Baseball: The World's Game

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Two-time defending Indian League champion Visakhapatnam was the #1 seed at 99-63, earning a fourth straight South Division title. Chennai was second in the division at 90-72, which earned them the wild card. It was an impressive turnaround for the Cows, who limped to 66-96 the prior season. It ended a three-year playoff drought for them.

Mumbai narrowly missed the top seed, but easily won the West Division at 97-65. The Meteors got their fourth playoff berth in five years and their tenth since 2001, but it was only their second division title in that stretch. Ahmedabad usually spoiled that for them, including having won the prior three division titles. The Animals collapsed to 72-90 for the worst-ever season in their storied history. This ended a 29-year run of winning seasons, which one only one less than Ho Chi Minh City’s record 30-year adjacent run.

The Central Division had a tie for the top spot at 88-74 between Kolkata and Lucknow. With both two games behind Chennai for the wild card, this meant that the division winner would be the only playoff team of the two. The Cosmos won the tiebreaker game for their fifth straight division title and seventh straight playoff berth. This was Kolkata’s weakest season of that run, as they had won 100+ in the prior four campaigns.

Mumbai’s Basava Sanjahay became only the fourth player in South Asia Baseball history to win five MVP awards. The 34-year old first baseman had returned to his original Meteors squad after playing 2011 and 2012 with Kanpur. Sanjahay had won one Indian League MVP with the Poison (2011) and three with Mumbai (2005, 2006, 2007).

In 2014, Sanjahay led the league in home runs (52), runs (105), slugging (.635), OPS (.977), and wRC+ (195). He added 116 RBI, a .273 average, .342 OBP, and 8.3 WAR. It would be Sanjahay’s last great season, as he’d drop off significantly in the next two years, retiring after getting benched in 2016.

Pitcher of the Year was Visakhapatnam’s Theo Rodgers in his ninth year with the Volts. The Indian-American dual national at age 31 won his first ERA title (1.72) and led in wins (22-4), WHIP (0.90), quality starts (26), and shutouts (6). Rodgers also had a 205 ERA+, 5.8 WAR, and 243 strikeouts over 230 innings. As of 2037, his 1.72 ERA is the 20^th-best qualifying season in SAB history.

Visakhapatnam swept their divisional foe Chennai 3-0, while Kolkata upset Mumbai 3-1. The Cosmos earned their fourth Indian League Championship Series appearance in six years, while the Volts picked up their fourth straight berth. Their only prior collision was Kolkata’s 2011 victory. After needing a play-in game just to be in the field, the Cosmos secured the pennant 4-2 over Visakhapatnam. This made Kolkata three-time Indian champs (2010, 2011, 2014).



Both division champs went 101-61 with Yangon atop the South and Hanoi atop the North. The reigning SAB champion Hounds had the #1 seed via the tiebreaker, extending their playoff streak to ten years. It was also Hanoi’s ninth 100+ win effort in that run and seventh division title. For the Green Dragons, their remarkable playoff run grew to 20 years. Yangon became the fifth franchise in any world league with a 20+ streak and sit three way from the all-time mark of 23 by both Ahmedabad and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Green Dragons also won their fourth straight division title and the 15^th of that run. It didn’t come easy with Vientiane only four back at 97-65. The Vampires earned a third straight wild card. The second spot went to 92-70 Mandalay for their second in four years. The Mammoths were four ahead of Bangkok and seven better than Dhaka. The Dobermans saw their own impressive playoff streak ended at nine seasons.

Vientiane’s Huynh Pham won his second Southeast Asia League MVP in three years. The two-way lefty on the mound had a 2.73 ERA over 237.2 innings, 15-10 record, 334 strikeouts, and 6.0 WAR. Playing first base in 98 games and 92 starts, Pham added 4.6 WAR, a .350/.392/.627 slash, 23 home runs, and 72 RBI.

In his third year with Dhaka, Jay Singh became a three-time Pitcher of the Year winner. His previous trophies came back in 2007 and 2008 with Jaipur, winning ERA titles both years. The 32-year old lefty had SEAL’s best ERA at 2.28 and led with a 0.81 WHIP. Singh added a 16-12 record, 251 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR in 201 innings. He’d sign a five-year extension in April 2015 with the Dobermans, but would be traded by a rebuilding Dhaka two months later to Hyderabad, where he’d play out his excellent career.

Hanoi outlasted Mandalay 3-2 in the first round while Yangon downed Vientiane 3-1. This set up yet another SEAL Championship showdown between the two and renewed the playoff rivalry. Apart from the prior year, they had met each year of the last decade at some point in the playoffs, including LCS meetings in 2007, 2008, and 2012.

Despite having the same record, the 2014 meeting lacked competitive drama with a Green Dragons sweep over the Hounds. This was Yangon’s eighth pennant overall and their fifth during their 20-year playoff streak. Of their nine playoff meetings in ten years, the Green Dragons have four wins and Hanoi has five.



The 35^th SAB Championship was an all-timer needing all seven games. It joined the 1992 final between Ahmedabad and Ho Chi Minh City as the only finales decided by extra innings in game seven. Kolkata went ahead in the top of the tenth inning to win game seven 7-6, earning their second SAB title (2010). The Cosmos had also seen a 2-1 win in ten innings earlier in the series.



1B Umesh Pant was finals MVP, bolstered by a 5-5, 2 double, one homer, 3 RBI game during the series. The 33-year old Nepali in 17 playoff starts had 24 hits, 10 runs, 7 doubles, 3 home runs, and 9 RBI. LF Lwin Swe Ko also had a big postseason, winning LCS MVP. In 17 starts, the 30-year old Burmese righty had 19 hits, 9 runs, 2 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, and 12 RBI.

Other notes: Visakhapatnam’s Kasi Kumar set a playoff record for OPS at 1.632 over nine games. He went 17-31 with 10 runs, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers, and 9 RBI. Dhaka’s Xuan Hung had only the fifth game in SAB history with four home runs, doing it against Phnom Penh on June 7.

Hanoi’s Majed Darwish had his world record eighth straight 150+ RBI season (151) and his tenth 50+ home run season (58). He still was five seasons away from matching world home run king Nordine Soule’s 15 seasons with 50+ dingers. Darwish became the seventh member of SAB’s 700 homer club and tenth to 1500 runs scored in 2014. The 31-year old Bahraini also won his eighth Silver Slugger (seventh as a designated hitter).

Ratan Canduri became the third to 800 career home runs, joining Devavesman Toppo and Tirtha Upadhyaya. Janesvara Aryasva became the eighth to 600 homers. Catcher Lance Tong won his eighth Silver Slugger, setting the position record. Both Jay Singh and Sarthak Patil reached 3500 strikeouts, making eight pitchers to do so. SP Yar Mai Zaw won his seventh Gold Glove.

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Two-time defending WAB Western League champ Dakar absolutely dominated the field, beating their own franchise record of 102-60 from the prior season. At 108-54, the Dukes were 21 games ahead of second place. They also led the WL in both runs scored (916) and fewest allowed (711).

Second place at 87-75 was Banjul, earning their first-ever playoff berth since joining West African Baseball in the 2009 expansion. The Bucks came close to matching Dakar’s run output at 898, but also allowed 824. Bouake had become the first expansion playoff team at 98-64 in 2013, but the Blood Hawks struggled to tenth place in 2014 at 73-89.

The other wild cards went to Abidjan (85-77) and Freetown (82-80). The Athletes returned to the playoffs after having their eight-year streak snapped in 2013. The Foresters’ wild card streak grew to four years as they allowed only 713 runs. Both Cape Verde and Monrovia fell one short of the final spot at .500. The Diplomats set a new WL record with 384 doubles, but couldn’t overcome poor pitching. Kumasi (78-84) notably had their bid for a third straight playoff berth thwarted.

Western League MVP was Cape Verde LF Ibrahim Sani. In his fifth season, the 26-year old Nigerien lefty led in RBI (158), total bases (416), and batting average (.378). Sani had 45 home runs, 222 hits, 112 runs, 39 doubles, a 1.142 OPS, 186 wRC+, and 8.4 WAR.

Abidjan’s Christopher Larbi won his third straight Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (20-5), strikeouts (314), quality starts (23), and WAR (7.0). His 2.62 ERA was second Shehu Fatai’s 2.28, keeping Larbi from a repeat Triple Crown. The 28-year old Ghanaian lefty had a 176 ERA+ over 223 innings.

Abidjan swept Freetown 2-0 in the first round, but fell 2-0 to Banjul in round two. Top seed Dakar was a heavy favorite to win a third straight Western League pennant, but the Bucks pulled off one of WAB’s biggest-ever upsets. Banjul won the WLCS 3-1 to become the first-ever WAB expansion team to win a pennant.

The Bucks also made history with the quickest pennant for any expansion team in any world league at six seasons. The Chinese League’s Shantou would also match this feat in 2014. MLB’s Virginia Beach and Edmonton both had the previous best at seven years.



The Eastern League was extremely top-heavy with the top three each winning 101+ games. All three earned repeat playoff berths as well. Defending WAB champ Cotonou took the top seed at 108-54 for their fifth straight playoff berth and fourth time in first place during that run. The Copperheads offense was historic with a WAB-record 1012 runs scored, which held as the top mark until 2033.

A close second was 104-58 Lome, earning their third straight playoff berth and fourth in five years. The Lasers had the fewest runs allowed in WAB at 662. Port Harcourt meanwhile was third at 101-61, close behind with only 686 runs allowed. The Hillcats had their third playoff appearance in four years.

The fourth and final playoff spot went to Niamey at 88-74, ending a two-year playoff drought. The Atomics extended their streak of winning seasons to 17 years, tying the WAB record set by Kumasi from 1975-91. Last year’s ELCS runner-up Ibadan was the only other team in striking distance at 83-79. The Iguanas still managed their 11^th winning season in a row.

Leading Cotonou’s record-setting offense was Eastern League MVP Fares Belaid. It was the second MVP in three years for the 25-year old Tunisian designated hitter, who broke the single-season world record for hits with 266. The previous world high was 261 by the Arab League’s Hassan El Zamek in 261. As of 2037, Belaid still has the world record, although he’d top himself four more times in later years.

Belaid also led the league in runs scored at 146, which was six behind Darwin Morris’s WAB record from 2001. He also led the league in triples (29), total bases (437), stolen bases (91), batting average (.389), and WAR (9.1). Belaid added 44 doubles, 23 home runs, 142 RBI, and a 1.041 OPS. He had three games with five hits and had a 21-game hit streak. Belaid beat out Port Harcourt slugger Zakari Emmanuel for MVP with the latter leading with 54 home runs and 162 RBI.

Lome veteran Nana Villars won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also won in 2010. The 31-year old Ghanaian righty had a 16-4 record, 2.90 ERA, and 272 strikeouts over 217 innings. Villars also had a 161 ERA+ and 6.6 WAR.

Port Harcourt swept Niamey in the first round, then got swept by Lome in the second round. Every Eastern League Championship Series of last five years was won by either the Lasers (2012) or Cotonou (2009, 2010, 2013), but this was their first time meeting in the ELCS. In a five-game classic, Lome upset the reigning champion Copperheads for their second pennant.



The Lasers made it two WAB titles in three years, winning the 40^th West African Championship 4-1 over Banjul. It was also the fifth straight title for an Eastern League team. Lome saw a WAB playoff record set by 1B Aboubakar Yao with 8 doubles. Yao also had 16 hits, 10 runs, and 12 home runs in 12 playoff starts.



Other notes: 2014 was the final season for legendary shortstop Darwin Morris, who retired at age 43. The 11-time MVP had bounced between five times in his final years and had dealt with injury woes. Morris retired with 194.4 WAR, the second-most in world history by any position player to that point behind only Jimmy Caliw’s 214.0 between his MLB/OBA tenures.

Morris retired as WAB’s all-time leader in games played (2939), hits (3288), runs (2234), home runs (806), RBI (2129), total bases (6681), and stolen bases (1165). He would lose the top spot in each as offensive numbers would explode across WAB in later years, but his WAR total still would be more than 60 points ahead of second place as of 2037. Morris’s 1.053 OPS would still be third in WAB in 2037 among any player with 3000+ plate appearances. Most still agree that Morris was WAB’s best-ever player and you could make a case that he’s a top ten talent in all of baseball history.

Another record broken by Fares Belaid in 2014 was playoff triples, as he managed six in only five games. There were two no-hitters thrown in 2014, which would be the final WAB no-nos thrown until 2021. Ahamad Mathew became the second to 700 career home runs and the sixth to 2500 hits. Christopher James became the first to 300 saves. He would finish with 377 saves, which held until the mid 2030s as WAB’s all-time record. SP Isaac Appiah, 1B Aliou Niang, and LF Julius Ayuba each won a seventh Gold Glove.

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Shanghai had the Northern League’s top record at 98-64, extending their playoff streak to a Chinese League record seven seasons. Eight games back in second was Xi’an at 90-72, earning their second playoff berth in three years. Ultimately, only three games separated second place from sixth.

Taking the final two playoff spots at 89-73 were defending NL champ Hangzhou and Qingdao. Harbin (88-74) and Shijiazhuang (87-75) both just missed the cut. The Devils earned their second playoff berth in three years. It was the first winning season for the Unicorns, who were part of the 2009 expansion. Dalian, first in the standings the prior year, finished ninth at 80-82.

Shijiazhuang LF Cheng Kang made history in his second season with only CLB’s third-ever hitting Triple Crown with 45 home runs, 102 RBI, and a .336 average. Only Shichao Zhang in 1984 and Liang Xu in 2009 had done it previously. Kang won his second Northern League MVP, joining very elite company with two MVPs in his first three years.

The 25-year old lefty also led the league in hits (189), total bases (344), OBP (.419), slugging (.612), OPS (1.031), wRC+ (252), and WAR (12.6). Kang’s season was so strong that he won Batter of the Month honors four times. Kang also picked up MVP honors in the All-Star Game.

Zhengzhou’s Yuandong Wang became only the fourth pitcher in CLB history to win Pitcher of the Year four times. The 27-year old lefty previously took it in 2009, 2010, and 2011 for the Zips. Wang won his first ERA title (1.25) and led with career bests in strikeouts (366), WHIP (0.72), and WAR (9.6). He had a 12-10 record over 245.2 innings and 187 ERA+.

In the Northern League’s Round Robin, top seed Shanghai finished first at 4-2. Both Xi’an and Hangzhou were 3-3 and Qingdao was 2-4. The Attack had the tiebreaker to advance to the semifinal for the first time since 1998. Meanwhile, the Seawolves had their second in three years. Shanghai was the heavy favorite, but Xi’an stunned them with a firm 4-1 victory. The Attack secured their fifth China Series appearance and first since 1995.



Reigning CLB champ Chengdu topped the Southern League standings at 96-66, matching Shanghai for CLB’s longest-ever playoff streak at seven years. Despite having two CLB titles in their run, this was the first time since 1998 that the Clowns finished first place in the SL regular season standings. Repeating as the second place finisher was Chongqing at 93-69.

Shenzhen’s playoff streak grew to four seasons at 90-72, although their first place streak ended at three years. The Spartans had historic pitching with a 1.77 team ERA and 337 runs allowed. That was tied for the second-fewest runs allowed by any CLB team and ranked third best in ERA. Both marks remain in those spots in 2037. Despite that, Shenzhen was only two games away from missing the playoffs entirely.

Shantou was one back at 89-73, taking the fourth and final playoff spot. Nanning at 88-74 fell one game short, while Changsha (83-79), Kunming (83-79), and Dongguan (82-80) were also in the mix. The Scorpions became the first of the 2009 expansion teams to earn a playoff spot. 88 wins was the first winning season for the Nuts. Meanwhile Hong Kong, winners of 91 in 2013, plummeted to 12^th at 71-91.

Chengdu’s Peng Wang won his third Southern League MVP in four years. The 30-year old first baseman led in home runs (52), RBI (114), OBP (.386), slugging (.693), OPS (1.078), and wRC+ (279). Wang’s .301 batting average fell two short of a Triple Crown season. He also had 12.9 WAR in what would be his final CLB season. Wang would leave for MLB money on a seven-year, $166,600,000 deal with San Francisco.

Notably, Wang was beaten in WAR by Shantou CF Zhenfeng Liu’s incredible 14.75 effort, which was the third-best in CLB history by a position player. His solid defense in center helped, but the 25-yar old Liu also had 111 runs, 45 homers, 102 RBI, 26 triples, 18 doubles, and a 249 wRC+.

Shenzhen’s Zheng Zhang won his third straight Pitcher of the Year. The 28-year old righty led in ERA again (1.12) and led in innings (274), quality starts (31), shutouts (8), and WAR (11.9). Zhang added 318 strikeouts, a 16-9 record, and 211 ERA+. He had only one more year with the Spartans before finding a payday in Russia for $65,200,000 over six years with Yekaterinburg.

#2 seed Chongqing ruled the Round Robin at 5-1, earning repeat semifinal appearances. #4 seed Shantou surprisingly joined them at 3-3, while both Shenzhen and Chengdu were 2-4. The semifinal was an all-time classic with the Scorpions taking it in seven games. Game seven needed 12 innings with Shantou prevailing by a 3-2 final.

Shantou joined West African Baseball’s Banjul in earning a finals appearance in only their sixth season since expansion, the fastest in any world league in baseball history. The Scorpions further made history though and did what the Bucks couldn’t do; win it all.



It took another seven game thriller, but Shantou defeated Xi’an in the 45^th China Series. WAR leader Zhenfeng Liu was finals MVP with 22 hits, 12 runs, 4 doubles, 7 triples, 3 home runs, and 7 RBI over 20 playoff starts. The seven triples set a CLB playoff record. The Scorpions became the 18^th different franchise in CLB to win the championship.



Other notes: Shanghai’s Yusheng Shang stole 101 bases, only the seventh time in CLB history that someone stole 100+. It was his second time, as he had 106 in 2012. CF Sheng-Yu Pei won his eighth Silver Slugger.

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Last year, Taipei set the Austronesia Professional Baseball wins record at 119-45, only to suffer a Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship loss to Zamboanga. The Tigercats stayed strong despite that disappointment with APB’s top record in 2014 at 107-55. Taipei earned a third straight Taiwan League title and their fifth in six years. It’s also six straight years with 98 or more victories.

Defending APB champ Zamboanga repeated as Philippine League champ at 99-63, holding off 91-71 Davao and 88-74 Cebu. The Zebras pitching staff allowed 987 hits with a .840 team WHIP; both the second lowest in TPA history behind only Tainan’s 1969 efforts.

Zamboanga’s pitching staff saw multiple records fall via Ching-Chen Yao, despite missing two months to a hamstring injury. Yao had a 0.73 ERA over 172 innings, beating the APB record of 0.89 set by Ahmad Syahmi Rusli. 162 innings were the qualifier for rate stats. With that, Yao also set the record for H/9 (3.66), WHIP (0.54), and opponent’s triple slash (.121/.156/.166) with a 322 OPS. These and his .933 winning percentage (14-1) are all still APB records as of 2037.

Yao’s mark was also the second-lowest qualifying ERA in any world league behind only CLB’s Zhiyuan Lai’s 0.71 in 1975. The OPS stands as a world record as of 2037 as well. The 26-year old lefty also had 12.1 WAR and 290 strikeouts, as well as a 22 strikeout game over 9.2 innings against Quezon. Despite all of that, Yao did NOT win his third Pitcher of the Year. Instead, Cebu’s Favian Frias won his second.

Frias’ effort was historic as well, matching Yao’s 0.54 WHIP to tie for a new world record. Yao did beat him officially with a .5407 WHIP compared to Frias’ .5447. Still, only once in the next two decades would any pitcher in any world league best that. The extra innings gave Frias more WAR at 14.4, which ranked as the 11^th-best APB effort by a pitcher to that point.

The 26-year old Frias over 253.1 innings led in strikeouts (388) and quality starts (31) and had his own 1.07 ERA and 19-8 record. Frias had an opponent’s OPS of .358, which would’ve been the new APB record if not for Yao. Frias’ triple slash of .129/.158/.200 were each only behind Yao.

Adding to Frias’ resume was APB’s 37^th perfect game on June 2 with 12 strikeouts against Taichung. Frias had a 250 ERA+ while Yao’s was a bonkers 362, but being healthy for a full year gave Frias the hardware. Even when accounting for the incredibly low-offense APB world, these were two remarkable pitching seasons.

Meanwhile, Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP went to Hsinchu LF Liu Hu. The sixth-year righty led in home runs (48), runs (93), OBP (.362), slugging (.594), OPS (.956), and wRC+ (204). Hu added 10.1 WAR, a .284 average, and 84 RBI. His Sweathogs earned their first-ever winning season in 2014 at 84-78. Hsinchu made sure to lock Hu up, giving him an eight-year, $160,600,000 extension in August 2014.



Defending Sundaland Association champ Bandung repeated atop the Java Sea League at 97-65, besting Surabaya by six games. The Blackhawks had a 1.87 team ERA and allowed 348 runs, which were both the second-lowest totals in all of APB history to that point. The only better was Jakarta’s 1.73 ERA and 324 runs allowed in 1985.

Pekanbaru won the APB title in 2011, but were just above .500 in the next two years. The Palms returned to the top of the Malacca League in 2014 at 94-68. Medan, who won the title in the prior two seasons, was second at 89-73. Kuala Lumpur was third at 87-75, which was their first winning season since leaving South Asia Baseball for APB in 2008.

Leading the Palms was 1B Ali Yusuf, who repeated as Sundaland Association MVP. The 29-year old Indonesian lefty led in OBP (.365), slugging (.559), OPS (.924), and wRC+ (221). Yusuk added 9.8 WAR, a .281 average, 38 home runs, and 81 RBI. Pekanbaru would give Yusuf a six-year, $125,400,000 extension in June 2015.

Bandung’s Gosner Rahmawati repeated as Pitcher of the Year. The 26-year old lefty led in wins (20-5), and ERA (1.28). Rahmawati had 280 strikeouts over 260 innings with a 189 ERA+ and 7.8 WAR. The Blackhawks had extended him for five years and $56,700,000 the prior winter with it already paying dividends.

Taipei’s playoff woes continued as once again despite being the top seed, they lost the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship. It wasn’t even particularly close as Zamboanga won 4-1 for the repeat and their fifth pennant overall. The Tigercats are now 0-5 in the Association final in the last six years despite averaging 107 wins over that stretch, making a case as one of the all-time great flops in baseball history.

The Sundaland Association Championship had drama as it was the first to need all seven games since 2008. Pekanbaru denied Bandung’s repeat bid, giving the Palms their third-ever pennant (1965, 2011, 2014). The Palms would earn their second APB Championship win in four years, denying Zamboanga’s repeat bid.



The 50^th ABP Championship went 4-2 to Pekanbaru over the Zebras with 3B Nicky Abizar leading the way. The 11^th-year Palms star had been steady, winning his eighth Silver Slugger in 2014. He added finals MVP to his trophies along with his second championship ring. In 13 starts, the 33-year old Abizar had 12 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 5 home runs, and 10 RBI.



Other notes: Bima Idris became the 19^th pitcher to 200 wins and the 25^th to 3500 strikeouts. Metta Adam became the seventh to reach 300 saves. Ignatius Handayani became the 17^th member of the 400 homer club. RF Troy Ferra won his eighth Gold Glove and RF Shih-Chieh Tseng won his seventh. Ching-Hui Lin won his eighth Silver Slugger and his fourth in right field. His first four came as a DH.

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The end of the 2014 season marked 50 years of play for Austronesia Professional Baseball, becoming the eighth major pro league to reach the milestone. Below is a look at how the first 50 years played out.



APB has seen an impressive among of parity overall, not counting the four teams that joined in the late 2000s. The longest playoff streak was only seven years (Davao from 2005-2011). The Devil Rays have the top team score of any Taiwan-Philippine Association team and have the most playoff appearances at 16. They have the best average wins of any Philippine League team, but are third in the TPA.

Surprisingly, Taichung has the best winning percentage in the TPA despite being ranked 8^th in playoff appearances in the TPA. Taipei has the most playoff berths of the Taiwan League teams at 13. Taoyuan has the most APB championships of the group with six despite having a below .500 winning percentage. The Tsumani and Davao are tied for the most TPA pennants at 8 each.

Medan has the top Sundaland Association team score at 95, tied for the top overall with in APB with Davao. The Marlins have the most playoff appearances of any team at 18, although Jakarta has the best win percentage with 85.1 wins per year. The Jaguars have the most APB titles (6) of the SA teams and the most pennants of any team at 9. However, Jakarta has the fourth most playoff berths in the SA. Surabaya leads all Java League teams with 13. The Malacca League is led by Medan’s 18 with Batam at 15.

Of the original 20 teams, 16 have won at least one APB championship with only Depok, Singapore, Tainan, and Palembang ringless. The Demons are the only original team without at least one pennant while the other three each have three or four. The Panthers have the worst average wins per year (76.6) of the original teams.

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Reigning Oceania Champion Christchurch repeated as Australasia League champ at 105-57, earning their tenth pennant. The Chinooks’ 816 runs scored were the best in all of OBA. Melbourne was their closest foe at 99-63, extending their streak of winning seasons to 12 years. The Mets had the fewest runs allowed in OBA at 509.

There was a decent drop to third place Perth at 90-72. Both Sydney and Canberra won 90+ games in 2013, but both fell below .500 in 2014. Expansion Hobart was fifth at 81-81, their best mark yet since joining OBA in the 2006 season.

Christchurch DH Roe Kaupa remained a critical signing with his second Australasia League MVP in two seasons with the Chinooks. It was the third MVP for the 27-year old Papuan lefty, who also won in 2011 with Timor. Kaupa posted the ninth Triple Crown hitting season in OBA history with 66 home runs, 159 RBI, and a .335 batting average. There wouldn’t be another hitting Triple Crown in OBA until 2036.

Kaupa’s 66 home runs was tied for the fourth most in an OBA season and was only three behind Vavao Brighouse’s record 69 from both 1988 and 1995. Kaupa was only the third OBA player to top 150+ RBI, falling two short of Brighouse’s record 161. Kaupa’s 159 still ranks second-best as of 2037. He also scored 130 runs, six short of Kiryl Savchuk’s record 136 from 2001.

Additionally, Kaupa led the league in total bases (467), OBP (.410), slugging (.771), OPS (1.180), wRC+ (212), and WAR (10.1). The 467 total bases fell five short of the record 472 set the prior year by Merlin Megson. Kaupa’s OPS was also the second-best ever season only behind Megson’s 1.209 and his slugging mark ranked third-best. Those marks still hold as of 2037.

Perth’s Raj Marple won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years. The 27-year old Australian lefty led in strikeouts (411), K/BB (7.1), quality starts (33), FIP- (57), and WAR (12.2). Marple also had a 2.39 ERA, 22-11 record, 324 innings, and 157 ERA+. He by far had the most WAR, although he was just behind Melbourne’s Sarwan Singh in ERA (2.20) and wins (25-11).



Tahiti destroyed the Pacific League competition at 109-53, returning to the thrown after a second in 2013 and third in 2012. The Tropics led the PL in both runs scored (813) and runs allowed (533). This was Tahiti’s 12^th consecutive 90+ win season and their seventh pennant in that stretch. It was also their 12^th PL title overall, behind only Guam (14) and Honolulu (13) for the most.

A distant second at 18 games back was 91-71 Samoa, followed by Guam at 89-73. The two-time defending PL champs Guadalcanal fell from their historic 115-win 2013 effort down to a fourth place 87-75. Vanuatu notably was fifth at 86-76, posting their first winning season since joining OBA in the 2006 expansion.

Pacific League MVP was Guam 1B R.W. Putnam. The 24-year old Hawaiian lefty was already in his sixth season with the Golden Eagles and exploded with league bests in runs (125), home runs (57), RBI (131), total bases (392), slugging (.690), OPS (1.074), wRC+ (204), and WAR (10.2). Putnam also had a .322 average, placing third. He was committed to Guam, signing an eight-year extension back before the 2012 season.

Flynn Murphy won Pitcher of the Year in his debut with Tahiti. The 31-year old Australian lefty had taken twice back in 2009 and 2010 with Auckland. Murphy joined the Tropics for 2014 on a five-year, $48,500,000 deal and immediately delivered, leading in wins (24-9), ERA (2.43), WHIP (0.90), quality starts (31), and WAR (10.9). He had 311.1 innings and 395 strikeouts, second to Akira Brady’s 440. It did end Brady’s streak of four straight POTY wins, although he topped 400 Ks for the fifth straight season.



Despite the general success of both franchises, the 55^th Oceania Championship was the first-ever finals meeting between Christchurch and Tahiti. The Chinooks pulled off the repeat, taking the series 4-1. It was Christchurch’s third-ever title (1963), putting them at 3-7 all-time in the championship compared to Tahiti’s 5-7. The Chinooks became the seventh franchise to earn a repeat.



Finals MVP was 1B Bernard Nyikeine, who won PL MVP the prior year with Guadalcanal. He joined the Chinooks for 2014 on a seven-year, $95,200,000 free agent deal. Although the 29-year old New Caledonian’s regular season production dropped steeply, he stepped up in the playoffs going 8-19 with 1 home run, 3 RBI, and 1 run.

Other notes: Christchurch’s Alison Kila set a new single-season OBA record for K/9 at 14.02, which remains the all-time mark as of 2037. Kila struck out 380 batters over 244 innings. PL MVP R.W. Putnam had a 31-game hit streak, which was three away from Kiryl Savchuk’s record 34.

Arjita Gabeja became the second OBA player to reach both 700 home runs and 1500 runs scored. The effort also earned his tenth Silver Slugger and second as a DH. He would retire after 2017 with 786 homers, short of Vavao Brighouse’s record 804. Gabeja would pass Junia Lava for the all-time runs mark, finishing with 1683. He ranks fourth as of 2037. Tahiti’s Ashton Hughes won his 12^th straight Gold Glove in center field. This joined OF Martin Topio (13) as the only OBA players with 12+ Gold Gloves.

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*Editors note: I meant to do an OBA after 50 years post, but forgot. So here’s one after 55 years.

The Oceania Baseball Association became the seventh world league to complete 50 seasons. 2014 marked the 55^th year of OBA and below are the results thus far.



Melbourne’s impressive decade of dominance pushed them to the top team score of all OBA teams and the best average wins per year among Australasia League teams at 85.4. The Mets also have more pennants than anyone at 15. They and Adelaide are tied for the most OBA titles among AL teams at eight each as the Aardvarks have fared well in the finals.

Christchurch has the second-most pennants of the AL teams with 10, but a lackluster 3-7 finals record compared to Adelaide’s 8-1. Perth actually has the worst win tally of the original AL teams, but has eight pennants and are 4-4 in the finals. Sydney is the only of OBA’s original 16 teams without a single pennant.

In the Pacific League, Honolulu’s eight OBA titles match the high mark of Melbourne and Adelaide and gives them the PL’s best team score. Guam has the best average wins of any OBA team at 88.6 and has the Honu beat in pennants 14-13. The Golden Eagles have six OBA titles, which ranks fourth best among all teams. Tahiti is close behind with five and has 12 pennants overall.

The PL has had less overall parity than the AL, although all of its original eight teams have at least one pennant. Fiji is the only of the PL’s originals without an OBA ring. New Caledonia at 75.8 wins per season has the least wins of any original team. Naturally, the four 2006 expansion teams have yet to find success in their limited nine year existences.

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Two-time defending European League and reigning Eurasian Professional Baseball champ Rostov topped the EL standings at 102-60. The Rhinos scored 695 runs, which was the top mark in EPB. In a close battle for second, Moscow (94-68) edged Kazan (92-70) for the wild card. This ended a two-year drought for the Mules and stopped the Crusaders’ two-year streak. The former powerhouse Minsk followed up their franchise-worst 67-95 from 2013 by losing thrice more at 64-98.

Leading Moscow back to the playoffs was European League MVP Yuriy Isakov. The 24-year old Azeri left fielder was in his sixth season already with the Mules and led in hits (214), doubles (36), total bases (369), stolen bases (93), triple slash (.381/.441/.657), OPS (1.097), wRC+ (228), and WAR (11.8). Iaskov’s .381 average was the second-best in EPB history to that point behind only his own .411 from 2012. In May 2014, Moscow gave him the bag with an eight-year, $64,900,000 extension.

Kazan’s Roman Khilkevich won Pitcher of the Year. The 26-year old Belarusian lefty had a big comeback after a torn rotator cuff the prior season. Khilkevich led in wins (25-8), innings (279.1), strikeouts (308), quality starts (26), and WAR (8.1). He had a 152 ERA+ and 2.06 ERA, second only to Samar’s Semyon Vankov at 1.83.



Omsk earned back-to-back playoff berths and their fourth in five years. For the third time in that stretch, the Otters led the Asian League standings at 104-58. Nine games away in second was Ufa at 95-67, earning their first playoff berth since 2007. Last year’s AL champ Ulaanbaatar fell to third at 88-74. Yekaterinburg was fourth at 83-79, which grew their streak of winning seasons to 16 years. It was notably the Yaks’ lowest win total of that run.

Ufa’s Nikolay Kargopolcev repeated as Asian League MVP and won his third in four years. The 27-year old Russian right fielder led in runs (91), homers (47), RBI (109), total bases (344), slugging (.609), OPS (.928), and wRC+ (177). Kargopolcev also had a .294 average and 6.7 WAR. The Fiends had given him an eight-year, $74,700,000 extension the prior spring.

Pitcher of the Year also went to Ufa and Kolya Portnov. The 28-year old Russian righty led in wins (20-8), ERA (1.93), quality starts (27), and WAR (9.0). Portnov added 298 strikeouts in 256.2 innings and a 167 ERA+. The Fiends wouldn’t splurge on him and he’d leave after the 2017 season for Irkutsk.

The European League Championship Series was a seven-game classic, but Rostov pulled off the three-peat and beat Moscow. The Rhinos are the first EL to three-peat since the 2005-07 Mules. Omsk ousted Ufa 4-2 in the Asian League final for their third pennant in five years and their seventh overall. With the loss, the Fiends remained the only charter EPB team still without a pennant.



Rostov’s repeat bid was denied in the 60^th EPB Championship. Omsk prevailed 4-2 for their second title, joining the 2010 trophy on the shelf. Seven-time Gold Glove RF Elbeyi Shevchenko was the finals MVP, stepping up with his bat in the playoffs. In 12 starts, he had 11 hits, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers, 5 RBI, and 5 steals. This would be the big highlight in a Hall of Pretty Good career for Shevchenko, who would win 11 Gold Gloves over 13 years starting for the Otters.



Other notes: CF Khuday Kakimow won his eighth Gold Glove and SS Mehmet Ucar won his seventh.

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The Northern Conference’s Northwest Division was remarkably stacked with four teams at 98+ wins. This group ultimately had the top three records in the entire European Baseball Federation. Paris repeated as the top overall seed at 106-56 and earned a third straight playoff berth. Only one back was 105-57 Amsterdam, who finished back-to-back seasons as a 100+ win wild card team.

Close behind was 103-59 Antwerp for their first-ever playoff berth in the EBF Elite tier, taking the second wild card. The Airedales smacked 287 home runs, the third-most by a team in EBF history. Brussels posted back-to-back 98-64 seasons but yet again, the Beavers had the misfortune of that not being enough for a playoff berth. This was the ninth straight winning season for Brussels, who have averaged 95.8 wins in that run.

The #2 seed went to defending European Champion Dublin, who dominated the British Isles Division at 98-64. The Dinos grew their playoff and division title streak to seven years and had their tenth straight 90+ win season, averaging 101.3 wins over the decade. Birmingham was a distant second at 86-76, which snapped their four-year playoff streak.

The Baltic Sea Division went to Oslo for the sixth consecutive year. The Octopi were 97-65, nine better than Warsaw and ten ahead of Stockholm. Cologne was the only North Central Division team above .500 at 94-68, giving the Copperheads five straight division titles. Prague’s three-year playoff streak ended at 80-82.

Unfortunately for Luxembourg, sharing the stacked Northwest Division gave them the worst record in the Northern Conference at 59-103. The Lancers had been conference champ only five years prior, but were now relegated for the first time. They would be the only relegated team from the NC, as no one else lost 100+ games. Vilnius (64-98) and Frankfurt (66-96) were the closest to demotion, but survived.

Oslo shortstop Harvey Coyle joined Sean Houston as the only six-time Northern Conference MVPs. Unlike Houston, Coyle earned his consecutively. The 27-year old English switch hitter led in home runs (58) and WAR (12.9) while winning his seventh Gold Glove with a 32.4 zone rating and 1.151 EFF. Coyle added 127 RBI, a .325/.390/.692 slash, and 202 wRC+.

It was his seventh consecutive season worth 12+ WAR, certainly living up to the $142,200,000, eight-year extension he signed the prior December. This was already the EBF record for 12+ WAR seasons and tied WAB legend Darwin Morris for the most by any position player in world history. Legendary South American pitcher Mohamed Ramos did it nine times for the world record at that point.

In his first full season, Paris lefty Gian Tosoni won Pitcher of the Year. The 26-year old Italian had been a part-timer with 22 games in the prior three years for the Poodles. Tosoni led in wins (21-8) and posted a 2.47 ERA over 259 innings, 276 strikeouts, 150 ERA+, and 5.7 WAR. Apart from this season, Tosoni had an unremarkable journeyman career. He needed elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in late 2016 and was never quite the same after.

Amsterdam again suffered a first round playoff exit as a 100+ win wild card, losing 2-1 to Cologne. Antwerp avoided the same fate, winning 2-0 at Oslo. The Octopi remained a playoff dud with their fifth round one exit of their six-year playoff streak. Home field prevailed I round two as Paris topped the Copperheads 3-1 and Dublin dropped the Airedales 3-1.

The reigning champ Dinos had a shot at a historic fourth Northern Conference crown in five years. This was the Poodles’ third straight conference final, having lost to Dublin the prior year and to Cologne in 2012. Paris reserved their fortunes with an emphatic sweep of the Dinos, giving the French capital its first pennant since 1997. It was the sixth pennant overall for Paris.



The Southern Conference had significant parity as only seven wins separated the top overall seed from the second wild card team. Fresh off their European Second League championship in 2013, Valencia’s top tier return was an impressive 95-67 season. This won the Southwest Division and earned their first-ever EBF Elite playoff berth.

The Vandals followed the path laid out by Zaragoza, who made the E2L finals in 2012, then won the SC pennant in their 2013 top tier debut. The Gold Hawks were two behind Valencia at 93-69, which snagged them the first wild card. Elsewhere in the division, Barcelona (85-770 and Lisbon (82-80) missed the cut. Notably Madrid dropped to 71-91, their worst season since 1967.

Marseille had the #2 seed, winning the South Central Division at 94-68. The Musketeers were six ahead of Rome, seven better than Zurich, and ten ahead of Milan. Marseille returned to the playoff field after having a four-year streak snapped in 2013.

Budapest won the East Central Division and Athens took the Southeast Division; both at 90-72. Both won by three games with Bucharest behind the Bombers and Yerevan behind the Anchors each at 87-75. Athens won its sixth straight division title and earned a seventh playoff berth in a row, while Budapest had its second berth in three years. Notably Vienna fell to 75-87, seeing their bid for a third consecutive division title thwarted.

It was a major traffic jam for the second wild card with Rome (88-74) emerging with the slot. Zurich, Yerevan, and Bucharest were each one back, Barcelona was three back, Milan was four back, and both Lisbon and Malta were six back. The Red Wolves had just gotten promoted back after a four-year stint in the Second League. This was their first top-tier playoff berth since 2000.

Seville at 61-101 had the worst record and was relegated for the second time. The Stingrays had gotten dropped after 2005, but had made it back after only one year. They were the only SC team to fall with no one else losing 100+ games. Munich was the closest to doom at 66-96, which was a notably bad season for a historically strong franchise. The only time the Mavericks ever did worse was a 63-99 campaign back in 1966.

Belgrade was generally irrelevant at 77-85, but their second-year LF Danijel Rajovic won Southern Conference MVP. The 24-year old Serbian lefty led in total bases (399), OPS (1.113), wRC+ (202), and WAR (9.9). Rajovic also had 43 home runs, 126 RBI, 222 hits, a .380/.430/.683 slash, and 113 runs.

Zagreb likewise wasn’t great at 80-82, but their third-year lefty A.J. Magee won Pitcher of the Year. The 24-year old from Northern Ireland led in wins (20-9) and complete games (12). Magee added a 2.24 ERA, 257.1 innings, 227 strikeouts, 7.7 WAR, and 173 ERA+. Little was expected of him as an amateur, getting picked late in the fourth round in 2009. Magee’s legendary changeup would make him arguably the best European pitcher over the next decade.

Defending conference champ Zaragoza swept Budapest in the first round while Athens swept Rome. The Gold Hawks would fall to Valencia in a round two sweep and Marseille outlasted the Anchors 3-2. This was Marseille’s first Southern Conference Championship appearance since 2009. Valencia would deny the Musketeers 4-2 and mirror Zaragoza’s run from the prior year.

Valencia and Zaragoza were the first teams to start with the Second League’s creation in 2005 and earn an EBF Elite conference title. Both also pulled off going from a Second League finalist one year to a top-tier finalist the next. The Vandals would suffer the same fate as the Gold Hawks though, falling in the European Championship.



The 65^th European Championship saw Paris cruise to a sweep of Valencia, giving the Poodles their third title (1970, 1997). This also made five straight seasons where the Northern Conference champ won it all. CF Joris Kostic had a huge postseason, taking MVP of the conference finals and the European Championship.



The 34-year old Austrian had signed a five-year, $49,000,000 deal in 2012 with Paris after a nine-year run with Krakow, including an MVP back in 2004. Injuries had limited the former #1 overall pick, but he delivered big in 2014 for the Poodles. In 11 playoff starts, Kostic had 18 hits, 11 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 12 RBI, and 4 stolen bases with a 1.236 OPS and 260 wRC+.

Other notes: EBF’s 34^th and 35^th perfect games were thrown in 2014. On May 26, Tirana’s Miles Wilson did it with four strikeouts against Munich. Then on September 16, Amsterdam’s Rick Butler did it in a 10 K effort over Frankfurt. Notably, these would be the last perfect games in EBF until 2022. Krakow’s Romualdas Malinauskas had a 34-game hitting streak, which ranked ninth to that point in EBF history.

Carsten Dal became EBF’s new career hits king, passing Jacob Ronnberg’s 3520. Dal would finish after 2015 with 3633 and although his reign would be short-lived, he still ranks third as of 2037. Dal ended 2014 only nine runs behind Ronnberg for the most runs in EBF history.

Dal did make world history in 2014 by passing EAB’s Yoon-Soo Hyoun (449) as the world leader in triples, finishing his career with 457. He would hold that distinction for around 20 years. He was already the world’s stolen bases leader with 1984 after the 2014 season.

Francisco Cruz (who would later pass Dal in hits) became the eighth member of the 3000 hit club. Alan Dikov became the 14^th to reach 600 home runs. Cruz, Per Berg, and Sam Connor each reached 500 homers, making 29 guys in that club. Both Connor and Berg also got to 1500 RBI, making 21 sluggers to do so. Berg, Jiri Lebr, and Amerigo Cortes each earned their 2500^th hit in 2014, putting 32 players past that distinction. Blazej Swierczewski was the 15^th to score 1500 runs.

In pitching milestones, Stefan Sedlak became the tenth closer to earn 300 saves. Geoffrey Hebert was the 47^th to reach 3000 strikeouts. MVP Harvey Coyle won his seventh Gold Glove and eighth Silver Slugger at shortstop. 1B Wilfried Keilbach won his ninth Gold Glove, tying the position record. LF Alessandro Surina won his eighth Gold Glove.

Promotion/Relegation: Only the worst team in each conference was dropped in 2014; Seville and Luxembourg. Thus, the Second League finalists Cardiff and Sarajevo were promoted. The Crew were moved to the British Isles Division, while Reykjavik was swapped into the Lancers’ Northwest Division spot. The Salukis were placed into the South Central Division and that division’s champ Marseille was sent to plug the Stingrays’ Southwest Division spot.

Both Seville and Luxembourg were placed in the Second League’s Western Conference, which required one team to swap conferences. Wroclaw would be the squad to move into the Eastern Conference’s vacancy.

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Defending Bolivar League champ Medellin took the top seed again at 103-59, winning a fourth consecutive Colombia-Ecuador Division. The Mutiny have averaged 102 wins per season over this impressive run. Guayaquil was nine back at 94-68, which was plenty for the first wild card. The Golds earned back-to-back wild cards and their sixth playoff berth in seven years. Guayaquil also grew its streak of winning seasons to 11.

The #2 seed was Santa Cruz at 96-66 atop the Peru-Bolivia Division, returning to the playoffs after their seven-year streak ended in 2013. Second was Callao at 89-73, who took the second wild card by three games over Colombia’s Barranquilla. It was the fifth playoff berth in seven years for the Cats. Meanwhile the Blues notably were the first of the 2009 BL expansion teams with a winning season. Last year’s P-B division winner Arequipa was a non-factor at 75-87.

Barquisimeto took the Venezuela Division firmly at 95-67, 13 games better than their nearest foe Valencia. The Black Cats grew the longest active playoff streak in Beisbol Sudamerica to seven years, although it was their first division title since 2011. Last year’s BLS runner-up Maracaibo fell off to 76-86.

Both major award winners went to Barquisimeto, led by Bolivar League MVP Jerome Gendron. The third-year left fielder from French Guiana led in the triple slash (.379/.406/.645), OPS (1.051), and wRC+ (187). Gendron added 8.0 WAR, 209 hits, 100 runs, 34 home runs, and 90 stolen bases.

Meanwhile teammate Sebastian Marquez won his third consecutive Pitcher of the Year and his fifth in six years. He became the eighth in BSA history to win POTY five or more times. The 28-year old Venezuelan righty led in wins (19-10), innings (269.2), strikeouts (313), WHIP (0.91), complete games (18), and shutouts (4). Marquez was second in ERA (2.44) and WAR (8.0), behind only Santa Cruz’s Mano de Anda at 2.16 and 8.7. The Black Cats gave Marquez a six-year, $68,200,000 extension in April.

Guayaquil beat Callao 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs, but fell 3-1 to Medellin in the Divisional Series. On the other side, Santa Cruz survived in five against Barquisimeto. This gave the Mutiny their third straight Bolivar League Championship Series appearance and the first since their 2008-2010 three-peat for the Crawfish. Medellin would secure the repeat 4-2 over Santa Cruz, giving the Munity their 12^th pennant overall. This put them one behind Caracas for the most by any BL teams.



Fortaleza won Copa Sudamerica in 2013 as a wild card. The Foxes would be the #1 seed in 2014 at 104-58 for their third straight playoff berth and sixth in seven years. Fortaleza set a new Southern Cone League record for team on-base percentage at .340 and had the third-most runs in league history at 844. Both marks sit third as of 2037.

It was notably the Foxes’ first North Division title since 2010 and didn’t come easy with defending division champ Recife at 102-60. The Retrievers easily got the first wild card for their fifth playoff appearance in six seasons. Belo Horizonte bounced back from an abysmal 61-win 2013 to go 88-74 in 2014, but the Hogs fell short of the second wild card.

Concepcion won a third straight South Central Division title at 93-69 and earned their fourth straight playoff berth. The Chiefs set the new league record for doubles with 302, which still holds in 2037. Cordoba (89-73), Santiago (88-74) and Salta (84-78) were their foes, but each also fell just short for the second wild card. Notably, the Silver Hawks were the first of the 2009 expansion teams in the Southern Cone with a winning record.

Sao Paulo won the Southeast Division at 93-69 for their fifth straight playoff berth and fourth division title of that run. Montevideo was right behind at 91-71 and got the second wild card, ending a 15-year playoff drought. That had been the longest active drought in BSA. The Venom also set a new league record with a team .495 slugging percentage. Last year’s division winner Rosario fell to 77-85.

Recife swept the major awards, led by the second MVP for 3B Niccolo Coelho. In his ninth year for the Retrievers, the 31-year old Brazilian righty led in OBP (.423), slugging (.702), OPS (1.125), wRC+ (201), and WAR (11.4). Coelho added 51 home runs, 117 RBI, a .354 average, and 118 runs. He beat out a 66 home run, 146 RBI season by Fortaleza’s Antonio Arceo. The beloved Coelho singed a seven-year, $68,900,000 extension in August 2012.

Teammate Samuel Alves was Pitcher of the Year in his tenth season for Recife. The 32-year old Brazilian righty led in ERA at 1.88 and posted a 16-5 record, 234 strikeouts, and 6.7 WAR over 215.1 innings. Alves would miss most of 2015 to a hamstring strain, but still earned a five-year, $53,700,000 that winter.

Sao Paulo swept Montevideo in the first round and took Fortaleza to the limit, although the top-seeded Foxes escaped with a 3-2 divisional series win. Recife had no trouble and swept Conception, setting up a rematch in the Southern Cone Championship. This had become quite the recent playoff rivalry between the division rivals.

The Retrievers upset the top-seed Foxes in the 2009 divisional series, then upset them in the 2010 LCS. Fortaleza got revenge as the road underdog in the 2013 LCS. The Foxes had home field in 2014, but this time it wasn’t a curse. Fortaleza rolled 4-1 over Recife to repeat and earn their tenth pennant.



The 84^th Copa Sudamerica was the fifth rematch in cup history and the first since Lima vs. Asuncion in 1997-98. It was the third meeting between Medellin and Fortaleza with the Foxes having won in both 1967 and 2013. The 2014 showdown would be far more exciting than the 4-1 result from the prior year, needing all seven games for the first time since 2003.

Medellin finally got one over Fortaleza, ending a 44-year Cup drought back to 1969. The Mutiny (1931, 34, 37, 47, 69, 2014) joined Sao Paulo, Salvador, and Buenos Aires with the most Cup wins at six apiece. Leading the way was two-time league MVP Manuel Marquez, who was the MVP of all three playoff rounds. In his 11^th year with the Mutiny, Marquez had an all-time legendary playoff run.



The 30-year old Colombian RF in 17 playoff games had 34 hits, 18 runs, 7 doubles, 2 triples, 11 home runs, 28 RBI, a .472/.480/1.083 slash, 324 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR. The 28 RBI and 78 total bases were world records in any league’s postseason and still hold as such in 2037. The 11 homers tied the then-world record, although that would later get topped elsewhere. Marquez still has BSA’s HR and hits records.

Other notes: Owen Arcia became Beisbol Sudamerica’s all-time hits leader in 2014, passing Javier Herrera’s 3597. Arcia would play one more year and end with 3940, which is still BSA’s top mark as of 2037. He also passed Herrera’s 618 doubles to become the BSA leader. Arcia would finish with 643, which still holds as the BSA best. He also would retire with 1904 runs, second to Milton Becker’s 1980. Longevity and consistency were the key for Arcia, who only won a Silver Slugger once in his 20-year run.

Santiago’s Cierco Lugo became the eighth BSA player with a four home run game, going it against Cordoba on August 21. Arsenio Arauo, D.J. Serna, and Hector Correa each joined the 600 home run club, making it a 17-member club. Correa also became the 14^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Catcher Cicero Lugo won his seventh straight Silver Slugger. Hugo Ayala and Delfino Rivera became the 29^th and 30^th to reach 300 career saves.

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Three of the four division champs were repeat winners in the Japan League. Kyoto took the top overall seed at 101-61 for their fourth Central Division title in five years. Two-time defending champ Hiroshima won a third straight West Division at 97-65, beating Kumamoto by seven games. Sendai repeated in the North Division at 89-73, topping Sapporo by five games.

The one new division winner was Yokohama in the Capital Division at 95-67, edging last year’s #1 seed Chiba by three games. The Yellow Jackets ended what was the JL’s longest active playoff drought at 22 seasons. The prior year, Yokohama had posted their first winning season since 2000.

Hiroshima LF Hitoshi Kubota made history as the first six-time MVP in East Asia Baseball history. The 31-year old switch hitter won his third straight Japan League MVP and his eighth Silver Slugger. The Hammerheads star led in runs (110), OPS (1.047), and wRC+ (207). Kubota added 47 home runs, 122 RBI, a .332 average, and 9.2 WAR.

Kyoto’s Takeo Nagai won Pitcher of the Year and his fourth Gold Glove. The 30-year old righty was in his third year with the Kamikaze, signing for seven years and $64,600,000 in 2012 after starting with Kitakyushu. Nagai led in wins (21-7) and quality starts (27). He added a 2.40 ERA over 247.2 innings, 252 strikeouts, 146 ERA+, and 7.4 WAR. Nagai also had a no-hitter against Yokohama in July with five strikeouts and two walks.

Both first round series went all five games with Hiroshima edging Yokohama and Kyoto topping Sendai. The Kamikaze and Hammerheads had won the last four pennants between them, but this was their first Japan League Championship Series meeting ever. Hiroshima had swept Kyoto in the first round in 2013 en route to repeat titles. The Kamikaze got their revenge, beating Hiroshima 4-3 in a classic. It was Kyoto’s third title in five years and their sixth overall.



The big shocker in the Korea League was the collapse of defending EAB champ Daegu. The Diamondbacks won 109 games en route to the 2013 title, but plummeted to 67-95 in 2014. That was Daegu’s lowest win total since 1968. It did open up opportunities for new potential contenders.

Ulsan had the top seed at 105-57, winning the South Division and earning a third straight playoff berth. Gwangju gave them a strong challenge at 101-61, easily getting the first wild card. It was repeat playoff berths for the Grays and their sixth in seven years.

Incheon bounced back from a 72-win 2013 and won the North Division at 102-60. While it was the Inferno’s second berth in three years, it was their first division title since 2006. Second in the division was Seongnam at 89-73, which narrowly gave them the second wild card. The Spiders ended a five-year playoff drought.

Just missing the cut were Daejeon (88-74), Jeonju (87-75), and Pyongyang (86-76). For the Ducks, this was their first winning season in 15 years. Unfortunately for them, they continued EAB’s longest active playoff drought at 26 years going back to 1988.

Stunning the baseball world in his first full season was DH Kunihiko Ishiguro, who won Korea League MVP for Gwangju. He officially wasn’t a rookie because of 74 games in 2013, but he had only started six games. Ishiguro started all 162 in 2014 and the 21-year old lefty crushed 79 home runs. This broke EAB’s previous high of 73 by Soo-Geun Yim in 2005. The only seasons with more in any world league to this point were the bonkers 91, 85, and 85 by South Asia Baseball’s Majed Darwish from 2008-10.

Ishiguro also led the league in runs (133), RBI (163), total bases (491), slugging (.765), OPS (1.124), wRC+ (198), and WAR (9.8). He remains EAB’s single-season home run king as of 2037 and his total bases record held until 2028. The RBI mark ranked third-best to that point with Jae-Hee Sin’s top mark of 175 from 1921 holding strong.

Ishiguro also had 209 hits, a .326 average and .359 OBP. His slugging was only the seventh-best in EAB history to that point, owing to a lack of non-homer extra base hits. Convinced they’d hit the jackpot, Gwangju gave him an eight-year, $82,540,000 extension in the winter.

Jae-Ha Jung won his second Pitcher of the Year and his first with Seongnam, who he signed with in 2013 for six years and $87,000,000. Jung won POTY previously in 2011 with Daegu. In 2014, the 29-year old righty led in wins (20-10), quality starts (22), and complete games (19). Jung added a 2.87 ERA over 267 innings, 282 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR.

Seongnam stunned top seed Ulsan with a first round sweep, giving the Spiders their first Korea League Championship Series since 2008. The disappointments continue for Ulsan, who have been ousted in the first round in their last seven playoff appearances. Five of those seven were 100+ win season as well, adding to the sting for the Swallows.

On the other side, Gwangju outlasted Incheon 3-2 for their third KLCS in five years. However, the Grays title drought dated back to 1993. Seongnam’s title drought was back to 2003. Although both were wild cards, 101-win Gwangju was the major favorite. Yet, the Spiders pulled off the upset 4-2 for their fifth pennant.



The 94^th East Asian Championship was the first to go all seven games since Niigata/Goyang in 2008. Kyoto prevailed over Seongnam to give the Kamikaze their third title in five years and their fifth overall (1974, 1976, 2010, 2011, 2014). They’re the first team to win three in five years since Kitakyushu’s 1992-94 three-peat. The only other teams do achieve that were Hiroshima (1969-72), Pyongyang (six from 1961-68), Hamhung (1955-58), and Sapporo (1947-51).



Leading the way was LF Mitsunari Murakoshi, who was finals and JLCS MVP. The 27-year old in 14 playoff starts had 21 hits, 5 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, and 10 RBI. Manager Julian Loftus became only the fourth manager in EAB history with three titles. He did this despite retiring just above .500 after the 2015 season at 1146-1122. Loftus had an odd career before starting with Kyoto in 2002, holding managing jobs in BSA with Arequipa, OBA with Honolulu, and AAB with Harare.

Other notes: Koji Iwasaki became the third member of the 800 home run club. He played one more year to retire with 813, which ranks sixth as of 2037. Soo-Geun Yim became the 21^st to reach 3000 hits. SS Do-Hyeon Ju won his eighth Gold Glove. C Ha-Jun Au and OF Sang-Jun Gang won their seventh Silver Sluggers.

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Defending Central American Baseball Association champion Torreon set a franchise-record at 107-55, earning the Mexican League’s top seed and the North Division title. Both wild cards came out of the division as well led by 101-61 Juarez. The Jesters earned their third playoff berth in four years and led the ML with 835 runs scored.

Hermosillo (93-69) narrowly edged Monterrey (92-70) for the second wild card. The Hyenas ended a three-year playoff drought, while the Matadors ended a three-year streak. Despite missing the field, Monterrey’s record streak of winning seasons grew to 28 years. Leon repeated as South Division champ at 93-69 and allowed the fewest runs at 555. Ecatepec and Guadalajara were both 84-78, falling nine games short of both the division and the second wild card.

Mexico League MVP went to Hermosillo 1B Juvenal Romo. The 28-year old Mexican lefty led in home runs (62), RBI (138), total bases (428), slugging (.732), OPS (1.113), and wRC+ (205). Romo also had 8.6 WAR, a .335 average, and 106 runs. Romo played one more year for the Hyenas, then left for MLB with a seven-year, $155,000,000 deal with St. Louis.

His Hermosillo teammate Jamarca Akim won his third straight Pitcher of the Year. Still in only his fifth year as a starter, the 25-year old Jamaican led in strikeouts (317), complete games (16), FIP- (44), and WAR (11.5). Akim added a 2.18 ERA over 252.1 innings, 18-10 record, and 175 ERA+. Also of note, Monterrey’s Wes Vegas won his third Reliever of the Year. The 28-year old joined the Matadors after seven years with Guatemala.

Both first round series went all five games with the 100+ win teams winning. Torreon survived against Hermosillo while Juarez as a wild card ousted Leon. This put the 2013 Mexican League champion Tomahawks against the 2012 champ Jesters in the MLCS. Torreon earned the repeat 4-1 over Juarez for their fourth pennant (1979, 1987, 2013, 2014).



Jamaica had the top record in the Caribbean League at 100-62 for their second playoff berth in four years. Notably, this was the first Island Division title for the Jazz since their 1980 CABA title. Honduras (96-67) narrowly won their second Continental Division title in three years, needing a tiebreaker game win over Nicaragua (95-68) to take it. The Navigators were still the first wild card to end a two-year playoff drought.

Only one win back on Nicaragua was Haiti for the second wild card at 94-68. The Herons were three ahead of last year’s CLCS runner-up Panama at 91-71. Haiti earned their third straight wild card and grew their winning season streak to 21.

Costa Rica (88-74) and Havana (86-76) were the next closest in the wild card mix. Two-time defending Caribbean champ Santo Domingo dropped to .500, ending their playoff streak at five years. The Dolphins scored the most runs (796) but allowed the most (786). Also notable, Puerto Rico went from 89 wins and a wild card in 2013 to a lousy 66-96 in 2014.

Jamaica swept the top awards led by MVP CF Herve Mickler. The fifth-year Aruban led in slugging (.783), OPS (1.165), and wRC+ (209). Mickler added 9.0 WAR, a .325 average, 53 home runs, and 116 RBI. He had signed an eight-year, $113,300,000 extension entering the 2014 campaign. Mickler edged out Santo Domingo 1B Noah Breton for MVP despite Breton leading in homers (65), RBI (127), runs (131), and WAR (9.7).

Pitcher of the Year was Nicky Castaneda, who repeated as the ERA champ with 2.31. The 25-year old Mexican also had a 14-6 record over 210 innings, 243 strikeouts, 164 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR. This effort earned Castaneda a six-year, $82,000,000 extension the following spring, although he’d be nearly above average for the rest of his career.

Jamaica survived 3-2 over Haiti in the first round of the playoffs for their first Caribbean League Championship Series berth since 1982. Although Honduras beat Nicaragua in the tiebreaker game for the division, the Navigators got revenge on the road 3-1 in the first round. This was Nicaragua’s first CLCS since their four straight appearances from 2008-2011. The Navigators cruised to a surprise sweep of Jamaica for their fourth pennant (1989, 1990, 2008, 2014).



The 104^th CABA Championship was an all-timer. It was the fourth time that the series was decided in an extra-innings game seven. In the top of the 12^th inning, Nicaragua scored twice en route to a 5-3 win over Torreon to deny the Tomahawks repeat. Finals MVP was 1B Ricart Becerra in his second year with Nicaragua. In 14 playoff games, the 30-year old Mexican had 23 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, and 16 RBI.



Nicaragua had been the only of the original 24 teams without a single CABA championship entering 2014. With the Navigators win, 26 of CABA’s current 32 franchises have won it all at least once. This also continued a run of parity with eight unique champs in the last eight seasons.

Other notes: Merida’s Issmael Palos threw CABA’s 34^th perfect game on June 23 against Juarez. This outing was also historically significant as Palos did it with zero strikeouts. As of 2037, this is the only perfect game in any world league ever without a single strikeout and only the fourth no-hitter without a strikeout.

Casimiro Salceda became the 16^th member of the 600 home run club. David Jack became the 46^th to reach 500 homers. CF Santiago Flores won his seventh Gold Glove.

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St. Louis was the second wild card in 2013, but put together a 107-55 mark in 2014 for the National Association’s top seed. This was the second-best record in franchise history, only behind their 111-win 1907 effort. This was also the first Lower Midwest Division title for the Cardinals since 2005. St. Louis allowed the fewest runs in MLB (509) and were third in the NA with 706 runs scored.

Kansas City was 11 back, but their 96-66 got them the first wild card. It was an impressive turnaround for the Cougars, who were an abysmal 57-105 only two years prior. This ended the NA’s second-longest active playoff drought of 22 years going back to 1991. Louisville has the NA’s current worst at 28 seasons after an NA-worst 60-102 in 2014. Meanwhile, Indianapolis’s four-year playoff streak was snapped with the Racers falling to .500.

Detroit had their third Upper Midwest Division title in four years and earned the #2 seed at 104-58. The Tigers posted their 18^th winning season in a row, but this was their first 100+ win effort since 1954. Last year’s NACS runner-up Omaha was 91-71, which ultimately was one game shy of the second wild card.

Two-time reigning NA champ Philadelphia won the East Division at 97-65, although it was their first division title in four years. The Phillies own streak of winning seasons grew to 16 with their 12^th playoff berth of that stretch. Last year’s division champ Brooklyn was 90-72, which also fell short of the wild card. This ended the Dodgers’ playoff streak at four years.

Montreal scored the most in the NA (742), which narrowly got them a repeat Northeast Division title at 95-67. Hartford was close behind at 92-70, which snagged the second wild card for their second berth in four years. It was a tight race with Omaha (91-71), Brooklyn (90-72), Chicago (89-73), Toronto (89-73), and Virginia Beach (88-74) all right in the mix in the final weeks.

Maples RF Ezekiel Thomas won his third National Association MVP in four years. It was his second since signing with Montreal in 2012 after starting with Virginia Beach. This was an all-timer from Thomas, as the 30-year old New Yorker led in home runs (53), runs (129), hits (209), total bases (399), triple slash (.384/.456/.733), OPS (1.189), wRC (271), and WAR (11.3).

As of 2037, Thomas’ 2014 ranks as the 16^th-best season in MLB history by WAR for a position player. It also ranks fifth in OPS and came just short of passing the then record of 1.945 by Nathaniel D’Attilo in 1995. His 119 RBI fell two short of getting the eighth-ever Triple Crown hitting season in MLB’s 114-year history. Last year’s MVP Killian Fruechte of Omaha had his own stellar year with a 1.089 OPS, 10.3 WAR, and 240 wRC+.

St. Louis righty Vincent Lepp won his third straight Pitcher of the Year. The 25-year old in his fifth season led in wins (21-9) and quality starts (27). posted a 2.18 ERA, 264.1 innings, 296 strikeouts, 152 ERA+, and 7.6 WAR. Lepp already was living up to the seven-year, $107,700,000 extension he signed the prior winter.

Lepp was second in ERA to teammate Ulrich Kogler (2.07) and second in Ks to Hartford’s Seth Southworth (352). Southworth became only the third pitcher in MLB history to that point to fan 350+ in a season, behind Jamaal Coleman’s 380 in 1996 and Jeremiah Rutledge’s 366 in 1962. The Huskies lefty also led in WAR (10.4), having signed a six-year, $104,600,000 in winter 2013. Unfortunately for Hartford, Southworth would battle a torn UCL over the next two seasons.

Both wild cards got surprise 2-1 upset wins in the first round with Kansas City over Montreal and Hartford over Philadelphia. This denied any three-peat hopes for the Phillies. The Cougars kept the momentum going, upsetting #2 seed Detroit 3-1. This gave KC its first National Association Championship Series appearance since their 1991 World Series win.

On the other side, top seed St. Louis cruised to a round two sweep of the Huskies. The Cardinals hadn’t been in the NACS since their 1982 World Series win. It was the first time since 2006 that the NACS pitted two teams from the same division against each other. The all-Missouri final went to the favored Cardinals 4-2 over the Cougars, giving St. Louis its sixth pennant.



Tampa had the American Association’s best record at 109-53, setting a new franchise best. Their previous top season was the inaugural 1901 campaign at 106-56. The Thunderbirds repeated as Southeast Division champ and grew their playoff streak to five years. This was tied with Denver and Los Angeles for the longest active streak in MLB.

Phoenix narrowly got the #2 seed at 103-59 over the reigning World Series and Baseball Grand Champion Dragons at 102-60. Denver earned a fifth straight Northwest Division crown and led MLB in scoring with 862 runs. The Firebirds had their third straight playoff berth and 100+ win season. Their 542 runs allowed was by far the fewest in the AA and would’ve ranked fifth even in the DH-less National Association.

Phoenix had fierce completion in the Southwest Division with Los Angeles (100-62), Albuquerque (96-66), and Oakland (95-67). The Angels fell from their historic 119-win 2013, but still got the first wild card. San Antonio was the weakest division champ at 95-67, repeating in the South Central Division. New Orleans was their nearest foe at 89-73, six away from the division crown and seven away in the wild card hunt.

The Isotopes got the second wild card spot to end a four-year drought. The Owls were one game short as their playoff drought grew to 18 years. Also in the wild card mix were Orlando (91-71), Salt Lake City (90-72), and San Francisco (87-75). The 91 wins for the Orcas tied a franchise record since joining in the 1982 expansion. Seattle at 84-78 was the only team from the AA’s 2013 playoff field not to make it back in 2014. Also notable was San Diego at 78-84, their first losing season since 2000.

American Association MVP went to New Orleans shortstop Fritz Louissi with an all-time great season. The 23-year old Florida Man had 12.96 WAR, which was the second-highest by any player in MLB history behind only Killian Fruechte’s 13.04 from 2012. Excellent defense at short helped big with a 15.6 zone rating and 1.065 EFF.

At the plate, Louissi led in runs (121), homers (53), RBI (138), and total bases (394). His .322 batting average was third and he had a 1.051 OPS and 180 wRC+. Also notably in the AA, San Francisco’s Graham Gregor had a 1.153 OPS and 200 wRC+. That OPS was the seventh-best season in MLB to that point and still ranks 13^th as of 2037.

Second-year pitcher Leroy Lindabury won Pitcher of the Year from Tampa. He grabbed the ERA title at 2.26 and posted a 19-7 record over 222.2 innings, 223 strikeouts, 171 ERA+, and 6.8 WAR. He missed the final month and playoffs to elbow inflammation. Unfortunately for Lindabury, 2014 accounted for almost 40% of his career WAR as injuries and regression had him out of the game by age 31.

Los Angeles cruised to a first round sweep of San Antonio, while Denver survived a strong 2-1 challenge from Albuquerque. Phoenix would get revenge for their 2013 AACS loss by sweeping the defending champ Dragons in the second round. The Angels meanwhile rolled top seed Tampa with a round two sweep. Despite being on a five-year playoff streak, LA hadn’t gotten to the American Association Championship Series since 1998.

Like the NACS, the AACS had two teams from the same division, the first since 2009. Although only three wins separated them in the regular season, Phoenix dominated Los Angeles with a sweep. The Firebirds won their second pennant in three years and their 13^th overall. That led all AA teams and was second-most in all of MLB behind Philadelphia’s 14.



St. Louis’s most recent World Series win had come against Phoenix back in 1982; their only prior meeting. However, the 2014 Firebirds did something no MLB team had done in 114 years of MLB history. With Phoenix’s sweep of St. Louis in the World Series, they became the only team to go unbeaten in the postseason (11-0). As of 2037, the Firebirds are still the only MLB team to do that.

Leading the way on the mound was 2012 Pitcher of the Year Easton Ray, who was named AACS and World Series MVP. He only had one start in each series, but both were complete game shutouts, becoming one of nine pitchers in MLB playoff history with a zero ERA over 15+ innings. Ray allowed 10 hits and 3 walks with 13 strikeouts.



This was Phoenix’s seventh MLB title (1907, 1953, 1960, 1985, 2003, 2004, 2014). This ties them for second with Houston and San Diego, while Philadelphia remains first with eight. It was the 11^th World Series sweep in history and incidentally the fourth involving the Firebirds. They were on the good side over Toronto in 1985 and over Winnipeg in 2004, but on the bad side in 2012 versus the Phillies.

Other notes: The 26^th and 27^th MLB Perfect Games came in 2014. Despite the small number, this was the third season that had two, joining 2010 and 2005. On April 19, Detroit’s Abdul Karim Hussein had nine strikeouts over Philadelphia. Then on May 31, Chicago’s Jason Gilliam did it with seven strikeouts against New York. It was Hussein’s second no-hitter, as he did it against Milwaukee in 2005. Gilliam’s also had the rare occurrence of happening on the same day as another no-hitter thanks to Kansas City’s Cristian Matzal against Indianapolis.

Cody Lim, Cole Becenti, and Ustad Shaikh each reached 500 home runs, making 79 batters in that club in MLB. Lim notably had posted 50+ homers in each of his first seven seasons, reaching the mark at only age 30. Rinat Khan became the 76^th pitcher to 3000 strikeouts.

CF Morgan Short won his 12^th Silver Slugger, becoming the first in MLB history to do so. It was the first in the National Association for the 33-year old, who signed a five-year, $115,000,000 deal with Brooklyn in 2014. Despite his young age, Short ended the season at 124.3 WAR; eighth already on the all-time list amongst position players. Killian Fruechte won his seventh Silver Slugger in left field.

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The fifth Baseball Grand Championship was the first to be hosted in Africa, centered in Lagos, Nigeria. The auto-bids were MLB’s Phoenix and St. Louis, CABA’s Torreon and Nicaragua, EAB’s Kyoto and Seongnam, BSA’s Fortaleza and Medellin, EBF’s Paris and Valencia, EPB’s Omsk, OBA’s Christchurch, APB’s Pekanbaru, CLB’s Shantou, WAB’s Lome, SAB’s Kolkata, ABF’s Faisalabad, ALB’s Jeddah, and AAB’s Harare. The wild card spot would go to OBA’s Tahiti to complete the 20-team field.

Only two games separated first place from sixth. Little did anyone realize early on that a November 9^th battle between Phoenix and Harare would be the ultimate decider. On that day, the Firebirds survived 6-4 in a 17-inning marathon. That win proved to be the tiebreaker as Phoenix and Harare both were even for first at 14-5.



It was the third time that the World Series winner won the Grand Championship and the fourth Grand Champion from MLB. Pitching led the way for Phoenix with 55 runs allowed and a 2.68 ERA. The Firebirds became the second franchise to finish twice in the top three in the BGC, joining Goyang (1^st in 2012, 3^rd in 2011). Phoenix was officially third in 2012 as part of that year’s 12-7 tie at the top.



The Hustlers were the one pitching staff better with 53 runs and 2.62 ERA. Harare won most of their games close with ten saves, which remains the tournament record as of 2037. Their finish was the best-ever thus far by any African team. It was a remarkable season for Harare, who needed a tiebreaker game just to get a wild card, then won their first-ever AAB title.

Christchurch stood alone in third at 13-6, scoring the most runs of any team with 100. This was the third time that an OBA team finished in the top three. Roe Kaupa led the way with 12 home runs and 32 RBI, tying the homers record and obliterating the RBI Mark. While many players would later top 12 homers, 32 RBI has only been matched once as of 2037.

Next were three teams at 12-7 with the tiebreakers officially placing Pekanbaru fourth, Omsk fifth, and Torreon sixth. The Otters set a new best for an EPB team. Jeddah was seventh at 11-8, then Lome rounded out the winning teams in eighth at 10-9. Fortaleza, Medellin, Paris, and Tahiti each finished at 9-10.

Faisalabad, Kolkata, Kyoto, Seongnam, and Valencia were each 8-11. St. Louis was 18^th at 7-12 with Nicaragua 19^th at 6-13. Shantou was a distant last place at 3-16, which was an all-time worst under the current format. There wouldn’t be a team that fared worse until 2025. Their 140 runs allowed and 7.05 ERA were cartoonishly poor and would be all-time worsts under the 20-team format by a healthy margin.

Paris’s Salvko Maric made history by winning Tournament MVP and Best Pitcher, something no one else has done as of 2037. It was a surprising run by the 31-year old Serbian lefty in his second year with the Poodles, as he ultimately was a “Hall of Good” level pitcher. In four starts, Maric tossed 32.1 innings with a 0.84 ERA, 2-0 record, 45 strikeouts, 12 hits, 5 walks, 464 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR. His .343 opponents’ OPS ranks 11^th best as of 2037 by any BGC pitcher with 21+ innings.

Other notes: Paris’s Gian Tosoni notably threw the BGC’s third-ever no-hitter, striking out seven with four walks against Medellin. In bad pitching stats, Tahiti’s Christian Valenzuela allowed 17 home runs, which is a tournament worst as of 2037.

Lome 2B Pedro Serna notably had a .500/.608/.903 slash with 31 hits, 15 runs, 5 doubles, 6 home runs, 18 RBI, 17 walks, a 1.511 OPS, and 2.1 WAR. Serna’s average, OBP, and OPS were all BGC records by any player with 65 plate appearances. The AVG and OBP remain the top mark as of 2037, while his OPS still ranks second. The 31 hits would be the all-time record under the 20-team format and would only finally get passed with the 22-team format in 2035.

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The 2015 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was historic as no players ended being inducted. It was the first blank ballot since 1987 and only the fifth since 1924. Playing a big role was the lack of impactful debuts. The top newcomer was CL Emery Gulbranson who only received 32.0%, well short of the 66% requirement.



Some returners got very close, led by CF Tyler Ryabenko at 65.1% on his second try. 2B Elias Wilson had 63.7% and C Elliott McKay got 62.0%, both on their eighth ballots. CL Brendan Gordon had 60.9% in his tenth and final chance. Also cracking 50% were SS Robert Hightower with 54.9% for his second go, SP Qazi Khwaja at 54.6% in his sixth ballot, and SP Keifer Bobbins with 52.5% for his second attempt.

For Gordon, he never fell below 50% and got as high as 63.8% in 2014. He won Reliever of the Year in 1987 and in 15 seasons had a 1.84 ERA, 304 saves, 377 shutdowns, 850.1 innings, 1320 strikeouts, 255 walks, 207 ERA+, and 47.8 WAR. Gordon’s ERA was better than any of the relievers that got inducted and his WAR would’ve ranked sixth compared to the other inducted relievers.

However, many of the traditionalist voters thought his save total was too low, although there had been others with similar lines that made it. Gordon only won ROTY once, although he finished second four times. Hurting him was poor playoff efforts during Atlanta’s regular berths with a 4.08 ERA over 35.1 innings. Still, it was surprising to see Gordon miss out considering the criteria used for prior relievers and the lack of competition on the ballot.

Also dropped after ten failed ballots was another reliever in Christopher Fournier. He got as high as 50.6% in his second ballot, but fell as low as 8.8% before ending at 35.6%. Fournier also had one Reliever of the Year and ended with 293 saves and 348 shutdowns, a 1.70 ERA, 830.2 innings, 1206 strikeouts, 223 ERA+, and 45.6 WAR.

Most of the same critiques of Gordon could be used for Fournier. He also struggled in his limited playoff appearances with a 5.79 ERA over 14 innings. Fournier also had only the one ROTY, although Fournier’s ERA was actually better than anyone in MLB’s Hall of Fame. The 2015 MLB voters though were much stricter looking at relievers compared to the older generation, leaving both guys out.

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The Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame added three players from the 2015 ballot. Each were first ballot guys with little opposition, led by a nearly unanimous 1B Maikel Loya at 99.6%. Fellow 1B Corneles Menendez was close behind at 96.1% and two-way star Fabian Quintana had a very healthy 88.6%. Only one other player topped 50% with SP Angel Tobar at 59.2% for his seventh ballot. No players were dropped after ten ballots.



Maikel Loya – First Base – Juarez Jesters – 99.6% First Ballot

Maikel Loya was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Totocuitlapilco; a village of only 377 people located about 60 kilometers southwest of Mexico City. Loya was an incredibly well-rounded hitter who was good to great with his power, contact, and eye. He was reliably strong, averaging 43 home runs and 31 doubles per 162 games. Loya hit above .300 in each of his full seasons while also drawing a decent number of walks and posting a respectable strikeout rate.

Loya’s baserunning wasn’t atrocious, but it was firmly below average. He started every game of his career at first base and was a consistently solid defender. Loya had some smaller injuries later in his career, but he didn’t miss time often. He became a very popular figure in Mexican baseball as a fixture for Juarez over 18 years.

The Jesters were quite interested in Loya and picked him with the fourth pick in CABA’s 1990 draft. He only saw 17 games in 1991, but took the full-time job from 1992 onward. With 4.9 WAR and a 151 wRC+ in 1992, Loya claimed Rookie of the Year honors. From 1993 to 2007, Loya was worth more than 6 WAR each season. In only his second year starting, he led the Mexican League in on-base percentage at .404. That earned him an eight-year, $19,800,000 extension that summer.

With the always strong bats at first base, Loya only won four Silver Sluggers (1994, 1995, 1998, 2001) despite his production. His 1995 was an all-timer, earning his lone MVP. As of 2037, Loya’s 12.78 WAR was the 14^th-best season by a CABA position player. He also earned a Triple Crown (59 homers, 138 RBI, .318 average) with career highs in each stat, plus in runs (132), hits (235), total bases (463), OBP (.419), slugging (.750), OPS (1.169), and wRC+ (240).

Loya would top 8+ WAR eight times from 1994-2002, taking second in 1998 MVP voting and third in 2000. During that run, he also hit above a one OPS each year. He won his second batting title in 1998 and led that season in the triple slash and runs. Loya led the league in hits as well in both 1999 and 2001.

Despite his efforts, Juarez was stuck in the middle tier without a single playoff berth in the 1990s, averaging 78.6 wins per year during the decade. It didn’t help that they were stuck in a division with Monterrey’s dynasty and a strong Tijuana. Things would start to turn around for the Jesters in the new millennium.

In 2000, Juarez got their first playoff berth since 1988 and their first division title since 1984. They beat Monterrey in the first round, but couldn’t get by a now emerging Ecatepec dynasty in the Mexican League Championship. Juarez missed the playoffs narrowly in 2001, then lost in the 2002 MLCS again to Ecatepec. Loya was big in the playoffs in the defeat with a 1.159 OPS, 15 hits, 8 runs, and 5 homers in 11 games.

In July 2002, a now 33-year old Loya signed a four year, $25,200,000 extension. He missed a month in 2004 and 2005 to injury, but still played at a very high level. Juarez suffered first round playoff losses in 2003 and 2004 as a wild card. The Jesters would finally end their pennant drought in 2005, getting revenge against Ecatepec, who was going for their seventh straight league title. Loya was named the MLCS MVP.

Juarez lost the CABA Championship to Salvador even with Loya’s playoff run seeing 22 hits, 10 runs, 4 homers, 10 RBI, and a 1.270 OPS over 15 starts. Now 36 and still rolling, Loya officially became a free agent that winter. He looked around for a month, but ultimately re-upped with Juarez for two years and $11,200,000.

Loya was beloved by Juarez fans, but he also had great national support from his time in the World Baseball Championship for Mexico. From 1994-2008, Loya had 185 games and 181 starts with 174 hits, 107 runs, 27 doubles, 46 home runs, 126 RBI, a .253/.331/.496 slash, 141 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. Loya helped Mexico to a finals berth in 1998 and semifinal appearances in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2007.

Juarez repeated as Mexican League champs in 2006, but Haiti denied them the CABA Championship. Loya again was solid and in his playoff career had 59 starts, 73 hits, 41 runs, 10 doubles, 16 home runs, 43 RBI, a .330/.406/.638 slash, 197 wRC+, and 3.5 WAR. Unfortunately, 2006 was his last shot at the CABA crown. Juarez would miss the playoffs in Loya’s remaining seasons.

Loya signed a two-year, $13,200,000 extension after the 2006 season. In 2007, he became only the tenth CABA member of the 3000 hit club. Loya posted a 9.3 WAR, 47 home run, 131 RBI, 1.115 effort in 2007 at age 38. That was his last hurrah, although he still had respectable stats in 2008 despite missing two months to an oblique strain.

Age finally caught up to Loya in 2009 and he was relegated to a part-time role. He still had 0.7 WAR and a 132 wRC+ over 78 games and 52 starts, but was done as an elite performer. Some thought Loya might try to chase 700 home runs, but he’d retire that winter at age 41 and finish 11 short of the milestone. Juarez immediately retired his #2 uniform for his nearly two decades of service.

Loya finished with 3288 hits, 1796 runs, 491 doubles, 79 triples, 689 home runs, 1902 RBI, 857 walks, a .338/.393/.617 slash, 191 wRC+, and 136.1 WAR. As of 2037, he’s one of only 11 Hall of Famers with a career OPS above one at 1.010. Among all CABA hitters with 3000+ plate appearances, Loya is 19^th in OPS, 24^th in slugging, 21^st in OBP, and 32^nd in batting average.

He also ranks ninth in hits, seventh in runs, 12^th in homers, 15^th in doubles, eighth in RBI, and sixth in WAR among position players. Loya was almost under-rated due to lesser black ink and awards despite his tallies. However, his grey ink of 309 is fourth best of all CABA Hall of Famers as of 2037, behind only nine-time MVP Prometheo Garcia, ten-time MVP Kiko Velazquez, and seven-time Pitcher of the Year Ulices Montero.

Few players in all of baseball history sustained such a high consistent level of play over a career. Loya truly had an inner-circle level Hall of Fame career, even if it wasn’t fully appreciated in his time. The voters certainly got it though, giving him a near unanimous 99.6% to headline CABA’s 2015 class.

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Corneles “Putt-Putt” Menendez – First Base – Guadalajara Hellhounds – 96.1% First Ballot

Corneles Menendez was a 6’3’’, 185 pound right-handed first baseman from Carolina, Puerto Rico; a city of roughly 155,000 inhabitants within the San Juan metropolitan area. He earned the nickname “Putt-Putt” for his obsession with mini golf. Menendez even built a course at his home and regularly invited teammates to his house to play a round. He was also quite smart and adaptable, which made him a beloved baseball figure.

Menendez was also popular because he socked dingers. Every full season as a starter, Menendez hit at least 40 home runs and topped 50+ eight times. He had respectable gap power with 27 doubles per his 162 game average, although his sluggish speed meant he wasn’t getting extra bags with his feet. Menendez was a good contact hitter, but he drew far fewer walks than you’d expect for a big slugger and his strikeout rate was merely okay.

Around 2/3s of Menendez’s career starts were at first base, where he was subpar defensively. Guadalajara tried him in the corner outfield spots early in his career, but he was atrocious there. Once Menendez found his spot, he was almost never out of the lineup with ironman durability. From 1998-2009, he played 157+ games each year.

Menendez was a late bloomer though, as he was 25-years old when he finally became a full-time starter. A scout from Guadalajara spotted him as a teenager, bringing him from Puerto Rico to Mexico in September 1989. Menendez officially debuted in 1994 at age 21, but saw mostly pinch hitting in his first four years with only 35 starts. In 1997, he posted 190 wRC+ and a 1.052 OPS in his limited play. The Hellhounds realized they had to find some spot in the lineup for Menendez.

First base was occupied though and the Mexican League didn’t have the designated hitter, thus Menendez spent his first two years as a starter in the outfield. He smacked 51 home runs in his first full season, then followed it up with league bests in homers (63), RBI (148), and slugging (.697). Menendez won Silver Sluggers both years.

2000 marked his debut at first base and he led in RBI with 154, winning his third Silver Slugger. Guadalajara had been mostly middling in the 1990s with their lone playoff appearance in 1996 during Menendez’s tenure. They were 89-73 in 2000 and with hopes high, signed Menendez to a five-year, $18,640,000 extension. The team utterly collapsed for a 52-win 2001 and wouldn’t be above .500 again until 2009.

Menendez had two more good years, but they would be the weakest of his run as a starter. He decided to opt-out of his contract after the 2002 season, becoming a free agent at age 30. With Guadalajara, Menendez had 992 hits, 521 runs, 135 doubles, 277 home runs, 682 RBI, a .303/.338/.605 slash, 172 wRC+, and 32.0 WAR. He was still beloved enough even in this short run to later see his #26 uniform retired.

2003 saw a four-team expansion for CABA and many were surprised to see Menendez sign with the new Suriname squad for three years and $9,240,000. He was a critical reason why the Silverbacks had a stunning 97-65 debut, becoming the first expansion team in world history to earn a playoff spot in year one.

That year, Menendez led the league with career bests in homers (67), RBI (158), total bases (431), and slugging (.700). He fell five short of the then single-season home run record of 72 by Yohnny Galaz. These efforts earned Menendez Caribbean League MVP honors. He hit 5 homers with 10 RBI in the playoffs, but Suriname fell in the first round to eventual CABA champ Honduras.

It was a flash-in-the-pan for Suriname, who fell to 73-89 the next year and bottom out in 2007 at 51-111. Still, Menendez repeated as MVP and won his fifth Silver Slugger in 2004, leading again in RBI and total bases. He also made history as the first player in CABA history with three seasons of 150+ RBI; a distinction he held alone until 2031.

Disappointed in Suriname’s decline, Menendez opted out of his third year to become a free agent again at age 32. In two years with the Silverbacks, he had 393 hits, 216 runs, 72 doubles, 124 home runs, 315 RBI, a .316/.348/.679 slash, 172 wRC+, and 14.9 WAR. Menendez wanted to play for a winner, which led him to a five-year, $32,100,000 deal with Salvador. The Stallions had seen 10 playoff berths in the last 11 years, although they hadn’t gotten the pennant since their 1996-1999 three-peat.

Menendez had 59 homers in his Salvador debut, helping them to a division title. He was unremarkable in 14 playoff starts with a .750 OPS and 104 wRC+. However, Menendez achieved his goal with the Stallions winning the CABA Championship over Juarez. They made the playoffs again over the next three years, but had two first round defeats and a CLCS loss in 2008.

One critique you could make is Menendez’s playoff stats were unremarkable. In 32 games, he had 33 hits, 14 runs, 5 doubles, 9 homers, 19 RBI, a .268/.295/.528 slash, 121 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR. Menendez did fare a bit better in his sporadic World Baseball Championship outings for his native Puerto Rico. In six WBCs, he made 52 starts with 50 hits, 26 runs, 6 doubles, 20 home runs, 40 RBI, a .250/.318/.580 slash, 161 wRC+, and 2.3 WAR.

Menendez carried on with strong power, posting 52 home runs and a league-best 39 doubles in his final season in 2009. In five seasons with Salvador, Menendez had 913 hits, 536 runs, 151 doubles, 253 home runs, 627 RBI, a .291/.329/.591 slash, 140 wRC+, and 23.9 WAR. In 2008, he became the 15^th member of the 600 home run club and the 23^rd to cross 1500 RBI.

He was a free agent after the 2009 season. Menendez spent most of his final two seasons as a DH and had limited defensive utility. His power was still major league caliber, but squads didn’t want to commit to an aging slugger. Menendez was unsigned in 2010 and decided to retire that winter at age 38.

Menendez finished with 2298 hits, 1273 runs, 358 doubles, 654 home runs, 1624 RBI, a .300/.336/.611 slash, 159 wRC+, and 70.8 WAR. As of 2037, he’s one of only six in CABA history to smack 50+ homers in eight or more seasons. Menendez also still ranks 18^th in homers and 25^th in RBI, although he doesn’t crack the top 100 in WAR among position players.

He certainly wasn’t the all-around talent like his Hall of Fame classmate Maikel Loya, but Menendez’s towering homers made him one of CABA’s biggest superstars of the era. Hall of Fame voters felt he was a lock for the 2015 class at 96.1% and he’d be a headliner in most other classes. Ol’ Putt-Putt now spends his retirement refining his hole-in-one talents.



Fabian “Dixie” Quintana – Pitcher/First Base/Designated Hitter – Trinidad Trail Blazers – 88.6% First Ballot

Fabian Quintana was a 6’8’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher and switch-hitter from Antilla, Cuba; a city of around 21,000 inhabitants on the country’s northeastern coast. The towering Quintana had a unique career as a two-way player, coming onto the scene with outstanding home run power. He had 42 home runs and 32 doubles per his 162 game average. Quintana was a great contact hitter, but his ability to draw walks and avoid strikeouts were both average at best.

Quintana was clumsy and slow on the basepaths, but his length played well at first base. He graded as a reliably average defender there, splitting his non-pitching starts between first and the DH. Quintana also was considered a strong defensive pitcher and was tough to steal on.

On the mound, Quintana threw fire with 99-101 mph peak velocity. His stuff and movement graded out as quite good in his prime, although his control was always considered below average. Quintana had a three-pitch arsenal of fastball, slider, and changeup. His stamina was decent and he was viewed as very durable in the front half of his career. Regardless of his role, Quintana was considered one of the smartest and hardest working guys in the game.

Quintana’s potential was undeniable ahead of the 1995 CABA Draft, but teams were mixed on what his role would be. He wanted to be a two-way guy, but many franchises felt he should focus on either hitting or pitcher alone. Quintana ended up selected 12^th overall by Trinidad, who was leaning more towards hitting. He saw mixed use in 1996 with 26 relief appearances and 85 plate appearances.

The Trail Blazers decided to make Quintana focus on hitting as a full time designated hitter in 1997 and 1998. He would only see seven innings of relief in 1997 and didn’t pitch at all in 1998. However, Quintana exploded in 1997 with Caribbean League bests in home runs (61), RBI (145), total bases (416), slugging (.683), and runs (126). He won his lone Silver Slugger and was second in MVP voting.

Quintana had similar success in 1998 with 55 homers and 153 RBI, but Trinidad was still stuck in the middle of the standings. He still wanted to pitch and insisted that his combined value would be better than what he offered just as a slugger. Thus, the Trail Blazers made Quintana a full-time starting pitcher for the next seven seasons with additional starts between DH and 1B.

Critics argued it was a poor choice to surrender potentially 50+ homers a year by limiting Quintana’s at-bats. His full-time pitching debut saw a lackluster 4.62 ERA as well. However, Quintana settled into being a reliably above average to good pitcher while maintaining good rate stats as a hitter. He topped an one OPS twice more and from 2000-2004 had combined WAR seasons of 11.2, 8.1, 10.3, 10.5, and 8.3. This justified the move since his peak WAR in his best DH season was 6.9.

Quintana wasn’t a good enough pitcher to earn Pitcher of the Year consideration and didn’t hit enough for Silver Slugger looks. However, his combined value gave him a third in MVP voting in 2000, 2002, and 2004. His 11.2 WAR in 2002 set a CABA record for a two-way guy, led by career pitching bests in WAR (6.1), ERA (3.00) and strikeouts (264) in 270.1 innings. Quintana also had 5.1 WAR offensively that year with a 1.005 OPS, 173 wRC+, and 27 home runs.

Trinidad gave Quintana a four-year, $18,200,000 extension after the 2000 season. Despite his efforts, the Trail Blazers never made the playoffs in his tenure, although they averaged 85.1 wins per season. They peaked at 95-67 in 2000, falling one game short of a division title. Still, Quintana’s efforts were appreciated and his #17 uniform would later by retired by Trinidad.

Quintana would return back home to Cuba for the World Baseball Championship as well, seeing action in 13 WBCs from 1997-2010. He had more use at the plate with 99 games and 82 starts, 85 hits, 56 runs, 14 doubles, 31 home runs, 74 RBI, a .258/.321/.588 slash, 156 wRC+, and 4.0. As a pitcher he saw 91.1 innings with an 8-4 record, 3.45 ERA, 82 strikeouts, 105 ERA+, and 0.3 WAR.

After the 2004 season, a 32-year old Quintana became a free agent for the first time. In total with Trinidad at the plate, he had 1079 hits in 920 games, 620 runs, 193 doubles, 283 home runs, 705 RBI, a .312/.352/.631 slash, 163 wRC+, and 41.1 WAR. On the mound, he had a 97-73 record, 3.47 ERA, 1565.1 innings, 1366 strikeouts, 110 ERA+, and 28.9 WAR. Quintana wanted to get a ring and signed with Honduras, who had won back-to-back Caribbean League pennants. He inked a five-year, $30,000,000 deal.

It was a rough start for Quintana as in his sixth start on the mound with the Horsemen, he suffered a damaged elbow ligament. This knocked him out 12 months, but he bounced back impressively with arguably his best pitching season with 6.1 WAR, a 3.07 ERA, and 132 ERA+ over 243.1 innings in 2006. Quintana’s batting numbers saw new full-year lows though with a .877 OPS and 2.4 WAR. Honduras lost in the CLCS to Haiti, but a strained abdominal muscle kept Quintana out of the playoffs.

2007 was worth 4.4 WAR pitching and 2.4 WAR at the plate. He again missed the playoffs with a sprained ankle in late September and the Horsemen losing again to Haiti in the CLCS. While Quintana was still valuable, he wasn’t providing the value Honduras was hoping for. Thus with two years left on his deal, he was traded in February 2008 to Salvador.

With Honduras at the plate, Quintana had 200 hits, 113 runs, 52 home runs, 122 RBI, a .281/.322/.554 slash, 133 wRC+, and 5.4 WAR. On the mound, he had a 38-15 record, 3.24 ERA, 511 innings, 497 strikeouts, 125 ERA+, and 11.1 WAR. The Stallions had been falling just short to Honduras in the division recently and had hoped Quintana could help get them over that hump. Considering the rivalry, it was stunning to see such a high profile trade between the two.

Quintana was off to a stronger start at the plate with comparable pitching stats in 2008, but again missed the playoffs thanks to a late season hamstring strain. Salvador won the division, but suffered an upset CLCS loss to Nicaragua. Then in 2009, Quintana was awful pitching with a 5.18 ERA, getting moved out of the rotation. He did still provide positive value with 2.0 WAR and a .899 OPS in 63 games at the plate.

Salvador fell to 82-80 and missed the playoffs and Quintana became a free agent again at age 37. With the Stallions, he had 141 games at the plate with 162 hits, 89 runs, 24 doubles, 35 home runs, 111 RBI, a .329/.374/.596 slash, 150 wRC+, and 5.1 WAR. Pitching, Quintana had a 16-20 record, 4.19 ERA, 324.2 innings, 236 strikeouts, 99 ERA+, and 4.2 WAR. This marked the end of his CABA run, sadly without a single playoff appearance.

Quintana was determined to still play somewhere and in late March found a home in Russia with Omsk. The Otters hoped he could maybe go both ways, but gave up on that after a terrible 6.43 ERA in two starts. Quintana started most of the year as a DH with passable results with a 128 ERA+ and 2.7 WAR.

He would finally get his championship ring, although he most certainly hadn’t envisioned that accomplishment coming in Siberia. Quintana had 11 playoff starts with 11 hits, 6 runs, 4 homers, and 11 RBI as Omsk won the 2010 Eurasian Professional Baseball Championship against Moscow. Quintana was only there on a one-year deal and didn’t get re-signed by the Otters in the winter.

Still, Quintana wanted to play somewhere and ended up in Turkey on a one-year, $3,000,000 with ABF’s Istanbul. He started much of the season as a DH, but stunk with -0.7 WAR and 79 wRC+ over 127 games. Quintana still wanted to play in 2012, but was out of chances at this point. He finally retired from the game at age 40.

For his CABA batting career, Quintana had 1263 games, 1441 hits, 822 runs, 245 doubles, 370 home runs, 938 RBI, a .309/.350/.615 slash, 157 wRC+, and 51.6 WAR. Among all CABA batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his .965 OPS ranks 38^th and his slugging ranks 27^th. Many wonder if Quintana could’ve ended up as an all-time slugger had he dedicated his career fully to hitting.

As a pitcher, Quintana had a 151-108 record, 3.52 ERA, 2401 innings, 2099 strikeouts, 533 walks, 111 ERA+, and 44.3 WAR. He was an above average to good pitcher, but definitely not a Hall of Famer from his arm alone. Quintana’s batting tallies weren’t high enough on their own either, but he combined for 95.9 WAR between the two. Most voters thought that was plenty, giving Quintana the first ballot nod at 88.6%. With that, he rounded out an impressive three-player 2015 class.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two players were inducted into the East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015. Both were first ballot guys with SP/OF Morikazu Ichikawa nearly unanimous at 98.9% and 1B Yachi Ito at 81.2%. RF Jung-Sang Ryu barely missed the 66% requirement in his second ballot at 63.6%. Also with strong showings were third basemen Min-Seong Ryu with a 59.8% debut and Kazuo Shiraki at 59.0% for his third ballot. No one else was above 50%.



Dropped after ten ballots was SP Motoaki Sato, who had a 15-year career between four teams. He peaked at 43.6% in 2008 and ended at a low of 11.5%. Sato had a 186-162 record, 3.24 ERA, 3240 innings, 3269 strikeouts, 102 ERA+, and 46.3 WAR. He had a nice tenure, but was a pretty firm “Hall of Good” level guy.

Also notable was SP Han-Soo Hu falling below the 5% threshold after nine ballots. The ultimate journeyman, he peaked at 26.8% in 2008 but lost out on EAB consideration since much of his career came in MLB. The North Korean pitched with Pyongyang and Hamhung in EAB with a 183-103 record, 3.16 ERA, 2661.1 innings, 2550 strikeouts, 122 ERA+, and 64.8 WAR. However, he lacked awards and accolades, not leading in any major stats apart from a 9.6 WAR effort in 1994 at age 35. Those were also down seasons for those franchises.

Hu ended up playing for ten different MLB teams and for his combined pro career had a 319-206 record, 3.39 ERA, 4851.1 innings, 4053 strikeouts, 826 walks, 113 ERA+, and 102.6 WAR. That longevity alone probably gets him in if it was confined to one league. Not many professional pitchers can say they got to 300 wins or 100+ WAR in their career, making Hu worth a special mention.



Morikazu Ichikawa – Pitcher/Outfielder – Sapporo Swordfish – 98.9% First Ballot

Morikazu Ichikawa was a 5’10’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher and outfielder from Kumamoto on southern Japan’s island of Kyushu. The stocky Ichikawa on the mound had solid stuff and excellent control, although his movement graded as just below average. The stocky righty’s fastball only peaked in the 94-96 mph range, but he had an incredible curveball and a great circle change.

Ichikawa’s ability to change speeds made him incredibly effective. He also had outstanding stamina on the mound and was considered an excellent defensive pitcher, winning a Gold Glove in 1997. Ichikawa’s durability was excellent for most of his career, holding up incredibly well with the demands as a two-way player. From 1995-2005, he tossed 230+ innings and had 400+ plate appearances in each of those seasons.

In the field, Ichikawa split his time between center and left field. His great athleticism and instincts led to a solid grade defensively in both spots. Ichikawa was a very smart and crafty baserunner, but his top speed was merely average. Still, he provided positive baserunning metrics overall.

As a hitter, Ichikawa was below average in terms of contact and avoiding strikeouts, but was better than most at drawing walks. When he made contact, Ichikawa hit the ball hard. Over a 162 game average, Ichikawa got 27 home runs, 15 doubles, and 14 triples; making him a valuable bat even with a lower average. Getting that bat from a legit ace pitcher made Ichikawa an incredibly valuable talent in his prime. He was also a great team captain and leader, becoming a very popular figure with fans and colleagues alike throughout Japanese baseball.

By the 1992 EAB Draft, Ichikawa had earned plenty of attention playing at Tohoku University in Sendai. While his two-way potential was appreciated, most scouts fancied him as a pitcher far more. Sapporo though jumped at the possibility for the two-way star, picking Ichikawa sixth overall.

He was used as a hitter more early on with 207 plate appearances in 1993 compared to only 35.2 innings pitching. Ichikawa struggled initially pitching and only saw 24.1 innings in his second season. However, he was a full-time outfielder in 1994 with 3.4 WAR. This started a seven-year run of North Division titles for Sapporo, although they suffered a first round defeat in 1994. The Swordfish would make it to the Japan League Championship Series each year from 1995-1999.

Ichikawa became a full-timer both ways during this stretch. Initially, he was merely an average pitcher that could eat innings, but he was a strong outfielder. From 1995-99, Ichikawa had 4.9+ WAR or better each year in the field, posting a career-best 6.4 WAR in 1995. 1996 had his best OPS (.946) and wRC+ (188), while 1999 had his top home run tally at 35.

In both 1997 and 1999, Ichikawa had the rare distinction of winning a Silver Slugger as a pitcher and as a center fielder. He also won in 1996 and 1998 as a pitcher, getting six for his career. Ichikawa took third in 1996 and 1997’s MVP voting. Even with merely above average pitching, Ichikawa had combined WAR totals of 9.9, 10.2, and 10.5 in his first three two-way seasons.

Sapporo lost in the JLCS in both 1995 and 1996. Then in 1997, they took the Japan League title in an upset over 109-win Kitakyushu. The Swordfish would fall to Yongin in the EAB Championship. Ichikawa had a 3.13 ERA over 31.2 playoff innings and a .819 OPS and 152 wRC+ over the playoff run. Sapporo wisely gave him a five-year, $12,360,000 extension in May 1997.

1998 saw Ichikawa emerge as a true ace, leading the JL in pitching WAR (7.4), strikeouts (314), and wins (22-6) to win his first Pitcher of the Year award. His 4.9 WAR offensively gave him 12.3 WAR total, taking second in MVP voting. Sapporo took the top seed at 101-61 and repeated as JL champs. They then won their first EAB Championship since 1981, knocking off Bucheon in six games.

Ichikawa earned legendary status in Sapporo, winning finals MVP and first round MVP. Although he was 3-2, he was lights out in five starts with a 1.48 ERA over 42.2 innings, 55 strikeouts, and 1.8 WAR. At the plate in 16 games, Ichikawa had 15 hits, 12 runs, 6 home runs, 14 RBI, a .979 OPS, and 198 wRC+ with a combined 2.7 WAR for the postseason run.

That cemented Ichikawa’s reputation as a clutch playoff performer. The overall pitching results with Sapporo were more hit-or-miss with a 3.16 ERA, 9-8 record, 148 innings, 169 strikeouts, 106 ERA+, and 3.2 WAR. His playoff batting stats were more impressive in 60 games with 56 hits, 36 runs, 6 doubles, 5 triples, 15 home runs, 43 RBI, a .917 OPS, 178 wRC+, and 2.9 WAR.

Ichikawa’s World Baseball Championship stats were less dominant, making seven appearances for Japan from 1997-2006. As a pitcher, he had a lackluster 5.08 ERA over 106.1 innings, 163 strikeouts, 6-8 record, 71 ERA+, and 1.4 WAR. He had 33 games and 24 starts hitting with 20 hits, 14 runs, 8 homers, 11 RBI, a .217/.321/.511 slash, 141 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. He did earn a world title ring in 2006 for Japan.

His 1999 saw many career and league highs, especially on the mound. Ichikawa’s 7.6 WAR, 11.1 K/BB, and 379 strikeouts were both league and career bests. He also led in wins for the third straight year at 22-7 and led in innings (278.2) and complete games (18). His 0.84 WHIP was also a career best. At the plate, he had a career-high 35 home runs and added 5.9 WAR. The combined 13.5 WAR was the fifth-best single-season in EAB history at that point. Ichikawa repeated as Pitcher of the Year, but again was second in MVP voting.

Sapporo would fall in the 1999 JLCS to Kawasaki despite Ichikawa’s 1.08 ERA in his 25 innings. They went one-and-done in 2000, which was the final year of their playoff streak and their last winning record until 2011. Ichikawa struggled to a career worst 1.1 WAR and .664 OPS at the plate while posting 5.3 WAR on the mound. Ichikawa and the Swordfish struggled in 2001 and he led in losses at 8-21 and home runs allowed at 37. His batting was only marginally better that year with a .741 OPS, 116 wRC, and 2.2 WAR.

By the summer of 2002, it was clear that the competitive window was over for Sapporo. Ichikawa looked a bit better in the first half, but he was now 31-years old in the final year of his deal. The Swordfish decided to trade him at the deadline to Ulsan for SP Do-Hyeon Kim and 2B Akira Maekawa. He would remain popular in Sapporo for his role in their success and his #24 uniform would later be retired.

Pitching for Sapporo, Ichikawa finished with a 131-91 record, 3.11 ERA, 2053.2 innings, 2353 strikeouts, 108 ERA+, and 39.1 WAR. At the plate in 1206 games, he had 1001 hits, 555 runs, 111 doubles, 110 triples, 219 home runs, 615 RBI, 336 walks, 169 stolen bases, a .250/.311/.497 slash, 141 wRC+, and 38.8 WAR.

Ichikawa saw less use at the plate with Ulsan with the Korea League using the DH, but he pitched well to finish the year with a 2.28 ERA in 83 innings and 2.3 WAR. The Swallows had the KL’s best record at 109-53, but suffered a first round upset loss to Daegu. With that, Ichikawa now entered free agency for the first time at age 32.

Osaka signed Ichikawa to a five-year, $24,200,000 deal to bring him back to Japan. He had a return to form on the mound with career highs in wins (25-4), ERA (2.43), and quality starts (27), winning his third Pitcher of the Year. Ichikawa was statistically average at the plate, but combined for 8.1 WAR and a third place MVP finish. The defending JL champ Orange Sox improved their record to 109-53, but were upset in the first round by Niigata. Ichikawa lost both of his pitching starts with a 4.97 ERA.

The Orange Sox fell to .500 in 2004 as Ichikawa had a career-high 287 innings with an unremarkable 101 ERA+. He still got 5.3 WAR with that and another 2.8 WAR at the plate. Ichikawa looked better in 2005 and led in wins for the fifth time at 21-6 with 6.3 WAR pitching. His bat got a mere 1.7 WAR and 112 wRC+ though.

However, Osaka returned to the playoffs and had surprised many by winning the 2005 Japan League pennant at 87-75. Seoul stopped them in the EAB Championship; a repeat for the Seahawks. Ichikawa had a 3-0 record and 2.88 ERA in 40.2 playoff innings while adding a 117 wRC+ at the plate. Osaka made the playoffs again in 2006, but had a first round exit.

Ichikawa wasn’t around for most of the season or the playoffs though with his first major injury; a concussion suffered in early May. He didn’t reach the vesting criteria for the fifth year, becoming a free agent at age 36. With Osaka pitching, Ichikawa had a 66-22 record, 2.85 ERA, 872.2 innings, 972 strikeouts, 117 ERA+, and 18.8 WAR. Hitting, he had 402 games, 299 hits, 177 runs, 64 home runs, 154 RBI, a .223/.277/.450 slash, 115 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR.

Tokyo gave Ichikawa a two-year, $11,200,000 deal. He became the 34^th pitcher to 3500 career strikeouts in May 2007. He led in innings pitched, but had only above average production at a 111 ERA+ and 3.6 WAR. The Tides used Ichikawa less at a hitter with 61 games, a 134 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. However, he stepped up big come postseason time for the Tides, who repeated in a terrible Capital Division at 82-80.

Despite that, Tokyo upset 110-win Niigata and then Kyoto to claim the Japan League pennant, although they did lose the EAB Championship to Yongin. Ichikawa had an impressive 1.08 ERA over 41.2 innings with 39 strikeouts, a 307 ERA+, and 1.4 WAR. He would be less impressive in 2008 as Tokyo lost the JLCS to the Green Dragons, but Ichikawa cemented a bond in the megalopolis in only two years.

For his playoff career, Ichikawa had a 15-12 record, 259.1 innings, 2.92 ERA, 277 strikeouts, 33 walks, 115 ERA+, and 5.9 WAR pitching. As of 2037, he has the most playoff strikeouts, is tied for the most playoff wins, and ranks fourth in playoff pitching WAR. Ichikawa also has the most losses (12), starts (34), complete games (14), innings (259), and hits allowed (216).

He also had 90 games and 81 starts offensively with 80 hits, 48 runs, 14 doubles, 6 triples, 18 home runs, 52 RBI, a .275/.324/.550 slash, 162 wRC+, and 3.5 WAR. His last playoff opportunities came in 2008 for Tokyo.
Ichikawa did miss the summer of 2008 to a partially torn labrum.

In two seasons for Tokyo, he had a 23-17 record, 3.25 ERA, 384.2 innings, 363 strikeouts, 103 ERA+, and 5.5 WAR. He also had 1.7 WAR, a .691 OPS, and 103 WRC+ in 106 games offensively. Ichikawa was now a free agent again at age 38. Niigata still thought he had plenty of value left and gave him a sizeable investment at three years and $16,800,000.

Unfortunately the prior labrum injury sank Ichikawa’s pitching effectiveness, posting career worsts in ERA (4.26) and home runs allowed (38) in 203 innings. He did still at least provide positive value offensively with 2.6 WAR and a 130 wRC+. In early September, Ichikawa suffered another partial labrum tear. Instead of trying to rehab back, he opted for retirement at age 39.

For his pitching career, Ichikawa had a 236-147 record, 3.12 ERA, 3597 innings, 3981 strikeouts, 625 walks, 287/454 quality starts, 166 complete games, 108 ERA+, and 66.7 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 22^nd in strikeouts and 26^th in wins, although his pitching WAR is merely 92^nd. Despite his accolades, the rate stats suggest he was more above average in total with excellent longevity. Ichikawa’s playoff ERA+ of 115 is a similar story, but he did notably step up in the pennant runs of three franchises.

Offensively in 1826 games and 1580 starts, Ichikawa had 1431 hits, 803 runs, 165 doubles, 160 triples, 308 home runs, 843 RBI, 262 stolen bases, 495 walks, a .241/.303/.479 slash, 132 wRC, and 50.8 WAR. He wasn’t a Hall of Famer purely on his bat, but he provided a solid starter quality bat and more than held his own with his glove in the outfield.

The combined WAR of 117.5 as of 2037 ranks eighth among all two-way players in all world leagues. Ichikawa also narrowly beats fellow EAB two-way guys Umi Kihara (116.7), Tadasumi Tanabe (116.0), Totaro Uchiyama (106.7), and Junichi Muto (106.6). It is hard to rank which was the most impactful, but certainly a strong case exists for Ichikawa.

While he wasn’t the absolute most dominant pitcher or hitter, Ichikawa’s combined efforts made him one of the most important guys of his era. It is no surprise that he had so many playoff appearances, leading Sapporo, Tokyo, and Osaka each to Japan League pennants. Ichikawa is a deserving 2015 Hall of Fame headliner at 98.9%.



Yachi Ito – First Base – Osaka Orange Sox – 81.2% First Ballot

Yachi Ito was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed hitting first baseman from Toyama, a city with around 415,000 people on the west central coast of Honshu. Ito wasn’t viewed as incredible at one thing, but he was an all-around solid batter. He was good to occasionally great in terms of both contact and power with an above average eye and decent strikeout rate. Ito was especially strong against left-handed pitching (188 wRC+, .956 OPS) but was no bum against righties (158 wRC+, .850 OPS).

Ito never led the league in home runs, but he topped 30+ in 12 seasons and hit 40+ six times. He also had 25 doubles per his 162 game average. You wouldn’t get extra bases with his legs, as Ito was a painfully slow and clumsy baserunner. He played every inning of his career at first base and was a terrible defender. Still, Ito’s impressive work ethic, bat, and loyalty made him a fan favorite throughout Japan.

In 1988, Ito was one of the rare draft picks to come straight out of high school, as he wowed scouts at Chukyodai Chukyo High in Nagoya. Kobe picked him ninth overall and took their time developing him. He officially debuted in 1991 at age 20, but only saw eight plate appearances that year. Ito had 78 games and 9 starts in 1992, then had 120 games and 33 starts in 1993.

With a nice outing in 1993, the Blaze promoted him to the full-time gig. Ito was an ironman who almost never missed games and would play 145+ games in all but one season from 1994-2009. He posted 4.9 WAR, a .874 OPS, and 172 wRC+ in his first full season starting. Kobe made it to the Japan League Championship Series for the first time in a decade, but fell to Hiroshima’s dynasty.

Kobe signed Ito to a five-year, $9,160,000 extension in late July 1995. They were competitive during his run, averaging 84.8 wins per season. The Blaze would win three straight division titles from 1997-99, but lost in the first round each year. Ito held up his end in 43 playoff games with 47 hits, 22 runs, 11 doubles, 8 homers, 27 RBI, a .307/.339/.549 slash, 161 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR.

Ito was a reliably strong bat for Kobe, but wasn’t often in awards conversations with the stacked competition at first base. His finest year there came in 1997, leading the league with career highs in runs (112) and total bases (389). This year also had career bests in homers (54), OPS (.992), wRC+ (206), and WAR (8.1). Ito also led with 115 RBI in 1995 and topped 5+ WAR in four seasons.

In total with Kobe, Ito had 1181 games, 1175 hits, 586 runs, 181 doubles, 254 home runs, 652 RBI, a .295/.337/.543 slash, 169 wRC+, and 37.8 WAR. He’d remain popular there, although his signature run came elsewhere. It seemed like the Blaze wanted Ito long-term, giving him a four-year, $12,240,000 extension in March 2000. However, they surprised many by trading Ito away only two months later.

In May, Ito was sent to Osaka for three prospects. It was an especially surprising trade not only because of Ito’s popularity, but because it was within the same division. He helped Osaka to 100-62 in 2000, but that still fell short of the playoffs thanks to a 104-58 Nagoya. The trade paid off for the Orange Sox ultimately, earning five division titles from 2001-06.

Ito’s lone Silver Slugger came in 2002 with career bests in hits (204), batting average (.337), and OBP (.381). He was also third in MVP voting, his only time as a finalist. 2002 also saw Osaka win the Japan league crown, falling to Incheon for the EAB title. In 17 playoff starts, Ito had 20 hits, 8 runs, 4 doubles, 3 homers, and 11 RBI.

Osaka won 109 games in 2003, but had a stunning first-round upset loss to Niigata. Ito was moved to a surprise platoon role that season with only 65 starts, but regained the full-time job after that. They missed the playoffs in 2004, but won the Japan League title again in 2005, falling to Seoul in the EAB final. They were one-and-done in 2006 before finishing the decade towards the bottom of the standings.

Still, two pennants was an impressive haul for Ito. With the Orange Sox in the playoffs, Ito had 47 hits, 22 runs, 11 doubles, 8 homers, 27 RBI, a .307/.339/.549 slash, and 161 wRC+ over 43 games with 1.5 WAR. In the 2005 playoff run specifically, Ito had 20 hits, 11 runs, 5 doubles, 4 homers, and 13 RBI in 15 starts.

Osaka gave Ito a five-year, $34,500,000 extension in March 2004. He aged quite well, matching his career-best WAR total in 2006 at age 35 with 8.1. He posted 46 homers, 116 RBI, a .978 OPS, and 195 wRC+ that year. After a strong 2007, Ito did regress with a middling 1.3 WAR and 20 homers in 2008. He looked better in 2009 with 33 homers, a 148 wRC+, and 3.5 WAR.

After back-to-back losing seasons, Ito’s contract was up and Osaka wasn’t likely to re-sign him. While he felt he could still contribute, Ito opted to retire that winter at age 39. The Orange Sox quickly retired his #20 uniform and he remained a popular ambassador for many years after. In 1526 games there, Ito had 1533 hits, 781 runs, 237 doubles, 331 home runs, 826 RBI, a .290/.349/.533 slash, 164 wRC, and 49.3 WAR.

Ito ended with 2708 hits, 1367 runs, 418 doubles, 585 home runs, 1478 RBI, 715 walks, a .292/.344/.537 slash, 166 wRC+, and 87.1 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 86^th in WAR among position players, 39^th in homers, 57^th in hits, and 55^th in RBI.

Ito was never a tip-top level guy, but he was reliably quite solid for a long time. Plus, he was a beloved fan favorite for two franchises and helped Osaka win two pennants. That was enough for most voters to overlook the lack of big awards and black ink, making Ito a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee at 81.2% for the 2015 class.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

1B/DH Nyx Navas was the lone inductee into the Beisbol Sudamerica Hall of Fame in 2015. On his sixth ballot, Navas narrowly breached the 66% requirement at 70.1%. Catcher Moises Avalos almost joined him on his seventh try, but fell painfully short at 64.6%. 1B Rafael Cervantes was next at 56.6% on his sixth ballot. The only other player above 50% was LF Sergio Echevarria, the best debutant at 56.2%. No players were dropped following ten ballots.



Nyx Navas – First Base/Designated Hitter – Valencia Velocity – 70.1% Sixth Ballot

Nyx Navas was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from the capital of Brazil, Brasilia. Navas was one of the strongest sluggers of his era, hitting 30+ home runs in every season as a full-time starter and topping 40+ seven times. His gap power was quite impressive with 31 doubles per his 162 game average. He’d even get a few triples despite being a painfully slow baserunner. In his prime, Navas was a very good contact hitter with an above average eye, although his strikeout rate was merely okay.

Navas only ever took his glove to first base and was a terrible defender. About 1/3 of his career starts came as a designated hitter, but he didn’t have that option much in the second half of his career. Navas had reliable durability and adaptability, playing 145+ games in 16 different seasons. His impressive power made him a popular player in a career that spanned three continents.

Growing up in the Brazilian capital, Navas got attention from scouts as a teenager. One from Venezuela took a liking to him and in March 1983, signed Navas to a developmental deal with Valencia. He spent most of five years in the academy, officially debuting with two at-bats in 1987 at age 20. Navas was iffy in 82 games and 41 starts in 1988. Still, the Velocity gave him the full-time job in 1989 and he held it for the next seven years with them.

Navas had a good 1989 and helped Valencia end a decade-long playoff drought, although they lost in the first round. Unfortunately, that was their only winning season of Navas’ tenure. He thrived though, leading the Bolivar League in 1990 in home runs (48), RBI (115), and total bases (383). Navas won his first Silver Slugger as a DH with his first of five 6+ WAR seasons with Valencia.

His power dipped a bit in 1991, but he had it back in spades in an impressive 1992. Navas had one of the most impressive batting seasons in BSA history with 11.7 WAR from the DH spot, winning MVP honors and his second Silver Slugger. Navas had career highs in hits (242), runs (134), homers (60), doubles (38), RBI (147), total bases (470), triple slash (.375/.412/.728), OPS (1.14), and wRC+ (219).

He would’ve had a triple crown if not for the BSA homer king Milton Becker’s 64 dingers and 1.161 OPS. Navas’ 134 runs were seven short of the then single-season record and his 147 RBI was four shy of the record. As of 2037, his WAR mark still ranks as the 22^nd best by any position player. Again, that was especially impressive with the vast majority of his starts as a DH.

Navas was moved to first base in 1993 and stayed there for the next decade. His production dropped to 5.0 WAR that year, but he bounced back with back-to-back 7.3 WAR efforts. In 1995, Navas led in homers (56), total bases (398), slugging (.662), and wRC+ (189). He won his second MVP and fourth Silver Slugger. Despite that, Valencia bottomed out at a terrible 66-96. That didn’t give Navas much motivation to stick around with his stock very high after that contract year.

With Valencia, Navas had 1373 hits, 722 runs, 264 doubles, 319 home runs, 798 RBI, a .316/.369/.609 slash, 171 wRC+, and 48.2 WAR. Even if it was a down era for the team, he was popular enough to still get his #34 uniform eventually retired. Heading into his age 29 season, Navas had offers from all across South America. However, he would take his professional talents to the United States for the next eight years.

Although he didn’t play in his native Brazil until 2004, Navas did still proudly represent his country in the World Baseball Championship. From 1990-2003, he had 149 games and 137 starts with 121 hits, 85 runs, 31 doubles, 37 home runs, 88 RBI, a .230/.317/.507 slash, 137 wRC+, and 5.0 WAR. Navas earned a world champion ring as part of Brazil’s 1990 title season.

MLB teams often didn’t get a crack at international stars until their twilight years, so a 29-year old Navas garnered a lot of attention. He ended up inking an eight-year, $29,360,000 deal with Chicago. Navas was a four-time all-star with the Cubs, but was never in the MVP or Silver Slugger conversations. Still, he had 30+ homers in seven straight seasons and had 3.5+ WAR each of those years.

Navas’s best effort was 6.2 in 2000, which also saw a National Association best 119 RBI. His strongest pace was 1997 with a 197 wRC+ over 118 games, but he lost six weeks in the autumn to injury. Chicago was delightfully average during his tenure, usually hovering at or just above .500. Their lone playoff appearance would come with a division title in 1998.

That year, the Cubs made it to the NACS, but lost to Toronto. In 11 playoff starts, Navas had 11 hits, 8 runs, 4 homers, and 6 RBI. He was the full-time starter at first for seven years, but struggles in his last season relegated him to a bench role in 2003. In total for the Cubs, Navas had 1194 games, 1195 hits, 625 runs, 187 doubles, 261 home runs, 729 RBI, a .282/.340/.517 slash, 156 wRC+, and 35.8 WAR.

Now a free agent again heading towards age 37, MLB teams figured Navas was done as a contributor. He headed home to Brazil and just before the 2004 season inked a one-year deal with defending Copa Sudamerica winner Rio de Janeiro. Navas showed he still had power with 42 homers, a .901 OPS, 155 wRC+, and 5.3 WAR at first base.

The Redbirds won their division again, but had a first round playoff loss. Navas was a free agent again and despite the strong showing, couldn’t find a South American team interested at his price point. He still wanted to play and knew he could contribute. Navas’ worldwide feelers led to an unlikely landing place in Mozambique, signing a two-year, $3,240,000 with the AAB’s Maputo Piranhas.

Navas was a positive value starter with 35 and 32 home runs in his seasons there. He had 5.3 WAR, a .258/.330/.504 slash, and 129 wRC+ with Maputo. Navas still wanted to play somewhere in 2007, but most teams could find younger and cheaper sluggers to plug at first or DH. He ultimately retired that winter at age 40.

For his combined pro career, Navas had 3040 hits, 1608 runs, 547 doubles, 689 home runs, 1817 RBI, 841 walks, a .295/.351/.558 slash, 159 wRC+, and 94.6 WAR. That combined stat line makes you a lock anywhere if it is all in one year. However, a full decade came outside of Beisbol Sudamerica, meaning the voters were essentially looking just at the Valencia run and his one year in Rio.

In BSA, Navas had 1562 hits, 825 runs, 294 doubles, 361 home runs, 900 RBI, a .315/.365/.604 slash, 169 wRC+, and 53.5 WAR. There weren’t any position players with a lower career WAR and very few made it below the 1000 run, 1000 RBI, and 2000 hit thresholds. Those that did tended to have brief runs of excellence before leaving.

The rate stats for Navas were very good, but not undeniable. As of 2037 among any BSA hitters with 3000+ plate appearances, his .969 OPS ranks 42^nd and his slugging is 35^th. Two MVPs and one all-time season were major plusses for supporters. Detractors had his lack of team success, low accumulations, and the DH penalty.

Navas still had a respectable 54.3% debut in 2010 and bumped to 60.1% in 2011. He dropped back to 47.8% in 2012, but barely missed in 2013 at 63.1%. Navas fell again though with 47.7% in 2014. For 2015, Navas was helped out by a lack of major debuts. Some detractors noticed that he was the best on offer, crossing the 66% requirement at 70.1%. With that, Navas earned his Hall of Fame spot as Beisbol Sudamerica’s lone inductee in 2015.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two players were inducted in 2015 for the European Baseball Federation’s Hall of Fame on their debuts. LF/1B Villum Kleist was nearly unanimous at 99.0%, while RF Chris Klause made it with 73.0%. The next closest to the 66% requirement was SP Jarand Dahl, taking 57.8% for his fifth ballot. Also crossing 50% were RP Steven Macario at 53.4% on his third go and C Ulrich Thomsen’s 52.0% second ballot effort. No players were removed in 2015 after ten failed tries.



Villum Kleist – Left Field/First Base – Copenhagen Corsairs – 99.0% First Ballot

Villum Kleist was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed hitting slugger from Lemvig, Denmark; a town of 6,800 near the northwestern coast. Kleist was one of Europe’s most prolific home run hitters, leading the Northern Conference in seven different seasons. He crushed 50+ dongs in nine seasons and topped 60+ four times. At his peak, some scouts called him a 10/10 player for power. Kleist’s power helped him draw a lot of walks, although his strikeout rate was quite poor.

Kleist was an average-at-best contact hitter, but more than half of his career hits went for extra bases. He also was good for 21 doubles and 9 triples per his 162 game average. Kleist wasn’t a big galoot like many sluggers with average to above average speed and baserunning chops. This enabled him to score runs at an impressive rate.

Kleist’s excellent durability also gave him tremendous value, playing 150+ games in all but one season from 1992-2006. A left-handed thrower, Kleist made about 3/4s of his starts in left field with the rest at first base. Unfortunately, he was firmly lousy in both spots. But Kleist socked dingers better than all but a very select few in baseball history, making him a popular figure.

It helped that his prime years came for his home country team Copenhagen, who picked him 4^th overall in the 1990 EBF Draft. Kleist was also a fixture of Denmark’s World Baseball Championship teams from 1993-2008 with 149 games and 148 starts. In the WBC, he had 110 hits, 78 runs, 17 doubles, 47 home runs, 101 RBI, a .208/.322/.529 slash, 141 wRC+, and 4.8 WAR.

Copenhagen’s stadium was friendly for home runs, a perfect fit for Kleist. It was one of the best one-two power punches in baseball history as he played alongside Hall of Fame Class of 2014 inductee Mattias Stole for much of his Corsairs run. Stole came onto the scene with a record-breaking 75 home runs in 1994. However, Kleist would be more often atop the home run leaderboards in the conference.

Kleist only played 79 games with 2 starts in 1991, but earned the full-time job in 1992. He had initial whiffing issues, leading in strikeouts thrice from 1992-1995. However, 1993 started a streak of four straight 50+ home run seasons and a run of ten seasons with 47 or more. During that run, Kleist was worth 5+ WAR nine times. After the 1995 season, Copenhagen locked him up for eight years at $20 million. 1995 was his first of four Silver Sluggers in left field, also getting it in 1998, 1999, and 2001.

1996 was Kleist’s first time leading in both homers (57) and RBI (139). He’d then lead in homers five straight years from 1998-2002. He also led in runs in 1998 and led thrice in slugging. Kleist snagged his first MVP in 1998 with 7.8 WAR, 60 homers, a 1.037 OPS, and 196 wRC+. His second MVP came in 2001, which was his best season by many metrics.

At age 32, Kleist had conference and career bests in homers (71), RBI (143), total bases (422), slugging (.733), OPS (1.096), and wRC+ (201). Kleist became only the sixth in EBF history with a 70+ homer campaign. His 8.0 WAR was also a career best. Kleist’s second-best homer total came the next year with 64.

Copenhagen was merely above average in his early years. They won division titles in 1995, 1998, and 2000 with first round exits. The Corsairs lost in the Northern Conference Championship in 2001 to Glasgow. Then despite going 106-56 in 2002, they were upset in the second round. Kleist’s playoff numbers were subpar and rightly deserved criticism.

In 29 playoff starts, Kleist had 22 hits, 20 runs, 4 doubles, 11 home runs, 24 RBI, a .190/.226/.509 slash, 104 wRC+, and 0.6 WAR. Although he remained very popular in Denmark, many Corsairs fans had Stole as their favorite over Kleist. Stole played a huge role in the dynasty run Copenhagen would have in the mid 2000s. Kleist wouldn’t be there for that though, which he would later express regrets over.

Kleist’s contract came up after the 2002 season and the 34-year old opted for free agency. With Copenhagen, he had 1764 hits, 1179 runs, 222 doubles, 102 triples, 601 home runs, 1365 RBI, a .275/.331/.623 slash, 168 wRC+, and 63.8 WAR. Kleist would later see his #29 uniform retired alongside Stole’s #23 in a joint ceremony in 2009.

He signed with Amsterdam for 2003 at four years and $23,200,000. Kleist did notably hit for the cycle that March against Riga, but he ultimately underperformed in three years for the Anacondas. Kleist still was a positive value starter, but he peaked at only 39 home runs in 2003. He was reduced to a platoon starter by 2005 and didn’t meet the criteria for the fourth year of the deal. Amsterdam was above .500 each of his seasons, but short of the playoffs each time.

Kleist had 393 hits, 269 runs, 73 doubles, 98 home runs, 268 RBI, a .269/.344/.547 slash, 139 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR in the Netherlands. Many teams were worried he was cooked at age 37, but Munich gave him a shot in spring training 2006. Kleist had an impressive resurgence for the Mavericks, winning his lone Silver Slugger at first base and fifth of his career. He hit above .300 for the only time in his career (.303) and led in homers for the seventh time with 57.

That was Kleist’s ninth 50+ homer season, which was the EBF record until matched and topped by Harvey Coyle in the early 2020s. The 6.7 WAR effort caught the attention of Paris in free agency for 2007, who gave Kleist two years at $9,440,000. He couldn’t re-capture the magic in one year with the Poodles, playing 127 games with 75 starts, 21 homers, a 138 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR.

Kleist joined Lisbon for 2008 and joined the 800 home run and 2500 hit clubs that year. Only Jack Kennedy at 875 had topped 800 dingers previously and some thought Kleist might chase him, hitting 36 in 2008. The Clippers brought him back in 2009, but he only added 10 more dingers with only 54 games and 25 starts. Kleist opted for retirement that winter at age 41.

The final stats: 2570 hits, 1719 runs, 357 doubles, 147 triples, 823 home runs, 1934 RBI, 837 walks, 259 stolen bases, a .273/.332/.606 slash, 160 wRC+, and 84.8 WAR. As of 2037, Kleist is still third all-time in EBF for homers, ninth for RBI, 14^th in runs, and 45^th in hits.

His porous defense and weaker contact skills pushed him down to only 70^th in WAR among position players. Kleist doesn’t crack the top 100 in OPS with his .937 missing the cut by three points among those with 3000+ plate appearances. He also had 2734 strikeouts, the second most in EBF history behind Augusto Reis’s 3079.

Those advanced stats and his poor playoff numbers rightfully keep Kleist out of the inner-circle level Hall of Fame conversations overall. But for raw power, few were more impressive and 800+ dingers with close to 2000 RBI makes you a lock. Kleist was nearly unanimous at 99.0%, headlining EBF’s 2015 Hall of Fame class.



Chris Klause – Right Field – Stockholm Swordsmen – 73.0% First Ballot

Chris Klause was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Dortmund, Germany’s ninth largest city with around 612,000 in the Ruhr. Against right-handed pitching, Klause was an excellent contact hitter with strong power, posting a career .983 OPS and 170 wRC+. He was merely decent against lefties with a 117 wRC+ and .768 OPS. On the whole, this made Klause a reliably good to occasionally great bat. For his 162 game average, Klause would get you 36 home runs and 29 doubles.

He was respectable at drawing walks, but his strikeout rate was subpar. He was a smart baserunner, but he was quite slow. Klause played essentially his full career in right field, but his poor speed and range meant he graded out as a mediocre defender. However, he did have a very strong arm and runners would be hesitant to try for an extra base against Klause. His durability was decent, but his 30s were plagued with recurring back troubles.

A visiting Swedish scout noticed Klause as a teenager in Germany and brought him to Stockholm on a developmental deal in June 1986. He officially debuted in 1990 as a rare 19-year old pro with 43 games and three starts. Klause stayed in developmental in 1991, then saw nine games in 1992. Stockholm opted to make him a full-time starter from 1993 onward.

Klause had a remarkable debut season, leading the Northern Conference in slugging at .654. That was a career best, as was his 1.045 OPS and 190 wRC+, earning a third in MVP voting. Stockholm made it to the conference finals, but were defeated by Birmingham. Klause struggled in the playoffs with a .167/.184/.312 slash. That and their 1992 one-and-done would be his only playoff appearances with the Swordsmen.

Stockholm wasn’t terrible in his run, averaging 82.6 wins per season. They were stuck in the middle tier despite Klause’s efforts. He wasn’t a league leader, but he topped 40+ homers thrice, 100+ RBI five times, and 6+ WAR five times. 1997 was his finest season statistically with career bests in runs (113), hits (205), homers (47), RBI (136), and WAR (8.8). Klause won Silver Sluggers in both 1995 and 1997 and took third in 1997’s MVP voting.

Klause signed a five-year, $13,060,000 extension after the 1996 season, but was a free agent after the 2002 season at age 31. With Stockholm, he had 1667 hits, 893 runs, 283 doubles, 348 home runs, 971 RBI, a .316/.362/.583 slash, 163 wRC+, and 55.5 WAR. Although the Swordsmen had an uneventful run in Klause’s tenure, he remained popular years later and his #25 uniform was later retired.

Vienna signed Klause to a four-year, $6,640,000 deal. The Vultures decided to use him from 2002-04 in a platoon role. They just missed the playoffs in 2002, then started a five-year playoff streak in 2003, winning 100+ games each year. Vienna went 108-54 in 2003 and won the European Championship against Warsaw. The Vultures were ousted in the second round in 2004, 2006, and 2007. However, they won the Southern Conference title again in 2005, losing the European Championship to Copenhagen.

Klause was good in the 2005 playoff run, but mediocre otherwise. For his playoff career, he had 57 games, 34 starts, a .208/.244/.357 slash, and -0.2 WAR. Klause fared much better on the World Baseball Championship stage from 1993-2008 for Germany with 120 games, 94 starts, 91 hits, 66 runs, 20 doubles, 34 home runs, 75 RBI, a .243/.317/.575 slash, 158 wRC+, and 4.5 WAR.

Still, Vienna was happy and gave Klause a three-year, $20,700,000 extension after the 2005 season. He was a full-time starter again in 2005 and for 2006 when healthy. Klause was switched back to the platoon role in 2007, then missed most of 2008 between a strained oblique and sprained ankle Vienna fell below .500 in 2008, but made it back for a second round exit in 2009.

Klause agreed to a qualifying offer in 2009, but missed two months to a torn thumb ligament. Even when healthy, he saw only 14 starts and 58 games all season. Klause decided to retire after the season at age 39. For his Vultures run, he had 743 hits, 437 runs, 133 doubles, 164 home runs, 471 RBI, a .295/.356/.551 slash, 148 wRC+, and 23.7 WAR.

For his career, Klause had 2410 hits, 1330 runs, 416 doubles, 512 home runs, 1442 RBI, a .309/.360/.573 slash, .933 OPS, 158 wRC+, and 79.2 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 67^th in hits, 64^th in runs, 49^th in home runs, 45^th in RBI, and 89^th in WAR among position players.

Klause didn’t have black ink or big awards and critics noted his poor playoff stats. However, Klause quietly put up pretty good accumulations over an 18-year career. Enough voters were satisfied by his resume for 73.0% of the vote. Klause crossed the 66% requirement for the first round induction as the second member of the 2015 EBF Hall of Fame class.