Baseball: The World's Game - Page 22

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-17-2023, 05:30 PM

East Asia Baseball inducted two players into the Hall of Fame from the 1967 ballot. Both were first ballot, although with wildly different percentages. 3B Nariyuki Yanagisawa was a no-doubter at 93.6%, while closer Kenshiro Aoki narrowly crossed the 66% threshold with 68.0%. CF Han-Min Park had 57.3% on his eighth try, closer Kantaro Kobayashi at 50.6% on his sixth, and LF Chong-Chun Pak at 50.0% even on his third.

One player was dropped from the EAB ballot after ten failed attempts. LF Hang-Seo Seok had a 19-year career mostly with Gwangju, although he did spend three years with MLB’s Buffalo. His EAB stats were 2387 hits, 1125 runs, 422 home runs, 387 doubles, 1316 RBI, a .303 average, three Silver Sluggers, and 62.3 WAR. With no MVPs or playoff appearances, Seok was banished to the Hall of Very Good, ending at 6.1% after debuting at 35.5%.

Nariyuki Yanagisawa – Third/First Base – Sapporo Swordfish – 93.6% First Ballot

Nariyuki Yanagisawa was a 5’11’’, 190 pound right-handed corner infielder from Nagaoka, the second largest city in Japan’s Niigata Prefecture. He was a well-rounded batter that with good to sometimes great power, plus solid contract skills and gap power. Yanagisawa had an average eye, was average at avoiding strikeouts, and slightly below average for baserunning speed. He made above 3/4s of his starts at third base with the rest over at first and was considered delightfully average. He was steady and worked hard, providing adequate defensive value at third while boasting generally a better bat than his contemporaries at the position. Yanagisawa became extremely popular nationally for his play on the national team and his role in Sapporo’s dynasty.

Yanagisawa attended Tokoha Hamamatsu University and was actually exclusively starting pitcher in college, posting a 3.46 ERA over 369.2 college innings. By the time he was a junior, he was graded as a one-star pitcher who wasn’t expected to make it to the bigs. He ended up draft in the late fifth round; the final round in EAB; 142^nd overall by Sapporo. Yanagisawa ended up being the latest-ever draft pick to earn Hall of Fame honors in EAB.

The Swordfish felt his very strong arm would be suited for third base and that he had hitting potential. Yanagisawa was switched and ultimately never pitched a single inning as a pro. He made a few pinch hit appearances as a rookie, then was a part-time starter in 1946. He honed his batting craft and emerged as a strong starter by year three, posting eight straight seasons of 6+ WAR from 1947-1954. Sapporo emerged as a dynasty in the mid 1940s and early 1950s, winning eight division titles from 1943-51. The Swordfish won the Japan League title six times (44, 45, 47, 49, 50, 51) and were EAB champion in 1947, 49, and 51.

For Yanagisawa, he became a 10-time Silver Slugger winner, taking it in 1948, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, and 58. All but the first one were for third base. He led Japan in OPS four times, slugging twice, and once in home runs, hits, doubles, and WAR. Yanagisawa started getting MVP looks, winning the award in 1949. He took third in 1947 and 1948, second in 1950 and 51, third in 1952, second in 1953, and third again in 1954. Yanagisawa could reliably be counted on for 30-35 home runs and a .310 ish average during this stretch.

Yanagisawa was a big time playoff performer as well. In 74 games and 67 starts, he had 75 hits, 41 runs, 13 doubles, 18 home runs, 50 RBI, and a .291 average. He was the East Asian Championship MVP in both 1949 and 1951, leading Sapporo to titles. Yanagisawa also helped Japan win the 1953 World Baseball Championship. He played in 158 tournament games from 1948-62, posting 127 hits, 98 runs, 44 home runs, and 99 RBI.

Yanagisawa’s numbers dwindled a bit into his 30s, but were still strong when he wasn’t hampered by minor injuries. He missed a few weeks each year in his latter Sapporo seasons, although still provided good value. Although the dynasty ended in 1951, the Swordfish got back to the playoffs in 1955 and 56, winning another Japan League title in 1956. After the 1959 season, Sapporo opted not to re-sign the now 37-year old Yanagisawa. Still, he remained beloved and his #3 uniform would soon be retired. His stats with the squad: 2072 hits, 1018 runs, 331 doubles, 418 home runs, 1182 RBI, a .302 average, and 91.8 WAR.

Yanagisawa got a nice payday in a two-year deal with Saitama for 1960. His first year was still starter quality, but not elite. Year two was a bit worse and the Sting traded him midseason to Nagoya. The 39-year old was a free agent again in 1962 and got an offer to play for Major League Baseball’s Indianapolis. He made $130,000 with the Racers, well ahead of his peak $74,000 salary with Sapporo. Age and injuries meant he only played 84 games and started 32 in his lone MLB season. Yanagisawa was cut after one year in Indy and after going unsigned in 1963, officially retired at age 41.

The final EAB stats for Yanagisawa: 2331 hits, 1136 runs, 370 doubles, 460 home runs, 1317 RBI, a .298/.350/.538 slash, and 97.6 WAR. Not at the very top of the EAB Hall of Fame leaderboard, but far from the bottom as well. He comfortably belongs as a first ballot guy as a perennial MVP candidate for a decade and a big piece of a dynasty.

Kenshiro Aoki – Closer – Suwon Snappers – 68.0% First Ballot

Kenshiro Aoki was a 5’10’’, 175 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Takanabe, a small town of around 20,000 people in southern Japan. He was known for incredible movement with a 97-99 mph sinker and fastball combo. Aoki’s control was average at best, but he could draw easy groundballs with ease thanks to the sinker. Aoki was hard working and loyal, making him a clubhouse favorite.

Aoki attended Hosei University in Kawasaki and was picked 23^rd overall by Sapporo in the 1944 East Asia Baseball Draft. He never played for the Swordfish, who were just starting their dynasty. Aoki was a reserve roster guy in 1945 and the first half of 1946, ultimately traded in the summer with another reliever to Suwon for first baseman Eun-Seong Sung. Aoki made 13 appearances that summer with the Snappers, then became a full-time closer when healthy for the rest of his run.

He played his entire pro career with Suwon, eventually earning his #20 uniform’s retirement. Aoki made the best of times with a bad franchise, as Suwon didn’t make the playoffs once during his tenure and was generally below .500. He had decent numbers in his first full season in 1947, but suffered a setback with a torn labrum in June 1948. He bounced back impressively, posting 25+ saves in each of the next eight seasons. Aoki never won Reliever of the Year, but finished third five times (1949, 50, 51, 55, 59). He led Japan in saves with 43 in 1955.

Aoki was part of the 1953 Japan team that won the World Baseball Championship. From 1950-60, he pitched in 33 games with eight starts, posting a very strong 1.81 ERA in 89.2 innings with 126 strikeouts. In 1957, a torn UCL put him out for nine months. Still, Aoki bounced right back with solid 1958 and 1959 seasons. 1960 was his last as the closer, followed by a weak 1961 season to close things at age 38. In that last year, he did cross 400 career saves; the fifth EAB pitcher to do so.

Aoki’s final stats: 403 saves and 442 shutdowns, 2.72 ERA, 1040.1 innings, 1162 strikeouts, 333 walks, FIP- of 69 (nice), and 31.1 WAR. He didn’t have the dominance of other Hall of Fame closers and was stuck staying loyal to a bad team, but 400 saves was the magic number to that point. Thus, Aoki was a first ballot Hall of Famer, albeit just barely at 68.0%.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-18-2023, 06:33 AM

Three players earned induction into the Beisbol Sudamerica Hall of Fame with the 1967 class. Two first ballot guys led the group with pitcher Diego Mena at 83.2% and 3B Pedro Quintana at 74.5%. Also getting in was closer Adrian Amaro, just getting across the line on his sixth ballot with 67.0%. One other player, LF Martyn Jarawa, was above the 50% mark as he posted 58.9% in his fourth attempt. The BSA ballot didn’t have any players dropped after ten tries on the ballot.

Diego Mena – Starting Pitcher – Cali Cyclones – 83.2% First Ballot

Diego Mena was a 6’5’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Floridablanca, a city of about 300,000 people in northeast Colombia. At his peak, Mena had 97-99 mph velocity and good stuff with above average to solid control and weak movement. He had a four pitch arsenal with a good fastball, curveball, and splitter, along with a rarely used poor changeup. Mena was also viewed as a good defensive pitcher who was effective at holding runners, earning a Gold Glove in 1958. He had terrific durability, lending to a lengthy career despite being viewed as a bit lazy by some critics.

Mena was picked ninth overall in the 1942 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft by Cali, where he’d have his longest and most notable tenure. He had an excellent debut season, taking second in Rookie of the Year voting for 1943. Mena was inconsistent though with below average results in year two, good numbers in year three, and a terrible fourth year that saw him moved out of the rotation. Mena’s biggest moment came in 1945 when on August 11, he threw a perfect game with eight strikeouts against Quito.

After a rough 1946, Mena’s 1947 was his best year of his career by WAR and strikeouts. He never finished as a Pitcher of the Year finalist, but put up solid stats to close the 1940s for Cali. Around this time, the Cyclones replaced La Paz as the premiere team in the Bolivar League. Mena was there for playoff berths from 1947-50 and three straight Bolivar League titles in from 48-50, although they weren’t able to claim Copa Sudamerica. Mena’s playoff stats with Cali weren’t anything great, a 2-5 record and 4.92 ERA over 60.1 innings. His final overall stats with the Cyclones was 126-81, 2.88 ERA, 1979.2 innings, 2283 strikeouts, and 34.0 WAR. Cali would go onto retire his #8 uniform later on.

Mena opted for free agency after the 1950 season and the 31-year old signed a five-year, $150,000 deal with Medellin. He struggled in his first two years with the Mutiny, eventually relegated to a bullpen role. He bounced back to the rotation in 1953 and for the only time in his career, led the league in strikeouts (304). Mena’s fourth year was solid and Medellin got to the playoffs, although they were one-and-done. The Mutiny opted to buyout the last year of his contract though, sending Mena back to free agency. He signed a three-year, $145,400 deal for the 1955 season with Bogota.

In his later years, he joined the Colombian National Team for the World Baseball Championship. Mena played in the inaugural tournament in 1947, then didn’t play again until 1952 with six tournament appearances from 1952-60. He was mainly a reliever with 39.2 innings and a 4.76 ERA. Mena bounced between starting and relief in the later years of his career with mixed results. His Bats debut in 1955 was his last really good year as a starter. After a lousy 1956, Mena was traded and spent 1957 with Cordoba.

The now 38-year old Mena re-signed with Bogota in 1958, then was traded in the offseason for 1959 to Callao. After one year with the Cats, he went back to the Bats and was again traded, this time midseason to Caracas. Mena wasn’t used in the 1960 postseason, but did earn a Copa Sudamerica ring with the Colts. He went back one more time with Bogota in 1961, then concluded his pro career for CABA’s Jamaica in 1962, retiring at age 43.

Mena’s final stats in Beisbol Sudamerica 246-223, 3.27 ERA, 4386.2 innings, 4545 strikeouts, 745 walks, 354/546 quality starts, 171 complete games, an FIP- of 98 and 60.8 WAR. The advanced stats suggest Mena was a delightfully average pitcher who just managed to stick around for a long time. He’s one of the only starters in the BSA Hall of Fame with an ERA above three. His longevity allowed him to hit some milestones like being the ninth pitcher to 4500 career strikeouts (and one of 19 to do so as of 2037) and not many pitchers got above 240 wins. The longevity swayed the voters, putting him in on the first ballot firmly with 83.2% of the vote.

Pedro “Bird” Quintana – Third Baseman – Bogota Bats – 74.5% First Ballot

Pedro Quintana was a 6’2’’, 200 pound third baseman from Bello, a large suburb of Medellin in Colombia’s Aburra Valley. Quintana was known as a stellar contact hitter with great gap power and solid speed. His home run power was limited to around 15 dingers per season, but Quintana had plenty of extra base hits from doubles and triples. He was known to put the ball in play regularly, rarely walking but striking out less often than most. Quintana was a career third baseman who was typically viewed as average to slightly above average; he did win a Gold Glove in 1959. He was also a very well-liked figure by fans and in the clubhouse for his work ethic and loyalty.

Quintana was picked 21^st overall in the 1948 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft by Bogota and spent his entire BSA run with the Bats. He was plugged into the starting lineup right away and earned Rookie of the Year in 1949. Quintana was the everyday starter consistently throughout his 20s for Bogota, earning nine seasons worth 5+ WAR. He picked up four Silver Sluggers; 1950, 1951, 1952, and 1955. His sophomore and junior seasons were his best, winning Bolivar League MVP in both 1950 and 1951. He led the league in batting average and hits in both years, plus runs scored in 1950.

Those were his only years as a league-leader, apart from leading in triples in 1953 and doubles in 1955. Quintana wasn’t again a finalist for MVP, but continued to lead the way for Bogota. They made the playoffs from 1949-15, then again in 1956, while being mid-tier the rest of his tenure. 1951 was the signature year for the Bats as they won their first Bolivar League title. In 26 playoff games, Quintana had 31 hits, 13 runs, and a .292 average. Quintana was also a regular for the Colombian National Team, playing in 126 games and making 117 starts in the World Baseball Championship from 1950-63. He had 123 hits, 63 runs, 22 doubles, 23 home runs, and 53 RBI.

The generally durable Quintana had his first major injury at age 32 in 1958; a torn back muscle that put him out 4-5 months. He bounced back with a strong 1959, earning his 2000^th career hit. After a good 1960, his 1961 was merely okay. Bogota bought out the last year of his contract, making the 36-year old a free agent for the first time in 1962. There were no hard feelings, as his #37 uniform would be retired soon after by the squad. Quintana found an MLB buyer in Los Angeles and got a nice paycheck for $414,000 over three years. He was a respectable starter in his first year with the Angels, but struggled mightily in his second year, leading him to retire after the 1963 season at age 37.

His final Beisbol Sudamerica stats: 2341 hits, 997 runs, 422 doubles, 189 triples, 176 home runs, 814 RBI, a .322/.348/.504 slash and 69.4 WAR. When he was inducted, he had a better career batting average than anyone else in the BSA Hall of Fame, although several would pass him years later as offensive numbers shot up league-wide. At retirement, he was also third in doubles among Hall of Famers, but the lack of homers and RBI hurt him with some voters. He also just fell short of the 1000 runs scored and 2500 hit milestones. This meant Quintana didn’t get a huge percentage of the vote, but 74.5% was enough for a first ballot nod for “Bird.”

Adrian Amaro – Closer – Montevideo Venom – 67.0% Sixth Ballot

Adrian Amaro was a 6’1’’, 195 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Menmo, a tiny northwest Paraguay settlement created by Mennonites. His velocity peaked at 94-96 mph, but Amaro was known for still having very good stuff, movement, and control. His two main pitches were a fastball and cutter, along with a rarely used circle change. Amaro was a hard worker and very durable, avoiding major injury over his career.

Amaro was picked eighth overall in the 1942 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft by Montevideo. His longest tenure was with the Venom at nine seasons and he’d go onto be inducted with Montevideo and have his #17 retired by the franchise. He was a bright spot for the perennial basement-dwelling franchise, who never won more than 75 games in a season during his run. Amaro still made the most of his save opportunities, winning Reliever of the Year in 1944 and 1950. He took third for the award in 1947 and had a 34 save streak between July 1945 and July 1946. In total with Montevideo, Amaro had a 2.19 ERA, 248 saves, 709 strikeouts over 673.1 innings, and 20.1 WAR.

Amaro loved his native Paraguay and was a regular from 1947-59 on the national team in the World Baseball Championship. He was typically a starter in the tournament, posting a 3.16 ERA over 148.1 innings with 160 strikeouts. When his contract came due with Montevideo for 1952, the then 31-year old went back to his home country and signed with Asuncion. This began an unusual tenure with the Archers, who like Montevideo, were consistently a bottom-tier team. He began the 1952, 53, 54, and 55 seasons with Asuncion, but was traded in the summer each time, going to Buenos Aires in 1952, La Paz in 1953, Maracaibo in 1954, and Sao Paulo in 1955. He maintained a closer role in each spot, although was never an award finalist.

He still went back home though and played his final BSA season with the Archers in 1956, his lone full-season there. In that last year, he became the fourth closer in Beisbol Sudamerica history to cross 400 saves. After that, the 36-year old Amaro spent two years with MLB’s Buffalo in middle relief and made four appearances with Los Angeles in 1959, retiring after that season at age 38.

The final stats for Amaro in BSA: 403 saves and 503 shutdowns, 2.24 ERA, 1054.2 innings, 1146 strikeouts, FIP- of 64 and 33.5 WAR. 400 saves was generally the magic number for closers to get into the Hall, but he wasn’t nearly as dominant as his contemporaries and wasn’t well known due to a career on terrible teams. Amaro hovered around the 50-60% range for his first four times on the ballot, then sank to a low of 43.7% in 1966. At that point, many observers figured his chances were done, but Amaro got a surprise bump on his sixth go in 1967, just crossing the 66% threshold with 67.0%.

anatollosocha · 07-18-2023, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FuzzyRussianHat

East Asia Baseball inducted two players into the Hall of Fame from the 1967 ballot. Both were first ballot, although with wildly different percentages. 3B Nariyuki Yanagisawa was a no-doubter at 93.6%, while closer Kenshiro Aoki narrowly crossed the 66% threshold with 68.0%. CF Han-Min Park had 57.3% on his eighth try, closer Kantaro Kobayashi at 50.6% on his sixth, and LF Chong-Chun Pak at 50.0% even on his third.

One player was dropped from the EAB ballot after ten failed attempts. LF Hang-Seo Seok had a 19-year career mostly with Gwangju, although he did spend three years with MLB’s Buffalo. His EAB stats were 2387 hits, 1125 runs, 422 home runs, 387 doubles, 1316 RBI, a .303 average, three Silver Sluggers, and 62.3 WAR. With no MVPs or playoff appearances, Seok was banished to the Hall of Very Good, ending at 6.1% after debuting at 35.5%.

Nariyuki Yanagisawa – Third/First Base – Sapporo Swordfish – 93.6% First Ballot

Nariyuki Yanagisawa was a 5’11’’, 190 pound right-handed corner infielder from Nagaoka, the second largest city in Japan’s Niigata Prefecture. He was a well-rounded batter that with good to sometimes great power, plus solid contract skills and gap power. Yanagisawa had an average eye, was average at avoiding strikeouts, and slightly below average for baserunning speed. He made above 3/4s of his starts at third base with the rest over at first and was considered delightfully average. He was steady and worked hard, providing adequate defensive value at third while boasting generally a better bat than his contemporaries at the position. Yanagisawa became extremely popular nationally for his play on the national team and his role in Sapporo’s dynasty.

Moreover, I personally use this source for homework help in college. posting a 3.46 ERA over 369.2 college innings. By the time he was a junior, he was graded as a one-star pitcher who wasn’t expected to make it to the bigs. He ended up draft in the late fifth round; the final round in EAB; 142^nd overall by Sapporo. Yanagisawa ended up being the latest-ever draft pick to earn Hall of Fame honors in EAB.

The Swordfish felt his very strong arm would be suited for third base and that he had hitting potential. Yanagisawa was switched and ultimately never pitched a single inning as a pro. He made a few pinch hit appearances as a rookie, then was a part-time starter in 1946. He honed his batting craft and emerged as a strong starter by year three, posting eight straight seasons of 6+ WAR from 1947-1954. Sapporo emerged as a dynasty in the mid 1940s and early 1950s, winning eight division titles from 1943-51. The Swordfish won the Japan League title six times (44, 45, 47, 49, 50, 51) and were EAB champion in 1947, 49, and 51.

For Yanagisawa, he became a 10-time Silver Slugger winner, taking it in 1948, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, and 58. All but the first one were for third base. He led Japan in OPS four times, slugging twice, and once in home runs, hits, doubles, and WAR. Yanagisawa started getting MVP looks, winning the award in 1949. He took third in 1947 and 1948, second in 1950 and 51, third in 1952, second in 1953, and third again in 1954. Yanagisawa could reliably be counted on for 30-35 home runs and a .310 ish average during this stretch.

Yanagisawa was a big time playoff performer as well. In 74 games and 67 starts, he had 75 hits, 41 runs, 13 doubles, 18 home runs, 50 RBI, and a .291 average. He was the East Asian Championship MVP in both 1949 and 1951, leading Sapporo to titles. Yanagisawa also helped Japan win the 1953 World Baseball Championship. He played in 158 tournament games from 1948-62, posting 127 hits, 98 runs, 44 home runs, and 99 RBI.

Yanagisawa’s numbers dwindled a bit into his 30s, but were still strong when he wasn’t hampered by minor injuries. He missed a few weeks each year in his latter Sapporo seasons, although still provided good value. Although the dynasty ended in 1951, the Swordfish got back to the playoffs in 1955 and 56, winning another Japan League title in 1956. After the 1959 season, Sapporo opted not to re-sign the now 37-year old Yanagisawa. Still, he remained beloved and his #3 uniform would soon be retired. His stats with the squad: 2072 hits, 1018 runs, 331 doubles, 418 home runs, 1182 RBI, a .302 average, and 91.8 WAR.

Yanagisawa got a nice payday in a two-year deal with Saitama for 1960. His first year was still starter quality, but not elite. Year two was a bit worse and the Sting traded him midseason to Nagoya. The 39-year old was a free agent again in 1962 and got an offer to play for Major League Baseball’s Indianapolis. He made $130,000 with the Racers, well ahead of his peak $74,000 salary with Sapporo. Age and injuries meant he only played 84 games and started 32 in his lone MLB season. Yanagisawa was cut after one year in Indy and after going unsigned in 1963, officially retired at age 41.

The final EAB stats for Yanagisawa: 2331 hits, 1136 runs, 370 doubles, 460 home runs, 1317 RBI, a .298/.350/.538 slash, and 97.6 WAR. Not at the very top of the EAB Hall of Fame leaderboard, but far from the bottom as well. He comfortably belongs as a first ballot guy as a perennial MVP candidate for a decade and a big piece of a dynasty.

Kenshiro Aoki – Closer – Suwon Snappers – 68.0% First Ballot

Kenshiro Aoki was a 5’10’’, 175 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Takanabe, a small town of around 20,000 people in southern Japan. He was known for incredible movement with a 97-99 mph sinker and fastball combo. Aoki’s control was average at best, but he could draw easy groundballs with ease thanks to the sinker. Aoki was hard working and loyal, making him a clubhouse favorite.

Aoki attended Hosei University in Kawasaki and was picked 23^rd overall by Sapporo in the 1944 East Asia Baseball Draft. He never played for the Swordfish, who were just starting their dynasty. Aoki was a reserve roster guy in 1945 and the first half of 1946, ultimately traded in the summer with another reliever to Suwon for first baseman Eun-Seong Sung. Aoki made 13 appearances that summer with the Snappers, then became a full-time closer when healthy for the rest of his run.

He played his entire pro career with Suwon, eventually earning his #20 uniform’s retirement. Aoki made the best of times with a bad franchise, as Suwon didn’t make the playoffs once during his tenure and was generally below .500. He had decent numbers in his first full season in 1947, but suffered a setback with a torn labrum in June 1948. He bounced back impressively, posting 25+ saves in each of the next eight seasons. Aoki never won Reliever of the Year, but finished third five times (1949, 50, 51, 55, 59). He led Japan in saves with 43 in 1955.

Aoki was part of the 1953 Japan team that won the World Baseball Championship. From 1950-60, he pitched in 33 games with eight starts, posting a very strong 1.81 ERA in 89.2 innings with 126 strikeouts. In 1957, a torn UCL put him out for nine months. Still, Aoki bounced right back with solid 1958 and 1959 seasons. 1960 was his last as the closer, followed by a weak 1961 season to close things at age 38. In that last year, he did cross 400 career saves; the fifth EAB pitcher to do so.

Aoki’s final stats: 403 saves and 442 shutdowns, 2.72 ERA, 1040.1 innings, 1162 strikeouts, 333 walks, FIP- of 69 (nice), and 31.1 WAR. He didn’t have the dominance of other Hall of Fame closers and was stuck staying loyal to a bad team, but 400 saves was the magic number to that point. Thus, Aoki was a first ballot Hall of Famer, albeit just barely at 68.0%.

These are interesting results for me.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-18-2023, 12:35 PM

The European Baseball Federation added one into the Hall of Fame with the 1967 ballot. Outfielder Branislav Mikusiak got the nod with 76.9% on his ballot debut. Slugger Orion McIntyre was short again but had a respectable 58.7%. Three others were above 50% with closer Ken Jacob at 58.0%, closer Richard Hackl at 54.9%, and CF Joe Ramet at 54.2%.

Branislav Mikusiak – Outfielder – Madrid Conquistadors – 76.9% First Ballot

Branislav Mikusiak was a 5’10’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Stupava, a small town of around 12,000 people near the western border in Slovakia. Mikusiak was an incredibly well-rounded hitter who was above average to good in all facets with the bat. He was a strong contact hitter who regularly hit 30+ home runs; he was great at drawing walks and decent at avoiding strikeouts, and he had very good speed. Mikusiak made about 60% of his starts in right field and was viewed as a great defender there, winning two Gold Gloves. The rest of his starts were generally in center, where he was viewed as below average.

Mikusiak began his EBF career at age 25 when he signed an eight-year deal with Paris. This began a streak of seven straight 7+ WAR seasons. He won three Silver Sluggers with the Poodles in 1952, 53, and 54 and helped them to a Northern Conference title in 1952. In 23 playoff games, he had 28 hits, 17 runs, 6 home runs, and 21 RBI. Mikusiak won his first MVP in 1953, leading in WAR (9.5) and slugging (.597). In four seasons with Paris, Mikusiak had 637 hits, 430 runs, 89 doubles, 147 home runs, 447 RBI, and 34.5 WAR.

Mikusiak missed the last two months of the 1954 season with a torn meniscus. He opted out of his contract following this and signed an eight-year contract with Madrid. He only played four years with the Conquistadors, but had one of the greatest four-year stretches possible. Mikusiak was the WARlord in three straight seasons, posting 35 total WAR in that stretch. He won MVP in 1956 and 57 and took second in 1955; winning Silver Sluggers in each year. Madrid won the 1955 European Championship with Mikusiak in 28 playoff games for the Conquistadors posting 28 hits, 17 runs, 6 home runs, and 20 RBI. In total with Madrid, he had 675 hits, 434 runs, 159 home runs, 424 RBI, and 39.4 WAR. In 1956, Mikusiak played for the first time for Slovakia in the World Baseball Championship as well. He became a regular from 1956-63, starting 72 games with 66 hits, 49 runs, 21 home runs, and 43 RBI.

A strained hip muscle put him out about two months in 1958. Mikusiak opted out of his Madrid deal, feeling that he deserved to paid far more. He couldn’t find any EBF team able or willing to match his asking price and Mikusiak sit out the entire 1959 season. MLB teams were reluctant as well as he wanted top money even by their standards, plus they were still skeptical of EBF’s talent level and not wanting to deal with the legal issues of bringing him over. Eventually, Denver took the plunge, signing Mikusiak for $496,000 and four years; almost doubling his peak yearly salary with Madrid.

He began his MLB career at age 34 and won his two Gold Gloves with the Dragons. He was a strong starter for his first three years with Denver and helped them to the 1962 World Series title. In 32 playoff starts, Mikusiak had 31 hits, 19 runs, 6 home runs, and 12 RBI. In total with the Dragons, he had 590 hits, 343 runs, 118 home runs, 302 RBI, and 18.1 WAR.

Mikusiak’s production fell off noticeably in his fourth year with Denver and he wasn’t re-signed. Mikusiak spent 1964 as a decent starter with Albuquerque, then was below average with Charlotte in 1965. After going unsigned in 1966, he retired at age 41. Between MLB and EBF, Mikusiak had 2153 hits, 1352 runs, 309 doubles, 129 triples, 454 home runs, 1274 RBI, a .289/.373/.549 slash and 94.1 WAR.

For his eight-season EBF run, Mikusiak had 1312 hits, 864 runs, 194 doubles, 306 home runs, 871 RBI, a .303/.394/.605 slash, and 73.9 WAR. For the 1950s, he was generally viewed as a top five level player in the European Baseball Federation. The short run and move to MLB means his leaderboard tallies are low, but he was incredibly impressive at his peak and played a role in early successes for both Madrid and Paris. With the standards a bit different for the earliest players in EBF, Mikusiak’s resume was enough to earn first ballot induction at 76.9%.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-18-2023, 06:46 PM

The 1967 World Baseball Championship was the 21^st edition of the tournament as it was held in Mexico for the third time; this time in Monterrey. For the first time in tournament history, the United States didn’t advance to the elite eight. The Americans took second in Division 1 at 5-2, finishing behind 6-1 North Korea. This snapped the USA’s bid for a championship four-peat and was the fifth time that NK won a division. South Korea also moved on, rolling to a 7-0 Division 2 title. SK now has moved onto the Round Robin stage seven times, bouncing back after the 1965 runner-up missed out in 1966. Canada won Division 3 at 6-1, beating Poland by one game. The Canadians have 15 appearances in the elite eight, second only to the US. Division 4 went to Japan at 6-1, their seventh division title and first since 1964.

Mexico was unbeaten to take Division 5 at 7-0, beating out a strong 6-1 effort from Italy. The Mexicans have moved on eight times, also their first time since 1964. France won a tight Division 6 at 6-1, edging defending runner-up Brazil and Uzbekistan at 5-2. It joins 1963 as the only division titles for the French. Russia at 5-2 took Division 7, one game better than Colombia, Panama, and Serbia. The Russians advance for the sixth time and for the third consecutive season. And in Division 8, the Philippines rolled to 7-0 for their second-ever elite eight appearance (1964).

In Round Robin Group A, South Korea took first at 4-2. Canada and Japan tied for second at 3-3 with Russia at 2-4. The tiebreaker moved the Canadians forward for their 14^th semifinal appearance. For the Koreans, it was their fourth time making it to the final four. In Group B, the Philippines finished first at 5-1 for their first-ever semifinal berth. Mexico was second at 4-2 to advance, while North Korea was 3-3 and France went 0-6. The Mexicans advanced to their seventh semifinal.

Mexico earned its sixth finals berth as they took their semifinal series 4-2 over South Korea. Canada ousted the Philippines in five games, giving the Canadians their ninth finals berth. South Korea officially earned third place with the Philippines fourth. The championship was the first appearance since 1963 for both Mexico and Canada, with the Mexicans prevailing that year in seven games. The 1967 final was far less dramatic with the Canadians pulling off a sweep. Canada is now a three-time tournament champion, adding this rung to their 1959 and 1954 wins.

Tournament MVP was Mexico’s Diego Garcia. The 29-year old third baseman for Milwaukee in 23 starts had 26 hits, 19 runs, 11 home runs, 15 RBI, and 1.5 WAR. Taking Best Pitcher was Canada’s Hugo Salyer. A 24-year old reliever for Philadelphia, the lefty had four saves and a 3-0 record over 10 appearances and 19.2 innings, posting a 0.46 ERA and 42 strikeouts. This was the peak for the promising young closer as a torn rotator cuff in August of 1967 ended his career.

Below are the updated running stats for the tournament.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-19-2023, 07:18 AM

The third season for Austronesia Professional Baseball saw the exact same four playoff teams as the prior year. In the Taiwan-Philippine Association, those two teams have won their league all three years. Manila dominated the Philippine League at 110-52, scoring the most runs (606) and allowing the fewest (382) in the TPA. Two-time defending TPA champ Taichung won the Taiwan League at 96-66, finishing six games ahead of their closest challenge Taipei.

Although second place, the Tigercats would have the MVP in 1B Shen-Hsiung Hsue. The 33-year old lefty in his second year with the team was the TPA leader in runs (85), home runs (48), RBI (98), slugging (.534), OPS (.838), and wRC+ (173), adding 6.9 WAR. Manila’s Jonah Miranda won Pitcher of the Year with the 30-year old righty earning WARlord status at 9.6 with a TPA best 50 FIP- and six shutouts. He added a 2.08 ERA, 18-7 record and 272 strikeouts in 247 innings. Also of note, Taichung’s Abdul Rizki won his third straight Reliever of the Year. The 31-year old had 7.1 WAR and 165 strikeouts in 94.2 innings for 35 saves and a 1.06 ERA.

The Sundaland Association again had Bandung and Medan on top of their leagues. The Blackhawks had the best record, dominating the Java League at 107-55 and posting the most runs (615) and fewest allowed (408). Defending APB Champion Medan narrowly took the Malacca League at 100-62, holding off a strong challenge from Pekanbaru two games back.

MVP went to Bandung centerfielder Zharfan Mohd Ali, a 31-year old Malaysian the team acquired in a trade last summer from Semarang. Ali led the SA with 42 home runs, 94 RBI, and 84 runs, adding 8.7 WAR. Pekanbaru’s W.C. Yu won his second Pitcher of the Year. “Cactus” was one win from a Triple Crown season with a 20-9 record, 1.63 ERA, and 306 strikeouts over 237.1 innings. He also had 8.0 WAR, a 0.60 WHIP, 13.3 K/BB, and 15 complete games.

The Taiwan-Philippine Championship lacked drama as Manila got revenge on Taichung. After falling in the prior two championships, the Manatees cruised with a sweep of the Toucans. Meanwhile, the Sundaland Championship rematch went seven games for the second straight time. This time, it was Bandung coming out on top of Medan. In the third Austronesia Championship, the Blackhawks bested Manila 4-2. Series MVP was Zharfan Mohd Ali, who in 13 postseason games had 16 hits, 9 runs, 5 home runs, and 7 RBI.

Other notes: Singapore’s 45-117 record would stand as the worst in Sundaland Association history as of 2037. Only Taipei in 1974 at 43-119 would have a worse mark for all of APB history. Ruben Yu of Manila stole 104 bases, which held as the single-season steals record until 1984. Taichung’s Djaka Ramdani was the first APB player to have a six hit game. Granted, it came in an extra innings marathon with 12 at-bats. Davao’s Kane Fauntas had the first 20-game hit streak in APB.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-19-2023, 11:33 AM

The Australasia League had a first-time champion in 1967 with Melbourne on top. After finishing 80-82 last season, the Mets soared to the top at 100-62. Perth was second at 91-71, while defending league champ Adelaide dropped to seventh with a 74-88 season. Melbourne’s pitching staff posted a WHIP of 0.904 and 1063 total hits, which would be second-best in league history as of 2037.

Mets RF Danny Carrott won back-to-back MVPs. The 25-year old lefty again led the league in runs (92), home runs (45), RBI (93), slugging (.591), OPS (.917), wRC+ (212), and WAR (9.6). Although the Aardvarks struggled, Flynn Rodden won his second Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old lefty led the league in ERA for the third straight season with his 1.29 mark still standing as of 2037 for the single-season record. He posted 10.3 WAR and a 0.69 WHIP with 319 strikeouts and a FIP- of 44 in 244.2 innings. Unfortunately for Rodden, this was his last great year as a string of injuries derailed his career soon after.

Guam had a strong turnaround from 76 wins to 97 to take the top spot in the Pacific League. It was the second league title for the Golden Eagles, who were the first champs back in 1960. At 97-65, they held off Port Moresby by three games. Defending Oceania Champion Guadalcanal fell to fourth place at 85-77.

Guam RF Sione Hala won his second MVP and earned his and OBA’s second batting Triple Crown. The 24-year old Tongan had a .345 average, 55 home runs, and 130 RBI, while also leading the league in hits (204), runs (94), triple slash (.345/.378/.679), OPS (1.057), wRC+ (216) and WAR (9.8). Guadalcanal’s Sakeo Rasalato won back-to-back Pitcher of the Year honors. The fourth-year Fijian righty had the most wins at 22-11 and led in WAR (11.6), innings (327.2), K/BB (8.7) and FIP- (59). He posted a 2.17 ERA with 338 strikeouts and a 0.81 WHIP.

The eighth Oceania Championship was the second to require all seven games. Melbourne outlasted Guam for the franchise’s first ring. Although the Golden Eagles lost, they had the series MVP in Lucas Ivanir, who had 12 hits, 4 runs, 3 triples, and 4 RBI.

Other notes: Adelaide;s Te Paoro Rangi threw the third OBA perfect and his second, having also done it in 1963. On June 7, he did it again against Gold Coast, striking out 10. It was his second no-hitter of the year, as he K’d nine and walked one in April against Brisbane. He joins East Asia Baseball Hall of Famer Moon Kim as the only professional players to this point with two perfect games. Rangi also became the first OBA pitcher to reach 2000 career strikeouts. Perth’s Nate Makris became the first hitter to 300 homers. SS Fineasi Hausia won his seventh Gold Glove.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-19-2023, 04:48 PM

Leading Eurasian Professional Baseball’s European League in 1967 was Kazan, winning the North Division for the first time at 101-61. This gave the Crusaders three straight playoff berths. Both wild cards came out of the North as Moscow extended its postseason streak to seven years at 99-63, while Warsaw earned its first since 1960 with a 98-64 mark. Defending Soviet Series champ Minsk missed the field for the first time in franchise history, three off the last wild card at 95-67. In the South Division, Tirana unseated Kyiv’s five-year hold on the division title. The Trojans earned their first playoff berth at 96-66, beating the Kings by a game for the top spot.

Although Bratislava struggled to a 75-87 season, their ace Havlik Hloznik won both league MVP and Pitcher of the Year. The 26-year old Slovak righty was the leader in strikeouts (413), innings pitched (306.2), shutouts (10), and WAR (12.7), adding a 1.70 ERA with a 19-10 record. Hloznik also played 84 games in the outfield with 68 hits, 8 home runs, 28 RBI, and 1.0 WAR.

Bishkek had a third consecutive 100+ win season and fifth straight South Division title in the Asian League, posting EPB’s best record in 1967 at 108-54. They ran away with the division, while the North Division was quite competitive. Ufa earned the title and a fifth straight playoff berth at 101-61. Ulaanbaatar finished one behind at 100-62, giving the Boars their first playoff appearance in franchise history. That leaves Yerevan as the only Asian League team without at least one playoff berth. Yekaterinburg got the second wild card at 94-68, extending the Yaks playoff streak to four seasons. After a record-setting 120 win 1966 and the league title, Omsk missed the playoffs, two out of the wild card at 92-70.

Ulaanbaatar’s Amam Charyyew won his second MVP. The 29-year old Turkmen centerfielder was the leader in runs (98), average (.315), slugging (.656), OPS (1.016), wRC+ (199), and WAR (10.0), adding 46 home runs and 108 RBI. Ufa’s Serkan Petrov grabbed his first Pitcher of the Year. The 33-year old Bulgarian lefty in his 12^th year with the Fiends had a career year with a league-best 1.63 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 29 quality starts, and 59 FIP-. Petrov had 8.5 WAR, a 17-7 record, and 281 strikeouts over 248.1 innings.

The first round of the playoffs in the European League had Kazan defeat Warsaw 3-1 and Moscow sweep Tirana. Both division champs rolled to sweeps in the Asian League with Ufa over Ulaanbaatar and Bishkek over Yekaterinburg. In the ELCS, the Mules knocked off the Crusaders 4-1 to give Moscow its first league title and leave Kazan as runner-up in back-to-back years. Bishkek made its fourth straight ALCS appearance in a rematch of the 1964 final with Ufa. The Black Sox defeated the Fiends 4-2, giving Bishkek three titles in four seasons and leaving Ufa 0-3 thus far in ALCS appearances.

The 13^th Soviet Series saw Bishkek become two-time EPB champions, sending the title back to Kyrgyzstan. The Black Sox bested Moscow in five games with Soviet Series MVP going to 2B Elnur Kuat. The four-time Gold Glove winner in his final season with Bishkek had 22 hits in 14 playoff games with 7 runs and 5 RBI.

Other notes: Helsinki’s Vladislav Putsila had a 29-game hit streak, the second longest EPB streak to date behind Sergei Mammedov’s 30 in 1958. Eldar Vdovichenko and Sharav Tumur became the second and third EPB hitters to reach 2000 hits. Madalin Keretesz and Yavor Stefanov became the fifth and sixth sluggers to 400 home runs. Sergei Filatov became the first pitcher to 250 wins and the first to 4000 strikeouts. Henri Gevorgyan became the third pitcher to 3500 strikeouts. 3B Pavlo Kolesnik won his ninth Silver Slugger, the first EPB hitter to get to nine.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-20-2023, 04:52 AM

The top record for the entire European Baseball Federation in 1967 belonged to Paris at 103-59, giving the Poodles the Northern Conference’s Northwest Division. Paris is back in the playoffs after missing the prior two seasons. Rotterdam was second in the division at 94-68, taking the wild card for their first playoff appearance in a decade. Dublin claimed the British Isles Division at 93-69 after four straight losing seasons since their EBF title. London at 91-71 missed the division title by two games and the wild card by three, while defending EBF champ Glasgow fell to 86-76. The only returning playoff team for the Northern Conference was Hamburg, who barely took a weak North Central Division at 84-78. Oslo ended one back with Berlin four behind.

Northern Conference MVP went to Glasgow LF Graeme McNay. The 26-year old Irishman was the leader in hits (209), home runs (49), triple slash (.348/.394/.661), OPS (1.054), wRC+ (225), and WAR (10.6). Pitcher of the Year was Rotterdam’s Mortiz Varkevisser. It was the first season as a full-time starter for the 23-year old left-handed Dutchman, who posted a 2.22 ERA and 23-7 record with 241 strikeouts over 267.2 innings and 5.4 WAR.

While the Northern Conference had notable playoff turnover, the Southern Conference saw each division with the same winner as last year. Vienna had the best overall record at 100-62 atop the Southeast Division for their third straight division title. Zagreb at 88-74 took the wild card by a seven-game margin for the Gulls’ first winning season since winning the 1960 EBF title. Rome made it six straight South Central Division titles, going 99-63. Defending conference champ Marseille claimed the Southwest Division at 95-67.

Second-year shortstop Niklaos Pavlis had a huge breakout season for Zagreb, earning Southern Conference MVP. The 22-year old Greek righty was the WARlord at 10.3, adding a .295 average, 31 home runs, 85 RBI, and 96 runs. Malta’s Ugo Musacci won Pitcher of the Year in his third season, falling one win shy of a Triple Crown. The 23-year old Italian was the leader in ERA (1.97), strikeouts (350), WHIP (0.88), WAR (10.2), and FIP- (55), posting a 21-9 record over 270 innings.

In the first round of the playoffs in the north, Hamburg stunned Paris by taking the series in four games, while Dublin swept Rotterdam in the south, Vienna rolled to a sweep of Zagreb, while Marseille edged Rome in a five-game battle. The Northern Conference Championship saw the first sweep since 1955 as the Dinos cruised by the Hammers. For Dublin, it is their second conference title along with the 1962 season. Hamburg is now 1-4 all time in the NCC. The Southern Conference Championship looked like it would follow a similar script as the Musketeers took the first three games. Vienna rallied to deny the repeat, giving the Vultures their first-ever conference title. Marseille has now blown a 3-0 series lead twice, also doing it against Belgrade in 1961.

In the 18^th European Championship, Dublin joined Amsterdam and Barcelona as the only franchises with two overall titles. The Dinos downed Vienna in five games to send the trophy back to Ireland for the first time since 1962. Finals MVP was CF Jo Norton, who had nine hits, 4 runs, and 2 home runs in 9 playoff games. One quirk is that despite winning the title, Dublin only had 72 total home runs as a team; third-fewest ever in a season for any EBF team as of 2037. Walks and steals helped the Dinos score runs in the face of their lower power numbers.

Other notes: Two perfect games were thrown in 1967. On June 20, Matthew Glazier of Oslo did it with seven strikeouts against London. On September 12, Tommaso Paladino of Naples pulled it off, striking out six versus Amsterdam. Rudjer Bosnjak became the second hitter to 500 home runs and became an eight-time Silver Slugger winner at first base. Aaron Grunauer and Pedro Varela became the fourth and fifth EBF pitchers to 200 career wins.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-20-2023, 01:01 PM

The Bolivar League had repeat division champs in 1967. Callao earned back-to-back South Division crowns at 97-65, fending off a strong challenge from 95-67 Quito. The top five records in the league all came from the South Division in an oddly distributed season. Defending league champ Medellin fell all the way to 84-78, but that was enough to win a third straight North Division title. Bogota was one back at 83-79 with Caracas three behind and Valencia four back. The Mutiny set an unusual league record despite winning their division; the fewest stolen bases for a Beisbol Sudamerica team at 74.

Valencia’s Jovanny Camacho earned Bolivar League MVP. In his second full season, the Venezuelan first baseman was the leader in runs (99), doubles (34), home runs (53), slugging (.630), OPS (.964), and wRC+ (186), adding 7.9 WAR and 113 RBI. Pitcher of the Year went to Guayaquil ace Laurenco Cedillo for the fifth time, making him the third BSA pitcher to earn the honor five times. The 32-year old Chilean righty was the WARlord for the eighth time with a career best 12.6. Cedillo also was the leader in FIP- (40), wins (20-11), K/BB (14.0), and complete games (21), adding a 1.81 ERA over 274 innings with 337 strikeouts to only 24 walks.

The Southern Cone League also had repeat division champions as both Santiago and Fortaleza each took first place for the fourth consecutive season. The defending Copa Sudamerica champ Saints took the South Division at 104-58, beating solid efforts from Buenos Aires (97-65) and Rosario (92-70). Santiago led the league in both runs scored (704) and runs allowed (482). Meanwhile, the Foxes took the competitive Brazil Division at 90-72, ending ahead of Salvador by three games, Belo Horizonte by four, Brasilia by six, and Sao Paulo by seven.

Fortaleza 2B Niculao Semide won back-to-back MVPs and posted an all-time great season. In his second full season, the 25-year old posted Beisbol Sudamerica’s seventh Triple Crown hitting season. His 13.3 WAR was also second-best ever by a BSA hitter behind only Ishmael Perla’s 13.7 in 1959. Semide led the league in hits (201), home runs (49), RBI (122), walks (88), triple slash (.349/.425/.691), OPS (1.116) and wRC+ (225).

Santiago’s Aitor Guillen won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons as the 26-year old Argentine led the league in quality starts with 28. He had a 19-10 record, 2.04 ERA, 288 strikeouts, and 7.5 WAR in 247 innings. Various injuries would make this the final great season for Guillen. Also of note, Buenos Aries closer Alfredo Mejia joined the very short list of four-time Reliever of the Year winners. After winning the prior three with Cali, he was traded to the Atlantics for 1967, posting 43 saves, a 1.19 ERA, 184 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR. This was his final season in South America, as the 31-year old jumped to Major League Baseball in the offseason.

Just like the prior season, both League Championship Series went seven games. In the Bolivar League, Medellin made it back-to-back wins over Callao, giving the Mutiny seven league titles. This ties them with La Paz and Caracas for the most. In the fourth straight Southern Cone Final between the two, Fortaleza and Santiago traded the title again and it was the Foxes turn. They’ve met six times in the final counting the 1932-33 meetings with each team winning the title thrice. Fortaleza now has four titles (1932, 1940, 1965, 1967).

The 37^th Copa Sudamerica would be the second title for the Foxes as Fortaleza defeated Medellin in six games; making the Mutiny runner-up in back-to-back years. Niculao Semide continued his historic MVP season excellence into the postseason, winning Copa Sudamerica and SCC MVP. In 13 playoff games, he had 15 hits, 7 runs, 3 home runs, 10 RBI, and 10 walks. It was a 35 year gap between the Foxes winning in 1967 and taking their first Copa Sudamerica all the back in 1932. This also sent the cup back to Brazil for the first time since Sao Paulo won it in 1958.

Other notes; Ryan Azambuja had a four home run game for Bogota against Barquisimeto, the fourth BSA player to do so. Ralph Jung became the 10^th pitcher to 4500 strikeouts. Mike Andrades became the seventh BSA hitter to 1500 career RBI and crossed 500 home runs; the 11^th to do so.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-20-2023, 05:45 PM

For the 1967 season, East Asia Baseball followed Major League Baseball’s lead from a few years earlier and shrunk their active roster size from 25 to 24 players. This was ultimately a compromise move between the owners and players. The prior season, EAB had lowered the free agent minimum service time from seven to six, allowing players to reach free agency and arbitration sooner. The smaller roster meant one less spot, but the players that made the squad would ultimately get a bit more money. Teams could freely move players from the reserve to active roster though, so there were plenty of options still to adjust to injuries.

The Japan League in 1967 was very competitive and saw new teams at the top of the standings. In the North Division, Kawasaki snapped a 24 season playoff drought with the league’s best record at 94-68. They fended off 92-70 Chiba and two-time defending league champ Yokohama at 90-72. The Yellow Jackets would fall off hard the next year and go into a rebuilding phase. In the South Division, Hiroshima won for the first time since taking EAB Champion honors in 1959. The Hammerheads and Fukuoka had to go to a one-game tiebreaker for the top spot with both finishing the regular season at 86-76. Kitakyushu was only one back with Kobe two back and last year’s division champ Kyoto six back.

Saitama only won 70 games, but it was their right fielder Sanjiro Miyama winning the league MVP. It was a banner year for the sixth season outfielder, leading the league in hits (207), average (.356), OBP (.394), wRC+ (200) and WAR (10.4), adding 32 home runs and 103 RBI. Kyoto’s Su-Yeong Myung was the Pitcher of the Year. The 13^th year righty was the ERA leader at 1.85 and WHIP leader at 0.81, adding 6.4 WAR and a 15-5 record over 209 innings with 250 strikeouts.

Pyongyang’s dominance continued in the Korea League as the two-time defending EAB champs had their seventh straight North Division title and seventh straight season with 109 or more wins. The Pythons finished 111-51, leading by far in runs scored at 811 and having the fewest allowed at 525. Seoul was second at a distant 93-69. The South Division saw Yongin on top for back-to-back seasons. The Gold Sox were 16 games better than Busan with an 101-61 mark, tying a franchise record for wins in a season.

Daegu was the worst team in the league at 60-102, but Diamondbacks first baseman Ji-Hwan Kwan still won the MVP. The 25-year old lefty was the leader in hits (207), average (.347), slugging (.622), OPS (1.014), wRC+ (183), and WAR (8.6). Seoul’s Jae-Hoon Seon won the Pitcher of the Year. The 28-year old lefty was the wins leader with a 24-4 record and the WARlord at 8.3, also leading in WHIP (0.87) and quality starts (28). He had a 2.42 ERA over 271.2 innings with 290 strikeouts.

The Japan League Championship Series saw Kawasaki cruise to the title in five games over Hiroshima. This gave the Killer Whales their third league title, joining the 1938 and 1941 seasons. The Korea League Championship Series saw Pyongyang win again over Yongin, this time in six games. The Pythons now have three straight Korea League titles; five in seven years; and a record nine total. They’re the first team to three-peat in Korea since Busan’s 1940s dynasty.

Pyongyang’s dynasty rolled to the East Asian Championship 4-1 against Kawasaki, also giving the Pythons three straight overall titles and five in seven years. Finals MVP was CF Min-Woo Yoon, with the 25-year old in 11 playoff games posting 13 hits, 8 runs, 3 home runs, and 8 RBI. Pyongyang are the first team to three-peat as overall EAB champs and now have seven overall crowns; more than any other team. The 1960s Pythons were making a strong case for the best dynasty in East Asia Baseball History and they wouldn’t be done yet either.

Other notes: Ki-Wook Ahn became the sixth EAB hitter to reach 700 career home runs and the eighth to 1500 runs scored. Han-Gyeol Bu became a 10-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop. Lei Meng won his 12^th and final Silver Slugger in left field. Meng finished the 1967 season with 753 home runs, just behind Ju-An Pak’s all-time mark of 760. Meng would easily pass it next season to become the EAB home run king, a title he held until the 2010s.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-21-2023, 03:49 AM

Torreon became the first of the teams from the 1962 expansion to earn a playoff spot. The Tomahawks had the best record in the Mexican League in 1967 at 103-59, taking the North Division title. Monterrey, who had won the league three of the last four years, finished second at 88-74 and fell six games short of a wild card. In the South Division, last year’s wild card champ Mexico City won the division at 96-66. Puebla was second at 94-68 and picked up the wild card for their first playoff berth since 1953. Ecatepec, who won 103 games the prior year, dropped to 90-72 and missed the wild card by four games.

Leading Torreon’s first playoff season was centerfielder Santiago Perez, who won the MVP. Perez was the #1 overall draft pick in 1962 and emerged as a star, leading Mexico in 1967 in home runs (53), RBI (123), slugging (.654), and OPS (1.030), adding 8.0 WAR. He had two more great years with the Tomahawks before moving to MLB at age 29, ultimately putting him short of what likely would’ve been a Hall of Fame CABA career. The bright spot for a middling Merida team was Pitcher of the Year Cajetano Ortega. The fourth-year righty was the ERA leader at 1.92 and had 27 quality starts, adding a 16-10 record, 6.9 WAR, and 208 strikeouts over 248.2 innings.

After missing the playoff field last year, Guatemala bounced back with a franchise record 104-58 second, taking the Caribbean League’s Continental Division. Honduras took second at 94-68 and won the wild card, giving the Horsemen 12 playoff appearances in a 15-year stretch. Salvador, who had been a league finalist the prior four seasons, missed the playoff field at 90-72. The Stallions did hit 295 doubles as a team, a Caribbean League record that stood until 2033. In the Island Division, defending CABA champion Jamaica finished on top again, this time with an improved 101-61 record. Trinidad was a distant second at 87-75, but it was a new best for them as one of the other 1962 expansion teams.

Guatemala CF Wesley Dubar won back-to-back MVP awards. The 24-year old stud was the leader in runs (113), slugging (.584), OPS (.949), wRC+ (160), and WAR (8.9), adding 39 home runs and 101 RBI. It was his third straight season as the league’s offensive WARlord. Honduras veteran Oscar Medina won Pitcher of the Year, falling two wins short of a Triple Crown. The 34-year old Costa Rican lefty had numerous career and league bests with a 2.00 ERA, 321 strikeouts, and 10.7 WAR over 274.2 innings with a 21-8 record. After a career high, Medina fell off a cliff with a 3.99 ERA the next year and was out of the game right after.

Mexico City easily swept divisional rival Puebla in the wild card round, while Honduras upset Jamaica in four. The Mexico League Championship Series was an all-timer that went all seven. The final went 10 innings with Mexico City winning 6-5 to deny Torreon its first league title. It was the sixth league title for the Aztecs, although they hadn’t won since 1945. In the Caribbean League Championship Series, Guatemala won its first-ever title, downing Honduras in six.

While Mexico City won the Mexican League title in dramatic fashion, there was no drama required for them in the CABA Championship. The Aztecs swept Guatemala, giving Mexico City its fifth overall title (1924, 1934, 1936, 1945). SS Aaron Valencia won both MLCS and finals MVP. In 13 playoff games, the 28-year old Puerto Rican had 22 hits, 13 runs, 5 home runs, and 12 RBI. Little did the CABA world know that this would be the beginning of an all-time dynasty for the Aztecs that extended into the mid 1970s.

Other notes: Hermosillo’s Santiago Esquivel became the ninth CABA pitcher to strike out 20+ in a game, getting 20Ks over 12 innings against Puebla on August 28. Emmanuel Lopez became the fourth CABA batter to 3000 hits and the eighth to 1500 RBI.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-21-2023, 10:03 AM

Much to the chagrin of many players. MLB increased the minimum service time for free agency in 1967 from six to seven years. This put them aligned with Global Baseball Alliance members CABA and APB also at seven; although CABA would drop to six the next year. EAB had just moved down to six two years earlier, which leaves them, EBF, and OBA as the leagues at six years. BSA and EPB were the most restrictive at the time at eight seasons, although BSA would also lower theirs down to seven shortly. MLB’s goal was to keep local players at home longer and try to corral big free agent salaries.

Pittsburgh had the National Association’s best record in 1967 with a franchise-record 105-57 mark atop the Eastern League This ended a three season playoff skid for the Pirates, who had the top offense in the NA at 787 runs scored. In the Midwest League, Omaha and St. Louis tied for the first place spot at 95-67. The Hawks won the one-game playoff for their first league title since 1956, snapping a three-year playoff drought. The Cardinals still advanced as a wild card, in the field for the fourth time in five years.

Minneapolis was 92-70, three games off the Midwest League title. The Moose tied with Boston for the second and third wild card spots. This gave Minneapolis its first playoff spot since 1953 and gave the Red Sox 11 appearances in 15 seasons. It was tight for the final spot with Washington and Kansas City finishing even at 90-72, both one ahead of Toronto and two better than Columbus. The Admirals defeated the Cougars in the one-game playoff, allowing the defending National Association champs to make it back to the postseason. They finished as the only NA team with an active multi-year playoff streak at two as Hartford (77-85), Ottawa (79-87) and Philadelphia (81-81) all saw their steaks end in 1967.

Washington 1B Elliot Fisher won the National Association MVP. The 27-year old from New York City was the home run (50) and RBI leader (123) and the WARlord (8.6), adding 99 runs, a .316 average, and 1.015 OPS. Pitcher of the Year was Minnesota’s Ju-Hwan Park in his MLB debut. Park became one in a very select group to win the top award in two different leagues, having won the 1960 and 1961 Korea League Pitcher of the Year awards with Hamhung. The 30-year old signed a six-year, $1,068,000 deal with the Moose and delivered as the WARlord at 8.7. He added a 2.24 ERA, 19-6 record, and 250 strikeouts in 268.2 innings.

In the first round of the playoffs, Boston swept Minneapolis and St. Louis swept Washington. The Red Sox stunned Pittsburgh with a 3-2 upset in round two, while Omaha cruised to a sweep over the Cardinals. This earned the Hawks only their second National Association Championship Series appearance, while it was only Boston’s third. The Red Sox took the NACS 4-1, sending them to the World Series for only the second time (1955).

Defending World Series champion San Diego improved upon their record, leading the Western League and all of Major League Baseball at 106-56. Second was Las Vegas at 99-63 and third was Vancouver at 98-64 with both getting the wild card for the second time in three years. San Francisco finished 92-70 to take the third wild card, giving them the longest active playoff streak in MLB at five seasons.

The Southern League saw a new face on top with Jacksonville at 102-60. This was the Gators’ first playoff appearance and SL title since 1950. Only Dallas (1945) and New Orleans (1949) had longer active playoff droughts in the American Association. Atlanta was a distant second at 91-71, but that was good for the final wild card, ending a six-year playoff skid for the Aces. The next closest teams in the wild card hunt were Phoenix and Oakland, both at 87-75. The Firebirds and Houston (85-77) both had won 100+ the prior year, but missed out in 1967. San Antonio also saw a big drop, going from a 93-win wild card berth in 1966 to only 71 wins in 1967.

In his second season, Charlotte 2B Rodd Shackelford won the American Association MVP. He led in WAR (94), hits (218), and doubles (42), adding 116 runs, 22 home runs, and a .343 average. Shackelford also had a 30-game hit streak over the summer. San Diego’s Ryan Rankin won the Pitcher of the Year. The 28-year old lefty nicknamed “Lucifer” had a 27-6 record with the lead in ERA (2.41) and innings (298.1), adding 218 strikeouts and 6.3 WAR. He was only the fourth MLB pitcher to win 27+ games in a season.

Both wild card series needed all three games with San Francisco beating Vancouver and Las Vegas topping Atlanta. The league champs prevailed in the second would with Jacksonville sweeping the Vipers and San Diego surviving a five-game battle with the Gold Rush. For the Gators, this was only their fifth American Association Championship Series appearance and first since 1948. They gave the defending champ Seals a seven-game battle, but San Diego survived for back-to-back titles and their sixth overall. The Seals were the first repeat AA champ since they did it themselves in 1955-56.

San Diego entered the 67^th World Series as a big favorite; the defending champs with the best record in MLB against a wild card Boston franchise that had seen little playoff success despite many recent berths. The series would be a sweep for the first time since 1937 and only the fourth time ever. However, the result was the exact opposite of what was expected with the Red Sox rolling to their first-ever MLB title. CF Ashton Holbrook was the World Series MVP and NACS MVP. A local New England favorite, the 26-year old from Eastport, Maine in 16 playoff games had 21 hits, 10 runs, 4 home runs, and 16 RBI.

Other notes: Catcher Roland Southerland won his ninth and final Gold Glove at catcher. As of 2037, this is still the MLB record for the position.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-21-2023, 04:37 PM

The 1968 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot saw three players earn first ballot inductions. Pitcher Ayaz Shainidze was the start with 99.4% of the vote, one of a very select few to earn 99+ thus far. Outfielders Bill Tan and Patrick White both firmly made it in as well with Tan at 89.6% and White at 85.2%. 1B Tiger Novak on his fifth attempt barely missed the 66% mark again, finishing at 65.1%. Three others, OF Estefan Salinas, SP Abraham Reiner, and SS Chance Warren were above the 50% mark.

Dropped after ten attempts was closer Victoro Fraijo, who ended at 48.4% after peaking at 58.2% and generally hovering in the 50s. He had a 21-year career between MLB and CABA with a combined 438 saves and 41.6 WAR, including two CABA Reliever of the Year nods. His MLB tally was 356 saves, 2.13 ERA, 1017 strikeouts, and 32.8 WAR. Guys with similar looking lines had made it in, but Fraijo couldn’t earn any new supporters for whatever reason.

Six other players also made it ten years and were dropped after the 1968 ballot, although none of those finished above 15%. RF Jack McCoy never was above 37.3% despite a career with 3110 hits, 1668 runs, 390 home runs, 1546 RBI, and 76.7 WAR. Meanwhile, RF Wei-Ju Wang had 3275 hits, 1716 runs, 460 doubles, 273 triples, 94 home runs, 957 RBI, and 49.1 WAR. 3000+ hits wasn’t a guarantee though and they joined Joe Thibault (3257) and two others who had crossed the mark but didn’t get in. McCoy won two titles with Los Angeles as well, making his exclusion even more surprising considering other guys in a similar stat range had gotten the nod. Lack of home run power hurt Wang, although he finished second all-time in triples at 273, one behind Jess Lewis. Wang peaked at 29.7%.

Also dropped was closer Alex Lusk, a three time Reliever of the Year winner with340 saves, a 2.81 ERA, and 31.4 ERA with 903 strikeouts. He had the awards and a save number that usually gets attention, but lacked the dominant strikeout numbers to get higher than 39.3%. Another reliever dropped was Aaron Reyes, who had 254 saves, 2.19 ERA, 826 strikeouts, and 29.6 WAR. He actually peaked at 44.8% before falling to 13.5% at the end.

Rounding out the dropped players was 1B Gage Fairbanks, with 1599 hits, 882 runs, 283 home runs, 884 RBI, a .320 average, and 50.1 WAR. The vast majority of his value were in his first six excellent years with Oakland, but he never recovered from a torn MCL. SP Leon Frausto also fell off peaking at 20.8%. The 1946 Pitcher of the Year was a part of Philadelphia’s dynasty with a 203-171 record, 3.64 ERA, 2901 strikeouts, and 56.4 WAR.

Ayaz Shainidze – Starting Pitcher – Las Vegas Vipers – 99.4% First Ballot

Ayaz Shainidze was a 5’11’’, 200 pound left-handed starting pitcher from Georgia; the country in Asia, not the US state. He was from a town called Zahesi, located nine miles north of the capital Tbilisi. Shainidze’s velocity peaked at 96-98 with solid control and stuff, plus above average movement. He had a slider, curveball, and sinker that were all excellent, along with a rarely used terrible changeup. Shainidze was also known for great durability and stamina, as well as solid leadership skills and adaptability.

Shainidze’s family left Georgia during World War II and he instantly picked up baseball when fully exposed in the United States. He attended Notre Dame and excelled in college, taking the 1947 NCAA Pitcher of the Year with a 12-1 record, 0.81 ERA, and 6.0 WAR with 124 strikeouts in 111 innings. Due to the regional restrictions in the first three rounds, he wasn’t eligible until the fourth round of the 1947 MLB Draft. Shainidze was the third pick of the round, 154^th overall, by New Orleans.

He had an excellent rookie season with 7.7 WAR, yet somehow wasn’t even in the top three for Rookie of the Year voting. He instantly was the Mudcats ace and in five seasons there, had a 92-55 record, 2.96 ERA, 1151 strikeouts in 1376.1 innings, and 37.6 WAR. In his third season with New Orleans, he won his lone Pitcher of the Year with 8.9 WAR, 304.2 innings, and a 2.81 ERA. Shainidze was third in 1952. The Mudcats stunk though with only one playoff berth his tenure in 1949 that he missed to a late-season injury, Unlikely to stick around, New Orleans traded Shainidze before the 1953 season to Las Vegas for prospects.

The Vipers run is what Shainidze would be known for, pitching the remainder of his ten professional seasons there and earning the retirement of his #26 uniform. He put up six 7+ WAR seasons and was a consistent force, although he rarely was a statistical leader. He still earned award looks, but never won Pitcher of the Year again. He was third in 1953, second in 1954, and second in 1958.

During this stretch, Las Vegas became a regular playoff contender, making it nine times from 1950-59. Shainidze caught the back-end of the run, going 3-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 10 playoff starts with 71.1 innings and 55 strikeouts. He made five starts with a 3.50 ERA in 1959, the year that the Vipers finally got over the hump and won the World Series. In the back end of his career as well, Shainidze’s home country began to compete in the World Baseball Championship. From 1956-61 for Georgia, he had a 3.61 ERA over 12 starts and 92.1 innings with 120 strikeouts.

Shainidize’s innings never dwindled, but his production began to fade as he entered his 30s. His ERA went above four in 1960 and 1961 with the stats closer to league average, although he did cross the 250 win and 3000 mlestones. After a middling 1962 at age 35, he opted to retire fairly young. This last year pushed him above 100 career WAR, making him only the 11^th MLB pitcher to that point to do so. His Las Vegas stats saw a 184-114 record, 3.38 ERA, 2323 strikeouts in 2781.1 innings and 64.7 WAR.
For his career, Shainidze had a 276-169 record, 3.24 ERA, 4157.2 innings, 3474 strikeouts, 324/514 quality starts, 267 complete games, FIP- of 80 and 102.3 WAR. He was about as consistently strong as you come and even in his weaker years, he still gave you a lot of innings. A big part in Las Vegas finally winning the big one, Shainidze earned no-doubt induction at 99.4%.

Bill “Wall” Tan – Outfielder – Albuquerque Isotopes – 89.6% First Ballot

Bill Tan was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed hitting outfielder from South Gate, California; located seven miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Tan had one of the most unique skillsets of all-time as he known for incredible speed and baserunning skills, along with a terrific eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He was still a good contact hitter with respectable gap power, although Tan’s home run power was almost non-existent. He could get on base and fly around the basepaths though and combined with his work ethic, this made him a popular player. He bounced around the outfield defensively with about 2/5 of his starts in center, 2/5 in left, and 1/5 in right. Tan was viewed as above average to good defensively in the corners and just below average in center. Tan was also very durable, making 130+ starts each year from age 21 to age 36.

Tan went east to play college baseball for Pittsburgh. After his junior year with the Panthers, he was picked seventh overall in the 1941 MLB Draft by Albuquerque. Tan was an immediate starter and immediate success, leading the American Association as a rookie in steals and OBP. This game him third in Rookie of the Year voting. His two Silver Sluggers came in 1947 and 1948 with third place MVP finishes in both years as well and the most WAR in the AA in 1947. Without the big power numbers, he wasn’t often in the MVP conversation. Tan occasionally had down years when he was overworked, but he typically provided good things. Tan led in stolen bases 11 times, walks five times, runs thrice, and OBP thrice. He also played once in the World Baseball Championship with five games in 1949.

Tan was a key leader as Albuquerque regularly contended in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Isotopes made the playoffs eight times in Tan’s tenure with the deepest run coming in 1948 with an American Association title, falling to Hartford in the World Series. In 52 playoff games with Albuquerque, Tan had 55 hits, 34 runs, 11 doubles, 21 RBI, 28 walks, and 20 stolen bases. In total with the Isotopes, he had 2535 hits, 1565 runs, 422 doubles, 115 triples, 1343 walks, 974 stolen bases, and 69.0 WAR. The team retired his #18 uniform as well.

At age 35 in 1956, Tan had a career-best 110 walks drawn and led in stolen bases for the 11^th and final time. He crossed 2500 hits and 1500 runs scored, but opted to leave Albuquerque sensing a rebuild was to come. Tan signed a three-year, $270,000 deal with St. Louis that saw his salary jump from a peak of $48,400 with the small market Isotopes to $90,000. He set a career best with 116 walks in his Cardinals debut and became the first MLB player to reach 1000 stolen bases for his career. He was a bit weaker in year two and became a free agent, signing for the 1959 season at age 38 with Minnesota.

Notably with the Moose, he hit for the cycle in a game against Indianapolis, scoring four times. Tan also earned his 3000^th hit with Minneapolis in 1960. That was his last year as a full-time starter as he joined Phoenix in 1961, but was benched after struggling. Tan spent 1962 in both Baltimore and Buffalo before retiring after the season at age 41. He ultimately came just short of the 2000 runs scored milestone, which to that point had only been crossed by Stan Provost.

Tan’s final stats: 3324 hits, 1982 runs, 528 doubles, 148 triples, 53 home runs, 994 RBI, 1838 walks, 1177 stolen bases, a .294/.396/.382 slash, and 83.2 WAR. He retired MLB’s stolen base king and still holds the title as of 2037 (as well as the caught stealing record of 725) At retirement, Tan was also third all-time in runs scored, second in walks drawn to Chris Louden’s 2106 and ninth in doubles. His OBP was fifth best among Hall of Famers at the time of induction, but his .382 slugging was also the worst. With such lousy power numbers, some wondered if Tan would get snubbed by the voters. But as the all-time best base stealer and one of the all-time best at simply getting on base, Tan couldn’t be ignored and earned induction on the first ballot at 89.6%.

Patrick White – Center Fielder – Houston Hornets – 85.2% First Ballot

Patrick White was a 5’11’’, 205 pound left-handed center fielder from Fairfield, Texas; a tiny town of around 3,000 people located about 90 miles southeast of the Dallas Metroplex. White was best known as an excellent contact hitter that could also give respectable gap power and around 20 home runs per year. He was very quick as well, stealing 816 bases in his career while only getting caught 370 times. White was just okay and drawing walks and at times had troubles with strikeouts, although he was fine when properly rested. White was an ironman who played exclusively in center with above average to good defense. He was also a team captain and was known as a terrific leader.

White went to Western Michigan University for college, then came home to Texas when picked 25^th overall by Houston in the 1944 MLB Draft. He had an excellent rookie season that earned third place in Rookie of the Year honors. But he struggled immensely in 1946 for an abysmal -4.9 WAR and 229 strikeouts. White suffered from being overworked and fatigued in center with no other options for a then middling Hornets squad. He was much better but still poor offensively in year three, then again lousy in year four.

The switch flipped in his fifth season of 1949 that saw a batting title at .361 and the most WAR in the American Association at 9.8, earning a Silver Slugger and a second place finish in MVP voting. White would never have a year quite this good again, but he became a consistent strong performer until his final year, posting nine 5+ WAR seasons. White won additional Silver Sluggers for Houston in 1951, 56, and 58.

After a down period in the 1940s, Houston had a very brief resurgence and won the Southern League title in 1951 and 52. In 1952, they went all the way and won the World Series with White posting 21 hits, 11 runs, 3 home runs, and 7 RBI in 16 playoff games. He continued into his mid 30s with the Hornets, posting a final line there of 2487 hits, 1300 runs, 358 doubles, 236 home runs, 1113 RBI, 707 stolen bases, and 60.7 WAR. Houston would retire his #10 uniform once his career was finished. He also was a captain for the United States team as a World Baseball Championship starter from 1950-54, then a reserve in 1955 and 59-61. In 133 tournament games, he had 148 hits, 87 runs, 86 RBI, 57 stolen bases, and .325 average. Three times he finished second in WBC MVP voting (50, 51, 52) and won world titles in 51, 52, 55, 60, and 61.

Now 35 years old, White opted for free agency and signed a hefty four-year, $451,000 contract with Las Vegas. His fifth and final Silver Slugger came in his Vipers debut and he was critical in helping the Vipers win their first World Series. White won both World Series and AACS MVP, posting 33 hits and 21 runs in 16 playoff games with four home runs, 15 RBI, a .524 average, and 1.8 WAR. At the time, it was a MLB playoff record for most hits and runs in a postseason with the runs mark still standing as of 2037, even despite the later expanded postseason.

The playoff heroics alone made the contract worth it. Las Vegas fell off, although his second year was equally solid and White led in runs with a career-high 115. He regressed to average in year three and struggled in year four, retiring after the 1962 season at age 38. With the Vipers, White had 668 hits, 360 runs, and 13.9 WAR.

White’s final stats: 3155 hits, 1660 runs, 447 doubles, 139 triples, 311 home runs, 1426 RBI, 816 stolen bases, a .291/.333/.444 slash and 74.7 WAR. At his peak, White was an excellent reliable center fielder who you could trot out every day. At retirement, he was one of only six MLB players with 800 stolen bases and the 31^st member of the 3000 hit club, although that wasn’t a guaranteed mark for induction. The couple of terrible years he had weighed down some of the advanced stats, but his leadership and playoff performances in helping both Houston and Las Vegas to rings put White over the top for a first ballot induction at 85.2%.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-22-2023, 05:22 AM

Two players earned additions into the Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame from the 1968 class. On his fifth try, designated hitter Alejandro Encinas got the bump across the line by getting 74.3%. RF Niki Petit was a first ballot nod with 72.6%, low but beyond the 66% threshold required. Two others were above 50% with pitcher Tirso Sepulveda at 61.8% on his second attempt and 1B Salvador Islas at 51.4% on his fourth attempt.

None were dropped after ten attempts but an honorable mention goes to pitcher Galeno Garza, dropped after falling below 5% on his seventh try. In only eight years with Salvador, he won a Pitcher of the Year and led in strikeouts and WAR twice, posting a 2.80 ERA, 99-79 record, 1727 strikeouts, and 47.9 WAR. Garza seemed like he was on his way, but suffered a torn rotator cuff late in his seventh season. He hung around as a back-end starter in MLB in his later years but was done as an ace at that point.

Alejandro Encinas – Designated Hitter – Panama Parrotts – 74.3% Fifth Ballot

Alejandro Encinas was a 5’8’’, 205 pound switch hitter from Socoltenango, a small town near Mexico’s southern border. Encinas was a very good pure hitter with excellent power and good to great contact ability. He was above average with his eye and rarely struck out relative to other hitters. Encinas had below average speed and was primarily used as a designated hitter, although he made about 1/5 of his career starts at first base with a few at second and third. At any spot, he was considered a terrible defender, thus the DH assignment. But Encinas’ bat was more than worthy of finding him a spot to swing from.

Encinas was initially picked out of high school 18^th overall in the 1935 Central American Baseball Association Draft by Leon, but he opted to attend college and didn’t sign with the Lions. His stock was lower when he was next eligible, but Encinas was picked in the 1938 CABA Draft in the second round, 38^th overall, by Tijuana. Encinas stayed on the reserve roster in 1939 and made a few pinch hit at-bats in 1940. Before the 1941 season, he and two other prospects were traded to Panama for RF Yong-Pa Lee.

Encinas became a starter with the Parrots with a promising debut season in 1941, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting and taking a Silver Slugger at second base. In 1942, he led the Caribbean League in hits and won Silver Slugger at DH. He won it again in 1943 at DH, 1945 at second base, and 1948 at DH. 1942 was his first 40+ home run season, a feat he’d reach seven times in his career. In 1943, he won his first batting title (.335), led in homers (45), hits (214), doubles (32) and had 119 RBI, earning a second place finish in MVP voting. He also was a reserve for the Mexican National Team from 1947-52 in the World Baseball Championship with 8 home runs in 71 at bats. Encinas earned two rings with Mexico in 1949 and 1950.

1944 saw a torn quad put him out two months and his production fell a bit the three seasons, although he was still starter quality. Panama had been a historically lousy team, but in 1946 they had a Cinderella run, snapping a 31-year playoff drought. Despite only finishing 83-79, they won a weak Continental Division and went on a run all the way to the CABA Championship. Encinas stats weren’t great with a .178 average in 45 at-bats, but he still helped the team ultimately to a ring and was remembered fondly by Parrots fans, helping him see his #26 uniform retired.

At age 31 in 1947, Encinas led in RBI with 130. Then in 1948, he had his finest year, earning CABA’s sixth Triple Crown hitting season (and the second by someone other than Kiko Velazquez. Encinas had a .332 average, 51 home runs, 147 RBI, 210 hits, 114 runs, and a 1.006 OPS, earning the Caribbean League MVP. Riding high, Encinas opted out of his Panama contract knowing that someone would give him a great payday as a defending MVP. Both CABA and MLB teams were interested and it would be MLB’s Albuquerque that would sign him up at five years, $195.000.

Encinas put up solid power numbers with the Isotopes, although he missed parts of 1950 and 1951 to injury. Albuquerque had made the World Series the year prior to his signing and would twice get back to the American Association Championship Series, but ultimately no deeper in his tenure. He had solid playoff numbers in 23 starts with 31 hits, 20 runs, 11 home runs, and 23 RBI. In total with the Isotopes, Encinas had 727 hits, 403 runs, 167 home runs, 533 RBI, a .288 average, and 15.2 WAR.

The Albuquerque deal ran out and Encinas returned to Mexico at age 38, signing for 1954 with Tijuana. He spent three years as a decent starter for the Toros, then returned to Panama for his final two seasons. With the Parrots, he picked up his 2000^th CABA hit and 1000^th run. Encinas was cut after the 1958 season and retired at age 43 after going unsigned in 1959. His final Panama tallies saw 1625 hits, 817 runs, 342 home runs, 971 RBI, a .294 average, and 39.9 WAR.

For his entire pro career, Encinas had 2823 hits, 1433 runs, 425 doubles, 601 home runs, 1762 RBI, a .288/.330/.524 slash and 66.3 WAR. Just in CABA, he had 2096 hits, 1030 runs, 323 doubles, 434 home runs, 1229 RBI, a .288/.326/.522 slash and 51.1 WAR. Good totals, but lower accumulations than most other CABA Hall of Famers thanks to the five-year gap to Albuquerque. There were also the voters reluctant to put any primarily DH guys in unless they had generational stats. Encinas hovered around 54% on his first and second ballots, then had a jump and just missed at 64.7%. He fell back to 54.6% on his fourth try, but a relatively quiet 1968 ballot allowed Encinas to pick up enough votes to get in at 74.3% on his fifth attempt.

Niki Petit – Right Fielder – Santiago Sailfish – 72.6% First Ballot

Niki Petit was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Limbe, a northern Haiti commune of about 70,000 people. Petit was a strong power hitter who could also reliably draw walks, although he did strike out quite a bit. Petit was a fairly average contact hitter with below average speed. He was incredibly durable, making 135+ starts in 16 straight seasons, and was considered a solid leader with a sturdy work ethic. Petit was almost exclusively a right fielder in his career and was viewed as average to slightly above average with the glove.

Petit was picked 20^th overall out of college by Santiago in the 1945 CABA Draft, sending him to the other side of Hispaniola and the Dominican Republic. He made limited appearances with poor results in 1946, but was excellent in his first full season of 1947. That began a streak of nine straight seasons with 30+ home runs. Petit was almost never a league leader in any major stats, but his steady production did receive notice. He was second in 1949 MVP voting and third in 1950, hitting 40+ home runs and 6+ WAR in both seasons. Petit’s first Silver Slugger came in 1951, followed by additional awards in 1952, 53, and 55.

Santiago became a Caribbean League contender during Petit’s tenure, winning the league title in 1947, 1951, 1952, 1954, and 1955. The Sailfish claimed the CABA Championship as well in 1951 and 1952. Petit won the CABA Championship MVP in 1951 and the CLCS MVP in 1954. Over 58 playoff games, Petit had 58 hits, 41 runs, 23 home runs, and 47 RBI, worth 3.3 WAR. Petit also became a regular for his native Haiti in the World Baseball Championship, playing in 153 and making 146 starts from 1947-64. In total, he had 124 hits, 87 runs, 46 home runs, 103 RBI, and 6.2 WAR in the WBC.

Petit’s stats dropped a bit into his 30s with less power, but still respectable production. Santiago’s playoff run had ended by the close of the 1950s and midway through the 1959 campaign, the Sailfish traded the 35-year old Petit to Monterrey in exchange for prospects. He remained very popular with the Santiago faithful and would see his #17 uniform retired by the team. Petit’s final Sailfish stats were 1880 hits, 1049 runs, 441 home runs, 1124 RBI, and 61.4 WAR.

Petit finished 1959 with the Matadors and signed an extension to stay in Monterrey for another three seasons. He had a bit of a career resurgence, leading the league in homers for the first time in 1960 (albeit only at 35, a number he had passed multiple times earlier). In three and a half seasons, he put up 525 hits, 281 runs, 116 home runs, 297 RBI, and 16.5 WAR. When his contract was up, the now 39-year old went to MLB’s Pittsburgh for the 1963 season. Petit was merely adequate as a part-time starter in 1963 and bench player in 1964 with the Pirates, retiring after the 1964 season at age 41.

Petit’s final CABA stats saw 2405 hits, 1330 runs, 429 doubles, 557 home runs, 1421 RBI, a .262/.322/.502 slash and 78.0 WAR. The numbers aren’t out of place among other Hall of Famers, but aren’t on the top end of the leaderboard. To that point, he was only the 15^th CABA player to smack 500+ home runs and he was a key cog in a decade of dominance for Santiago. This combined for a first ballot selection, although at a lower-end percentage of 72.6%.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-22-2023, 10:20 AM

Only one player made it into East Asia Baseball’s Hall of Fame with the 1968 ballot. Centerfielder Ha-Min Park had come very close eight other times, but just short. With a weak group in 1968, Park finally just crossed the 66% mark with 68.2% on his ninth attempt. Three other returners were above 60% but below the required mark with LF Dong-Hee Cho (61.7%, 6^th ballot), CL Hyeon-Jae Seo (61.4%, 4^th Ballot) and LF Chong-Chun Pak (60.8%, 4^th ballot). 1B Jae-Ha Cho on his ninth try was the only other player above 50% at 53.4%.

Dropped after ten attempts was 1B Sung-Heun Park, a six-time Silver Slugger winner and 1938 Korea League MVP. Primarily with Changwon, he had 2403 hits, 1247 runs, 368 doubles, 494 home runs, 1375 RBI, a .295 average, and 73.9 WAR. Those types of numbers had put others in and Park had a big role in Changwon winning the 1945 EAB title, but he peaked at 52.9% on his third ballot and ended at 40.1%. You could argue that his numbers were more impressive than his former teammate Ha-Min Park, but more is expected as a slugger at first base than a center fielder. Also dropped was pitcher Yeo Kim, another who was almost exclusively with Changwon. He had a 183-105 record, 2.94 ERA, 2776 strikeouts in 2872.2 innings, and 59.3 WAR. With no major awards, he was more firmly a Hall of Very Good type, peaking at 29.8% and ending at 8.3%.

Ha-Min “Ferret” Park – Center Fielder - Changwon Crabs – 68.2% Ninth Ballot

Ha-Min Park was a 6’0’’, 185 pound right-handed center fielder from Kijang, a South Korean county of around 150,000 within greater Busan. Park was a very good power hitter that reliably gave you 30-40 home runs and around 40 doubles/triples per season when healthy. He was an above average contact hitter, but did strike out a lot and rarely drew walks especially relative to his power. Park had solid speed and spent the majority of his career in center field with around 1/5 of his starts in right. He was viewed as a slightly below average, but not terrible defender.

Park moved to Seoul for college and played at Chung-Ang University, putting up 38 home runs and 10.1 WAR in 116 games with the Dragons. This got the attention of Changwon, who drafted Park second overall in the 1939 East Asia Baseball Draft. He was immediately a starter and an impactful one with a 6.9 WAR rookie season, earning 1940 Rookie of the Year and his first Silver Slugger. He won additional Sluggers in 1941, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, and 51, All but the final one were in centerfield (the last one was DH) and his eight remains a Korea League record for the position. Park earned MVP consideration in three seasons, taking third in 1944, second in 1945, and second in 1947. He led the league in home runs in 1942 (49) and 1947 (48), and led with 131 RBI in 1951.

Changwon made the playoffs twice in Park’s tenure; 1945, 1948, and 1949. In 1945, the Crabs won their second-ever Korea League title and earned the franchise’s first EAB Championship. Park was very impactful in the 1945 run with 17 hits, 14 runs, 5 home runs, and 12 RBI in 13 starts. He struggled in 1948 and missed the 1949 run to injury.

Park had been durable in his first nine seasons with Changwon apart from a sprained ankle in 1946. 1949 saw a devastating broken kneecap with another sprained ankle in 1950 causing Park to miss significant time and see a production drop. The Crabs opted to let him go after the 1950 season, but the team would go onto honor him by retiring his #27 uniform. In total with Changwon, Park had 1592 hits, 897 runs, 231 doubles, 175 triples, 379 home runs, 973 RBI, and 61.8 WAR.

Now 33 years old, Park signed for the 1951 season to a five-year, $165,000 deal with Daegu. His Diamondbacks debut was excellent with his final Silver Slugger, 48 home runs, and 131 RBI from the DH spot. Injuries and a noticeable drop in production plagued him the rest of the run, fully relegated to the bench by his fourth year in 1954. Park got to participate in four postseasons with Daegu, although his playoff numbers were subpar. The Diamondbacks won the 1952 and 1953 Korea League titles and gave Park his second EAB Championship ring in 1953. Park opted to retire after the 1954 season at age36. With Daegu, he had 390 hits, 230 runs, 89 home runs, and 7.4 WAR.

Park’s overall numbers: 1982 hits, 1127 runs, 290 doubles, 220 triples, 468 home runs, 1230 RBI, 463 stolen bases, a .272/.310/.566 slash, and 69.2 WAR. Park had some excellent seasons when healthy, but his final accumulations were a bit low compared to other Hall of Famers due to a relatively short career. The few guys in the Hall without at least 2000 hits typically had much more dominant peaks and/or were guys who started their careers late when EAB was formed. For eight ballots, Park was never below 50%, but never above 60%, seemingly destined for Hall of Very Good status. But with a weak group in 1968 for his ninth attempt, Park finally got the bump just past the 66% mark, earning his spot at 68.2%. He was the first EAB Hall of Famer to be inducted as a ninth ballot and as of 2037, one of two.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-22-2023, 05:45 PM

1968 was a weak ballot for Beisbol Sudamerica’s Hall of Fame with only one player ultimately getting in. Pitcher Julio Cigala was only narrowly beyond the 66% threshold, but did earn a first ballot nod at 71.4%. RF Nando Gaspar was at 61.5% on his sixth attempt and LF Martyn Jarava was at 60.6% on his fifth. Two others, LF Placido Guerrero and SP Lauro Almeida, were just above 50% on their seventh and sixth attempts, respectively.

Leonardo Velasco was dropped after ten failed ballots and is viewed by many as one of the best players denied a Hall of Fame spot. A six-time Silver Slugger winner at third base, he had 2698 hits, 1118 runs, 465 doubles, 214 home runs, 990 RBI, a .299/.345/.433 slash and 102.3 WAR. Advanced stats, especially that WAR total, makes Velasco seem pretty strong, but he never won MPVP and never made the playoffs, spending most of his career with a weak Guayaquil franchise. He peaked at 47.4% on his third ballot and ended at a shockingly low 10.9%.

Cut from the ballot after ten failed attempts also included SP Saul Jiao, who had a 137-88 record, 1.98 ERA, 2642 strikeouts over 2221.1 innings and 74.6 WAR. Very good numbers over too small a sample size hurt by injuries and low inning totals when healthy. He peaked at 46.3% and ended at 14.0%. Closer Miggy Alemao was also dropped, peaking at 42.8% but ending at 6.5%. He won Reliever of the Year twice and was a part-time starter with a 2.21 ERA, 111-67 record, 184 saves, and 34.5 WAR. He wasn’t a closer enough to get pro-reliever voters to his side. Also worth noting was 2B Adrian Lanzas cut after seven years and falling below 5%. He retired second all-time in walks drawn at 1371 and won three Silver Sluggers at second base with 72.1 WAR. His poor batting average sunk him despite 2156 hits, 1276 runs, 318 home runs, and 914 RBI.

Julio Cigala – Starting Pitcher – Barquisimeto Black Cats – 71.4% First Ballot

Julio Cigala was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Barinas, a city of around 350,000 in west central Venezuela. Terrific pinpoint control was Cigala’s biggest strength, allowing him to overcome merely above average stuff and movement. His velocity peaked around 95-97 mph, but he had the rare six pitch arsenal with none amazing, but all respectable. He mixed a fastball, slider, curveball, forkball, changeup, and splitter; making Cigala hard to solve for hitters. He was a good leader with strong stamina and excellent durability, an ironman who made 32+ starts and had 260+ innings in each of his 15 professional seasons.

Cigala was picked second overall in the 1947 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft by Barquisimeto and instantly became a key part of their rotation, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. He wasn’t dominant in his first run with the Black Cats, but very consistent and reliable. Cigala also pitched for Venezuela in the World Baseball Championship from 1949-52, posting a 3.54 ERA over 84 innings with 84 strikeouts. Barquisimeto was a bottom rung franchise in Cigala’s first few seasons and in his sixth year of 1953, he was traded midseason for three prospects to Brasilia.

The Bearcats just missed the playoffs in 1953, then fell off despite Cigala’s efforts in the next two seasons. Cigala led the Southern Cone League in losses despite posting a 7.2 WAR season in 1955, a career best. With Brasilia, he had a 33-44 record, 2.52 ERA, 718 strikeouts in 717 innings, and 15.9 WAR. The 31-year old Cigala went back to Barquisimeto for 1956 on a four-year, $212,000 deal.

Cigala struggled a bit in his return season, but returned to his usual form soon after. By this point, the Black Cats were now competitive and won division titles in 1957 and 1958. In 1957, Cigala won his lone Pitcher of the Year with a 21-11 record, 2.52 ERA, 281.2 innings, 249 strikeouts, 5.2 WAR, and 18 complete games. He never was in the top three any other season. In 1958, Barquisimeto won their first ever Bolivar League title, although Cigala struggled with a 7.36 ERA in 18.1 innings in the run. The Black Cats fell off a bit in 1959 and traded Cigala over the summer to Medellin.

The now 35-year old Cigala was a free agent again after half a season with the Mutiny and signed one more time with Barquisimeto, playing his final three pro seasons with the Black Cats. He had two more solid seasons as the franchise began to rebuild again, then struggled in his final year. Cigala retired after the 1962 season at age 37 and had his #8 uniform retired for more than 3000 innings of service with Barquisimeto

Cigala’s final stats: 218-231, 3.01 ERA, 4218.2 innings, 3873 strikeouts, 635 walks, 324/513 quality starts, 245 complete games, a FIP- of 90 and 76.0 WAR. He would become the first (and as of 2037, the only) Beisbol Sudamerica starting pitcher in the Hall of Fame with a losing record. Although it is obviously a flawed metric skewed by Cigala playing primarily on bad teams, others looked at him as a merely above average pitcher who managed to stick around and earn tenure. But enough voters appreciated his longevity and consistency, allowing Cigala to snag a first ballot induction at 71.4%.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-23-2023, 05:15 AM

The European Baseball Federation added a player into its still young Hall of Fame with the 1968 ballot. Pitcher Luigi Kerac earned the nod easily in his debut at 95.9%. Another starter, Harald Solbach, had a promising debut on the ballot with 63.7%, only slightly behind the 66% required for entry. Also above 50% were closer Richard Hackl and slugger Orion McIntyre; both on their third ballot.

Luigi “The Bandit” Kerac – Starting Pitcher – Amsterdam Anacondas – 95.9% First Ballot

Luigi Kerac was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Osijek, the fourth largest city in Croatia with just shy of 100,000 people. Kerac was known for outstanding control of his pitches, mixed with very good movement and above average stuff. His velocity peaked around 96-98 mph with a fastball, forkball, cutter, and changeup. Kerac was viewed as a “sparkplug” personality with high energy and drive.

After World War II, Kerac got into the game in the amateur and semi-pro ranks in Yugoslavia. By the time the European Baseball Federation was formed, Kerac was already in his 30s, but was a known and desired commodity by many teams. He joined the EBF by signing with Copenhagen for the 1951 season on a five-year, $136,800 deal.

The Corsairs were the first European Champion in 1950, but fell into immediate mediocrity following. Kerac excelled despite his team’s struggles, finishing third in Pitcher of the Year voting in all three of his seasons in Denmark. With Copenhagen, Kerac had a 47-37 record, 1.98 ERA, 851.1 innings, 490 strikeouts, and 31.0 WAR. He led the Northern Conference in WHIP all three seasons and posted WAR totals of 9.2, 12.7, and 9.1. Not satisfied with the Corsairs being noncompetitive, Kerac opted out of his contract after the third season. The now 34-year old signed in 1954 to a five-year, $232,600 deal with Amsterdam.

In his Anacondas debut, Kerac won his lone Pitcher of the Year with a conference-best 1.74 ERA and a 22-1 record. Amsterdam went 118-44 that season and won their second European Championship with Kerac throwing 19 innings with a 19 ERA in the postseason. They also made the playoffs in 1955 and 1957, although didn’t get to the final. Kerac wasn’t in the award conversation in his other four years in Amsterdam, but was a consistent all-star. In total with the Anacondas, he had a 76-42 record, 2.36 ERA, 1155 strikeouts in 1192.1 innings and 39.1 WAR.

Kerac began to long for home a bit after starting to play for Croatia in the World Baseball Championship. From 1957-61, he had a 4.37 ERA over 68 innings with 61 strikeouts. When his Amsterdam contract expired, the now 39-year old signed with his home country team Zagreb. Kerac took third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1959 and in 1960 helped lead the Gulls to their first European Championship. In total with Zagreb, he had a 37-19 record, 2.82 ERA, 442 strikeouts, and 14.1 WAR. With control being his greatest asset, Kerac’s game aged well and he seemed primed to still put up great numbers into his 40s. In his first start of 1961, a ruptured UCL derailed that hope. Kerac made it back for a few relief appearances in 1962, opting to retire at season’s end at age 43.

His final stats: 160-98, 2.33 ERA, 2579 innings, 2537 strikeouts to only 228 walks for a 11.1 K/BB ratio, 243/322 quality starts, 112 complete games, and 84.2 WAR. He led his conference in K/BB in eight seasons and WHIP four times and his rate stats are among the best in the Hall of Fame. The overall accumulations are low since his career started at age 31, which makes you wonder how high his tallies could’ve gone with a full EBF career. Either way, his accomplishments were plenty to earn first ballot induction at 95.9% and become EBF’s fifth Hall of Fame member.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-23-2023, 02:02 PM

Eurasian Professional Baseball officially began Hall of Fame voting in 1965 but until 1967, no one had even gotten above 5%. In 1967, closer Krzystzof Lazaridis’s 22.7% was the new high percentage, far from the 66% required. In 1968, Bogdan Chirita was on the ballot and became the first Hall of Famer; a no-doubter at 99.0%. Closer Mircea Ioan’s debut was a respectable 48.6%, still short of induction. Lazaridis got 26.4% on his second try. It would be a three year gap between Chirita’s induction and the next players to get in.

Bogdan Chirita – Starting Pitcher- Bucharest Broncos – 99.0% First Ballot

Bogdan Chirita was a 6’1’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from Tiganasi, a small commune of 4,000 people in northeast Romania on the border with Moldova. Chirita was known for having incredible movement on his pitches and great stuff with 96-98 peak velocity, although his control was viewed as merely above average. He only had three pitches, but the break on his cutter, slider, and changeup made Chirita a dominant force.

After World War II ended, Chirita picked up the game in his early 20s in the still young Romanian baseball scene. He quickly emerged as a dominant force locally who considered heading to the European Baseball Federation, but wanted to stay closer to home. In 1955, Eurasian Professional Baseball was formed with his country’s capital Bucharest among the cities with teams. He signed a six-year, $243,600 contract with the Broncos and began his official career at age 28.

Chirita carried his amateur dominance into EPB, leading the European League in ERA five times, wins twice, WHIP four times, FIP- six times and WAR six times. His worst season had a WAR of 9.3 with an unprecedented five seasons with 10+. In 1959, he had the second EPB Triple Crown season for a pitcher. In eight seasons, he won Pitcher of the Year five times (1955, 58, 59, 60, 62) and won league MVP twice (1959, 60). Chirita twice pitched no hitters against Bratislava with the first In 1955 and the second in 1962.

Bucharest was an early European League contender, making the playoffs in its first seven seasons. The Broncos made it to the league championship series thrice and in 1957, claimed the third ever Soviet Series and overall title. Naturally, Chirita was also a great playoff pitcher, posting a 2.54 ERA in 120.2 innings with 105 strikeouts and 4.4 WAR. In the championship season, he had a 1.59 ERA in 39.2 innings with 38 strikeouts. Chirita also was the ace for Romania’s national team in the World Baseball Championship from 1955-64, posting a 3.59 ERA over 170.1 innings with 188 strikeouts.

It was in the 1963 World Baseball Championship were disaster struck for the now 36-year old Chirita, who had shown no signs of regression in his eight years with Bucharest. Chirita would suffer a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, ultimately putting him out for the entire 1963 season. He rehabbed and was back for the 1964 tournament and seemingly ready to return to form for the Broncos. However, Chirita suffered a torn labrum in spring training to end his 1964 before it even started and ultimately his career at age 38.

Chirita’s stats: 151-54, 1.95 ERA, 2045 innings, 2347 strikeouts to 369 walks, 199/255 quality starts, a FIP- of 47 and 88.9 WAR. You would be hard pressed to find a better eight year stretch from any pitcher in any professional league ever. Had Chirita not officially started at age 28 or seen injury end his career early, his final stats may have placed him among the greatest pitchers in any league ever. Chirita’s excellence certainly was appreciated in Romania and with Bucharest, who retired his #41 uniform. It was also appreciated by the EPB baseball community at large with a 99.0% first ballot induction; a very worthy player to be EPB’s first Hall of Famer.

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-23-2023, 05:59 PM

The 1968 World Baseball Championship was the 22^nd edition of the event and the second to be held in Europe, this time hosted in Athens, Greece. After missing the elite eight for the first time last season, the United States was back to its usual perch atop Division 1. The Americans went 7-0, holding off a 6-1 Peru squad. Division 2 had a three-way tie for first at 5-2 between North Korea, Poland, and the Netherlands with both Greece and Kazakhstan at 4-3. The Dutch advanced on the tiebreaker, giving them their second-ever division title. Division 3 went to Italy at 6-1, one ahead of both Germany and Scotland. It was the fourth time advancing to the elite eight for the Italians. Defending world champ Canada finished 4-3 in D3, ending their repeat hope and leaving them out for only the seventh time in 22 tournaments. Japan rolled to Division 4’s crown at 7-0, moving the Japanese forward for the eighth time.

Mexico and Australia tied atop Division 5 at 6-1 and the Mexicans advanced with the head-to-head, sending last year’s runner-up to their ninth elite eight appearance. Brazil claimed Division 6 at 6-1, edging England by a game. The Brazilians have moved forward nine times now. A tight Division 7 saw Puerto Rico on top at 5-2, one better than five other teams (Belarus, Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, and Russia). For PR, it is their second time advancing. And in Division 8, Guatemala became a first time division champ going 5-2, ending one ahead of Indonesia, Panama, Switzerland, and Taiwan.

In Round Robin Group A, the United States was first at 4-2, earning a 20^th semifinal berth. Both Italy and Mexico were 3-3 and the Netherlands was 2-4. The tiebreaker sent the Italians to the semifinal for the third time in history. In Group A, Puerto Rico and Guatemala earned their first-ever semifinal berths. PR was first at 4-2 and the Guatemalans were 3-3 with the tiebreaker on Brazil, while Japan was 2-4. Having lasted one more game in the semifinal, Guatemala was awarded third and Italy fourth. It was the third time Italy had finished fourth, their deepest mark to date.

The Americans won their semifinal in six games over Guatemala, moving the US to the championship for the 17^th time. Puerto Rico meanwhile downed Italy in five, giving PR its first championship appearance. The USA rolled to a 4-1 World Championship win over Puerto Rico, putting the Americans back to their usual spot on top for the 14^th time.

Leading Puerto Rico’s efforts was tournament MVP Santiago Duarte. A 30-year old outfielder for Houston, he posted 29 hits, 17 runs, 9 home runs, 18 RBI, and 16 walks in 23 tournament games for 1.7 WAR. Best Pitcher was awarded to Italy’s Hugo Coria. A 34-year old journeyman reliever, he tossed 8.2 scoreless innings with five saves and 15 strikeouts.

Other notes: Venezuela’s Simon Arenas set a still-standing tournament record for batting average at .619, getting 13 hits in 21 at bats. England’s Jacob Bidwell hit four home runs in a game against Paraguay, becoming the fourth batter in WBC history with a four dinger day.

Below are the updated all-time stats for the tournament.

07-17-2023, 05:30 PM	#421
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 EAB Hall of Fame East Asia Baseball inducted two players into the Hall of Fame from the 1967 ballot. Both were first ballot, although with wildly different percentages. 3B Nariyuki Yanagisawa was a no-doubter at 93.6%, while closer Kenshiro Aoki narrowly crossed the 66% threshold with 68.0%. CF Han-Min Park had 57.3% on his eighth try, closer Kantaro Kobayashi at 50.6% on his sixth, and LF Chong-Chun Pak at 50.0% even on his third. One player was dropped from the EAB ballot after ten failed attempts. LF Hang-Seo Seok had a 19-year career mostly with Gwangju, although he did spend three years with MLB’s Buffalo. His EAB stats were 2387 hits, 1125 runs, 422 home runs, 387 doubles, 1316 RBI, a .303 average, three Silver Sluggers, and 62.3 WAR. With no MVPs or playoff appearances, Seok was banished to the Hall of Very Good, ending at 6.1% after debuting at 35.5%. Nariyuki Yanagisawa – Third/First Base – Sapporo Swordfish – 93.6% First Ballot Nariyuki Yanagisawa was a 5’11’’, 190 pound right-handed corner infielder from Nagaoka, the second largest city in Japan’s Niigata Prefecture. He was a well-rounded batter that with good to sometimes great power, plus solid contract skills and gap power. Yanagisawa had an average eye, was average at avoiding strikeouts, and slightly below average for baserunning speed. He made above 3/4s of his starts at third base with the rest over at first and was considered delightfully average. He was steady and worked hard, providing adequate defensive value at third while boasting generally a better bat than his contemporaries at the position. Yanagisawa became extremely popular nationally for his play on the national team and his role in Sapporo’s dynasty. Yanagisawa attended Tokoha Hamamatsu University and was actually exclusively starting pitcher in college, posting a 3.46 ERA over 369.2 college innings. By the time he was a junior, he was graded as a one-star pitcher who wasn’t expected to make it to the bigs. He ended up draft in the late fifth round; the final round in EAB; 142^nd overall by Sapporo. Yanagisawa ended up being the latest-ever draft pick to earn Hall of Fame honors in EAB. The Swordfish felt his very strong arm would be suited for third base and that he had hitting potential. Yanagisawa was switched and ultimately never pitched a single inning as a pro. He made a few pinch hit appearances as a rookie, then was a part-time starter in 1946. He honed his batting craft and emerged as a strong starter by year three, posting eight straight seasons of 6+ WAR from 1947-1954. Sapporo emerged as a dynasty in the mid 1940s and early 1950s, winning eight division titles from 1943-51. The Swordfish won the Japan League title six times (44, 45, 47, 49, 50, 51) and were EAB champion in 1947, 49, and 51. For Yanagisawa, he became a 10-time Silver Slugger winner, taking it in 1948, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, and 58. All but the first one were for third base. He led Japan in OPS four times, slugging twice, and once in home runs, hits, doubles, and WAR. Yanagisawa started getting MVP looks, winning the award in 1949. He took third in 1947 and 1948, second in 1950 and 51, third in 1952, second in 1953, and third again in 1954. Yanagisawa could reliably be counted on for 30-35 home runs and a .310 ish average during this stretch. Yanagisawa was a big time playoff performer as well. In 74 games and 67 starts, he had 75 hits, 41 runs, 13 doubles, 18 home runs, 50 RBI, and a .291 average. He was the East Asian Championship MVP in both 1949 and 1951, leading Sapporo to titles. Yanagisawa also helped Japan win the 1953 World Baseball Championship. He played in 158 tournament games from 1948-62, posting 127 hits, 98 runs, 44 home runs, and 99 RBI. Yanagisawa’s numbers dwindled a bit into his 30s, but were still strong when he wasn’t hampered by minor injuries. He missed a few weeks each year in his latter Sapporo seasons, although still provided good value. Although the dynasty ended in 1951, the Swordfish got back to the playoffs in 1955 and 56, winning another Japan League title in 1956. After the 1959 season, Sapporo opted not to re-sign the now 37-year old Yanagisawa. Still, he remained beloved and his #3 uniform would soon be retired. His stats with the squad: 2072 hits, 1018 runs, 331 doubles, 418 home runs, 1182 RBI, a .302 average, and 91.8 WAR. Yanagisawa got a nice payday in a two-year deal with Saitama for 1960. His first year was still starter quality, but not elite. Year two was a bit worse and the Sting traded him midseason to Nagoya. The 39-year old was a free agent again in 1962 and got an offer to play for Major League Baseball’s Indianapolis. He made $130,000 with the Racers, well ahead of his peak $74,000 salary with Sapporo. Age and injuries meant he only played 84 games and started 32 in his lone MLB season. Yanagisawa was cut after one year in Indy and after going unsigned in 1963, officially retired at age 41. The final EAB stats for Yanagisawa: 2331 hits, 1136 runs, 370 doubles, 460 home runs, 1317 RBI, a .298/.350/.538 slash, and 97.6 WAR. Not at the very top of the EAB Hall of Fame leaderboard, but far from the bottom as well. He comfortably belongs as a first ballot guy as a perennial MVP candidate for a decade and a big piece of a dynasty. Kenshiro Aoki – Closer – Suwon Snappers – 68.0% First Ballot Kenshiro Aoki was a 5’10’’, 175 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Takanabe, a small town of around 20,000 people in southern Japan. He was known for incredible movement with a 97-99 mph sinker and fastball combo. Aoki’s control was average at best, but he could draw easy groundballs with ease thanks to the sinker. Aoki was hard working and loyal, making him a clubhouse favorite. Aoki attended Hosei University in Kawasaki and was picked 23^rd overall by Sapporo in the 1944 East Asia Baseball Draft. He never played for the Swordfish, who were just starting their dynasty. Aoki was a reserve roster guy in 1945 and the first half of 1946, ultimately traded in the summer with another reliever to Suwon for first baseman Eun-Seong Sung. Aoki made 13 appearances that summer with the Snappers, then became a full-time closer when healthy for the rest of his run. He played his entire pro career with Suwon, eventually earning his #20 uniform’s retirement. Aoki made the best of times with a bad franchise, as Suwon didn’t make the playoffs once during his tenure and was generally below .500. He had decent numbers in his first full season in 1947, but suffered a setback with a torn labrum in June 1948. He bounced back impressively, posting 25+ saves in each of the next eight seasons. Aoki never won Reliever of the Year, but finished third five times (1949, 50, 51, 55, 59). He led Japan in saves with 43 in 1955. Aoki was part of the 1953 Japan team that won the World Baseball Championship. From 1950-60, he pitched in 33 games with eight starts, posting a very strong 1.81 ERA in 89.2 innings with 126 strikeouts. In 1957, a torn UCL put him out for nine months. Still, Aoki bounced right back with solid 1958 and 1959 seasons. 1960 was his last as the closer, followed by a weak 1961 season to close things at age 38. In that last year, he did cross 400 career saves; the fifth EAB pitcher to do so. Aoki’s final stats: 403 saves and 442 shutdowns, 2.72 ERA, 1040.1 innings, 1162 strikeouts, 333 walks, FIP- of 69 (nice), and 31.1 WAR. He didn’t have the dominance of other Hall of Fame closers and was stuck staying loyal to a bad team, but 400 saves was the magic number to that point. Thus, Aoki was a first ballot Hall of Famer, albeit just barely at 68.0%. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-18-2023, 06:33 AM	#422
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 BSA Hall of Fame Three players earned induction into the Beisbol Sudamerica Hall of Fame with the 1967 class. Two first ballot guys led the group with pitcher Diego Mena at 83.2% and 3B Pedro Quintana at 74.5%. Also getting in was closer Adrian Amaro, just getting across the line on his sixth ballot with 67.0%. One other player, LF Martyn Jarawa, was above the 50% mark as he posted 58.9% in his fourth attempt. The BSA ballot didn’t have any players dropped after ten tries on the ballot. Diego Mena – Starting Pitcher – Cali Cyclones – 83.2% First Ballot Diego Mena was a 6’5’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Floridablanca, a city of about 300,000 people in northeast Colombia. At his peak, Mena had 97-99 mph velocity and good stuff with above average to solid control and weak movement. He had a four pitch arsenal with a good fastball, curveball, and splitter, along with a rarely used poor changeup. Mena was also viewed as a good defensive pitcher who was effective at holding runners, earning a Gold Glove in 1958. He had terrific durability, lending to a lengthy career despite being viewed as a bit lazy by some critics. Mena was picked ninth overall in the 1942 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft by Cali, where he’d have his longest and most notable tenure. He had an excellent debut season, taking second in Rookie of the Year voting for 1943. Mena was inconsistent though with below average results in year two, good numbers in year three, and a terrible fourth year that saw him moved out of the rotation. Mena’s biggest moment came in 1945 when on August 11, he threw a perfect game with eight strikeouts against Quito. After a rough 1946, Mena’s 1947 was his best year of his career by WAR and strikeouts. He never finished as a Pitcher of the Year finalist, but put up solid stats to close the 1940s for Cali. Around this time, the Cyclones replaced La Paz as the premiere team in the Bolivar League. Mena was there for playoff berths from 1947-50 and three straight Bolivar League titles in from 48-50, although they weren’t able to claim Copa Sudamerica. Mena’s playoff stats with Cali weren’t anything great, a 2-5 record and 4.92 ERA over 60.1 innings. His final overall stats with the Cyclones was 126-81, 2.88 ERA, 1979.2 innings, 2283 strikeouts, and 34.0 WAR. Cali would go onto retire his #8 uniform later on. Mena opted for free agency after the 1950 season and the 31-year old signed a five-year, $150,000 deal with Medellin. He struggled in his first two years with the Mutiny, eventually relegated to a bullpen role. He bounced back to the rotation in 1953 and for the only time in his career, led the league in strikeouts (304). Mena’s fourth year was solid and Medellin got to the playoffs, although they were one-and-done. The Mutiny opted to buyout the last year of his contract though, sending Mena back to free agency. He signed a three-year, $145,400 deal for the 1955 season with Bogota. In his later years, he joined the Colombian National Team for the World Baseball Championship. Mena played in the inaugural tournament in 1947, then didn’t play again until 1952 with six tournament appearances from 1952-60. He was mainly a reliever with 39.2 innings and a 4.76 ERA. Mena bounced between starting and relief in the later years of his career with mixed results. His Bats debut in 1955 was his last really good year as a starter. After a lousy 1956, Mena was traded and spent 1957 with Cordoba. The now 38-year old Mena re-signed with Bogota in 1958, then was traded in the offseason for 1959 to Callao. After one year with the Cats, he went back to the Bats and was again traded, this time midseason to Caracas. Mena wasn’t used in the 1960 postseason, but did earn a Copa Sudamerica ring with the Colts. He went back one more time with Bogota in 1961, then concluded his pro career for CABA’s Jamaica in 1962, retiring at age 43. Mena’s final stats in Beisbol Sudamerica 246-223, 3.27 ERA, 4386.2 innings, 4545 strikeouts, 745 walks, 354/546 quality starts, 171 complete games, an FIP- of 98 and 60.8 WAR. The advanced stats suggest Mena was a delightfully average pitcher who just managed to stick around for a long time. He’s one of the only starters in the BSA Hall of Fame with an ERA above three. His longevity allowed him to hit some milestones like being the ninth pitcher to 4500 career strikeouts (and one of 19 to do so as of 2037) and not many pitchers got above 240 wins. The longevity swayed the voters, putting him in on the first ballot firmly with 83.2% of the vote. Pedro “Bird” Quintana – Third Baseman – Bogota Bats – 74.5% First Ballot Pedro Quintana was a 6’2’’, 200 pound third baseman from Bello, a large suburb of Medellin in Colombia’s Aburra Valley. Quintana was known as a stellar contact hitter with great gap power and solid speed. His home run power was limited to around 15 dingers per season, but Quintana had plenty of extra base hits from doubles and triples. He was known to put the ball in play regularly, rarely walking but striking out less often than most. Quintana was a career third baseman who was typically viewed as average to slightly above average; he did win a Gold Glove in 1959. He was also a very well-liked figure by fans and in the clubhouse for his work ethic and loyalty. Quintana was picked 21^st overall in the 1948 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft by Bogota and spent his entire BSA run with the Bats. He was plugged into the starting lineup right away and earned Rookie of the Year in 1949. Quintana was the everyday starter consistently throughout his 20s for Bogota, earning nine seasons worth 5+ WAR. He picked up four Silver Sluggers; 1950, 1951, 1952, and 1955. His sophomore and junior seasons were his best, winning Bolivar League MVP in both 1950 and 1951. He led the league in batting average and hits in both years, plus runs scored in 1950. Those were his only years as a league-leader, apart from leading in triples in 1953 and doubles in 1955. Quintana wasn’t again a finalist for MVP, but continued to lead the way for Bogota. They made the playoffs from 1949-15, then again in 1956, while being mid-tier the rest of his tenure. 1951 was the signature year for the Bats as they won their first Bolivar League title. In 26 playoff games, Quintana had 31 hits, 13 runs, and a .292 average. Quintana was also a regular for the Colombian National Team, playing in 126 games and making 117 starts in the World Baseball Championship from 1950-63. He had 123 hits, 63 runs, 22 doubles, 23 home runs, and 53 RBI. The generally durable Quintana had his first major injury at age 32 in 1958; a torn back muscle that put him out 4-5 months. He bounced back with a strong 1959, earning his 2000^th career hit. After a good 1960, his 1961 was merely okay. Bogota bought out the last year of his contract, making the 36-year old a free agent for the first time in 1962. There were no hard feelings, as his #37 uniform would be retired soon after by the squad. Quintana found an MLB buyer in Los Angeles and got a nice paycheck for $414,000 over three years. He was a respectable starter in his first year with the Angels, but struggled mightily in his second year, leading him to retire after the 1963 season at age 37. His final Beisbol Sudamerica stats: 2341 hits, 997 runs, 422 doubles, 189 triples, 176 home runs, 814 RBI, a .322/.348/.504 slash and 69.4 WAR. When he was inducted, he had a better career batting average than anyone else in the BSA Hall of Fame, although several would pass him years later as offensive numbers shot up league-wide. At retirement, he was also third in doubles among Hall of Famers, but the lack of homers and RBI hurt him with some voters. He also just fell short of the 1000 runs scored and 2500 hit milestones. This meant Quintana didn’t get a huge percentage of the vote, but 74.5% was enough for a first ballot nod for “Bird.” Adrian Amaro – Closer – Montevideo Venom – 67.0% Sixth Ballot Adrian Amaro was a 6’1’’, 195 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Menmo, a tiny northwest Paraguay settlement created by Mennonites. His velocity peaked at 94-96 mph, but Amaro was known for still having very good stuff, movement, and control. His two main pitches were a fastball and cutter, along with a rarely used circle change. Amaro was a hard worker and very durable, avoiding major injury over his career. Amaro was picked eighth overall in the 1942 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft by Montevideo. His longest tenure was with the Venom at nine seasons and he’d go onto be inducted with Montevideo and have his #17 retired by the franchise. He was a bright spot for the perennial basement-dwelling franchise, who never won more than 75 games in a season during his run. Amaro still made the most of his save opportunities, winning Reliever of the Year in 1944 and 1950. He took third for the award in 1947 and had a 34 save streak between July 1945 and July 1946. In total with Montevideo, Amaro had a 2.19 ERA, 248 saves, 709 strikeouts over 673.1 innings, and 20.1 WAR. Amaro loved his native Paraguay and was a regular from 1947-59 on the national team in the World Baseball Championship. He was typically a starter in the tournament, posting a 3.16 ERA over 148.1 innings with 160 strikeouts. When his contract came due with Montevideo for 1952, the then 31-year old went back to his home country and signed with Asuncion. This began an unusual tenure with the Archers, who like Montevideo, were consistently a bottom-tier team. He began the 1952, 53, 54, and 55 seasons with Asuncion, but was traded in the summer each time, going to Buenos Aires in 1952, La Paz in 1953, Maracaibo in 1954, and Sao Paulo in 1955. He maintained a closer role in each spot, although was never an award finalist. He still went back home though and played his final BSA season with the Archers in 1956, his lone full-season there. In that last year, he became the fourth closer in Beisbol Sudamerica history to cross 400 saves. After that, the 36-year old Amaro spent two years with MLB’s Buffalo in middle relief and made four appearances with Los Angeles in 1959, retiring after that season at age 38. The final stats for Amaro in BSA: 403 saves and 503 shutdowns, 2.24 ERA, 1054.2 innings, 1146 strikeouts, FIP- of 64 and 33.5 WAR. 400 saves was generally the magic number for closers to get into the Hall, but he wasn’t nearly as dominant as his contemporaries and wasn’t well known due to a career on terrible teams. Amaro hovered around the 50-60% range for his first four times on the ballot, then sank to a low of 43.7% in 1966. At that point, many observers figured his chances were done, but Amaro got a surprise bump on his sixth go in 1967, just crossing the 66% threshold with 67.0%. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-18-2023, 12:35 PM	#424
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 EBF Hall of Fame The European Baseball Federation added one into the Hall of Fame with the 1967 ballot. Outfielder Branislav Mikusiak got the nod with 76.9% on his ballot debut. Slugger Orion McIntyre was short again but had a respectable 58.7%. Three others were above 50% with closer Ken Jacob at 58.0%, closer Richard Hackl at 54.9%, and CF Joe Ramet at 54.2%. Branislav Mikusiak – Outfielder – Madrid Conquistadors – 76.9% First Ballot Branislav Mikusiak was a 5’10’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Stupava, a small town of around 12,000 people near the western border in Slovakia. Mikusiak was an incredibly well-rounded hitter who was above average to good in all facets with the bat. He was a strong contact hitter who regularly hit 30+ home runs; he was great at drawing walks and decent at avoiding strikeouts, and he had very good speed. Mikusiak made about 60% of his starts in right field and was viewed as a great defender there, winning two Gold Gloves. The rest of his starts were generally in center, where he was viewed as below average. Mikusiak began his EBF career at age 25 when he signed an eight-year deal with Paris. This began a streak of seven straight 7+ WAR seasons. He won three Silver Sluggers with the Poodles in 1952, 53, and 54 and helped them to a Northern Conference title in 1952. In 23 playoff games, he had 28 hits, 17 runs, 6 home runs, and 21 RBI. Mikusiak won his first MVP in 1953, leading in WAR (9.5) and slugging (.597). In four seasons with Paris, Mikusiak had 637 hits, 430 runs, 89 doubles, 147 home runs, 447 RBI, and 34.5 WAR. Mikusiak missed the last two months of the 1954 season with a torn meniscus. He opted out of his contract following this and signed an eight-year contract with Madrid. He only played four years with the Conquistadors, but had one of the greatest four-year stretches possible. Mikusiak was the WARlord in three straight seasons, posting 35 total WAR in that stretch. He won MVP in 1956 and 57 and took second in 1955; winning Silver Sluggers in each year. Madrid won the 1955 European Championship with Mikusiak in 28 playoff games for the Conquistadors posting 28 hits, 17 runs, 6 home runs, and 20 RBI. In total with Madrid, he had 675 hits, 434 runs, 159 home runs, 424 RBI, and 39.4 WAR. In 1956, Mikusiak played for the first time for Slovakia in the World Baseball Championship as well. He became a regular from 1956-63, starting 72 games with 66 hits, 49 runs, 21 home runs, and 43 RBI. A strained hip muscle put him out about two months in 1958. Mikusiak opted out of his Madrid deal, feeling that he deserved to paid far more. He couldn’t find any EBF team able or willing to match his asking price and Mikusiak sit out the entire 1959 season. MLB teams were reluctant as well as he wanted top money even by their standards, plus they were still skeptical of EBF’s talent level and not wanting to deal with the legal issues of bringing him over. Eventually, Denver took the plunge, signing Mikusiak for $496,000 and four years; almost doubling his peak yearly salary with Madrid. He began his MLB career at age 34 and won his two Gold Gloves with the Dragons. He was a strong starter for his first three years with Denver and helped them to the 1962 World Series title. In 32 playoff starts, Mikusiak had 31 hits, 19 runs, 6 home runs, and 12 RBI. In total with the Dragons, he had 590 hits, 343 runs, 118 home runs, 302 RBI, and 18.1 WAR. Mikusiak’s production fell off noticeably in his fourth year with Denver and he wasn’t re-signed. Mikusiak spent 1964 as a decent starter with Albuquerque, then was below average with Charlotte in 1965. After going unsigned in 1966, he retired at age 41. Between MLB and EBF, Mikusiak had 2153 hits, 1352 runs, 309 doubles, 129 triples, 454 home runs, 1274 RBI, a .289/.373/.549 slash and 94.1 WAR. For his eight-season EBF run, Mikusiak had 1312 hits, 864 runs, 194 doubles, 306 home runs, 871 RBI, a .303/.394/.605 slash, and 73.9 WAR. For the 1950s, he was generally viewed as a top five level player in the European Baseball Federation. The short run and move to MLB means his leaderboard tallies are low, but he was incredibly impressive at his peak and played a role in early successes for both Madrid and Paris. With the standards a bit different for the earliest players in EBF, Mikusiak’s resume was enough to earn first ballot induction at 76.9%. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-18-2023, 06:46 PM	#425
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 World Baseball Championship The 1967 World Baseball Championship was the 21^st edition of the tournament as it was held in Mexico for the third time; this time in Monterrey. For the first time in tournament history, the United States didn’t advance to the elite eight. The Americans took second in Division 1 at 5-2, finishing behind 6-1 North Korea. This snapped the USA’s bid for a championship four-peat and was the fifth time that NK won a division. South Korea also moved on, rolling to a 7-0 Division 2 title. SK now has moved onto the Round Robin stage seven times, bouncing back after the 1965 runner-up missed out in 1966. Canada won Division 3 at 6-1, beating Poland by one game. The Canadians have 15 appearances in the elite eight, second only to the US. Division 4 went to Japan at 6-1, their seventh division title and first since 1964. Mexico was unbeaten to take Division 5 at 7-0, beating out a strong 6-1 effort from Italy. The Mexicans have moved on eight times, also their first time since 1964. France won a tight Division 6 at 6-1, edging defending runner-up Brazil and Uzbekistan at 5-2. It joins 1963 as the only division titles for the French. Russia at 5-2 took Division 7, one game better than Colombia, Panama, and Serbia. The Russians advance for the sixth time and for the third consecutive season. And in Division 8, the Philippines rolled to 7-0 for their second-ever elite eight appearance (1964). In Round Robin Group A, South Korea took first at 4-2. Canada and Japan tied for second at 3-3 with Russia at 2-4. The tiebreaker moved the Canadians forward for their 14^th semifinal appearance. For the Koreans, it was their fourth time making it to the final four. In Group B, the Philippines finished first at 5-1 for their first-ever semifinal berth. Mexico was second at 4-2 to advance, while North Korea was 3-3 and France went 0-6. The Mexicans advanced to their seventh semifinal. Mexico earned its sixth finals berth as they took their semifinal series 4-2 over South Korea. Canada ousted the Philippines in five games, giving the Canadians their ninth finals berth. South Korea officially earned third place with the Philippines fourth. The championship was the first appearance since 1963 for both Mexico and Canada, with the Mexicans prevailing that year in seven games. The 1967 final was far less dramatic with the Canadians pulling off a sweep. Canada is now a three-time tournament champion, adding this rung to their 1959 and 1954 wins. Tournament MVP was Mexico’s Diego Garcia. The 29-year old third baseman for Milwaukee in 23 starts had 26 hits, 19 runs, 11 home runs, 15 RBI, and 1.5 WAR. Taking Best Pitcher was Canada’s Hugo Salyer. A 24-year old reliever for Philadelphia, the lefty had four saves and a 3-0 record over 10 appearances and 19.2 innings, posting a 0.46 ERA and 42 strikeouts. This was the peak for the promising young closer as a torn rotator cuff in August of 1967 ended his career. Below are the updated running stats for the tournament. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-19-2023, 07:18 AM	#426
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 in APB The third season for Austronesia Professional Baseball saw the exact same four playoff teams as the prior year. In the Taiwan-Philippine Association, those two teams have won their league all three years. Manila dominated the Philippine League at 110-52, scoring the most runs (606) and allowing the fewest (382) in the TPA. Two-time defending TPA champ Taichung won the Taiwan League at 96-66, finishing six games ahead of their closest challenge Taipei. Although second place, the Tigercats would have the MVP in 1B Shen-Hsiung Hsue. The 33-year old lefty in his second year with the team was the TPA leader in runs (85), home runs (48), RBI (98), slugging (.534), OPS (.838), and wRC+ (173), adding 6.9 WAR. Manila’s Jonah Miranda won Pitcher of the Year with the 30-year old righty earning WARlord status at 9.6 with a TPA best 50 FIP- and six shutouts. He added a 2.08 ERA, 18-7 record and 272 strikeouts in 247 innings. Also of note, Taichung’s Abdul Rizki won his third straight Reliever of the Year. The 31-year old had 7.1 WAR and 165 strikeouts in 94.2 innings for 35 saves and a 1.06 ERA. The Sundaland Association again had Bandung and Medan on top of their leagues. The Blackhawks had the best record, dominating the Java League at 107-55 and posting the most runs (615) and fewest allowed (408). Defending APB Champion Medan narrowly took the Malacca League at 100-62, holding off a strong challenge from Pekanbaru two games back. MVP went to Bandung centerfielder Zharfan Mohd Ali, a 31-year old Malaysian the team acquired in a trade last summer from Semarang. Ali led the SA with 42 home runs, 94 RBI, and 84 runs, adding 8.7 WAR. Pekanbaru’s W.C. Yu won his second Pitcher of the Year. “Cactus” was one win from a Triple Crown season with a 20-9 record, 1.63 ERA, and 306 strikeouts over 237.1 innings. He also had 8.0 WAR, a 0.60 WHIP, 13.3 K/BB, and 15 complete games. The Taiwan-Philippine Championship lacked drama as Manila got revenge on Taichung. After falling in the prior two championships, the Manatees cruised with a sweep of the Toucans. Meanwhile, the Sundaland Championship rematch went seven games for the second straight time. This time, it was Bandung coming out on top of Medan. In the third Austronesia Championship, the Blackhawks bested Manila 4-2. Series MVP was Zharfan Mohd Ali, who in 13 postseason games had 16 hits, 9 runs, 5 home runs, and 7 RBI. Other notes: Singapore’s 45-117 record would stand as the worst in Sundaland Association history as of 2037. Only Taipei in 1974 at 43-119 would have a worse mark for all of APB history. Ruben Yu of Manila stole 104 bases, which held as the single-season steals record until 1984. Taichung’s Djaka Ramdani was the first APB player to have a six hit game. Granted, it came in an extra innings marathon with 12 at-bats. Davao’s Kane Fauntas had the first 20-game hit streak in APB. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-19-2023, 11:33 AM	#427
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 in OBA The Australasia League had a first-time champion in 1967 with Melbourne on top. After finishing 80-82 last season, the Mets soared to the top at 100-62. Perth was second at 91-71, while defending league champ Adelaide dropped to seventh with a 74-88 season. Melbourne’s pitching staff posted a WHIP of 0.904 and 1063 total hits, which would be second-best in league history as of 2037. Mets RF Danny Carrott won back-to-back MVPs. The 25-year old lefty again led the league in runs (92), home runs (45), RBI (93), slugging (.591), OPS (.917), wRC+ (212), and WAR (9.6). Although the Aardvarks struggled, Flynn Rodden won his second Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old lefty led the league in ERA for the third straight season with his 1.29 mark still standing as of 2037 for the single-season record. He posted 10.3 WAR and a 0.69 WHIP with 319 strikeouts and a FIP- of 44 in 244.2 innings. Unfortunately for Rodden, this was his last great year as a string of injuries derailed his career soon after. Guam had a strong turnaround from 76 wins to 97 to take the top spot in the Pacific League. It was the second league title for the Golden Eagles, who were the first champs back in 1960. At 97-65, they held off Port Moresby by three games. Defending Oceania Champion Guadalcanal fell to fourth place at 85-77. Guam RF Sione Hala won his second MVP and earned his and OBA’s second batting Triple Crown. The 24-year old Tongan had a .345 average, 55 home runs, and 130 RBI, while also leading the league in hits (204), runs (94), triple slash (.345/.378/.679), OPS (1.057), wRC+ (216) and WAR (9.8). Guadalcanal’s Sakeo Rasalato won back-to-back Pitcher of the Year honors. The fourth-year Fijian righty had the most wins at 22-11 and led in WAR (11.6), innings (327.2), K/BB (8.7) and FIP- (59). He posted a 2.17 ERA with 338 strikeouts and a 0.81 WHIP. The eighth Oceania Championship was the second to require all seven games. Melbourne outlasted Guam for the franchise’s first ring. Although the Golden Eagles lost, they had the series MVP in Lucas Ivanir, who had 12 hits, 4 runs, 3 triples, and 4 RBI. Other notes: Adelaide;s Te Paoro Rangi threw the third OBA perfect and his second, having also done it in 1963. On June 7, he did it again against Gold Coast, striking out 10. It was his second no-hitter of the year, as he K’d nine and walked one in April against Brisbane. He joins East Asia Baseball Hall of Famer Moon Kim as the only professional players to this point with two perfect games. Rangi also became the first OBA pitcher to reach 2000 career strikeouts. Perth’s Nate Makris became the first hitter to 300 homers. SS Fineasi Hausia won his seventh Gold Glove. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-19-2023, 04:48 PM	#428
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 in EPB Leading Eurasian Professional Baseball’s European League in 1967 was Kazan, winning the North Division for the first time at 101-61. This gave the Crusaders three straight playoff berths. Both wild cards came out of the North as Moscow extended its postseason streak to seven years at 99-63, while Warsaw earned its first since 1960 with a 98-64 mark. Defending Soviet Series champ Minsk missed the field for the first time in franchise history, three off the last wild card at 95-67. In the South Division, Tirana unseated Kyiv’s five-year hold on the division title. The Trojans earned their first playoff berth at 96-66, beating the Kings by a game for the top spot. Although Bratislava struggled to a 75-87 season, their ace Havlik Hloznik won both league MVP and Pitcher of the Year. The 26-year old Slovak righty was the leader in strikeouts (413), innings pitched (306.2), shutouts (10), and WAR (12.7), adding a 1.70 ERA with a 19-10 record. Hloznik also played 84 games in the outfield with 68 hits, 8 home runs, 28 RBI, and 1.0 WAR. Bishkek had a third consecutive 100+ win season and fifth straight South Division title in the Asian League, posting EPB’s best record in 1967 at 108-54. They ran away with the division, while the North Division was quite competitive. Ufa earned the title and a fifth straight playoff berth at 101-61. Ulaanbaatar finished one behind at 100-62, giving the Boars their first playoff appearance in franchise history. That leaves Yerevan as the only Asian League team without at least one playoff berth. Yekaterinburg got the second wild card at 94-68, extending the Yaks playoff streak to four seasons. After a record-setting 120 win 1966 and the league title, Omsk missed the playoffs, two out of the wild card at 92-70. Ulaanbaatar’s Amam Charyyew won his second MVP. The 29-year old Turkmen centerfielder was the leader in runs (98), average (.315), slugging (.656), OPS (1.016), wRC+ (199), and WAR (10.0), adding 46 home runs and 108 RBI. Ufa’s Serkan Petrov grabbed his first Pitcher of the Year. The 33-year old Bulgarian lefty in his 12^th year with the Fiends had a career year with a league-best 1.63 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 29 quality starts, and 59 FIP-. Petrov had 8.5 WAR, a 17-7 record, and 281 strikeouts over 248.1 innings. The first round of the playoffs in the European League had Kazan defeat Warsaw 3-1 and Moscow sweep Tirana. Both division champs rolled to sweeps in the Asian League with Ufa over Ulaanbaatar and Bishkek over Yekaterinburg. In the ELCS, the Mules knocked off the Crusaders 4-1 to give Moscow its first league title and leave Kazan as runner-up in back-to-back years. Bishkek made its fourth straight ALCS appearance in a rematch of the 1964 final with Ufa. The Black Sox defeated the Fiends 4-2, giving Bishkek three titles in four seasons and leaving Ufa 0-3 thus far in ALCS appearances. The 13^th Soviet Series saw Bishkek become two-time EPB champions, sending the title back to Kyrgyzstan. The Black Sox bested Moscow in five games with Soviet Series MVP going to 2B Elnur Kuat. The four-time Gold Glove winner in his final season with Bishkek had 22 hits in 14 playoff games with 7 runs and 5 RBI. Other notes: Helsinki’s Vladislav Putsila had a 29-game hit streak, the second longest EPB streak to date behind Sergei Mammedov’s 30 in 1958. Eldar Vdovichenko and Sharav Tumur became the second and third EPB hitters to reach 2000 hits. Madalin Keretesz and Yavor Stefanov became the fifth and sixth sluggers to 400 home runs. Sergei Filatov became the first pitcher to 250 wins and the first to 4000 strikeouts. Henri Gevorgyan became the third pitcher to 3500 strikeouts. 3B Pavlo Kolesnik won his ninth Silver Slugger, the first EPB hitter to get to nine. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-20-2023, 04:52 AM	#429
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 in EBF The top record for the entire European Baseball Federation in 1967 belonged to Paris at 103-59, giving the Poodles the Northern Conference’s Northwest Division. Paris is back in the playoffs after missing the prior two seasons. Rotterdam was second in the division at 94-68, taking the wild card for their first playoff appearance in a decade. Dublin claimed the British Isles Division at 93-69 after four straight losing seasons since their EBF title. London at 91-71 missed the division title by two games and the wild card by three, while defending EBF champ Glasgow fell to 86-76. The only returning playoff team for the Northern Conference was Hamburg, who barely took a weak North Central Division at 84-78. Oslo ended one back with Berlin four behind. Northern Conference MVP went to Glasgow LF Graeme McNay. The 26-year old Irishman was the leader in hits (209), home runs (49), triple slash (.348/.394/.661), OPS (1.054), wRC+ (225), and WAR (10.6). Pitcher of the Year was Rotterdam’s Mortiz Varkevisser. It was the first season as a full-time starter for the 23-year old left-handed Dutchman, who posted a 2.22 ERA and 23-7 record with 241 strikeouts over 267.2 innings and 5.4 WAR. While the Northern Conference had notable playoff turnover, the Southern Conference saw each division with the same winner as last year. Vienna had the best overall record at 100-62 atop the Southeast Division for their third straight division title. Zagreb at 88-74 took the wild card by a seven-game margin for the Gulls’ first winning season since winning the 1960 EBF title. Rome made it six straight South Central Division titles, going 99-63. Defending conference champ Marseille claimed the Southwest Division at 95-67. Second-year shortstop Niklaos Pavlis had a huge breakout season for Zagreb, earning Southern Conference MVP. The 22-year old Greek righty was the WARlord at 10.3, adding a .295 average, 31 home runs, 85 RBI, and 96 runs. Malta’s Ugo Musacci won Pitcher of the Year in his third season, falling one win shy of a Triple Crown. The 23-year old Italian was the leader in ERA (1.97), strikeouts (350), WHIP (0.88), WAR (10.2), and FIP- (55), posting a 21-9 record over 270 innings. In the first round of the playoffs in the north, Hamburg stunned Paris by taking the series in four games, while Dublin swept Rotterdam in the south, Vienna rolled to a sweep of Zagreb, while Marseille edged Rome in a five-game battle. The Northern Conference Championship saw the first sweep since 1955 as the Dinos cruised by the Hammers. For Dublin, it is their second conference title along with the 1962 season. Hamburg is now 1-4 all time in the NCC. The Southern Conference Championship looked like it would follow a similar script as the Musketeers took the first three games. Vienna rallied to deny the repeat, giving the Vultures their first-ever conference title. Marseille has now blown a 3-0 series lead twice, also doing it against Belgrade in 1961. In the 18^th European Championship, Dublin joined Amsterdam and Barcelona as the only franchises with two overall titles. The Dinos downed Vienna in five games to send the trophy back to Ireland for the first time since 1962. Finals MVP was CF Jo Norton, who had nine hits, 4 runs, and 2 home runs in 9 playoff games. One quirk is that despite winning the title, Dublin only had 72 total home runs as a team; third-fewest ever in a season for any EBF team as of 2037. Walks and steals helped the Dinos score runs in the face of their lower power numbers. Other notes: Two perfect games were thrown in 1967. On June 20, Matthew Glazier of Oslo did it with seven strikeouts against London. On September 12, Tommaso Paladino of Naples pulled it off, striking out six versus Amsterdam. Rudjer Bosnjak became the second hitter to 500 home runs and became an eight-time Silver Slugger winner at first base. Aaron Grunauer and Pedro Varela became the fourth and fifth EBF pitchers to 200 career wins. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-20-2023, 01:01 PM	#430
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 in BSA The Bolivar League had repeat division champs in 1967. Callao earned back-to-back South Division crowns at 97-65, fending off a strong challenge from 95-67 Quito. The top five records in the league all came from the South Division in an oddly distributed season. Defending league champ Medellin fell all the way to 84-78, but that was enough to win a third straight North Division title. Bogota was one back at 83-79 with Caracas three behind and Valencia four back. The Mutiny set an unusual league record despite winning their division; the fewest stolen bases for a Beisbol Sudamerica team at 74. Valencia’s Jovanny Camacho earned Bolivar League MVP. In his second full season, the Venezuelan first baseman was the leader in runs (99), doubles (34), home runs (53), slugging (.630), OPS (.964), and wRC+ (186), adding 7.9 WAR and 113 RBI. Pitcher of the Year went to Guayaquil ace Laurenco Cedillo for the fifth time, making him the third BSA pitcher to earn the honor five times. The 32-year old Chilean righty was the WARlord for the eighth time with a career best 12.6. Cedillo also was the leader in FIP- (40), wins (20-11), K/BB (14.0), and complete games (21), adding a 1.81 ERA over 274 innings with 337 strikeouts to only 24 walks. The Southern Cone League also had repeat division champions as both Santiago and Fortaleza each took first place for the fourth consecutive season. The defending Copa Sudamerica champ Saints took the South Division at 104-58, beating solid efforts from Buenos Aires (97-65) and Rosario (92-70). Santiago led the league in both runs scored (704) and runs allowed (482). Meanwhile, the Foxes took the competitive Brazil Division at 90-72, ending ahead of Salvador by three games, Belo Horizonte by four, Brasilia by six, and Sao Paulo by seven. Fortaleza 2B Niculao Semide won back-to-back MVPs and posted an all-time great season. In his second full season, the 25-year old posted Beisbol Sudamerica’s seventh Triple Crown hitting season. His 13.3 WAR was also second-best ever by a BSA hitter behind only Ishmael Perla’s 13.7 in 1959. Semide led the league in hits (201), home runs (49), RBI (122), walks (88), triple slash (.349/.425/.691), OPS (1.116) and wRC+ (225). Santiago’s Aitor Guillen won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons as the 26-year old Argentine led the league in quality starts with 28. He had a 19-10 record, 2.04 ERA, 288 strikeouts, and 7.5 WAR in 247 innings. Various injuries would make this the final great season for Guillen. Also of note, Buenos Aries closer Alfredo Mejia joined the very short list of four-time Reliever of the Year winners. After winning the prior three with Cali, he was traded to the Atlantics for 1967, posting 43 saves, a 1.19 ERA, 184 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR. This was his final season in South America, as the 31-year old jumped to Major League Baseball in the offseason. Just like the prior season, both League Championship Series went seven games. In the Bolivar League, Medellin made it back-to-back wins over Callao, giving the Mutiny seven league titles. This ties them with La Paz and Caracas for the most. In the fourth straight Southern Cone Final between the two, Fortaleza and Santiago traded the title again and it was the Foxes turn. They’ve met six times in the final counting the 1932-33 meetings with each team winning the title thrice. Fortaleza now has four titles (1932, 1940, 1965, 1967). The 37^th Copa Sudamerica would be the second title for the Foxes as Fortaleza defeated Medellin in six games; making the Mutiny runner-up in back-to-back years. Niculao Semide continued his historic MVP season excellence into the postseason, winning Copa Sudamerica and SCC MVP. In 13 playoff games, he had 15 hits, 7 runs, 3 home runs, 10 RBI, and 10 walks. It was a 35 year gap between the Foxes winning in 1967 and taking their first Copa Sudamerica all the back in 1932. This also sent the cup back to Brazil for the first time since Sao Paulo won it in 1958. Other notes; Ryan Azambuja had a four home run game for Bogota against Barquisimeto, the fourth BSA player to do so. Ralph Jung became the 10^th pitcher to 4500 strikeouts. Mike Andrades became the seventh BSA hitter to 1500 career RBI and crossed 500 home runs; the 11^th to do so. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-20-2023, 05:45 PM	#431
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 in EAB For the 1967 season, East Asia Baseball followed Major League Baseball’s lead from a few years earlier and shrunk their active roster size from 25 to 24 players. This was ultimately a compromise move between the owners and players. The prior season, EAB had lowered the free agent minimum service time from seven to six, allowing players to reach free agency and arbitration sooner. The smaller roster meant one less spot, but the players that made the squad would ultimately get a bit more money. Teams could freely move players from the reserve to active roster though, so there were plenty of options still to adjust to injuries. The Japan League in 1967 was very competitive and saw new teams at the top of the standings. In the North Division, Kawasaki snapped a 24 season playoff drought with the league’s best record at 94-68. They fended off 92-70 Chiba and two-time defending league champ Yokohama at 90-72. The Yellow Jackets would fall off hard the next year and go into a rebuilding phase. In the South Division, Hiroshima won for the first time since taking EAB Champion honors in 1959. The Hammerheads and Fukuoka had to go to a one-game tiebreaker for the top spot with both finishing the regular season at 86-76. Kitakyushu was only one back with Kobe two back and last year’s division champ Kyoto six back. Saitama only won 70 games, but it was their right fielder Sanjiro Miyama winning the league MVP. It was a banner year for the sixth season outfielder, leading the league in hits (207), average (.356), OBP (.394), wRC+ (200) and WAR (10.4), adding 32 home runs and 103 RBI. Kyoto’s Su-Yeong Myung was the Pitcher of the Year. The 13^th year righty was the ERA leader at 1.85 and WHIP leader at 0.81, adding 6.4 WAR and a 15-5 record over 209 innings with 250 strikeouts. Pyongyang’s dominance continued in the Korea League as the two-time defending EAB champs had their seventh straight North Division title and seventh straight season with 109 or more wins. The Pythons finished 111-51, leading by far in runs scored at 811 and having the fewest allowed at 525. Seoul was second at a distant 93-69. The South Division saw Yongin on top for back-to-back seasons. The Gold Sox were 16 games better than Busan with an 101-61 mark, tying a franchise record for wins in a season. Daegu was the worst team in the league at 60-102, but Diamondbacks first baseman Ji-Hwan Kwan still won the MVP. The 25-year old lefty was the leader in hits (207), average (.347), slugging (.622), OPS (1.014), wRC+ (183), and WAR (8.6). Seoul’s Jae-Hoon Seon won the Pitcher of the Year. The 28-year old lefty was the wins leader with a 24-4 record and the WARlord at 8.3, also leading in WHIP (0.87) and quality starts (28). He had a 2.42 ERA over 271.2 innings with 290 strikeouts. The Japan League Championship Series saw Kawasaki cruise to the title in five games over Hiroshima. This gave the Killer Whales their third league title, joining the 1938 and 1941 seasons. The Korea League Championship Series saw Pyongyang win again over Yongin, this time in six games. The Pythons now have three straight Korea League titles; five in seven years; and a record nine total. They’re the first team to three-peat in Korea since Busan’s 1940s dynasty. Pyongyang’s dynasty rolled to the East Asian Championship 4-1 against Kawasaki, also giving the Pythons three straight overall titles and five in seven years. Finals MVP was CF Min-Woo Yoon, with the 25-year old in 11 playoff games posting 13 hits, 8 runs, 3 home runs, and 8 RBI. Pyongyang are the first team to three-peat as overall EAB champs and now have seven overall crowns; more than any other team. The 1960s Pythons were making a strong case for the best dynasty in East Asia Baseball History and they wouldn’t be done yet either. Other notes: Ki-Wook Ahn became the sixth EAB hitter to reach 700 career home runs and the eighth to 1500 runs scored. Han-Gyeol Bu became a 10-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop. Lei Meng won his 12^th and final Silver Slugger in left field. Meng finished the 1967 season with 753 home runs, just behind Ju-An Pak’s all-time mark of 760. Meng would easily pass it next season to become the EAB home run king, a title he held until the 2010s. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-21-2023, 03:49 AM	#432
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 in CABA Torreon became the first of the teams from the 1962 expansion to earn a playoff spot. The Tomahawks had the best record in the Mexican League in 1967 at 103-59, taking the North Division title. Monterrey, who had won the league three of the last four years, finished second at 88-74 and fell six games short of a wild card. In the South Division, last year’s wild card champ Mexico City won the division at 96-66. Puebla was second at 94-68 and picked up the wild card for their first playoff berth since 1953. Ecatepec, who won 103 games the prior year, dropped to 90-72 and missed the wild card by four games. Leading Torreon’s first playoff season was centerfielder Santiago Perez, who won the MVP. Perez was the #1 overall draft pick in 1962 and emerged as a star, leading Mexico in 1967 in home runs (53), RBI (123), slugging (.654), and OPS (1.030), adding 8.0 WAR. He had two more great years with the Tomahawks before moving to MLB at age 29, ultimately putting him short of what likely would’ve been a Hall of Fame CABA career. The bright spot for a middling Merida team was Pitcher of the Year Cajetano Ortega. The fourth-year righty was the ERA leader at 1.92 and had 27 quality starts, adding a 16-10 record, 6.9 WAR, and 208 strikeouts over 248.2 innings. After missing the playoff field last year, Guatemala bounced back with a franchise record 104-58 second, taking the Caribbean League’s Continental Division. Honduras took second at 94-68 and won the wild card, giving the Horsemen 12 playoff appearances in a 15-year stretch. Salvador, who had been a league finalist the prior four seasons, missed the playoff field at 90-72. The Stallions did hit 295 doubles as a team, a Caribbean League record that stood until 2033. In the Island Division, defending CABA champion Jamaica finished on top again, this time with an improved 101-61 record. Trinidad was a distant second at 87-75, but it was a new best for them as one of the other 1962 expansion teams. Guatemala CF Wesley Dubar won back-to-back MVP awards. The 24-year old stud was the leader in runs (113), slugging (.584), OPS (.949), wRC+ (160), and WAR (8.9), adding 39 home runs and 101 RBI. It was his third straight season as the league’s offensive WARlord. Honduras veteran Oscar Medina won Pitcher of the Year, falling two wins short of a Triple Crown. The 34-year old Costa Rican lefty had numerous career and league bests with a 2.00 ERA, 321 strikeouts, and 10.7 WAR over 274.2 innings with a 21-8 record. After a career high, Medina fell off a cliff with a 3.99 ERA the next year and was out of the game right after. Mexico City easily swept divisional rival Puebla in the wild card round, while Honduras upset Jamaica in four. The Mexico League Championship Series was an all-timer that went all seven. The final went 10 innings with Mexico City winning 6-5 to deny Torreon its first league title. It was the sixth league title for the Aztecs, although they hadn’t won since 1945. In the Caribbean League Championship Series, Guatemala won its first-ever title, downing Honduras in six. While Mexico City won the Mexican League title in dramatic fashion, there was no drama required for them in the CABA Championship. The Aztecs swept Guatemala, giving Mexico City its fifth overall title (1924, 1934, 1936, 1945). SS Aaron Valencia won both MLCS and finals MVP. In 13 playoff games, the 28-year old Puerto Rican had 22 hits, 13 runs, 5 home runs, and 12 RBI. Little did the CABA world know that this would be the beginning of an all-time dynasty for the Aztecs that extended into the mid 1970s. Other notes: Hermosillo’s Santiago Esquivel became the ninth CABA pitcher to strike out 20+ in a game, getting 20Ks over 12 innings against Puebla on August 28. Emmanuel Lopez became the fourth CABA batter to 3000 hits and the eighth to 1500 RBI. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-21-2023, 10:03 AM	#433
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1967 in MLB Much to the chagrin of many players. MLB increased the minimum service time for free agency in 1967 from six to seven years. This put them aligned with Global Baseball Alliance members CABA and APB also at seven; although CABA would drop to six the next year. EAB had just moved down to six two years earlier, which leaves them, EBF, and OBA as the leagues at six years. BSA and EPB were the most restrictive at the time at eight seasons, although BSA would also lower theirs down to seven shortly. MLB’s goal was to keep local players at home longer and try to corral big free agent salaries. Pittsburgh had the National Association’s best record in 1967 with a franchise-record 105-57 mark atop the Eastern League This ended a three season playoff skid for the Pirates, who had the top offense in the NA at 787 runs scored. In the Midwest League, Omaha and St. Louis tied for the first place spot at 95-67. The Hawks won the one-game playoff for their first league title since 1956, snapping a three-year playoff drought. The Cardinals still advanced as a wild card, in the field for the fourth time in five years. Minneapolis was 92-70, three games off the Midwest League title. The Moose tied with Boston for the second and third wild card spots. This gave Minneapolis its first playoff spot since 1953 and gave the Red Sox 11 appearances in 15 seasons. It was tight for the final spot with Washington and Kansas City finishing even at 90-72, both one ahead of Toronto and two better than Columbus. The Admirals defeated the Cougars in the one-game playoff, allowing the defending National Association champs to make it back to the postseason. They finished as the only NA team with an active multi-year playoff streak at two as Hartford (77-85), Ottawa (79-87) and Philadelphia (81-81) all saw their steaks end in 1967. Washington 1B Elliot Fisher won the National Association MVP. The 27-year old from New York City was the home run (50) and RBI leader (123) and the WARlord (8.6), adding 99 runs, a .316 average, and 1.015 OPS. Pitcher of the Year was Minnesota’s Ju-Hwan Park in his MLB debut. Park became one in a very select group to win the top award in two different leagues, having won the 1960 and 1961 Korea League Pitcher of the Year awards with Hamhung. The 30-year old signed a six-year, $1,068,000 deal with the Moose and delivered as the WARlord at 8.7. He added a 2.24 ERA, 19-6 record, and 250 strikeouts in 268.2 innings. In the first round of the playoffs, Boston swept Minneapolis and St. Louis swept Washington. The Red Sox stunned Pittsburgh with a 3-2 upset in round two, while Omaha cruised to a sweep over the Cardinals. This earned the Hawks only their second National Association Championship Series appearance, while it was only Boston’s third. The Red Sox took the NACS 4-1, sending them to the World Series for only the second time (1955). Defending World Series champion San Diego improved upon their record, leading the Western League and all of Major League Baseball at 106-56. Second was Las Vegas at 99-63 and third was Vancouver at 98-64 with both getting the wild card for the second time in three years. San Francisco finished 92-70 to take the third wild card, giving them the longest active playoff streak in MLB at five seasons. The Southern League saw a new face on top with Jacksonville at 102-60. This was the Gators’ first playoff appearance and SL title since 1950. Only Dallas (1945) and New Orleans (1949) had longer active playoff droughts in the American Association. Atlanta was a distant second at 91-71, but that was good for the final wild card, ending a six-year playoff skid for the Aces. The next closest teams in the wild card hunt were Phoenix and Oakland, both at 87-75. The Firebirds and Houston (85-77) both had won 100+ the prior year, but missed out in 1967. San Antonio also saw a big drop, going from a 93-win wild card berth in 1966 to only 71 wins in 1967. In his second season, Charlotte 2B Rodd Shackelford won the American Association MVP. He led in WAR (94), hits (218), and doubles (42), adding 116 runs, 22 home runs, and a .343 average. Shackelford also had a 30-game hit streak over the summer. San Diego’s Ryan Rankin won the Pitcher of the Year. The 28-year old lefty nicknamed “Lucifer” had a 27-6 record with the lead in ERA (2.41) and innings (298.1), adding 218 strikeouts and 6.3 WAR. He was only the fourth MLB pitcher to win 27+ games in a season. Both wild card series needed all three games with San Francisco beating Vancouver and Las Vegas topping Atlanta. The league champs prevailed in the second would with Jacksonville sweeping the Vipers and San Diego surviving a five-game battle with the Gold Rush. For the Gators, this was only their fifth American Association Championship Series appearance and first since 1948. They gave the defending champ Seals a seven-game battle, but San Diego survived for back-to-back titles and their sixth overall. The Seals were the first repeat AA champ since they did it themselves in 1955-56. San Diego entered the 67^th World Series as a big favorite; the defending champs with the best record in MLB against a wild card Boston franchise that had seen little playoff success despite many recent berths. The series would be a sweep for the first time since 1937 and only the fourth time ever. However, the result was the exact opposite of what was expected with the Red Sox rolling to their first-ever MLB title. CF Ashton Holbrook was the World Series MVP and NACS MVP. A local New England favorite, the 26-year old from Eastport, Maine in 16 playoff games had 21 hits, 10 runs, 4 home runs, and 16 RBI. Other notes: Catcher Roland Southerland won his ninth and final Gold Glove at catcher. As of 2037, this is still the MLB record for the position. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-21-2023, 04:37 PM	#434
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1968 MLB Hall of Fame The 1968 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot saw three players earn first ballot inductions. Pitcher Ayaz Shainidze was the start with 99.4% of the vote, one of a very select few to earn 99+ thus far. Outfielders Bill Tan and Patrick White both firmly made it in as well with Tan at 89.6% and White at 85.2%. 1B Tiger Novak on his fifth attempt barely missed the 66% mark again, finishing at 65.1%. Three others, OF Estefan Salinas, SP Abraham Reiner, and SS Chance Warren were above the 50% mark. Dropped after ten attempts was closer Victoro Fraijo, who ended at 48.4% after peaking at 58.2% and generally hovering in the 50s. He had a 21-year career between MLB and CABA with a combined 438 saves and 41.6 WAR, including two CABA Reliever of the Year nods. His MLB tally was 356 saves, 2.13 ERA, 1017 strikeouts, and 32.8 WAR. Guys with similar looking lines had made it in, but Fraijo couldn’t earn any new supporters for whatever reason. Six other players also made it ten years and were dropped after the 1968 ballot, although none of those finished above 15%. RF Jack McCoy never was above 37.3% despite a career with 3110 hits, 1668 runs, 390 home runs, 1546 RBI, and 76.7 WAR. Meanwhile, RF Wei-Ju Wang had 3275 hits, 1716 runs, 460 doubles, 273 triples, 94 home runs, 957 RBI, and 49.1 WAR. 3000+ hits wasn’t a guarantee though and they joined Joe Thibault (3257) and two others who had crossed the mark but didn’t get in. McCoy won two titles with Los Angeles as well, making his exclusion even more surprising considering other guys in a similar stat range had gotten the nod. Lack of home run power hurt Wang, although he finished second all-time in triples at 273, one behind Jess Lewis. Wang peaked at 29.7%. Also dropped was closer Alex Lusk, a three time Reliever of the Year winner with340 saves, a 2.81 ERA, and 31.4 ERA with 903 strikeouts. He had the awards and a save number that usually gets attention, but lacked the dominant strikeout numbers to get higher than 39.3%. Another reliever dropped was Aaron Reyes, who had 254 saves, 2.19 ERA, 826 strikeouts, and 29.6 WAR. He actually peaked at 44.8% before falling to 13.5% at the end. Rounding out the dropped players was 1B Gage Fairbanks, with 1599 hits, 882 runs, 283 home runs, 884 RBI, a .320 average, and 50.1 WAR. The vast majority of his value were in his first six excellent years with Oakland, but he never recovered from a torn MCL. SP Leon Frausto also fell off peaking at 20.8%. The 1946 Pitcher of the Year was a part of Philadelphia’s dynasty with a 203-171 record, 3.64 ERA, 2901 strikeouts, and 56.4 WAR. Ayaz Shainidze – Starting Pitcher – Las Vegas Vipers – 99.4% First Ballot Ayaz Shainidze was a 5’11’’, 200 pound left-handed starting pitcher from Georgia; the country in Asia, not the US state. He was from a town called Zahesi, located nine miles north of the capital Tbilisi. Shainidze’s velocity peaked at 96-98 with solid control and stuff, plus above average movement. He had a slider, curveball, and sinker that were all excellent, along with a rarely used terrible changeup. Shainidze was also known for great durability and stamina, as well as solid leadership skills and adaptability. Shainidze’s family left Georgia during World War II and he instantly picked up baseball when fully exposed in the United States. He attended Notre Dame and excelled in college, taking the 1947 NCAA Pitcher of the Year with a 12-1 record, 0.81 ERA, and 6.0 WAR with 124 strikeouts in 111 innings. Due to the regional restrictions in the first three rounds, he wasn’t eligible until the fourth round of the 1947 MLB Draft. Shainidze was the third pick of the round, 154^th overall, by New Orleans. He had an excellent rookie season with 7.7 WAR, yet somehow wasn’t even in the top three for Rookie of the Year voting. He instantly was the Mudcats ace and in five seasons there, had a 92-55 record, 2.96 ERA, 1151 strikeouts in 1376.1 innings, and 37.6 WAR. In his third season with New Orleans, he won his lone Pitcher of the Year with 8.9 WAR, 304.2 innings, and a 2.81 ERA. Shainidze was third in 1952. The Mudcats stunk though with only one playoff berth his tenure in 1949 that he missed to a late-season injury, Unlikely to stick around, New Orleans traded Shainidze before the 1953 season to Las Vegas for prospects. The Vipers run is what Shainidze would be known for, pitching the remainder of his ten professional seasons there and earning the retirement of his #26 uniform. He put up six 7+ WAR seasons and was a consistent force, although he rarely was a statistical leader. He still earned award looks, but never won Pitcher of the Year again. He was third in 1953, second in 1954, and second in 1958. During this stretch, Las Vegas became a regular playoff contender, making it nine times from 1950-59. Shainidze caught the back-end of the run, going 3-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 10 playoff starts with 71.1 innings and 55 strikeouts. He made five starts with a 3.50 ERA in 1959, the year that the Vipers finally got over the hump and won the World Series. In the back end of his career as well, Shainidze’s home country began to compete in the World Baseball Championship. From 1956-61 for Georgia, he had a 3.61 ERA over 12 starts and 92.1 innings with 120 strikeouts. Shainidize’s innings never dwindled, but his production began to fade as he entered his 30s. His ERA went above four in 1960 and 1961 with the stats closer to league average, although he did cross the 250 win and 3000 mlestones. After a middling 1962 at age 35, he opted to retire fairly young. This last year pushed him above 100 career WAR, making him only the 11^th MLB pitcher to that point to do so. His Las Vegas stats saw a 184-114 record, 3.38 ERA, 2323 strikeouts in 2781.1 innings and 64.7 WAR. For his career, Shainidze had a 276-169 record, 3.24 ERA, 4157.2 innings, 3474 strikeouts, 324/514 quality starts, 267 complete games, FIP- of 80 and 102.3 WAR. He was about as consistently strong as you come and even in his weaker years, he still gave you a lot of innings. A big part in Las Vegas finally winning the big one, Shainidze earned no-doubt induction at 99.4%. Bill “Wall” Tan – Outfielder – Albuquerque Isotopes – 89.6% First Ballot Bill Tan was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed hitting outfielder from South Gate, California; located seven miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Tan had one of the most unique skillsets of all-time as he known for incredible speed and baserunning skills, along with a terrific eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He was still a good contact hitter with respectable gap power, although Tan’s home run power was almost non-existent. He could get on base and fly around the basepaths though and combined with his work ethic, this made him a popular player. He bounced around the outfield defensively with about 2/5 of his starts in center, 2/5 in left, and 1/5 in right. Tan was viewed as above average to good defensively in the corners and just below average in center. Tan was also very durable, making 130+ starts each year from age 21 to age 36. Tan went east to play college baseball for Pittsburgh. After his junior year with the Panthers, he was picked seventh overall in the 1941 MLB Draft by Albuquerque. Tan was an immediate starter and immediate success, leading the American Association as a rookie in steals and OBP. This game him third in Rookie of the Year voting. His two Silver Sluggers came in 1947 and 1948 with third place MVP finishes in both years as well and the most WAR in the AA in 1947. Without the big power numbers, he wasn’t often in the MVP conversation. Tan occasionally had down years when he was overworked, but he typically provided good things. Tan led in stolen bases 11 times, walks five times, runs thrice, and OBP thrice. He also played once in the World Baseball Championship with five games in 1949. Tan was a key leader as Albuquerque regularly contended in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Isotopes made the playoffs eight times in Tan’s tenure with the deepest run coming in 1948 with an American Association title, falling to Hartford in the World Series. In 52 playoff games with Albuquerque, Tan had 55 hits, 34 runs, 11 doubles, 21 RBI, 28 walks, and 20 stolen bases. In total with the Isotopes, he had 2535 hits, 1565 runs, 422 doubles, 115 triples, 1343 walks, 974 stolen bases, and 69.0 WAR. The team retired his #18 uniform as well. At age 35 in 1956, Tan had a career-best 110 walks drawn and led in stolen bases for the 11^th and final time. He crossed 2500 hits and 1500 runs scored, but opted to leave Albuquerque sensing a rebuild was to come. Tan signed a three-year, $270,000 deal with St. Louis that saw his salary jump from a peak of $48,400 with the small market Isotopes to $90,000. He set a career best with 116 walks in his Cardinals debut and became the first MLB player to reach 1000 stolen bases for his career. He was a bit weaker in year two and became a free agent, signing for the 1959 season at age 38 with Minnesota. Notably with the Moose, he hit for the cycle in a game against Indianapolis, scoring four times. Tan also earned his 3000^th hit with Minneapolis in 1960. That was his last year as a full-time starter as he joined Phoenix in 1961, but was benched after struggling. Tan spent 1962 in both Baltimore and Buffalo before retiring after the season at age 41. He ultimately came just short of the 2000 runs scored milestone, which to that point had only been crossed by Stan Provost. Tan’s final stats: 3324 hits, 1982 runs, 528 doubles, 148 triples, 53 home runs, 994 RBI, 1838 walks, 1177 stolen bases, a .294/.396/.382 slash, and 83.2 WAR. He retired MLB’s stolen base king and still holds the title as of 2037 (as well as the caught stealing record of 725) At retirement, Tan was also third all-time in runs scored, second in walks drawn to Chris Louden’s 2106 and ninth in doubles. His OBP was fifth best among Hall of Famers at the time of induction, but his .382 slugging was also the worst. With such lousy power numbers, some wondered if Tan would get snubbed by the voters. But as the all-time best base stealer and one of the all-time best at simply getting on base, Tan couldn’t be ignored and earned induction on the first ballot at 89.6%. Patrick White – Center Fielder – Houston Hornets – 85.2% First Ballot Patrick White was a 5’11’’, 205 pound left-handed center fielder from Fairfield, Texas; a tiny town of around 3,000 people located about 90 miles southeast of the Dallas Metroplex. White was best known as an excellent contact hitter that could also give respectable gap power and around 20 home runs per year. He was very quick as well, stealing 816 bases in his career while only getting caught 370 times. White was just okay and drawing walks and at times had troubles with strikeouts, although he was fine when properly rested. White was an ironman who played exclusively in center with above average to good defense. He was also a team captain and was known as a terrific leader. White went to Western Michigan University for college, then came home to Texas when picked 25^th overall by Houston in the 1944 MLB Draft. He had an excellent rookie season that earned third place in Rookie of the Year honors. But he struggled immensely in 1946 for an abysmal -4.9 WAR and 229 strikeouts. White suffered from being overworked and fatigued in center with no other options for a then middling Hornets squad. He was much better but still poor offensively in year three, then again lousy in year four. The switch flipped in his fifth season of 1949 that saw a batting title at .361 and the most WAR in the American Association at 9.8, earning a Silver Slugger and a second place finish in MVP voting. White would never have a year quite this good again, but he became a consistent strong performer until his final year, posting nine 5+ WAR seasons. White won additional Silver Sluggers for Houston in 1951, 56, and 58. After a down period in the 1940s, Houston had a very brief resurgence and won the Southern League title in 1951 and 52. In 1952, they went all the way and won the World Series with White posting 21 hits, 11 runs, 3 home runs, and 7 RBI in 16 playoff games. He continued into his mid 30s with the Hornets, posting a final line there of 2487 hits, 1300 runs, 358 doubles, 236 home runs, 1113 RBI, 707 stolen bases, and 60.7 WAR. Houston would retire his #10 uniform once his career was finished. He also was a captain for the United States team as a World Baseball Championship starter from 1950-54, then a reserve in 1955 and 59-61. In 133 tournament games, he had 148 hits, 87 runs, 86 RBI, 57 stolen bases, and .325 average. Three times he finished second in WBC MVP voting (50, 51, 52) and won world titles in 51, 52, 55, 60, and 61. Now 35 years old, White opted for free agency and signed a hefty four-year, $451,000 contract with Las Vegas. His fifth and final Silver Slugger came in his Vipers debut and he was critical in helping the Vipers win their first World Series. White won both World Series and AACS MVP, posting 33 hits and 21 runs in 16 playoff games with four home runs, 15 RBI, a .524 average, and 1.8 WAR. At the time, it was a MLB playoff record for most hits and runs in a postseason with the runs mark still standing as of 2037, even despite the later expanded postseason. The playoff heroics alone made the contract worth it. Las Vegas fell off, although his second year was equally solid and White led in runs with a career-high 115. He regressed to average in year three and struggled in year four, retiring after the 1962 season at age 38. With the Vipers, White had 668 hits, 360 runs, and 13.9 WAR. White’s final stats: 3155 hits, 1660 runs, 447 doubles, 139 triples, 311 home runs, 1426 RBI, 816 stolen bases, a .291/.333/.444 slash and 74.7 WAR. At his peak, White was an excellent reliable center fielder who you could trot out every day. At retirement, he was one of only six MLB players with 800 stolen bases and the 31^st member of the 3000 hit club, although that wasn’t a guaranteed mark for induction. The couple of terrible years he had weighed down some of the advanced stats, but his leadership and playoff performances in helping both Houston and Las Vegas to rings put White over the top for a first ballot induction at 85.2%. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-22-2023, 05:22 AM	#435
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1968 CABA Hall of Fame Two players earned additions into the Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame from the 1968 class. On his fifth try, designated hitter Alejandro Encinas got the bump across the line by getting 74.3%. RF Niki Petit was a first ballot nod with 72.6%, low but beyond the 66% threshold required. Two others were above 50% with pitcher Tirso Sepulveda at 61.8% on his second attempt and 1B Salvador Islas at 51.4% on his fourth attempt. None were dropped after ten attempts but an honorable mention goes to pitcher Galeno Garza, dropped after falling below 5% on his seventh try. In only eight years with Salvador, he won a Pitcher of the Year and led in strikeouts and WAR twice, posting a 2.80 ERA, 99-79 record, 1727 strikeouts, and 47.9 WAR. Garza seemed like he was on his way, but suffered a torn rotator cuff late in his seventh season. He hung around as a back-end starter in MLB in his later years but was done as an ace at that point. Alejandro Encinas – Designated Hitter – Panama Parrotts – 74.3% Fifth Ballot Alejandro Encinas was a 5’8’’, 205 pound switch hitter from Socoltenango, a small town near Mexico’s southern border. Encinas was a very good pure hitter with excellent power and good to great contact ability. He was above average with his eye and rarely struck out relative to other hitters. Encinas had below average speed and was primarily used as a designated hitter, although he made about 1/5 of his career starts at first base with a few at second and third. At any spot, he was considered a terrible defender, thus the DH assignment. But Encinas’ bat was more than worthy of finding him a spot to swing from. Encinas was initially picked out of high school 18^th overall in the 1935 Central American Baseball Association Draft by Leon, but he opted to attend college and didn’t sign with the Lions. His stock was lower when he was next eligible, but Encinas was picked in the 1938 CABA Draft in the second round, 38^th overall, by Tijuana. Encinas stayed on the reserve roster in 1939 and made a few pinch hit at-bats in 1940. Before the 1941 season, he and two other prospects were traded to Panama for RF Yong-Pa Lee. Encinas became a starter with the Parrots with a promising debut season in 1941, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting and taking a Silver Slugger at second base. In 1942, he led the Caribbean League in hits and won Silver Slugger at DH. He won it again in 1943 at DH, 1945 at second base, and 1948 at DH. 1942 was his first 40+ home run season, a feat he’d reach seven times in his career. In 1943, he won his first batting title (.335), led in homers (45), hits (214), doubles (32) and had 119 RBI, earning a second place finish in MVP voting. He also was a reserve for the Mexican National Team from 1947-52 in the World Baseball Championship with 8 home runs in 71 at bats. Encinas earned two rings with Mexico in 1949 and 1950. 1944 saw a torn quad put him out two months and his production fell a bit the three seasons, although he was still starter quality. Panama had been a historically lousy team, but in 1946 they had a Cinderella run, snapping a 31-year playoff drought. Despite only finishing 83-79, they won a weak Continental Division and went on a run all the way to the CABA Championship. Encinas stats weren’t great with a .178 average in 45 at-bats, but he still helped the team ultimately to a ring and was remembered fondly by Parrots fans, helping him see his #26 uniform retired. At age 31 in 1947, Encinas led in RBI with 130. Then in 1948, he had his finest year, earning CABA’s sixth Triple Crown hitting season (and the second by someone other than Kiko Velazquez. Encinas had a .332 average, 51 home runs, 147 RBI, 210 hits, 114 runs, and a 1.006 OPS, earning the Caribbean League MVP. Riding high, Encinas opted out of his Panama contract knowing that someone would give him a great payday as a defending MVP. Both CABA and MLB teams were interested and it would be MLB’s Albuquerque that would sign him up at five years, $195.000. Encinas put up solid power numbers with the Isotopes, although he missed parts of 1950 and 1951 to injury. Albuquerque had made the World Series the year prior to his signing and would twice get back to the American Association Championship Series, but ultimately no deeper in his tenure. He had solid playoff numbers in 23 starts with 31 hits, 20 runs, 11 home runs, and 23 RBI. In total with the Isotopes, Encinas had 727 hits, 403 runs, 167 home runs, 533 RBI, a .288 average, and 15.2 WAR. The Albuquerque deal ran out and Encinas returned to Mexico at age 38, signing for 1954 with Tijuana. He spent three years as a decent starter for the Toros, then returned to Panama for his final two seasons. With the Parrots, he picked up his 2000^th CABA hit and 1000^th run. Encinas was cut after the 1958 season and retired at age 43 after going unsigned in 1959. His final Panama tallies saw 1625 hits, 817 runs, 342 home runs, 971 RBI, a .294 average, and 39.9 WAR. For his entire pro career, Encinas had 2823 hits, 1433 runs, 425 doubles, 601 home runs, 1762 RBI, a .288/.330/.524 slash and 66.3 WAR. Just in CABA, he had 2096 hits, 1030 runs, 323 doubles, 434 home runs, 1229 RBI, a .288/.326/.522 slash and 51.1 WAR. Good totals, but lower accumulations than most other CABA Hall of Famers thanks to the five-year gap to Albuquerque. There were also the voters reluctant to put any primarily DH guys in unless they had generational stats. Encinas hovered around 54% on his first and second ballots, then had a jump and just missed at 64.7%. He fell back to 54.6% on his fourth try, but a relatively quiet 1968 ballot allowed Encinas to pick up enough votes to get in at 74.3% on his fifth attempt. Niki Petit – Right Fielder – Santiago Sailfish – 72.6% First Ballot Niki Petit was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Limbe, a northern Haiti commune of about 70,000 people. Petit was a strong power hitter who could also reliably draw walks, although he did strike out quite a bit. Petit was a fairly average contact hitter with below average speed. He was incredibly durable, making 135+ starts in 16 straight seasons, and was considered a solid leader with a sturdy work ethic. Petit was almost exclusively a right fielder in his career and was viewed as average to slightly above average with the glove. Petit was picked 20^th overall out of college by Santiago in the 1945 CABA Draft, sending him to the other side of Hispaniola and the Dominican Republic. He made limited appearances with poor results in 1946, but was excellent in his first full season of 1947. That began a streak of nine straight seasons with 30+ home runs. Petit was almost never a league leader in any major stats, but his steady production did receive notice. He was second in 1949 MVP voting and third in 1950, hitting 40+ home runs and 6+ WAR in both seasons. Petit’s first Silver Slugger came in 1951, followed by additional awards in 1952, 53, and 55. Santiago became a Caribbean League contender during Petit’s tenure, winning the league title in 1947, 1951, 1952, 1954, and 1955. The Sailfish claimed the CABA Championship as well in 1951 and 1952. Petit won the CABA Championship MVP in 1951 and the CLCS MVP in 1954. Over 58 playoff games, Petit had 58 hits, 41 runs, 23 home runs, and 47 RBI, worth 3.3 WAR. Petit also became a regular for his native Haiti in the World Baseball Championship, playing in 153 and making 146 starts from 1947-64. In total, he had 124 hits, 87 runs, 46 home runs, 103 RBI, and 6.2 WAR in the WBC. Petit’s stats dropped a bit into his 30s with less power, but still respectable production. Santiago’s playoff run had ended by the close of the 1950s and midway through the 1959 campaign, the Sailfish traded the 35-year old Petit to Monterrey in exchange for prospects. He remained very popular with the Santiago faithful and would see his #17 uniform retired by the team. Petit’s final Sailfish stats were 1880 hits, 1049 runs, 441 home runs, 1124 RBI, and 61.4 WAR. Petit finished 1959 with the Matadors and signed an extension to stay in Monterrey for another three seasons. He had a bit of a career resurgence, leading the league in homers for the first time in 1960 (albeit only at 35, a number he had passed multiple times earlier). In three and a half seasons, he put up 525 hits, 281 runs, 116 home runs, 297 RBI, and 16.5 WAR. When his contract was up, the now 39-year old went to MLB’s Pittsburgh for the 1963 season. Petit was merely adequate as a part-time starter in 1963 and bench player in 1964 with the Pirates, retiring after the 1964 season at age 41. Petit’s final CABA stats saw 2405 hits, 1330 runs, 429 doubles, 557 home runs, 1421 RBI, a .262/.322/.502 slash and 78.0 WAR. The numbers aren’t out of place among other Hall of Famers, but aren’t on the top end of the leaderboard. To that point, he was only the 15^th CABA player to smack 500+ home runs and he was a key cog in a decade of dominance for Santiago. This combined for a first ballot selection, although at a lower-end percentage of 72.6%. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-22-2023, 10:20 AM	#436
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1968 EAB Hall of Fame Only one player made it into East Asia Baseball’s Hall of Fame with the 1968 ballot. Centerfielder Ha-Min Park had come very close eight other times, but just short. With a weak group in 1968, Park finally just crossed the 66% mark with 68.2% on his ninth attempt. Three other returners were above 60% but below the required mark with LF Dong-Hee Cho (61.7%, 6^th ballot), CL Hyeon-Jae Seo (61.4%, 4^th Ballot) and LF Chong-Chun Pak (60.8%, 4^th ballot). 1B Jae-Ha Cho on his ninth try was the only other player above 50% at 53.4%. Dropped after ten attempts was 1B Sung-Heun Park, a six-time Silver Slugger winner and 1938 Korea League MVP. Primarily with Changwon, he had 2403 hits, 1247 runs, 368 doubles, 494 home runs, 1375 RBI, a .295 average, and 73.9 WAR. Those types of numbers had put others in and Park had a big role in Changwon winning the 1945 EAB title, but he peaked at 52.9% on his third ballot and ended at 40.1%. You could argue that his numbers were more impressive than his former teammate Ha-Min Park, but more is expected as a slugger at first base than a center fielder. Also dropped was pitcher Yeo Kim, another who was almost exclusively with Changwon. He had a 183-105 record, 2.94 ERA, 2776 strikeouts in 2872.2 innings, and 59.3 WAR. With no major awards, he was more firmly a Hall of Very Good type, peaking at 29.8% and ending at 8.3%. Ha-Min “Ferret” Park – Center Fielder - Changwon Crabs – 68.2% Ninth Ballot Ha-Min Park was a 6’0’’, 185 pound right-handed center fielder from Kijang, a South Korean county of around 150,000 within greater Busan. Park was a very good power hitter that reliably gave you 30-40 home runs and around 40 doubles/triples per season when healthy. He was an above average contact hitter, but did strike out a lot and rarely drew walks especially relative to his power. Park had solid speed and spent the majority of his career in center field with around 1/5 of his starts in right. He was viewed as a slightly below average, but not terrible defender. Park moved to Seoul for college and played at Chung-Ang University, putting up 38 home runs and 10.1 WAR in 116 games with the Dragons. This got the attention of Changwon, who drafted Park second overall in the 1939 East Asia Baseball Draft. He was immediately a starter and an impactful one with a 6.9 WAR rookie season, earning 1940 Rookie of the Year and his first Silver Slugger. He won additional Sluggers in 1941, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, and 51, All but the final one were in centerfield (the last one was DH) and his eight remains a Korea League record for the position. Park earned MVP consideration in three seasons, taking third in 1944, second in 1945, and second in 1947. He led the league in home runs in 1942 (49) and 1947 (48), and led with 131 RBI in 1951. Changwon made the playoffs twice in Park’s tenure; 1945, 1948, and 1949. In 1945, the Crabs won their second-ever Korea League title and earned the franchise’s first EAB Championship. Park was very impactful in the 1945 run with 17 hits, 14 runs, 5 home runs, and 12 RBI in 13 starts. He struggled in 1948 and missed the 1949 run to injury. Park had been durable in his first nine seasons with Changwon apart from a sprained ankle in 1946. 1949 saw a devastating broken kneecap with another sprained ankle in 1950 causing Park to miss significant time and see a production drop. The Crabs opted to let him go after the 1950 season, but the team would go onto honor him by retiring his #27 uniform. In total with Changwon, Park had 1592 hits, 897 runs, 231 doubles, 175 triples, 379 home runs, 973 RBI, and 61.8 WAR. Now 33 years old, Park signed for the 1951 season to a five-year, $165,000 deal with Daegu. His Diamondbacks debut was excellent with his final Silver Slugger, 48 home runs, and 131 RBI from the DH spot. Injuries and a noticeable drop in production plagued him the rest of the run, fully relegated to the bench by his fourth year in 1954. Park got to participate in four postseasons with Daegu, although his playoff numbers were subpar. The Diamondbacks won the 1952 and 1953 Korea League titles and gave Park his second EAB Championship ring in 1953. Park opted to retire after the 1954 season at age36. With Daegu, he had 390 hits, 230 runs, 89 home runs, and 7.4 WAR. Park’s overall numbers: 1982 hits, 1127 runs, 290 doubles, 220 triples, 468 home runs, 1230 RBI, 463 stolen bases, a .272/.310/.566 slash, and 69.2 WAR. Park had some excellent seasons when healthy, but his final accumulations were a bit low compared to other Hall of Famers due to a relatively short career. The few guys in the Hall without at least 2000 hits typically had much more dominant peaks and/or were guys who started their careers late when EAB was formed. For eight ballots, Park was never below 50%, but never above 60%, seemingly destined for Hall of Very Good status. But with a weak group in 1968 for his ninth attempt, Park finally got the bump just past the 66% mark, earning his spot at 68.2%. He was the first EAB Hall of Famer to be inducted as a ninth ballot and as of 2037, one of two. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-22-2023, 05:45 PM	#437
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1968 BSA Hall of Fame 1968 was a weak ballot for Beisbol Sudamerica’s Hall of Fame with only one player ultimately getting in. Pitcher Julio Cigala was only narrowly beyond the 66% threshold, but did earn a first ballot nod at 71.4%. RF Nando Gaspar was at 61.5% on his sixth attempt and LF Martyn Jarava was at 60.6% on his fifth. Two others, LF Placido Guerrero and SP Lauro Almeida, were just above 50% on their seventh and sixth attempts, respectively. Leonardo Velasco was dropped after ten failed ballots and is viewed by many as one of the best players denied a Hall of Fame spot. A six-time Silver Slugger winner at third base, he had 2698 hits, 1118 runs, 465 doubles, 214 home runs, 990 RBI, a .299/.345/.433 slash and 102.3 WAR. Advanced stats, especially that WAR total, makes Velasco seem pretty strong, but he never won MPVP and never made the playoffs, spending most of his career with a weak Guayaquil franchise. He peaked at 47.4% on his third ballot and ended at a shockingly low 10.9%. Cut from the ballot after ten failed attempts also included SP Saul Jiao, who had a 137-88 record, 1.98 ERA, 2642 strikeouts over 2221.1 innings and 74.6 WAR. Very good numbers over too small a sample size hurt by injuries and low inning totals when healthy. He peaked at 46.3% and ended at 14.0%. Closer Miggy Alemao was also dropped, peaking at 42.8% but ending at 6.5%. He won Reliever of the Year twice and was a part-time starter with a 2.21 ERA, 111-67 record, 184 saves, and 34.5 WAR. He wasn’t a closer enough to get pro-reliever voters to his side. Also worth noting was 2B Adrian Lanzas cut after seven years and falling below 5%. He retired second all-time in walks drawn at 1371 and won three Silver Sluggers at second base with 72.1 WAR. His poor batting average sunk him despite 2156 hits, 1276 runs, 318 home runs, and 914 RBI. Julio Cigala – Starting Pitcher – Barquisimeto Black Cats – 71.4% First Ballot Julio Cigala was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Barinas, a city of around 350,000 in west central Venezuela. Terrific pinpoint control was Cigala’s biggest strength, allowing him to overcome merely above average stuff and movement. His velocity peaked around 95-97 mph, but he had the rare six pitch arsenal with none amazing, but all respectable. He mixed a fastball, slider, curveball, forkball, changeup, and splitter; making Cigala hard to solve for hitters. He was a good leader with strong stamina and excellent durability, an ironman who made 32+ starts and had 260+ innings in each of his 15 professional seasons. Cigala was picked second overall in the 1947 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft by Barquisimeto and instantly became a key part of their rotation, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. He wasn’t dominant in his first run with the Black Cats, but very consistent and reliable. Cigala also pitched for Venezuela in the World Baseball Championship from 1949-52, posting a 3.54 ERA over 84 innings with 84 strikeouts. Barquisimeto was a bottom rung franchise in Cigala’s first few seasons and in his sixth year of 1953, he was traded midseason for three prospects to Brasilia. The Bearcats just missed the playoffs in 1953, then fell off despite Cigala’s efforts in the next two seasons. Cigala led the Southern Cone League in losses despite posting a 7.2 WAR season in 1955, a career best. With Brasilia, he had a 33-44 record, 2.52 ERA, 718 strikeouts in 717 innings, and 15.9 WAR. The 31-year old Cigala went back to Barquisimeto for 1956 on a four-year, $212,000 deal. Cigala struggled a bit in his return season, but returned to his usual form soon after. By this point, the Black Cats were now competitive and won division titles in 1957 and 1958. In 1957, Cigala won his lone Pitcher of the Year with a 21-11 record, 2.52 ERA, 281.2 innings, 249 strikeouts, 5.2 WAR, and 18 complete games. He never was in the top three any other season. In 1958, Barquisimeto won their first ever Bolivar League title, although Cigala struggled with a 7.36 ERA in 18.1 innings in the run. The Black Cats fell off a bit in 1959 and traded Cigala over the summer to Medellin. The now 35-year old Cigala was a free agent again after half a season with the Mutiny and signed one more time with Barquisimeto, playing his final three pro seasons with the Black Cats. He had two more solid seasons as the franchise began to rebuild again, then struggled in his final year. Cigala retired after the 1962 season at age 37 and had his #8 uniform retired for more than 3000 innings of service with Barquisimeto Cigala’s final stats: 218-231, 3.01 ERA, 4218.2 innings, 3873 strikeouts, 635 walks, 324/513 quality starts, 245 complete games, a FIP- of 90 and 76.0 WAR. He would become the first (and as of 2037, the only) Beisbol Sudamerica starting pitcher in the Hall of Fame with a losing record. Although it is obviously a flawed metric skewed by Cigala playing primarily on bad teams, others looked at him as a merely above average pitcher who managed to stick around and earn tenure. But enough voters appreciated his longevity and consistency, allowing Cigala to snag a first ballot induction at 71.4%. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-23-2023, 05:15 AM	#438
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1968 EBF Hall of Fame The European Baseball Federation added a player into its still young Hall of Fame with the 1968 ballot. Pitcher Luigi Kerac earned the nod easily in his debut at 95.9%. Another starter, Harald Solbach, had a promising debut on the ballot with 63.7%, only slightly behind the 66% required for entry. Also above 50% were closer Richard Hackl and slugger Orion McIntyre; both on their third ballot. Luigi “The Bandit” Kerac – Starting Pitcher – Amsterdam Anacondas – 95.9% First Ballot Luigi Kerac was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Osijek, the fourth largest city in Croatia with just shy of 100,000 people. Kerac was known for outstanding control of his pitches, mixed with very good movement and above average stuff. His velocity peaked around 96-98 mph with a fastball, forkball, cutter, and changeup. Kerac was viewed as a “sparkplug” personality with high energy and drive. After World War II, Kerac got into the game in the amateur and semi-pro ranks in Yugoslavia. By the time the European Baseball Federation was formed, Kerac was already in his 30s, but was a known and desired commodity by many teams. He joined the EBF by signing with Copenhagen for the 1951 season on a five-year, $136,800 deal. The Corsairs were the first European Champion in 1950, but fell into immediate mediocrity following. Kerac excelled despite his team’s struggles, finishing third in Pitcher of the Year voting in all three of his seasons in Denmark. With Copenhagen, Kerac had a 47-37 record, 1.98 ERA, 851.1 innings, 490 strikeouts, and 31.0 WAR. He led the Northern Conference in WHIP all three seasons and posted WAR totals of 9.2, 12.7, and 9.1. Not satisfied with the Corsairs being noncompetitive, Kerac opted out of his contract after the third season. The now 34-year old signed in 1954 to a five-year, $232,600 deal with Amsterdam. In his Anacondas debut, Kerac won his lone Pitcher of the Year with a conference-best 1.74 ERA and a 22-1 record. Amsterdam went 118-44 that season and won their second European Championship with Kerac throwing 19 innings with a 19 ERA in the postseason. They also made the playoffs in 1955 and 1957, although didn’t get to the final. Kerac wasn’t in the award conversation in his other four years in Amsterdam, but was a consistent all-star. In total with the Anacondas, he had a 76-42 record, 2.36 ERA, 1155 strikeouts in 1192.1 innings and 39.1 WAR. Kerac began to long for home a bit after starting to play for Croatia in the World Baseball Championship. From 1957-61, he had a 4.37 ERA over 68 innings with 61 strikeouts. When his Amsterdam contract expired, the now 39-year old signed with his home country team Zagreb. Kerac took third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1959 and in 1960 helped lead the Gulls to their first European Championship. In total with Zagreb, he had a 37-19 record, 2.82 ERA, 442 strikeouts, and 14.1 WAR. With control being his greatest asset, Kerac’s game aged well and he seemed primed to still put up great numbers into his 40s. In his first start of 1961, a ruptured UCL derailed that hope. Kerac made it back for a few relief appearances in 1962, opting to retire at season’s end at age 43. His final stats: 160-98, 2.33 ERA, 2579 innings, 2537 strikeouts to only 228 walks for a 11.1 K/BB ratio, 243/322 quality starts, 112 complete games, and 84.2 WAR. He led his conference in K/BB in eight seasons and WHIP four times and his rate stats are among the best in the Hall of Fame. The overall accumulations are low since his career started at age 31, which makes you wonder how high his tallies could’ve gone with a full EBF career. Either way, his accomplishments were plenty to earn first ballot induction at 95.9% and become EBF’s fifth Hall of Fame member. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-23-2023, 02:02 PM	#439
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1968 EPB Hall of Fame Eurasian Professional Baseball officially began Hall of Fame voting in 1965 but until 1967, no one had even gotten above 5%. In 1967, closer Krzystzof Lazaridis’s 22.7% was the new high percentage, far from the 66% required. In 1968, Bogdan Chirita was on the ballot and became the first Hall of Famer; a no-doubter at 99.0%. Closer Mircea Ioan’s debut was a respectable 48.6%, still short of induction. Lazaridis got 26.4% on his second try. It would be a three year gap between Chirita’s induction and the next players to get in. Bogdan Chirita – Starting Pitcher- Bucharest Broncos – 99.0% First Ballot Bogdan Chirita was a 6’1’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from Tiganasi, a small commune of 4,000 people in northeast Romania on the border with Moldova. Chirita was known for having incredible movement on his pitches and great stuff with 96-98 peak velocity, although his control was viewed as merely above average. He only had three pitches, but the break on his cutter, slider, and changeup made Chirita a dominant force. After World War II ended, Chirita picked up the game in his early 20s in the still young Romanian baseball scene. He quickly emerged as a dominant force locally who considered heading to the European Baseball Federation, but wanted to stay closer to home. In 1955, Eurasian Professional Baseball was formed with his country’s capital Bucharest among the cities with teams. He signed a six-year, $243,600 contract with the Broncos and began his official career at age 28. Chirita carried his amateur dominance into EPB, leading the European League in ERA five times, wins twice, WHIP four times, FIP- six times and WAR six times. His worst season had a WAR of 9.3 with an unprecedented five seasons with 10+. In 1959, he had the second EPB Triple Crown season for a pitcher. In eight seasons, he won Pitcher of the Year five times (1955, 58, 59, 60, 62) and won league MVP twice (1959, 60). Chirita twice pitched no hitters against Bratislava with the first In 1955 and the second in 1962. Bucharest was an early European League contender, making the playoffs in its first seven seasons. The Broncos made it to the league championship series thrice and in 1957, claimed the third ever Soviet Series and overall title. Naturally, Chirita was also a great playoff pitcher, posting a 2.54 ERA in 120.2 innings with 105 strikeouts and 4.4 WAR. In the championship season, he had a 1.59 ERA in 39.2 innings with 38 strikeouts. Chirita also was the ace for Romania’s national team in the World Baseball Championship from 1955-64, posting a 3.59 ERA over 170.1 innings with 188 strikeouts. It was in the 1963 World Baseball Championship were disaster struck for the now 36-year old Chirita, who had shown no signs of regression in his eight years with Bucharest. Chirita would suffer a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, ultimately putting him out for the entire 1963 season. He rehabbed and was back for the 1964 tournament and seemingly ready to return to form for the Broncos. However, Chirita suffered a torn labrum in spring training to end his 1964 before it even started and ultimately his career at age 38. Chirita’s stats: 151-54, 1.95 ERA, 2045 innings, 2347 strikeouts to 369 walks, 199/255 quality starts, a FIP- of 47 and 88.9 WAR. You would be hard pressed to find a better eight year stretch from any pitcher in any professional league ever. Had Chirita not officially started at age 28 or seen injury end his career early, his final stats may have placed him among the greatest pitchers in any league ever. Chirita’s excellence certainly was appreciated in Romania and with Bucharest, who retired his #41 uniform. It was also appreciated by the EPB baseball community at large with a 99.0% first ballot induction; a very worthy player to be EPB’s first Hall of Famer. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

07-23-2023, 05:59 PM	#440
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,612	1968 World Baseball Championship The 1968 World Baseball Championship was the 22^nd edition of the event and the second to be held in Europe, this time hosted in Athens, Greece. After missing the elite eight for the first time last season, the United States was back to its usual perch atop Division 1. The Americans went 7-0, holding off a 6-1 Peru squad. Division 2 had a three-way tie for first at 5-2 between North Korea, Poland, and the Netherlands with both Greece and Kazakhstan at 4-3. The Dutch advanced on the tiebreaker, giving them their second-ever division title. Division 3 went to Italy at 6-1, one ahead of both Germany and Scotland. It was the fourth time advancing to the elite eight for the Italians. Defending world champ Canada finished 4-3 in D3, ending their repeat hope and leaving them out for only the seventh time in 22 tournaments. Japan rolled to Division 4’s crown at 7-0, moving the Japanese forward for the eighth time. Mexico and Australia tied atop Division 5 at 6-1 and the Mexicans advanced with the head-to-head, sending last year’s runner-up to their ninth elite eight appearance. Brazil claimed Division 6 at 6-1, edging England by a game. The Brazilians have moved forward nine times now. A tight Division 7 saw Puerto Rico on top at 5-2, one better than five other teams (Belarus, Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, and Russia). For PR, it is their second time advancing. And in Division 8, Guatemala became a first time division champ going 5-2, ending one ahead of Indonesia, Panama, Switzerland, and Taiwan. In Round Robin Group A, the United States was first at 4-2, earning a 20^th semifinal berth. Both Italy and Mexico were 3-3 and the Netherlands was 2-4. The tiebreaker sent the Italians to the semifinal for the third time in history. In Group A, Puerto Rico and Guatemala earned their first-ever semifinal berths. PR was first at 4-2 and the Guatemalans were 3-3 with the tiebreaker on Brazil, while Japan was 2-4. Having lasted one more game in the semifinal, Guatemala was awarded third and Italy fourth. It was the third time Italy had finished fourth, their deepest mark to date. The Americans won their semifinal in six games over Guatemala, moving the US to the championship for the 17^th time. Puerto Rico meanwhile downed Italy in five, giving PR its first championship appearance. The USA rolled to a 4-1 World Championship win over Puerto Rico, putting the Americans back to their usual spot on top for the 14^th time. Leading Puerto Rico’s efforts was tournament MVP Santiago Duarte. A 30-year old outfielder for Houston, he posted 29 hits, 17 runs, 9 home runs, 18 RBI, and 16 walks in 23 tournament games for 1.7 WAR. Best Pitcher was awarded to Italy’s Hugo Coria. A 34-year old journeyman reliever, he tossed 8.2 scoreless innings with five saves and 15 strikeouts. Other notes: Venezuela’s Simon Arenas set a still-standing tournament record for batting average at .619, getting 13 hits in 21 at bats. England’s Jacob Bidwell hit four home runs in a game against Paraguay, becoming the fourth batter in WBC history with a four dinger day. Below are the updated all-time stats for the tournament. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)