numerous teams were within striking distance of the Reds and fought over the third wild card. Two of those teams also battled for the Upper Midwest Division title.

Grand Rapids went 11-3 in the final two weeks, which included a three-game home sweep of Chicago. The Cubs then got swept by Columbus and needed to take two-of-three in their final series with Winnipeg not to blow the lead outright. Both finished 91-71, but this fell one short in the wild card race, so only the division champ could advance.

The Northeast’s Halifax at 92-70 grabbed the final wild card despite their own sluggish 3-7 end to the season. Philadelphia won their final six, but fell two short at 90-72. Also in the hunt was Ottawa (88-74), Brooklyn (87-55), Milwaukee (86-76), Montreal (85-77), and Raleigh (85-77). The Mustangs’ playoff streak ended at three seasons.



Despite an injury to their starting pitcher in second inning, five relievers held firm for Grand Rapids in their tiebreaker game with Chicago. The staff combined to allow two runs and four hits in a 4-2 home victory against the Cubs. The Growlers repeated as Upper Midwest champs and grew their playoff streak to five seasons, the longest active one in the National Association.



Although Milwaukee missed the playoffs, LF Clemente Garcia repeated as MVP with 36 first place votes and 732 points. St. Louis two-way star Rasheed Mohamed had 16 first place votes with his teammate Chipper Karpowitz getting eight. Quebec’s Joe Partamian and Washington’s Sohan Gala each earned two first place nods. Karpowitz notably won the batting title at .375, while it was Gala who was the WARlord at 9.0. For Garcia, he led in home runs (61), RBI (151), total bases (389), and slugging (.697). The 29-year old Puerto Rican righty had 181 hits, 121 runs, 19 doubles, 1.094 OPS, 181 wRC+, and 8.6 WAR. Garcia also won his third Gold Glove.

He joined Hall of Famer Sebastian Lunde as the only guys in MLB with multiple 150+ RBI seasons; both did it consecutively. Garcia is also the fifth MLB slugger with multiple 60+ homer seasons. The former #1 overall pick is at 467 homers, 1171 RBI, and a nice 69.0 WAR before turning 30. He’s signed through 2043 with the Mustangs on a $262,200,000 deal.

In only his second season, Columbus’ Linden Becerra won Pitcher of the Year with 44 of the first place votes. Cincinnati’s Yoichiro Minami was the only close competitor with 18 first place votes, while Toronto’s Mason Pechart and Quebec’s Simon Pomeroy got one each. It was Pechart who led in both strikeouts (256), and WAR (10.2). Minami had the most wins (20-9) while Pittsburgh’s Wren Stanaland had the ERA title at 2.13.

Becerra was second in ERA and had 60 more innings than Stranaland with a 2.31 ERA. The 22-year old from Oakland, California only led in one stat; shutouts with six. But he had 232 strikeouts in 256.2 innings, 183 ERA+, 56 FIP-, 10.0 WAR, and 14-14 record. Among the shutouts was a no-hitter on April 4 against Kansas City with seven Ks and one walk. Voters recognized Becerra’s excellence on a terrible 66-96 Chargers squad. He was the #7 draft pick in 2036 out of Memphis and was third in 2037’s Rookie of the Year vote.



The first round is hosted by a division champ who needs two wins, while the visiting wild card must win thrice. The lone sweep came from Grand Rapids with 7-4 and 2-1 wins against Louisville. Game two went ten innings with a walkoff RBI single. The division champs also won the other two battles, but both of those went the distance.

Cincinnati opened with a 6-5 win at Washington, scoring five in the eighth inning to rally. The Admirals dominated game two 15-8, but the Reds bounced back 3-1 in game three. Cincy led 8-3 entering the eighth inning in the finale, but DC rallied with a six-run eighth inning, capped off by Reungyos Misu’s three-run home run. The Reds got a two-out double in the ninth but the man was stranded, allowing Washington to escape with their repeat hopes alive on a 9-8 win.

Halifax was feisty against St. Louis with 5-4 and 5-3 wins to open their series, the latter needing 11 innings. Orion Houssou’s two-run homer put the Hound Dogs up for good. The Cardinals stayed alive with a 4-3 victory in game three, then prevailed 7-0 in the clincher on Rasheed Mohamed’s complete game win. He scattered nine hits with one walk and five strikeouts in the shutout with 120 pitches.

St. Louis started round two with a 5-4 home win against Washington, but the Admirals routed them 10-1 the next night. The Cardinals retook the edge on a 3-2 road win, but Washington countered with a 5-4 result. In game five back in Missouri, a four-run first inning proved sufficient cushion for St. Louis in a 6-3 win; dethroning the reigning champ. The Cardinals earned their first trip to the National Association Championship Series since their 2014-15 repeat.

Top seed Quebec City got the better of a pitcher’s duel 2-1 to start facing Grand Rapids. It was all offense the next night, but against the Nordiques were one run better with a 10-9 score. GR kept the series alive with a 9-5 win back in Michigan, but Quebec clinched 5-2 in game four. The Nordiques earned their third-ever NACS appearance, joining the 1999 and 2005 seasons. They were hoping for their first pennant since joining in the 1982 expansion. Three of the other seven expansion squads had been the World Series (Virginia Beach, Winnipeg, Edmonton).

Only three wins separated the top two seeds and St. Louis had taken two of three when they played in late August. The Cardinals opened with a 5-3 road win, but Quebec City countered 7-4 as the series shifted to the States. The Nordiques grabbed back-to-back road wins by 7-4 and 5-1 margins. St. Louis forced play back to Canada on a 1-0 win in game five on Chad Green’s six-hit shutout.

Game six was 3-2 after the third inning for St. Louis, but a solo homer in the seventh evened it up. The game stayed tied 3-3 into the tenth inning where Quebec City rallied with two outs. They got three straight singles with the final one featuring an error in right field, allowing Vasile Nacu to score the winning run. The Nordiques took the game 4-3 and the series 4-2, becoming the 51^st of MLB’s 64 teams to earn a World Series trip.



Nacu ended up as the series MVP, as the Moldovan shortstop went 10-18 with 1 homer, 4 RBI, and 5 runs. He had joined Quebec City for 2038 after seven years in Europe with Warsaw, where he was known as a defensive specialist with a weak bat. Nacu had a 76 wRC+ and .667 OPS on the season, but 1.7 WAR thanks to a strong glove.

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The American Association was quite top-heavy in 2038 with four teams winning 100+ games and all seven playoff teams winning 97+. For the top seed, reigning World Series champ Tampa and last year’s AACS runner-up were even at 67-32. Charlotte (63-54) and San Francisco (62-37) were both right there, but the Canaries faded going 33-30 in the back-end and the Gold Rush couldn’t make up ground. SF was 40-23 after the break while LV was 41-22.

Tampa got swept in their final three game series at mediocre Jacksonville, which kept them three short of Las Vegas for the top spot. The Vipers at 108-54 had a third straight 105+ win season their third straight Southwest Division title. Vegas also has six playoff trips in the decade and had Major League Baseball’s best run differential at +309. Big power led the way with 344 home runs, a new single-season record topping LV’s own 342 from two years prior.

The Thunderbirds were powerful in their own right as their .508 team slugging was the third-best in MLB history and fractionally ahead of Las Vegas, despite only 302 homers. Tampa at 105-57 repeated as Southeast Division champ and grew their playoff streak to seven seasons. Despite these teams’ successes, it wasn’t an easy path with the wild cards coming from their divisions.

San Francisco at 102-60 earned their fourth consecutive wild card and was right there in the division hunt, but an 8-11 September erased their summer gains. Atlanta had a 40-23 back-end which allowed them to pass Charlotte for second in the Southeast. The Aces (99-63) and Canaries (98-64) got the final two wild cards with Atlanta out-performing their expected win/loss by eight games.

Charlotte actually had MLB’s top-scoring offense at 984 runs, ending a six-year playoff drought. The Aces earned their third berth in four years. The next closest teams in the wild card race were Phoenix (92-70), Vancouver (91-71), Dallas (89-73), San Diego (88-74), Anchorage (88-74), and Memphis (87-75). Despite fine efforts by those squads, they found themselves out of contention in early September.

Houston almost quietly continued their dominance of the South Central Division at 100-62, besting the Dalmatians by 11 games. The Hornets were an excellent 41-22 after the all-star break and had the second-best run differential at +304, but had a 15-27 record in one-run games. The playoff streak grew to 12 years, one short of Denver’s record from 2010-22. Houston won a tenth straight division title and have 14 division crowns and 15 playoff trips since 2022.

The weakest record of the playoff teams was Seattle, who was still plenty good atop the Northwest Division at 97-65. The Grizzlies repeated as division champs and extended their run of winning seasons to 19 seasons. Seattle, Vancouver, and Anchorage were also virtually even at the break, but the Grizzlies pulled away with a 42-21 run after the break. The Volcanoes were six back at 91-71 with the Avalanche at 88-74. Seattle allowed the AA’s fewest runs at 609.



In his debut with Houston, DH Jose Angel Esqueda won his second American Association MVP. He’s now a five-time MVP, having won in 2031-33 with Barbados of the Caribbean League. Esqueda came to MLB in 2035 with Las Vegas and won the 2036 MVP with his record-shattering 84 home run, 184 RBI season. After missing part of 2037 to injury, the 31-year old Dominican opted out of his deal and inked a six-year, $280 million contract with the Hornets.

Esqueda dominated the voting with 62 first place votes, while Vancouver’s Alair White had the other two. His only stats as the league leader were extra base hits with 91 and total bases with 408. “Dump Truck” had 201 hits, 145 runs, 32 doubles, 57 home runs, 149 RBI, .322/.408/.654 slash, 180 wRC+, and 8.7 WAR. For his combined pro career, Esqueda has 560 homers, 1359 RBI, 1917 hits, 1231 runs, 1.085 OPS, 177 wRC+, and 78.1 WAR.

White was shooting for his fifth MVP and was hurt perhaps by the Volcanoes missing the playoffs, since he actually was the leader in home runs (67), RBI (161), WAR (8.7), and OPS (1.086). The homers and RBI were both career bests for White, who now has four 60+ homer seasons in MLB; no one else has more than two.

He’s at 467 homers, 1141 RBI, and 61.5 WAR through his age 28 season. White also had a four home run game against Edmonton on June 9. Alair White is expected to be maybe the biggest free agent in baseball history this winter, leaving after eight seasons in Vancouver.

Pitcher of the Year was Seattle’s Gabe Shingleton in a surprise breakout season. He had 48 first place votes, while Charlotte’s Alroy Young had 11, Houston’s Colton Salo had three, and Seattle’s Jeremy Obert had 2. Shingleton was the leader in FIP (2.81), FIP- (59), and win percentage (.846), He was second in ERA with 2.71 and had a 22-4 record, 232.2 innings, 161 strikeouts, 173 ERA+, and 7.7 WAR.
It was a stunning effort for the Brownsville, Texas native; as he had a career 11.9 WAR in his first decade. Shigleton had a subpar 4.55 ERA in his first six years with Grand Rapids, getting cut in 2034. He went to Nashville after that and was traded to Phoenix at the 2037 deadline, posting 4.76 and 4.88 ERAs with them. The Grizzlies still saw something there from the 31-yar old and gave him a seven-year, $85,400,000 free agent deal. He certainly already exceeded the expectations of being a back-end starter.

Albuquerque’s Kenny Fowler beat him out for ERA at 2.44, especially impressive doing it as a rookie and as a rare knuckleballer. Despite getting 38 first place votes for Rookie of the Year, he was second to Austin 1B Carlo Lucatero who had only 17 first place votes. Lucatero beat him 220 to 219 in total points as many voters simply refuse to acknowledge pitchers for the award. Fowler was the #2 draft pick and already helped the Isotopes go from 65 wins to 83 in one season.



The division champs each used their home field and one-game bonus to advance out of the first round, but none were sweeps. Houston rolled to a 11-3 win to start with Atlanta, but the Aces countered with 6-2 and 9-5 wins. Both teams scored twice in the ninth inning of the decisive game four, sending it to extras at 7-7. The Hornets got three singles in the tenth for the 8-7 walkoff win.

Tampa crushed division rival Charlotte 9-0 to open their series, but the Canaries stunned them with 5-2 and 10-8 results. The Thunderbirds survived with a 12-4 rout in game four, led by 1B Micky Murphy. He was 4-4 with 2 homers, 6 RBI, and 3 runs.

The one series that didn’t go the distance was the one where the wild card had the better regular season record. Seattle won at home 4-3, followed by a 5-3 game two win for San Francisco with all of their runs in the ninth inning. The Grizzlies closed the door though with a 3-2 game three win, an oddly low score considering both teams had 12 hits apiece.

Top seed Las Vegas would sweep Seattle in the second round, although it was closer than you might think. The Vipers erased a 7-1 hole in game one, getting a walk-off sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. The Grizzlies went up with a three-run top of the ninth in game two, but Akwari Adebayo crushed a two-run walkoff homer in the bottom half for a 4-3 win. LV then rolled 11-7 in game three to complete the sweep, earning repeat trips to the American Association Championship Series.

Tampa opened their second round series with a football score, 14-10 over Houston. They held on 3-2 the next night for the advantage as the series shifted to Texas. At home, Houston got 5-4 and 8-3 wins to force a decisive finale back in Florida. The Hornets were up 4-2 entering the final inning. Down to their last out, the Thunderbirds got a triple by Cholid Wiryopranoto. He scored on a wild pitch, but the tying run grounded out.

With that, Houston won 4-3 to dethrone the defending champ Tampa in five games. The Hornets earned their fifth trip of the 2030s to the AACS and their 29^th overall, the most of any MLB team. Las Vegas would host the series and won the season series 2-1 in Texas back in late July. The Vipers opened with a 7-6 win, but Houston nabbed the next one 3-1.

Houston went ahead with 7-6 and 4-0 home runs, the latter a six-hit shutout by Luke Masterson. Las Vegas took game five 6-3 to force the series back to the desert. But the Hornets earned the 4-1 road win in game six to advance. For back-to-back seasons, the Vipers fall in the AACS despite being the #1 seed. 1B Yun-Chan Sung was series MVP going 9-21 with 6 runs, 1 homer, and 2 RBI.



The Hornets picked up their third pennant of the decade and their 14^th overall (1905, 06, 08, 10, 11, 12, 20, 22, 52, 2019, 24, 31, 35, 38). They are tied with Philadelphia for the second-most pennants of any MLB time. San Diego has the most with 15.

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The 138^th World Series was a battle between old and new in a sense between Houston and Quebec City. The Hornets were arguably the most storied MLB franchise with more playoff trips (64) and division titles (49) than anyone else. They were shooting for a 11^th ring, having won earlier in the decade in 2031 and 2035. Houston was back at “evil empire” status for some with MLB’s richest payroll just shy of $500 million.

They had a lot of aging former international stars in the lineup as well, six starters were 32+ with only two Americans. Two were 40+ in Ernest Scheuermann and Jamel Forsyth, both still going strong in the late stage of Hall of Fame careers. Quebec City meanwhile had never gotten this far with most of their starters in their prime and a firmly middle-of-the-pack payroll. The Nordiques though had worked their way to the National Association’s top seed and had home field advantage.

A smattering of solo runs gave Houston a 4-0 lead entering the eighth inning in game one. Quebec City unloaded there with five hits and one error leading to five runs, en route to a 5-4 win. Houston responded though with a 6-4 victory, evening the series as it shifted to Texas. The Hornets routed the Nordiques 8-2 in game three.

In game four, Quebec City had a three-run top of the ninth inning to take an 8-5 road win. Nick Santucci’s complete game pushed the Nordiques to 7-2 upset in game five, reclaiming the advantage with the rest of the series back in French Canada. QC led 3-0 in game six, but Marty Wolter’s three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning evened it up for Houston.

In the bottom of the 11^th, Quebec opened with a walk and single. The third batter popped out on a failed bunt try, but the next one had an infield hit to load the bases. Nick Cook hit a liner out to left, deep enough to allow Pal Brahmavarta to tag up and score for a clinching sacrifice fly. The 4-3 win gave the Nordiques the series in six games, becoming the 42^nd different MLB franchise with a World Series ring.



Quebec City is notably the seventh different World Series winner in as many years. This was also the first title for a Canadian team in the 21^st Century with a drought dating back to Edmonton’s 1999 win. Ottawa, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Toronto had all made it in the following years, but had come up short. Houston falls to 10-4 all-time in the Fall Classic

In the losing effort, SS Ernst Scheuermann was series MVP. The 40-year old Austrian went 12-20 with 2 homers and 8 RBI. He was a legend with Dublin’s dynasties in Europe and now has a career combined pro WAR of 139.8, which ranks 81^st among all players ever. Scheuermann is signed through 2040 with Houston, returning to MLB for 2038. He had a brief 2034-35 run with Seattle, then spent two years in Rotterdam.

Other notes: Another timeless player for Houston was 3B Jamel Forsyth, who passed a number of combined pro milestones with a 6.3 WAR, .911 OPS, 39 home run season in 2038 at age 41. The Grenadan lefty now sits at 3679 hits, 1919 runs, 610 doubles, 662 homers, 2208 RBI, .977 OPS, and 145.4 WAR. Forsyth is 63^rd all-time on the world WAR leaderboard for all players and ranks 36^th in hits and 30^th in RBI. After a three-year run with Houston, Forsyth is due free agency and certainly still has plenty to offer teams.

One of the few guys ahead of him on the WARboard is SS Jude Hoffer, who at age 40 for Washington put up 8.0 WAR and .938 OPS. He’s still an elite defender after 20 years with the Admirals, which is a huge reason he’s at 147.7 WAR. That ranks 58^th on the world leaderboard, 3^rd among MLB position players, and 4^th among everyone in MLB. Hoffer would easily pass Graham Gregor (147.95) if healthy next year and could pass the top pitcher Ned Giles (151.70) with a strong effort.

13-time Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP Binh Tang made his MLB debut after wrecking Austronesia Professional Baseball for two decades. He adjusted well at age 38 with Washington in 125 games with 47 homers, 110 RBII, 1.020 OPS, 169 wRC+, and 5.9 WAR. Tang moved to 195.6 WAR for his combined pro career, moving up to the #5 spot in world history.

Tang also passed the 2000 run, 3500 hit, 800 home run, and 2000 RBI milestones; especially impressive considering APB is extremely low scoring. On the world leaderboard, Tang’s 2011 runs are 36^th, 3640 hits are 40^th, 818 homers are 51^st, and 2038 RBI are 62^nd. He’s under contract for a second year with the Admirals in 2039.

In his debut with Seattle, 37-year old Milton Ramirez had the worst season of his career with .784 OPS, 111 wRC+, and 1.9 WAR. He still moved up to 3858 hits, 2^nd in MLB history only to Stan Provost’s 4133, but he’ll need to rebound to take the top spot. Ramirez became the 4^th in MLB with 2000 career runs scored, but Provost’s 2348 seems far away. His 1148 stolen bases are 2^nd in MLB to Bill Tan’s 1177. Ramirez’s 3858 hits are 17^th in world history and 2052 runs are 30^th. He’s under contract for two more years with the Grizzlies.

Jackson Brafford and Neil Hollinger became the 3^rd and 4^th MLB sluggers to join the 800 home run club. The top four is Isaac Cox (929), Mike Rojas (872), Brafford (846), and Hollinger (801). Brafford and Pat Eichelberger became the 11^th and 12^th to 2000 career RBI. Brafford, Eichelberger, Hollinger, and Will Desbiens grew the 3000 hit club to 79 members. Desbiens also was the 20^th to reach 700 home runs, while Doogie Wright and Silvio Menoud expanded the 600 homer club to 56 members. Richard Gallagher, Hunter Morrissey, and Jake Young grew the 500 homer club to 139 members. Menoud and Wright were the 145^th and 146^th to 1500 RBI.

MLB’s 40^th perfect game came on August 30 by Seattle’s Jeremy Obert with 10 strikeouts facing Calgary. He threw 102 pitches with a game score of 97. James Wright of Memphis and Aiden Lynch of Omaha both had 32-game hitting streaks. Lynch’s was over the summer while Wright’s was in the spring and carried over from the prior season.



In pitching milestones, Fabien Muller was the 10^th to 4000 strikeouts. Muler is only 36, but he’s had a brutal home run rate, thus a 4.06 ERA and 52.3 WAR despite the Ks. His 645 homers allowed are 5^th all-time. He’s signed through 2040 with Columbus, but may not be MLB-caliber long enough to get to the strikeout record after a 4.94 ERA in 2038. Julius Jordan has MLBs Ks record of 4988. Jules Barton and Reggie Hackett reached 200 wins, met by 236 aces in MLB.

Washington had a season attendance of 3,448,434; which ranks as the 2^nd-best in pro baseball history. Only Ottawa’s 3,524,226 from 2030 sits above it. Houston’s Colton Salo had a bad playoff record with 14 home runs allowed. He also had the previous worst of 12 from 2036. 3B Wilson Trusso won his 7^th Gold Glove.

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The 2038 Baseball Grand Championship was the 29^th edition of the event and was hosted in Santiago, Chile. Earning the auto-bids were MLB’s Quebec City and Houston, CABA’s Honduras and Toluca, EAB’s Goyang and Sapporo, BSA’s Valparaiso and Barranquilla, EBF’s Antwerp and Naples, EPB’s Novosibirsk, OBA’s Sydney, APB’s Manila, CLB’s Changsha, WAB’s Daloa, SAB’s Da Nang, ABF’s Isfahan, ALB’s Basra, and AAB’s Kampala. Earning the three at-large spots was reigning Grand Champion Beirut of ALB, AAB’s Dar es Salaam, and SAB’s Mumbai.

At the first day off through five games, five teams sat tied for first at 4-1; Isfahan, Barranquilla, Kampala, Honduras, and Toluca. By the second break day through 16 games, the field was still incredibly tight. Da Nang had climbed to the #1 spot at 11-5. The Nailers had a 7-1 stretch, including extra innings wins over Basra and Novosibirsk. Kampala, Isfahan, and Dar es Salaam each sat at 10-6. Seven teams were 9-7 and four were 8-8, so it was a wide open field with five games to go.

Da Nang won three straight, but lost an 11-inning, 3-2 match to Goyang in the penultimate contest. Kampala meanwhile won four straight, including a 1-0 pitcher’s duel with Houston where both teams had only two hits apiece. The Imperials had a setback with a 4-3, 12 inning loss to Basra, but won their next three. The Sabercats meanwhile went 1-3 to drop them from the running. Entering the final game, the Peacocks and Nailers were even at 14-6 with Isfahan at 13-7.

For the Nailers, their final game was against Mumbai, whom they beat for the South Asia Baseball title. The Meteors at least were able to get some revenge with a 6-0 win, as Tuan Thai had a one-hit shutout with nine strikeouts. Kampala closed with Naples and found themselves behind 3-2 entering the ninth inning. However in the bottom half, Shabani Luboya smacked a two-run walkoff homer just past the left field wall. That gave the Peacocks the 4-3 win, clinching the Grand Championship for the Ugandan capital.



Kampala went 8-1 to close the event for a 15-6 finish. It was the fifth time an African Association of Baseball team claimed the top prize, joining Johannesburg (2015), Lusaka (2025), Cape Town (2029), and Nairobi (2032). The Peacocks had come close during their 2020s dynasty, finishing second in the 2021 and 2022 events. The only league with more titles is MLB with 11; AAB is also behind only MLB for top two finishers with nine. Kampala had the best run differential (+32) with stellar pitching with only 44 runs allowed. The next closest was Dar es Salaam at 68 runs allowed.



The Peacocks’ 44 runs allowed was an event record (not counting the inaugural 2010 divisional format with half the games). The previous low was 45 by 2018 champ Jeddah and 2019 runner-up Recife; both in two fewer games. Kampala’s 1.87 ERA was a new best, allowing them to thrive despite being 16^th in runs scored. Four-time AAB Pitcher of the Year Abdullahi Ali led the WAR with 3.17 WAR, the highest by any player in tournament history. The only player to record 3+ prior was pitcher Horst Jahne in 2020 at 3.02.

Ali had poor run support with a 2-3 record in his five starts, but each was a complete game with a 1.23 ERA over 44 innings and 83 strikeouts. The Ks also shattered the event record of 72 by Andrew Pendlebury in 2030. Ali had a two-hit shutout against Houston and a three-hitter against Antwerp. Other excellent pitching for Kampala came from Miguel Lima with a 0.90 ERA in 30 innings, Kyeyune Musinguzi with a 1.54 ERA in 35 innings, and Kastrelo Matsimbe with a 1.32 ERA in 34 innings.



Da Nang was second at 14-7, which was only the fourth time an SAB team finished in the top four. It was the league’s only second-place finisher, but they did notably have Dhaka as the 2023 champ. Next at 13-8 were Novosibirsk and Isfahan, with the Nitros officially third thanks to their 2-0 win over the Imperials. This was the highest-ever finish by a Eurasian Professional Baseball team.



Goyang and Dar es Salaam were each 12-9 with the Green Sox getting fifth place on their 4-3 win over the Sabercats. The event was also historic as there wasn’t a single Western Hemisphere team in the top six; previously there had always been one in the top four. Usually one was from Major League Baseball as well, whose top placer in 2038 was ninth.

Seven teams finished in a glut at 11-10. Once the tiebreakers were sorted out, the finishing order was Barranquilla in seventh, followed by Basra, Quebec City, Sapporo, Daloa, Antwerp, and Beirut. The Swordfish and Danes were the top scoring teams with 119 and 117 runs, but both were bottom four in runs allowed. They had 62 and 61 home runs respectively, the top-two seasons in BGC history. Sapporo’s .551 team slugging was also an event record.

Next up was five teams at 10-11; Mumbai, Sydney, Manila, Houston, and Honduras. Toluca was alone in 19^th at 9-12, then Naples was 8-13 and Valparaiso was 7-14. By far the worst team was China’s Changsha with a historically bad 1-20. Every team in event history had at least two wins and no team had lost 20 before. The Cannons’ lone win was 5-2 against the Voodoo.

*NOTE: The game doesn’t properly record all players for the BGC on the season leaderboard, although their stats to register when looking at the historical leaderboard.



Sydney’s Sam Erickson was awarded Tournament MVP, as the two-time Australasia League MVP had 28 hits, 15 runs, 8 homers, 19 RBI, a .329/.374/.635 slash, 190 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR. Other notables included Daloa CF Bertin Atouba, whose 22 runs tied for the 5^th-best in BGC history, one short of the record. Atouba also led all players with 13 homers and was the WARlord for position players at 2.22. That WAR was the 9^th-best by a position players.

Dar es Salaam’s Ydnekatchew Dinkesa was named Best Pitcher, with the 32-year old Ethiopian winning his four starts with a 1.57 ERA in 34.1 innings, 47 strikeouts, 2 complete games, and 1.9 WAR. Along with the before-mentioned Kampala pitchers, other notables included Da Nang’s Bikarama Shah with a 0.50 ERA in 35.2 innings. This was the 8^th-best ERA in event history, minimum 21 innings required.

Other notes: BGC’s 16^th no-hitter came on November 17 by Sydney’s Oleg Karmenok against Changsha. He struck out eight with one walk and one hit batsmen over 118 pitches.



Sapporo’s Ji-Uk Ryu set the single-game record of five runs scored in their 19-4 win over Changsha on November 24. He had a three homer game, going 4-4 with 5 RBI. Beirut’s Farid Amine struck out six times in their 5-4, 19 inning loss to Antwerp. Seven players in event history have donned the Titanium Sombrero, although each was in extra innings.

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Major League Baseball had a four-man Hall of Fame class for 2039, co-headlined by OF Fred Hynes (98.3%) and 1B Mathis Vezina (97.3%). LF/DH Sam Harpster was also a first ballot inductee with 77.7%. SP Rowney Simpson barely breached the 66% requirement at 66.1% to join them on his fourth ballot. SP Flaco Villanueva was a close miss with a debut at 62.1%.

Four other returners were above 50%, but below 60%. 1B Gilbert Windemere had 59.5% for his third ballot, 3B Kwang-Sik Oh got 56.8% on his fourth try, CL Heiharchiro Okasawa received 52.5% on his tenth and final chance, and SP Luke Harrison was at 50.8% in his penultimate chance.



Okasawa was a victim of having a split career, as his combined professional numbers place him right among the best relievers ever. On the MLB ballot, he got as high at 59.5% in 2037and was above 40% in all but one year. Okasawa also peaked on East Asia Baseball’s ballot at 31.9% in 2032 and was also dropped in 2039 after falling to 3.9%.

His career started with Fukuoka in Japan, winning five Reliever of the Year awards in six seasons with a 1.26 ERA over 491 innings, 218 saves, 926 strikeouts, 270 ERA+, 17 FIP-, and 33.5 WAR. Okasawa left for MLB after that and won ROTY with Kansas City in 2016. He had 14 MLB seasons between six teams, then ended his career with one West African Baseball season with Dakar and a final year back in Japan.

In MLB, Okasawa had 274 saves and 352 shutdowns, 2.27 ERA, 848.2 innings, 1328 strikeouts, 154 ERA+, 44 FIP-, and 39.3 WAR. His rate stats were comparable to some closers in the MLB Hall, but many voters were hyper-fixated on saves. Okasawa ranked 83^rd and all but one inductee had 300+ saves, although that mark wasn’t a guarantee either.

Supporters pointed out his impressive MLB playoff numbers, as he won World Series rings in 2012 with Philadelphia and 2018 with KC. Okasawa had a 1.97 ERA in 54 games, 22 saves, 77.2 innings, 114 strikeouts, and 3.0 WAR in the MLB postseason. He’s tied for the most playoff saves and one short of the most appearances. Okasawa’s combined career had 27 saves, a 1.69 ERA, 154 Ks, and 4.4 WAR in 101 innings.

For the full pro run, Okasawa had a 153-93 record, 524 saves, 639 shutdowns, 2.03 ERA, 1250 games, 1486 innings, 2411 strikeouts, 173 ERA+, 41 FIP-, and 73.9 WAR. On the world leaderboard, Okasawa is 7^th in saves, 2^nd in games, and 4^th in shutdowns. Among relievers, he ranks 5^th in WAR and 2^nd in strikeouts. He’s also 32^nd in FIP- among the great relievers, but just misses the top 50 for ERA+.

Certainly, Okasawa has to be considered among the absolute best closers in the game’s history. However, many MLB voters paid little or no mind to stats from other leagues, while also fixating on the save total as the be-all-end-all. And as great as he was in EAB, the majority of those voters felt seven years wasn’t long enough for a HOF career. Those who know ball definitely cite Okasawa as one of the best-ever among those ultimately left out from induction.

Another closer, Stevie Ray Thornton, fell off after ten ballots with a peak of 55.0% in 2031 and a low of 35.9%. Nicknamed “The Wall,” he won four Reliever of the Year awards in a 20-year MLB career and won World Series rings with Philly in 2012, Kansas City in 2018, and Denver in 2022. Thornton was an excellent playoff pitcher with a 1.69 ERA over 74.2 innings, 14 saves, 123 strikeouts, and 4.7 WAR.

Thornton finished with 280 saves and 402 shutdowns, 106-56 record, 1.71 ERA, 1050 innings, 835 games, 1644 strikeouts, 400 walks, 209 ERA+, 42 FIP-, and 50.1 WAR. Among all MLB pitchers with 1000+ career innings, Thornton has the #1 ERA and the best opponent’s slugging percentage of .252. He’s also 2^nd in H/9 (4.94), 3^rd in K/9 (14.09), 7^th in WHIP (0.93), 2^nd in batting average (.162), 8^th in OBP (.252), and 2^nd in OPS (.504). He’s also 31^st in games pitched.

However, Thornton is 76^th in saves, which proved to be a deal breaker for many voters. His WAR is better than all but five MLB HOF relievers and on the world leaderboards for relievers, Thornton is 31^st in ERA, 44^th in WAR, 17^th in ERA+, 35^th in FIP-, and 34^th in opponent’s OPS. Despite his world class efficiency, the lower save count by itself seemingly denied him enshrinement. Still, Thornton can say he’s MLB’s all-time leader among qualifiers for ERA, one of only four with 1000+ innings and sub-two ERA.

Ismael Kaneko was another reliever dropped after ten failed ballots in 2039, ending at 8.3% after a peak at 43.7% in 2031. He had tenure, but nowhere near the peaks of the other two, nor the accolades. Kaneko had a 2.28 ERA over 918 innings, 223 saves, 285 shutdowns, 940 strikeouts, 168 ERA+, 60 FIP-, and 31.6 WAR. It was certainly a career to be proud of, but one correctly left for the Hall of Pretty Good.

One last guy dropped after ten ballots was SP Jim Young, who peaked with a 21.8% debut and ended at 5.3%. He had an ERA title and won the World Series in 2019 with Houston, but otherwise lacked accolades in a 15 year career. Young had a 204-140 record, 3.09 ERA, 3247.1 innings, 2581 strikeouts, 890 walks, 156 complete games, 31 shutouts, 117 ERA+, 85 FIP-, and 67.2 WAR. Young had a fine career, but doesn’t stand out enough amongst the true legends.



Fred Hynes – Left/Center Field – Pittsburgh Pirates – 98.3% First Ballot

Fred Hynes was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from New York City. He was one of the most steady home run hitters in MLB history with 13 seasons of 40+ dingers and five with 50+. Hynes was absolutely dominate against right-handed pitching with a career 1.015 OPS and 192 wRC+, compared to a respectable .786 OPS and 124 wRC+ facing lefties. On the whole, Hynes was an excellent contact hitter, but was fairly average for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts.

His 162 game average got you 49 homers, 27 doubles, 2 triples, and 114 RBI. While his power was focused on the long ball, his gap power was better than most. Hynes was an intelligent and savvy baserunner, but he was limited there by poor speed. He played center field early in his career, but his lousy range led to abysmal results there. Hynes moved to left for most of his run and was mediocre there, but you could do worse. He played designated hitter mostly in his final seasons with Austin.

Hynes’ durability was mostly solid over an 18-year career. He was a scrappy sparkplug type with an impressive work ethic and high baseball IQ. Hynes became very popular across the country as a result. He played three college seasons with Louisville, posting 148 games, 150 hits, 89 runs, 17 doubles, 2 triples, 57 home runs, 121 RBI, .282/.351/.643 slash, 199 wRC+, and 9.2 WAR. With that ‘can’t miss’ power potential, Hynes was picked fifth by Pittsburgh in the 2015 MLB Draft.

The Pirates used him sparingly as a rookie with 116 games and 62 starts, but Hynes thrived with 30 homers, 1.079 OPS, and 4.4 WAR in that small sample. He took a full-time gig the next year and won 2017’s National Association MVP and a Silver Slugger in CF.

Hynes led in runs (127), hits (211), homers (60), total bases (412), triple slash (.352/.413/.687), OPS (1.100), wRC+ (235), and WAR (11.0). The hits, homers, slash line, OPS, wRC+, and WAR would all be career bests. His 121 RBI fell only four short of a Triple Crown season. Not only was this one of the best-ever sophomore campaigns, but it ranks 22^nd in WAR among single-season efforts by an MLB position player.

In 2018, Hynes repeated as MVP and won another Slugger, leading in runs (134) doubles (32), RBI (134), total bases (42), slugging (.669), OPS (1.048), and wRC+ (215). The runs, doubles, RBI, and total bases would be career bests. Pittsburgh went 80-82 both years, which was an improvement from the prior decade. The Pirates had been largely mediocre with only two winning seasons or playoff berths since the mid 1990s.

Despite his efforts, Hynes couldn’t reverse those trends, although Pittsburgh did at least hover around .500 for much of his tenure. They only twice would post a winning record, going 82-80 in both 2024 and 2025. Hynes was third in 2021’s MVP voting and won an additional Silver Slugger in 2023 in LF. After the 2021 season, Hynes signed an eight-year, $167 million extension to stay with the Pirates.

He never reached the heights of the MVP seasons or was an association leader again, but Hynes was remarkably consistent and rock solid. You could reliably expect 40-50 homers, an OPS above .900, and around 5-8 WAR per year like clockwork. Hynes would thrice more have an OPS above one with Pittsburgh in 2021, 2025, and 2027. He hit for the cycle in 2020 against Omaha and stayed mostly healthy, apart from a partially torn labrum in late 2025.

With the Pirates, Hynes had 2136 games, 2402 hits, 1359 runs, 354 doubles, 662 home runs, 1504 RBI, 637 walks, .308/.367/.614 slash, 187 wRC+, and 94.1 WAR. His deal expired after the 2029 season, making him a free agent for the first time heading towards his age 35 season. By the end of the 2020s, Pittsburgh had fallen to the very bottom, going 62-100 in 2029. Hynes was grateful to the fans for his time, but the Pirates clearly had no immediate future success lined up. He would remain very popular and later get his #9 uniform retired.

Hynes signed a four-year, $112,800,000 deal with Austin, who had hovered around .500 for most of the decade. He wouldn’t reverse their fortunes and they didn’t have a winning season with Hynes, making him one of the better players to never complete in the postseason. He barely had any tournament experience either, only playing eight games with two starts in the World Baseball Championship from 2028-30.

His debut with the Amigos in 2030 saw the same solid production he had with most of the Pirates tenure with 49 homers, 1.005 OPS, and 6.7 WAR. Hynes fell off though the next two years with merely decent stats. However in 2032, he notably breached 750 home runs; which had been the long-time historic record by Elijah Cashman. Several guys had passed it with increased slugging broadly in the 21^st Century, but Hynes did make his way into MLB’s top 10 for dingers.

A fractured hand did knock him out for the final weeks of the 2031 season. In 2033, Hynes was benched and only saw 25 games and 12 starts. For Austin, he had 466 games, 481 hits, 249 runs, 74 doubles, 121 homers, 330 RBI, .285/.345/.549 slash, 132 wRC+, and 10.9 WAR. Hynes retired after the 2033 season at age 38.

Hynes finished with 2602 games, 2883 hits, 1608 runs, 428 doubles, 25 triples, 783 home runs, 1834 RBI, 780 walks, 1542 strikeouts, .304/.363/.602 slash, .965 OPS, 177 wRC+, and 105.0 WAR. At induction, Hynes is 8^th in homers, 29^th in RBI, 85^th in runs, 25^th in total bases (5710), and 42^nd in WAR for position players. Among MLB hitters with 3000+ plate appearances, Hynes is 20^th in slugging and 31^st in OPS.

He is a guy who sometimes is overlooked when discussing the inner-circle of Major League Baseball Hall of Famers because he played on forgettable teams. Hynes also peaked very early, so he is sometimes remembered more for being consistently solid versus being an MVP early in his run. Few batters were more efficient at the plate in MLB lore and Hynes’ status as an inductee was never in doubt. At 98.3%, Hynes co-headlined a four-man class for 2039.



Mathis “Sarge” Vezina – First Base – Ottawa Elks – 97.3% First Ballot

Mathis Vezina was a 6’2’’, 190 pound left-handed first baseman from Blainville, Quebec; a Montreal suburb with around 60,000 people. The military background in Vezina’s family and his tireless work ethic earned him the nickname “Sarge.” His loyalty also made him a beloved fan favorite with few guys more universally beloved by Canadian baseball fans.

Vezina absolutely dominated right-handed pitching with a career 1.058 OPS and 202 wRC+. He was top of the line for power and contact against RHP, but was merely decent facing lefties (.754 OPS, 117 wRC+). Vezina was among MLB’s best at extra base hits with 48 home runs and 32 doubles per his 162 game average. He was better than most at avoiding strikeouts and above average at drawing walks. Vezina’s baserunning ability was average, but he was laughably slow.

Despite the slowness, Vezina graded as a reliably rock solid defender as a career first baseman. He wasn’t a Gold Glove candidate, but he regularly provided positive value with his glove. Vezina’s durability was mostly good over a 15-year career, playing 130+ games in all but his final season. He left Quebec to play college baseball at North Carolina State, where he thrived.

As a freshman, Vezina was the NCAA MVP and a Silver Slugger winner with 75 hits, 53 runs, 27 homers, 55 RBI, 1.410 OPS, 316 wRC+, and 6.4 WAR in 2016. His WAR is the 5^th-best by a position player in NCAA history and his OPS was the 4^th-best qualifying season. Vezina wasn’t as dominant the next two years, but finished his time for the Wolfpack with 145 games, 183 hits, 129 runs, 22 doubles, 71 homers, 140 RBI, .338/.417/.775 slash, 254 wRC+, 1.192 OPS, and 13.6 WAR. He ranks 13^th for career WAR among college position players.

The regional restrictions for the 2018 MLB Draft meant he’d be back in Canada to start his pro career. Ottawa salivated over his talent and picked Vezina #2 overall, making him a full-time starter right away. He immediately delivered as 2019’s Rookie of the Year with 5.4 WAR and 171 wRC+ over 133 games. 2019 also was his first season in the World Baseball Championship for the Canadian team, which is where he rose to his biggest fame.

In 2021, Vezina won MVP honors in the WBC as Canada placed third, leading the field in homers (13), runs (20), total bases (75), and WAR (2.4). The Canadians didn’t advance in 2022, but Vezina was even better in the smaller sample size to take third in MVP voting. In 10 games, he had 1.8 WAR with a .543/.590/1.314 slash, 1.904 OPS, and 461 wRC+. The OPS is the 17^th-best in WBC history, minimum 56 plate appearances required.

Vezina was second in 2023’s MVP voting as Canada won its first world title since 2004, dramatically beating the United States with a 4-3, ten inning game seven. From 2019-33 in the WBC, Vezina played 190 games with 210 hits, 133 runs, 33 doubles, 81 home runs, 152 RBI, .311/.381/.723 slash, 1.104 OPS, and 13.4 WAR. Among Canadians in the WBC, Vezina is 3^rd in WAR for position players, 4^th in homers, 7^th in hits, 5^th in runs, and 5^th in RBI.

Among all WBC players with 350 plate appearances, Vezina is 18^th in OPS, 29^th in batting average, and 12^th in slugging. He’s also 14^th in homers, 22^nd in RBI, 17^th in total bases (488), 39^th in runs, 29^th in hits, and 12^th in WAR for position players. Although Canada didn’t have deep runs after the 2023 title, Vezina continued to perform each year at a very high level for his country.

Vezina certainly played at a high level in the capital too, taking second in MVP voting in his sophomore season 2020. This had his career highs of 10.7 WAR and 209 wRC+, as well as his first of five seasons with 50+ homers. Vezina would be worth 6+ WAR each of the next 11 seasons and was above 8+ WAR four times in that run. In 2022, he was the National Association leader for the first time with 53 homers.

Ottawa was a historically strong franchise, but the 2010s had seen some of their darkest seasons, thrice losing 100+ games. They ended an eight-year playoff drought with a wild card in 2021, then won a division title in 2022 at 102-60. Both seasons, the Elks were ousted in the first round. The following four years, Ottawa was generally a few games just below or above .500. Any future success though would need Vezina, who signed an eight-year, $194,700,000 extension in May 2024.

Vezina was third in 2022’s MVP voting, second in 2025, third in 2026, and third in 2029. Despite his talent, he never won a Silver Slugger with the incredibly loaded field at first base, most notably Mike Rojas who won the honor eight times. Vezina led in homers with 61 in 2025 and 60 in 2026. He also led in doubles (39) in 2027, total bases (401) in 2029, slugging (.682) in 2028, and WAR (9.5) in 2025. From 2025-30, Vezina had an OPS above one each season.

Ottawa was back in the playoffs for 2027 as a wild card, but again had a first round exit. This started a five-year streak though and a dynasty run with back-to-back National Association pennants in 2028-29. They were the top seed both years with 105 and 104 wins, beating Indianapolis and Tulsa in the NACS respectively. Vezina was MVP of the 2028 series and unsurprisingly had solid playoff numbers. Over 54 starts, he had 65 hits, 36 runs, 12 doubles, 16 home runs, 31 RBI, .933 OPS, 159 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR.

The World Series ring proved elusive for Ottawa as they came up against San Diego’s dynasty. The Seals won four straight from 2026-29, although the Elks were the only team to take them to seven games in 2028. Ottawa would get swept in 2029. However, the Elks had the last laugh in 2028 as San Diego went for an unprecedented third straight title in the Baseball Grand Championship. Ottawa would claim the grand prize at 15-4, becoming the first Canadian Grand Champion.

Vezina was the star of the 2028 BGC and won MVP honors, joining the short list of guys to win MVP in both the BGC and WBC. In 19 games, he had 23 hits, 17 runs, 12 homers, 16 RBI, 1.204 OPS, 234 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR. Vezina was merely decent in the 2029 run with a .765 OPS, 124 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. Ottawa nearly successfully defended the title as they, Kharkiv, and Cape Town each finished 14-7. However, the Elks lost to both head-to-head, placing them third after tiebreakers with the Cowboys claiming the throne.

2030 had their best record of the run at 108-54, but a surprise 109-53 effort by Buffalo left them as a wild card, where they were shocked in the first round by Kansas City. Ottawa won the Northeast Division at 94-68 in 2031, but were upset in the NACS by the division’s runner-up Toronto in a stunning sweep. This marked the end of the Elks’ run at the top, but Vezina had brought the storied franchise back to the peak.

In 2032, Ottawa fell off to 72-90 and Vezina saw a regression in the final year of his contract. In 87 games, he had .840 OPS, 136 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR; by no means awful, but far from his annual production prior to that. With the reign over, the Elks traded Vezina in July with 3B prospect Nick Ware and $48,350,000 cash to Kansas City for three prospects.

Vezina remained beloved in Ottawa and understood the move, maintaining no hard feelings. For the Elks, he had 2077 games, 2456 hits, 1341 runs, 411 doubles, 628 home runs, 1521 RBI, .316/.381/.618 slash, 187 wRC+, and 104.6 WAR. His #20 uniform would quickly be retired after his career ended. Vezina’s production stayed at the same pace in the second half for the Cougars with 60 games, .877 OPS, 137 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR. KC finished 89-75, missing the playoffs after a pair of tiebreaker games in a crowded wild card field.

He was a free agent for the first time heading towards his age 35 season in 2033. Omaha felt Vezina had plenty left and gave him a four-year, $46,800,000 deal. He missed a month to a sprained ankle, but was mediocre when healthy. Vezina played 93 games and started 62 with 59 hits, 43 runs, 11 homers, 36 RBI, .699 OPS, 92 wRC+, and 0.1 WAR. He retired that winter at age 35, realizing that maintaining a spot in the majors wasn’t likely.

Vezina finished with 2230 games, 2581 hits, 1418 runs, 434 doubles, 24 triples, 654 home runs, 1602 RBI, 810 walks, 1190 strikeouts, .313/.377/.609 slash, .986 OPS, 182 wRC+, and 106.1 WAR. He didn’t quite soar up the leaderboards since he was done at age 35, but Vezina still ranks 84^th in total bases (5025), 33^rd in homers, 94^th in RBI, and 38^th in WAR for position players. Among MLB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Vezina is 17^th in OPS and 17^th in slugging.

His numbers alone would’ve been enough for a Hall of Fame nod, but Vezina’s efforts in winning the Grand Championship for Ottawa and a World Championship for Canada made his name a hallowed one amongst canucks. By the HOF monitor and JAWS metrics, Vezina is the second-best Canadian behind only MLB hits king Stan Provost.

While Provost is most commonly cited as Canada’s best-ever, you’ll rarely find a top five list that doesn’t feature Vezina. Depending on how strict your definition is, Vezina might fit in that inner-circle level among all of Major League Baseball’s greats. He co-headlined a four-man 2039 Hall of Fame class at 97.3%.

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Sam Harpster – Left Field/Designated Hitter – Albuquerque Isotopes – 77.7% First Ballot

Sam Harpster was a 6’4’’, 205 pound left-handed left fielder and designated hitter from Murray, Utah; a city of around 50,000 people in Salt Lake County. He was a remarkably steady power hitter facing right-handed pitching with 53 home runs and 24 doubles per his 162 game average against RHP. Harpster had a career .958 OPS and 151 wRC+ against righties. On the downside, he was subpar facing lefties with a career .708 OPS and 93 wRC+.

Still, Harpster was good for 41 homers per 162 games with solid contact grades on the whole. He was above average at drawing walks, but middling for avoiding strikeouts. Harpster was a lousy baserunner and quite slow, which limited his offensive value somewhat. That clumsiness made him a mediocre defender as well in left field. Harpster’s starts were split roughly 50/50 between LF and designated hitter.

Harpster was considered one of the smarter baseball minds in the dugout and he had strong durability over a 19-year career. Although he was never a league leader, his steady production made him a popular figure in Albuquerque, where he spent the lion’s share of his pro career. For college, Harpster spent three seasons at Auburn with 145 games, 159 hits, 98 runs, 24 doubles, 54 home runs, 119 RBI, .296/.378/.641 slash, 202 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR.

In the 2015 MLB Draft, Harpster was picked 28^th overall by Albuquerque and was an immediate starter, winning 2016 Rookie of the Year honors with 36 homers, .959 OPS, and 4.5 WAR over 120 games. Harpster won Silver Sluggers at DH in 2018, 2019, and 2021 as well as one in LF for 2024. 2019 had his career high for runs (124), homers (58) and RBI (151). Harpster’s most efficient year was 2024 with a 1.009 OPS, 171 wRC+, and 7.2 WAR.

Harpster was never an MVP finalist though and didn’t reach superstardom being in a smaller market like Albuquerque. After the 2019 season, he committed to the Isotopes on an eight-year, $142,400,000 extension. Like his Hall of Fame classmate Fred Hynes, Harpster is one of the best players to never see a postseason inning. Albuquerque was mostly mid-tier during his tenure, averaging 78 wins per season. They cracked 90 wins only in his first two seasons, but missed out on wild cards.

Five times with the Isotopes, Harpster was good for 6+ WAR , although he did have a few weaker seasons in there. He had dipped a bit after the 2027 season and was a free agent for the first time at age 32. However, Albuquerque brought him back on a five-year, $41,500,000 deal. Harpster rebounded for a few more years as a solid starter before finally dropping to below average stats in 2031. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the fifth year of the deal and was back to free agency.

For Albuquerque, Harpster had 2451 games, 2731 hits, 1456 runs, 379 doubles, 640 homers, 1666 RBI, .293/.350/.547 slash, 137 wRC+, and 69.3 WAR. He was appreciated in New Mexico for his efforts and his #43 uniform would later be retired. Harpster spent 2032 with New Orleans on a one-year, $7,400,000 deal with 30 homers, .783 OPS, 99 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR.

In 2033, Harpster joined Quebec City with a resurgent year, posting a .954 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR; although he missed a month to a fractured rib. He finished the year just short of the 700 home run and 3000 hit milestones, but wouldn’t reach either in MLB. At this point, teams had little interest in a 38-year old DH.

Harpster did cross those lines for a combined pro career, spending 2034 in the African Association of Baseball with Durban. The Deer gave him a two-year, $17,200,000 deal, but he didn’t meet the criteria for the second year. Harpster had 28 homers, .829 OPS, 108 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR in South Africa. This did give him 3089 hits, 1654 runs, 434 doubles, 726 home runs, 1900 RBI, and 75.9 WAR for his combined pro run.

He hoped to get back to MLB, but was unsigned for most of 2035. In September, minor league Annapolis picked him up and he was respectable in 11 games. A promotion beyond that though didn’t seem likely to Harpster’s chagrin. He retired that winter at age 40.

Harpster’s MLB stats saw 2713 games, 2970 hits, 1588 runs, 419 doubles, 31 triples, 698 home runs, 1815 RBI, 913 walks, 1810 strikeouts, .291/.350/.544 slash, 137 wRC+, and 74.9 WAR. Harpster ranks 86^th in hits, 93^rd in runs, 37^th in total bases (5545), 21^st in homers, and 34^th in RBI. He does miss the top 100 for WAR, losing a lot of points for having half of his starts as a DH.

There were a few Hall of Fame voters who felt Harpster was borderline between the DH penalty, the lack of black ink, and lack of team success. But even with Major League Baseball’s higher league-wide power stats in the 21^st Century, you couldn’t discount nearly 700 homers, nearly 3000 hits, and both 1500+ runs and RBI. Harpster isn’t at the tip-top of all-time charters, but he’s a first ballot inductee at 77.7% as part of MLB’s four-man 2039 crew.



Rowney Simpson – Starting Pitcher – Cincinnati Reds – 66.1% Fourth Ballot

Rowney Simpson was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Gahanna, Ohio; a suburb of Columbus with around 36,000 inhabitants. Simpson was known for overpowering stuff along with solid movement, although his control was average at best. His 99-101 mph cutter was easily his most successful pitch, but Simpson also had a respectable curveball and changeup as options.

Relative to other MLB starters, Simpson’s stamina was fairly average. He had some injuries, but mostly held up well over a 16-year run. Simpson was above average at holding runners, but weak defensively otherwise. He stayed in the Midwest his entire run, playing collegiately at Northern Illinois. In three years for the Huskies, Simpson had a 17-10 record, 2.51 ERA, 237 innings, 266 strikeouts, 134 ERA+, 62 FIP-, and 8.0 WAR.

Simpson was back in Ohio after going #7 to Cincinnati in the 2014 MLB Draft. He spent his entire career with the Reds, but had a rocky start with a ruptured Achilles tendon right at the start of his rookie campaign. Simpson had a partially torn labrum as well in summer 2017. After that though, he managed to avoid big injuries for the rest of his run. Simpson’s production was respectable in his first three years, but he broke through as an ace in 2018 with a 2.54 ERA.

The Reds gave him a five-year, $59,100,000 extension that September. Cincinnati had been abysmal with five seasons below 70 wins from 2012-17, but 2018 started a rebound. They earned a wild card at 94-68 and lost in the first round. Cincinnati narrowly missed the playoffs the next year, but would emerge as a regular contender after that with an eight-year playoff streak from 2020-27.

Simpson was a big part of that streak, leading the National Association in WAR (7.9) and wins (20-5) in 2020. Those were career bests along with his 274 strikeouts, finishing second in Pitcher of the Year voting. On July 11, Simpson tossed his first no-hitter with nine strikeouts and one walk facing Indianapolis.

Cincinnati won the Lower Midwest Division at 98-64 and got hot, denying Kansas City’s three-peat bid with a 4-1 win in the NACS. The Reds would fall 4-2 to Denver in the World Series. Simpson’s postseason was a mixed bag with a 4.73 ERA, 32.1 innings, and 34 strikeouts, although his 77 FIP- and 0.8 WAR suggest he was better than the ERA indicates. Cincinnati was one of three tied for fifth at 11-8 in the Baseball Grand Championship with Simpson posting a 3.09 ERA and 39 Ks in 32 innings.

The Reds went 101-61 in 2021, but were upset in the second round 3-2 by Detroit. Simpson was again second in POTY voting and had his career bests for ERA (2.17) and quality starts (28). He never won the top honor or was a finalist after that, but he was reliably good for 5-7.5 WAR each year through 2026. Cincinnati took the top seed at 109-53 in 2022 and again in 2023. Both years, they won the pennant, defeating Chicago in the 2022 NACS and the Tigers in 2023.

In 2022, Cincinnati was swept in a World Series rematch with Denver. However in 2023, the Reds won the franchise’s third ring in a 4-2 effort over San Diego. Simpson was surprisingly poor in the 2022 run with a 5.81 ERA, but bounced back to a 2.25 ERA in 2023. His best playoff stats generally came in the later years of the playoff streak. On the whole, Simpson had a 13-11 record, 3.38 ERA, 186.1 innings, 185 strikeouts, 107 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 4.9 WAR in the postseason.

Simpson had his strongest Baseball Grand Championship in 2022 with a 2.27 ERA in 31.2 innings, followed by a 4.60 ERA in 2023. The Reds finished 9-10 in both efforts. In 2023, Simpson notably became one of the select few with multiple no-hitters, throwing his second on August 23 against Kansas City with nine Ks and two walk. In April 2023, he signed a six-year, $145,200,000 extension with Cincinnati.

They narrowly won the division in 2024 at 95-67 and got back to the NACS, but fell to Washington in five games. Cincinnati was the top seed in 2025 at 103-59, but were stunned in the second round by the Admirals. The Reds finished 102-60 in 2026, but this was second in the division to 105-win Louisville. Cincy knocked off the Lynx 3-1 in the second round, then defeated Montreal 4-2 for Simpson’s third National Association pennant. San Diego got revenge for 2023 with a 4-2 win in the World Series, the first title of the Seals eventual four-peat.

Simpson had a 3.00 ERA over 30 playoff innings that year, but did struggle to his worst BGC on a 5.40 ERA over 26.2 innings. The Reds finished 12-7, one of six teams tied for third, officially placing sixth after tiebreakers were sorted. Overall in the BGC, Simpson had a 3.77 ERA in 16 starts, 4-8 record, 121.2 innings, 153 strikeouts, 95 ERA+, 108 FIP-, and 1.2 WAR. While his big-game stats weren’t exceptional, Simpson was a key reason Cincinnati made those games to begin with.

The Reds made the playoffs once more at 95-67 in 2027, falling to Montreal 4-1 in the NACS. That year, a rotator cuff strain cost Simpson a month. Cincy fell to 79-83 to end the postseason streak. They had a rebound 88-74 year to close out the 2020s, but were five games short in the wild card race.

Simpson also notably had his ERA above four for the first time in his career in 2028. He was a bit better in 2029, but was firmly around league average in 2030. The Reds dropped to 69-93 that year, fully signaling that their great run was done. Simpson had signed a three-year, $30 million extension in October 2029. His velocity was dropping though and peaking in the mid 90s for spring training 2031. The run ended as he was released in March. Simpson was unsigned all year except for at the very end by minor league Spokane, although he didn’t hit the field for them.

After the 2031 season, Simpson officially retired at age 37. Cincinnati quickly retired his #2 uniform for his role in their 2020s dynasty run. Simpson finished with a 223-145 record, 3.12 ERA, 3404 innings, 3252 strikeouts, 854 walks, 287/470 quality starts, 145 complete games, 43 shutouts, 119 ERA+, 80 FIP-, and 81.3 WAR.

He ranks 91^st in WAR among pitchers, 65^th in strikeouts, and 56^th in shutouts. However, he misses the top 100 in other stats as he didn’t quite have the longevity of some other Major League Baseball legends. The rate stats were certainly comparable to other Hall of Fame inductees and Simpson was a key figure for three pennants and a World Series win with Cincinnati.

However, some voters felt his grand tallies were borderline with limited black ink. Simpson also played in a smaller market and never won Pitcher of the Year. Although the Reds had a dynasty, he also wasn’t overwhelmingly dominant in the playoffs. Simpson was a guy whose success was more steady and consistent, while some voters want to be wowed by explosive peaks.

Simpson missed the 66% induction threshold thrice, albeit barely at 63.3%, 62.7%, and 64.9%. Voters seemed very firm on their opinion of him, but he didn’t need to win over very many voters to cross the line. In 2039, Simpson just got the nudge to 66.1% to clock in as a fourth ballot selection, capping off a four-man class for MLB.

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Pitcher Raimundo Zuniga stood alone for induction into the Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 2039 with a near unanimous 98.5%. Only one other guy was above 50% with RF Nobel Diaz’s 55.8% on his sixth ballot. Debutant CF Xavier Valenzuela was the only other player to even crack 1/3 of the vote with 36.6%. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots in 2039.



Raimundo Zuniga – Starting Pitcher – Mexicali Maroons – 98.5% First Ballot

Raimundo Zuniga was a 6’7’’, 205 pound right-handed pitcher from Aldama, Mexico; a municipality of about 29,000 in the northeastern Tamaulipas state. Zuniga was known for having incredible movement on his pitches with an extreme groundball tendency. His raw stuff was also excellent and he had very good control, but his movement graded as a 10/10 by scouts at his peak.

Zuniga had 99-101 mph peak velocity and his outstanding sinker led the way. He also had a very good fastball along with a respectable curveball, forkball, and changeup in the arsenal. The main downside was his stamina was unremarkable and major injuries limited his career. Zuniga was decent at holding runners and was an excellent defensive pitcher, winning two Gold Gloves. He became one of CABA’s most popular aces with his peak dominance.

By the 2020 CABA Draft, Zuniga was viewed as a ‘can’t miss’ prospect and was picked #1 by Mexicali. There was growing pains with a hamstring strain costing him two months as a rookie, along with middling production when healthy. Zuniga emerged as a true ace by year two and in his third season, finished third in Pitcher of the Year voting. He also won his first Gold Glove in 2023 and that winter, inked a seven-year, $110,900,000 extension with the Maroons.

Zuniga suffered from forearm inflammation that kept him out the first half of 2024. He stayed healthy in 2025 and had his best season yet with 9.4 WAR, 2.26 ERA, and 301 strikeouts in 243 innings. He placed second in Pitcher of the Year voting and was seemingly on his way to the upper echelon. Mexicali also finished 84-78, which was their first winning season since 2009. The Maroons had been abysmal from the 2010s onward. However, Zuniga got bone chips in his elbow in April 2026 that knocked him out most of that season.

For 2027 and 2028, Zuniga was healthy and was third in Pitcher of the Year voting both years. He had 9+ WAR both years with his two highest strikeout totals of 307 and 302. Zuniga also posted his career-best ERA of 1.68 in 2028, missing the title by only nine points to teammate Stinky Pasillas.

Mexicali ended their playoff drought with a wild card in 2027 at 89-73, but were one-and-done. In 2028, the Maroons were a division champ at 96-66, earning their first Mexican League Championship Series trip since their 2007 pennant. Mexicali was denied 4-1 by Leon with Zuniga posting a 2.16 ERA in his 16.2 innings. It was only brief contention for the Maroons, who would fall into the lower-middle tier for the next few years.

In late April 2029, Zuniga was diagnosed with an arthritic elbow, knocking him out four months. This marked the end of his time with Mexicali, as he declined his contract option in the winter. Zuniga was beloved still by Maroons fans as a beacon of hope for a struggling franchise. He had a 2.38 ERA over 1529.2 innings, 88-65 record, 39 saves, 1814 strikeouts, 154 ERA+, 57 FIP-, and 54.6 WAR. Mexicali would later retire his #1 uniform for his efforts.

He would turn 32 in April 2030, but many teams thought if Zuniga could stay healthy, he could still be a top-level ace. Haiti took the chance with a six-year, $192 million contract. The Herons were coming off three straight first round playoff exits. They had been competitive for the entire 21^st Century, but had a title drought back to the 2015 win.

While Zuniga was now in the Caribbean, he continued to represent Mexico regularly in the World Baseball Championship. From 2022-34, he tossed 220.2 innings with a 2.85 ERA, 16-9 record, 289 strikeouts, and 5.8 WAR. Mexico’s deepest run with Zuniga was a third place finish in 2028, where he had a 1.99 ERA over 31.2 innings with 40 Ks and 1.2 WAR.

Everything finally came together for Zuniga, who would be healthy for his first four years with Haiti. Each season had 9+ WAR and he was the leader in FIP- all four years. Zuniga was second in 2030’s Pitcher of the Year voting as Haiti won the division at 102-60. The Herons dethroned the two-time defending Caribbean champ Honduras in the second round, then knocked off Curacao to claim the pennant.

Haiti fell 4-2 in the CABA Championship to Tijuana. Zuniga had an excellent postseason with a 1.91 ERA over five starts, 37.2 innings, 3-1 record, 35 Ks, and 1.3 WAR. He was even better in the Baseball Grand Championship with a 1.55 ERA in 40.2 innings, 4-1 record, 55 Ks, and 1.3 WAR. Despite his efforts, the Herons struggled to 8-13 in the BGC.

The Herons took the top seed in 2031 at 104-58 and Zuniga finally won Pitcher of the Year. He won his lone ERA title (1.74) and led with career bests for wins (23-5), complete games (17), shutouts (7), FIP- (46), and WAR (11.2). Haiti repeated with a 4-3 CLCS win over Honduras, then claimed the CABA Championship 4-2 over Ecatepec.

Zuniga was again excellent in the playoffs with a 2.13 ERA in five starts, 4-0 record, 42.1 innings, 42 strikeouts, and 1.99 WAR. It is the second-best WAR ever by a CABA pitcher in a postseason run. Zuniga continued his excellence into the BGC with a 2.14 ERA in five starts, 4-1 record, 46.1 innings, 56 strikeouts, and 1.8 WAR. Haiti did better at 12-9, one of five teams tied for the seventh-most wins.

In 2032, Zuniga was third in POTY voting although his ERA had shot up to 3.51. His FIP- (55) and WAR (9.4) suggested he had a lot of bad luck. That continued with two playoff losses despite a 2.04 ERA. Haiti won their division at 97-65, but lost in the second round to Jamaica. For 2033, Zuniga won his second POTY and second Gold Glove, leading the way with 9.1 WAR. The Herons were a wild card at 91-71.

In the playoffs, he had a 3.86 ERA in 21 innings. Haiti got back to the CLCS, but lost 4-3 to Honduras. For his playoff career with the Herons, Zuniga had a 2.35 ERA over 118.2 innings with a 8-4 record, 119 strikeouts, 177 ERA+, 57 FIP- and 4.5 WAR. Counting the Mexicali run, Zuniga had a 2.50 playoff ERA in 140.1 innings with 144 Ks and 5.0 WAR. He ranks 8^th in WAR among CABA playoff pitchers and was certainly a key reason Haiti repeated as Caribbean champs and continued their playoff streak.

Little did anyone know that Zuniga’s final start against Honduras in the CLCS was the end of his professional career. He had seemingly put the injury woes behind him with four stellar healthy seasons for Haiti. Zuniga participated in the World Baseball Championship as usual in January 2034 for Mexico, but it was clear something was off as he had a 4.15 ERA in 26 innings.

Zuniga was diagnosed with a reoccurrence of the arthritic elbow with an expected 4-5 month recovery time. However, this meant he was expected to return by the summer. Sadly in June, a setback in recovery led to doctors telling Zuniga that he had to retire at age 36. In four seasons with Haiti, Zuniga had a 74-27 record, 2.58 ERA, 975.1 innings, 1184 strikeouts, 143 walks, 41 complete games, 10 shutouts, 161 ERA+, 53 FIP-, and 39.1 WAR.

Overall, Zuniga had a 162-92 record, 53 saves, 2.46 ERA, 2505 innings, 2998 strikeouts, 407 walks, 212/323 quality starts, 85 complete games, 24 shutouts, 157 ERA+, 55 FIP-, and 93.6 WAR. The low inning count keeps him off the accumulation leaderboards generally, but Zuniga is still 17^th in pitching WAR despite that. He ranks 93^rd in strikeouts and 67^th in shutouts.

For CABA pitchers with 1000+ innings, Zuniga is 37^th in ERA, 54^th in WHIP (0.98), and 50^th in K/9 (10.77). His .587 opponent’s OPS is 46^th and his slugging (.327) is also 46^th, while his OBP is 61^st (.260). Zuniga also rates very highly among Hall of Fame starters and retired locks for efficiency. His 157 ERA+ ranks 16^th and FIP- is 20^th among the game’s great aces.

Sadly, injuries kept Zuniga from what might have been a top ten or top five level career. He was remarkably impressive when healthy and played a huge role in Haiti’s repeat Caribbean titles. Zuniga also was clutch in the big games, shown in the playoffs, WBC, and BGC. Even with lower innings than most HOF aces, Zuniga was an obvious inductee. He received 98.5% and stood alone in 2039 for the Central American Baseball Association.

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Two were added into East Asia Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2039 as first ballot nods. 3B Iemitsu Naiya led the way at 89.4%, joined by SP Se-Hak Lim at 80.0%. CL Tadami Nakano was the only other player with more than half of the vote, debuting at 50.9%. The best returner was SP Kwang-Il Chang with 47.6% for his fourth attempt.



The only player dropped after ten failed ballots was Kenji Yoshimura, who had a 14-year career with Kawasaki. He debuted at 38.4%, but was down to 5.8% by the end. Yoshimura was hurt by major injuries limiting his career, as his rate stats certainly fit the HOF marks. He had a 142-74 record, 2.31 ERA, 1904.1 innings, 1943 strikeouts, 144 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 43.1 WAR.

Among EAB pitchers with 1000+ innings, Yoshimura’s ERA is 26^th. His .577 opponent’s OPS is 40^th, his 0.97 WHIP is 65^th, 6.88 H/9 is 47^th. Unfortunately, he didn’t have nearly enough innings and his strikeout and WAR totals were underwhelming relative to his peers. Yoshimura had an ERA title and was twice the runner-up for Pitcher of the Year. Had fate been kinder, he might have made it, but instead he had to settle for the Hall of Pretty Good.



Iemitsu Naiya – Third Base – Nagoya Nightowls – 89.4% First Ballot

Iemitsu Naiya was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Tamana, Japan; a city of 63,000 in the Kumamoto Prefecture. Naiya was a rock solid contact hitter with reliable power, posting 35 home runs and 27 doubles per his 162 game average. He wasn’t one to put up gaudy league-leading numbers, but he was very steady and consistent.

Naiya was below average at drawing walks and middling for avoiding strikeouts. He was stronger facing left-handed pitching (.910 OPS, 174 wRC+) but was plenty reliable facing righties (.857 OPS, 159 wRC+). On the basepaths, he was painfully slow and sluggish. Naiya was a career third baseman and graded as a bit below average defensively, but he was perfectly serviceable.

His reliable play and ironman durability went a long way. Naiya never missed any time to an injury and started 140+ games each year from 2019-32. His years with fewer games were performance-based, not injury-based. Naiya was a team captain known for excellent leadership skills and fierce loyalty to his comrades. He became very popular for his consistency and reliability.

Naiya attended Waseda University in Tokyo and absolutely thrived, earning the #1 overall pick by Nagoya in the 2016 EAB Draft. He wasn’t an immediate success though, struggling to -0.4 WAR in his first two seasons with 78 games and 59 starts. Naiya earned the full-time job in 2019 and was a solid starter for the next 15 seasons. After the 2019 campaign, the Nightowls gave Naiya a five-year, $30,040,000 extension.

In 2021, he won his first Silver Slugger and had his first of eight seasons worth 7+ WAR. All of his full-time seasons starting brought in 4.7 WAR or better. His only time as a league-leader came with 114 RBI in 2022. Naiya won his second Slugger in 2024 and during that season, he committed to a massive seven-year, $224,700,000 extension with Nagoya. Naiya was determined to bring Nagoya up from the ashes and they were getting close.

The Nightowls had been abysmal from 2014-21, averaging only 64 wins per season. With Naiya, they had four straight 90+ win seasons from 2022-25, but they narrowly missed the playoffs each year. Nagoya finally broke through and ended a 13-year playoff drought in 2026. They lost a tiebreaker game for the Central Division to Kobe, but 98-65 earned them a wild card. The Nightowls fell 2-1 to Sapporo in the first round. Naiya was second in MVP voting, his first time as a finalist. 2026 had his career highs for homers (45), RBI (127) and OPS (.979) along with 9.1 WAR.

Naiya dipped a bit in 2027 and Nagoya missed the playoffs at 89-73. In 2028, he won his third Silver Slugger with an 8.8 WAR effort. The Nightowls took the division at 99-63, besting the Blaze by one game and Kyoto by three. Nagoya went on a playoff tear, including a shocking sweep of defending champ Niigata in the Japan League Championship Series. The Nightowls were defeated 4-2 in the East Asian Championship by Goyang.

In 17 playoff starts, Naiya earned JLCS MVP and overall was a stud with 25 hits, 12 runs, 4 doubles, 5 homers, 14 RBI, 1.122 OPS, 243 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR. Nagoya would finish 8-11 in the Baseball Grand Championship with Naiya posting a middling 114 wRC+ and 0.4 WAR. He had a lousy .152 average, but 8 of his 10 hits were at least homers.

It was his first look at the big stage, although he did also play some for Japan in the World Baseball Championship. Naiya was a starter from 2024-28, then had a backup role through 2033 with his leadership his main role. In 78 games, Naiya had 46 hits, 24 runs, 8 doubles, 14 homers, 32 RBI, .214/.278/.447 slash, .725 OPS, and 1.0 WAR.

Nagoya was a 94-68 wild card with a one-and-done in 2029. Then in 2030, the Nightowls took the JL’s top seed at 106-56. Naiya won his fourth Silver Slugger and was again second in MVP voting, posting 8.8 WAR, 40 homers, .965 OPS, and 198 wRC+. He was surprisingly lackluster in the playoffs with a .641 OPS and 83 wRC+. However, Nagoya knocked off Niigata 4-3 in the JLCS, then got revenge over Goyang 4-1 to claim the EAB title. The Nightowls were last in the BGC at 7-14 with Naiya having a .633 OPS.

Naiya had finally reached his ultimate goal with Nagoya; winning the EAB title. He surprised many though by declining his contract option that winter, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 36. For the Nightowls, Naiya played 1969 games with 2168 hits, 1025 runs, 341 doubles, 414 home runs, 1278 RBI, .302/.338/.529 slash, 163 wRC+, and 83.2 WAR. His #25 uniform would be later retired and Naiya remains popular for his role in Nagoya’s resurgence.

Kitakyushu signed Naiya to a three-year, $113 million deal. He maintained the excellent production of recent years with Silver Sluggers in 2031-32 and a third place in 2032’s MVP voting. Naiya had 9.2 WAR in 2032, his career high at age 37. The Kodiaks missed the playoffs in 2031 at 86-76 and were a division champ in 2032 at 95-67, although they went one-and-done.

Age finally caught up in 2033 and Naiya was reduced to only 108 games and 55 starts with .794 OPS, 145 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. Overall with Kitakyushu, he had 419 games, 443 hits, 229 runs, 56 doubles, 100 home runs, 254 RBI, .310/.353/.568 slash, 178 wRC+, and 20.1 WAR. Naiya felt he still had something to offer, but big league clubs felt he was washed. He settled for the European Second League in 2034 with Skopje, playing 111 games with a .705 OPS, 111 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. Naiya retired that winter shortly after his 40^th birthday.

In EAB, Naiya finished with 2388 games, 2611 hits, 1254 runs, 397 doubles, 34 triples, 514 home runs, 1532 RBI, 491 walks, 1560 strikeouts, 4618 total bases, .303/.341/.536 slash, 165 wRC+, and 103.3 WAR. Naiya ranks 80^th in hits, 77^th in total bases, 77^th in homers, 50^th in RBI, and 27^th in WAR among position players. The high WAR really boosted his Hall of Fame case with modern voters despite the lack of black ink or huge accumulations.

Naiya is notably 2^nd in WAR specifically at third base, behind only Hyun-Ook Jo’s 111.68. There were other 3Bs with sexier numbers, but Naiya certainly deserves a mention with the best-of-the-best at the spot for East Asia Baseball. His role in Nagoya’s two Japanese titles and one EAB title certainly solidified the case with most doubters. At 89.4%, Naiya was a first ballot addition into the HOF for 2039.



Se-Hak “Socks” Lim – Starting Pitcher – Busan Blue Jays – 80.0% First Ballot

Se-Hak Lim was a 6’6’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Busan, South Korea. Nicknamed “Socks,” Lim had consistently good-to-great stuff and movement along with above average control. His velocity peaked in the 95-97 mph range with an arsenal of forkball, changeup, cutter, and slider. Lim’s forkball was considered his best option and he was quite skilled at coaxing easy outs.

Lim’s stamina was above average relative to other EAB aces. While he avoided the usual big injuries that ruin pitchers, Lim had bad luck with some other injuries that limited him in a few seasons. He had an excellent pickoff move and was elite at holding runners, although his defense otherwise was just average. Lim was one of the more cerebral pitchers in the clubhouse, but he wasn’t one to look at for leadership.

After a dominant collegiate run in Seoul for Konkuk University, many had Lim as the top prospect for the 2019 EAB Draft. Bucheon grabbed him with the #1 pick and used him in a split starter/relief role as a rookie with mixed results. Lim was a regular starter after that, although he hadn’t settled into ace production until his third season.

Lim helped Bucheon turn things around after 100+ loss seasons from 2019-21. They won their division in 2023 at 92-70, but lost in the first round. The Bolts fell to 75-87 in 2024 despite Lim placing third in Pitcher of the Year voting. Bucheon rebounded with another North Division title in 2025 at 92-70. The Bolts got to the Korea League Championship Series, but were denied 4-2 by Daegu. In the playoff run, Lim was excellent with a 0.67 ERA in 26.2 innings with 27 strikeouts and 1.1 WAR.

However, that marked the end of his time with Bucheon. The Bolts were one of the poorer franchises and Lim wanted to cash in big. He left for free agency after the 2025 season heading towards age 28. With Bucheon, Lim had a 77-72 record, 3.19 ERA, 1346.2 innings, 1291 strikeouts, 119 ERA+, 81 FIP-, and 28.6 WAR. After he departed, the Bolts fell back to the bottom-tier, which left some Bucheon fans bitter towards Lim.

Lim got the big payday and returned to his home city Busan at $185 million over seven years. The Blue Jays had won the KL title in 2023-24 and were on a six-year playoff streak. Lim helped them continue what was ultimately a 17-year postseason streak, the longest in EAB history. He had also emerged as a regular in the World Baseball Championship for South Korea. From 2022-30, Lim had a 2.42 ERA over 126.1 innings, 9-1 record, 168 strikeouts, and 3.4 WAR.

In his Busan debut, Lim won the ERA title at 1.93 and was second in Pitcher of the Year voting despite missing part of the spring to a sprained ankle. The Blue Jays had an all-time great regular season at 119-43, but were shocked 3-1 by Gwangju in the divisional series. Lim struggled with six runs allowed over his six playoff innings. His playoff stats would be more average in the next two seasons, which saw division titles at 97-65 and 100-62. Busan lost in the 2027 divisional series, then fell in the 2028 KLCS to Goyang despite being the top seed.

Lim’s production was great though, taking second in 2027’s POTY voting. He had league bests in quality starts (24), complete games (24), and shutouts (5) along with his career bests for Ks (309) and WAR (9.3). In 2029, Lim won his second ERA title with a career-best 1.71, but he just barely had the innings to qualify. Bone chips in his elbow knocked him out most of the summer.

He was back by the playoffs and stepped up with a 2.02 ERA over 35.2 innings, 4-1 record, 34 strikeouts, and 1.1 WAR in the 2029 playoff run. Busan had the top seed at 105-57 and beat Suwon to win the Korea League crown 4-2. However, the Blue Jays were defeated 4-1 by Niigata in the East Asian Championship. Busan finished 7-14 in the Baseball Grand Championship with Lim pitching great with a 1.97 ERA over 45.2 innings with 60 Ks and 2.0 WAR.

In spring training 2030, Lim suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his shoulder. He suffered a setback in May and the injury kept him out the entire year. His control fell off significantly after this injury. Lim returned and was still a solid starter in 2031 and a decent one in 2032. Busan had 101 and 106 wins in 2030-31, but lost both years in the divisional round.

The Blue Jays were 103-59 in 2032 and knocked off Suwon in the KLCS 4-1. Busan dropped Chiba 4-1 to give Lim an EAB ring. He made two starts in the playoff run, allowing three runs in 12 innings with 15 strikeouts. In the BGC, he saw four relief innings with one run allowed as Busan finished 10-11. Overall, Lim’s playoff stats with the Blue Jays saw a 3.38 ERA in 82.2 innings, 6-4 record, 83 strikeouts, 111 ERA+, 69 FIP- and 2.4 WAR.

The 2032 title marked the end of the Busan contract and ultimately his time playing in Korea. With his hometown, Lim had a 104-41 record, 2.51 ERA, 1286 innings, 1334 strikeouts, 267 walks, 149 ERA+, 76 FIP-, and 32.7 WAR. He wasn’t quite a franchise icon, but he was an important part of the continued playoff streak with two KL pennants and one EAB title.

Lim opened up an international search with most franchises thinking the 35-year old lefty was on the downswing. He ended up in the European Baseball Federation with Seville in 2033 on a one-year, $5,700,000 deal. An elbow strain among other injuries limited him, but Lim was passable with a 3.20 ERA in 151.2 innings, 102 Ks, and 11-8 record. However, his 125 FIP- and zero WAR suggested he was worse than the ERA would suggest.

He stayed in Europe with Cluj-Napoca in 2034, but they only used him for 17.1 innings despite being healthy. Lim went to Berlin in 2035 and tossed 113.1 innings with a 3.34 ERA, 85 strikeouts, and 1.9 WAR. The Barons run was good enough to earn some MLB attention and Lim signed with Montreal in 2036. He was long relief mostly with a 4.79 ERA in 71.1 innings with 0.1 WAR.

Lim was back in Europe for 2037 with Turin, but he only saw 19 innings with the Tanks. He still wanted to pitch and returned to South Korea for Gwangju in 2038. However, Lim remained on the reserve roster all year and never pitched for the Grays. He retired that winter at age 40. For his combined pro career, Lim had a 199-134 record, 2.97 ERA, 3005.1 innings, 2905 strikeouts, 758 walks, 127 ERA+, 82 FIP-, and 63.4 WAR.

In East Asia Baseball, Lim had a 181-113 record, 2.85 ERA, 2632.2 innings, 2625 strikeouts, 630 walks, 129 complete games, 25 shutouts, 132 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 61.3 WAR. He didn’t have the tenure to rank in the top 100 for WAR or any counting stats apart from being 56^th in complete games and 64^th in shutouts. The rate stats like ERA+ and FIP- were certainly in the Hall of Fame range, but Lim wasn’t a top 100 guy on those lists either.

Still, having two ERA titles (even with lower innings those years) and being a multi-time POTY finalist helped quite a bit. Lim also had solid playoff stats during a historic run for Busan, which boosted his profile considerably. Even without the big final totals, voters gave Lim the first ballot honor with 80.0% as part of a two-man 2039 class in EAB.

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Two made it into Beisbol Sudamerica’s Hall of Fame in 2039 with 90% of the vote. SP Agostino Cortez was a nearly unanimous nod at 99.2% with DH Santino Garza getting a strong 90.5%. C Cruz Pereira got 60.2% on his second ballot, just missing the 66% requirement. LF R.J. Zavaleta was the only other player above 50%, receiving 52.7% in his fourth attempt.



Removed from the ballot after ten failed attempts was CL Luciano Lozano, who was as high as 59.2% in his second ballot before ending at only 16.7%. In 14 years, Lozano had 361 saves and 422 shutdowns, 76-96 record, 2.66 ERA, 1002 innings, 1239 strikeouts, 140 ERA+, 68 FIP-, and 29.5 WAR. Lozano ranks 19^th in saves, 13^th in games, but his dominance was lower than the other HOF closers for BSA. He also only won Reliever of the Year once and struggled in his limited playoff innings, thus Lozano ended up as a Hall of Pretty Good guy.



Agostino Cortez – Starting Pitcher – Concepcion Chiefs – 99.2% First Ballot

Agostino Cortez was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Arica, Chile; the country’s northernmost city with around 222,000 people. Cortez was known for having outstanding movement on his pitches along with very strong stuff. The downside was average-at-best control, but the quality of the arsenal usually covered for that.

Cortez’s fastball peaked in the 98-100 mph range, although his slider and forkball were generally his most dangerous pitches. He also had a curveball and changeup in the arsenal and had an extreme groundball tendency. Cortez’s stamina was good and he lasted 18 seasons despite having a couple major injuries along the way.

He graded as an above average defensive pitcher and was strong at holding runners. Cortez was considered loyal and a team-player, but he was a bit dumb and outspoken. He generally meant well, but his lack of filter occasionally alienated him in the clubhouse. Cortez was a popular pitcher though in Chile as he helped Concepcion continue its success in the 2010s.

The Chiefs picked Cortez 33^rd overall in the 2014 BSA Draft and kept him in the developmental system all of 2015. Concepcion was the 2012 Southern Cone League champ and was regularly in the playoff hunt in the 2010s. Cortez had part-time innings in 2016 and 2017 with mixed results.

He helped out in the playoffs though as Concepcion won the pennant in 2017 as a 92-70 wild card. The Chiefs beat Recife 4-3 in the LCS, but lost Copa Sudamerica in seven to Ciudad Guayana. Cortez had only 2.1 innings in the Baseball Grand Championship, but they were scoreless. The Chiefs, Juarez, and Bamako tied for the top record at 12-7. Concepcion had bested the Bullfrogs, but lost to the Jesters to finish second place after tiebreakers.

Cortez became a full-time starter in 2018 and won Pitcher of the Year with a league and career-best 1.88 ERA. He also was the WARlord at 8.2. Concepcion won the South Central Division at 98-64 and knocked off Asuncion 4-2 to repeat as Southern Cone champs. The Chiefs then downed Maturin 4-2 to claim Copa Sudamerica.

It was a masterful postseason for Cortez, who was 5-0 in six appearances with a 1.89 ERA, 38 innings, 48 strikeouts, and 1.3 WAR. He’s one of only seven BSA pitchers to record 5+ wins in a playoff run. Cortez had a solid showing in the BGC with a 2.56 ERA over 31.2 innings with 39 Ks, 3-1 record, and 0.8 WAR. The Chiefs stood alone in second at 12-7, behind only 14-5 Jeddah for the top spot.

The next three seasons, Cortez was second in Pitcher of the Year voting each time. He won his second ERA title in 2021 at 2.48 and led that year with a career-high 9.1 WAR. Cortez posted his highest strikeout total of 316 in 2019. He would be good for 6+ WAR in each of his full-time starting seasons for Concepcion. The Chiefs remained competitive, but couldn’t immediately follow up on the 2018 title. They had a first round exit in 2019, second round losses in 2020 and 2022, and missed the playoffs in 2021.

In August 2022, Cortez signed a five-year, $39,500,000 extension to stay with Concepcion at a pretty low price. He was happy staying in Chile and regularly pitched for his country in the World Baseball Championship. From 2017-32, Cortez had a 2.90 ERA in 220 innings, 10-12 record, 266 strikeouts, and 4.7 WAR.

Concepcion won the 2023 pennant as a 96-66 wild card, but lost Copa Sudamerica to Caracas. Catastrophe struck Cortez just before the playoffs though with a damaged elbow ligament in late September. This ultimately kept him out more than a calendar year, missing the entire 2024 season. It also put his future in doubt full stop.

Cortez made a remarkable return by winning 2025 Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (19-9), ERA (2.25), complete games (15), and FIP- (65). He had a solid showing in 2026 as well, although he wasn’t an awards finalist. Concepcion had a divisional series exit in 2025, then fell to 74-88 in 2026 for their first losing campaign since 2010.

The Chiefs weren’t entirely sure what the competitive window looked like moving forward and Cortez’s contract was coming due. Many were surprised as they did a sign-and-trade with him. On December 4, 2026; Concepcion gave Cortez a five-year, $95 million extension. The next day, he was traded to Sao Paulo for two pitching prospects; neither of which amounted to anything.

For Concepcion, Cortez finished with a 148-88 record, 2.67 ERA, 2170.2 innings, 2304 strikeouts, 462 walks, 138 ERA+, 68 FIP-, and 64.6 WAR. In the playoffs, he had a 6-1 record, 2.32 ERA, 73.2 innings, 85 strikeouts, 157 ERA+, 83 FIP-, and 1.7 WAR. For his role in their run of success, the Chiefs later retired his #41 uniform.

He was now with the Padres, who were amidst their own run of contention and trying to get over the hump. Sao Paulo won the Southern Cone League in 2024, but had LCS losses the next two years and a second round exit in 2027. Cortez didn’t reach his Chiefs production, but he was a very solid starter from 2027-29 for the Padres. Cortez was mixed in the playoffs with a 3.64 ERA over 47 innings for Sao Paulo.

The Padres got back to the LCS in 2028 and 2029, but fell to Buenos Aires in the former and Belo Horizonte in the latter. Their six-year playoff streak ended in 2030 with an 84-78 season. Injuries started to pop up for Cortez with elbow inflammation and a strained abdominal limiting him to 85 innings in 2030. He stayed mostly healthy the next two years with a solid 2.73 ERA in 2031. Sao Paulo was a division champ again with a first round exit in 2031.

They were happy enough with Cortez ‘s production to give him a three-year, $33,300,000 extension that winter. His ERA did rise to 4.24 in 2032 over 216.2 innings. In 2032, they took the top seed at 100-62 and won the pennant against Santiago, but were defeated by Caracas in Copa Sudamerica. However, Cortez missed the entire postseason run with a ruptured UCL on September 15.

Cortez didn’t want that to be the end of his career and rehabbed back, making his return on September 8, 2033. Sadly, he suffered a ruptured disc in his first inning back with another eight months of rehab expected. Cortez decided to retire that winter at age 40. For Sao Paulo, he finished with an 86-37 record, 2.94 ERA, 1302.2 innings, 1157 strikeouts, 295 walks, 66 complete games, 10 shutouts, 122 ERA+, 84 FIP-, and 27.7 WAR.

In total, Cortez had a 234-125 record, 2.77 ERA, 3473.1 innings, 3461 strikeouts, 757 walks, 291/432 quality starts, 144 complete games, 31 shutouts, 131 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 92.2 WAR. Cortez ranks 29^th in wins, 50^th in innings, 60^th in complete games, 56^th in shutouts, 58^th in strikeouts, and 30^th in pitching WAR.

While Cortez won’t make the top 10 lists for Beisbol Sudamerica’s greatest pitchers, his Hall of Fame case was an absolute slam dunk. He had two Pitcher of the Year awards, three ERA titles, multiple pennants between Concepcion and Sao Paulo, 200+ wins, and 3000+ Ks. Cortez was a near unanimous selection at 99.2% to headline BSA’s 2039 ballot.



Santino Garza – Designated Hitter – Valencia Velocity – 90.5% First Ballot

Santino Garza was a 6’4’’, 205 pound right-handed slugger from Guarenas, Venezuela; a city with about 200,000 people just 39 miles from Caracas. Garza was an impressive slugger with 47 home runs, 38 doubles, 3 triples, and 127 RBI per his 162 game average. He was especially impressive facing left-handed pitching with a career 1.051 OPS and 171 wRC+. Facing righties, Garza had a respectable 135 wRC+ and .903 OPS.

Garza graded as a good contact hitter and his knack for walks and avoiding strikeouts were around average for the league. His baserunning ability was decent, but his speed was abysmal. That sluggishness made Garza a career designated hitter. He had only 146 career starts defensively playing left field and was truly putrid. Garza’s durability was generally strong over a 16-year career. He wasn’t a malcontent, but Garza was quite outspoken and never shy to share his opinion.

Even before beginning his college career, Garza’s batting potential jumped out to many scouts. In the 2015 BSA Draft, he was the fifth overall pick by Barquisimeto. Garza declined signing with the Black Cats and began his collegiate career. Three years later in the 2018 draft, Garza was the #6 pick to Valencia. He joined the Velocity and played 89 games with 21 starts as a rookie with promising results. Garza was a full-timer for the next 11 seasons for Valencia.

By his third season, Garza was regularly good for 40+ homers and generally 100+ RBI. Valencia ended an eight-year playoff drought as the final wild card in 2021 at 90-72. They went on a shocking playoff run, edging top seed Caracas 3-2 in the divisional series, followed by a 4-2 win over Ciudad Guayana in the Bolivar League Championship Series. Both the Colts and Giants had finished well ahead of the Velocity in the Venezuela Division during the regular season.

Valencia capped it off with a 4-1 win over Fortaleza in Copa Sudamerica. Garza was okay in the playoffs with 20 hits, 14 runs, 9 doubles, 1 homer, 13 RBI, .830 OPS, and 106 wRC+ in 19 games. However, he was excellent in the Baseball Grand Championship in 19 games with 24 hits, 12 homers, 16 runs, 5 doubles, 1.287 OPS, 244 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR. Despite his efforts, the Velocity finished 7-12 in the event.

In 2022, Valencia was again a wild card, but this time 114-win Caracas swept them in the divisional series. The Velocity missed the cut in 2023, then won a tiebreaker game over the Colts to claim the division at 90-73. It was a quick first round exit though for Valencia. Garza won his first Silver Sluggers in 2023 and 2024.

2024 was Garza’s lone MVP win, as he led the league with career highs for hits (235), doubles (49), homers (61), RBI (161), total bases (479), slugging (.731), and WAR (9.7). He also had his bests for runs (123), average (.359), OBP (.395), OPS (1.126), and wRC+ (187). Garza fell one point short of a Triple Crown season. The RBI rank as the 6^th-best single-season in BSA history and the total bases rank 4^th. The MVP win earned Garza an eight-year, $105,400,000 extension in the offseason.

Valencia spent the next four seasons right around the .500 mark. They did get a wild card in 2027 at 85-77, but were quickly ousted. Garza remained solid, but couldn’t replicate the MVP effort. He won additional Silver Sluggers in 2027 and 2028. The latter was his only other year as a league leader, posting the most homers (58) and RBI (130).

The Velocity officially bottomed out with 69 and 71 wins in Garza’s final two seasons there. He did notably hit for the cycle in 2029 facing Barquisimeto. Frustrated by the team’s lack of contention, Garza used his contract opt-out following the 2030 campaign. He was a free agent for the first time heading into his age 35 season.

With Valencia, Garza had 1756 games, 2075 hits, 1084 runs, 367 doubles, 515 home runs, 1337 RBI, .317/.362/.618 slash, 151 wRC+, and 61.3 WAR. For his service, his #12 uniform would eventually be retired. Garza picked up and moved to Colombia on a four-year, $52,200,000 deal with Medellin. The Mutiny had been stuck around .500 recently and hoped Garza could get them over the hump.

He did play one more year with Venezuela in the World Baseball Championship, representing his country from 2022-31. In 93 games, Garza had 72 hits, 48 runs, 16 doubles, 25 home runs, 56 RBI, .225/.303/.516 slash, and 2.7 WAR. Garza dealt with a sprained knee early in his Medellin debut and put up career lows to that point. He fared better in the next two seasons, but was still well below his previous levels with Valencia.

The Mutiny remained in the middle-tier before falling to 68-94 in 2033. Garza didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the fourth year of his deal, finishing the Medellin run with 419 games, 391 hits, 204 runs, 70 doubles, 87 home runs, 235 RBI, .271/.314/.511 slash, 114 wRC+, and 5.4 WAR. While there, Garza was able to reach 600 career home runs and 1500 RBI. He wanted to still play in 2034, but could only find work in European Tier Three with Lille. Garza retired that winter at age 38.

In Beisbol Sudamerica, Garza had 2175 games, 2466 hits, 1288 runs, 437 doubles, 39 triples, 602 home runs, 1572 RBI, 532 walks, 1531 strikeouts, 4787 total bases, .308/.353/.598 slash, 144 wRC+, and 66.8 WAR. Garza ranks 80^th in runs, 57^th in doubles, 25^th in homers, 29^th in RBI, and 60^th in total bases. He misses the top 100 for WAR with the DH penalty playing a big role. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Garza is 47^th in slugging and his .912 OPS is 72^nd.

A smattering of Hall of Fame voters was critical of the low WAR and skeptical towards a career DH. The vast majority though saw 600+ homers as a magic number; only Cy Cavazos (639) had hit 600+ in BSA and fell off the ballot. Garza also had an MVP and near-Triple Crown season along with a Cup win for Valencia. He made the cut firmly at 90.5% for induction as part of BSA’s two-man class in 2039.

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The European Baseball Federation had a hefty five player Hall of Fame class for 2039, the biggest since adding five back in 2031. SP Grigol Dzneladze was the headliner at a near unanimous 99.4%. 1B Vince Corapi and 2B Daniel Dumoulin were both first ballot picks as well at 84.8% and 83.2% respectively. The remaining two selections were returners who just barely crossed the 66% requirement. SS Nicolo Giotto got to 69.8% in his eighth try and OF Zeljko Siladjdzic made it at 67.7% for his fourth go.



3B Albert de Jong missed by the thinnest possible margin on his third ballot, one vote short at 65.9%. SP Jack McConnell was also a very close miss at 64.9% in his second go. Three other returners were above 50% with SP Isak Alsaker at 58.5% for his fourth try, LF Micha van Vugt with 52.15 in his second go, and RF Ostoja Milic with 51.5% on his fourth ballot. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots in 2039.



Grigol Dzneladze – Starting Pitcher – Zurich Mountaineers – 99.4% First Ballot

Grigol Dzneladze was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Dzneladze was the first Georgian entered into EBF’s Hall of Fame, although there had been previous inductees in both EPB and ABF. His pinpoint control really set him apart, graded as a 9/10 or 10/10 by most scouts. Dzneladze also had impressive stuff, although his movement was merely above average.

Dzneladze boasted a strong 99-101 mph fastball as part of a four pitch arsenal along with a sinker, curveball, and circle change. His splits were notably stronger facing right-handed bats (2.69 ERA, 69 FIP-) compared to against lefties (3.29 ERA, 81 FIP-). Although he had a good stamina grade, Dzneladze had an average amount of complete games relative to the other great aces. You would’ve expected more innings considering his skill and durability, as he avoided significant injuries for his 17-year career. While he didn’t give up a ton of baserunners, Dzneladze did struggle with holding runners and had weaker defense.

Georgia had moved into EBF’s sphere of influence with the great 2000 exodus of teams from Eurasian Professional Baseball. However, the few prospects from the small country still found scattered interested between EBF, EPB, and ABF. Dzneladze’s success as a teenager in the capital did catch the eye of a scout from Zurich. In June 2011, they signed him to a developmental deal in Switzerland.

Dzneladze spent the better part of six years in their academy, officially debuting with one regular season relief appearance in 2016 at age 21. He made three appearances in the playoffs with two runs allowed over 3.1 innings. Dzneladze earned a ring as Zurich defeated Amsterdam for the European Championship. He had two starts and one relief appearance in the Baseball Grand Championship, but struggled to a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings. The Mountaineers finished 12-7, one game short of the top spot and officially fourth after tiebreakers.

He properly debuted as a full-timer in 2017 and held that role with the Mountaineers for 17 years. Dzneladze was second in 2017’s Rookie of the Year voting, but wasn’t a proper ace until 2019. That year, he was second in Pitcher of the Year voting and led the Southern Conference with 0.88 WHIP. It was Dzneladze’s first of five straight seasons with 6.5+ WAR and it was his career best ERA at 2.15. Zurich had continued a playoff streak since the 2016 title, but they had first round exits as a wild card in 2017-18 with Dzneladze not making an appearance.

Dzneladze was back in the playoffs in 2019 as the Mountaineers finished 105-58. They and Palermo had the conference’s best records, but the Priests won a tiebreaker game to take the division title. Zurich rolled as a wild card though, getting revenge over Palermo in the second round. The Mountaineers defeated Belgrade 4-2 to win the conference pennant, but lost in six to Hamburg for the EBF title. Dzneladze had a mixed run in the playoffs with a 3.99 ERA over 29.1 innings with 24 strikeouts. He was impressive though in the BGC with a 1.97 ERA in 32 innings with 43 Ks and 1.5 WAR. Zurich finished 11-8 in fifth place.

Zurich was a division champ in 2020 at 103-59, but fell 4-1 to Munich in the Southern Conference Championship. Dzneladze had his career bests to that point in WAR (7.2), strikeouts (279), and wins (22-8). The Mountaineers in 2021 were one-and done as a wild card. They were pleased with Dzneladze’s results though and gave him a seven-year, $87,140,000 extension that winter.

In 2022, Dzneladze was again second in Pitcher of the Year voting and the leader in WHIP. Zurich finished 90-72, but this ended their six-year playoff streak as they fell two wins shy in the wild card race. The Mountaineers remained competitive with a 93-69 record in 2023, followed by a division crown in 2024 at 106-56. Both seasons they were ousted in the second round.

Dzneladze was second in 2025’s POTY voting, his third time as a finalist. At 99-63, Zurich was one game short of Munich for a division title. They got hot again as a wild card, eventually edging the Mavericks 4-3 in the conference final. However, the Mountaineers were mauled with a sweep loss to Rotterdam for the European Championship. Dzneladze had a strong postseason with a 2.20 ERA over 41 innings, although he was less impressive in the BGC with a 4.40 ERA in 28.2 innings. Zurich tied for ninth with a 10-9 record.

Zurich won 80+ in each of the next five seasons, but was otherwise forgettable. They only made the playoffs in 2027 and 2029, failing to make it to the conference finals both years. Dzneladze kept on rolling and signed a new four-year, $69,600,000 extension after the 2027 season. In 2028, Dzneladze was second again in POTY voting. He ultimately never won the top honor despite his efforts. In 2029, the Mountaineers experimented with him in an opener role with a career-low 139.1 innings despite 55 starts and 65 games.

Dzneladze was back to the regular rotation after that and posted his career bests for WAR (7.8), WHIP (0.81), strikeouts (281), and FIP- (54) in 2030. His ERA would be above three for the remaining seasons as he had trouble allowing home runs, although he still provided reliable innings. Zurich voided the team-option year of his deal after the 2031 season, but gave Dzneladze a new two-year, $38 million extension.

2031 had been his most impressive postseason by WAR (1.6) with a 1.65 ERA over 32.2 innings with 45 strikeouts. As a 97-65 wild card, Zurich fell 4-3 to Munich in the conference final. The Mountaineers had one last big run in them with a division title at 105-57. Top seed Ljubljana at 108-54 was upset in round two by Barcelona, who Zurich outlasted 4-3 to win the pennant. The Mountaineers then won a seven-game classic over Cologne for the franchise’s fourth EBF title.

Dzneladze had a 4-0 record over seven playoff appearances with a 3.26 ERA over 38.2 innings, 28 strikeouts, and 1.0 WAR. In the Baseball Grand Championship, he had a 2.14 ERA over 33.2 innings with 39 Ks. Zurich finished 14-7 along with Omaha, but the tiebreaker put them in fourth behind the Hawks.

On the whole, Dzneladze had rock solid playoff numbers in his career. In 205 innings, he had a 2.77 ERA, 13-8 record, 209 strikeouts, 3 shutouts, 134 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 5.3 WAR. Dzneladze ranks 7^th in WAR, 5^th in innings, 6^th in wins, and 4^th in Ks for EBF playoff history. In the BGC, he had a 3.29 ERA over 109.1 innings, 6-4 record, 140 strikeouts, 109 ERA+, 83 FIP-, and 2.7 WAR. Zurich was a regular contender and they could reliably count on Dzneladze for strong performances in the big games.

Dzneladze’s role was reduced a bit in 2033 to 166.1 innings, but he was still respectable with a 3.68 ERA, 150 Ks, and 3.0 WAR. However, that was his lowest WAR and K total since his rookie season. Zurich narrowly missed the playoffs and Dzneladze decided to retire that winter at age 38. His #14 uniform was quickly retired by the Mountaineers for his efforts.

In total, Dzneladze had a 227-136 record, 2.93 ERA, 3465.2 innings, 3886 strikeouts, 400 walks, 252/509 quality starts, 91 complete games, 18 shutouts, 128 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 87.7 WAR. Dzneladze ranks 20^th in wins, 29^th in innings, 16^th in strikeouts, and 19^th in pitching WAR. His 1.04 BB/9 ranks 10^th among pitchers with 1000+ innings and his 0.96 WHIP is 20^th. Dzneladze is also 21^st in opponent’s OBP (.254) and 100^th for OPS (.629).

Dzneladze falls just short of the very inner-circle, but most would place him as a top 20 all-time ace in the European Baseball Federation’s 90-year history. Even in a loaded five-man Hall of Fame class for 2039, Dzneladze stood far above the crowd. He received a nearly unanimous 99.4% to headline the crew.

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Vince “Dozer” Corapi – First Base – Munich Mavericks – 84.8% First Ballot

Vince Corapi was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Prato, Italy; a commune in Tuscany with roughly 198,000 inhabitants. Nicknamed “Dozer,” Corapi was famous for extra base hits with 37 doubles, 11 triples, and 30 home runs per his 162 game average. He was a rock solid contact hitter against both lefties and righties evenly. Corapi was average-to-above average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts relative to his peers.

Corapi was a very sly base stealer that you had to keep an eye on despite having merely decent speed. He was a career first baseman with adequate defensive grades. Corapi had excellent durability over a 19-year career. He was one of the smartest guys in the clubhouse and a vocal leader, making him one of the era’s more popular figures.

In June 2012, Corapi left Italy for Scotland on a developmental deal with Glasgow. The Highlanders were a contender around the turn of the millennium and had been around average in the later 2000s. However, they fell towards the bottom as Corapi worked his way through their developmental system. He debuted in 2016 at age 21 with 45 games and 8 starts. That year, Glasgow finished 56-106, relegating them to the European Second League.

Corapi was a full-time starter in 2017 and was quickly a big-league talent in the E2L. He won MVP honors in 2018 and led the conference in total bases (342) while posting 9.2 WAR. Glasgow was a wild card at 89-73, but failed in the round robin. In 2019, they got the Western Conference’s top seed at 100-62 and won the pennant, earning a promotion back to the EBF Elite. They were runners up to Cluj-Napoca in the Second League Championship. Corapi was surprisingly mid in the playoff run overall with a .682 OPS and 100 wRC+, but he was conference finals MVP.

Still, Glasgow was back in the big time and so was Corapi. After two solid years, he won his first big-time Silver Slugger and led the Northern Conference in batting average (.373) and OBP (.427). Those would be career bests, along with his .645 slugging, and 1.072 OPS. From here through 2029, Corapi was good for 6+ WAR each season. In 2023, he led the conference with 37 doubles.

Upon their return, the Highlanders hovered in the 70s win range. While Corapi was grateful for the chance, he also wanted to get paid. He left after the 2023 season, becoming a free agent for his age 29 season. With Glasgow between leagues, Corapi played 1132 games with 1327 hits, 663 runs, 275 doubles, 75 triples, 186 home runs, 686 RBI, 176 steals, .321/.373/.559 slash, 165 wRC+, and 45.7 WAR.

Shortly after Glasgow’s promotion, Corapi became a regular for Italy in the World Baseball Championship. In his 2019 debut, he led all players with 56 total bases, taking second in MVP voting as the Italians finished fourth. They would also get a third place finish in 2022. From 2019-33, Corapi played 163 games, 164 hits, 85 runs, 37 doubles, 6 triples, 34 homers, 77 RBI, .288/.356/.554 slash, and 7.2 WAR. Although he never played for an Italian pro team, he remained a popular player back home for his WBC efforts.

Corapi’s biggest fame came in Germany, signing in 2024 to a seven-year, $175,400,000 deal with Munich. The Mavericks were already in a dynasty run, having won the EBF title in 2020-21 and the Southern Conference pennant in 2018 and 2023. They were also conference finalist in 2022 with a four-year playoff streak as Corapi arrived. The playoff streak ultimately continued through 2032 with his help.

Munich won the division in 2024 at 106-56, but was upset with a stunning second round sweep by Chisinau. The next year, Corapi was third in MVP voting and the Mavericks again were a division champ at 100-62. They got to the conference finals, falling 4-3 to Zurich. From 2025-29, Corapi was good for 7+ WAR each year, but he wasn’t overpowering enough to get awards looks generally with the tough slugging competition at first base.

Corapi would get his hardware in the postseason. Munich was again 100-62 in 2026 and this time took the pennant 4-2 over Zagreb. Corapi was series MVP and finished the playoffs with 29 hits, 15 runs, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 6 homers, 14 RBI, 1.279 OPS, 259 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR in 16 games. The Mavericks were defeated 4-2 by Rotterdam in the European Championship. In the Baseball Grand Championship, Munich was one of six teams tied for third at 12-7, officially in the #3 spot after tiebreakers. Corapi kept rolling there with a 1.023 OPS, 184 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR.

Munich had a seven-year streak of appearances in the Southern Conference Championship from 2025-31. In 2027, they took the loss 4-3 to Zagreb. The next year, the Mavericks were back on top by besting Ljubljana in six. Corapi was conference finals MVP with another solid playoff run, but he was again denied the top prize as Munich lost 4-3 to Hanover in the EBF final. He struggled in the 2028 BGC as the Mavericks were mid-tier at 10-9.

2029 was Corapi’s finest individual season at age 34, winning his lone EBF Elite MVP. He was the leader in hits (221) and RBI (127), both career highs along with his 8.5 WAR. The season ended in disappointment as the top-seeded Mavericks at 103-59 were swept in the conference finals by the Gulls. 2030 was their best record of the streak at 114-48, but Munich was upset 4-3 by Cluj-Napoca in the Southern Conference Championship. That September, Corapi signed a three-year, $85,200,000 extension with Munich.

Corapi’s production did drop in 2030-31 from the MVP year, but he was still potent with 5.0 and 4.7 WAR. In 2031, Munich won a tiebreaker game to claim the West Division at 99-64 ahead of Barcelona. Ljubljana at 113-49 was the top seed, but got upset by Zurich in the second round. The Mavericks then edged the Mountaineers 4-3 for their seventh pennant in 14 years.

For the first time since the 2020-21 repeat, Munich finally claimed the European Championship as well. They defeated Hanover 4-1 to give Corapi the ring, although he struggled in the playoff run with -0.1 WAR and .575 OPS. Corapi was alright in the BGC with a .741 OPS, 116 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. The Mavericks finished 12-9, one of five teams tied for seventh.

Although his playoff stats were weaker in his later years, on the whole Corapi posted great postseason numbers. In 96 games for Munich, he had 118 hits, 55 runs, 21 doubles, 12 triples, 18 home runs, 56 RBI, .313/.341/.576 slash, 157 wRC+, and 4.0 WAR. The BGC stats were more whelming with 59 games, 50 hits, 35 runs, 13 doubles, 16 home runs, 40 RBI, .220/.307/.507 slash, and 2.1 WAR.

In 2032, Munich’s playoff streak grew to 14 years, although the division title streak ended at 11. They went 90-72 as a wild card and for the only time in the streak were ousted in the first round. Corapi had 3.2 WAR and 127 wRC+ in what was his final season in Europe. His contract expired that winter, becoming a free agent at age 38.

With Munich, Corapi played 1519 games with 1821 hits, 997 runs, 330 doubles, 116 triples, 299 home runs, 991 RBI, 304 steals, .320/.368/.576 slash, 166 wRC+, and 60.7 WAR. Corapi was very popular for his role in their decade-plus of success and would get his #18 uniform soon retired.

Corapi wanted to still play somewhere and had been decent in 2033, but teams wanted younger and more powerful options at first base. He was unsigned most of 2034, finally inking a contract with OBA’s Adelaide in August. He struggled in 38 games to a .523 OPS and -0.7 WAR for the Aardvarks. Corapi kept the door open in 2035, but no teams were calling. He finally retired that winter at age 40.

In his EBF Elite career, Corapi played 2184 games with 2627 hits, 1385 runs, 492 doubles, 172 triples, 409 home runs, 1391 RBI, 560 walks, 1050 strikeouts, 449 steals, .324/.371/.579 slash, 165 wRC+, and 84.8 WAR. Corapi ranks 99^th in games, 53^rd in runs, 39^th in hits, 47^th in total bases (4690), 11^th in doubles, 66^th in RBI, and 73^rd in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his .950 OPS is 90^th.

Corapi didn’t have eye-popping accumulations and did lose a few years of totals with Glasgow being in E2L. But he was remarkably consistent and a huge part of Munich’s dominance of the 2020s and early 2030s. That role with the Mavericks’ big run and his playoff stats mostly covered for the lack of massive tallies, as did his MVP win. Corapi received 84.8% for a first ballot induction in the five-man 2039 Hall of Fame class for the European Baseball Federation.



Daniel Dumoulin – Second Base – Rotterdam Ravens – 83.2% First Ballot

Daniel Dumoulin was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed second baseman from Saint-Vincent-sur-Oust, France; a commune in the northwest of 1,600 people. Dumoulin was known for very good contact skills and power. His 162 game average got you 36 home runs, 31 doubles, and 15 triples for a steady dose of extra base hits. Dumoulin was especially potent facing left-handed pitching with a career 1.022 OPS and 175 wRC+, but he was quite good with a .905 OPS and 147 wRC+ facing righties.

Dumoulin’s biggest flaws offensively were that he rarely drew walks and struck out more than most. However, he made his hits count and was an effective bat as a result. Dumoulin had impressive speed, but his baserunning and stealing skills were both subpar.

The speed also didn’t translate to defensive range. Dumoulin was a career second baseman and was a horrible defender, but Rotterdam sacrificed defense for a plus bat at the spot. He played a 19-year career, but an assortment of major injuries did cost him notable chunks in a couple seasons.

Dumoulin’s hitting ability quickly drew attention by the time he was eligible for EBF’s 2013 draft. He went 39^th to Rotterdam and spent his entire pro career with the Ravens. Dumoulin wasn’t immediately ready and spent all of 2014 training in the academy. He saw only 13 games in 2015, then had 97 games and 70 starts in 2016. Dumoulin graduated to a full-time starting role from 2017 onward.

While he played his full career in the Netherlands, Dumoulin did regularly represent his native France well in the World Baseball Championship. From 2018-32, he played 150 games with 132 hits, 87 runs, 23 doubles, 55 homers, 112 RBI, .252/.300/.622 slash, and 6.3 WAR. It was Dumoulin’s 2024 effort that cemented his role in French baseball lore.

That year, Dumoulin was the MVP as France defeated the United States 4-2 to win its first World Championship. He had 32 hits, 22 runs, 5 doubles, 14 homers, 33 RBI, 1.207 OPS, 248 wRC+, and 2.1 WAR over 24 games. The French would be the runner-up in 2026 to Austria and again in 2027 to Bulgaria. Dumoulin was big in the 2027 run with a 1.054 OPS, 204 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR in 21 starts. He played a notable role in making France a contender on the world stage.

Dumoulin also would help Rotterdam return to regular contention. The Ravens had been a contender in the past, but had spent most of the 21^st Century in the middle-lower tiers. Rotterdam ended a 12-year playoff drought as a 91-71 wild card in 2018, although they fell in the second round. They were just outside the playoffs the following two years. By this point, Dumoulin was regularly posting 5+ WAR per season. He hit for the cycle in 2020 facing Antwerp.

After the 2020 season, Rotterdam gave Dumoulin an eight-year, $110,800,000 extension. He would lose a month in the spring to shoulder tendinitis, but the Ravens would start a nine-year playoff streak. 2021 was modest with a first round exit after winning a weak division at 86-76. The following eight seasons, Rotterdam would win 100+ games each season with seven division titles.

Dumoulin won his first Silver Slugger in 2022 with his career high for WAR at 7.3. 2023 had his bests for homers (43) and RBI (133). His playoff stats were good, but Rotterdam couldn’t get over the hump. They had a second round exit in 2022, followed by Northern Conference Championship losses in 2023-24.

In 2023, the 110-52 Ravens were ousted 4-3 by 114-win Dublin. Rotterdam was 101-61 in 2024, but again the Dinos (110-52) denied them, this time in five games. Dumoulin had a frustrating 2024, missing the first four months to a partially torn labrum. He stayed healthy the next three years as the Ravens broke through for an all-time dynasty run. Individually, Dumoulin won Silver Sluggers in 2026 and 2027 and hit for his second cycle in 2026.

From 2025-27, Rotterdam became the first (and so far, the only) team to win three consecutive European Championships. In the conference finals, they beat Stockholm (4-2), Kharkiv (4-3), and Glasgow (4-3). In the finals, the Ravens got wins over Zurich (4-0), Munich (4-2), and Zagreb (4-1). Dumoulin was especially elite in the 2027 run, winning MVP of both the conference finals and European Championship. That run, he had a 1.151 OPS and 1.0 WAR over 16 playoff starts.

Dumoulin was also excellent in the Baseball Grand Championship runs. In 2025, he had 25 hits, 18 runs, 12 homers, 21 RBI, 1.293 OPS, and 1.8 WAR as Rotterdam tied for sixth at 11-8. In 2026, Dumoulin had a .958 OPS and 0.9 WAR as the Ravens were one of five teams at 12-7, officially fourth after tiebreakers.

Rotterdam was 13-6 in 2027, one game short of first but fourth after tiebreakers. Unfortunately, Dumoulin suffered a serious concussion in the third game of the event. He would be out eight months, missing more than half of the 2028 season. After the 2026 campaign, Dumoulin had signed a five-year, $138,800,000 extension to stay with the Ravens. Rotterdam won 103 and 106 games in 2028-29, but both seasons saw second round exits to mark the end of the dynasty.

Dumoulin rebounded for a strong 2030, but an 88-74 finish ended their playoff streak. The Ravens had a last hurrah with a 110-52 season in 2031, but a 119-win Hanover outlasted Rotterdam 4-3 in the conference finals. The Ravens were a wild card again in 2032-33, but fell both years in the second round.

For his playoff career, Dumoulin had excellent numbers with 117 games, 148 hits, 79 runs, 26 doubles, 10 triples, 28 home runs, 79 RBI, 98 Ks, .329/.359/.618 slash, 167 wRC+, and 5.6 WAR. In EBF playoff history, Dumoulin is 9^th in games, 5^th in runs, 5^th in hits, 6^th in total bases (278), 2^nd in doubles, 5^th in homers, 6^th in RBI, and 9^th in strikeouts. His clutch bat made him very popular in Rotterdam and helped get his #32 uniform quickly retired.

Dumoulin’s 2031 was still solid and he signed a two-year, $48,400,000 extension that September. He dropped off noticeably and was reduced to a platoon role with some success in 2032. Dumoulin was a starter again full-time in 2033, but struggled to -0.5 WAR and .664 OPS. Realizing he was cooked, he retired that winter at age 39.

In total, Dumoulin had 2422 games, 2788 hits, 1424 runs, 466 doubles, 217 triples, 533 home runs, 1582 RBI, 332 walks, 1800 strikeouts, 5287 total bases, 191 steals, .316/.341/.599 slash, 155 wRC+, and 78.1 WAR. Dumoulin ranks 42^nd in games, 45^th in runs, 29^th in hits, 20^th in total bases, 21^st in doubles, 72^nd in triples, 43^rd in homers, 27^th in RBI, and 54^th in strikeouts. His .599 slugging is 68^th among batters with 3000+ plate appearances.

Despite those tallies, Dumoulin just misses the top 100 for WAR among position players. He did have some detractors among Hall of Fame voters because his defense was truly putrid, tanking the WAR score. Dumoulin also had very little black ink and not a ton of individual awards.

Still, he’s EBF’s all-time leader in hits and total bases at second base. His WAR is 8^th at 2B even with the lousy defense. Dumoulin’s playoff excellence and role in the historic Rotterdam three-peat was usually plenty for any voters on the fence about his candidacy. He earned a first ballot induction at 83.2%, the third of five added among the European Baseball Federation’s greats in 2039.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Nicolo Giotto – Shortstop – Dublin Dinos – 69.8% Eighth Ballot

Nicolo Giotto was a 6’5’’, 195 pound right-handed shortstop from Bergamo, Italy; a northern alpine city of about 120,000 inhabitants. Giotto was known for his longevity and for having an outstanding eye for drawing walks. He was an above average contact hitter against both lefties and righties, but did have a weaker strikeout rate. Giotto’s power was also limited with only 20 doubles, 4 triples, and 15 home runs per his 162 game average.

Still, his ability to get on base made him a valued leadoff man. Giotto was a very efficient base thief, but his tries were limited by having average-at-best speed. Giotto played shortstop for the vast majority of his career with reliably strong defensive metrics. He probably would’ve won a few Gold Gloves if he hadn’t shared a conference with Harvey Coyle, who was arguably the most valuable defensive player in baseball history.

In his 40s, Giotto moved to second base and still provided above average value. Few guys in baseball history had more longevity with a 24-year career, although Giotto did miss time at points mostly to back trouble. He was also appreciated for his leadership, doing a lot behind the scenes to help Dublin in multiple dynasty runs.

Giotto was drafted out of high school by the Dinos with the #9 pick in 2000. He spent two full seasons in their academy before debuting in 2003 with 127 games and 110 starts. He’d start 100+ games each of the next 15 years, only missing time to injury. Giotto wasn’t one to win many individual awards, but he provided consistent value with nine seasons worth 6+ WAR from 2005-2014. Giotto was old reliable on a franchise with many superstars.

Dublin had a few nice runs in the 20^th Century, but they emerged as a powerhouse in the 2000s. From 2005-15, they made the playoffs each year except 2007 and won a division title each year sans 2011. The Dinos initially struggled in the playoffs, failing to make the Northern Conference Championship from 2005-09. They knew they were close and were happy with Giotto’s production, giving him an eight-year, $78,880,000 extension after the 2008 season.

2009 was a big disappointment as they were upset in the second round by 87-win Kyiv despite having the top seed at 111-51. Dublin was the #2 seed in 2010, but defeated top-ranked Brussels 4-1 to claim the conference title. The Dinos downed Zurich 4-2 to claim the European Championship. To that point, it was the third for the Irish capital, having also won in 1962 and 1967.

Dublin was a 100-62 wild card in 2011, finishing two behind Birmingham in their division. The Dinos had the last laugh by sweeping the Bees in the conference final, followed by a 4-1 win over Barcelona to repeat as EBF champs. Giotto was solid with 0.7 WAR and 10 runs apiece over those two playoff runs. His numbers were more middling in the Baseball Grand Championship. The Dinos were 5-4 in the inaugural BGC which used a divisional format. 2011 switched to the modern format with Dublin at 12-7, fifth place after tiebreakers were sorted.

While his entire pro career was in Ireland, Giotto was a regular back in Italy for the World Baseball Championship. From 2004-25, he had 182 games, 112 hits, 76 runs, 27 doubles, 17 home runs, 49 RBI, .201/.351/.341 slash, and 3.3 WAR. Giotto was part of several notable runs as the Italians were quite competitive. They were the runner-up in 2005 and 2012; third in 2022, and fourth in 2006 and 2019.

Dublin was 107-55 in 2012, but their bid for the first-ever EBF three-peat was denied with a second round upset loss to Paris. The Dinos rebounded in 2013 at 115-47, one win ahead of the Poodles for the top seed. They avenged the prior year’s loss by besting Paris 4-2 for the pennant. Dublin then edged Zaragoza 4-3, becoming the first in EBF history with three European Championship rings in four years. The Dinos struggled to 7-12 in the BGC, although Giotto had a nice showing with .799 OPS and 0.6 WAR.

Giotto’s best season individually was 2013, leading the conference with a .423 on-base percentage. That was his career best, as was his 9.3 WAR, 169 wRC+, .899 OPS, and .322 average. It was his only time leading a stat apart from walks, which he did in 2012, 13, and 16. Giotto was never a Silver Slugger winner or an MVP finalist. Again, he probably would’ve gotten a Slugger or two if not for the world WARlord Harvey Coyle, who won 13 times while sharing the conference with Giotto.

2013 was the capper of the first Dublin dynasty. The Dinos won the division title twice more, but had a conference finals loss in 2014 and first round exit in 2015. Dublin spent the next four years around .500 with one wild card and first round exit in 2018. Giotto had signed a three-year, $42,600,000 extension after the 2015 season.

A sprained ankle kept him out two months in 2017. He saw diminishing batting with OPS below .700 in 2017-18. Now 38-years old, Dublin still appreciated his leadership and gave him a two-year, $22,200,000 extension in January 2019. A ruptured finger tendon in early April knocked him out almost all of 2019, only playing five games. Giotto bounced back well in 2020 with 4.1 WAR in 93 games, but lost time to a herniated disc.

2020 was a return to form for Dublin at 109-53, their first division title since 2015. Hamburg was the top seed at 115-47, but they got upset in the second round by 100-win Amsterdam. The Dinos dusted the Anacondas with a sweep for the conference title, but lost the European Championship 4-2 to Munich. Dublin finished 8-11 in the BGC. Giotto had posted negative WAR in the BGC and the playoffs, but he had the respect of the franchise, who re-signed him at a veteran-minimum qualifying offer.

Giotto was still worth around 3 WAR per season from 2021-24 even in his 40s with good defense and a passable bat. Injuries did limit him with a ruptured finger tendon in late2021, shoulder tendinitis in summer 2022, and a knee sprain in late 2024. Dublin eventually gave him a two-year, $22,200,000 extension after the 2022 season and another two-year, $16,800,000 extension after the 2024 season.

Dublin won a weak division in 2021 at 87-75, but got to the conference finals with a 4-1 loss to Hamburg. From 2022-24, the Dinos began in earnest their second dynasty run with 116, 114, and 110 wins. They were Northern Conference champs all three years with wins of Hamburg (4-1), Rotterdam (4-3), and Rotterdam again (4-1). Giotto was notably conference finals MVP in 2022, posting 0.7 WAR over the playoff run.

The Dinos swept Naples for the 2022 European Championship, then topped Munich 4-2 in 2023. They were denied the historic three-peat for the second-time in Giotto’s career, falling 4-1 to Chisinau in 2024. In the 2022 BGC, Dublin was third at 12-7, one win shy of the top spot. They were one win short again in 2023 at 13-6, officially third as they dropped a tiebreaker to Guatemala.

For 2024, Dublin, Chisinau, and Sao Paulo each were even for the top spot at 13-6. It was a rock-paper-scissors between the three, but runs allowed gave the tiebreaker and the Grand Championship to the Dinos. Dublin was the first European team to the prize. Over 102 BGC games, Giotto had 55 hits, 37 runs, 10 doubles, 9 homers, 28 RBI, .174/.324/.290 slash, and 0.8 WAR. He is one of 18 players to play 100+ games in the event.

Giotto’s EBF playoff career had 136 games, 122 hits, 61 runs, 16 doubles, 2 triples, 17 home runs, 56 RBI, 65 walks, 111 strikeouts, .260/.352/.412 slash, 123 wRC+, and 3.4 WAR. Giotto ranks 5^th in playoff games, 12^th in hits, 12^th in runs, and 1^st in walks drawn. Much like his regular season stats, Giotto was rarely exceptional, but he certainly had a notable role in two historic dynasty runs.

He had still been effective in 2024, but Giotto fell off hard in 2025 and 2026 with -0.6 WAR over 67 games and 32 starts. He was kept around out of respect and as a clubhouse guy in these last two years. Dublin won the division both years, but couldn’t get beyond the second round. Giotto retired that winter shortly after turning 46, making him one of a select few in pro baseball history with games played in their mid 40s.

Giotto finished with 3007 games, 2805 hits, 1538 runs, 374 doubles, 76 triples, 285 home runs, 1196 RBI, 1360 walks, 2316 strikeouts, 482 steals, .271/.360/.404 slash, 122 wRC+, and 111.1 WAR. Giotto ranks 5^th in games, 27^th in runs, 26^th in hits, 85^th in total bases (4186), 11^th in singles (2070), 76^th in doubles, 3^rd in walks, 6^th in strikeouts, and 23^rd in WAR among position players.

His candidacy was a contentious one with Hall of Fame voters. Giotto’s biggest strengths were things that weren’t sexy like longevity, defense, walks, and leadership. He was a constant across two historic dynasty runs for Dublin and got to experience more winning than likely any player in European Baseball Federation history. Giotto had five EBF titles, seven conference pennants, and a Grand Championship to his name.

That said, his offensive metrics were admittedly unremarkable. His career slugging and .765 OPS were well below any previous EBF inductees. Only a few of the lower-end guys in the lowest-scoring world leagues had comparable stats. Other critics argued that for having 3000+ games, his accumulations were underwhelming. Some voters didn’t care about sustained above average-ness and argued he was a bit player in Dublin’s dynasties.

Those who favored WAR argued that 100+ was plenty, but those who cared more about power hitting and slugging weren’t impressed. Giotto never had the big dramatic single-season peak and lacked individual accolades as well. But you couldn’t deny that he played a part in turning Dublin into one of the world’s most successful baseball franchises.

Giotto debuted on the 2032 ballot with 45.3% and was to 50.0% and 48.6% the following two tries. He bumped up to 56.8% in 2035, but back down to 51.3% in 2036. Giotto barely missed the 66% requirement on his sixth try at 64.7% in 2037. However, he dropped back down to 52.7% in 2038.

With a strong ballot overall in 2039, Giotto wasn’t expected to pick up stragglers. However, he got the bump just across the line at 69.8%, earning induction on his eighth ballot. Giotto was the fourth of five members for EBF’s 2039 Hall of Fame class.



Zeljko Siladjdzic – Right/Left Field – Belgrade Bruisers – 67.7% Fourth Ballot

Zeljko Siladjdzic was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed corner outfielder from Arilje, Serbia; a town of around 6,000. Siladjdzic had above average-to-good contact and power numbers with fairly even results against both lefties and righties. His power wasn’t incredible, but he got a steady dose of extra base hits with 28 doubles, 10 triples, and 29 home runs per his 162 game average.

Siladjdzic was among the best in Europe at drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was middling. His speed and baserunning both graded as reliably above average. Siladjdzic was primarily a right fielder with some starts in left. In either spot, he was a mediocre defender. His durability was outstanding, playing 145+ games in all but the first and final season of a 19-year career. Siladjdzic was highly intelligent and appreciated for his team-first attitude.

He quickly emerged as one of the stronger prospects to come out of Serbia in some time. This drew plenty of attention in the capital, leading to Siladjdzic going to Belgrade with the 27^th pick in the 2010 EBF Draft. The Bruisers had him as a reserve all of 2011, then debuted him with 61 games and 21 starts in 2012. Siladjdzic struggled as a rookie, but earned a full-time job from 2013 onward. He became known as a great player by his third season in the lineup.

Siladjdzic was never a league leader and won his lone Silver Slugger in 2016. He was steady though, posting six seasons worth 5+ WAR for the Bruisers. Belgrade had been a consistently lower-mid level team with a playoff drought back to 1982. Siladjdzic helped end that with a division title in 2015 at 88-74. The Bruisers got to the Southern Conference Championship, but lost 4-2 to Barcelona.

Belgrade stayed in a similar win range for the next four years, but just missed the playoffs from 2016-18. Still, they had optimism and gave Siladjdzic a three-year, $33,900,000 extension in April 2018. The Bruisers won the division at 90-72 in 2019 and again got to the conference finals, this time defeated in six by Belgrade. They made the playoffs once more with Siladjdzic in 2021, but had a second round exit. For his part, he had a .902 OPS and 1.1 WAR over 32 playoff starts.

In March 2022, Siladjdzic signed a four-year, $49,900,000 extension to stay with Belgrade. He was broadly popular in Serbia for also playing regularly in the World Baseball Championship. From 2014-30, Siladjdzic had 172 games with 121 hits, 90 runs, 13 doubles, 4 triples, 32 home runs, 69 RBI, .206/.330/.406 slash, and 4.1 WAR. He helped the Serbians notably finish third in 2014, the nation’s best-ever finish.

Belgrade was .500 in 2022, then spent the rest of Siladjdzic’s run with losing records. 2022 notably had Siladjdzic’s career bests for WAR (8.2), OPS (1.038), wRC+ (195), hits (200), runs (112), homers (38), and RBI (111). He had a year left on his deal entering 2026 and the Bruisers traded him in March to Munich for prospects. For the Bruisers, Siladjdzic had 2107 games, 2116 hits, 1225 runs, 385 doubles, 131 triples, 382 home runs, 1145 RBI, 922 walks, .287/.366/.530 slash, 152 wRC+, and 64.1 WAR.

Siladjdzic maintained his production in his one year with the Mavericks, posting a .946 OPS, 164 wRC+, 37 homers, and 5.6 WAR. Munich was a regular contender at this point and finished 100-62 for a sixth straight division title. They defeated Zagreb 4-2 in the Southern Conference Championship, but lost the European Championship 4-2 to Rotterdam. Siladjdzic had average results in the playoffs and Baseball Grand Championship. Munich was one of six teams at 12-7 in the BGC, officially third after tiebreakers.

Now 36-years old, Siladjdzic was a free agent for the first time. He went to Naples on a two-year, $23,200,000 deal and kept up his standard production. In 304 games, Siladjdzic had 299 hits, 172 runs, 51 doubles, 20 triples, 48 homers, 174 RBI, .282/.367/.504 slash, 148 wRC+, and 8.6 WAR. The Nobles did get a wild cardin 2027 with a first round exit.

For 2029, Siladjdzic signed a two-year, $20,100,000 deal with Birmingham, who was firmly stuck in the middle tier. Siladjdzic was a decent starter in 2029, but got benched in 2030 and saw mostly pinch hit use. Over 241 games, he started 174 with 168 hits, 99 runs, 24 doubles, 9 triples, 36 homers, 77 RBI, .249/.332/.471 slash, 122 wRC+, and 3.0 WAR. Siladjdzic retired after the 2030 season at age 40.

Siladjdzic ended with 2799 games, 2743 hits, 1606 runs, 489 doubles, 168 triples, 503 home runs, 1479 RBI, 1233 walks, 1810 strikeouts, 437 steals, .284/.364/.525 slash, 150 wRC+, and 81.3 WAR. He ranks 14^th in games, 22^nd in runs, 33^rd in hits, 26^th in total bases (5077), 13^th in doubles, 56^th in homers, 43^rd in RBI, 6^th in walks, and 83^rd in WAR among position players.

For his supporters, his accumulations certainly seemed to click the boxes for a Hall of Famer. 2500+ hits, 1500+ runs, 500+ homers, nearly 1500 RBI, and nearly 500+ doubles were all benchmarks that usually portended induction. But there were detractors who looked for dramatic peaks and were less impressed by longevity and consistency.

Siladjdzic never had that big peak season, never was a league leader, and never was in MVP conversations. Despite his tallies, his WAR was lower than you might expect thanks to poor defense. Siladjdzic was also perhaps underappreciated as Belgrade was a mostly forgettable team during his prime.

His case was borderline and he as such, Siladjdzic missed the cut at 57.2%, 61.1%, and 53.0% in his first three ballots. The fourth try saw the bump just beyond the 66% requirement at 67.7%. With that, Siladjdzic capped off an impressive five-man 2039 HOF class for the European Baseball Federation.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

SP Nehor Pomerantz stood alone for Eurasian Professional Baseball’s 2039 Hall of Fame class at a near unanimous 98.6%. The next closest to the 66% requirement was 2B Gleb Korelin, getting 60.9% in his fourth try. CL Dino Antonov and CF Roman Sheshukov both debuted at 58.8%. Also above 50% was LF Brandon Chunchignorov with 55.6% for his second ballot and 3B Tayyar Abdualiyev at 52.0% with his ninth go. No players were dropped after ten failed tries in 2039.



Nehor Pomerantz – Starting Pitcher – Minsk Miners – 98.6% First Ballot

Nehor Pomerantz was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Arad, Israel; a small city of around 29,000 people. Pomerantz was all power with overwhelming stuff, but he did have subpar control and merely decent movement. He had a 99-101 mph fastball, forkball, circle change, and curveball arsenal and was one of the best at changing speeds.

Relative to other EPB aces, Pomerantz’s stamina was below average and he didn’t throw that many complete games comparatively. He had ironman durability though and never missed starts to injury. Pomerantz had one of the best pickoff moves in the game and was strong defensively, winning a Gold Glove as a rookie. He was a team captain with top notch character, renowned for his leadership, loyalty, and work ethic.

Israeli players were most closely scouted by Arab League teams locally, but top talents would get some looks from Europe or MLB. Pomerantz caught the eye of a Canadian scout and signed a developmental deal with MLB’s Edmonton in September 2014. He was very underwhelming during spring training and got cut by the Eels organization in March. Pomerantz stayed unsigned and no longer eligible for any drafts having signed the initial developmental deal.

Pomerantz eventually joined Minsk in October 2015 and spent four years in their academy in Belarus. He went from an unheralded prospect to a top ranked one as he greatly improved his stuff in training. Pomerantz debuted at age 22 in 2020 and had a rock solid debut with a 2.40 ERA and 4.6 WAR, taking second in Rookie of the Year voting. He even made a playoff start, but struggled with five runs (four earned) allowed in 6.1 innings.

The Miners had been THE powerhouse of EPB, but had fallen into mediocrity in the 2010s. Their 2020 wild card at 84-78 had ended an eight-year playoff drought. Prior to that, they had only once had a multi-year playoff drought in franchise history (and that was only three years). They missed the cut at 79-83 with Pomerantz’s control issues weakening his production.

Pomerantz put things together in 2022 and won the European League’s Pitcher of the Year and MVP. He led in wins at 24-3 and posted a 1.70 ERA, 314 strikeouts, and 8.3 WAR. Minsk took the top seed at 104-58, but was upset by St. Petersburg 3-2 in the first round despite two quality starts for Pomerantz.

He had some issues in 2023 and was surprisingly moved to a part-time role, only making 18 appearances with 130 innings. Pomerantz would be back to full innings for the rest of his career after that. Minsk again was the #1 seed in 2023 at 103-59, falling in the ELCS 4-1 to Volgograd. Pomerantz struggled in his three playoff starts with a 3.98 ERA and -0.4 WAR over 20.1 innings.

The Miners fell two wins short of a wild card in 2024 at 87-75, then dropped to 74-88 in 2025. Pomerantz had good, but not outstanding seasons. He looked like an elite ace again in 2026 with a second place in POTY voting, winning his first ERA title at 1.94. The Miners were a wild card with a first round exit. That winter, Minsk gave Pomerantz a four-year, $16,280,000 extension.

Pomerantz’s finest year was 2027 as he won his second Pitcher of the Year award. He led with a career-best 1.48 ERA and also had his career bests for strikeouts (348), quality starts (30), ERA+ (200), and WAR (8.9). Minsk finished 95-68, winning a tiebreaker game over St. Petersburg for the North Division title and the top seed.

The Miners went onto defeat Samara 4-3 for their first European League pennant since 2011. Minsk then outlasted Nur-Sultan in a seven-game classic for the EPB Championship. Pomerantz had surprisingly weak playoff stats with a 3.94 ERA over 32 innings, 44 Ks, and 0.1 WAR. He was even worse in the Baseball Grand Championship with an 8.14 ERA in 21 innings, 35 Ks, and -0.3 WAR. Minsk finished 9-10 in the event.

Pomerantz now had a rap on him as a weak playoff performer, although he was still generally very popular with Minsk for helping them back to contention. He had one more solid year in 2028 for the Miners, who lost in the first round as a wild card. That November, they traded the soon-to-be 31-year old lefty in the offseason to Vladivostok for three prospects. One was RF Ilya Paklatsky, who would be a respectable starter for a decade with the Miners.

For Minsk, Pomerantz had a 132-65 record, 2.26 ERA, 1956 innings, 2491 strikeouts, 494 walks, 138 ERA+, 72 FIP-, and 53.1 WAR. His #37 uniform would later be retired for helping end the dark ages for the Miners. Vladivostok was the 2028 EPB Champion and the trade came in early November during the Baseball Grand Championship. Thus, Pomerantz was eligible to pitch right away and debut with the Shibas in the tournament.

The trade was November 10 and Pomerantz debuted two days later, tossing a one-hit shutout against Ahmedabad. He quieted the playoff choker label, winning his three BGC starts with an 0.69 ERA over 26 innings, 34 strikeouts, and 1.6 WAR. Vladivostok was one of four teams tied for second at 13-6, officially fourth after tiebreakers. This was the best finish by an EPB team in the BGC thus far.

The Shibas were hoping to start a dynasty run and Pomerantz continued to deliver right away. He won his third Pitcher of the Year in his Shibas debut, leading the Asian League in strikeouts (331) and FIP- (65). Pomerantz continued to shed the playoff choker label with a dominant run, posting a 0.59 ERA over 30.2 innings with 39 strikeouts and 1.2 WAR. Vladivostok beat Nur-Sultan 4-2 to repeat as AL champ, but lost 4-1 to Volgograd in the EPB Championship.

Pomerantz led in strikeouts again the next two years and had three straight years with 6.5+ WAR, inking a five-year, $105 million extension in September 2030 with Vladivostok. The Shibas were a wild card in 2030 at 96-66, but upset top seed Novosibirsk 4-1 for the ALCS three-peat. Vladivostok then won their second EPB title in a seven-game war with Moscow.

His playoff results were back to lackluster though with a 4.33 ERA and 1-3 record in four starts. Pomerantz also had a 4.71 ERA over 28.2 innings in the BGC as the Shibas were 9-12. His career was a mixed bag overall in the postseason with a 10-11 record, 3.13 ERA, 175.2 innings, 197 strikeouts, 72 walks, 105 ERA+, 104 FIP-, and 2.3 WAR.

Even with heavy lifting from the 2028 run, Pomerantz’s BGC stats saw a 4.28 ERA over 75.2 innings, 3-5 record, 108 strikeouts, and 1.6 WAR. He was also a regular in the World Baseball Championship for Israel from 2021-33. In 162 innings, Pomerantz had a 3.67 ERA, 253 strikeouts, 86 walks, and 3.0 WAR.

The weaker control dented his dominance against tougher competition, but he still was an important part of some winning squads in EPB. Vladivostok lost in the first round in 2031, but Pomerantz notably tossed his lone no-hitter on September 10 with 13 Ks and four walks facing Novosibirsk. The Shibas won their fourth pennant in five years as a 92-70 wild card in 2032. They stunned top-seed Ufa with an ALCS sweep, but fell 4-2 to Voronezh for the EPB title.

Pomerantz’s 2033 started great as he won Best Pitcher in the World Baseball Championship. He allowed only one unearned run over 17.1 innings with 29 strikeouts, helping Israel earn its first-ever playoff trip. However, Pomerantz struggled in the regular season with Vladivostok, posting by far his worst ERA at 4.48 with only 199 Ks after having gotten 300+ in the prior four years.

The run was also over for the Shibas, who fell to 74-88. Pomerantz reached the 200 win milestone in 2033, but fell just short of the 4000 K mark. He retired after the season at age 35, finishing his Vladivostok tenure with an 81-55 record, 3.00 ERA, 1214.2 innings, 1489 strikeouts, 301 walks, 117 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 31.5 WAR.

Pomerantz finished with a 213-120 record, 2.54 ERA, 3170.2 innings, 3980 strikeouts, 795 walks, 299/402 quality starts, 78 complete games, 19 shutouts, 129 ERA+, 73 FIP-, and 84.6 WAR. Pomerantz ranks 45^th in wins, 92^nd in innings, 36^th in strikeouts, and 47^th in pitching WAR. His 11.30 K/9 is 29^th among pitchers with 1000+ innings. He’s also 35^th in walks allowed.

While Pomerantz didn’t have the longevity to be a true inner-circle Hall of Famer in the low-scoring Eurasian Professional Baseball, he was certainly elite when he was on his game. Not many guys have three Pitcher of the Year awards and even fewer aces have an MVP to their name. Pomerantz helped both Minsk and Vladivostok to success and pennants, making him an easy pick at 98.6% as EPB’s lone inductee for 2039.

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Three players made it into the Oceania Baseball Association Hall of Fame for 2039. SP Lekinala Desire had the highest percentage at 81.5% in his sixth time on the ballot. His fellow Tahitian LF Hama Brotherson joined him with a 81.1% debut and 1B Jordy Vincent got 78.4% on his first ballot. No other players were above 50%. Only SP Les Mansell was above 1/3 of the vote with a 43.6% debut.



OF Joey Eason was dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking at 34.7% in 2031 and ending with 11.2%. In 14 years between Hobart and Honolulu, Eason won five Silver Sluggers along with an MVP and Gold Glove. He had a shockingly abrupt decline after a torn hamstring in 2021. Eason went from the 2020 MVP to a negative WAR player from 2022-24.

Eason finished with 1754 games, 1830 hits, 996 runs, 237 doubles, 197 triples, 348 home runs, 1033 RBI, 634 steals, .293/.348/.561 slash, 150 wRC+, and 63.7 WAR. He was certainly on the HOF track, but falling off a cliff after his age 32 season kept Eason from getting the prerequisite accumulations.



Lekinala Desire – Starting Pitcher – Vanuatu Wizards – 81.5% Sixth Ballot

Lekinala Desire was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Fa’a’a, Tahiti’s most populous commune with around 30,000 people. Desire had reliably solid control with good-to-great stuff and above average movement. He had a 97-99 mph fastball along with a forkball, changeup, and slider. The forkball was probably his best offering, but the fastball and slider were plenty good.

Desire was best known for his stamina and ironman durability. He never missed a start to injury and stands as one of only 26 guys in baseball history with 5000+ professional innings. These were especially helpful traits in OBA, the only league with a four-man rotation as the primary strategy. Desire did struggle holding runners and had weak defensive metrics. He wasn’t a troublemaker, but he also wasn’t one to stay loyal or committed to any one team.

He was four years older than his Hall of Fame classmate Hama Brotherson, but they were familiar and occasionally competing against each other growing up in Tahiti. Desire dominated the limited amateur scene in the South Pacific and was the #1 overall pick by Vanuatu in the 2009 OBA Draft. The Wizards were still a struggling expansion franchise that had started up in 2006.

Desire struggled as a rookie in a split relief/starter role with -1.0 WAR over 143 innings. He was thrown into the fire after that as a full-time starter and led the Pacific League in losses at 11-25, but he also led in complete games with 19. Desire led in CGs again in 20212 and 2014, getting 24 in 2014. He was also the innings leader in 2012 at 326, although he’d peak with 334.1 innings the next year.

He was more than an innings eater though, posting 7+ WAR each year from 2013-15. He peaked with a 2.33 ERA and 8.0 WAR in 2015, while 2014 had his peak for strikeouts at 345. Desire was second in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2014, his only time as a finalist. That year was Vanuatu’s first winning season at 86-76, followed by a 94-68 campaign in 2015.

Unfortunately for the Wizards, the young franchise didn’t have the financial resources needed that a top ace could command. Desire was also getting feelers worldwide and wanted to see where that took him. He left for free agency after the 2015 season at age 29.

With Vanuatu, Desire had a 92-108 record, 2.95 ERA, 1756.2 innings, 1579 strikeouts, 313 walks, 118 ERA+, 91 FIP-, 116 complete games, 14 shutouts, and 30.0 WAR. It was his longest tenure, but he wasn’t really remembered as a franchise legend having been there only six years. Desire ended up moving to the United States and Major League Baseball on a five-year, $71,800,000 deal with Tampa.

Desire was an innings-eater mostly for the Thunderbirds with respectable, but unremarkable stats. Tampa had been on a six-year playoff streak when he arrived, but narrowly missed the cut in 2016 at 90-72. The Thunderbirds fell below .500 after that, eventually dropping into the 100+ loss range in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Over three-and-a-half seasons, Desire had a 51-58 record, 3.73 ERA, 975.2 innings, 733 strikeouts, 63 complete games, 104 ERA+, 97 FIP-, and 14.3 WAR.

Tampa was sellers and traded Desire at the 2019 deadline to San Diego for two outfielders who didn’t amount to much. Desire gave the Seals similar production as they were in the middle-tier, just a few years from beginning their dynasty run. He had a 20-17 record, 3.71 ERA, 352 innings, 291 strikeouts, 83 walks, 104 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 5.4 WAR. Now 33-years old, Desire made a return to OBA on a five-year, $57 million deal with Auckland.

Desire never reached the peak numbers with the Avengers that he had previously with Vanuatu. He still reliably ate innings with average results for Auckland, who was on the cusp of the Australasia League title. They were second in 2021 at 94-68, then lost a tiebreaker game to Sydney in 2022 to finish at 101-62.

Auckland collapsed to 67-95 in 2023. They rebounded to fourth place in 2024 at 90-72, but went completely off the cliff in 2025 at 59-103. That year, Desire led the AL with 20 losses. He was never a league leader in a “good” stat apart from innings and complete games. For the Avengers, Desire had a 69-82 record, 3.93 ERA, 1455.1 innings, 1274 strikeouts, 235 walks, 51 complete games, 99 ERA+, 100 FIP-, and 18.9 WAR.

You knew what you were getting from the now 39-year old Desire at this point. His production would be okay, but he’d stay healthy and consistent. Desire went back to MLB in 2026 with Charlotte and had a lousy 5.33 ERA over 158.2 innings, but his 93 FIP- and 2.6 WAR suggested he wasn’t as bad as the ERA suggested. Still, the Canaries traded him to Hartford at the deadline and he made 11 relief appearances to close the year with the Huskies.

El Paso gave him a one-year deal for 2027, but he got rocked in his one relief appearance and was quickly cut. Seattle grabbed Desire with a limited role with a 4.20 ERA over 70.2 innings. He got to make his postseason debut for the Grizzlies, but gave up four runs in four innings. Seattle got to the American Association Championship Series at 106-56, but ran into the juggernaut that was the 119-43 San Diego Seals.

Desire wanted to still pitch and returned to OBA for 2028 with Sydney. He had a solid season at age 41 for the Snakes with a 19-11 record, 3.28 ERA, 310 innings, 247 strikeouts, 112 ERA+, 104 FIP-, and 3.4 WAR. Sydney won the Australasia League pennant at 105-57 and swept Honolulu for the Oceania Championship. Desire’s one start in the series was a complete game win with three runs allowed and 10 strikeouts. He decided to retire with that and didn’t accompany the team to the Baseball Grand Championship.

In OBA, Desire had a 180-201 record, 3.38 ERA, 3522 innings, 3100 strikeouts, 605 walks, 260/431 quality starts, 176 complete games, 15 shutouts, 109 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 52.4 WAR. Desire ranks 55^th in wins, 4^th in losses, 9^th in complete games, 97^th in shutouts, 49^th in strikeouts, and 68^th in WAR for pitchers.

Desire’s resume was a tough sell for many Hall of Fame voters as while he had some longevity, his rate stats were on the weaker end compared to other inductees. The losing record also soured some traditionalist voters, although supporters pointed out that how well he pitched even with some truly bad Vanuatu teams.

His accumulations also weren’t exceptional, but not out of line with some of the lower-end selections. Oceania Baseball Association voters had generally been kinder towards pitchers than several other leagues. Desire’s supporters felt he deserved some credit for his MLB innings, arguing that had he stayed in OBA that he’d have easily reached all accumulation benchmarks.

In MLB, Desire had an 88-84 record, 3.91 ERA, 1578.1 innings, 1181 strikeouts, 356 walks, 99 complete games, 8 shutouts, 101 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 23.3 WAR. For his combined pro career, Desire had a 268-285 record, 3.55 ERA, 5100.1 innings, 4281 strikeouts, 961 walks, 275 complete games, 23 shutouts, 107 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 75.7 WAR.

His longevity gets him on the world leaderboards in 23^rd for innings and 28^th for complete games. However, he also is 3^rd all-time in losses for any pitcher. Of the 5000+ inning guys, Desire has easily the worst WAR with everyone else above 85 and most in triple-digits. Many felt he was a compiler who was never dominant enough to deserve the nod, especially since his accumulations were split between two leagues.

Desire debuted on the 2034 ballot at 47.0%, but made progress to 55.6% and 56.8% the next two years. In 2037, he barely missed the 66% requirement at 65.3%. Desire dropped slightly to 61.5% in 2038, but got a shockingly big bump up to 81.5% in 2039. The tenure and longevity prevailed for a sixth ballot induction for OBA’s three-man class in 2039.

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Hama Brotherson – Left Field – Vanuatu Wizards – 81.1% First Ballot

Hama Brotherson was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Fa’a’a, Tahiti’s largest commune. Brotherson and HOF classmate Lekinala Desire were the second and third Tahitians to make OBA’s Hall along with class of 2001 closer Lorenzo Amaru. Brotherson was known as an excellent contact hitter facing right-handed pitching with a very low strikeout rate, although he did rarely draw walks.

Brotherson wasn’t a singles slap hitter though, posting 26 doubles, 20 triples, and 22 home runs per his 162 game average. He was far stronger facing right-handed pitching (.918 OPS, 151 wRC+) compared to lefties (.702 OPS, 95 wRC+). Brotherson was an excellent base stealer and runner with very good speed, making him a threat any time he got on base.

He was a career left fielder and was a reliably good defender there. Brotherson would sporadically start in center as needed, but he had poor metrics there as he lacked the range needed to thrive. His durability was impressive, starting 135+ games in 15 of his 20 professional seasons. Brotherson was one of the hardest working guys in the game and highly adaptable, making very popular across the region.

Three years after Vanuatu picked Desire in the 2009 OBA Draft, they grabbed his former classmate Brotherson #3 in 2012. He spent 2013 on the reserve roster, then saw weak results over 108 games in 2014. Brotherson was back as a reserve all of 2015, then was called up to start full-time in 2016.

Desire was gone, but Vanuatu was making progress since joining in the 2006 expansion. Brotherson had 5.9 WAR in 2016 and the Wizards made sure he wouldn’t leave so quickly, giving him an eight-year, $43,020,000 extension that winter. They hovered in the 80s wins range before moving to 94-68 in 2019 and 93-69 in 2020. Vanuatu was five games out of first in 2019 and four in 2020, but that first Pacific League pennant seemed reachable.

In 2017, Brotherson won PL MVP and a Silver Slugger, leading the league in hits (210), doubles (31), triples (25), total bases (381), triple slash (.355/.379/.644), OPS (1.023), wRC+ (198), and WAR (9.2). The hits, total bases, triple slash, OPS, and wRC+ would all be career highs, as was his 30 home runs. He also hit for the cycle twice, becoming the second OBA player with multiple cycles in a season. Brotherson won another Slugger in 2018 and his lone Gold Glove.

Brotherson was the WARlord again in 2019 with a career-best 9.7 and led in hits (205), triples (21), and batting average. That earned his third Slugger and a second place in MVP voting. He opted out of his Vanuatu deal to sign a new eight-year, $85,900,000 extension. Another key addition in 2018 for the Wizards was Roe Kaupa, OB’s eventual home run king.

2021 was the breakthrough as Vanuatu won the Pacific League at 102-60. Brotherson won his third batting title and fourth Silver Slugger, taking second in MVP voting. The Wizards won a seven-game classic over Christchurch and became the Oceania Champion in the franchise’s 16^th season. Brotherson was 9-28 in the series with 5 runs, 3 extra base hits, and 3 RBI. In the Baseball Grand Championship, Brotherson had 23 hits, 8 runs, 8 extra base hits, 9 RBI, .937 OPS, and 0.8 WAR. Vanuatu was one of five teams at 11-8, officially eighth after tiebreakers.

In 2022, Brotherson won his second MVP and fifth Slugger as he led in hits (203), total bases (357), steals (85), average (.343), OBP (.370), wRC+ (183), and WAR (8.1). He also matched his career high 30 homers. Vanuatu repeated as PL champ at 99-63, but were denied the Oceania Championship repeat getting swept by Syndey. Brotherson struggled to 0-14 in the series.

Things were riding high for Vanuatu, but they were stunned as Brotherson opted out of his contract, becoming a free agent at age 31. He wanted to try his luck on a bigger stage to their chagrin, but he remained very popular for helping the Wizards to their first success. In 1204 games, Brotherson had 1445 hits, 717 runs, 219 doubles, 147 triples, 190 home runs, 686 RBI, 596 steals, .321/.350/.562 slash, 165 wRC+, and 56.2 WAR. Vanuatu would eventually retire his #11 uniform.

Brotherson’s exploits with the Wizards had drawn international attention, as well as his efforts in the World Baseball Championship. Tahiti and French Polynesia are territories of France, thus he played on the French national team. From 2017-25, Brotherson played 62 games with 61 hits, 28 runs, 11 doubles, 11 homers, 3 triples, 31 RBI, .308/.358/.561 slash, and 2.8 WAR. Although he was a reserve in 2024, Brotherson was part of France’s first world title.

His Major League Baseball career began with a six-year, $150,400,000 deal starting in 2023 with Sacramento. The Shamrocks were an expansion team entering their third season and Brotherson was a big splash. Sacramento was firmly mid in his six-year tenure, averaging 79.2 wins per season with no playoff berths.

Brotherson never gave them award winning production like they hoped, but his first three seasons were rock solid with 13.0 WAR. His bat fell to below average numbers in 2026-27, but he had his most efficient year in 2028 despite losing six weeks to an intercostal strain. In 876 games, Brotherson had 1009 hits, 513 runs, 125 doubles, 90 triples, 120 home runs, 444 RBI, 192 steals, .307/.337/.509 slash, 117 wRC+, and 20.0 WAR.

He was a free agent for 2029 at age 37 and stayed in California on a two-year, $35,200,000 deal with Oakland. Brotherson was an okay starter, but did miss a good chunk of 2030 to a strained ACL. The Owls earned wild cards in both of his seasons, but failed to advance out of the first round. For his part, Brotherson was 9-20 in their playoff efforts.

In two seasons for Oakland, Brotherson played 240 games with 271 hits, 154 runs, 38 doubles, 23 triples, 27 home runs, 97 RBI, 53 steals, .304/.337/.490 slash, 110 wRC+, and 4.1 WAR. His combined MLB tenure had 1116 games, 1280 hits, 667 runs, 163 doubles, 113 triples, 147 home runs, 541 RBI, 245 steals, .306/.337/.505 slash, 116 wRC+, and 24.1 WAR. While Brotherson wasn’t the MVP he was in Vanuatu, that was an admirable eight-year run for a guy in his 30s.

Brotherson came back to OBA in 2031 on a two-year, $15,400,000 deal with Christchurch. He only played one year with the Chinnoks and missed some time to injury, but he still lead the Australasia League in triples (29) in 121 games and posted .874 OPS and 4.6 WAR at age 39. Next was a two-year, $22,600,000 deal with Brisbane.

He maintained similar production in two years for the Black Bears, leading again with 29 triples in 2033 and with 82 steals in 2032; stats you don’t expect a 40+ player to lead. In 293 games, Brotherson had 317 hits, 174 runs, 43 doubles, 48 triples, 24 home runs, 156 RBI, 167 steals, .291/.315/.484 slash, 121 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR.

Brotherson helped Brisbane to repeat Australasia League titles in 2032-33 with 95-67 and 100-62 records. They were defeated 4-2 by Guadalcanal in 2032 with Brotherson going 2-10 in the series. The Black Bears lost 4-3 to Port Moresby in 2033 with Brotherson missing the series due to back trouble. Still, he now had four pennants in his OBA career, although his playoff stats had a lackluster .587 OPS and 0.1 WAR in 14 games.

Despite a respectable 2033, OBA teams weren’t interested in the now 42-year old Brotherson. He eventually signed with the Arab League’s Riyadh, but struggled to -0.4 WAR and .468 OPS over 41 games and 10 starts. He retired that winter just after his 43^rd birthday. Brotherson’s combined pro career had 2775 games, 3205 hits, 1637 runs, 442 doubles, 337 triples, 373 home runs, 1451 RBI, 319 walks, 1059 steals, .311/.340/.528 slash, 138 wRC+, and 92.0 WAR. He ranks 48^th on the world leaderboard for triples.

In OBA, Brotherson had 1618 games, 1912 hits, 964 runs, 278 doubles, 224 triples, 226 home runs, 907 RBI, 200 walks, 806 steals, .315/.342/.546 slash, 155 wRC+, and 68.4 WAR. Spending eight years in MLB lowered his OBA totals as he ranks only 96^th in runs, 98^th in hits, 19^th in triples, 23^rd in steals, and 44^th in WAR for position players.

Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Brotherson’s triple slash ranks 21^st/71^st/30^th and his .889 OPS is 28^th. They were very impressive rate stats, especially since he wasn’t a big home run hitter or walks guy. A few voters felt his accumulations were too late, but most gave him at least partial credit for the MLB totals.

Had Brotherson stayed his whole run in the Oceania Baseball Association, he might have made a run at being the hits leader. Still, he was a two-time MVP and a huge reason Vanuatu won their first titles. Four batting titles and helping Brisbane at the end of his run certainly helped. Brotherson received 81.1% for a first ballot induction as part of OBA’s three-man 2039 Hall of Fame class.



Jordy Vincent – First Base – Canberra Centurions - 78.4% First Ballot

Jordy Vincent was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Yate, New Caledonia; a commune with about 1,600 people. He’s the third New Caledonian inductee and the first position player. When facing right-handed pitching, Vincent had great marks across the board with a career .981 OPS and 164 wRC+. However, he graded as subpar facing lefties with a .688 OPS and 93 wRC+.

On the whole, this gave Vincent good-to-great ratings for contact and power with an above average eye, although his strikeout rate was middling. His 162 game average got you 40 home runs, 28 doubles, and 2 triples. Vincent’s baserunning skills were very good, but he was limited by poor speed.

Vincent was a career first baseman with some limited starts as a designated hitter post-OBA. He was a below average defender on the whole, but was serviceable enough when considering his bat. Vincent’s durability was generally strong across two decades. He was also very popular by peers and fans as a team captain. Vincent was a great leader with an impressive work ethic, considered one of the game’s good guys.

Despite coming from very humble beginnings, Vincent managed to catch the eye of a scout from Canberra as a teenager. He signed a developmental deal in April 2015 that brought him to Australia, where he’d spend his entire OBA career. Vincent debuted at age 20 in 2019 with 13 plate appearances. ||

He was a part-time starter the next two years, mostly in a platoon role facing RHP. July 6, 2020 was notable as he had a four home run game facing Hobart. This was only the sixth such game to that point and it has only happened nine times in OBA at induction. Canberra was happy with his development and gave him a five-year, $24,500,000 extension after the 2021 campaign.

Vincent earned the full-time job in 2022 and had it through 2033 for the Centurions, only missing a few starts in 2026 and 2028 to injuries. In 2022, he earned the rare awards trifecta as Australasia League MVP, along with Silver Slugger and Gold Glove wins. Vincent led the league in home runs (53), RBI (149), and slugging (.641). Those would be career highs as was his .392 OBP, 1.032 OPS, and 8.2 WAR.

He dipped noticeably in 2023, but rebounded with his second MVP and Silver Slugger in 2024 as the leader in OPS (1.012), wRC+ (171), and WAR (7.8). Vincent wasn’t an MVP finalist for the rest of his career, but he provided a steady bat with an additional Slugger in 2029. That year, he led with 46 homers. Vincent was also the leader in 2026 for OPS (1.000) and wRC+ (179), although he did lose a few weeks to elbow troubles.

Canberra was one of the expansion teams from 2006 that was still looking for the first title. They had seen 90+ win seasons in the early 2010s, but couldn’t hang with dynasty runs by Melbourne and Christchurch. After spending the rest of the decade in the lower-mid tier, Vincent got them to 90+ win seasons from 2022-26.

The Centurions were still just short of the pennant, most painfully in 2024. That year saw a three-way tie after 162 games at 97-65 between Canberra, Sydney, and Christchurch. The Centurions won their tiebreaker game against the Chinooks, but lost to the Snakes. Canberra was also only four games short of Christchurch in 2023 and two behind Sydney in 2025. They knew they were close with Vincent’s help, giving him a seven-year, $178,400,000 extension in April 2026.

2027 was the breakthrough as Canberra dominated the AL field at 108-54 for their first pennant. They met Port Moresby in the Oceania Championship, who was going for their fourth title in five years. The series was an all-timer with the Mud Hens prevailing in seven games. Vincent had an excellent series in defeat, going 13-27 with 7 runs, 1 double, 1 homer, 3 RBI, and 0.6 WAR.

Canberra also earned an at-large bid into the Baseball Grand Championship. Vincent in 19 games had 15 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 6 homers, 10 RBI, .940 OPS, 164 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. The Centurions had an impressive 12-7 record, tying for fifth place. In the limited postseason experience he’d had, Vincent proved to be clutch.

He notably had finished third in MVP voting in the 2026 World Baseball Championship playing for France, as his native New Caledonia was a French territory. They took second to Austria with Vincent posting 25 hits, 20 runs, 9 doubles, 8 homers, 23 RBI, 1.132 OPS, 213 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR over 25 games.

Vincent also played on the 2023, 25, 27, 30, and 36 French teams. The 2027 notably was runner-up again, falling in a 19-inning game seven for the championship facing Bulgaria. Vincent had 63 total WBC games with 49 hits, 42 runs, 14 doubles, 21 homers, 45 RBI, .282/.399/.724 slash, and 3.9 WAR.

Canberra’s title was a one-off, as they dropped to fourth place at 87-75. The Centurions plummeted from there with only losing seasons over their next decade. Vincent kept plugging along into the 2030s even as the squad became a back-marker. His production was below his prior peaks, but he was still a reason to come to the ballpark for Canberra fans.

The highlight of this period game in the fall of 2029 when Vincent posted a 35-game hitting streak. This broke the prior OBA record of 34 games set by Kiryl Savchuk in 2004. At induction, Vincent’s streak remains the longest one in OBA. In his later seasons, he crossed the 500 home run and 2000 hit milestones.

Vincent’s contract expired with the 2033 season, which had been statistically the weakest of his career and his first with an OPS below .800. Canberra and he parted on good terms and Vincent remained very popular with Centurions fans. His #13 uniform would soon be retired, but he hoped to still play somewhere. Vincent opened up an international search and landed in South Asia Baseball on a three-year, $13,640,000 deal with Ho Chi Minh City.

His debut saw a bit of a bounce-back towards his latter Canberra production. The Hedgehogs were coming off five straight 100+ win seasons and division titles, but had no playoff success to show for it. In 2034, HCMC finished 111-51 and swept Yangon to win the Southeast Asia League pennant. The Hedgehogs fell 4-2 to Delhi in the SAB Championship.

In the playoff run, Vincent was respectable with 13 hits, 9 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 4 homers, 12 RBI, and 0.4 WAR over 15 games. Ho Chi Minh City qualified for the Baseball Grand Championship and Vincent had 10 hits, 8 runs, 7 homers, 13 RBI, and 0.5 WAR over 17 games. HCMC finished 12-9 in a tie for sixth place with Quito.

Vincent then had a remarkable resurgence in 2035 at age 36 despite missing more than a month to injury. In 121 games, Vincent had 39 homers, 1.071 OPS, 180 wRC+, and 6.1 WAR; winning a Silver Slugger. HCMC would be a wild card with a first round exit. Vincent didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the third year of his deal, but his two seasons as a Hedgehog were strong with 279 games, 308 hits, 205 runs, 62 doubles, 76 home runs, 193 RBI, .296/.365/.581 slash, 150 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR.

Now 37-years old, Vincent stayed in SAB but shifted to the Indian League on a three-year, $40,600,000 deal with Jaipur. He had solid showings in the first two years for the Jokers, who were in the middle-tier. Vincent dropped to more middling production in 2038 and dealt with a bone marrow edema in his wrist and a fractured finger, missing about two months. Jaipur did end a six-year playoff drought in 2038, but lost in the second round.

In three seasons for the Jokers, Vincent had 385 games, 355 hits, 214 runs, 85 doubles, 77 home runs, 246 RBI, .266/.362/.503 slash, 130 wRC+, and 8.4 WAR. He retired after the 2038 season at age 40. He had five solid years in his late 30s in SAB with 664 games, 663 hits, 419 runs, 147 doubles, 153 homers, 439 RBI, .279/.363/.537 slash, 139 wRC+, and 17.7 WAR.

For his combined pro career, Vincent had 2736 games, 2812 hits, 1654 runs, 469 doubles, 32 triples, 665 home runs, 1844 RBI, 961 walks, 1973 strikeouts, 173 steals, .289/.360/.549 slash, 147 wRC+, and 85.1 WAR. Just in OBA with Canberra, Vincent had 2072 games, 2149 hits, 1235 runs, 322 doubles, 29 triples, 512 home runs, 1405 RBI, 696 walks, 1440 Ks, 136 steals, .292/.360/.552 slash, 150 wRC+, and 67.5 WAR.

On the OBA leaderboards, Vincent ranks 86^th in games, 36^th in runs, 61^st in hits, 48^th in total bases (4065), 89^th in doubles, 19^th in homers, 24^th in RBI, 34^th in walks, and 46^th in WAR for position players. He did lose some accumulations playing his final five seasons in SAB. Vincent’s .912 OPS is notably the 17^th best among OBA hitters with 3000+ plate appearances and his triple slash ranks 81^st/19^th/26^th.

There were a few Hall of Fame voters who felt the accumulations weren’t quite high enough, but they were the minority. Vincent had two MVPs, 500+ homers, and helped expansion Canberra to its first-ever pennant. He received 78.4% for the first ballot nod to cap off a three-player class for the Oceania Baseball Association in 2039.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Austonesia Professional came close to having no Hall of Fame inductees in 2039, but also nearly had four guys cross the 66% requirement. Ultimately, only C Yi-Hsiang Chang made it in with a debut at 69.4%, the first catcher added to the APB HOF. SP Patrick Chen was the closest miss with a 64.6% debut. SP Kuo-Chen Kao had 62.6% on his fifth ballot and SP Yee Husin saw 62.0% in his second go. No one else was above 50%.



SP Benigno Espionza fell off after ten failed ballots, peaking at 28.9% in 2033 and ending with 19.2%. He had a 15-year career almost entirely with Semarang, winning one Pitcher of the Year and two ERA titles. Espinoza also won APB titles in 2012 and 2016 for the Sliders, finishing with a 0.81 ERA in 44.1 playoff innings.

Espionza had a 158-132 record, 2.25 ERA, 2849.1 innings, 3024 strikeouts, 478 walks, 113 complete games, 29 shutouts, 109 ERA+, 98 FIP-, and 41.5 WAR. Injuries really derailed his longevity, including an elbow ligament tear in 2014 and both a labrum tear and fractured wrist in 2020. After an ERA title at age 30, he was worth only 0.2 WAR total over the next five years as he fell off a cliff. The pace and accomplishments were there, but Espionza’s decline was too steep.

Also worth a mention was 1B Widodo Megawati, who fell below 5% on his seventh ballot and peaked at only 17.4%. He’s one of only 13 players in world history with 15+ Gold Gloves, tied with Kent Wang for the most in APB. They’re both tied for the most by a 1B with only Beisbol Sudamerica’s D.J. Del Valle with more at 16.

In a 20-year career, Megawati had 2789 games, 2551 hits, 1040 runs, 516 doubles, 282 home runs, 1134 RBI, 725 walks, 2042 strikeouts, .259/.312/.410 slash, 134 wRC+, and 82.1 WAR. He ranks 6^th in games, 11^th in hits, 33^rd in runs, 4^th in doubles, and 44^th in WAR for position players. Megawati was a key player on the back-end of Davao’s late 2000s-early 2010s dynasty as well. However, voters looked for home run power and slugging at first base. Megawati’s defense and longevity didn’t impress them, but he’s still worthy of a quick mention.



Yi-Hsiang Chang – Catcher – Kaohsiung Steelheads - 69.4% First Ballot

Yi-Hsiang Chang was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting catcher from Luchou, Taiwan; a district of 200,000 people in New Taipei City. Chang was a very well-rounded batter facing right-handed pitching, especially for a catcher. Against RHP, he had a career .807 OPS and 147 wRC+. Chang wasn’t bad against lefties either with a .656 OPS and 109 wRC+ in the ultra-low scoring world of APB.

Chang’s power wasn’t prolific, but he was good for 26 home runs and 21 doubles per his 162 game average. He was better than most at drawing walks, but was subpar at avoiding strikeouts. Chang’s biggest offensive weakness was absolutely abysmal baserunning and speed. That was expected from a catcher, but never in APB had there been a catcher with his batting prowess.

The trade-off was that defensively, Chang was fairly mediocre behind the plate. His durability was generally strong over a 19-year career. Chang was a true fan favorite known for his impressive work ethic and team-first attitude. He quickly became one of the more popular players in Taiwan after a strong collegiate run at the University of Kang Ning in Taipei. In the 2015 APB Draft, Chang was the #5 overall pick by Kaohsiung, where he’d play his entire APB career.

Chang had a limited role with 66 games and 45 starts as a rookie. He was a full-timer after that the next 16 years. Chang was never an association leader, not surprising considering the difficulty doing it as a catcher. However, he was notably worth 6+ WAR each year from 2019-27. Chang even was second in 2020’s MVP voting, third in 2021, and third in 2024. 2021 had his career high 8.1 WAR. Chang’s best OPS and wRC+ were .869 and 176 from 2024.

The Silver Slugger was his exclusive property with 12 consecutive wins from 2018-29. Chang is one of two players at any position with 12+ Sluggers in APB, joining the legendary Binh Tang. The only other catchers in any world league with 12+ is the record holder Cicero Lugo (16) from BSA as well as CABA’s Luis Moran with 12.

Kaohsiung had been abysmal in the later 2010s, but Chang helped get them back at or above .500 from 2020-28. In July 2021, he signed an eight-year, $127,400,000 extension to stick with the Steelheads. Chang opted out after the 2023 season and inked a new richer five-year, $162,600,000 extension. In 2024, Kaohsiung ended a 12-year playoff drought by winning the Taiwan League at 96-66. They defeated Zamboanga 4-1 for their first Taiwan-Philippine Association pennant since 2007.

The Steelheads would be denied in a seven-game classic facing Bandung in the Austronesia Championship. In 12 playoff starts, Chang had 12 hits, 4 runs, 1 double, 1 homer, 4 RBI, .721 OPS, 136 wRC+, and 0.4 WAR. Kaohsiung was 92-70 the next year, falling three short of Hsinchu for the TL title.

They took first at 98-64 in 2026, but lost to defending champ Cebu in the TPA final. This would be the final time Chang played in the postseason. However, he was a World Baseball Championship regular from 2017-34 for Taiwan. Chang had 145 games and 129 starts in the WBC with 114 hits, 76 runs, 19 doubles, 40 home runs, 82 RBI, .250/.356/.555 slash, 161 wRC+, and 5.9 WAR. This helped make in very popular across the entire island nation.

The Steelheads hovered around .500 for 2027 and 2028. Before the 2028 season, Chang signed a four-year, $122 million extension with Kaohsiung. This year had his only real major injury with a torn meniscus in August. Chang stuck around as the team fell to the bottom with sub-70 win seasons from 2029-31.

He had stayed remarkably consistent even into his late 30s, posting 6.1 WAR in 2032 and 4.7 WAR in 2033. Kaohsiung rebounded to .500 in 2032, but dropped back to 74-88 in 2033. Chang signed a two-year, $43,600,000 extension after the 2032 season, but didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the second year. That winter, they mutually parted ways after 18 seasons.

Chang wanted to still play somewhere, but aging catchers didn’t have a big market. He ended up in the African Association of Baseball on a two-year, $28,800,000 deal with Lusaka. Chang had still been effective previously, but perhaps the culture shock helped precipitate a steep decline. He had -0.4 WAR and 93 wRC+ in 117 games for the Lake Monsters in 2034. Chang retired that winter at age 40.

In APB, Chang played 2347 games with 2019 hits, 892 runs, 303 doubles, 33 triples, 368 home runs, 1039 RBI, 730 walks, 1891 strikeouts, .257/.319/.444 slash, 139 wRC+, and 100.0 WAR. Chang ranks 61^st in games, 82^nd in runs, 72^nd in hits, 71^st in total bases (3492), 96^th in doubles, 51^st in homers, 40^th in RBI, 44^th in walks, and 20^th in WAR among position players.

Chang is APB’s leader in runs, total bases, homers, RBI, and WAR for catchers. On the downside, he’s also the leader in errors (493) and passed balls (185). Specifically at catcher, Chang was just barely below 100 WAR (99.96). Only two catchers in world history have topped 100 WAR, showing how impressive Chang was in his space.

Of course, Hall of Fame voters historically have the strong anti-catcher bias with the lower accumulations that come with the position. Austronesia Professional Baseball voters also have that magnified as they expect totals more in line with other leagues despite APB being the world’s lowest-scoring league. As such, they hadn’t inducted a single catcher in the HOF’s 70+ year history. Chang couldn’t be denied, although he only barely breached the requirement. At 69.4%, he stood alone for induction in 2039.

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Two guys got first ballot additions for Chinese League Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2039. The former home run king LF Tao Cai led the way at 95.5% and was joined by SP Kamesh Sajeev at 88.5%. SP Dalong Li was the top returner at 63.3%, narrowly missing the 66% induction threshold on his fifth ballot. SP Yingfa Luo was the other player above 50%, getting 54.5% on his fourth try.



Dropped after ten ballots was RF Boyu Long, who got as close at 57.5% in his debut and ended at only 21.3% He was above 50% five times and was partially a victim of CLB voters holding hitters to standards expected from higher-scoring leagues. Long also spent his final five seasons in Africa, limiting his final CLB accumulations.

In 15 seasons with Wenzhou, Long won nine Silver Sluggers with 2198 games, 1954 hits, 1079 runs, 231 doubles, 224 triples, 537 home runs, 1238 RBI, 708 walks, 2285 strikeouts, .256/.321/.556 slash, 189 wRC+, and 83.2 WAR. He was beaten by Cheng Kang by only four days at becoming CLB’s first 500 home run hitter.

Long still ranks 4^th in homers, 4^th in RBI, 32^nd in hits, 11^th in runs, and 10^th in triples. But he’s only 49^th in WAR for position players and 6^th in strikeouts. Playing for expansion Wenzhou also hurt his notoriety as they only made the playoffs once in his run. While very popular with fans, Long was criticized by peers for a lack of work ethic and intelligence.

When you add his five AAB seasons, Long had 2818 games, 2499 hits, 1470 runs, 327 doubles, 253 triples, 728 home runs, 1679 RBI, 948 walks, 2916 strikeouts, .255/.326/.564 slash, 177 wRC+, and 94.0 WAR. He does rank 45^th in world history for strikeouts. Still, it seems like an all-time snub to leave out a guy who ranks 4^th in homers and RBI over nearly 70 years of history in a league.



Tao “Gonzo” Cai – Left Field – Changwon Cannons – 95.5% First Ballot

Tao Cai was a 6’0’’, 190 pound right-handed left fielder from Cangzhou, a prefecture-level city of 7.3 million in north China’s Hebei Province. Nicknamed “Gonzo, Cai was a very well-rounded batter with excellent power. He had 41 home runs, 23 doubles, and 8 triples per his 162 game average; very high numbers in the extremely-low scoring CLB. Cai led the league five times in homers and four times in OPS. He was a solid contact hitter and above average at drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was unremarkable.

Cai absolutely destroyed left-handed pitching with a career 1.045 OPS and 217 wRC+. He was plenty elite with a .880 OPS and 172 wRC+ against righties. Cai was a highly skilled baserunner, but his speed and stealing ability were both average at best. He was a career left fielder and a reliably solid defender. Cai wasn’t quite Gold Glove level, but he gave you positive value defensively.

His durability was mostly strong, starting 135+ games in all but two of his 15 CLB seasons. Cai had an impressive work ethic, was very intelligent, and always wanted more. It’s not surprising that he emerged as one of the biggest baseball superstars to ever come out of China. By the time Cai’s college career was over, it was obvious he was destined to be an all-timer. Changsha had the #1 pick for the 2018 CLB Draft and gladly took Cai.

Cai was a full-time starter right away with immediate success, winning Rookie of the Year and his first Silver Slugger in 2019 with a 5.9 WAR season. His sophomore season would be his first of eight seasons worth 8.9 WAR or better. He’d also be good for at least 6.5 WAR from 2020-30. Cai won his second Silver Slugger in 2020 and led the Southern league in on-base percentage (.356), taking third in MVP voting.

In 2021-22, Cai won back-to-back MVP and Sluggers with 11.6 and 11.5 WAR seasons (the former amazingly wasn’t the league leader thanks to Shimin Loy’s 11.6, but it was Cai’s career best). Cai had 59 homers both years and led both times in runs, slugging, and OPS. The 114 runs in 2022 was a career high, as was his .671 slugging in 2021.

The Cannons had bottomed out at 53-109 the year before Cai’s arrival. They were back up above .500 to start the 2020s and got to the playoffs in 2022 as a wild card, although they fell in the round robin. That ended a nine-year playoff drought for Changsha. Despite Cai’s efforts, they missed the playoffs just above .500 the next two years, then spent 2025-27 in the 70s win range.

Cai continued to roll, posting 10+ WAR again in 2024 and 2026 with the league lead both years in homers. He won a Silver Slugger in 2024 with a third place in MVP voting. After the 2026 season, Cai signed a seven-year, $200,100,000 extension with Changsha; a historically large deal for CLB. In 2027, he hit for his lone cycle on August 2027 against Shenzhen.

In 2028, Cai won his third MVP and another Slugger, posting his career bests for average (.352), OBP (.421), and OPS (1.062) along with 11.2 WAR. Changsha was first in the SL standings at 99-63, but fell in the round robin. You couldn’t blame Cai for their early exit, as he had a 1.310 OPS and 0.8 WAR in six games.

Cai repeated as MVP in 2029 for his fourth MVP win and seventh Silver Slugger. This had his best wRC+ (223) and league bests for homers (50), RBI (114), total bases (392), slugging (.666), OPS (1.042), and WAR (9.8). Changsha was the final wild card at 88-74, but this time they made it out of the round robin. The Cannons then swept Dongguan in the semifinal with Cai earning series MVP.

Changsha would be denied 4-1 in Cai’s lone China Series appearance to Shenyang. He had a stellar postseason with 15 starts, 22 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 7 home runs, 12 RBI, 1.180 OPS, 273 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR. Cai furthered a reputation as a big-game player.

He was already nationally popular for his efforts in the World Baseball Championship for China, although it was a relatively down period for the country. In 137 games, Cai had 122 hits, 83 runs, 21 doubles, 42 homers, 97 RBI, .241/.307/.542 slash, and 4.9 WAR. China got playoff berths in 2022 and 2031, but didn’t make it to the final four.

CLB switched to a divisional format in 2030 and Changsha missed the playoffs at 92-70, eight games behind Chongqing for first. They then fell to 80-82 in 2031 as Cai ran into his first major injuries, missing two months between plantar fasciitis and a fractured foot. He never returned to his previous peaks after that, although he was still good for 4+ WAR in 2032 and 2033.

Cai was also climbing up the all-time power leaderboards, chasing Cheng Kang’s all-time leader for homers (552) and RBI (1272). He passed him for both marks in 2032 and retired as the leader in both stats. Cai was finally passed in 2038 for homers by Syamsul Azzahari and Azzahari sits only 12 RBI behind him entering 2039. Cai also passed Hongchen Wang’s 1215 to become the runs scored leader, a mark Azzahari also later breached.

Changsha got back to the playoffs with 99-63 and 93-69 records. They were ousted in the round robin in 2032, but made it through and won the Southern League final 4-2 over Guangzhou. The Cannons then defeated Hangzhou 4-2 to give Cai his first China Series ring. His performance was merely decent over 21 playoff starts with a .733 OPS, 118 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. In the Baseball Grand Championship, Cai had 126 wRC+ and 0.4 WAR as Changsha finished 8-13.

That marked the end of his Cannons contract and they mutually agreed to part ways. The beloved superstar had reached his final goal, winning the championship. He also had the home run king crown as he entered free agency for the first time at age 37. Cai remained beloved by Changsha fans and his #15 uniform would soon be retired.

Cai surprisingly went to the European Baseball Federation on a three-year, $35,400,000 deal with Liverpool. He was a respectable starter in 2034, but was reduced to a bench role in 2035. Cai had 258 games, 162 starts, 207 hits, 108 runs, 23 doubles, 10 triples, 38 homers, 107 RBI, .286/.333/.503 slash, 131 wRC+, and 4.5 WAR. He was let go for 2036 and spent the entire year unsigned, eventually retiring in the winter at age 40.

For his combined pro career, Cai has 2516 games, 2602 hits, 1363 runs, 364 doubles, 129 triples, 633 home runs, 1533 RBI, 798 walks, 1952 strikeouts, 390 steals, .290/.348/.571 slash, 183 wRC+, and 128.0 WAR. The wRC+ falls one point short of the top 50 for all Hall of Famers and retired locks in world history.

In Chinese League Baseball, Cai had 2258 games, 2395 hits, 1255 runs, 341 doubles, 119 triples, 595 home runs, 1426 RBI, 751 walks, 1771 strikeouts, 370 steals, .290/.350/.577 slash, 187 wRC+, and 123.5 WAR. Cai ranks 12^th in games, 2^nd in runs, 6^th in hits, 1^st in total bases (4759), 13^th in doubles, 2^nd in homers, 1^st in RBI, 16^th in walks, 33^rd in strikeouts, and 7^th in WAR among position players.

Cai is easily one of the immortals in CLB lore and certainly on the short list when discussing the Hall of Fame’s inner-circle. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his .927 OPS is 15^th and his triple slash is 71^st/36^th/18^th. Cai was a clear HOF headliner at 95.5% to lead China’s two-man 2039 class.



Kamesh Sajeev – Starting Pitcher – Guangzhou Gamecocks – 88.5% First Ballot

Kamesh Sajeev was a 6’6’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from Damnagar, India; a town of 17,000 in the Gujarat state. He was the first Indian into CLB’s HOF and only the fifth player born outside of the Chinese mainland or Hong Kong. Sajeev had good-to-great ratings for stuff, movement, and control.

He didn’t have overpowering stuff with only 94-96 mph peak velocity. However, Sajeev was a master at changing speeds with his fastball-curveball-changeup arsenal. In the front-end of his career, Sajeev had excellent stamina and thrice led the league in complete games. His durability was great prior to blowing out his elbow at age 34. Sajeev was good at holding runners and a rock solid defensive pitcher, winning a Gold Glove in 2027.

Players from outside of China rarely entered CLB, but scouts would look at prospects in the neighboring countries. Sajeev was overlooked broadly being in a smaller town, but he caught the eye of a scout from Guangzhou. In March 2016, Sajeev was convinced to join the Gamecocks academy. He spent five years in developmental before debuting as a full-time starter right away in 2021.

As a rookie, Sajeev led the Southern League in innings at 274 and took third in Pitcher of the Year voting. Guangzhou got to the semifinal as a wild card, but lost to Hong Kong 4-3. Sajeev had an excellent playoff debut with a 1.08 ERA over 25 innings in three starts. He was the ace after that and led in WAR the next two years, winning back-to-back Pitcher of the Year awards.

2023 had Sajeev’s best for WAR (10.1), strikeouts (334), K/BB (11.9), ERA+ (159) and FIP- (47). He also led in wins that year with 17 and was second in ERA at 1.86, behind HK’s Dalong Li at 1.73. Sajeev’s beset ERA was 1.80 in 2024, although he was second in POTY voting. He had the best FIP- in both 2023 and 2024.

Guangzhou missed the playoffs in 2022 at 85-77, but got back-to-back wild cards after that at 92-70 and 94-68. They lost in the round robin in 2024, but broke through in 2023. The Gamecocks rolled Xiamen 4-1 in the semifinal for their first China Series trip since 2012, but they were promptly swept by Tianjin. Sajeev had a decent postseason in 2023 with 2.89 ERA over 28 innings and 102 ERA+, but he struggled to a 4.15 ERA in two losses for 2024.

Sajeev fell off shockingly with a 3.64 ERA and 76 ERA+ in 2025, although the 78 FIP- suggests some bad luck. He never returned to his POTY peaks, but was back as a solid 6+ WAR guy for the next four years in China. Guangzhou fell to 66-96 in 2025, then spent the following two years around .500.

The Gamecocks were back to 72-90 in 2028, which saw Sajeev lead the league in WHIP (0.78), complete games (20), and shutouts (6). Although the 6.4 WAR was far from the previous wins, Sajeev earned his third Pitcher of the Year award. His stock was high with only one year remaining before free agency.

Guangzhou wasn’t contending and didn’t expect to in the immediate future. They didn’t expect Sajeev to stick around, thus he was traded in the offseason for five prospects to Xiamen. Sajeev was popular for his efforts and his #29 uniform would later be retired. In eight seasons, Sajeev had a 123-74 record, 2.16 ERA, 1917.2 innings, 2232 strikeouts, 300 walks, 117 complete games, 35 shutouts, 131 ERA+, 66 FIP-, and 55.8 WAR.

Xiamen was the 2028 CLB champ and the trade happened in late October, making Sajeev available for November’s Baseball Grand Championship with the Mutts. In 32.2 innings, he had a 3.31 ERA, 2-1 record, 31 strikeouts, and 0.1 WAR as Xiamen finished 8-11.

Sajeev had also been a tournament regular for his native India in the World Baseball Championship with mixed results. From 2022-35, he tossed 269 innings with a 14-14 record, 3.75 ERA, 317 strikeouts, and 3.7 WAR. Although his numbers weren’t exceptional, the Indians were a top nation during his run. India placed third each year from 2030-32 and was fourth in both 2025 and 2028.

His 2029 with Xiamen was rock solid with 7.1 WAR over 249 innings, 2.60 ERA, 18-7 record, and 299 strikeouts. The Mutts were a 91-71 wild card and lost in the round robin with Sajeev posting a 1.53 ERA over 17.2 playoff innings. He was now a free agent heading towards his age 31 season and had offers worldwide. Sajeev left CLB for Major League Baseball, getting a hefty six-year, $160,800,000 deal with Ottawa.

The Elks were coming off repeat National Association titles and had been the Grand Champion in 2028. Sajeev debuted with very average stats in 2030 with a 4.13 ERA. Ottawa was 108-54 in 2030, but lost the division by one win to Buffalo. The Elks were then upset by Kansas City in the first round. Sajeev was rocked in his one start, giving up six runs in 3.2 innings.

Sajeev had easily his best MLB season in 2031with 6.7 WAR, 2.95 ERA, and 202 Ks in 240.2 innings. Ottawa won the division at 94-68 and got to the NACS, falling to divisional foe Toronto in a sweep. Sajeev had a much better postseason with a 3.15 ERA over 20 innings. This ended the Elks’ time at the top as they spent the four years around .500 or just below.

2032 had Sajeev’s worst ERA at 4.89, but again a 84 FIP- suggested some bad luck. The real bad fortune came in his second start of 2033 with a damaged elbow ligament that put his career in doubt. Sajeev was out 14 months total and returned part-way through 2034. He had decent production in 2034 and 2035, but saw his run ended with shoulder inflammation in August 2035.

In six years for Ottawa, Sajeev had a 51-61 record, 3.89 ERA, 994.2 innings, 841 strikeouts, 232 walks, 28 complete games, 4 shutouts, 102 ERA+, 85 FIP-, and 21.2 WAR. Sajeev was by no means bad with the Elks, but underperformed the high expectations the team had with the big free agent deal. Now 37, Sajeev stayed in MLB with a three-year, $36,500,000 deal from Detroit.

Sajeev ate innings for the Tigers for two seasons, who were in the middle-tier at this point. He had a 25-22 record, 4.12 ERA, 424 innings, 266 strikeouts, 96 ERA+, 95 FIP-, 6.6 WAR. Detroit cut Sajeev in January 2038 and he later signed a minor league deal with Calgary. He spent 2038 in minor league Regina with 134.1 innings. Realizing big league clubs weren’t interested, Sajeev retired that winter at age 39.

In eight MLB seasons, Sajeev had a 76-83 record, 3.96 ERA, 1418.2 innings, 1067 strikeouts, 326 walks, 42 complete games, 6 shutouts, 100 ERA+, 88 FIP-, and 27.9 WAR. His combined pro career saw a 217-164 record, 2.90 ERA, 3585.1 innings, 3598 strikeouts, 661 walks, 166 complete games, 43 shutouts, 116 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 90.7 WAR.

Just in Chinese League Baseball, Sajeev had a 141-81 record, 2.21 ERA, 2166.2 innings, 2531 strikeouts, 335 walks, 191/248 quality starts, 124 complete games, 37 shutouts, 129 ERA+, 66 FIP-, and 62.9 WAR. The run was only nine years, limiting his accumulations. Sajeev ranks 51^st in wins, 28^th in complete games, 22^nd in shutouts (despite being outside the top 100 in innings), 54^th in strikeouts, and 35^th in pitching WAR.

A few voters were reluctant to give a guy the nod with such a short tenure, but most gave Sajeev at least some credit for his MLB tallies. He was undoubtedly an ace in his nine years in China and only a select few had three Pitcher of the Year awards. Sajeev earned the Hall of Fame induction firmly with 88.5% on the first ballot as part of Chinese League Baseball’s two-man 2039 class.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Three players secured first ballot inductions for West African Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2039 with 3B Jonah Moiseiwitsch the clear headliner at 97.4%. CF Rasaq Kadir and 1B Rio Ogbonna both made it in firmly at 85.3% and 83.6%, respectively. Two others barely missed the 66% induction threshold with LF Mohamed Khammas at 63.9% in his second try and LF Kevin Serville debuting at 63.6%. No one else was above 50%.



SP Douba Abdramane was dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking with his debut at 43.6% and ending with 7.0%. He had a 16-year career with all but one season with Yaounde, playing a big role in their 2018-21 dynasty run. Abdramane had two Gold Gloves and finished with a 215-174 record, 4.13 ERA, 3490.1 innings, 3369 strikeouts, 641 walks, 77 complete games, 18 shutouts, 110 ERA+, 87 FIP-, and 67.6 WAR.

Abdramane ranks 3^rd in wins, 4^th in innings, 12^th in complete games, 16^th in strikeouts, and 12^th in pitching WAR. However, WAB voters tend to be harsh on pitchers for not having comparable numbers to other world league’s aces. It is an unfair standard since WAB is the highest-scoring league and WAB pitchers are also generally called upon for fewer innings relative to other leagues.

However, Abdramane was viewed by many as a compiler despite his top 15 rankings in the big counting stats. He was never a Pitcher of the Year finalist and was never a league leader in the big stats. It’s hard to believe a guy with his spots in the rankings missed the cut, but Abdramane was on the outside.

Also dropped was SP Dawud Bin Rahman, who debuted at 49.5% but dropped to 4.1% on the tenth try. He had a 16-year career and had better rate stats than Abdramane, but lower totals. Bin Rahman had an 180-119 record, 3.64 ERA, 2686.2 innings, 2994 strikeouts, 17 complete games, 7 shutouts, 124 ERA+, 83 FIP-, and 58.0 WAR.

Bin Rahman ranks 28^th in pitching WAR, 25^th in wins, 32^nd in innings, and 32^nd in strikeouts. He did have an ERA title and was thrice a POTY finalist, but bin Rahman wasn’t part of a dynasty like Abdramane. Bin Rahman spent most of his career with Ouagadougou and stunk in his playoff starts. Chalk another guy up for the Hall of Pretty Good.



Jonah “Lucky” Moiseiwitsch – Third Base – Kano Condors – 97.4% First Ballot

Jonah Moiseiwitsch was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Ramana, Israel; a northern village with 1,400 inhabitants. Nicknamed “Lucky,” Moiseiwitsch was best known for his impressive durability and longevity. He had a 22-year career and started in 140+ games each year from 2014-32.

At the plate, Moiseiwitsch hit for a high average, although he did strike out a lot and was subpar at drawing walks. His gap and home run power were both reliably solid with 32 home runs, 41 doubles, and 10 triples per his 162 game average. Moiseiwitsch was strongest facing left-handed pitching with a .966 OPS and 142 wRC+ compared to his .872 OPS and 120 wRC+ against righties.

Moiseiwitsch’s speed was above average-to-good with very good baserunning skills. He was a career third baseman with excellent defensive metrics. Moiseiwitsch would’ve likely won more than two Gold Gloves if he hadn’t shared a league several years with Seidath Boni, who won the award 12 times. Boni is the WAB career leader for zone rating at 3B while Moiseiwitsch is #3.

The “Lucky” moniker paid off for Moiseiwitsch as a teenager as he happened to attend an international prospects camp monitored by a scout from Bamako. WAB scouts very rarely went as far away as Israel, but Moiseiwitsch stood out even as the Bullfrogs scout had come for other talents. They convinced Moiseiwitsch to come to Mali, signing a developmental deal in March 2009.

Moiseiwitsch spent the better part of four years in their academy and was a rare 19-year old debut in 2012, although he struggled in his 23 games and 13 starts. He started most of 2013 with a merely okay 0.7 WAR and 101 wRC+ in 114 games, but that was still good for Rookie of the Year against a weaker field. Moiseiwitsch was the full-time starter after that, although he didn’t emerge as an elite starter until 2016. After the 2015 campaign, he inked a five-year, $20,920,000 extension with Bamako.

2015 marked the beginning of a seven-year playoff streak for Bamako, who finished first in the standings at 95-67. They won the Western League Championship Series 3-2 over Dakar for their first pennant since 2003. However, the Bullfrogs were denied their first WAB title 4-2 by Port Harcourt. Moiseiwitsch was merely okay in his playoff debut with 0.2 WAR and 120 wRC+ in 11 starts.

Moiseiwitsch won his first Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in 2016 with a third place in MVP voting. He had 7.6 WAR, 40 home runs, and 143 wRC+. It was his first of seven seasons with 6+ WAR and he’d be reliably good for 4+ WAR from 2015-30, showing his remarkable consistency. Bamako was a 94-68 wild card and was ousted in the second round.

The Bullfrogs had WAB’s best record in 2017 at 109-53 and beat Kumasi in the WLCS. Moiseiwitsch was series MVP and won a Silver Slugger for his regular season efforts. Bamako fell again in the WAB Championship, this time 4-1 to Kano. Overall, Moiseiwitsch had a lackluster 83 wRC+ and 0.0 WAR in the playoffs. He was also mid in the Baseball Grand Championship with a .706 OPS, 103 wRC+, and 0.3 WAR.

Bamako earned the at-large bid into the event and surprised many by finishing in a three-way tie for first at 12-7 with Concepcion and Juarez. However, the head-to-head tiebreakers put the Bullfrogs third, Jesters first, and Chiefs second. Moiseiwitsch was second in 2018’s MVP voting, leading the league for the first time with 130 runs. Bamako was the #4 seed at 91-71 and lost in the first round.

The Bullfrogs returned to the top perch in 2019 at 109-53, Moiseiwitsch’s best year by many metrics. He led in runs (143), hits (230), total bases (442), and WAR (9.7); all career highs. He also had his peak for homers (47), triple slash (.356/.399/.684), OPS (1.083), and wRC+ (178). Moiseiwitsch won another Silver Slugger, but was second in MVP voting behind Conakry slugger Ibrahim Sani. 2019 also had his lone cycle on July 21 facing Monrovia.

Bamako won its third pennant in five years with a sweep of the Coyotes in the WLCS. However, they lost a seven-game thriller to Kano, making the Bullfrogs a painful 0-7 all-time in the West African Championship. Moiseiwitsch was okay in the playoff run (0.2 WAR, 129 wRC+) but was terrible in the BGC with -0.5 WAR, .527 OPS, and 46 wRC+. The Bullfrogs qualified again as an at-large, but struggled to 8-11.

Moiseiwitsch was second once more in 2020’s MVP voting, his final time as a finalist. Bamako went 96-66 and lost in the second round, although Moiseiwitsch had five good playoff starts. His overall playoff stats for the Bullfrogs had 41 starts, 51 hits, 30 runs, 7 doubles, 6 triples, 7 homers, 23 RBI, .305/.361/.545 slash, 128 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR.

He had also become a World Baseball Championship regular by this point returning home to represent Israel. Moiseiwitsch played 124 games from 2018-29 with 132 hits, 68 runs, 22 doubles, 33 home runs, 77 RBI, .266/.303/.517 slash, and 4.8 WAR.

Moiseiwitsch’s Bamako contract expired after 2020 and his stock was quite high as an MVP finalist and extremely popular star that was still only 28-years old. For the Bullfrogs, Moiseiwitsch played 1203 games with 1584 hits, 901 runs, 305 doubles, 87 triples, 274 home runs, 795 RBI, 216 walks, .317/.347/.577 slash, 133 wRC+, and 45.0 WAR.

His most dominant seasons came with Bamako, but he’d be better known for his longer tenure with Kano. Still, Bullfrogs fans generally remember Moiseiwitsch fondly for his role in the 2010s pennants. Some were upset he left specifically for the Condors, since they had thwarted Bamako twice in the finals.

Moiseiwitsch joined the Condors on an eight-year, $106,400,000 deal. He would be a reliable starter for Kano, but never reached his Bamako peaks and never won a Silver Slugger for the Condors. Kano had a wild card and second round exit in 2021, the final year of a six-year playoff streak.

The Condors did rebound in 2023 at 96-66, upsetting Port Harcourt 3-2 in the Eastern League Championship Series. However, they were promptly swept in the WAB final by Abidjan. Moiseiwitsch couldn’t shake a reputation as a poor playoff performer with a .679 OPS, 68 wRC+, and 0.1 WAR in the run. His later playoff starts for Kano would be worse, finishing with a -0.3 WAR and 55 wRC+ in 25 games.

Kano spent the next three years as a mid-grade team with a lone wild card and first round exit in 2026. They bottomed out in 2027 at 61-101 and were sellers with one year left on Moiseiwitsch’s deal. While they were generally happy with his results, they needed new blood and shipped him to Lagos in the winter for five prospects. One was catcher Chuck Koffie who would win seven Gold Gloves, although the Condors lost him after two years because of an expansion draft.

Moiseiwitsch had his usual production in 2028 for the Lizards with 5.6 WAR, .934 OPS, 135 wRC+, 30 homers, 89 RBI, and 102 runs. This did earn him his fourth and final Silver Slugger. Lagos finished 80-82 and Moiseiwitsch returned to free agency at age 36. Kano was happy to bring him back in on a three-year, $73,800,000 deal.

Kano did return to the playoffs as a division champ in 2030 at 98-64 and a wild card in 2031, but lost in the second round both years. Moiseiwitsch was his usual self the first two years and won his second Gold Glove in 2030. That September, he also joined the short-list of players in world history with 3500 career hits. The #1 spot was out of reach with his contemporary Fares Belaid becoming the WAB and world leader with 5083 after the 2032 season.

However, Moiseiwitsch wasn’t unreasonable in shooting for 4000 hits, which had only been met six times in baseball history to that point. That goal took a hit as he struggled in 2031 with .743 OPS, 84 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. Still, he crossed another major milestone with his 2000^th run. At induction, Moiseiwitsch is one of only 38 in world history to hit the mark. He had also breached 700 doubles, a mark hit by only 22 in baseball history.

Between tenures with Kano, Moiseiwitsch played 1532 games with 1897 hits, 999 runs, 394 doubles, 85 triples, 290 home runs, 1010 RBI, 268 walks, 433 steals, .312/.340/.547 slash, 123 wRC+, and 50.0 WAR. Although his tenure came in a relatively weak era for the Condors, Moiseiwitsch was extremely popular and his #4 uniform would later be retired.

Now 39-years old, Moiseiwitsch signed for two-years and $9,200,000 with Touba, one of the expansion teams from 2030. They were abysmal at this point, but Moiseiwitsch was a passable starter in 2032 at 99 wRC+ and 2.7 WAR. He was reduced to a reserve role in 2033 with 70 games and 52 starts. With the Twins in 222 games, Moiseiwitsch had 258 hits, 127 runs, 52 doubles, 27 home runs, 105 RBI, .302/.338/.477 slash, 108 wRC+, and 4.3 WAR.

Moiseiwitsch considered hanging on to chase milestones, but retired after the 2033 season shortly after his 41^st birthday. He fell 71 hits shy of the vaunted 4000 hit club. Moiseiwitsch also was only one RBI away from 2000 and 11 doubles from reaching 800.

In total, Moiseiwitsch played 3103 games with 3929 hits, 2129 runs, 789 doubles, 188 triples, 621 home runs, 1999 RBI, 544 walks, 2812 strikeouts, 883 steals, .314/.343/.556 slash, 127 wRC+, and 104.9 WAR. On the WAB leaderboards at induction, Moiseiwitsch is 3^rd in games, 2^nd in at-bats (12,513), 6^th in runs, 3^rd in hits, 4^th in total bases (6957), 2^nd in singles (2331), 2^nd in doubles, 27^th in triples, 16^th in homers, 8^th in RBI, 16^th in steals, 9^th in strikeouts, and 7^th in WAR for position players.

On the world leaderboards, Moiseiwitsch ranks 12^th in at-bats, 11^th in hits, 19^th in runs, 4^th in doubles, and 76^th in RBI. He also makes the top 100 for games played and strikeouts. Despite the tallies, the 127 wRC+ suggests he was a big beneficiary of West African Baseball’s high-scoring environment.

Moiseiwitsch doesn’t usually get rated in the absolute highest of echelons from world scholars compared to peers with similar hit and run totals. His weak playoff stats also keep him from being a true immortal in the eyes of some. Moiseiwitsch doesn’t make the top 100 for OPS among WAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances.

Still, his consistency and totals were quite remarkable and Moiseiwitsch was easily an inner-circle Hall of Famer for WAB. He led the way for the three-man 2039 class at 97.4%. Moiseiwitsch is also often cited as the most successful batter to come out of Israel and arguably the country’s best-ever player overall.

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Rasaq Kadir – Center Field – Douala Dingos – 85.3% First Ballot

Rasaq Kadir was a 6’2’’, 210 pound left-handed center fielder from Eruwa, Nigeria; a city of about 118,000 in the country’s southwest. Kadir was best known for his excellent gap power with 49 doubles and 14 triples per his 162 game average. He also had respectable home run power with 27 per 162. Those totals though came almost exclusively from facing right-handed pitching with a career .969 OPS and 141 wRC+. Kadir was actively bad facing lefties with a .749 OPS and 87 wRC+.

Even with his lefty struggles, Kadir graded as a rock solid contact hitter that regularly hit it hard in play. He was subpar at drawing walks and middling at avoiding strikeouts. Kadir had very good speed, but his baserunning ability was average-at-best. He was a career center fielder and a reliably great defender, grading just a notch below Gold Glove level.

Despite the physical demands of CF, Kadir had excellent durability and started 120+ games in each of his 17 full seasons. He was quiet and humble, but still knew how to lead by example. Kadir was very popular amongst teammates and fans in Douala, where he spent the vast majority of his career. After an impressive amateur career, the Dingos drafted Kadir fourth overall in the 2015 WAB Draft.

Kadir only played 14 games in 2016, then was a full-time starter from 2017 onward. Although he had only 1.6 WAR and 100 wRC+ in his rookie season, he led the Eastern League with 63 doubles; which would be a career high. In world history, this is one of only 41 seasons in any league of 63+ doubles. Kadir was a much more well-rounded bat after that and some of those doubles turned into triples and homers in later seasons.

From 2018-26, Kadir was good for 5+ WAR each year. In this run, he won Silver Sluggers from 2019-23 and 2025. In 2021, Kadir won Eastern League MVP with career bests for WAR (8.0), OPS (1.042), wRC+ (161), slugging (.668), hits (220), triples (26), and total bases (420). Douala had been historically inept and had never made the playoffs in their first 46 seasons. 2021 finally ended that, although they were an 88-74 wild card with a first round exit.

The Dingos felt Kadir could bring them regular contention for the first time ever and gave him an eight-year, $118 million extension in April 2022. He held up his end, but the franchise plummeted right back to the bottom with only losing seasons for the rest of the decade. Kadir stayed loyal and did his job, taking third in 2022’s MVP voting. He led that year with 55 doubles and led in triples again in 2025 with 26. In 2023, Kadir hit for his lone cycle on May 4 facing Niamey.

Although he didn’t get much big game experience with Douala, Kadir was a regular for his native Nigeria in the World Baseball Championship from 2018-32. In 151 games, he had 124 hits, 63 runs, 35 doubles, 9 triples, 22 homers, 65 RBI, .243/.301/.476 slash, and 3.3 WAR. Although he struggled to negative WAR in the run, Kadir was a starter on the 2022 Nigerian squad, which was the first-ever African team to win the World Championship.

2027 saw his first notable injuries with elbow and foot troubles limiting him to 123 games and only 2.3 WAR. Kadir was still a capable starter, but his final seasons with Douala saw half the WAR of his peak. The Dingos were going nowhere fast and Kadir was entering the last year of his contract in 2030 at age 35. In the offseason, he was traded to Dakar for five prospects.

With Douala, Kadir had 1979 games, 2409 hits, 1222 runs, 631 doubles, 189 triples, 327 home runs, 1298 RBI, 365 walks, 370 steals, .321/.352/.585 slash, 133 wRC+, and 65.6 WAR. He was very popular for his loyalty even with some truly putrid Dingos teams. Kadir’s #22 uniform would be retired at the end of his career.

Dakar was the defending WAB champ and had won three pennants in five years. They hoped Kadir could continue their dynasty run. He posted 3.5 WAR, 42 doubles, 11 triples, 28 homers, .879 OPS, and 120 wRC+ in his lone season, which did earn another Silver Slugger. The Dukes repeated as Western League champs, but lost in a 4-3 classic to Cotonou in the West African Championship. Dakar had beaten the Copperheads the prior year with Cotonou winning in their 2027 encounter.

Kadir’s playoff results were okay with .877 OPS, 109 wRC+, but 0.0 WAR in 10 starts. Dakar qualified for the Baseball Grand Championship and Kadir struggled to .639 OPS, 69 wRC+, and -0.2 WAR. His struggles against lefties really stood out when facing top teams that had more southpaws on offer. The Dukes finished 9-12 in the event.

He ended up a rental for Dakar, becoming a free agent for 2031 at age 36. Kadir signed a three-year, $58,200,000 deal with Abidjan and won his eighth Silver Slugger in his debut with 4.9 WAR and 129 wRC+. He had the WAB position record for Sluggers and joined the exclusive 700 career double club. At induction, Kadir is one of only 22 players in world history to reach that mark.

Abidjan made the playoffs in 2031 at 101-61, but shared a division with 111-win Freetown. The Athletes were upset in the second round by Nouakchott. They dropped to 80-82 the next year with Kadir posting 2.7 WAR and 109 wRC+. In two seasons for the Athletes, he had 286 games, 333 hits, 172 runs, 75 doubles, 18 triples, 52 homers 168 RBI, .299/.329/.540 slash, 119 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR.

Kadir didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the third year and was back to free agency for 2033. Lagos was confident there was still juice left and gave him a three-year, $43,800,000 deal. Kadir fell off a cliff in his one year with the Lizards with an abysmal -2.3 WAR, .637 OPS, and 51 wRC+ over 135 games. He did cross the 3000 hit, 1500 run, and 750 double milestones; but the season was otherwise miserable. Kadir retired that winter at age 39.

The final stats had 2554 games, 3033 hits, 1531 runs, 771 doubles, 223 triples, 425 home runs, 1618 RBI, 451 walks, 1912 strikeouts, 454 steals, .312/.343/.568 slash, 127 wRC+, and 74.5 WAR. Kadir ranks 13^th in games, 24^th in runs, 12^th in hits, 15^th in total bases (5525), 4^th in doubles, 17^th in triples, 59^th in homers, 24^th in RBI, and 17^th in WAR among position players. Kadir’s slugging is 80^th among WAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances.

On the world leaderboard, Kadir is 10^th all-time in doubles. Of course, the rate stats show how West African Baseball’s high-offense environment inflates those totals. Kadir lost a few voters for the lack of team success with bad Douala teams, but that certainly wasn’t his fault. Plenty gave him the deserved first ballot nod at 85.3%, joining the three-man 2039 Hall of Fame class for WAB.



Rio “Bishop” Ogbonna – First Base – Ouagadougou Osprey – 83.6% First Ballot

Rio Ogbonna was a 6’1’’, 205 pound right-handed first baseman from Ilorin, Nigeria; a city of around 908,000 and the capital of the country’s Kwara State in the western region. He was nicknamed “Bishop” for his religious work in the offseason. Ogbonna was known for raw power, posting 52 home runs, 141 RBI, and 44 doubles per his 162 game average.

He also hit for a good average, but rarely drew walks despite the power and had a subpar strikeout rate. When he made contact though, Ogbonna hit it hard and made it count. He was a bit better facing right-handed pitching (.987 OPS, 147 wRC+) but was only marginally worse facing lefties (.951 OPS, 138 wRC+). On the downside, Ogbonna was cartoonishly slow and an abysmal baserunner.

Despite that sluggishness, Ogbonna was a reliably solid defender as a career first baseman, winning two Gold Gloves. He managed an 18-year career, but had to power through some major injuries to do it. Ogbonna’s intelligence and adaptability helped him stick around longer than many others would have with the same ailments. He wasn’t a team leader, but he was very popular since chicks dig the long ball.

Even as a teenager, Ogbonna’s power potential was obvious and had scouts drooling. He was picked #1 in the 2014 WAB Draft by Ouagadougou, but they knew he’d still need some development. Ogbonna only played 38 games with 20 starts in his first two years and struggled in the small sample size. He got 122 games and 113 starts in 2017, but still wasn’t there with a lackluster 94 wRC+ and 0.2 WAR.

Ogbonna put things together in 2018 with 47 homers, 169 wRC+, and 5.7 WAR. That ended a five-year playoff drought for the Osprey, although they were a wild card with a second round exit. They made it back in 2019 but had a first round exit. It was a tough year for Ogbonna with a fractured ankle that knocked him out all summer and most of the fall.

He bounced back in 2020 and led the Eastern League with 63 home runs and 167 RBI, both career bests. The RBI mark still ranks as the eighth-best single-season in WAB history. Ouagadougou got the top seed at 104-58 but lost 3-1 in the ELCS to Conakry. Ogbonna did struggle in his limited playoff sample size for the Osprey with 13 games, 19 strikeouts, .518 OPS, 34 wRC+, and -0.3 WAR.

Still, Ouagadougou was generally happy with him and signed Ogbonna to a four-year, $22,560,000 extension after the 2020 season. He won a Silver Slugger in 2021 and stayed powerful, but the Osprey were just short of the playoffs in 2021-22. Ogbonna opted out of his contract early, entering free agency for 2023 at age 28.

With Ouagadougou, Ogbonna had 794 games, 947 hits, 495 runs, 219 doubles, 16 triples, 235 home runs, 662 RBI, .313/.340/.628 slash, 143 wRC+, and 23.1 WAR. Although a brief run, it was his longest tenure and Osprey fans remembered him typically fondly. Ogbonna’s #20 uniform would eventually be retired.

Although he had been in Burkina Faso, Ogbonna had still regularly played in the World Baseball Championship back home in Nigeria. He wasn’t always a starter with 70 games and 51 starts from 2019-33, competing in 11 different WBCs. Ogbonna had 43 hits, 35 runs, 7 doubles, 2 triples, 20 homers, 38 RBI, .226/.287/.600 slash, 154 wRC+, and 2.2 WAR. Although a reserve in 2022, Ogbonna was there for Nigeria’s triumph as world champs that year.

Ogbonna joined Freetown on a five-year, $90,200,000 deal for 2023. He had two solid seasons there and won a Gold Glove in 2023. The tough competition at first base kept him from a Silver Slugger that year despite 63 homers and 153 RBI. The Foresters earned back-to-back wild cards with Ogbonna, breaking through in 2024.

That year, Freetown knocked off Abidjan 3-1 to win the Western League Championship Series; their first pennant since 2011. However, they were promptly swept in the West African Championship by Port Harcourt. Ogbonna was merely okay in the playoff run with 01 WAR in 10 games with 11 hits, 3 runs, 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 7 RBI. In two season for Freetown, he had 304 games, 371 hits, 200 runs, 87 doubles, 105 homers, 280 RBI, .306/.331/.642 slash, 143 wRC+, and 9.5 WAR.

Again, Ogbonna decided to opt out of his deal early, going back to free agency in 2025 at age 30. Lagos inked him at $69,500,000 over five years, but the deal was snake-bitten at the start. 15 games into the 2025 season, Ogbonna’s season ended with a ruptured MCL. He had a remarkable bounce-back though as 2026 was arguably the best season of his career.

Ogbonna won a Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, and was second in MVP voting. He led the Eastern League in RBI (144), total bases (407), slugging (.698), OPS (1.076), and wRC+ (173). The OPS, triple slash (.355/.378/.698), wRC+, and WAR (7.4) would all be career bests. Lagos got a wild card at 93-69 and made the ELCS with a valiant 3-2 effort, but fell to a 112-win Cotonou that was starting up a dynasty run. This was Ogbonna’s best playoff effort with a .973 OPS, 150 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR in 11 starts.

Unfortunately, he missed much of 2027 between a broken hand and strained back. Ogbonna was back healthy in 2028 and won a Silver Slugger with 62 homers and 6.0 WAR, although Lagos was 80-82. With one year left on his contract, the Lizards traded Ogbonna in the winter to Kumasi for three prospects. In four years for Lagos, Ogbonna had 372 games, 488 hits, 279 runs, 98 doubles, 132 homers, 343 RBI, .324/.349/.658 slash, 153 wRC+, and 14.8 WAR.

Ogbonna’s one year with the Monkeys was solid with 53 homers, 139 RBI, 190 hits, 100 runs, 1.035 OPS, 157 wRC+, and 5.5 WAR. Kumasi earned a fourth consecutive wild card, but like the other years of the streak failed to advance beyond the second round. Hamstring tendinitis kept Ogbonna out of the postseason, but he finished second in MVP voting and won his fourth and final Silver Slugger.

Now 35, Ogbonna signed for 2030 to a three-year, $76,200,000 deal with Bamako. This was just before the Bullfrogs had their 2033-34 dynasty. They were above .500, but outside of the playoffs in Ogbonna’s three seasons. He was solid and consistent when healthy, but ran into some back issues. In 377 games, Ogbonna had 458 hits, 231 runs, 101 doubles, 119 homers, 327 RBI, .305/.338/.619 slash, 138 wRC+, and 10.3 WAR.

Ogbonna joined Nouakchott on a two-year, $13,200,000 deal for 2033. He spent most of the year hurt and struggled when healthy to -0.2 WAR over 30 games with 72 wRC+. Ogbonna decided to retire that winter shortly after his 39^th birthday.

In total, Ogbonna played 2026 games with 2473 hits, 1318 runs, 551 doubles, 31 triples, 649 home runs, 1763 RBI, 316 walks, 2058 strikeouts, a .312/.340/.636 slash, 144 wRC+, and 62.9 WAR. Ogbonna ranks 84^th in games, 47^th in runs, 52^nd in hits, 25^th in total bases (5033), 32^nd in doubles, 13^th in homers, 15^th in RBI, 49^th in strikeouts, and 49^th in WAR among position players.

Among WAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Ogbonna is 13^th in slugging and his .976 OPS ranks 36^th. Among world Hall of Famers and retired locks, Ogbonna’s slugging is 34^th. Certainly his ability to hit the ball hard made him a valuable asset. Ogbonna’s weaker playoff stats and other deficiencies keep him from being an inner-circle type Hall of Famer. Still, his power was plenty for a first ballot nod at 83.6% to cap off a three-man 2039 class for West African Baseball.

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A pair of slam dunk Hall of Famers made up South Asia Baseball’s 2039 class with IF Abhiji Srivas at 99.3% and SP Amir Kapur at 98.2%. CL Zulfiker Uddin had a strong debut at 61.9%, just missing the 66% threshold for induction. 2B Shivansh Mahapatra was the best returner with 51.2% on his third ballot. No one else finished above 50%.



Four players fell off the ballot after ten failed tries. CL Shuvagata Sumon peaked at 39.1% in 2031 and ended at 14.2%. He led in saves thrice late in his 13-year career, but was never a Reliever of the Year winner. Sumon had 283 saves, 970 innings, 1236 strikeouts, 2.59 EREA, 143 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 22.3 WAR. He didn’t have the big dominance or accumulations needed to stand out.

SS Sedsody Rath was as high as 39.1% as well in 2031 but ended at 13.5%. In an 18-year career with eight teams, he won six Silver Sluggers and a title with Delhi in 2021. Rath played 2239 games with 2485 hits, 1183 runs, 580 doubles, 114 triples, 280 home runs, 1175 RBI, 352 steals, .303/.341/.504 slash, 142 wRC+, and 83.5 WAR.

Rath had one batting title and sits 13^th in doubles, but he otherwise didn’t have black ink. His bouncing around between squads probably hurt him along with the lack of big home run numbers. Rath does rank 44^th among position players for WAR, but was never exceptional enough to get much attention despite a solid tenured career.

CL Kywe Lwin peaked at 40.6% in 2031 but ended at only 13.2%. In a 12-year career, he won Reliever of the Year twice and had 334 saves, 2.16 ERA, 819.1 innings, 1068 strikeouts, 178 ERA+, 59 FIP-, and 30.4 WAR. Lwin ranks 18^th in saves and the pace was seemingly there, but he retired after his age 34 season despite still putting up decent stats. He needed a few more years of totals to get across the line.

2B/SS Nyi Moe Win peaked at 39.8% while finishing at 11.7%. He notably won eight Silver Sluggers in a 19-year career with five teams with 2685 games, 2679 hits, 1346 runs, 556 doubles, 48 triples, 469 home runs, 1424 RBI, 596 walks, 2030 strikeouts, .275/.322/.486 slash, 129 wRC+, and 93.9 WAR.

Win is 25^th in WAR among position players, 19^th in doubles, and 23^rd in hits. However, despite being often the best bat among middle infielders, he was only once a league leader (in doubles) and never in MVP consideration. Win also never played in the postseason as he was on forgettable teams, hurting his notoriety. Enough voters dismissed him as a compiler to leave him out despite solid totals.

3B Karunesh Visalakshi deserves a quick mention, falling off the ballot after nine tries with a 5.0% finish. He peaked at 24.1% in his debut and won two Silver Sluggers in a 17-year career. Visalakshi played 2202 games with 2153 hits, 1023 runs, 542 doubles, 34 triples, 414 home runs, 1214 RBI, .286/.325/.533 slash, 152 wRC+, and 76.1 WAR. He was steady and helped Pune in their 2019 title run, but firmly fits as a Hall of Pretty Good level guy.



Abhiji “Snowball” Srivas – First/Second Base – Ahmedabad Animals – 99.3% First Ballot

Abhiji Srivas was a 6’5’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting infielder from Delhi, India. Nicknamed “Snowball,” Srivas was an exceptionally efficient batter with great contact ability and power. Just under half of his career hits went for extra bases with 47 home runs, 32 doubles, and 8 triples per his 162 game average. Srivas was incredible facing right-handing pitchers (1.085 OPS, 208 wRC+) but was plenty impressive against lefties (.881 OPS, 157 wRC+).

Srivas was above average relative to his SAB peers at drawing walks, but middling at avoiding strikeouts. His baserunning ability was quite good and he was a regular threat despite merely average speed. Most of Srivas’ starts were split between first/second base with occasional use in left field. He graded as a rock solid 1B defensively, an average LF, and subpar 2B. His adaptability though helped him plug in whichever spot was needed that day.

Srivas’ biggest challenge was injury issues, especially with his back. He gutted out a 20-year career, but only played 130+ games in eight seasons. Srivas was very loyal, but did want to get paid properly and wasn’t a vocal leader. His incredible bat made him one of India’s most popular players Srivas’ size and potential was noticed by Ahmedabad, who signed him to a developmental deal in February 2011.

He spent his entire career with the Animals, debuting with 12 plate appearances in 2014 at age 19. Srivas got the full-time gig in 2015 and was second in Rookie of the Year voting. He was a part-time starter with 105 starts and 136 games in 2016, but still managed 5.1 WAR. Srivas suffered a torn hamstring in the spring of 2017 and missed half the season, but he had an MVP pace when healthy.

2018 saw Srivas’ first MVP and Silver Slugger (playing LF), leading the Indian League in triple slash (.359/.426/.690), OPS (1.116), wRC+ (227), WAR (11.8), total bases (396), and runs (128). The runs, average, OBP, and WAR would be career bests as was his 206 hits and 43 doubles. This ended a five-year playoff drought for the historically powerful Ahmedabad. Prior to that, the Animals had missed the playoffs four times total in 34 years and never consecutively.

They weren’t back to the top perch yet though as they had first round exits in both 2019-20. Ahmedabad then had another three-year playoff drought, although they hovered around .500. Srivas was thriving though, repeating as MVP in 2019 with a Silver Slugger at 1B. He led with a career high 54 homers, 414 total bases, .753 slugging, and 1.173 OPS. The OPS ranks as the 19^th-best qualifying season in SAB history and the slugging is 18^th.

That spring, Srivas also had a 35-game hitting streak, breaking the previous SAB record of 31 games. His mark would be passed twice in later years and still ranks third. Ahmedabad gave him an eight-year, $89,600,000 extension in July 2020. He three-peated as MVP and this time won a Silver Slugger at 2B. Srivas was again the WARlord and led in runs scored.

Srivas was back at 1B as he won his fourth consecutive MVP in 2021, leading in runs, homers, OBP, slugging, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. He won another Slugger in 2022 at 1B but the MVP streak was thwarted with a third place finish. Losing three weeks to a PCL strain kept him just short of the league leading spots except for in slugging. His OPS was again above one and WAR above 7.5. He’d maintain a streak of both marks from 2018-26.

2023 had another Slugger at 2B, but Srivas suffered a broken kneecap in mid-August that limited him to only 108 games all season. He was back for 138 in 2024 for his fifth MVP and a Slugger at 1B, leading in runs, RBI, triple slash, OPS, wRC, and WAR. Srivas was the fifth player in SAB history to win five MVPs.

Ahmedabad got back to the playoffs as a 92-70 division champ and made the Indian League Championship Series, but fell 4-3 to reigning champ Visakhapatnam. The Volts were on their way to their second of three straight SAB titles. The Animals failed to build off the momentum immediately with a 73-89 record in 2025. Losing Srivas for basically all of August-onward from an oblique strain certainly contributed.

The Animals finally returned to their spot as a regular contender in 2026, starting what would be a nine-year streak of division titles. Srivas was still excellent in his 30s, but he’d miss notable chunks of each year for the rest of his run. A torn hamstring in 2026 and back issues in 2027 kept him out for about ¼ of both years. Srivas did win another Silver Slugger in 2027 at 2B, but he was done as a league leader.

Ahmedabad had a first round exit in 2026, followed by an ILCS loss in 2027. They had knocked out 106-win Jaipur in the first round, while 119-win Visakhapatnam was upset by Pune. The Animals at 100-62 had beaten the Purple Knights by three wins in the divisional race, but Pune got the last laugh by taking the ILCS 4-2.

In 2028, Srivas dealt with a strained oblique, strained abdominal, and strained PCL for only 78 games played. Still, the 33-year old signed a new five-year, $105 million extension in the summer. Even with those injuries, Ahmedabad got the top seed at 110-52. Srivas was healthy for the playoffs and thrived with .978 OPS, 195 wRC+ and 0.8 WAR in 12 games. The Animals survived 4-3 over Jaipur for their first pennant since 2002, but they were denied 4-1 by Mandalay in the SAB Championship.

Ahmedabad earned a berth into the Baseball Grand Championship and finished 8-11. Srivas played 13 games with a .979 OPS, 181 wRC+, and 0.6 WAR. He had shown good results when healthy in his postseason chances and in the World Baseball Championship. Srivas’ national popularity soared as a regular for India from 2017-32, who became a regular contender on the world stage.

In 205 WBC games, Srivas had 170 hits, 123 runs, 26 doubles, 56 home runs, 128 RBI, .234/.304/.514 slash, and 6.6 WAR. Those stats were down from his SAB regular season peaks, but still were important. The Indians finished fourth in the 2025 and 2028 WBCs, then finished third three successive years from 2030-32.

Srivas saw fewer and fewer games with nagging injuries, although he was clearly still strong when healthy. In 2030, he won his final Silver Slugger at 2B with 6.0 WAR and 1.108 OPS over 99 games. Srivas finished with nine Silver Sluggers between three positions. Ahmedabad had a first round exit in 2029, but made a somewhat unexpected deep run in 2030 at 97-65.

That year, the Animals knocked off 112-win Visakhapatnam in the ILCS, then cruised to a sweep of Yangon in the SAB Championship. It was their first overall title since winning 12 from 1986-2002. The 13 titles was the most by any pro franchise in any league except for Eurasian Professional Baseball’s Minsk, who had 14 to that point. Srivas had finally won the top prize, but a torn abdominal muscle from mid-August kept him out the entire postseason run. He made it back for only two BGC games as they finished 9-12.

This was the peak of the run for Ahmedabad, although they had four more playoff berths in the streak. They lost the 2031 ILCS to the Volts and had second round exits after that. Srivas was a physical wreck and his production was now slipping even when healthy, although he was still usable. 2032 was notable as he hit for the cycle in July facing Pune.

Srivas’ contract expired after the 2033 season and Ahmedabad let their longtime star go. He had hoped to still play somewhere, but his last season had seen only 1.2 WAR and 117 wRC+ over 112 games and 63 starts. Srivas was unsigned all of 2034 and finally retired that winter at age 39. The Animals quickly retired his #7 uniform for his impressive run.

In total, Srivas played 2316 games with 2593 hits, 1526 runs, 458 doubles, 115 triples, 679 home runs, 1679 RBI, 722 walks, 1726 strikeouts, 5318 total bases, 495 steals, .321/.380/.658 slash, 196 wRC+, and 125.2 WAR. At induction, Srivas is 57^th in games, 22^nd in runs, 29^th in hits, 14^th in total bases, 67^th in doubles, 10^th in homers, 15^th in RBI, 50^th in walks, and 12^th in WAR among position players. In 59 playoff games, he had a .940 OPS, 162 wRC+, and 2.7 WAR.

It was Srivas’ rate stats that were remarkable. Among SAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his triple slash was 33^rd/30^th/3^rd and his 1.037 OPS was 5^th. Among all world Hall of Famers and retired locks, Srivas’ slugging is 10^th, OPS 21^st, and wRC+ tied for 14^th. That showed that when he was on, very few guys in all of baseball history were more dominant at the plate.

Sadly, Srivas’ own body breaking down kept him from possibly a top-five all-time career for South Asia Baseball history. Still, he was easily an inner-circle pick and one of the game’s immortal bats. Srivas earned a near unanimous 99.3% for induction in 2039.



Amir “Garbage” Kapur – Starting Pitcher – Delhi Drillers – 98.2% First Ballot

Amir Kapur was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from Ambala, India; a city with around 208,000 citizens in the northern Haryana state. Although he had the nickname “Garbage” for unknown reasons, Kapur was far from it. He was one of the rare starters to have a 10/10 rating for his stuff during his prime. He also had good control that became excellent in his later years and had above average movement.

Kapur’s arsenal had four pitches; a 98-100 mph fastball, curveball, forkball, and circle change. With his smaller frame though and the energy required for maintain his stuff, Kapur’s stamina was below average. His innings were lower as a result, but he did stay mostly healthy in his 15-year run and didn’t miss many outings. Kapur had above average grades for defense and was okay at holding runners. He was one of the smarter aces in the game, knowing how to pick his spots better than almost anyone.

After destroying his college competition, Kapur was the #1 overall pick in the 2018 SAB Draft by Delhi. He spent his entire career with the Drillers and began in a split starting/relief role with a 4.47 ERA in 145 innings. Kapur was a full-time starter the next year and a bonafide ace by year three. He cemented his place in Delhi history in the postseason.

As a 92-70 wild card, the Drillers swept top seed Kolkata in the first round and rolled Nagpur 4-1 in the Indian League Championship Series. Delhi had never won the pennant before and capped it off by outlasting Dhaka 4-3 in the 2021 SAB Championship. In five playoff starts, Kapur had a 2.29 ERA, 35.1 innings, 58 strikeouts, 158 ERA+, 43 FIP-, and 1.6 WAR. The 58 Ks tied the SAB playoff record set by Sankar Sundaram in 1984.

In the Baseball Grand Championship, Kapur was decent with a 3.77 ERA over 28.2 innings, 43 Ks, and 0.8 WAR. Delhi was tied for ninth at 10-9, but already they had reached points they had never seen before in the capital. The Drillers made the playoffs again the next two years, although they couldn’t get beyond the first round.

Kapur dominated though with back-to-back Pitcher of the Year wins in 2022-23, leading both years in ERA, WAR, and FIP-. 2022 had his career best WAR of 9.5 and quality starts at 25. Kapur also led the league with 332 strikeouts, but his 16-7 record kept him two wins from a Triple Crown. His 1.99 ERA in 2022 is one of only 69 qualified seasons in SAB history with an ERA below two.

Delhi extended Kapur in April 2022 at a bargain six-year extension worth $37,020,000. He wasn’t in awards conversations the next few years, but he had a streak from 2022-28 with 300+ strikeouts and 5+ WAR each year. Delhi averaged 92 wins per season from 2024-28, but they fell frustratingly short of the playoffs each year. In 2025, Kapur had a 20 strikeout game facing Lucknow, one K short of the single-game record. In 2027, he was the leader with a career-best 343 Ks and was WARlord for the third time.

In June 2028, Kapur signed a four-year, $72 million extension. That year, he was second in Pitcher of the Year voting to Visakhapatnam’s E.J. Dhanajay, who notably led in WAR and Ks. Kapur posted a 1.48 ERA though, the fourth-best qualifying one in SAB history. His 19-3 record was a career-best as was his 42 FIP-, while his 8.8 WAR was second-best.

Kapur ran into his first real injury issue in 2029, as biceps tendinitis kept him out much of the spring. His ERA was above three for the first time since his sophomore campaign. But yet again, Kapur would step up in the postseason with a 1.90 ERA over 23.2 innings with 38 Ks and 0.9 WAR. Delhi took the top seed at 102-60 and swept Nagpur in the ILCS, which included a two-hitter by Kapur. The Drillers then swept Mandalay for their second-ever SAB Championship win.

Delhi was 10-1 in the playoffs for one of the most dominant postseason runs in SAB history. They couldn’t keep it going against the BGC competition with an 8-13 finish. Kapur had a 4.54 ERA over 35.2 innings in the event with 49 Ks and 0.7 WAR. Still, he had established himself as a big-game pitcher and a key part of two title runs. In his playoff career, Kapur had a 2.91 ERA over 126.2 innings, 8-6 record, 186 Ks, 136 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 3.5 WAR.

Kapur was also a regular for India in the World Baseball Championship from 2021-32. In 188 innings, he had a 14-4 record, 2.73 ERA, 296 strikeouts, and 5.0 WAR. The Indians finished fourth in the 2025 and 2028 WBCs, then had three straight bronze medals from 2030-32.

Delhi had three consecutive wild cards after the 2029 title, but had two early exits and a 2032 ILCS loss to Visakhapatnam. Kapur led in strikeouts, WHIP, and FIP- in 2030. He was solid again in 2031, but the Drillers voided the team option year in his deal. Kapur was a free agent for the first time at age 36, but eventually signed a new three-year, $42,900,000 deal in February 2032 to return to the Drillers.

Kapur’s stuff began to wane and he had a lackluster 4.26 ERA over 173.1 innings in 2032 and 2.2 WAR; his worsts since the rookie season. At the start of 2033, Kapur suffered ulnar nerve entrapment that put him out four months. He returned late in the year, but finished with an abysmal 5.52 ERA over 31 innings. Kapur retired that winter at age 37.

The totals had a 198-101 record, 2.88 ERA, 2770.1 innings, 3916 strikeouts, 510 walks, 252/361 quality starts, 23 complete games, 8 shutouts, 134 ERA+, 67 FIP-, and 81.1 WAR. Kapur ranks 17^th in wins, 42^nd in innings, 11^th in strikeouts, and 11^th in pitching WAR. Among all SAB pitchers with 1000+ innings, Kapur’s ERA is 73^rd and his 0.99 WHIP is 26^th. He’s also 17^th in K/9 (12.72), 63^rd in H/9 (7.21), and his .607 opponent’s OPS is 49^th.

A lower inning count probably keeps Kapur just short of being a top ten pitcher in South Asia Baseball history, but he does crack some of those lists. He was certainly excellent at his peak and a key reason for Delhi’s first two SAB titles. At 98.2%, Kapur was a slam dunk Hall of Famer as part of an impressive two-man 2039 class for SAB.