Baseball: The World's Game

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Cardiff claimed first place in the European Second League’s Western Conference standings at 99-63, edging out 97-65 Seville by two games. It was the first playoff berth for the Crew since getting winning the 2014 E2L title. Cardiff was relegated back in 2018. Although they’ve been an E2L playoff team six times, this was the first time the Crew took first in the standings. The Stingrays earned repeat playoff berths, having taking first the prior year.

London finished third at 90-72, getting their first playoff berth since 2015. The fourth and final playoff spot saw a tie at 87-75 between Lyon and Belfast. The Lords beat the Brewers in the one-game playoff tiebreaker to survive, earning only their second-ever playoff spot. Lyon got promoted in 2009, but hadn’t been in the postseason since getting relegated back for 2012. Falling just short were Liverpool and Nantes at 84-78 and Stockholm at 82-80.

In the Round Robin, London (5-1) and Cardiff (4-2) moved onto the Western Conference Championship while Seville (2-4) and Lyon (1-5) were eliminated. In a seven-game classic, the Monarchs outlasted the Crew despite having to be on the road. England’s capital finally earned promotion back to the European Baseball Federation’s Elite tier after an eight-year stint in the Second League.



A top heavy Eastern Conference had Chisinau and Lodz both at 104-58 with the Counts officially first via a tiebreaker. Chisinau was just sent back to E2L for the first time since 2011 and looked to make it one-and-done. The Counts had impressive pitching with a 2.43 ERA, 1013 hits allowed, 433 runs allowed, and a 6.07 H/9. Each of those was the second-best in EC history. The Legion ended a two-year playoff drought, getting their fourth berth in six years.

11 games away in third place sat 93-89 Athens for their first playoff berth in their third E2L season. Dnipro (89-73) took the final playoff spot, holding off 86-76 efforts by Riga and Vienna. The Defenders’ only other playoff berth prior was 2014. Although they missed the cut, the Roosters had their first winning record in a decade.

The Round Robin had no clear winner as all three teams finished 3-3, forcing tiebreaker formulas to decide the Eastern Conference Championship participants. The math favored Chisinau and Dnipro and eliminated Lodz and Athens. In a seven-game war, the Defenders upset the top-seeded Counts to secure their first-ever promotion.



In the Second League Championship, Dnipro defeated London 4-2. These two would be the only promoted teams in 2021 as there weren’t any additional 100+ loss teams in the EBF Elite. With the Defenders getting bumped up for the first time, that left seven teams that started in E2L and haven’t been promoted at least once over its 17-year run. (Liverpool, Tallinn, Turin, Nottingham, Nantes, Stuttgart, Lodz).



Other notes: Nottingham had 187 stolen bases, setting a Western Conference team record and getting the second most in E2L history. Leading that effort was Leonid Bostan, who set the single-season steals record at 73. Cardiff’s Zachary Brown set the E2L single-season record with 147 RBI. Brown earned the second-ever Triple Crown in E2L with 57 home runs and a .320 average. Seville’s Eldar Dordevic had a 29-game hit streak to set the E2L record.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Entering 2021, the only teams in the African Association of Baseball that hadn’t had a playoff berth in the prior 26 seasons was Lilongwe. The Lightning finally ended that distinction, taking first in the Southern Conference at 100-62. In second at 94-68 was Antananarivo, ending a 12-year playoff drought for the Eagles. Antananarivo allowed the fewest runs (631) with Lilongwe next (648). They finished second and third in scoring, respectively.

Defending conference champ Johannesburg was tied for third at 88-74 with Luanda. The Jackalopes had finished first in the standings six times in the prior seven years. Johannesburg underperformed their expected W/L by eight games, leading the SC in runs (808). Also notable was Dar es Salaam going from 89 wins and second place in 2020 down to 73-89 and seventh in 2021.

Southern Conference MVP went to Harare designated hitter Maninho Magaia. The 26-year old Mozambican righty led in home runs (68), RBI (152), and total bases (388). It was only the 13^th time an AAB slugger hit 68+ homers and the 12^th time someone topped 150+ RBI. Magaia added 115 runs, a 1.044 OPS, 182 wRC+, and 7.3 WAR.

Johannesburg righty Vally Nzamba won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 30-year old Angolan righty had the most innings (243.1), quality starts (21), and shutouts (4). Nzamba had a 3.00 ERA, 16-9 record, 251 strikeouts, and 5.5 WAR.



Reigning AAB champ Kampala finished first in the Central Conference standings for the third time in four years. The Peacocks were 102-60, scoring the most runs (836) and allowing the fewest (616) in all of AAB. Lubumbashi was second at 95-67, snapping a 16-year playoff drought. Nairobi was the only other team in the hunt at 90-72. Brazzaville fell to seventh at 80-82, ending a six-year run of winning seasons. The Blowfish had earned five playoff berths with four 100+ win seasons in that run.

Although Bujumbura was at .500, their superstar third baseman Warren Biloa won his fourth consecutive Central Conference MVP. He became the sixth AAB player with four MVPs and the first to do it consecutively. The 29-year old Central African led in runs (119), homers (54), RBI (133), total bases (393), slugging (.706), OPS (1.103), wRC+ (185), and WAR (8.5). The Bighorns committed to Biloa long-term in May with a seven-year, $61,300,000 extension.

Kampala’s Ermias Tadele won his second Pitcher of the Year, having previously gotten it in his 2018 Peacocks debut. The 33-year old Ethiopian lefty led in ERA (2.33), WHIP (0.91), K/BB (6.6), quality starts (22), FIP- (55), and WAR (9.3). It was Tadele’s second ERA title and his fifth straight year as the WARlord. He also had 279 strikeouts over 239.2 innings for a 174 ERA+ and 20-8 record.

Lilongwe defeated Antananarivo 4-2 in the Southern Conference Championship for their first-ever pennant. This left Kigali and Bujumbura as the remaining AAB teams without at least one pennant. Kampala survived in a seven-game classic with Lubumbashi to earn their third Central Conference Championship win in four years.



Kampala officially declared itself a dynasty by winning the 27^th Africa Series 5-3 against Lilongwe. The Peacocks became the third franchise in AAB history to win three titles in a four year stretch (2018, 2020, 2021) and became the fifth franchise to earn a repeat. The Central Conference continued its general dominance, claiming 19 of AAB’s 27 titles thus far.



Catcher Alexandre Selemani repeated as the Africa Series MVP. The 26-year old from the Republic of the Congo started 14 playoff games with 14 hits, 5 runs, 5 doubles, 3 homers, and 8 RBI. Pitcher of the Year Ermias Tadele also had a strong playoff showing with two of his four starts being shutouts. He set an AAB postseason record for innings (34), going 3-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 21 strikeouts. In defeat, Lilongwe’s Jabir Hassen had 25 hits, one short of the AAB playoff record. He did set a new record for singles at 17.

Other notes: Durban’s Rio Manuel tossed AAB’s fourth perfect game on May 19, striking out 15 against Luanda. This would be the final AAB perfect game until 2036. Kinshasa’s Reginald Ulengo threw his second no-hitter, having also tossed one a decade prior. He joined Pacifique Hadi as the only AAB aces to throw multiple no-hitters. Ulengo and Tadele became the 11^th and 12^th AAB pitchers to reach 2500 strikeouts.

Addis Ababa’s offense had a .211 batting average and 1097 hits, the second-lowest in AAB history behind the Brahmas’ 2018 campaign. After having a historic dynasty from 2006-14, AA has averaged an abysmal 54.25 wins per season in their last four seasons. The Brahmas need to get their affairs in order quickly as next season begins promotion/relegation with the African Second League.

Kaunda Kalinga became the fourth member of the 800 home run club. He played one more year and ended at 821, retiring fourth behind Mwarami Tale (968), Felix Chaula (925), and Luke Tembo (893). Patrick Babila became the tenth to reach 500 homers. Cape Town’s Amos Chumo and Lilongwe’s Lubomir Javorsky both had four home run games, an achievement now reached 11 times in AAB. LF Roddy Mukeshimana won his eighth Silver Slugger.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Defending Arab League Western Conference champ Cairo had the top seed in 2021, winning their fifth consecutive Nile Division title at 100-62. The Pharaohs allowed the fewest runs (649) and scored the second most (851) in the conference. This guaranteed a fifth consecutive appearance in the Western Conference Final. The division title took some work for Cairo though, holding off a 94-68 effort by Khartoum. The Cottonmouths’ playoff drought grew to 22 years, although this was their best effort in that stretch.

Algiers ended a 14-year playoff drought and won the Mediterranean Division at 98-64. It was an impressive turnaround for the Arsenal, who finished 75-89 the prior year. Casablanca led in scoring (865), but came up three games shy at 95-67. The Bruins had their seventh straight winning season, but their playoff drought grew to four seasons. Tripoli, who had won the division in the prior three seasons, fell down to 83-79.

The Levant Division also had a significant playoff drought snapped. Jerusalem finished first at 89-73 to end a 13-year skid going back to 2007. The Jets were 12 games ahead of second place Damascus, who had their first losing season since 2013 at 78-84. Last year’s division champ Amman dropped to 75-87.

Cairo designated hitter Hazem Ibrahim became a two-time Western Conference MVP, having previously won in 2018. The 28-year old Egyptian righty led in RBI (145), OBP (.417), OPS (1.119), wRC+ (187), and WAR (8.1). Ibrahim added 120 runs, 59 home runs, and a .339 average, falling one homer and seven average points shy of a Triple Crown. He stayed with the Pharaohs for one more season, then left for Major League Baseball on a seven-year, $177 million deal with Phoenix.

In only his third full season, Algiers lefty Muhammad Nour won Pitcher of the Year. The 23-year old Algerian was the WARlord (9.7) and led in quality starts (25), and FIP- (52). Nour pitched 236.1 innings with a 2.63 ERA, 163 ERA+, 17-9 record, and 312 strikeouts. After the prior season, the Arsenal made sure to have Nour committed for the long haul with a seven-year, $38,680,000 extension.

Jerusalem upset Algiers 2-1 in the first round, sending the Jets to their first Western Conference Final since 2007. Top seed Cairo held firm 3-1 against Jerusalem for repeat pennants. The Pharaohs became six-time conference champs (1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2020, 2021).



Defending Arab League champ Basra had ALB’s best overall record at 102-60, winning the Mesopotamia Division for the fourth straight year. It was the first time since 2012 that the Bulldogs got the #1 seed, guaranteeing a third consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference Final. Basra allowed the fewest runs in ALB at 606, winning the division by 17 games over Kuwait. Mosul, who gave the Bulldogs a run last year at 100-62, dropped to 81-81 in 2021.

Jeddah now stood alone with the longest playoff streak in ALB history, taking the Saudi Division for the 11^th consecutive season. The Jackals finished 92-70, topping Medina by eight games. A competitive Gulf Division had Muscat (89-73) ahead of Abu Dhabi (86-76) and defending winner Dubai (80-82). The Threshers were the first of the 2016 expansion teams to earn a playoff spot. Muscat led ALB in runs scored (870) and set a new ALB record for hits with 1726.

Leading Muscat’s offensive efforts was Eastern Conference MVP Walid Bennani in only his second full season. The 23-year old Tunisian left fielder led in home runs (67), slugging (.692), OPS (1.073), and wRC+ (166). Bennani had 128 RBI, 126 runs, 6.2 WAR, and also hit for the cycle in September. He was one of the Threshers’ first-ever amateur signings and was now a top talent. In the offseason, Muscat signed Bennani to an eight-year, $40,340,000 extension.

In a split season, Raafat Kada earned Pitcher of the Year honors. The 26-year old Tunisian started with Bahrain, but the struggling Blitz traded him near the deadline for prospects to Jeddah. Kada led in ERA (2.15), quality starts (26), and WAR (8.2). He posted an 18-4 record over 217.2 innings with 236 strikeouts and a 201 ERA+. The Jackals wanted more than a rental, extending Kada four years at $38,400,000 in the offseason.

Jeddah swept Muscat in the first round, earning their seventh Eastern Conference Final appearance in nine years. The Jackals met Basra for the third year in a row with the Bulldogs winning in 2020 and Jeddah taking it in 2019. Those prior seasons, the Jackals had home field advantage. Basra had it in 2021 and were favorites, but Jeddah pulled off the upset 3-2 for their third pennant in four years. The Jackals now were five-time conference champs with each title during their current playoff streak (2013, 14, 18, 19, 21).



The 32^nd Arab League Championship was an all-time classic that went all seven games. For only the second time, game seven required extra innings. Jeddah had been on the losing side of a 17-inning game seven two years prior against Tripoli. This time, the Jackals were on the winning side, taking the final 5-3 over Cairo in ten innings.

Jeddah became four-time Arab League champs (2013, 2014, 2018, 2021), tying them with Medina and Basra for the second most. Casablanca remains the leader at five titles. The Jackals are also the only ALB team with four titles over a nine year span. Cairo remains seemingly unable to win the big one, falling to 0-5 in their finals tries.



Other notes: Ali Jassem, Yahya bin Hakam, and Tarek Abdel Rahman each joined the 700 home run club, making that group six strong. Rauf Salah and bin Hakim made it seven guys with 1500 runs scored. Jassem became the 12^th to 1500 RBI. Bin Hakim won his ninth Silver Slugger at first base.

Damascus stole only 68 bases all season, setting the ALB all-time low. Three players had a six-hit game in the same year for the first time in ALB history. For the first time since 2013, there were zero no-hitters thrown. SS Ahmed Musa won his eighth Gold Glove.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The East League had the exact same four playoff teams from the prior year, although the positions were swapped a bit. Faisalabad did again win the South Division, but this time they were the #1 seed at 106-56. The Fire earned their third straight playoff berth and led the EL in both runs scored (712) and fewest allowed (486). Defending Asian Baseball Federation champ Bishkek was a wild card in 2020, but won the North Division in 2021 at 104-58. The Black Sox secured their third playoff berth in four years.

Last year’s top seed Dushanbe dropped from 110 wins to 93-69, but that still got them the first wild card. The Dynamo playoff streak grew to nine seasons, tying the ABF record set by both Bursa (1997-2005) and Isfahan (1995-2003). Almaty and Rawalpindi tied for the second wild card at 90-72. Tiebreaker games aren’t used for ABF wild cards with the Assassins advancing on tiebreaker formula. Shymkent was also in the mix at 87-75, an impressive finish for a second year expansion team.

East League MVP went to 1B Habib Saquib in his lone season for Bishkek. The 32-year old Pakistani spent his first decade with Tehran, winning MVP for them in 2017. In the last year of an eight-year deal for 2021, the Tarpons traded him in the offseason to the Black Sox for prospects. For Bishkek, Saquib led in runs (113), home runs (57), total bases (409), slugging (.691), OPS (1.071), wRC+ (224), and WAR (9.4). He also had 126 RBI and a .318 average.

Saquib had the awards sweep, earning his third career Gold Glove and his fifth Silver Slugger in addition to the MVP. He also reached the 400 home run and 1000 RBI milestones. The extremely popular slugger would have no shortage of suitors in the offseason, eventually signing with Tabriz at five years and $63 million.

Pitcher of the Year was Faisalabad’s Christian Stewart in his second year with the Fire. The 30-year old righty was an American from Chicago who had seen an interesting pro career thus far. He began in MLB with Columbus and led the National Association in WAR at 8.5 in 2015. Stewart would miss all of 2016 from a torn labrum, then posted mediocre results over his remaining MLB seasons between the Chargers and New York.

Stewart became a free agent and Faisalabad was quite interested for 2020, signing him at $65,800,000 over seven years. He had the most losses in the EL in 2020 at 9-19, but was a victim of poor run support as he still managed a 2.78 ERA and 6.0 WAR. The support flipped in 2021, leading in wins (23-5) and quality starts (28). Stewart had a 1.87 ERA over 245.2 innings, 308 strikeouts, 186 ERA+, and 7.1 WAR.

The top seeds prevailed in the first round with Faisalabad over Almaty 3-1 and Bishkek over Dushanbe 3-2. The Black Sox kept their repeat bid alive and the Fire earned their second East League Championship Series berth in three years. Faisalabad defeated Bishkek 4-2 in the ELCS to claim their third pennant (2011, 2014, 2021). The Fire are the first Pakistani team to win the pennant since their 2014 title.



The West League also saw limited turnover with three of the four playoff teams extending significant streaks. Tabriz took the top seed and the Central Division for the fourth straight year, finishing 109-53. The Tiger Sharks’ playoff streak grew to six seasons, tying for the fewest runs allowed at 564 with Baku. Asgabat gave them a strong run in the division at 101-61, taking the first wild card to also extend a playoff streak to six seasons.

Izmir won the West Division at 98-64, scoring the most runs in the league at 843. Defending WL champ Bursa was eight games back at 90-72. The Blue Claws ended up two games short of the second wild card behind Mashhad at 92-70. The Mercury hadn’t posted a winning season since 2015 and hadn’t made the playoffs since 2014.

For the third consecutive year, Izmir third baseman Hakan Mocuk was West League MVP. The 27-year old Turkish righty led in home runs (53) and RBI (154). Mocuk had only the sixth-ever 150+ RBI season in ABF, falling four short of the single-season record. Mocuk added 108 runs, .312/.351/.649 slash, 161 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR. Notably, Mocuk’s leadoff guy Deniz Bayraktar scored 137 runs, setting a new ABF single-season record, topping the previous best of 133.

Pitcher of the Year also saw a third consecutive victory for Tabriz righty Hafez Farzani. The 27-year old Iranian righty also posted a third Triple Crown in a row, joining CABA legend Junior Vergara and EAB’s Do-Kyun Lee as the only pitchers to pull that off. Farzani’s 2021 saw a 24-6 record, 2.09 ERA, and 374 strikeouts in 237.1 innings. He also led in K/BB (14.4) and WAR (7.2) with a 193 ERA+. Unfortunately for Farzani, he would suffer a torn rotator cuff in summer 2022 that knocked him out 13 months. He managed a few more respectable seasons after that, but never reclaimed elite form.

Wild card Mashhad shocked top seed Tabriz with a first round sweep, sending the Mercury to their first West League Championship Series since their 2014 pennant. Izmir outlasted Asgabat 3-2 in a fierce battle for their second WLCS in three years. The Ice Caps snuffed out any additional Mashhad magic, taking the series firmly 4-1. This was Izmir’s second pennant, joining their 1991 campaign.



The 37^th Asian Baseball Federation Championship had Faisalabad defeat Izmir 4-2, moving the Fire to 3-0 in the finals with wins in 2011 and 2014. The 2014 finals MVP Rafkat Kudaybergenov won the honor again in 2021 in his 17^th year with Faisalabad. The 35-year old Uzbek first baseman in 16 playoff starts had 19 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 4 homers, and 19 RBI. Pitcher Haroon Kundi also played a big role, winning ELCS MVP with two shutouts in his four playoff starts. Kundi was 3-0 with a 1.16 ERA over 31 innings and 42 strikeouts.



Other notes: ABF’s 15^th perfect game came on September 6 from Bishkek’s Nhanoglan Mamytov, striking out 11 against Almaty. Isfahan had 95 triples as a team, setting a new ABF record. Mehmet Fatih Canaydin and Ziad Tarkhan both reached 2500 hits, making five to do so in ABF. Majd Bsharri and Shadi Alam became the 10^th and 11^th members of the 500 home run club.

Hossein Hatami became the eighth pitcher to 4000 career strikeouts. Ananthakrisnan Khan became the second to 300 career saves. 3B Eser Naspolatli extended his ABF Gold Gloves record by winning his 13^th. RF Hana Zuhair won his ninth consecutive Gold Glove.

SS Nizami Aghazade won his eighth Silver Slugger. It was a “down year” for the seven-time MVP at only 8.9 WAR, which would’ve been higher if not for a fractured hand that cost him two months. At age 33, he became tied as ABF’s career WARlord at 117.2 along with teammate Ziad Tarkhan. Tarkhan had passed Petri Viskari’s 114.5 the prior year. Tarkhan would actually drop slightly to 117.1 with one more season, while Aghazade would lap the field with continued dominance.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Three of the Indian League’s four playoff teams in 2021 earned repeat berths with the lone exception being Kolkata. The Cosmos took the top seed at 102-60, winning the Central Division and ending a five-year playoff drought. The Central also featured the battle for the wild card with Delhi (92-70) edging Jaipur (90-72) for the spot. Defending South Asia Baseball champ Nagpur won the South Division by 13 games at 93-69. The Patriots earned their third consecutive division title and fourth straight playoff berth.

The West Division had a tie between Pune and Ahmedabad at 85-77 with both teams trying to extend their playoff streak to three seasons. In a one-game tiebreaker, the Purple Knights ousted the Animals to advance. Nagpur allowed the fewest runs (549) in the IL while Chennai (702) scored the most. The Cows struggled to 72-90 despite their offense, allowing the most runs by a large margin at 782.

Ahmedabad 1B Abhiji Srivas won his fourth consecutive Indian League MVP, becoming the seventh player in SAB history with 4+ MVPs. The 26-year old lefty led in runs (109), home runs (52), OBP (.400), slugging (.695), OPS (1.095), wRC+ (224), and WAR (9.8). Srivas also ranked second in both batting average (.331) and RBI (115). The Animals gave Srivas an eight-year, $89,600,000 deal the prior summer to lock him up.

Although Lucknow struggled to 72-90, veteran righty Ravi Cittabhoga earned Pitcher of the Year in his ninth year for the Larks. The 31-year old Indian led in ERA (1.76), shutouts (4), FIP- (43), and WAR (9.5). Cittabhoga added a 14-10 record, 12 saves, 219.2 innings, 298 strikeouts, and 203 ERA+. Lucknow extended him in spring 2020 at seven years and $52,300,000.

Wild card Delhi upset their divisional foe and top seed Kolkata with a 3-0 sweep, sending the Drillers to their first Indian League Championship Series berth since 2013. Nagpur edged Pune 3-2 on the other side to continue the Patriots’ repeat bid. Delhi again dominated on the road, taking the ILCS 4-1 over the reigning champ Nagpur. The Drillers earned their first-ever Indian League pennant, leaving Chennai, Surat, and Lucknow as the only IL teams without a title.



The Southeast Asia League also had three of four teams earn repeat playoff berths. The division champs remained the same, although they switched seeds. Hai Phong got the #1 spot atop the North Division at 101-61, leading the league in scoring at 820 runs. Meanwhile Da Nang repeated as South Division champs at 96-66. The Nailers edged out Yangon (95-67) by one game.

The defending SEAL champ Green Dragons allowed the fewest runs (597) and took the first wild card, extending their world record playoff streak to 27 seasons. There was an eight game drop to the second wild card spot, which saw five teams in the mix. Dhaka (87-75) narrowly beat out 86-76 efforts by both Ho Chi Minh City and Vientiane, an 85-77 Hanoi, and 83-79 Chittagong. The Dobermans ended a seven-year playoff drought, while the Vampires saw their five-year streak snapped.

Designated Hitter Duc Son repeated as Southeast Asia League in his second year with Yangon. The 30-year old Vietnamese righty led again in home runs (63), RBI (149), total bases (425), slugging (.707), OPS (1.069), and wRC+ (184). Son added 113 runs, a .328 average, and 7.9 WAR.

The Green Dragons also had Pitcher of the Year Huynh Pham, winning the award for the sixth time. He joined Zainal bin Aziz (8) as the only aces to win the award 6+ times in SAB. It was the second award for Pham since singing with Yangon in 2018, having previously won with Vientiane in 2012, 13, 16, and 17. The 34-year old lefty had an 18-8 record, 2.54 ERA, 234 innings, 279 strikeouts, and 6.2 WAR. Pham was no longer a full-time two-way starter, but he also played 48 games and started 13 in the field with a 1.106 OPS and 2.0 WAR.

Dhaka shocked division foe Hai Phong 3-2 in the first round, earning their first SEAL Championship trip since winning it all in 2011. Da Nang ousted defending champ Yangon 3-1 on the other side. The Nailers’ only other LCS berth was in their inaugural 2004 campaign. The Dobermans earned the road series win 4-2 over Da Nang to grab their sixth pennant (1981, 1984, 1991, 2002, 2011, 2021).



The 42^nd South Asia Baseball Championship saw a first time winner as Delhi outlasted Dhaka in a seven-game classic. The Drillers became the 14^th different franchise to win the SAB title and the sixth different champ in six years. This also gave the Indian League four straight titles. LF Binh Su Bac won finals and ILCS MVP honors with 15 starts, 25 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, and 11 RBI. This was Bac’s seventh and final year for the Drillers, as the 26-year old would earn a big eight-year, $72.8 million deal with Yangon.



Other notes: Hanoi slugger Majed Darwish became the professional baseball world home run king, passing Arab League legend Nordine Soule’s 1073. Darwish hit 42 in 2021 at age 38, giving him 1078 for his career. Darwish also ended the year at 2549 RBI, joining Soule, Ju-Won Yoo, and Prometheo Garcia as the only players in world history above 2500. He now ranks second all-time with only Garcia (2618) ahead.

Darwish also ended the year with 2259 runs scored, placing him fourth all-time between Garcia (2374), Stan Provost (2348), and Ratan Canduri (2334). This was Canduri’s final year, retiring at age 44 after 25 SAB seasons. In addition to retiring as the runs leader, Canduri was SAB’s WARlord (169.07) and walks leader (1735). He retired second in SAB hits (3770) behind Manju Abbas’ 3897. Canduri also retired third in world history in homers (1049) and fifth in RBI (2496); second in SAB only to Darwish.

As of 2037 among all players in world history, Canduri ranks 16^th in WAR, 9^th in walks, 5^th in homers, 7^th in RBI, 6^th in runs, 17^th in hits, and 50^th in doubles. His 1.047 OPS also ranks 14^th among world Hall of Famers and his 187 wRC+ is 33^rd. In other milestones, Lwin Swe Ko became the eighth SAB slugger to 700 career home runs. Javin Sita was the 23^rd to reach 2500 hits. 2B Nyi Moe Win won his eighth Silver Slugger.

Tamin Hasan was the fourth pitcher to 4000 career strikeouts. Huynh Pham became the 13^th to 3500 strikeouts and the 8^th to 200 wins. RF Bobby Pacubas won his ninth consecutive Gold Glove. Ryan Raji and Saipul Lee both had four home run games in 2021. It has happened nine times in SAB now with 2021 being the only time it happened twice in the same year. Phnom Penh’s pitching staff had 1151 strikeouts and a 7.26 K/9, which was an all-time SAB team worst.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Defending West African Baseball champion Conakry and Bamako went down to the wire for the West League’s top seed in 2021. The Bullfrogs narrowly took it at 98-64, growing their playoff streak to seven years in the process; the longest active streak in WAB. Bamako guaranteed their fourth WLCS appearance of that run and their 11^th WLCS appearance overall.

The Coyotes, last year’s runner-up in the Baseball Grand Championship. finished one game behind Bamako at 97-65, growing their playoff streak to five. The Bullfrogs allowed the fewest runs (678) in the WL with Conakry second (693), while tied for second in runs scored at 860.

Nouakchott was the top scoring team at 868 with them and Abidjan finishing even at 93-69 for the remaining playoff spots. The tiebreaker formula officially gave third place and the home field advantage in the first round to the Athletes. The Night Riders’ playoff streak grew to three years and Abidjan got their third berth in four years. The only other teams remotely in the playoff race were Bouake (86-76) and Cape Verde (85-77).

Vulcans third baseman Okoro Yusuf repeated as Western League MVP. The 24-year old Nigerian led in the triple slash (.397/.456/.721), OPS (1.177), wRC+ (203), and WAR (9.7). His effort was a top ten all-time WAB season for batting average, OBP, and OPS to that point. Yusuf added 43 home runs, 117 RBI, and 106 runs, losing some tallies to a fractured thumb in the final month. His continued dominance opened up the checkbook for Cape Verde, signing Yusuf in the summer to an eight-year, $113,500,000 extension.

Bamako’s Theo Mauger earned Pitcher of the Year in his second season for the Bullfrogs. The 36-year old righty was the first notable baseball pro from Guernsey, a tiny British island territory south of the United Kingdom. Mauger’s first decade was as a respectable starter for MLB’s Nashville Knights. He came to WAB in 2017 with Kumasi, then joined with Bamako in a 2020 trade.

In 2021, Mauger led the WL in wins (19-6), strikeouts (300), innings (243.1), quality starts (21), complete games (7), and shutouts (3). One of the shutouts came on May 20 in a 16 strikeout, 1 walk no-hitter over Benin City. Mauger added a 3.29 ERA, 138 ERA+, and 6.7 WAR. He would spent four more seasons in WAB, signing with Abidjan in the offseason.

The Athletes topped Nouakchott 2-0 in the first round and gave Conakry a fight in round two. However, the reigning champ Coyotes prevailed 2-1 for their third straight Western League Championship Series, setting up a rematch of 2019 with Bamako. The series went all five games with the Bullfrogs again defeating Conakry, giving Bamako its fourth pennant in seven years (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021). It was the Bullfrogs’ eighth WL title overall, having also won in 1976, 1983, 1986, and 2003.



Defending Eastern League champ Yaounde finished first in the EL at 96-66, guaranteeing a fourth consecutive ELCS trip. The Yellow Birds again had WAB’s top offense, leading all teams with 949 runs scored. Three games back at 93-69 were both Kano and Libreville with the tiebreaker formula giving the Condors second place and the Lakers third. Kano’s playoff streak grew to six seasons while Libreville got repeat berths. The Lakers allowed the fewest runs in the EL at 708.

Six teams were within five games of the fourth and final playoff spot. Douala (88-74) finally got their first-ever playoff berth, edging out last year’s first place team Ouagadougou (87-75), Port Harcourt (85-77), Lome (84-78), Cotonou (83-79), and Niamey (83-79). The Dingos were the only WAB team including expansion teams that had never been in the playoffs over WAB’s first 46 seasons. By falling one game short, the Osprey’s playoff streak snapped at three seasons. Although they missed for the third year in a row, the Copperheads continued the longest active streak of winning seasons in WAB at 13 years.

Leading Douala’s turnaround was Eastern League MVP Rasaq Kadir. The 26-year old Nigerian center fielder led in triples (26) while adding 110 runs, 58 doubles, 30 home runs, 115 RBI, a 1.042 OPS, 161 wRC+, and 8.0 WAR. Kadir was the #4 draft pick in 2015 by the Dingos and would remain committed, inking an eight-year, $118 million extension in April 2022.

Niamey’s Sabado Balde won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years. The 29-year old Bissau-Guinean lefty led in strikeouts (335), K/BB (11.2), quality starts (21), FIP- (71), and WAR (7.4). Balde posted a 2.86 ERA over 251.1 innings, 18-11 record, and 162 ERA+. He was one point away from the ERA title and was second in wins.

Douala’s first-ever playoff wins would have to come another year, getting swept in the first round by Libreville. The Lakers kept the momentum going and won 2-1 at Kano, giving Libreville its second-ever ELCS try (2016). The magic quickly ran out with Yaounde rolling to a 3-0 sweep. The Yellow Birds repeated as EL champs and won their third pennant in four years.



In the 47^th West African Championship, Yaounde beat Bamako 4-2 to become two-time WAB champs, joining their 2018 trophy. The Bullfrogs remained seemingly cursed in the finale, falling to 0-8 all-time in the championship. The only team in all of pro baseball to have more runner-up finishes without winning once was MLB’s Indianapolis at 0-9. RF Shafiu Hassan was finals MVP in his ninth season for the Yellow Birds. In 9 playoff starts, Hassan had 11 hits, 8 runs, 6 homers, 1 double, and 9 RBI.



Other notes: Lawrence Nassif became WAB’s all-time hits king, passing Darwin Morris’s 3288 and finishing the season at 3390. Nassif also joined Morris as the only WAB sluggers with 2000 RBI. He ended the year at 2076, within striking distance of Morris’s 2129. Nassif also ended the season with 639 doubles, putting him close to Jack Kiadii’s WAB record 659. Fares Belaid became the third to 3000 career hits at only age 32, leading the league for the tenth time and for the eighth straight year.

Belaid’s 254 hits in 2021 were the 12^th most in a single-season by any player in world history to that point. Yet, it was a down year for him, as he’d topped that mark five times. Belaid did score a career best 148 runs in 2021, four behind Morris’s 152 from 2011 for the WAB single-second record. Belaid and Mandjou Adado became the 5^th and 6^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Belaid also won his seventh Silver Slugger (his 6^th as a DH).

Douala 3B Adrian Kollie set WAB’s single-season record for doubles with 70, beating Florencio Hernandez’ record of 68 from 1998. Kollie was only the third in world history to reach the mark, joining ABF’s Gokhan Karatas (72 in 1990) and AAB’s Stefan Cejka (71 in 1996). As of 2037, Kollie’s season is one of only eight in world history with 70+ doubles.

Abidjan’s Mokhtar Abdoulaye tossed WAB’s 19^th perfect game on September 28, striking out 15 against Kumasi. Aliassou Lankoande and Ibrahim Sani became the 11^th and 12^th members of the 500 home run club. Sani also won his eighth Silver Slugger in left field. Mohamed Traore became the 17^th to reach 2500 hits. Christopher Larbi became only the 6^th pitcher to 200 wins, finishing his career with 208. 3B Seidath Boni won his tenth consecutive Gold Glove, a position record.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Changchun had Chinese League Baseball’s best record in 2021 by a healthy margin atop the Northern League at 107-55. The Camels earned their fourth playoff berth in six years and finished first for the third time of that run. Changchun allowed the fewest runs at 401 and scored the third most at 566. Reigning CLB champ Shenyang finished second by a solid margin at 95-67, but were still 12 away from the Camels. The Swans grew their playoff streak to five seasons and led in runs scored at 577.

The remaining playoff spots went to Nanjing (89-73) and Shijiazhuang (87-75) with both teams getting their third playoff berth in four years. Next closest were Harbin (83-79), Beijing (82-80), and Zhengzhou (81-81). Last year’s NL runner-up Xi’an fell to 14^th at 72-90. Hangzhou also went from a wild card the prior year down to only 78-84.

Legendary Shenyang two-way star Chuchuan Cao repeated as Northern League MVP, winning it for the fifth time (2013, 15, 17, 20, 21). He was second in Pitcher of the Year voting, denying that repeat and a possible sixth POTY. On the mound, the 32-year old lefty led in pitching WAR (9.9) for the eighth time in his decade-long career. Cao also led in innings pitched (289), K/BB (13.1), quality starts (29), and complete games (26), tying CLB’s single-season CG record. He had a 1.96 ERA, 141 ERA+, 19-11 record, and 327 strikeouts.

Cao won his ninth Silver Slugger, playing 78 games in left field in addition to his pitching starts. At the plate, he had 6.1 WAR, a 160 wRC+, 21 home runs, 63 RBI, and 64 runs. Cao had a combined 16.0 WAR, which was the sixth-best of his career and the 25^th-best for any player in any world league. This gave Cao a combined 158.3 WAR for his career, passing SS Junjie Hsiung’s 152.6 as the all-time CLB WARlord.

This would be Cao’s final CLB season, finishing on the mound with a 177-88 record, 1.75 ERA, 2566.2 innings, 3242 strikeouts, 149 ERA+, and 97.2 WAR. At the plate, he had 1252 games, a .292/.333/.486 slash, 174 wRC+, 61.1 WAR, 153 homers, 444 stolen bases, and 586 RBI. As of 2037, he ranks 5^th in pitching WAR and 13^th in strikeouts. Cao’s baseball career would continue in Australia, signing in the offseason with OBA’s Sydney Snakes at $43,200,000 over four years.

Beating Cao for Pitcher of the Year was Shijiazhuang righty Len Goh. The 29-year old Hongkonger led in ERA (1.40) and WHIP (0.77). Goh posted a 13-7 record over 238 innings, 280 strikeouts, 195 ERA+, and 8.4 WAR. He was in his eighth year for the Serpents, signing a five-year, $60,300,000 extension after the 2019 campaign.

In the Round Robin, Nanjing was the top team at 4-2 to earn their second semifinal trip in four years. Shenyang and Shijiazhuang tied at 3-3 while top seed Changchun fared worst at 2-4 despite their regular season dominance. The Swans advanced to their fifth straight semifinal via the tiebreaker, but their repeat bid was denied 4-2 by Nanjing in a rematch of the 2018 semi. The Nuggets earned their fifth trip to the China Series (1070, 1982, 1996, 2018, 2021).



In a tight race for the Southern League’s top spot, Hong Kong (94-68) edged out Foshan (92-70). Both teams grew their playoff streaks to four years, although this was HK’s first time leading the standings in that run. For the remaining two playoff spots, there were six teams within five games of each other. Advancing both at 87-75 were Guangzhou and Kunming. The Gamecocks ended a three year playoff drought and the Muscles stopped a four-year skid..

Falling just short were Changsha (85-77), Xiamen (85-77), Dongguan (83-79), and Nanning (82-80). Defending SL camp Macau also fell short at 80-82 and Shantou’s five-year playoff streak ended with their 78-84 finish. Despite missing the playoffs, the Donkeys scored the most runs in CLB at 591 and the Mutts allowed the fewest at 401.

Southern League MVP went to Changsha LF Tao Cai in only his third season. The 24-year old righty led in home runs (59), RBI (126), runs (109), total bases (395), slugging (.671), and OPS (1.036). Cai had a .302 batting average, 215 wRC+, and 11.6 WAR. He missed out on the WARlord by a fraction to Kunming’s Shimin Loy, who finished third in MVP voting.

Loy’s season was especially significant though as it was his rookie year, having been picked #1 by the Muscle in 2020. He set the new CLB record for WAR by a Rookie of the Year winner, beating Cheng Kang’s 10.8 from 2012. It was among the best rookie years in any world league, although it was still behind the all-time mark of 13.9 by ABF stud Nizami Aghazade in 2012.

Repeating as Pitcher of the Year was Hong Kong righty Dalong Li. The seventh-year righty led in wins (20-6), WHIP (0.79), quality starts (30), FIP- (60), and WAR (7.7). Li posted a 1.82 ERA over 238 innings with 235 strikeouts and a 157 ERA+. He agreed to a four-year, $44,700,000 extension with the Champions in the offseason.

Top seed Hong Kong took top honors in the Round Robin at 4-2, while Guangzhou and Foshan were 3-3 and Kunming was 2-4. The tiebreaker favored the Gamecocks over the Flyers, giving Guangzhou its second semifinal in five years. The Champions got their third semifinal try in four years and again prevailed, although they needed all seven games to outlast the Gamecocks. HK earned its seventh trip to the China Series (1978, 1982, 1997, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2021).



The 52^nd China Series was the third finals meeting between Nanjing and Hong Kong. Back in 1982, the Champions won their first-ever title by beating the Nuggets 4-2. More recently in 2018, Nanjing swept HK to win its second title, putting the trophy next to their 1996 win. 2021 followed the same script as 2018 with a Nuggets sweep. Seventh-year LF Xun Luo was finals MVP, getting 10 hits, 7 runs, 2 homers, and 8 RBI over 16 playoff games.



Other notes: Zhen Zhang became the 10^th member of the 400 home run club, the 14^th to 2000 hits, the 11^th to 1000 RBI, and the 13^th to 1000 runs scored. Boyu Long and Cheng Kang also reached 1000 RBI, making 13 players to do so. Zhang (CF) and Long (RF) both won their eighth Silver Sluggers.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

2021 seemed like a possible changing of the guard in the Taiwan-Philippine Association as the two 2007 expansion teams earned their first-ever playoff berths. The #1 seed went to Cagayan de Oro in the Philippine League at 97-66, who needed a one-game tiebreaker to defeat Zamboanga. Defending PL champ Manila was also competitive at 91-71. The Critters outperformed their expected win/loss by 11 games to take the top spot.

Hsinchu won the Taiwan League by a healthy margin at 93-69 with a powerful offense. The Sweathogs scored 670 runs, 122 more than any other team in Austronesia Professional Baseball. Defending APB champ Taipei was second at 85-77, ending their record nine-year playoff streak. The Tigercats still grew their run of winning seasons to 14.

Repeating as Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP was Hsinchu DH Binh Tang. The 21-year old Vietnamese lefty missed a month to a fractured wrist, but still led in the triple slash (.331/.396/.583), OPS (.979), and wRC+ (200). Tang had 8.3 WAR, 90 runs, 30 home runs, and 89 RBI. He soon earned the nickname “The King” for good reason, as this 8.3 WAR season would be his lowest output for the next 14 years.

Zamboanga ace Ching-Chen Yao won his ninth Pitcher of the Year award and his seventh consecutive. He became only the fourth pitcher in all of pro baseball history to win the award 9+ times, joining EPB’s Matvey Ivanov (11), CABA/MLB legend Junior Vergara (10), and BSA’s Lazaro Rodriguez (9). Amazingly, this was actually the lowest full-season WAR in Yao’s career to that point, despite leading the TPA again at 9.7.

Yao won his seventh ERA title at 1.41 and led in strikeouts (306) for the ninth time. He also led in WHIP (0.65) and FIP- (39). Over 216.2 innings, Yao had a 13-6 record and 200 ERA+. Still only 33-years old, the Zebras lefty also threw his second no-hitter on September 4 with 10 strikeouts and 2 walks against Tainan. Yao moved to 136.7 career WAR, which ranked fourth in APB and was within striking distance of Hadi Ningsih’s top mark of 144.49.



Two-time defending Sundaland Association champ Palembang earned their fourth consecutive Java Sea League crown. The Panthers at 101-61 earned the top overall seed, beating Bandung by seven games in the division race. Kuala Lumpur dominated the Malacca League at 98-64, earning their second-ever ML title (2015). The Leopards also posted their best-ever record since joining APB. Singapore was a very distant second at 82-80, while last year’s ML winner Medan fell to 75-87.

In only his third season, Kuala Lumpur CF Adam Mapiut won Sundaland Association MVP. The 22-yeaer old Filipino had 9.1 WAR, a 190 wRC+, .807 OPS, 34 home runs, 81 RBI, and 73 runs. Also worth noting, his Leopards teammate Syanhaz Noor won a fourth consecutive Reliever of the Year. Noor was the eighth APB closer to win the award 4+ times.

Palembang righty Yen Ling Lam earned Pitcher of the Year with a blistering 1.11 ERA, which was the 16^th lowest qualifying season in the incredibly low scoring APB. The 30-year old from Singapore had a 16-5 record over 211.1 innings, 276 strikeouts, 225 ERA+, and 8.1 WAR. After eight years with the Panthers, Lam would leave in the offseason on a huge six-year, $92,600,000 deal to return home to Singapore. Multiple injuries unfortunately would mean he’d only make 34 appearances in two seasons with the Sharks, making that deal an all-time bust.

With both shooting for their first-ever pennant, the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship was a classic. Hsinchu outlasted Cagayan de Oro to advance in seven games. Meanwhile the Sundaland Association Championship wasn’t at all competitive with Palembang sweeping Kuala Lumpur. The Panthers posted the second-ever three-peat in SA history, joining Jakarta’s 1968-70 run. Palembang won its seventh pennant (1974, 1976, 1978, 2005, 2019, 2020, 2021)



Palembang became two-time APB champions, winning the 57^th Austronesia Championship 4-2 over Hsinchu. The Panthers won their second title in three years, the first to do so since Davao’s 2009-10 repeat. 2B Nanda Dhvanamodin won finals MVP in his seventh season for Palembang. The 29-year old Indian in 10 playoff starts had 16 hits, 5 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, and 9 stolen bases.



Other notes: Singapore’s Wil Tabaldo became APB’s all-time RBI leader at 1438, passing the previous best of 1426 by Abracham Gumelar. He had already taken the home run king crown the prior year, finishing 2021 with 663. With 42 homers and 95 RBI in 2021, the 34-year old slugger led in homers for the 11^th consecutive season and led in RBI for the 11^th time in 12 years.

2021 had APB’s 44^th and 45^th perfect games thrown within the same week. On August 16, Pekanbaru’s Muhammad Liaw did it with seven strikeouts against Johor Bahru. Then on August 22, Zamboanga’s Elroy Ejusquiza fanned 14 versus Cebu. Kuala Lumpur’s Ferry Iilang threw his second no-hitter on September 26, having previously done it in 2019. Raja Kamal became the 19^th pitcher to 4000 career strikeouts and Gosner Rahmawati was the 25^th to reach 200 wins.

RF Shih-Chieh Tseng won his position-record 13^th Gold Glove, becoming the third player to win 13+ at any position in APB. 1B Widodo Megawati won his 11^th consecutive Gold Glove. LF Lin Hu won his seventh Silver Slugger.

Batam had an all-time poor offense, setting Sundaland Association worsts in batting average (.180), runs scored (344), and hits (938) while posting the second-worst slugging percentage (.278). The Blue Raiders’ hits and average mark still rank as the worst as of 2037. Taichung set a new Taiwan-Philippine Association worst with 132 doubles, which remains the low as of 2037. On the pitching side, the Toucans’ Sharin Sha’ari had a 3-27 record, setting the APB single-season worst for losses.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Christchurch repeated as Australasia League champion at 101-61, finishing seven games ahead of both Auckland and Melbourne at 94-68. The Chinooks led the AL in both runs scored (849) and fewest allowed (613). They had the third-best team slugging percentage in AL history at .490 and also posted the second-most doubles (286) and triples (143). Christchurch earned their sixth pennant in nine years and their 14^th overall.

Sydney was fourth at 87-75, but they had the Australasia League MVP in 2B Trey Cruz. The 24-year old Guamanian was already in his seventh year with the Snakes, debuting in 2015 at age 18. In 2021, Cruz led in hits (210), stolen bases (109), batting average (.349), and WAR (9.0). He was six steals away from OBA’s single-season record set by George Connolly in 1991. Cruz added a .962 OPS, 154 wRC+, 72 extra base hits, and 121 RBI.

In his Christchurch debut, veteran Alamoana Nembil won Pitcher of the Year. The 30-year old lefty from Kiribati he bounced between three teams before signing a three-year, $11,360,000 deal for 2021 with the Chinooks. He had a banner year, leading in wins at 28-6 while adding a 2.79 ERA over 306.2 innings, 369 strikeouts, 148 ERA+, and 7.7 WAR.



In an intense two-team race, Vanuatu (102-60) beat out Guadalcanal (100-62) for the Pacific League crown. The Wizards became the first of the four 2006 expansion teams to win a pennant, allowing the fewest runs in OBA at 524. Reigning Oceania Champion Guam was a distant third at 88-74 with Honolulu fourth at 87-75.

Port Moresby was seventh at 74-88, but their hometown center fielder Stanley Yeo won Pacific League MVP. In his third season, the 25-year old Papuan lefty had the most total bases (351), steals (86), and WAR (10.9). Yeo hit 41 homers with 103 RBI, 110 runs, .944 OPS, and 174 wRC+.

Leading Vanuatu’s pitching staff to their first title was Pitcher of the Year Stef Page. The 28-year old Australian righty was in his sixth full season in the rotation, winning his first ERA title at 2.41. He also led in quality starts at 32 while tossing 299 innings for a 21-9 record, 378 strikeouts, 143 ERA+, and 9.5 WAR. This big season earned Page a six-year, $89,400,000 extension the following spring.



In the 62^nd Oceania Championship, Vanuatu won their first title in a seven game classic over Christchurch. This left Fiji and the other three expansion teams as those without an OBA title. The Chinooks were runner-up yet again, putting them at 3-11 all-time in the championship. No franchise in any world league has more runner-up finishes.

Finals MVP was 2B Baptiste Thiery, who joined the Wizards in a deadline trade from Canberra. The 30-year old Tahitian made his two months in Vanuatu count, going 11-28 in the finals with 3 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 RBI. Worth noting also was Christchurch ace Jarrod Hutchinson, the 2020 Pitcher of the Year. In his three starts, he had a 1.50 ERA over 24 innings with 33 strikeouts and 1.4 WAR. Hutchinson set new OBA playoff records for strikeouts and pitching WAR. He had a win, loss, and no decision despite his efforts.



Other notes: Fiji ace Akira Brady had his bid for a ninth Pitcher of the Year award thwarted with recurring back spasms costing him two months. Still, Brady was able to pass Timothy Manglona’s 5771 to become the new OBA strikeout leader, finishing the season at 5826. Still only 35-years old, the New Zealand lefty was on his way to becoming only the fifth in all of world baseball history to reach 6000 career strikeouts.

Brady also finished the season at 155.0 WAR, becoming OBA’s all-time WARlord ahead of Tarzan Rao’s 154.94. Brady was primed next season to become OBA’s wins leader as he moved to 311. He was only two behind Nigel Chalmers’ 313 for second and three away from Rao’s 314. In other pitching notables, August Lantz became the seventh to reach 250 wins and Jarrod Hutchingson was the 20^th to get to 3500 strikeouts.

Adrian Kali became OBA’s new all-time hits king, passing Junia Lava’s 3113 and finishing the season with 3129. Dale Harper became the fourth member of the 3000 hit club in 2021 as well, ending the year at 3029. Kali and Clifford James both crossed 1500 runs scored, making five players to do so. James and Roe Kaupa both breached 1500 RBI, making that a 12-player club. Kali also became the 11^th member of the 600 home run club.

Suliano Nadruku, Donald Gorman, and Naldo Soto all got to 2500 hits; making that club 21 men deep. Gold Coast’s Jasper Barnes had a 33-game hit streak, falling one game short of Kiryl Savchuk’s OBA record from 2004. CF Pouvalu Manu won his seventh Gold Glove. Roe Kaupa became the fourth player to win 11 Silver Sluggers. He now had five at first base to go with his six as a designated hitter.

In bad records, Sydney pitcher Albert Aguon allowed 364 hits, a new OBA high. Hobart’s pitching staff set OBA all-time worsts in ERA (5.07) and earned runs allowed (812). Their 859 runs allowed were second-worst to Perth’s 880 from 2004. The Tasmaniacs also had only 988 strikeouts as a staff, which was the third-lowest in AL history.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Much to the frustration of many players, Eurasian Professional Baseball increased the service time required for free agency from nine years to ten years. This made EPB the most restrictive of all of the world leagues along with Beisbol Sudamerica. BSA would relent and ease up shortly, while EPB’s restriction remained in effect through the 2036 season.



Defending European League champ Volgograd broke their franchise-record 106-56 mark from the prior year, taking the top seed and South Division title at 109-53. The Voyagers earned their second-ever division title (2007), as they were a wild card last year behind Voronezh. The Zephyrs fell to 90-72 in 2021, but that was enough to get the first wild card. Voronezh earned their third straight playoff berth and their fourth in five years. The Zephyrs were the only EPB team that scored 700+ runs in 2021 at 728.

Moscow repeated as North Division champ at 96-66, growing their playoff streak to four years. The Mules earned their seventh berth in eight years and were the only team to allow fewer than 500 runs (488). Nine games away was Nizhny Novgorod at 87-75, who took the second wild card over St. Petersburg (85-77), Krasnodar (83-79), and Kazan (81-81). This was the first-ever playoff berth for the Ninjas since their founding in 2000.

Voronezh first baseman Zygmunt Socha won his second European League MVP, having also won back in 2017. The 29-year old Polish lefty led in home runs (58), RBI (129), runs (114), doubles (41), total bases 9419), slugging (.709), OPS (1.097), wRC+ (211), and WAR (10.8). After 11 years with the Zephyrs, Socha would opt out of his eight-year deal signed in winter 2016. He would leave for Major League Baseball with a five-year, $123 million deal with Houston.

Volgograd ace Svyatoslav Tyahnybok won his third consecutive Pitcher of the Year and posted EPB’s 14^th Triple Crown pitching season. The 27-year old Ukrainian had a 24-6 record, 1.59 ERA, and 332 strikeouts over 226.2 innings. Tyahnybok also led in WHIP (0.73), K/BB (15.1), FIP- (37) and WAR (10.7) with a 206 ERA+. He would commit long-term with the Voyagers after the 2020 season on a five-year, $57,300,000 deal.

Nizhny Novgorod shocked top seed Volgograd 3-2 in the first round, giving the Ninjas their first-ever European League Championship Series trip. Moscow downed Voronezh 3-1 on the other side, giving the Mules their sixth ELCS berth since 2014. Moscow downed their divisional foe NN 4-2 for their second pennant in three years and fourth in seven years. This gave the Mules 12 EL titles, passing Kyiv for the second-most. Moscow still has a long way to catch Minsk’s 20 titles for the most.



Perm repeated as West Division champ at 104-58 and earned the Asian League’s top seed for the first time. Last year’s top seed Krasnoyarsk again won the East Division at 102-60. The Cossacks grew their playoff streak to four years and led the AL in runs scored at 687. Two-time defending EPB champ Chelyabinsk earned their third consecutive wild card with a 97-65 finish.

For the second wild card, Ulaanbaatar (89-73) edged out Yekaterinburg (87-75). With the Boars’ result, the AL had the same four playoff teams as the prior year. Although the Yaks missed the playoffs, they ended a six-year run of losing seasons. Omsk allowed the fewest runs at 501, but couldn’t do better than 80-82 with only 508 runs scored.

Asian League MVP went to Krasnoyarsk shortstop Bakhtiyar Dolukhanov. The 27-year old Kazakh switch hitter led in hits (205), doubles (41), and batting average (.344). Dolukhanov added 78 runs, .925 OPS, 175 wRC+, and 7.8 WAR. He committed long-term the Cossacks the prior winter on an eight-year, $57,200,000 extension.

Ulaanbaatar righty Ilya Kungurov picked up Pitcher of the Year honors. The 26-year old Russian led in ERA (2.09), innings (271.1), WHIP (0.84), and quality starts (27). Kungurov saw 321 strikeouts, an 18-7 record, 153 ERA+, and 8.7 WAR.

In the first round, Perm topped Ulaanbaatar 3-1 and Chelyabinsk ousted Krasnoyarsk 3-1. The Pitbulls earned their first-ever trip to the Asian League Championship Series, while the Cadets were going for the three-peat. In a seven-year classic, Perm outlasted Chelyabinsk to become the second of the 2008 expansion teams to win a pennant.



The 67^th EPB Championship saw Perm roll Moscow 4-1 to become the 22^nd different franchise to win the EPB crown. The Mules moved to 5-7 all-time in their finals tries. RF Timofei Averkin was finals MVP in his seventh year for the Pitbulls. The 27-year old Russian in 16 starts had 24 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, and 13 RBI.



Other notes: Nikolay Kargopolecv became the 10^th member of EPB’s 600 home run club. Evgeny Kiselev became the 22^nd to reach 2500 hits. Wojciech Tarnawski and Kaysar Alkhasov both got to 200 wins, a mark hit by 56 EPB arms. 1B Artur Sagdatullin won his position-record 12^th Gold Glove. He was the fourth in EPB with 12+ GGs at any spot. Omsk’s Malik Kadyrov threw his third no-hitter, becoming the eighth EPB pitcher with 3+ no-nos in their career. Minsk’s offense had only 236 walks drawn, tying EPB’s all-time low.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Hamburg finished well ahead of the rest of the EBF Northern Conference at 108-54, repeating as East Division champ. The Hammers won their fifth consecutive division title and scored 840 runs, 104 more than the next closet team. Hamburg was second in the NC with 577 runs allowed. Warsaw was the only team allowing fewer at 553 and had the conference’s second-best record despite being 13 games behind Hamburg in the division. The 95-67 Wildcats easily got the first wild card and their third postseason berth in a row.

Beyond those two teams, the rest of the conference was absurdly competitive. Only seven wins separated the NC’s third-best record from the 15^th-best and there were 13 teams within seven games of the final wild card spot. Defending conference champ Dublin dropped from 109 wins to 87-75, but this still narrowly got them the West Division crown. Oslo was one back at 86-76, getting the second wild card to end a four-year playoff drought.

Rotterdam won the Central Division by two games at 86-76 for their second berth in four years, although the Ravens hadn’t been a division champ since 2005. The top contenders for the third wild card were close behind in the Central. Antwerp (84-78) missed the division title by two games, but they took the final spot to end a three-year drought. Right behind them in the Central Division were Frankfurt (83-79), Amsterdam (82-80), and Cologne (81-81). The Falcons notably had a three-year playoff streak snapped.

Plenty of other teams in other divisions had a legit shot at a wild card into mid-September with Kharkiv (82-80), Leipzig (81-81), Reykjavik (81-81), Edinburgh (80-82), Helsinki (80-82), and Wroclaw (80-82) all in striking distance. Even 78-84 Manchester and Berlin, plus 77-85 Hanover and Sheffield weren’t out of it until late. Those teams also needed to fight to the end as they weren’t safe from relegation.

The worst record in the conference gets demoted, but usually that team is noticeably weaker than their foes. In 2021, 70-92 was the bottom spot and went to Brussels. Paris (71-91), Kyiv (71-91), Glasgow (72-90), and Birmingham (74-88) all were sweating until the end, but survived. It was a stunning result for the Beavers, who had a 15-year run of winning seasons entering 2021 and were European Champion back in 2017. Despite not being awful, the Belgian capital was relegated for the first time. Brussels also underperformed their expected win/loss by nine games, adding insult to injury.

Northern Conference MVP went to Hamburg second baseman Oliver Schmitz. The 28-year old German led in home runs (58) and total bases (420). Schmitz had 118 runs, 126 RBI, 57 stolen bases, .960 OPS, 166 wRC+, and 9.8 WAR while also hitting for the cycle in June. He signed a four-year, $77 million extension with the Hammers in March, but would shock them by opting out after the 2022 season. Schmitz then earned a six-year, $164.2 million payday from Edinburgh.

Amsterdam veteran Luther Bowness won Pitcher of the Year in his 14^th season for the Anacondas. The 33-year old English righty led in strikeouts (308) and WAR (8.2). Bowness saw a 2.54 ERA over 241.1 innings, 16-8 record, and 153 ERA+. He tossed three more seasons with Amsterdam before a pair of labrum tears forced his exit.

Oslo upset Warsaw 2-1 in the first round while Antwerp edged Rotterdam 2-1. Both winners took the top seeds to the limit in round two, but home field advantage held. Dublin dropped the Octopi 3-2 and Hamburg held off the Airedales 3-2. The Dinos kept their repeat bid alive, while the 2019 champ Hammers hoped not to squander the top seed like they did in 2020.

Hamburg was a heavy favorite, having won 21 more games than Dublin despite this being the #1 versus #2 seed in the Northern Conference Championship. The Hammers held firm, winning the series 4-1 for their second pennant in three years. Hamburg became six-time conference champs (1964, 1979, 1990, 1999, 2019, 2021).



The Southern Conference was top heavy with three 100+ win teams. The top two were both in the Central Division with Zagreb (108-54) defeating Palermo (104-58). The Gulls earned repeat playoff berths, but this was the first time since 1975 as a division champ. As the first wild card, the Priests earned their third playoff berth in their five years since getting promoted to the EBF Elite. Zagreb led the conference in scoring with 806 runs.

Reigning European Champion Munich earned the #2 seed and the bye atop the West Division at 101-61. The Mavericks allowed the fewest runs in the SC at 571 and got their third playoff berth in four years. Zurich was eight back in the division at 93-69. The Mountaineers and the Central Division’s Brno (94-68) picked up the remaining wild cards easily. Zurich’s playoff streak grew to six seasons, while the Bandits earned their first-ever postseason trip in their eight seasons in the top tier.

In a weak East Division, Belgrade (85-77) held off Bucharest (82-80) and Skopje (81-81) to advance. The Bruisers got their second berth in three years and first division title since 2015. Last year’s division champ Cluj-Napoca was a non-factor at 75-87. Also notable was 2020 top seed Naples falling from 106-56 down to 81-81.

Another historically strong franchise was demoted for the first time as Barcelona posted the Southern Conference’s worst record at 63-99. Tirana (65-97) and Ljubljana (66-96) both narrowly escaped relegation. The Bengals had been conference champ as recently at 2015 and had won four pennants since 2006. However, 2021 was Barcelona’s sixth consecutive losing season and the one that doomed them to relegation for the first time. This was a rare season where no teams lost 100+ games, meaning only the worst team from each conference would be relegated.

Palermo 1B Jean-Paul Lafontaine became a three-time Southern Conference MVP, having also won in 2019 and 2017. The 31-year old Frenchman led in runs (137), RBI (122), total bases (398), slugging (.671), OPS (1.074), wRC+ (194), and WAR (8.9). Lafontaine smacked 48 home runs with 57 stolen bases and a .342 average. It was his 11^th season with the Priests, having led them out of the European Second League in 2016.

Zagreb’s A.J. Magee repeated as Pitcher of the Year and became the fourth EBF ace to win the award 5+ times. The 31-year old lefty from Northern Ireland led in wins at 21-4, adding a 2.09 ERA over 245.2 innings, 221 strikeouts, 181 ERA+, and 6.9 WAR. Entering his tenth year for the Gulls, Magee signed a six-year, $106,800,000 extension around opening day.

Brno stunned Palermo 2-0 in the first round while Belgrade swept Zurich. Like in the Northern Conference, the top seeds were taken to the brink but survived 3-2 in the second round. Zagreb outlasted the Bandits and Munich bested the Bruisers. For the Gulls, this was their first trip to the Southern Conference Championship since 1996. It was a rare occurrence where both conference finals had the top two seeds.

Zagreb had the top seed, but the Mavericks’ recent playoff success helped them roll to a 4-1 series victory on the road. Munich repeated as Southern Conference champ and were the first team to win the SC thrice in four years since Madrid (1999-2002). It was the ninth pennant for the Mavericks (1951, 1952, 1971, 1988, 1991, 2001, 2018, 2020, 2021).



The 72^nd European Championship was an all-German final, the first-time ever that two teams from the same nation met for the EBF crown. It also guaranteed a German winner for the third year in a row, as Hamburg had won in 2019 and Munich was the defending champ. The Mavericks would pull off the repeat, defeating the Hammers 4-2. Munich became four-time EBF champs (1952, 1988, 2020, 2021) while Hamburg fell to 1-5 all-time in the finale.

RF Andre Walter was finals MVP in his third season, having joined Munich in a 2020 offseason trade from Leipzig. The 24-year old German in 16 playoff starts had 17 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, and 16 RBI. Munich became the fifth franchise to repeat as European Champion, joining Dublin (2010-11), Copenhagen (2004-05), Marseille (1985-86), and Amsterdam (1983-84).



Other notes: Oslo shortstop Harvey Coyle finished the season with 169.0 career WAR, putting him just behind Jacob Ronnberg’s 169.2 for EBF’s all-time WARlord spot. Still only 34-years old, Coyle had 9.6 WAR in 2021 and won his 13^th Gold Glove; a record at any position in EBF. The eight-time English MVP maintained his commitment with the Octopi, signing a four-year, $65,100,000 extension in the winter.

EBF hit king Jiri Lebr became the fifth player to reach 2000 career RBI and the 35^th member of the 500 home run club. Lebr ended 2021 at 2106 RBI, just behind Jacob Ronnberg (2184) and Jack Kennedy (2107) for EBF’s most. The 40-year old Slovak finished the year at 3974 hits and didn’t seem to be slowing down, primed to become the fourth in all of pro baseball history to reach 4000 hits. After nearly two decades with Budapest, Lebr played 2020 and 2021 for Warsaw. He would sign for 2022 with Manchester.

Harvey Coyle, Marco Solis, and Johan Almgren each got to 2500 hits, making that a 37 player club in EBF. Jean-Luc Tapie became the 26^th to 1500 RBI and the 18^th to 1500 runs scored. Almgren also reached 1500 RBI, the 27^th to do so. LF Theofilos Psarras won his seventh Silver Slugger. Ivan Marchenko won his eighth Gold Glove and his first at third base. He had won twice at shortstop and five times at second base.

In essentially his final pro season, journeyman closer Metta Adam became the eighth reliever in world history to record 500 career saves. He was best known for his time with Taipei, getting 271 of his saves. Adam bounced around between APB, EBF, and MLB in his final years to finish with exactly 500 saves. It was also notable as he never won Reliever of the Year despite leading in saves eight times in his run.

The two no-hitters thrown in the 2021 EBF season both came from Reykjavik’s Vasile Russu. The first had 14 strikeouts and 1 walk on April 8 against Hanover and the second on May 28 saw 16 Ks and 2 BB against Helsinki. Russu was the fourth pitcher in EBF history to throw two no-hitters in the same season.

Promotion/Relegation: Brussels and Barcelona were demoted to the European Second League, while Dnipro and London earned promotion. The Monarchs were moved into the NC West and Oslo was shifted to the Central to replace the Beavers. The Defenders were put into the SC East, while Krakow was shifted to the Central and Malta was moved to the West to plug the Bengals’ slot. Both Brussels and Barcelona were placed in the E2L Western Conference and Gothenburg was shifted to the Eastern Conference to restore balance.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Caracas posted its fifth consecutive Venezuela Division title and fifth consecutive 100+ win season. For the third year running, the Colts also had the Bolivar League’s top seed with their 102-60 finish. Caracas allowed the fewest runs in the BL (668) and was second in runs scored (825). The division ace wasn’t a cakewalk though with both wild cards coming out of Venezuela.

Last year’s BLCS runner-up Ciudad Guayana led in scoring at 862 and had the second-best record in the league at 99-63, three games behind the Colts. Valencia at 90-72 earned the second wild card, ending an eight-year postseason drought. The Velocity finished two games ahead of Cali and three ahead of defending BL champ Santa Cruz for the second wild card.

The Cyclones (88-74) were four games behind Guayaquil in the Colombia-Ecuador Division. The 92-70 Golds got their second division title in five years. Guayaquil set a new Beisbol Sudamerica team record with 137 triples. Quito at 82-80 had their bid for a third straight wild card snapped. Also notable was Medellin at 79-83, posting their first losing record since 2010. The defending champ Crawfish were 87-75, finishing four games behind Trujillo for the Peru-Bolivia Division. The Thoroughbreds extended their division title streak to four seasons.

Bolivar League MVP went to Ciudad Guayana’s Juan Suarez in his first full season. He wasn’t considered eligible for Rookie of the Year despite only playing 10 games in 2019 and none in 2020. The 22-year old Colombian started all 162 games and led in hits (243), runs (134), home runs (51), plate appearances (707), at-bats (665), and total bases (459). He added 127 RBI, 1.088 OPS, 177 wRC+, and 7.7 WAR.

Santa Cruz’s Bartolo Flores picked up Pitcher of the Year in his second full season as a starter. The 23-year old Ecuadoran righty led in ERA (2.56), strikeouts (341), WHIP (0.93), quality starts (23), and WAR (7.3). Flores had a 159 ERA+ over 252.2 innings and 18-9 record, falling two wins short of a Triple Crown. This began what would be a remarkable 14 year run for Flores as the league leader in strikeouts.

Valencia edged Trujillo 2-1 in the first round, then pulled off the 3-2 upset over Caracas in the divisional series. Despite averaging 106.8 wins over the last five seasons, the Colts continued to fail in the playoffs. In their five-year streak, Caracas had been ousted thrice in the divisional series and twice in the Bolivar League Championship Series. For the Velocity, they earned their first BLCS trip since winning Copa Sudamerica in 2011.

On the other side, Ciudad Guayana rolled to a 3-0 sweep of Guayaquil to earn repeat BLCS trips. This was the second time in four years that both BLCS participants came out of Venezuela. Underdog Valencia continued to roll, upsetting the Giants 4-2 to earn their eighth pennant (1974-78 five-peat, 2007, 2017, 2022). The Velocity were the third #5 seed to win the Bolivar League title in the last five years, joining 2017 CG and 2018 Maturin.



Recife earned the Southern Cone League’s top seed at 103-59, repeating as North Division by scoring the most runs in the league at 817. The Retrievers grew their playoff streak to nine seasons and got their 12^th berth in 13 years. It was also Recife’s 15^th straight winning season. Fortaleza gave them a fight at 95-67, which secured the first wild card. The Foxes grabbed their second berth in three years and scored 814 runs.

The #2 seed was Southeast Division champ Rio de Janeiro at 97-65, ending a four-year playoff drought. Montevideo was second at 93-69 to take the second wild card and end a five-year playoff drought. The Venom were six games better than their nearest foe. Last year’s league runner-up Porto Alegre was a non-factor falling to 75-87.

Defending Copa Sudamerica champ Santiago was the weakest division champ at 93-69, but still secured their sixth playoff berth in seven years. The Saints’ run of winning seasons grew to 13 seasons. Asuncion (87-75) was six away and Concepcion (86-76) was seven away. The Chiefs’ playoff streak ended at five seasons, although they got their 11^th winning effort in a row.

Although Manaus was 77-85, 2B Daniel Schafer earned Southern Cone League MVP. The 33-year old Brazilian had won MVP way back in 2013 as well. In 2021, Schafer led in batting average (.399), OBP (.441), wRC+ (213), and WAR (9.8). His average was the fifth-best single-season in BSA to that point. Schafer also had 223 hits, 104 runs, 35 homers, 107 RBI, and 1.107 OPS. After 11 years with the Magpies, Schafer opted out of his eight-year extension from 2017. He would ink a new five-year, $74.8 million contract with Caracas.

Pitcher of the Year saw Fortaleza’s Eli Krook win it seemingly out of nowhere. The 29-year old lefty from Suriname hadn’t been good enough to make the active roster in the prior two seasons and he only posted 2.5 career WAR over 25 games in his Foxes career. In 2021, he led in wins (21-5), innings (275.2), quality starts (25), and complete games. Krook also had a 2.61 ERA, 281 strikeouts, 147 ERA+, and 6.5 WAR.

He would only make 11 starts the next year and never pitched again after that. Krook stayed contracted with Fortaleza all the way through 2027 but wasn’t used, finally retiring at age 35. Krook was baffling as he never had any major injuries, he was a true one hit wonder. Poor control kept him from getting more looks, but he had respectable numbers in the limited chances he had.

Santiago edged Montevideo 2-1 in the first round, then the defending champs upset top seed Recife 3-1 in the divisional series. Fortaleza outlasted Rio de Janeiro 3-2 on the other side, giving the Foxes their first Southern Cone Championship trip since 2014. Fortaleza dethroned Santiago in a 4-3 classic for their third pennant in a decade (2013, 2014, 2021). The Foxes became ten-time league champs with the result.



The 91^st Copa Sudamerica was the second finals’ battle between Fortaleza and Valencia. The Velocity swept the Foxes back in 1978 and the 2021 rematch was marginally more competitive with a 4-1 Valencia win. A run of parity continued as Valencia was the ninth different cup winner in as many years, the second-longest such streak behind the ten different champs from 1968-77. It was the Velocity’s 1977-78 repeat that snapped the prior streak. This was Valencia’s fourth cup, having also won in 2011.

Finals MVP was 1B Antonio Casas in his eighth year with the Velocity. The 31-year old Colombian started 19 games with 25 hits, 17 runs, 3 doubles, 3 home runs, and 9 RBI. 3B Herculano Bravo was also notable, winning MVP of the other three playoff series. In his 19 starts, the 29-year old Argentine had 27 hits, 11 runs, 5 doubles, 5 homers, and 25 RBI. Bravo was three RBI short of the playoff record. Valencia joined 2017 Ciudad Guayana as the only teams to win Copa Sudamerica from the #5 seed since the playoffs expanded in 2009.



Other notes: Santiago catcher Cicero Lugo won his 14^th Silver Slugger, joining SS Diego Pena (15) as the only BSA players with 14+ Sluggers. Lugo had the world record for Sluggers by a catcher and finished the season with 108.8 WAR, passing MLB Hall of Famer Mason Wilkinson (103.78) for the most career WAR accrued at catcher in any league.

Antonio Arceo became the third to reach 800 career home runs, finishing his career at 816. This kept him behind Milton Becker (941) and Valor Melo (870) on the all-time list. Arceo also retired third in RBI at 1950. Niccolo Coelho and Alex Salinas became the 7^th and 8^th members of the 700 home run club. Coelho won his 12^th Silver Slugger at third base; a position record. Salinas also became the 13^th member of the 3000 hit club and won his seventh Gold Glove at first base. 2B Oscar Valdivia won his ninth Silver Slugger.

Rio de Janeiro’s Vincent Sandoval had the fourth-ever playoff no-hitter against Fortaleza, striking out 7 and walking 3. Donzel De La Rosa became the 34^th reliever to 300 career saves. Manaus had a historically bad pitching staff, setting all-time Southern Cone League worsts in ERA (4.85) earned runs allowed (775), and WHIP (1.438). They allowed 852 runs, second-worst to Asuncion’s 860 in 1931.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The Japan League was incredibly top heavy in 2021 as all four division champs won their crowns by double-digits. Despite that, only one of the prior year’s playoff teams made it back. After missing the cut in 2020 despite 100 wins, Kyoto had the top seed in 2021 at 105-57. The Kamikaze ended the six-year Central Division reign of defending East Asian Champion Osaka. The Orange Sox were still a respectable 88-74, but a distant second.

Capital Division champ Kawasaki and North Division champ Saitama were both 103-59. The Killer Whales earned their third berth in four years, while the Sting ended a three-year drought. Sapporo’s three-year reign in the North ended with a 90-win finish, while last year’s Capital champ Chiba fell to 70-92. The Killer Whales’ nearest foe was 89-win Tokyo.

The lone returning playoff team was 2020 JLCS runner-up Fukuoka. The Frogs repeated as West Division champ at 98-64, well ahead of 81-81 Hiroshima. Fukuoka led the league with 740 runs scored. Kawasaki allowed the fewest runs in the league at 501.

Japan League MVP went to Kawasaki CF Sang-Beom Shin in his 13^th season with the Killer Whales. The 33-yaer old switch hitter led in runs (113) and home runs (53). Shin added 118 RBI, a .958 OPS, 192 wRC+, and 8.4 WAR. Shin was strong again in 2022, then declined steeply in 2023 and retired after that season at age 35.

Fukuoka’s Toshikuni Naikai won his fourth straight Pitcher of the Year and his fifth in six years. He became the fifth EAB pitcher to win POTY 5+ times. The 28-year old lefty certainly wasn’t going to be able to repeat his 2020, which was widely considered the best pitching effort in baseball history. Naikai’s 2021 was yet another impressive chapter regardless.

In 204 innings, Naikai led in ERA (1.06), strikeouts (358), WHIP (0.66), FIP- (30) and WAR (10.5). The ERA was the third-lowest qualifying mark in EAB history, behind only his own 2020 (0.64) and 2018 (1.05). He did lose the final month of the season to a strained triceps and missed the playoffs. Naikai had a 19-3 record and 322 ERA+. In each of his POTY seasons, he led in ERA, strikeouts, and WAR.

Even without Naikai, Fukuoka gave top seed Kyoto a battle in the first round. However, the Kamikaze survived 3-2 for their first Japan League Championship Series berth since their 2014 EAB title. On the other side, Saitama edged Kawasaki 3-2 to give the Sting their first JLCS shot since 2005. Kyoto returned to the throne by stopping Saitama 4-2, winning their fourth pennant in 12 years and seventh overall.



The Korea League ended up very unbalanced in 2021 as the top five records all came from the South Division. Busan was the best of the bunch at 109-53, repeating as the top seed. The Blue Jays allowed the fewest runs in the KL at 546. Changwon scored the most at 813 and finished second at 100-62. The Crabs are back after missing out via tiebreaker last year, giving them five playoff berths over six years. Jeonju at 95-67 earned the second wild card, ending a four-year playoff drought. Daegu (90-72) and Daejeon (88-74) were their nearest foes.

While the North Division lacked strength, it was tight with four teams finishing within two games of first. Suwon (87-75) survived for their first playoff spot in a decade, fending off Pyongyang (86-76), Seongnam (85-77), and Incheon (85-77). The Spiders had their playoff streak snapped at four seasons. Defending KL champ Hamhung fell to 80-82, while last year’s KLCS runner-up Yongin struggled to 69-93.

Taking Korea League MVP was Jeonju LF Ji-Hwan Kim. In his 11^th year with the Jethawks, the 29-year old switch hitter led in runs (138), RBI (129), slugging (.683), OPS (1.082), wRC+ (182), and WAR (10.4). Kim had 52 home runs and a .326 batting average. After his long run with Jeonju, Kim left for free agency in the winter and joined Incheon for $112,800,000 over six years.

Pitcher of the Year was Daejeon righty Jae-Hoon Ahn, who led in wins (21-5), strikeouts (301), and WAR (7.6). The 25-year old had a 146 ERA+ over 245.2 innings and 2.60 ERA, missing the triple crown by seven points. Ahn spent one more year with the Ducks before getting a six-year, $171,500,000 payday after the 2022 season with Sapporo. He would be efficient with the Swordfish, but would be hampered by injuries.

Busan bested Jeonju 3-1 in the first round while Changwon outlasted Suwon 3-2 on the road. For the Blue Jays, this was their first Korea League Championship Series since their 2009 pennant. The Crabs had a shot at their third pennant in six years, having won the EAB crown in 2016 and 2017. Despite being the road underdog, Changwon cruised 4-1 over Busan to become eight-time Korean champs.



The 101^st East Asian Championship went all seven games with Kyoto prevailing over Changwon. The Kamikaze moved to an impressive 6-1 all-time in the finals with titles in 1974, 1976, 2010, 2011, and 2014. Veteran 1B Masaru Ochiai won finals MVP in his fourth year with Kyoto. The 32-year old had 18 playoff starts with 20 hits, 11 runs, 1 double, 5 homers, and 15 RBI.



Other notes: Kyoto’s Kobo Tani set a new EAB single-season record with a 0.45 BB/9. As a pitching staff, the Kamikaze set new EAB single-season records for fewest walks (186) and BB/9 (1.14). Changwon’s Dae-Eui Ha set a bad playoff record, getting caught stealing 10 times.

Chul Park became the 22^nd member of the 3000 hit club. Sang-Beom Shin, Yeong Shin, and Kunihiko Ishiguro each reached 500 home runs, making that a 70-player group. Hyogo Murayama became the 45^th to 1500 RBI. CF Hee-Ho Kang won his seventh Gold Glove. SS Shingen Matsumara won his ninth Silver Slugger. Ishihguro won his eighth Silver Slugger and his first at first base. He had four wins as a DH, two in left field, and one in right field.

At age 43, Ju-Won Yoo returned to EAB with Kawasaki after a stellar 15-year run in MLB. He had started his career in South Korea with Bucheon, then reached superstardom in the United States. With the Killer Whales, Yoo had 82 RBI, making him only the fourth in all of pro baseball history with 2500+ combined RBI. He played one final year with Goyang and added 31 more, finishing with 2566. That ranks third in baseball history as of 2037.

Yoo played 59 more games in 2022 with Goyang, finishing with combined pro stats of 3567 games, 2234 runs, 3993 hits, 657 doubles, 944 home runs, 2566 RBI, 1311 walks, .298/.362/.564 slash, 155 wRC+, and 146.3 WAR. As of 2037, Yoo ranks among all players 7^th in games played, 8^th in runs, 7^th in hits, 14^th in homers, and 38^th in WAR among position players. Although Yoo’s biggest fame was in America, he has a case as arguably the best-ever baseball player from South Korea.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Defending Central American Baseball Association champ Juarez had their grip on the Mexican League’s top seed ended. The Jesters had been the North Division champ and #1 seed for six straight years, but were dethroned by Tijuana in 2021. A wild card last year, the Toros took the top mark at 103-59 for their first division title since 1971. Tijuana allowed the fewest runs in the league (566) and scored the second most (756).

Juarez wasn’t done as a contender though, as they were close behind at 99-63 and easily got the first wild card. The Jesters’ playoff streak grew to eight years, although it was the first time in that stretch that they didn’t win 100+ games. In the South Division, Mexico City ended the longest active playoff drought in CABA at 35 years. The Aztecs finished 91-71 for their first playoff trip since 1985.

Two behind Mexico City in the division was Merida at 89-73. That was just good enough to grab the second wild card over Torreon (88-74), Monterrey (84-78), Puebla (83-79), and Hermosillo (82-80). The Mean Green got their second wild card in three years. The Hyenas had their three-year streak ended. Leon, winners of 105 games in 2021, dropped to 74-88. Although they missed the cut, the Pumas scored the most runs at 787.

For the third consecutive season, Mexican League MVP went to Juarez RF Loyd Wayne. The 27-year old Jamaican led in walks (101), on-base percentage (.472), slugging (.682), OPS (1.154), wRC+ (218), and WAR (9.2). Wayne had 37 home runs, 99 RBI, and 104 runs. His accumulations were lessened by a high ankle sprain that put him out from September onward. Wayne’s OBP mark was the third-best in CABA history to that point with his own .490 from 2019 still the top mark.

Tijuana ace Richard Wright repeated as Pitcher of the Year in only his third season. He became the first Triple Crown pitcher since 2011 with a 22-5 record, 1.47 ERA, and 318 strikeouts over 245.2 innings. The 23-year old Jamaican lefty also led in WHIP (0.78), WAR (10.8), FIP- (46), and ERA+ (257). Wright’s ERA mark was the 12^th-best qualifying single season and the lowest since Junior Vergara’s 1.42 in 1979. All of the other lower ERA marks happened prior to 1930 in a much lower-scoring early days CABA. Wright also tossed his first no-hitter on May 16 with 13 strikeouts and 4 walks against Juarez.

Tijuana was taken to the limit in the first round, but survived 3-2 against Merida. On the other side, reigning champ Juarez earned the road 3-2 victory against Mexico City. For the Toros, this was their first trip to the Mexican League Championship Series since their 1998 pennant. The Jesters were in their seventh MLCS in eight years.

Last season, Juarez ousted Tijuana 3-2 in the first round en route to their CABA title. This time, the Toros had home field advantage and rolled to a 4-1 MLCS victory to end their 22-year title drought. Tijuana became nine-time Mexican champs, but almost no one was still alive to remember most of those: (1913, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1923, 1998, 2021).



Guatemala stunned the Caribbean League by not only ending their decade-long playoff drought, but by dominating the field. The Ghosts were 109-53 atop the Continental Division, 18 games better than the next team in the league. This was Guatemala’s first division title since their 1983 pennant. The Ghosts allowed the fewest runs in the league by a large margin at 516; 104 fewer than second place.

The #2 seed had Puerto Rico atop the Island Division at 91-71, ending their own seven season playoff drought. The Pelicans hadn’t been a division champ since way back in 1974. It was a tight race with Havana (89-73), Jamaica (87-75), and Santo Domingo (87-75) right on their heels. Defending CL champ Trinidad missed the cut at 81-81.

In the wild card race, Suriname (90-72) took the first spot to earn repeat playoff berths. The Silverbacks were the only team from the 2020 playoff field to make it back in 2021. The Hurricanes had the second spot, edging the Jazz and Dolphins each by two games. Havana earned its fifth playoff berth in six years. Guyana (77-85) had its’ streak snapped at three and last year’s CLCS runner-up Costa Rica fell to 78-84. Panama had the top offense at 814 runs, but finished 78-84 as they allowed the most runs at 802.

Guatemala RF James Figueroa repeated as Caribbean League MVP in his sixth season. The 27-year old Salvadoran lefty didn’t lead in any stats, but posted 7.9 WAR, 165 wRC+, .977 OPS, 31 home runs, 105 RBI, and 104 runs. Figueroa also won his fourth Gold Glove. The Ghosts locked him up long-term in the winter on an eight-year, $129,600,000 extension.

Pitcher of the Year also went to Guatemala with second-year lefty Israel Montague. The 24-year old Panamanian led in ERA (1.63), WHIP (0.80), quality starts (23), FIP- (59), and WAR (8.1). Montague had a 20-5 record, 253 strikeouts, and 244 ERA+ over 232.1 innings. He was the #10 overall pick by the Ghosts in the 2019 CABA Draft and already an elite ace. Over the next decade, Montague and Tijuana’s Richard Wright would hold a near monopoly over their league’s Pitcher of the Year award.

Despite all of Guatemala’s accolades, the top-seeded Ghosts were shocked 3-2 by Havana in the first round of the playoffs. Puerto Rico edged Suriname 3-2 on the other side for their first Caribbean League Championship Series appearance since 1983. For the Hurricanes, they were shooting for their second pennant in three years and their third in six years.

After a seven game classic, the title came back to San Juan for the first time in 65 years. Puerto Rico outlasted Havana 4-3 for their first title since 1956. The Pelicans were now ten-time Caribbean champs but like their finals opponent Tijuana, most of their titles were long distant memories (1914, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1956, 2021).



The 111^th CABA Championship would be the second finals meeting between Tijuana and Puerto Rico. Way back in the 4^th-ever finale back in 1914, the Toros swept the Pelicans to pull off the first-ever repeat. Tijuana had similar success in the rematch, defeating Puerto Rico 4-1 for their first title in 102 years. 2018 ML MVP Raul Ibarra was finals MVP in his ninth year for the Toros. In 14 starts, Ibarra had 16 hits, 17 runs, 8 homers, and 13 RBI.

Tijuana’s win made them five-time champs (1913, 1914, 1918, 1919, 2021). This was the longest gap between titles in CABA history and the second-longest in all of pro baseball history behind MLB’s Tampa Thunderbirds, who had to wait 110 seasons between World Series wins (1901 to 2011). The Toros’ last title came only one year after World War I had ended.



Other notes: Merida’s Jonas Pimentel broke CABA’s single-season stolen base record with 131, topping Tito Infante’s 126 from 1999. Uranio Vences and Ricart Becerra became the 29^th and 30^th sluggers to 1500 career RBI. Clayton Morgan became the 55^th member of the 500 home run club. Luis Ruiz became the 49^th pitcher to 200 wins.

1B Tito Martinez won his seventh straight Gold Glove and 3B Jesus Lombranta won his seventh Gold Glove. 2B Timmy Asher won his tenth consecutive Silver Slugger and Americo Negron won his eighth. Negron got his first as a DH in 2021 with his previous seven Sluggers all coming as a right fielder.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Ever since its inception in 1901, Major League Baseball was the largest of the world’s professional leagues. MLB began as 48 total teams split between the National Association and American Association. Originally, each association had two 12-team leagues; the Eastern League and Midwest League for the NA and the Southern League and Western League in the AA. Every squad also had a minor league affiliate team.

With the continued growth of baseball and the population booms for both the United States and Canada, MLB expanded for the first time for the 1982 season. This gave MLB 56 teams with four added to each association. Both also realigned from the previous league structure into a setup with four divisions of seven teams each. This format held firm through the 2020 season and was considered a massive success.



In around 40 years, baseball continued to thrive worldwide. By the 21^st Century, there were high quality pro leagues on every populated continent and a proliferation of the game to every corner of the globe. MLB maintained the general position as the highest level pro league. In this time, both the US and Canada and their major cities continued to grow. America’s population grew by 105 million from 1980-2020 and Canada’s increase by 12 million. As the 2010s progressed, discussions began in earnest about a new round of expansion for MLB.

Supporters noted the additional revenues that would come with expanding to new markets and players liked the idea of more big league jobs. Some detractors thought it could water down the product. However, between the thriving US/Canada amateur scene and the explosion of international talent, there was no shortage of quality players. A few other logistical questions had to be answered before this could become a reality.

First, how many teams would you add? Many tier two and tier three type cities had grown significantly and had invested into infrastructure needed for a pro team. Many of these cities had been minor league affiliates previously and now felt ready for the big time. However, many of the markets were untested for a major pro sports team. Almost all of the markets with experience hosting an NFL, NBA, or NHL team had already been part of the MLB fold. Many options quickly emerged as contenders, but there were also concerns about cannibalizing existing markets. Several established teams disliked the idea of having a neighboring city eat into their territorial claims.

Next, how would you restructure the league? The idea had the most favor was maintaining the current setup and simply adding a team to each division. This would make each association have 32 teams with four divisions of eight teams. Very few argued for more than eight total expansion teams between talent dilution concerns and having enough viable markets. Some argued for adding four or six total teams, but this would require unbalanced divisions or a major format shift. A few wanted to return to the original leagues format, but the majority was happy with the divisional format that had thrived since the 1980s.

By the mid 2010s, MLB owners and officials had essentially settled on the eight team plan with one new squad per division. From there began the vetting of possible franchises. There ended up being around 30-40 markets that threw their name into the hat for consideration. MLB officials put significant weight into finding untapped markets, looking to avoid areas that already had strong established fan bases. Location, market size, and infrastructure quality all played a part in the formula. Secondary cities also needed to be identified for new and replacement minor league affiliates.

By the end of the decade, the winners had been chosen and the expansion plans were put into place. The expansion draft would take place after the 2020 season and the new teams would start play in 2021. One final question that had fierce debate was if the playoff structure would be changed. With 64 total teams and 32 per association, many felt that 12 total playoff teams weren’t going to be enough. The postseason originally had eight total teams, but had been at 12 since 1952.

The decision was made to expand the postseason by two total teams, making each association have a seven-team field with the four division winners and three wild cards. Instead of the top two seeds having byes, only the #1 seed would automatically advance to the second round. Officials also wanted to give division winners a significant award for their first place finish.

The new first round would be a best-of-five that was more like a best-of-four. The division winner would receive a one game advantage, meaning they would only need two wins out of four to advance. The wild card would have to win three out of four to move on. In addition, the division champ would be the host for all games of the round. The second round remained a traditional HH-AA-H best of five with a reseeding prior to play. The Association Championship and World Series remained best-of-sevens with a HH-AAA-HH format.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The National Association’s four divisions were the Northeast, East, Lower Midwest, and Upper Midwest. This made for a tricky expansion proposition without moving existing teams around. The eastern seaboard area was densely populated and close together, making it tougher to find options that wouldn’t encroach on existing territory. The Midwest was more spread out, but also had fewer feasible options. Below were the contenders for each group with metropolitan population listed.

Northeast Division

Contenders: Halifax, NS (465k) – Hamilton, ON (785k) – Providence, RI (1.67m) – Rochester, NY (1.06m) – Syracuse, NY (662k) - Toronto, ON (6.20m) – Worcester, MA (862k)

Officials generally were against adding a second team to an existing market, even if it was large enough to possibly field two teams. That kibosh’d the idea of a second Toronto team. Just to the southwest was Hamilton, but the Timberwolves had long claimed that area within the greater Toronto market. This caused a headache for many officials who wanted to include at least one Canadian team in the expansion. The Northeast Division was the most logical spot to potentially find one.

Providence was the fourth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the US without a team. However, it was located very close to and right between Boston and Hartford, who had been fighting over that area for decades. Providence had been Boston’s minor league affiliate from the beginning with both Red Sox and Huskies fandom strong in the area. Despite being rivals, Boston and Hartford were both strongly against adding a Providence team. Worcester had similar concerns and about half the people.

Upstate New York options like Rochester and Syracuse were explored. The concern came from Buffalo, who had already been one of the smaller and less successful MLB markets. Rochester had been their affiliate city and Blue Sox officials didn’t want to lose what market share they had. Buffalo’s lack of success also made many worry that the area simply couldn’t support another squad.

The dark horse that emerged was Halifax, who had the benefit of being way up in Nova Scotia away from any established team. The closest team was more than nine hours away in Quebec City with very limited crossover between French-speaking Quebec and a primarily English-speaking Nova Scotia. No existing teams could credibly argue that Halifax would damage their existing market share.

The hold-up there was market size; greater Halifax didn’t even breach 500,000 people and was viewed as too small to work by detractors. However, Halifax supporters noted that Atlantic Canada broadly was an untapped and wide open market. They would be the closest team for fans not just in all of Nova Scotia, but in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. This combined area had around a 2.4 million population. With that, the Halifax Hound Dogs became a reality with a minor league affiliate in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

East Division

Contenders: Allentown, PA (861k) - Greater New York City (20.08m) – Raleigh, NC (1.41m) - Richmond, VA (1.31m) – Scranton, PA (567k).

The Tri-State area certainly had enough people to justify another team. But between the New York Yankees, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia; the area already had tenured and dedicated fanbases. Thus, the options within Greater New York City, New Jersey, or the Delaware Valley didn’t get much traction. This also carried over into eastern Pennsylvania options like Allentown or Scranton.

Virginia Beach was the team in the group from the 1982 expansion. The Vikings had been a success and broadly viewed the entire state as their market. However, nearby Richmond had a strong case for being the pick. VB was worried it would hurt their continued growth fairly close by. Richmond had also been Washington’s affiliate from the beginning and had an established Admirals fanbase. Additionally, Richmond lacked the experience of a “Big Four” pro sports team.

Raleigh was initially viewed as too far south for consideration. It quickly emerged as a prime candidate for the American Association’s Southeast Division. That bid had intense opposition from Charlotte, who felt it would greatly jeopardize their North Carolina market. Raleigh’s introduction to pro baseball was as Virginia Beach’s affiliate, further complicating things.

The area wasn’t firmly entrenched in a previous team’s market though. Between the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and the major universities in the Raleigh-Durham area, it was certainly a market that could handle big league baseball. Canaries’ officials were less resistant to a Raleigh team joining the National Association since there wasn’t interleague play. They acknowledged that the two could co-exist easier if not direct competitors.

The Raleigh Raptors would end up securing the East Division opening with their affiliate team being in Greensboro, North Carolina. Virginia Beach’s new affiliate team would be based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Lower Midwest Division

Contenders: Dayton, OH (814k) – Fort Wayne, IN (447k) – Lexington, KY (516k) – Lincoln, NE (340k) – South Bend, IN (324k) - Tulsa, OK (1.01m) –

The Lower Midwest Division group was a tough one as there were very few options geographically that had the market size wanted. Dayton popped up early in the process, but the proximity to Cincinnati, Columbus, and Indianapolis made that a tough sell. Lexington was even smaller while already being in an area claimed by Cincy and Louisville; which were already among the smaller existing markets. Dayton had been the Reds’ affiliate and Lexington had by the Lynx’ minor league squad. Other cities like Fort Wayne, South Bend, or Lincoln were typically dismissed as too small.

Going any further south stretched the “Midwest” geographic label and veered into territory claimed by American Association teams. Tulsa quickly emerged as a top contender for the AA’s South Central Division, having been Oklahoma City’s long-time affiliate. OKC hated the idea though as they had already been one of the smallest and least successful markets. Outlaws officials felt they had trouble staying afloat even claiming Tulsa in their orbit.

Like with Charlotte’s opposition to Raleigh, Oklahoma City was less averse to a Tulsa team in the National Association and hoped that the state could rally behind both teams. As one of the few available markets above one million people, Tulsa had strong traction for a franchise.

Thus, the Tulsa Tornados came to be within the Lower Midwest Division. Their affiliate team would be out of Little Rock, Arkansas. To fill their affiliate opening, Oklahoma City picked Norman, Oklahoma to fill the void.

Upper Midwest Division

Contenders: Akron, OH (702k) - Chicago, IL (9.44m) – Des Moines, IA (709k) - Grand Rapids, MI (1.15m) – Green Bay, WI (328k) – Lansing, MI (473k) - Madison, WI (680k) – Toledo, OH (606k)

Chicago was certainly large enough to have another team, but the Cubs had effectively entrenched their support in the Windy City. With officials wanting new markets, Grand Rapids immediately stood out as the largest city on offer. It also had some distance between the next team with Chicago and Detroit fighting for market share in western Michigan. GR had been Detroit’s affiliate team from the start, so they had the main foothold.

The Tigers had liked to claim the entire state as their own, but the momentum was on GR’s side for expansion. Detroit did prefer that option to even closer neighbors like Lansing or Toledo, although most officials felt both were too small. Places like Akron, Madison, and Green Bay were considered too small and too close to existing smaller market teams to get much consideration.

Des Moines was a bit of a dark horse with Iowa being mostly split up between Chicago or Omaha fans. Omaha was already a smaller market and didn’t love the idea of a Des Moines squad. DM also had a smaller population base to offer than Grand Rapids.

In the end, the Grand Rapids Growlers were selected with their affiliate being out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Detroit’s affiliate would be switched to Lansing.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The American Association’s divisions were the Southeast, South Central, Southwest, and Northwest. They had a large and more spread out landmass than the National Association, although most of the metropolitan areas on offer were on the smaller side and lacked experience with a major professional team,

Southeast Division

Contenders: Birmingham, AL (1.18m) – Charleston, SC (799k) – Columbia, SC (829k) – Fort Myers, FL (760k) - Greensboro, NC (776k) – Greenville, SC (928k) – Knoxville, TN (903k) – Raleigh, NC (1.42m)

Raleigh immediately emerged as the top contender in the Southeast Division, but ran into fierce opposition from Charlotte officials over market share. As mentioned in the previous post, the compromise was made that sent Raleigh into the National Association’s East Division. That left a number of southern cities with similar metropolitan populations fighting for the spot.

Birmingham stood out as the largest and city officials argued they could capture all of Alabama and part of Mississippi into the market. The city had been Atlanta’s affiliate and there was a notable Aces fanbase there. Atlanta officials liked to cast a wide net for their market, but they had similar arguments against the South Carolina cities on offer.

Knoxville’s case was countered by Nashville, which liked to claim most of Tennessee as their own. Fort Myers got a brief look, but many were skeptical that Florida would support or needed more than the four teams it already had. The decision was made to add the Birmingham Boomers into the fold with their affiliate in Huntsville, Alabama. Atlanta switched its affiliate to Augusta, Georgia.

South Central Division

Contenders: Baton Rouge, LA (870k) – Dallas Metroplex (7.63m) - El Paso, TX (868k) - Jackson, MS (619k) – Little Rock, AR (748k) – McAllen, TX (870k) - Tulsa, OK (1.01m)

Tulsa was an immediate top contender for this spot but like with Raleigh, ran into opposition from nearby Oklahoma City. As mentioned, Tulsa ultimately went to the National Association’s Lower Midwest Division to assuage those concerns. The massive Dallas Metroplex was certainly large enough for a Fort Worth or Arlington team, but Dalmatians officials nixed that. The existing Texas teams didn’t like the options that were within driving distance of their territories.

Baton Rouge’s proximity to New Orleans made them a non-starter for many. Spots like Little Rock or Jackson were felt to be too small to make the cut. The border towns of El Paso and McAllen both began to get a stronger look, as they were far enough away from the other Texas teams to be fair game. When you factored in the adjacent Mexican cities, both areas had upwards of 2.6 million people. Neither had significant experience in hosting a major pro sports team.

The Lower Rio Grande was a bit more untapped, but El Paso had a larger proof of concept for baseball success. Just across the border, Ciudad Juarez had thrived as one of the Mexican League’s hottest tickets. El Paso argued they could feed into that existing market more while having untapped west Texas largely to themselves. They also had more to draw from than McAllen when looking at southern New Mexico and the Las Cruces area.

The El Paso Prairie Dogs became the fifth Texas big-league team and chose Las Cruces as the affiliate. El Paso had been San Antonio’s affiliate for a bit with the Oilers originally using Austin prior to that city’s addition in 1982. San Antonio selected Lubbock, Texas as their next affiliate site.

Southwest Division

Contenders: Bakersfield, CA (909k) – Fresno, CA (1.16m) – Los Angeles, CA (13.20m) - Riverside, CA (4.59m) - Sacramento, CA (2.39m) – San Jose, CA (2.00m) – Tucson, AZ (1.04m)

California especially had no shortage of people and potential options for an expansion team. Greater Los Angeles was certainly large enough for another team, but the Angels and nearby San Diego both didn’t want to cut into their already vast markets. This also applied to the Inland Empire region which while large, had existing dedicated fans of other teams. Many league officials were leery of putting a new team so close to existing teams, even if the population base was huge.

The same applied when discussing a possible third Bay Area team in San Jose. San Francisco and Oakland both already had big fanbases throughout the greater area. That expanded somewhat to Sacramento, which had been Oakland’s affiliate city. However, it had a very large and more distinct market than the rest of the Bay Area. The NBA’s Sacramento Kings had shown that the city could be a thriving spot for a major pro franchise.

Sacramento also got considered for the Northwest Division, as that group had far fewer large metros to choose from. Staying in the division with the California teams made more sense though. Sacramento also had more than double the metro population than some of the other more isolated cities like Fresno, Bakersfield, or Tucson. Joining the Southwest Division was the Sacramento Shamrocks with Fresno selected as the affiliate. Oakland had to move their affiliate to Stockton, California.

Northwest Division

Contenders: Anchorage, AK (398k) – Boise, ID (764k) – Colorado Springs, CO (755k) - Eugene, OR (382k) – Provo, UT (671k) – Saskatoon, SK (317k) Spokane, WA (585k) – Victoria, BC (397k)

The Northwest had the largest landmass of the divisions, but most of that were mountains and forests. By pure population numbers, Boise and Colorado Springs emerged as the top contenders. Boise supporters noted its isolated location and the ability to claim all of Idaho and some of the small communities nearby. Boise had been Salt Lake City’s affiliate since they joined in the 1982 expansion and SLC wanted to claim that area as an already smaller market team. The same applied when Provo, Utah was considered.

Colorado Springs was Denver’s affiliate and very much claimed by the Dragons, who were one of MLB’s largest and most successful franchises. Spokane was a bit alone and could try to claim Eastern Washington and parts of Idaho and Montana. They had been Seattle’s affiliate and many officials were wary of Spokane’s ability to adequately support a big league team. The few Canadian options like Victoria or Saskatoon were felt to be far too small. Some officials even floated trying to poach Honolulu from the Oceania Baseball Association, but the Honu were happy with their spot in the Pacific League.

Anchorage emerged as a very unique option as a completely untapped market. Like how Halifax argued they could draw in all of Atlantic Canada, Anchorage made the case that they’d appeal an entire Alaskan population that was starved for any pro sports team. Still, the state’s combined population was about the same as Boise’s metropolitan area.

While the idea of a completely wide open market was appealing, Anchorage’s logistical challenges were quickly noted such as the distance away from the mainland and the time zone. There was also the thought of players not wanting to move up there, but Anchorage officials were dedicated and willing to proactively work through those issues.

Of course, the weather was also a big potential issue, but ownership had been readying a retractable roof stadium. Anchorage also pointed to other pro teams in the world at similar latitudes that had seen success in Iceland, Scandinavia, and Russia. While originally thought of as an unlikely option, the Anchorage Avalanche snagged the Northwest Division expansion slot. Their affiliate team would be out of Fairbanks, Alaska.



With the eight expansion teams selected, MLB was ready to begin a new era with the 2021 season.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

With the 2021 expansion, getting the #1 seed became even more important with only one bye now in the expanded playoffs. Three teams were in the hunt in the National Association with Boston (105-57) narrowly beating out Detroit (104-58) and Cincinnati (101-61). After struggling to 76-86 in 2020, the Red Sox bounced back for their fourth Northeast Division title in five years. The Tigers resumed a similar streak in the Upper Midwest Division, allowing the fewest runs at 529.

The defending NA champion Reds repeated as Lower Midwest Champs and got their third berth in four years. The fourth division winner was far weaker, but in the playoffs all the same. At 90-72, Washington won the East Division and ended an 11-year postseason drought. Baltimore was their closest foe at 83-77, falling seven short in the division and eight away from the final wild card.

Each wild card came from a different division with the slots going to Chicago (94-68), Columbus (93-69), and Ottawa (91-71). The next closest competitors were Minneapolis at 86-76 and 85-77 finishes by Winnipeg, Kansas City, and St. Louis. The Cubs got a repeat berth and led the NA in scoring with 790 runs. The Chargers ended an eight-year playoff drought and the Elks snapped a nine-year skid.

Chicago and Cincinnati were the only National Association teams to make it back to the playoffs from 2020. Kansas City saw a five-year streak snapped while last year’s top seed Quebec City fell from 103-59 to 80-82. Of note, expansion Halifax had a solid debut at 83-79. The Hound Dogs would be the only of the new squads to have a winning record in their debut. Also notable was as shocking 63-99 record for Philadelphia, who had been among the best teams of the last 20 years. The last time the Phillies fared worse was a 62-100 effort back in 1954.

Repeating as National Association MVP was Cincinnati 1B Mike Rojas. The 26-year old from Harrison, Michigan led in runs (129), home runs (60), RBI (139), total bases (433), slugging (.716), OPS (1.121), wRC+ (236), and WAR (11.1). He was second in batting average (.354), missing repeat Triple Crowns by .015. It was only the 15^th time in MLB history that a player hit 60 home runs. Rojas also became only the third MLB position player to have multiple 11+ WAR seasons, joining Morgan Short and Elijah Cashman. The Reds locked him up in April with an eight-year, $161,700,000 extension.

Pitcher of the Year went to an eighth pitcher in as many years, this time to Minneapolis lefty Kipp Semykin. The 25-year old from Springfield, Missouri led in wins (22-10) and shutouts (6). Semykin posted a 2.38 ERA over 261.1 innings, 219 strikeouts, 142 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR.

Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year were both notable in 2021. Halifax RF Dylan Huff posted the sixth-highest WAR ever by NA’s top rookie at 8.5, adding 39 homers, 87 RBI, and a .884 OPS. The 5^th overall pick out of Ohio helped the Hound Dogs post a winning season in their debut.

Columbus closer J.J. Fuller meanwhile set the MLB record for most WAR by the Reliever of the Year at 7.2. The 24-year old lefty broke his own record of 6.6 from two years prior. Fuller struck out 169 over 80.1 innings with 35 saves, a 1.46 ERA, and 238 ERA+.

The new first round of the playoffs was officially a best of five with the division champ getting a one game advantage built in. Each division champ used that to advance to round two. Incidentally, the one division champ (Washington) who had a weaker record than the wild card (Chicago) was the only one to sweep. Cincinnati beat Columbus and Detroit topped Ottawa, both 3-1.

Top seed Boston rolled to a sweep Washington in round two, giving the Red Sox their fourth National Association Championship Series trip in five years. The Tigers outlasted the Reds in a 3-2 battle, giving the Tigers their first NACS since 2012. Both teams had been playoff regulars in the 21^st Century, but had seen limited luck in the postseason.

For Boston since 2004, they had ten playoff berths, nine division titles and six NACS trips, only winning one pennant with their 2017 World Series win. Detroit had 12 playoff berths and ten division titles in the same stretch, but had zero pennants and lost their lone prior NACS in 2012. The series was the first NACS to go all seven since 2016 with the Tigers finally getting over that hump on the road. Detroit ended an 67-year pennant drought by winning their fifth National Association title (1902, 1911, 1932, 1953, 2021)



New Orleans emphatically took the American Association’s top seed for their fourth South Central Division title in six years. The Mudcats’ previous division crowns came with 87, 95, and 86 wins. They took a huge jump in 2021 with a franchise record 112-50. New Orleans led all teams in runs scored (864) and allowed the second-fewest runs in the AA at 593.

The #2 seed was Los Angeles at 100-62 atop the Southwest Division, ending a three-year playoff drought. It was the Angels’ first division title since 2015 with LA allowing the fewest runs in the AA at 584. San Francisco gave them a run at 95-67 with both Las Vegas and Oakland in the mix.

Reigning World Series and Baseball Grand Champion Denver had their lowest win total in eight years, but that was still 97-65. The Dragons’ MLB record playoff and division title streak grew to 12 seasons. They had tough competition in the division with Seattle three games back and Salt Lake City six away. Denver got the #3 seed over Southeast Division champ Nashville on a tiebreaker with both at 97-65. The Knights got their third division title in four years, finishing eight ahead of Atlanta.

In the wild card race, seven teams fighting for three spots were separated by four wins. The 95-67 Gold Rush got the first spot to end a two-year playoff drought. At 94-68, the Grizzlies got the second spot to end a seven-year skid. There was a three-way tie for the final spot at 93-69 between Las Vegas, Houston, and Dallas. Oakland (92-70), Salt Lake City (91-71) and Atlanta (89-73) all fell just short. The Loons’ bid for a third straight berth fell short, although they had their ninth straight winning season. The Owls had rough luck, underperforming their expected win/loss by ten games.

Two tiebreaker games were played to determine the final playoff team. In the first game, Houston eliminated division rival Dallas. Then in game two, the Hornets were ousted by the Vipers. With that, Las Vegas extended their playoff streak to five years. The Vipers also earned a 14^th consecutive winning record, the longest active run in MLB.

The American Association had its seventh different MVP in as many years. It went to a San Diego player in back-to-back years though despite the Seals again being below .500. LF Ben Conlee was deserving though as the 27-year old from Ben Lomand, California led in batting average (.345), slugging (.674), OPS (1.087), wRC+ (193), and WAR (10.3). Conlee added 52 homers, 129 RBI, and 118 runs. His Seals teammate Jason Perazzo had a case for a repeat, leading in both home runs (60) and RBI (143). They set the foundation for San Diego’s eventual dominance later in the decade.

Expansion Anchorage had the Pitcher of the Year in MLB newcomer Ilie Kursinsky. The 29-year old Moldovan lefty had pitched six years for Dnipro in the European Second League, then spent 2020 in the EBF Elite for Madrid. His results had been good in Europe, but not award winning. Kursinsky took a chance by moving to Alaska, signing with the new Avalanche franchise at $53,600,000 over four years.

In his MLB debut, Kursinsky led in wins (21-10), ERA (2.30), innings (282.1), quality starts (27), and shutouts (8). He added 196 strikeouts, 8.1 WAR, and 169 ERA+. Kursinsky’s unique career would see one more year with Anchorage, followed by a trade to Las Vegas. After four strong MLB seasons, he would finish out his career back in Europe with Kharkiv and Lodz. Kursinky was a unique “Hall of Good” type journeyman who was a very popular at each stop.

Two division champs beat divisional rivals in the first round with Denver over Seattle and Los Angeles over Las Vegas, both by 3-1 margins. San Francisco was the lone wild card to advance in the first year of the expanded playoffs, outlasting Nashville 3-2. The Gold Rush took 112-win New Orleans to the limit in the second round, but the Mudcats survived 3-2. The defending Grand Champion Dragons swept the Angels on the other side.

Denver was looking to establish a dynasty and repeat, even if they weren’t as strong as the arguably best-ever 2020 squad. New Orleans hadn’t made it to the American Association Championship Series since their dynasty days of the early 1970s. Despite the Mudcats winning 15 more games and having home field advantage, some still favored the Dragons. The series was a seven-game classic with the Mudcats surviving for their fifth pennant (1935, 1970, 1971, 1972, 2021).



The 121^st World Series had two teams looking to end lengthy title droughts. New Orleans was a perfect 4-0 in the Fall Classic, but it had nearly 50 years since their 1970s three-peat. Detroit was 1-3 in their tries with the lone win back in the second-ever World Series of 1902. With a victory, the Tigers would’ve set a world record with 122 wins between titles.

New Orleans denied Detroit that bit of history as the Mudcats won it 4-2. Despite having only 16 total playoff berths, New Orleans became only the eighth MLB franchise with 5+ titles. World Series MVP was MLB newcomer Ange Ndikuriyo, who had won three MVPs with Cape Town of the African Association of Baseball. The 29-year old Rwandan RF came to the Bayou in 2021 on a four-year, $81,400,000 deal.

Ndikuriyo delivered in his first taste of postseason baseball, starting 18 games with 19 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 6 home runs, and 17 RBI. The 2021 Mudcats had a case as one of MLB’s best-ever teams. They were the fourth squad to win 112+ regular season games and the claim the World Series. Denver from the prior season and 1907 Phoenix both won it all at 114-48 and 1956 San Diego matched the Mudcats’ 112-50 mark.



Other notes: In his second season, Chicago’s Milton Ramirez won the batting title and he’d go onto be an all-time contact hitter. Ramirez set a bad single-season record though in 2021, getting caught stealing 59 times. The previous MLB worst was Bill Tan’s 58 in 1944. As a team, Miami’s offense had 156 doubles, the third-lowest mark in American Association history.

Ed Willis threw his second no-hitter, striking out 16 with 3 walks for Austin against San Antonio on 5/31. Willis had tossed a no-no with Washington in 2018. Detroit’s Marty Allen also had his second no-hitter after a previous one in 2018. Allen struck out 15 with 2 walks against Kansas City on 9/16. Denver’s Omari Green had his first no-hitter in 2021 and became both the 26^th pitcher to reach 3500 career strikeouts and the 44^th to 250 wins. Vincent Lepp joined the 200 win and 3000 strikeout clubs.

Ryan Skramesto was the sixth to hit 700 career home runs, playing his final season with expansion Halifax and finishing with 710. He retired sixth, falling 48 short of Cody Lim’s record 758. Killian Fruechte and Isaac Cox both reached 1500 runs scored. Cox also got to 1500 RBI. 3B Graham Gregor won his seventh Silver Slugger.

Eight-time AAB MVP Mwarami Tale made his MLB debut at age 40 for Baltimore and hit 33 home runs, making him the fourth player in baseball history to reach 1000 pro homers. The Tanzanian center fielder hit five more in 2022 for the Orioles, finishing with 38 in MLB and 968 in AAB. Tale retired fourth in homers behind Majed Darwish, Nordine Soule, and Ratan Canduri. In 2021, he also scored his 2000^th career run, a mark met by only 33 players as of 2037.

Tale also ended with a combined 3002 games, 2070 runs, 505 doubles, 1006 home runs, 2345 RBI, 1609 walks, .302/.402/.665 slash, 184 wRC+, and 159.4 WAR. As of 2037, Tale is 7^th in homers, 12^th in RBI, 25^th in runs scored, 21^st in WAR among position players and 29^th in WAR amongst everybody. Among eventual Hall of Famers, Tale also sits 4^th in slugging percentage and his 1.067 OPS is 4^th. He’s undoubtedly a true hitting legend and on most top five lists for the best-ever African-born players.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The 2021 Baseball Grand Championship was the 12^th edition of the event and the first to be hosted in the Arab World, centered on Cairo, Egypt. The auto-bid teams were MLB’s New Orleans and Detroit, CABA’s Tijuana and Puerto Rico, EAB’s Changwon and Kyoto, BSA’s Valencia and Fortaleza, EBF’s Hamburg and Munich, EPB’s Perm, OBA’s Vanuatu, APB’s Palembang, CLB’s Nanjing, WAB’s Yaounde, SAB’s Delhi, ABF’s Faisalabad, ALB’s Jeddah, and AAB’s Kampala.

The host cities had been determined long in advance, but the host Cairo ended up with the wild card spot, having taking ALB runner-up at 100-62. The move was controversial as 101-61 Christchurch and 100-62 Lilongwe had similar stats as their league’s runner-up.

For back-to-back tournaments and for the fifth time overall, the World Series winner also earned the Grand Champion honor. New Orleans finished with the top spot at 15-4, leading in scoring (106) and run differential (+35). Right behind were Kampala (14-5) and Palembang (13-6). The Peacocks allowed the fewest runs by a healthy margin at 54, but were towards the bottom in runs scored at 75. Their +21 differential was tied for fourth-best while the Panthers’ +16 was sixth.



The prior year, Denver staked a claim as the best in baseball history with a combined 140-54 record between the MLB regular season, playoffs, and BGC. The 2021 Mudcats were very close behind though at 138-61; the second-most combined wins by a Grand Champion. MLB’s American Association in particular could credibly call itself the strongest subleague in the world, now having five of the first 12 Grand Champions.



Kampala was the third African Association of Baseball team to finish in the top two, joining 2015 champ Johannesburg and 2014 runner-up Harare. Palembang was the second Austronesia Professional Baseball franchise to make the top three, as Zamboanga took second in 2013 and third in 2018.

Next were five teams at 11-8 with the tiebreaker formula officially giving fourth place to Tijuana. Detroit, Hamburg, Munich, and Vanuatu each also placed 11-8. The Tigers had the second-best run differential at +32, allowing the second-fewest runs (62). Munich was third at +27 and Hamburg tied Kampala for fourth at +21. Both German teams joined New Orleans in scoring 100+ runs.

The two remaining teams with a winning record were Delhi and Kyoto at 10-9. Next saw Fortaleza and Puerto Rico at 9-10, then both Cairo and Yaounde at 8-11. Finishing 7-12 were Nanjing, Perm, and Valencia. In a three-way tie at the bottom at 6-13 saw Changwon, Faisalabad, and Jeddah.

Although Valencia was near the bottom, their third-year LF Santino Garza was named Tournament MVP. The 25-year old Venezuelan in 19 starts had 24 hits, 16 runs, 5 doubles, 12 home runs, 19 RBI, a 1.287 OPS, and 1.7 WAR.

Detroit’s Marty Allen was Best Pitcher in his fifth year with the Tigers. The 24-year old Anoka, Minnesota native in four starts had a 0.55 ERA over 33 innings, 41 strikeouts, 2-0 record, and 2.1 WAR. Allen was one of only eight pitchers to have an ERA of 0.55 or better over 21+ innings. Kampala’s Ermias Tadele also joined that group in 2021, posting a 0.51 ERA over 35 innings, 42 strikeouts, 4-0 record, and 2.0 WAR.

Other notes: Cairo set a BGC team record with 40 doubles and Hamburg’s pitching staff had the best-ever BB/9 at 1.88. Cairo’s Basel Mubayed became the second player in BGC history to steal four bases in a single game.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Three players secured induction into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2022 on their debut ballots. SP Abdul Karim Hussein was the only slam dunk selection at 91.2%, as his classmates both narrowly crossed the 66% requirement. SS/3B Joel Tournier snuck in at 69.5% and 1B Murad Doskaliev made it with 67.8%. Two others were above 60% but missed out with SS Robert Hightower at 62.7% on his ninth ballot and SP Rinat Khan at 62.4% for his debut.

Four others were above 50%, but short of 60%. 3B Jeanpaul Vick received 56.6% in his third ballot and C Sebastian Van Velzen had the same on his sixth try. CL Jeremy Dau debuted with 51.9% and SP Victor Burke grabbed 51.5% for his fourth ballot.



Dropped after ten ballots was SP Aleksei Arakelyan, who had a 13-year career with Hartford. He posted a 187-135 record, 2.80 ERA, 3110.1 innings, 2813 strikeouts, 122 ERA+, and 74.3 WAR. Arakelyan was a Pitcher of the Year finalist thrice, but had limited black ink. If he would’ve lasted a few more years to get to 200+ wins and 3000+ strikeouts, Arakelyan probably gets across the line. He peaked at 44.4% in 2015 and ended with 38.3%.



Abdul Karim Hussein – Starting Pitcher – Philadelphia Phillies – 91.2% First Ballot

Abdul Karim Hussein was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Hussein joined Class of 1952 Kaby Silva (Cape Verde) as the only inductees into MLB’s Hall of Fame born in Africa. Hussein was a fireballer with outstanding stuff and great movement along with above average control. His fastball regularly hit 99-101 mph and was complimented by a changeup and splitter.

Hussein had very good stamina and excellent durability, tossing 250+ innings each year from 2002-14. He was solid at holding runners, but a weak defender otherwise. Hussein was considered a clubhouse leader and thrived in a career that took an unlikely path.

His hometown Mogadishu was among the cities granted a charter franchise for the African Association of Baseball in 1995. However, Somalia wasn’t exactly known as the biggest baseball hotbed in Africa. What limited amateur scene existed, Hussein absolutely dominated. Many AAB teams saw him as a potential top flight ace, but he was determined for a career beyond that. Hussein told AAB teams straight up that even though he was entered in their drafts, he wouldn’t sign at any cost.

After being undrafted in both 2000 and 2001, Hussein found the loophole that made him a free agent eligible for any world league. This was quite the risk at burning possible local bridges, but Hussein’s talent spoke for itself. He had put his vitals out there for many teams to see and caught the attention of Philadelphia specifically. In March 2002, the Phillies signed Hussein to a six-year, $61 million dollar deal.

That was a shocking sum for a rookie unproven on the pro stage, but Philadelphia was enamored by his fastball and potential. As the defending National Association champ and a historical winner, the Phillies had the resources and clout to try such a move. The deal raised eyebrows and drew criticism initially, but Hussein proved he was the real deal right away with 5.3 WAR in 2002, taking third in Rookie of the Year voting.

Hussein’s seven seasons with Philadelphia were all worth 5+ WAR with three seasons showing a sub-three ERA. He led in wins (24-8), innings (306.1), and complete games (18) in 2004. Hussein’s best WAR efforts for the Phillies were 2005 and 2007 with 7.8 in both. He finished second in 2007’s Pitcher of the Year voting. In 2005, he had a no-hitter on August 5 with 14 strikeouts and 3 walks against Milwaukee.

Philadelphia was a playoff regular with five berths and division titles during his tenure. The Phillies won the 2005 NA pennant, but fell in the World Series to Seattle. Philly lost in the NACS in both 2003 and 2007. Hussein was a strong playoff performer with a 2.64 ERA over 15 starts, 7-3 record, 102.1 innings, 106 strikeouts, 29 walks, 130 ERA+, and 2.6 WAR.

In total for the Phillies, Hussein had a 123-74 record, 2.97 ERA, 1905.1 innings, 1826 strikeouts, 459 walks, 115 ERA+, and 46.5 WAR. He entered free agency after the 2008 season at age 30 with many MLB teams showing interest. Hussein would agree to a six-year, $94,800,000 deal with San Francisco. The Gold Rush had been stuck in the mid-tier for the last decade and hoped Hussein could help bring them back to prominence.

San Fran stayed mid, but Hussein delivered on his end. He finished second in 2012’s Pitcher of the Year voting, leading the American Association in wins (22-9), WHIP (1.00), and quality starts (24). Hussein had 8.0 WAR that year and saw 8.2 WAR the prior year. All four of his full seasons for the Gold Rush were worth 6.8+ WAR.

After a weak start to 2013 for San Francisco, they were sellers and traded Hussein in early July to Detroit for prospects. The deal proved a winner long-term for the Gold Rush as they acquired SP Otis Hope, who would have an excellent 12-year run with SF and earn his own Hall of Fame induction in 2035. With San Francisco, Hussein had a 72-60 record, 2.96 ERA, 1225 innings, 1127 strikeouts, 266 walks, 128 ERA+, and 346 WAR.

Hussein had a fine second half for the Tigers, but they missed the playoffs by two games. He helped them bounce back with the #2 seed in 2014 at 104-58. This was Hussein’s top season by many metrics with career bests in ERA (2.37) and WAR (8.8). He had a 21-5 record and 270 strikeouts, again taking second in POTY voting. Sadly, Hussein never took the top award despite his strong career.

He did have something more prized and rare in 2014. On April 19 against his former team Philadelphia, Hussein threw MLB’s 26^th Perfect Game with nine strikeouts. As of 2037, Hussein and Jeremiah Rutledge are the only MLB pitchers with a perfecto and multiple no-hitters. His one playoff start was quality with two runs allowed in eight innings, although Detroit lost that game and was upset in the second round by Kansas City.|

In a year and change for Detroit, Hussein had a 31-10 record, 2.42 ERA, 391 innings, 388 strikeouts, 72 walks, 141 ERA+, and 12.3 WAR. He was hitting the best marks of his career despite heading into free agency at age 36. Los Angeles hoped to capture that production and gave Hussein a two-year, $47,600,000 deal. The Angels were on a five-year playoff streak, but hadn’t been able to get over the hump in the playoffs.

2015 was a snake-bitten season for Hussein, starting with a sore shoulder costing him six weeks in the early spring. Then in June, Hussein suffered a torn back muscle that kept him out almost the rest of the season. He got back for the playoffs but got lit up with a 11.74 ERA over two starts and 7.2 innings. LA had the top seed at 109-53, but was defeated in the AACS by Denver. The Angels plummeted to 70-92 the next year.

The back muscle tear tanked Hussein’s velocity, as he peaked in the 90-92 mph range by 2016. He struggled to a 4.61 ERA over 168 innings and for his Angels run finished with a 4.49 ERA over 190.1 innings and -0.3 WAR. Clearly cooked, Hussein retired that winter at age 38.

Hussein finished with a 236-157 record, 2.99 ERA, 3711.2 innings, 3405 strikeouts, 854 walks, 321/465 quality starts, 199 complete games, 53 shutouts, 119 ERA+, and 93.1 WAR. As of 2037, Hussein ranks 44^th in pitching WAR, 79^th in wins, 46^th in strikeouts, and 7^th in shutouts. The shutout mark was especially impressive since he didn’t crack the top 100 in either innings or complete games. Among all pitchers with 1000+ innings, his opponent’s OPS of .630 ranks 91^st.

While Hussein isn’t at the inner circle level, his tallies certainly compare nicely to other Hall of Famers. Add in a perfect game and you have yourself someone who can headline a class. Hussein did just that at 91.2%, leading the way for MLB’s three-player class for 2022.