Baseball: The World's Game - Page 98

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-02-2025, 06:04 PM

2022 marked the fifth season of the African Second League, which had seen a solid growth in local talent as hoped. The fifth season was its most important yet, as promotion and relegation was to begin. Thus, a conference championship win earned you a spot into the African Association of Baseball’s top league.

Defending A2L champ Nampula repeated as Southern Conference champ to earn their spot in the top tier. The Pheasants finished 94-68, fending off challenges from 92-70 Maseru and both Blantyre and Port Elizabeth at 88-74.

Bangui continued their dominance of the Central Conference, taking first for the fourth time in five years. It was fitting that the Badgers earned the first promotion with their success. Bangui was 100-62 with only 93-69 Juba really in contention at all.

In a Second League Championship rematch, Nampula defeated Bangui to repeat as champs. With promotion/relegation in effect from now onward, the Pheasants would forever be the only repeat champ in A2L history.

Other notes: Leading the way for Nampula was 2B Abdoulaye Umba, who posted the first-ever A2L Triple Crown hitting season with 61 home runs, 177 RBI, and a .376 average.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-03-2025, 05:19 AM

Cardiff repeated as the first place finisher in the European Second League’s Western Conference, hoping this time it would earn them a promotion. The Crew took it at 106-56, fending off a strong challenge by 103-59 Seville. The Stingrays picked up their third consecutive playoff berth.

Stockholm (96-66) and Liverpool (94-68) took the remaining playoff spots with a steep drop to fifth place Belfast at 86-76. The Swordsmen earned their first berth since getting relegated to E2L for 2019. Liverpool earned their first berth since 2015 and is one of the few teams that have never been promoted even once. The Phantoms set a new E2L record with 62 triples as a team.

In the Double Round Robin, Stockholm had the best finish at 5-1 to advance to the Western Conference Championship. Seville joined them with a 3-3 finish, while top seed Cardiff and Liverpool were both ousted at 2-4. The Stingrays then routed the Swordsmen 4-1, sending Seville back to the European Baseball Federation’s Elite tier after an eight year stay in the Second League.

Gothenburg for the first time had the top record in the Eastern Conference at 102-60, earning their second playoff spot in four years. Last year’s #1 seed Chisinau took second at 99-63. It was a tight battle for the remaining two playoff spots with Riga finishing third at 95-67. The Roosters hadn’t been a playoff team since 2010.

Lodz and Odesa finished tied at 94-68 for the final spot, while Varna (92-70), Tallinn (90-72) and Sarajevo (88-74) each fell short. The Legion won the tiebreaker game over the Drifters to give Lodz back-to-back wild cards. They have five playoff appearances in seven years, but remain one of the squads to never be promoted. Athens, a wild card last year, fell to 77-85.

Riga surprised many by taking the best record in the Double Round Robin at 4-2. Top seed Gothenburg and Chisinau were 3-3 and Lodz went 2-4. The tiebreaker pushed the Counts forward, who then clobbered the Roosters 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Championship. Chisinau earned its second promotion after being back in E2L for only two years.

In an exciting Second League Championship, Seville outlasted Chisinau in a seven game classic. The Stingrays had also won it all in 2006, joining Valencia as the only two-time E2L champs. No extra teams would be relegated from the EBF Elite in 2022, meaning Seville and Chisinau were the only teams to earn promotion.

Other notes: Bratislava was booty at 52-110, scoring the fewest runs in E2L history at 361. They also had the second fewest homers (73) and the second worth batting average (.193) and slugging percentage (.274) in Eastern Conference history to that point. Their .260 OBP was an all-time EC worst as well.

Sarajevo’s Zurab Karpenko became the first E2L player with 500 career home runs, finishing his final season with 508. He would also retire as the E2L leader in RBI (1274) and WAR (106.94). Lodz’ Yuriy Naichukov won his third MVP in a row, joining Karpenko as the only three time MVPs in E2L.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-03-2025, 10:58 AM

Last year’s second place finisher in the African Association of Baseball’s Southern Conference was Antananarivo. They were first place in 2022 by a healthy margin at 100-62, taking the top spot by 12 games. The Eagles outperformed their expected win/loss by nine games, finishing second in both runs scored (767) and fewest allowed (670).

There were five teams within six games of the second playoff spot. Harare (88-74) narrowly took it to end a seven-year playoff drought. Defending conference champ Lilongwe and Johannesburg tied for third at 85-77, followed by Lusaka at 83-79 and Cape Town at 82-80.

2022 was the first year of promotion/relegation with the African Second League, meaning last place finishers in each conference were demoted. Maputo suffered the unfortunate relegation in the SC at 65-97, six games behind their closest foe Durban. The Piranhas were conference champ only five years prior. They would be replaced in 2023 by A2L champ Nampula.

Harare led the Southern Conference in runs (786) with designated hitter Maninho Magaia leading the way as MVP. The 27-year old Mozambican became the eighth in AAB history to smack 70+ home runs by getting 73 dingers. Magaia also led in runs (125), RBI (138), and total bases (396). He had a 1.044 OPS, 173 wRC+, and 6.5 WAR.

Lilongwe righty Julian Ndaya won Pitcher of the Year in his sixth season. The 28-year old from the Democratic Republic of the Congo won the ERA title at 2.89 and was the WARlord at 7.9. Ndaya won his fifth Gold Glove and posted a 16-6 record and 251 strikeouts in 249.1 innings.

Two-time defending Africa Series champ Kampala finished first in the Central Conference for the fourth time in five years. The Peacocks at 104-58 had by far the most runs in the league at 861 and allowed the second-fewest at 592. Allowing the fewest was Ndjamena at 567, which pushed the Magic to second place at 95-67. Ndjamena ended a 15-year playoff drought, beating last year’s wild card Lubumbashi and Nairobi both by five games at 90-72.

The cross-river rivals Kinshasa and Brazzaville battled at the bottom of the standings trying to avoid relegation. The Sun Cats ended up the worst at 62-100, while the Blowfish survived at 64-98. It was shocking that Kinshasa was the first to be demoted considering they had the first dynasty run in the 1990s and early 2000s. Bangui would take their place for 2023. Another former dynasty Addis Ababa had been god awful from 2018-21, but climbed out of the hole just in time to avoid demotion with a 78-84 record in 2022.

Central Conference MVP went to Nairobi third baseman Ibukun da Costa in only his third season. The 25-year old Angolan was the home run leader with 51 and added 104 runs, 103 RBI, .995 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 7.0 WAR. The Night Hawks had picked da Costa ninth overall in the 2019 AAB Draft and he had immediately delivered. He was the Rookie of the Year back in 2020.

Pitcher of the Year went to Ndjamena’s John Saya, who led in wins (26-5), innings (206.1), strikeouts (306), and quality starts (27). The 25-year old Tanzanian lefty had a 2.28 ERA, missing the Triple Crown by only nine points to teammate Bradley Lindsay. Saya had a 170 ERA+ and 7.3 WAR, bouncing back after missing much of the prior year to shoulder inflammation.

The Southern Conference Championship needed all seven games with top seed Antananarivo outlasting Harare. The Eagles became five-time pennant winners, ending a 13-year title drought (2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2022). Kampala continued to dominate the Central Conference with a sweep of Ndjamena, winning their third consecutive pennant and fourth in five years.

The 28^th Africa Series saw the continuation of Kampala’s dynasty, defeating Antananarivo 5-3 to complete the three-peat. The Peacocks also won their fourth title in five years, joining the great Kinshasa and Addis Ababa dynasties in achieving the feat. It also continued the Central Conference’s dominance of the final, now leading the Southern Conference 20-8 in the Africa Series.

Finals MVP went to 3B Javin Dinesh in his 11^th season with Kampala. The 31-year old South African in 11 playoff starts had 13 hits, 7 runs, 5 doubles, 4 homers, and 9 RBI. Peacocks manager Kirk Scott became the third in AAB history with three championships as the Englishman had joined in 2020. He also won his third consecutive Manager of the Year.

Other notes: In a losing effort, Antananarivo 3B Ibrahim Abdoulkader had 19 playoff RBI, setting an AAB record that still holds as of 2037. The Eagles offense had a bad stat with only 390 walks drawn all season as a team, a new AAB low. Bujumbura had the fewest doubles ever by an AAB squad at 194.

Franklin Goagoseb was the second pitcher to 200 wins and the 4^th to 3000 strikeouts. Goagoseb passed Henry Kibirige’s 203 to become the new wins leader and would get three more in 2023 to finish with 208. He’d only briefly hold the top mark with Ermias Tadele passing him almost immediately, but he still ranks 3^rd as of 2037. Relebogile Matima became the 7^th to reach 1500 RBI. 1B Patrick Babila won his seventh Gold Glove.

Promotion/Relegation: Maputo and Kinshasa were demoted to the African Second League, replaced by Nampula and Bangui, respectively.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-03-2025, 04:58 PM

Amman narrowly earned the Arab League Baseball Western Conference’s top seed at 97-65, fending off a 93-69 Jerusalem to take the Levant Division crown from the Jets. The Aviators earned their second berth in three years, but guaranteed their first conference finals berth since 2012. Amman allowed the fewest runs in ALB (614) and their staff had the second most strikeouts (1815) and second-best K/9 (11.15) in conference history.

On top of racing Jerusalem for the division, Amman beat Mediterranean Division champ Casablanca by one for the top seed. The 96-66 Bruins won the division by 14 games to end a four-year playoff drought. Casablanca set new conference records for runs scored (944) and home runs (301). The Nile Division had an intense battle for first with Cairo (88-74) squeezing by Giza (87-75). The two-time defending conference champ Pharaohs grew their playoff streak to six seasons.

Tripoli and Algiers were both non-factors at 79-83, but their stars claimed the Western Conference’s top awards. Privateers third baseman Malik Zouaoui won MVP in his fourth season, leading in home runs (64), total bases (429), slugging (.723), OPS (1.137), wRC+ (186), and WAR (9.2). The 24-year old Tunisian added 131 runs, 131 RBI, and a .342 batting average. Tripoli had given Zouaoui an eight-year, $60.3 million extension the prior spring.

Arsenal lefty Muhammad Nour repeated as Pitcher of the Year in his fourth season for Algiers. The 24-year old Algerian lefty led in ERA (2.45), quality starts (26), and WAR (7.8). Nour tossed 227.1 innings with 302 strikeouts and an 18-5 record.

Casablanca survived 2-1 in the first round over Cairo, earning their first Western Conference Final berth since their 2017 title. The Bruins’ great offense overpowered top seed Amman’s pitching, winning the WCF 3-1. Casablanca won its tenth pennant, becoming the first franchise to double-digits. As of 2037, the Bruins are still the only team with 10+ conference titles.

Basra ran away with the Eastern Conference’s top seed at 108-54, guaranteeing a fourth straight conference finals trip. The Bulldogs earned their fifth straight Mesopotamia Division by allowing the fewest runs at 625. Divisional foe Kuwait at 95-67 set a runs scored high mark at 948, but were sank by also allowing 835.

Each of the division titles were won by 13+ games. Reigning Arab League champ Jeddah continued their ALB-record reign atop the Saudi Division at 97-65, extending their streak to 12 seasons. Abu Dhabi ended a five-year playoff drought as the only Gulf Division team above .500 at 94-68.

Eastern Conference MVP was Abu Dhabi first baseman Mohamed Ali Mansour in his third season. The 23-year old Moroccan led in RBI (134) and added 58 home runs, 113 runs, 1.086 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 6.9 WAR.

Basra’s Ahmed Hussain won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also done it in 2018. The 30-year old Qatari lefty was in his 11^th season with the Bulldogs and led in wins (23-4), ERA (1.87), WHIP (0.84), K/BB (11.0), quality starts (27), ERA+ (239), FIP- (46), and WAR (11.6). Hussain’s WAR was the sixth-best single-season to that point by an ALB pitcher. He struck out 329 batters, missing the Triple Crown by 11 to Riyadh’s Diyar Abbas.

Jeddah swept Abu Dhabi in the first round for their fifth Eastern Conference Final in a row and their eighth of the playoff streak. It was the fourth straight year the Jackals battled Basra for the pennant. The Bulldogs had won in 2020, while Jeddah took it in 2019 and 2021. Notably, the team with home field advantage had lost in 2020 and 2011.

Basra was the heavy favorite by wins, but the trend of road winners continued. Jeddah cruised to a stunning sweep of the Bulldogs to earn repeat pennants. The Jackals earned their fourth pennant in five years, joining 1992-95 Medina as the only teams to do that in ALB history. It was their sixth conference title overall, becoming the first franchise with six finals berth over a ten year period.

Despite both teams’ recent success, the 33^rd Arab League Championship was the first finals battle between Jeddah and Casablanca. The Bruins denied the Jackals’ repeat bid, taking the series 4-2. Casablanca became ALB’s first team with six rings (1994, 1995, 2003, 2015, 2017, 2022). Manager Dong-Yeon Kim had taken over in 2015 and became the second ALB manager to win three titles, joining former Mosul skipper Bertel Pitkamaki.

In a losing effort, Jeddah 1B Zach Aubin was finals MVP. The 36-year old Canadian had also earned the award back in 2018. In 2022, he started 11 playoff games with 20 hits, 8 runs, 6 doubles, 4 homers, and 6 RBI. Aubin had emerged as a playoff stud in his brief time in Saudi Arabia, also winning three conference finals MVPs with a career 1.216 OPS, 221 wRC+, and 4.1 WAR in 51 playoff starts.

Other notes: Doha’s pitching staff allowed only 266 walks with a 1.68 BB/9, the second-best in Eastern Conference history. Dubai set an ALB worst as their staff allowed 1697 hits. Bahrain also set a new worst with their pitching staff posting a lousy 1.502 WHIP. Both Livan Martinez and Ali Khalaf had four home run games, a feat now achieved 14 times in ALB. For the first time in ALB, there were back-to-back seasons without a no-hitter thrown.

Mohamed Hassan and Hamdan Fahed became the 10^th and 11^th members of the 600 home run club. Hassan and Khaled Mohamed both reached 1500 RBI, a mark achieved by 14 in ALB. Yahya bin Hakam became the 13^th to reach 2500 hits and won his tenth Silver Slugger. He now had eight at first base and two as a DH.

Fawaz Hussein became only the third pitcher to 4000 strikeouts, retiring at 4022. He just passed Rashid Tariq’s 4008 for second, but finished just behind Abdullah Al-Tamtami’s 4035 for the #1 spot. Herdi Wahib and Atef Abdelhakim became the 7^th and 8^th to 200 wins. Four pitchers earned their 3000^th strikeout, making that club 17 strong. SP Mohamed Taleb won his seventh Gold Glove, tying the position record.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-04-2025, 05:12 AM

The Asian Baseball Federation’s East League had the same playoff teams for the third straight year, although some positions were switched in the North Division. Dushanbe went from a 2021 wild card to the top seed at 109-53. The Dynamo now stood alone with the longest playoff streak in ABF history at ten seasons. Almaty (99-63) got their third straight wild card and last year’s division champ Bishkek earned the second wild card at 97-65.

Over in the South Division, reigning ABF champ Faisalabad rolled to a fourth straight division title at 105-57. The Fire narrowly beat Dushanbe for the most wins in the EL (747 to 741) and was just behind Bishkek for the fewest allowed (494 to 503). Multan was the next closest at 88-74, 17 short in the division race and nine away from the second wild card.

After missing part of 2021 to a fractured hand, Dushanbe shortstop Nizami Aghazade returned to the perch as East League MVP for the eighth time. This was the ABF record and to this point, only six players in world history had won more MVPs. Aghazade also got his ninth Silver Slugger in his 11^th season for the Dynamo.

The 34-year old Kazakh righty led in runs (109), total bases (361), OBP (.413), OPS (1.049), and WAR (12.5). Aghazade added 42 home runs, 120 RBI, and a 219 wRC+. In all eight of his MVP seasons, Aghazade posted at least 12.5 WAR; amazingly this was his weakest outing as he grew to an ABF-best 130.6 career WAR. The prior seven MVP seasons held seven of the top eight WAR seasons by an ABF position player. Aghazade would sign another three year, $66,600,000 extension with Dushanbe after the 2023 season to remain their franchise icon.

Pitcher of the Year went to Almaty righty Stanislav Mukhamadiev in his second season in the rotation. The 23-year old Russian led in shutouts (6) while adding a 2.47 ERA over 248 innings, 17-6 record, 326 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR.

Top seed Dushanbe was shocked with a first round sweep loss to Bishkek, while Faisalabad survived 3-2 against Almaty. This set up an East League Championship Series rematch between the EL’s most recent champs. The Fire beat the Black Sox in 2021, while Bishkek beat Faisalabad in the 2020 first round end route to a title. Round three saw the Black Sox continue to roll on the road, taking the series 4-1. This was Bishkek’s third pennant since joining ABF (2007, 2020, 2022) and their 12^th when factoring in their Eurasian Professional Baseball days.

Tabriz’s reign atop the West League Central Division continued for a fifth straight year with the Tiger Sharks’ playoff streak growing to seven seasons. At 103-59, Tabriz also earned the top overall seed for the fifth year running. They took it by just one game over West Division champ Baku this year. The 102-60 Blackbirds ended a four-year playoff drought with their effort.

ABF doesn’t use tiebreaker games, which made the wild card race tricky with three teams tying for two spots. Isfahan, Mashhad, and Ankara each were 90-72 with the spots going to the Imperials and Mercury. Isfahan ended a decade-long playoff drought while Mashhad earned repeat berths. Last year’s WL champ Izmir and Asgabat both finished 85-77. The Ice Caps had a four-year postseason streak ended and the Alphas saw their five-year run ruined.

Bursa was right at .500, scoring the most runs (805) but allowing the second most (792). Leading the offense was West League MVP Emre Fez in his fifth season. The 25-year old Turkish left fielder led in runs (139), hits (217), RBI (143), total bases (415), average (.360), slugging (.689), OPS (1.103), wRC+ (177), and WAR (11.1). Fez added 44 homers, 38 doubles, 14 triples, and 85 stolen bases. He would remain with the Blue Claws for the long haul, inking an eight-year, $117,400,000 extension after the 2023 campaign.

Istanbul veteran Temuri Omarov won Pitcher of the Year in his ninth season. The 30-year old Georgian righty won the ERA title at 2.16 and led in WHIP (0.87), quality starts (22), ERA+ (190), FIP- (59), and WAR (7.4). Omarov struck out 299 over 212.1 innings with a 14-9 record and 7 saves.

Tabriz survived 3-2 against Mashhad in the first round and Baku cruised to a sweep of Isfahan. The Tiger Sharks earned their fourth West League Championship Series try in five years, while it was the first since 2017 for the Blackbirds. Baku pulled off the win 4-2 on the road to secure their fourth pennant (2010, 2012, 2013, 2022). Despite five straight years as the top seed, Tabriz only had their 2019 title to show for it, going 1-3 in the WLCS.

In the 38^th ABF Championship, Bishkek continued its impressive run as the #4 seed by besting Baku 4-2, winning their second title in three years. Veteran LF Ramin Abilov won finals MVP, having signed with the Black Sox in 2021 after 14 years between Tehran and Dushanbe. The 33-year old Uzbek in 14 playoff starts had 18 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 3 RBI, and 1.028 OPS.

Other notes: Mehmet Fatih Canaydin became ABF’s new career hits leader, passing the previous high mark of 2795 by Petri Viskari. The 37-year old Canaydin finished 2022 at 2829 hits. He also got to 1412 runs scored, just behind Viskari’s 1446. Shadi Alam (1408) was also in position to surpass Viskari’s mark in the next season. Canaydin was also the stolen bases leader at this point by a healthy margin at 1284.

Rafkat Kudabergenov, Emmanouil Karakostas, and Eser Haspolatli all reached 2500 hits, making eight ABF batters to do so. Fakhri Rajavi became the 4th member of the 600 home run club and Habib Saquib became the 12^th to reach 500 home runs. Ozgur Ermalci was the 10^th pitcher to 200 wins and Dabir Arif was the 13^th to reach 3500 strikeouts.

Rawalpindi and Samarkand’s offenses both drew only 249 walks, setting a new ABF team worst. The Spurs’ pitching staff also had a 4.48 ERA, the third-worst in East League history. Shahid Safaq had a 31-game hit streak, tying the fifth-longest in ABF history.

3B Eser Haspolatli won his 14^th straight and final Gold Glove. He has won the award more than any other ABF player and is just one of 12 to win the award 14 times in any world league. Haspolatli is one of four in that group that were third basemen. RF Hana Zuhair won his tenth consecutive Gold Glove. CF Bardia Petrosian won his seventh Silver Slugger.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-04-2025, 11:35 AM

The Indian League’s top seed in 2022 went to Hyderabad at 101-61 atop the South Division. The Hippos led in scoring with 766 runs, ending a three-year playoff drought. Mumbai won the West Division at 99-63 to end a three-year playoff drought. Defending South Asia Baseball champ Delhi won the Central Division at 96-66 to grow their playoff streak to three. The Drillers had the fewest runs allowed at 528.

In the wild card race, Kolkata and Ahmedabad tied for the spot at 89-73, while Visakhapatnam (87-75) and Nagpur (86-76) just missed the cut. The tiebreaker game went to the Cosmos for back-to-back berths. For the Patriots, their playoff streak ended at four seasons. Pune (81-81) had their playoff streak ended at three years despite having SAB’s largest payroll at just over $152 million.

Indian League MVP went to Ahmedabad right fielder Vij Kumaragupta. The 29-year old righty led in runs (113), home runs (53), RBI (124), walks (78), total bases (381), OPS (1.091), wRC+ (220), and WAR (9.5). Kumaragupta added a .323 average and 42 stolen bases. The Animals gave him an eight-year, $94.7 million extension the prior summer.

Pitcher of the Year was fourth year Delhi righty Amir Kapur. The 26-year old Indian led in ERA (1.99), strikeouts (332), quality starts (25), ERA+ (187), FIP- (44), and WAR (9.3). Kapur pitched 213 innings with a 16-7 record, falling two wins short of a Triple Crown. The Drillers gave Kapur a six-year, $37,020,000 extension in late April to lock him up into his 30s.

Hyderabad survived 3-2 over Kolkata in the first round while Mumbai ousted reigning champ Delhi 3-1. The Hippos earned their third Indian League Championship Series try in six years, while it was the Meteors’ first since their back-to-back pennants in 2015-16. Hyderabad again couldn’t get over the hump with a 4-2 series win for Mumbai. The Meteors secured their fifth IL title (2006, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2022).

Five teams finished within six wins of the #1 seed in the Southeast Asia League, making for an intense fight for the four playoff spots. Hai Phong got the top spot at 102-60 to win a third consecutive North Division title. Dhaka was close behind in the division, ending the regular season at 98-64. Meanwhile, the South Division’s Yangon and Vientiane both ended at 98-64 as well, while Da Nang was the odd team out at 96-66.

In a tiebreaker game for the division title, the Green Dragons defeated the Vampires. For seeding, the Dobermans then beat Vientiane for the #3 seed. Yangon’s world record playoff streak grew to 28 seasons. The Vampires earned their ninth berth in 11 years, while Dhaka got back-to-back spots. The Nailers’ had their bid for a third straight spot denied despite leading in scoring at 823 runs. The Dobermans allowed the fewest runs at 606. Dhaka’s pitching staff allowed only 253 walks with a 1.55 BB/9, setting new SEAL team records.

Winning Southeast Asia League MVP was Vientiane second baseman Shivansh Mahapatra. The 28-year old Indian had the best batting average (.360) and WAR (8.4). Mahapatra scored 107 runs on 218 hits with 40 doubles, 39 homers, 125 RBI, 1.026 OPS, and 173 wRC+. In June, the Vampires paid Mahapatra for his efforts with an eight-year, $84 million extension.

Dhaka lefty Dusit Kyo secured Pitcher of the Year in his fourth season in the rotation. The 25-year old from Thailand led in WAR (8.5), complete games (12), shutouts (3), and FIP- (63). Kyo had a 16-10 record over 251 innings, 2.80 ERA, and 342 strikeouts. He earned his five-year, $25,580,000 extension from the Dobermans in the prior offseason.

Top seed Hai Phong swept Vientiane in the first round while Yangon swept Dhaka, setting up a rematch of the 2020 Southeast Asia League Championship. Again the Prowlers were the top seed, but were denied their first-ever pennant by the Green Dragons. Yangon cruised to a 4-1 win for their sixth pennant in 11 years and their 12^th SEAL title overall. It was their ninth pennant of the historic playoff streak.

The 43^rd South Asia Baseball Championship was the second finals meeting between Yangon and Mumbai with the Green Dragons winning in their 2015 encounter. Yangon would prevail again 4-2 to become five-time SAB champs (2001, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2022). The Meteors’ bad finals fortune continued, moving to 0-5 all-time in the SAB Championship. They had the most runner-up finishes amongst the SAB teams that hadn’t won it all at least once.

Finals MVP went to journeyman shortstop Kader Ahmed in his third year with Yangon. The 31-year old Bangladeshi in 14 playoff starts had 18 hits, 7 runs, 5 extra base hits, and 7 RBI.

Other notes: World home run king Majed Darwish added world RBI king to his titles, passing the 2618 set by CABA/MLB legend Prometheo Garcia from 1943-1968. Darwish ended the year at 2655 and grew his record homer mark to 1123. Darwish also finished the year at 2366 runs, only eight from passing Garcia’s world record 2374. Darwish became the new SAB runs leader in 2022, passing Ratan Canduri’s 2334 and beat MLB’s Stan Provost (2348) for the #2 spot on the world list. It was also the final year for Darwish with Hanoi after a 20-year odyssey. The 39-year old Bahraini would play three more seasons between Da Nang and Dhaka.

Chennai’s Gotam Bhagwan set a new SAB single-season record with 60 doubles, beating the previous high mark of 59 by Kasi Kumar in 2009. Bhagwan’s mark wouldn’t be beaten until 2034. Hanoi’s Arush Jitender set a bad record, allowing 51 home runs on the season. Bengaluru’s offense only hit 159 doubles, an all-time SAB low. Their 21 triples tied for the third lowest. Kathmandu’s pitching staff had 1167 strikeouts and 7.27 K/9, both were the second-lowest in SAB history behind Phnom Penh from the prior year. CF Omer al-Jabiri won his seventh Gold Glove.

Delhi’s Oliver Cook had the lone no-hitter of 2022, striking out 17 against Chennai on July 6. This tied Sakar Sheikh’s 2012 record for most Ks in an SAB no-hitter. Baladhya Jain was the 6^th reliever to 400 saves. Duc Son became the 24^th member of the 500 home run club. Mohan Zaman and Nyi Moe Win became the 24^th and 25^th to reach 2500 hits. 3B Yasir Malkawi won his tenth Silver Slugger, tying Jatinder Chowdhary for the position record.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-04-2025, 06:17 PM

Abidjan had the best overall record in West African Baseball at 104-58. It was the fourth playoff berth in five years for the Athletes and their first time in the Western League’s top spot since 2018. Conakry was second at 98-64 to grow their playoff streak to five seasons. The Coyotes allowed the fewest runs at 689. Abidjan was third in both runs scored (923) and fewest allowed (713).

For the remaining two playoff spots, Freetown (92-70) and Cape Verde (91-71) advanced with Accra (88-74) falling short. The Foresters had both their first playoff berth and winning season since 2014, while the Vulcans ended an 11-year postseason drought. CV had the most runs (964) with Freetown next (949). Defending WL champ Bamako was sixth at 83-79, which ended their seven-year postseason streak.

Cape Verde 3B Okoro Yusuf kept rolling with his third straight Western League MVP. The 25-year old Nigerian had just led his country to the World Baseball Championship title as WBC MVP. In 2022, he led the WL in hits (245), total bases (464), batting average (.404), OBP (.456), OPS (1.222), wRC+ (206), and WAR (11.5).

Yusuf’s average was the third-best in WAB history to that point and was the seventh-ever WAB effort above .400. His OBP ranked seventh-best and his OPS was third. Yusuf also had 126 runs, 52 home runs, 49 doubles, and 150 RBI. The Vulcans had wisely given him an eight-year, $113,500,000 extension the prior summer.

It took an effort that strong to overshadow Freetown’s Youssoupha Diop, who became WAB’s single-season home run king. The 25-year old Senegalais first baseman socked a nice 69 dingers, besting Shahnawaz Ikram’s 66 from 2006. Diop’s 169 RBI was the fourth-best in WAB history. Diop also had 143 runs, 1.215 OPS, 194 wRC+, and 9.1 WAR.

The Foresters would have the Pitcher of the Year Koku Omouroun in his fourth season, earning the tenth Triple Crown pitching season in WAB history. The 26-year old Togolese lefty had an 18-6 record, 2.53 ERA, and 300 strikeouts. Omouroun pitched 206.2 innings and also led in WHIP (0.95), quality starts (22), FIP- (61), and WAR (7.2). Freetown had given him a six-year, $36,540,000 extension the prior winter.

Cape Verde edged Freetown 2-1 in the first round, but got rolled 2-0 in round two by Conakry. The Coyotes earned their fourth consecutive Western League Championship Series appearance and shocked top seed Abidjan with a 3-0 sweep. Conakry secured its second pennant in three years and its fourth overall (1989, 1990, 2020, 2022).

In the Eastern League, Niamey (98-64) narrowly took the top spot from last year’s ELCS runner-up Libreville (97-65). The Atomics got their second playoff berth in four years, although they hadn’t taken first place since their 2007 pennant. For the Lakers, their playoff streak grew to three seasons. Niamey led in scoring (915) and fewest runs allowed (729).

Ibadan (93-69) and Lome (90-72) earned the remaining playoff spots, while defending WAB champ Yaounde (87-75) and Ouagadougou (85-77) were the first teams out. The Iguanas ended a four-year playoff drought while the Lasers stopped a five-year skid. The Yellow Birds’ playoff streak ended at four and Kano (74-88) had their streak end at six years.

Niamey swept the top awards with fourth-year LF Kevin Serville taking Eastern League MVP. The 25-year old Central African led in RBI (142) while adding 36 homers, 50 doubles, 17 triples, 120 runs, a .371/.405/.694 slash, 174 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. Serville signed an eight-year, $54,760,000 extension with the Atomics the prior winter. His 2022 included hitting for the cycle during a 26-game hit streak.

Teammate Sabado Balde won his third Pitcher of the Year in four seasons. The 30-year old Bissau-Guinean led in wins (21-7), ERA (2.92), quality starts (21), and WAR (8.5). Balde struck out 290 in 249.1 innings, missing a Triple Crown by only 17 Ks. He spent one more year with Niamey, then departed for five years to MLB’s Columbus Chargers.

Ibadan beat Lome 2-0 in the first round, then knocked off Libreville 2-1 in round two. The Iguanas earned their first Eastern League Championship Series trip since 2013. They couldn’t overcome top seed Niamey as the Atomics took the ELCS 3-1. Niamey became four-time EL champs (1987, 2006, 2007, 2022).

The 48^th West African Championship saw Conakry earn their second title in three years. Like their 2020 win over Yaounde, the Coyotes got the sweep in their victory over Niamey. Conakry became three-time champs having also won back in 1990. The Coyotes finished undefeated in the playoffs at 9-0, becoming the first team in WAB history to achieve the feat.

Finals MVP was RF Romeo Volz in his second year for the Coyotes as the 32-year old French journeyman arrived after eight years in Europe. In 2022, Volz had 9 playoff starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, 9 RBI, 7 walks, and 6 stolen bases. Reliever Mamba Diallo was also notable for going 5-0 with 2 saves in seven appearances, posting a 1.84 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Five wins set a new WAB playoff record.

Other notes: WAB hits leader Lawrence Nassif also became the RBI and doubles leader in his penultimate season. The 37-year old 1B finished the year at 2215 RBI and 671 doubles, passing Darwin Morris’s 2129 RBI and Jack Kiadii’s 659 doubles. Nassif also got to 716 home runs, joining Morris (806) and Ahamad Mathew (740) in the 700 club. He also finished 2022 at 3592 hits, becoming the first in WAB to breach 3500.

Port Harcourt’s Jacques Ahouansou set a new WAB single-game record by striking out 23 in only eight innings against Niamey on May 25. He was only the ninth in world history to fan 23+ in a game and one of only four to do it without extra innings. Ahouansou hit his mark with the fewest total outs with a remarkable 23/24 outs via strikeout.

Libreville’s Ahmed Kone had a 41-game hitting streak in the summer, falling two games short of Fares Belaid’s record 43 from the prior year. Kone himself had notably posted a 37-game streak in 2021 as well. Kone is only the 15^th player in world history to have a 40+ game hit streak and is the only player to have multiple 35+ game streaks. Belaid barely misses that cutoff, having two 34-game streaks along with his 43-game record. Belaid won his eighth Silver Slugger in 2022 and seventh as a DH.

Ibrahim Sani became the 9^th to reach 1500 RBI and Clarence Cole was the 7^th to 1500 runs scored. Cole and three others reached 2500 hits, a mark met by 21 WAB batters. Kadir Onyeali was the 7^th pitcher to reach 3500 strikeouts. 3B Seidath Boni won his 11^th consecutive Gold Glove, becoming only the third 11+ GG winner at any position in WAB. SS Romuald Assane won his seventh Gold Glove

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-05-2025, 04:34 AM

Defending Chinese League Baseball champ Nanjing finished first in the Northern League at 100-62 in 2022, earning a fourth playoff berth in five years. The Nuggets barely beat out Tianjin (99-63) for the top spot as the Jackrabbits ended a decade-long playoff drought. Qingdao was third at 92-70 to end their own five-year playoff drought. The Devils led the NL in scoring with 597 runs.

In a tight fight for the final playoff spot, Urumqi (88-74) edged out 87-75 efforts by last year’s first place team Changchun and Hangzhou. Shanghai (84-78) was seventh despite allowing the fewest runs in CLB at 431. The Unicorns got their second-ever playoff berth (2017) since joining in the 2009 expansion. Also notable was Shenyang falling to 73-89, ending a five year streak of semifinal appearances by the Swans.

Nanjing’s Kenny Sang won his third Northern League MVP, having also won in 2018 and 2019. The 28-year old second baseman led in runs (108), hits (191), home runs (58), RBI (115), total bases (404), slugging (.667), wRC+ (256), and WAR (12.8). As of 2037, Sang’s 2022 has the 21^st highest single-season WAR by a position player. He remained committed to the Nuggets by signing an eight-year, $60,100,000 extension before the season.

The Pitcher of the Year trophy also came to Nanjing with seventh-year lefty Ling Yu. He won the ERA title at 1.42 and led in K/BB (12.7), quality starts (30), and WAR (10.5). Yu had 318 strikeouts over 259 innings and a 19-5 record. The Nuggets also invested in keeping Yu around with a five-year, $46 million extension signed after the 2022 campaign.

Nanjing was the strongest team in the Round Robin at 5-1, advancing to the semifinal along with Urumqi (3-3) while Qingdao (2-4) and Tianjin (2-4) were eliminated. The Nuggets were looking to repeat and earn their third NL title in five years. However, the Unicorns pulled off the shocking 4-1 semifinal upset. Urumqi became the fourth of the six 2009 expansion teams to earn a trip to the China Series.

Defending Southern League champ Hong Kong and Dongguan both finished 96-66 atop the standings. The tiebreaker officially went to the Donkeys, who hadn’t taken first in the standings since 1986. It was also their first playoff appearance at all since 2009. The Champions meanwhile got their fifth straight playoff berth. Dongguan was the top offense in China with 658 runs scored.

Both Changsha and Foshan at 94-68 took the remaining playoff spots, missing first place by only two games. The Flyers’ streak grew to five years, while the Cannons ended a nine season drought. Xiamen was fifth at 89-73 despite allowing the SL’s fewest runs at 468. Kunming (86-76) and Guangzhou (85-77) were next, both unable to earn repeat playoff berths.

Changsha LF Tao Cai repeated as Southern League MVP in only his fourth season. The 25-year old righty was the leader in runs (114), homers (59), slugging (.664), OPS (1.028), wRC+ (213), and WAR (11.5). Cai added 128 RBI and a .296 batting average.

Guangzhou righty Kamesh Sajeev earned Pitcher of the Year in just his second season. The 23-year old Indian was the WARlord at 8.5 and led with 8 shutouts. Sajeev tossed 232.2 innings with 287 strikeouts, a 1.93 ERA, and 16-7 record.

Hong Kong finished 5-1 atop the Southern League’s round robin, Foshan and Changsha were 3-3 and top-seed Dongguan was 1-5. The tiebreaker sent the Flyers forward for over the Cannons. Both HK and Foshan earned their fourth semifinal trip in five years. The luck yet again favored the Champions, who moved to 4-0 in those trips and while the Flyers moved to 0-4. It was their third meeting of this run, this time going to Hong Kong 4-2. The Champions became only the third franchise to earn four China Series trips in five years, joining Dalian (1989-94) and Beijing (1984-87).

The 53^rd China Series saw Hong Kong roll Urumqi 4-1 to become four-time CLB champs (1984, 2007, 2019, 2022). LF Shikai Xu was finals MVP in his ninth season with the Champions. The 32-year old in 17 starts had 31 hits, 7 runs, 6 doubles, 2 homers, and 12 RBI. The 31 hits set a new CLB playoff record, beating the old high mark of 26. Xu’s 31 wouldn’t be matched for a decade. This marked the end of his CLB career, as Xu left in the offseason on a five-year, $32 million deal with Amman of the Arab League.

Other notes: The season saw an exciting chase as Wenzhou’s Boyu Long and Shijiazhuang’s Cheng Kang both chased Tao Yang’s CLB home run career record of 497. Long passed it barely to end the season at 498, while Kang finished tied with Yang at 497.

Both were chasing Xinze Yan’s RBI record of 1157 as well. Long finished 2022 with 1148 RBI with Kang at 1124. Foshan’s Zhen Zhang was also right in the mix at 1128. Kang won his tenth Silver Slugger with his eighth in left field along with two in right. Long became an eight-time Slugger winner in RF and Zheng an eight-time winner in CF.

CLB’s 53^rd perfect game was thrown by Huikang Liu of Guangzhou on June 29, striking out seven against Wenzhou. 3B Chan Koh and CF Cheung Huang both won their seventh consecutive Gold Glove.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-05-2025, 11:31 AM

The Taiwan-Philippine Association saw two lengthy playoff droughts ended. In the Taiwan League, Taoyuan took the top spot at 101-61 for their first playoff berth since their 2008 Austronesia Championship. The Tsunami led in scoring (613 runs) and were five ahead of defending TPA champ Hsinchu at 96-66. Kaohsiung was also competitive at 90-72. Meanwhile, Taipei collapsed to 63-99 to end their APB-record 14-year stretch of winning seasons.

Quezon (94-68) beat out Zamboanga (92-70) and Manila (91-71) in a very competitive Philippine League. This ended a 23-year playoff drought for the Zombies back to 1998. Pitching led the way, as they allowed the fewest runs at 433. Last year’s PL winner Cagayan de Oro was a non-factor at 76-86.

Hsinchu designated hitter Binh Tang won his third consecutive Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. Still only 22-years old, the Vietnamese lefty led in runs (101), hits (193), RBI (102), walks (65), and total bases (360). Tang had 42 homers, .970 OPS, 196 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR.

For the first time since 2014, someone other than Ching-Chen Yao won Pitcher of the Year. Quezon’s Donald Daang broke up that streak as the 27-year old Filipino lefty led in ERA (1.44), innings (287.1), strikeouts (309), quality starts (29), complete games (19), shutouts (8), and WAR (8.8). Daang had a 17-10 record, three wins shy of the Triple Crown. This was the peak for Daang, who would be derailed by back-to-back UCL tears in the next two seasons.

As for Yao, he was third in 2022’s POTY voting despite missing a month to a strained hamstring. The Zamboanga ace still led in strikeouts with 309, his tenth time as the leader. Even in a “down year,” Yao threw two no-hitters, striking out 16 versus Kaohsiung on 5/16 and fanning 13 versus Manila on 7/20. He became the fifth APB ace with 4+ career no-nos.

Yao was denied the WARlord title for only the second time since 2012, but still had a great year at 8.0. This got him to 144.7 career WAR, passing fellow pitchers Hadi Ningsih (144.5), Wisnu Mahmudiana (143.3), and Donnie Luzon (137.8) to become the all-time WARlord in Austronesia Professional Baseball. It also moved him to 15^th on the all-time world leaderboard for pitching WAR.

Medan had the Sundaland Association’s best record at 95-67, winning the Malacca League title for the second time in three years. The Marlins held off 92-70 Singapore for the spot despite the Sharks leading in scoring with 526 runs. Medan was second in runs scored (508) and fewest allowed (415). Last year’s ML winner Kuala Lumpur fell to fourth place at 79-83.

Bandung earned their first Java Sea League crown since their 2015 APB title. The Blackhawks at 92-70 dethroned reigning APB champ and three-time defending SA winner Palembang at 89-73. Bandung allowed the fewest runs at 408. Depok was also in the mix with an 86-76 record, their first winning campaign since 2011.

Sundaland Association MVP went to Medan right fielder Mohd Aqmal Kunanlan. The 27-year old Malaysian led in runs (102), RBI (91), triple slash (.317/.395/.626), OPS (1.021), wRC+ (264), and WAR (11.5). He hit 47 home runs, missing the Triple Crown by three to Pekanbaru’s James Yuwono’s 50. The Marlins had given Kunanlan an eight-year, $41,920,000 extension prior to the 2022 campaign.

Medan also had the Pitcher of the Year as Purnadi Supriatna won it for the second time in three years. The 27-year old Indonesian lefty led in strikeouts (401), FIP- (38), and WAR (12.2). Supriatna saw a 1.71 ERA over 273.1 innings and a 19-8 record. He also had a 22 strikeout game against Depok on September 2, tying the APB record for Ks in a regulation game. Vhon Lasam had 23 over 10.1 innings in 1984.

The Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship went all seven games for the fourth consecutive year. Quezon outlasted Taoyuan to win their third pennant (1984, 1998, 2022), ending a 23-year title drought. Medan beat Bandung 4-2 in the Sundaland Association Championship to snap their own 11-year drought. The Marlins won their ninth pennant (1966, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 2000, 2010, 2022), tying them with Jakarta for the most.

The 58^th Austronesia Championship was a rematch of the 1984 final, which was Quezon’s lone title. The Zombies secured their second ring in 2022, defeating Medan in a 4-3 classic. Seventh-year CF Som Sous won finals MVP as the 28-year old Cambodian in 14 starts had 15 hits, 13 runs, 3 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. The 13 runs set a new APB playoff record that hasn’t been passed as of 2037. Quezon’s Widodo Megawati also set a playoff record by drawing 10 walks.

Other notes: APB’s 46^th perfect game came on June 3 from Kaohsiung’s Tse-Chun Fu, striking out 10 versus Manila. The 47^th perfecto then came on October 2 from Batam’s Cirmezi Khan, striking out 17 versus Johor Bahru. Singapore’s Fahrudin Ramli threw his second no-hitter on June 2 against Jakarta. Ching-Chen Yao became the 20^th pitcher to 4000 strikeouts.

APB home run king Wil Tabaldo became the 1^st member of the 700 home run club and the first to reach 1500 career RBI. Iqbal Safari became the 2^nd to 3000 career hits, finishing his career at 3045. Safari also was the 9^th to reach 500 homers, ending at 518. LF Liu Hu won his 8^th Silver Slugger.

Achmad Albaar became the third to 400 saves. He pitched two more years and ended at 418, second to Metta Adam’s 437. Rob Bruja was the 26^th pitcher to 200 wins and the 33^rd to 3500 strikeouts. Earlier in the year, Gosner Rahmawati also reached 3500 Ks. 1B Widodo Megawati won his 12^th consecutive and final Gold Glove. C Muhammad Aqsar won his 7^th Gold Glove.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-05-2025, 04:32 PM

For the first time since 1984, the Australasia League had a tie for first place. Sydney and Auckland were both even at 101-61, which led to a one-game playoff won by the Snakes. Sydney earned its third pennant in five years, while the Avengers’ drought grew to 21 seasons. The Snakes allowed the fewest runs (599) while Auckland scored the most (793).

Sydney’s offense had 165 triples, 552 stolen bases, and only struck out 875 times. All of these were new OBA team records. Melbourne (93-69) and Canberra (91-71) were distant third and fourth place finishers. Two-time defending AL champ Christchurch dropped to fifth at 85-77. The Chinooks did extend their streak of winning seasons to 12.

Australasia League MVP went to third-year first baseman Jordy Vincent. The 23-year old New Caledonian led in home runs (53), RBI (149), and slugging (.641). Vincent added 8.2 WAR, 115 runs, 1.032 OPS, and a 173 wRC+. Vincent also earned a Gold Glove for his efforts. The Centurions gave him a five-year, $24.5 million extension before the season.

In his Oceania Baseball Association debut, Sydney’s Chuchuan Cao won Pitcher of the Year. The 33-year old lefty won his sixth POTY overall, having won five in Chinese League Baseball with Shenyang. Cao also had won five MVPs as a two-way player, although the Snakes limited him just to pitching. He signed a four-year, $43,200,000 deal to join Sydney.

Cao led the AL in wins (28-6), innings (319), K/BB (12.0), complete games (19), shutouts (5), FIP- (68), and WAR (10.0). He added a 2.93 ERA and 361 strikeouts. Between CLB and OBA now, Cao had a combined 169.3 career WAR, which places him inside the top 15 among all pro baseball players.

Defending Oceania Champion Vanuatu repeated as Pacific League champion at 99-63. The Wizards edged out Guadalcanal (97-65) and Guam (93-69) for the top spot. Vanuatu allowed the fewest runs (564) and scored the second most (780). The Green Jackets had the top offense at 784 runs for their 14^th consecutive winning season. Vanuatu had 102 triples, the second-most in a PL season. The Golden Eagles set new OBA team pitching records for walks (209) and BB/9 (1.29).

Vanuatu LF Hama Brotherson won his second Pacific League MVP, having also won back in 2017. The 30-year old Tahitian led in hits (203), total bases (357), stolen bases (85), average (.343), OBP (.370), wRC+ (183), and WAR (8.1). Brotherson had 101 runs, 24 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers, and 103 RBI. It was the final year of his Wizards run, leaving in the offseason for a $150,400,000, six-year deal with MLB’s Sacramento Shamrocks.

In fourth place was Port Moresby at 87-75, led by Pitcher of the Year Colton Stark. The 29-year old Australian righty led in wins (23-11), ERA (2.25), WHIP (0.93), FIP- (56), and WAR (10.9). Stark struck out 321 over 292.1 innings with a 161 ERA+. The Mud Hens signed him in spring training 2023 to a six-year, $152 million deal.

The 63^rd Oceania Championship saw Sydney sweep the defending champ Vanuatu, giving the Snakes their third title in five years (2018, 2019, 2022). In only his second year as a starter, 1B David Odom won finals MVP. The 22-year old New Zealander went 7-17 with 2 runs, 1 double, 1 home, and 4 RBI.

Other notes: Auckland’s Nilton Paiva set multiple single-season records in 2022. He had a .374 batting average, 238 hits, and 42 triples; all new OBA records. The 42 triples tied for the fourth-most by any player in any world league. Sydney’s David Odom matched him with 42 triples and had 230 hits, which also broke the old OBA record of 226. Paiva had a 33-game hit streak and Odom had a 31-game streak as well, both just missing the OBA record of 34.

Fiji ace Akira Brady became OBA’s all-time wins leader by going 22-14, finishing the season with 333 to pass Tarzan Rao’s 314 for the top mark. The 35-year old New Zealander now was OBA’s leader in wins, strikeouts, and WAR. Brady passed 6000 strikeouts in 2022, becoming only the fifth pitcher in all of world baseball history to reach the mark. Brady would see his first major setback in 2023 with shoulder inflammation knocking him out five months.

Roe Kaupa became the 4^th member of the 700 home run club and the 18^th to reach 1500 runs scored, hitting both marks in the same week in mid-August. Kaupa also won his 12^th Silver Slugger with them split between 1B/DH. CF Pouvalu Manu won his 8^th Gold Glove.

Closers Nathan Bouye and Aidan Wray became the 3^rd and 4^th members of the 300 save club. Nathan Henderson was the 8^th pitcher to 250 wins and Alison Kila was the 21^st to reach 3500 strikeouts. Hobart was last in the AL at 59-103 with historically bad pitching. The Tasmaniacs allowed the most runs (902) and earned runs (817) in OBA history and posted the second-worst ERA (5.02), hits allowed (1695), and H/9 (10.41).

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-06-2025, 04:59 AM

Minsk returned to the top spot in the EPB European League standings for the first time since 2009. The Miners finished 104-58 to win the North Division and earn their second playoff berth in three years. Volgograd repeated as South Division champ at 100-62 and earned a third straight playoff berth. The Voyagers were league leaders in runs scored (717) with Minsk close behind (705). Both teams were 100+ runs ahead of the rest of the EL.

Both wild cards came from the North Division with Nizhny Novgorod at 91-71 and St. Petersburg at 87-75. The Ninjas earned back-to-back wild cards and allowed the fewest runs at 508. The Polar Bears ended a 15-year postseason drought, while reigning EL champ Moscow had their four-year streak ended. Voronezh also had a three-year run snapped, finishing 81-81 along with the Mules. For Moscow, the .500 finish was their first non-winning season since 1998.

No position players in the European League had above 7 WAR, opening up the MVP race to pitchers. Minsk’s Nehor Pomerantz took advantage, winning both MVP and Pitcher of the Year in his third season. The 24-year old Israeli lefty led in wins at 24-3, adding a 1.70 ERA, 232.2 innings, 314 strikeouts, 190 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR. Pomerantz was the first pure pitcher to win MVP in Eurasian Professional Baseball since Matvey Ivanov in 2002.

Pomerantz was a surprising choice since he was fourth in WAR among pitchers. Three-time defending POTY Svyatoslav Tyahnybok of Volgograd was the leader in WAR (11.2) and strikeouts (378), but missed the top five in ERA at 2.37. St. Petersburg’s Jack Burge had the best ERA at 1.46, which was the lowest qualifying season since 2006. However, he missed the final month of the year to a torn flexor tendon that sadly largely derailed his remaining career.

St. Petersburg shocked top seed Minsk 3-2 in the first round, giving the Polar Bears their first European League Championship Series trip since 2006. Volgograd rolled to a sweep of Nizhny Novgorod. The Voyagers claimed their second pennant in three years, besting the Polar Bears 4-3. That extended St. Petersburg’s pennant drought to 45 seasons, the longest active drought in EPB.

Krasnoyarsk was miles ahead of the competition in the Asian League, winning their third straight East Division title and earning a fifth playoff berth in a row. The Cossacks cruised to 106-56 while no other AL teams got above 90 wins. Krasnoyarsk led in scoring at 723 runs and allowed the second fewest at 549. Omsk allowed the fewest runs at 484.

Six teams were within six games of the other three playoff spots. Five of those teams were in the West Division, won by defending EPB champ Perm at 89-73. The Pitbulls secured a third straight division title, although it was a big drop from their prior 100+ win campaigns. The Otters took the first wild card at 86-76, ending Omsk’s four-year playoff drought.

For the second wild card, Chelyabinsk (84-78) squeaked by 83-79 efforts by Ufa, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok. The Cadets snagged a fourth wild card in a row. Ulaanbaatar was down at 80-82, ending their bid for a third straight wild card. For the Shibas, 83-79 was the first winning campaign of their so-far unimpressive tenure. The other three 2008 expansion teams have each made it to the LCS already.

Asian League MVP went to Yekaterinburg LF Brandon Chunchignorov. In his seventh season, the 30-year old Mongolian lefty also won his seventh consecutive Gold Glove. Chunchignorov led in runs (95), OBP (.393), slugging (.636), OPS (1.029), wRC+ (189), and WAR (9.7). He added 43 home runs and 125 RBI.

Omsk’s Mark Luo won Pitcher of the Year in his EPB debut. The 33-year old Chinese righty had won the award previously in CLB for Shantou in 2019. With the Otters, he led in ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.76), K/BB (20.0), and quality starts (28). Luo added 9.5 WAR, 272.1 innings, 260 strikeouts, and an 18-8 record.

Krasnoyarsk downed Chelyabinsk 3-1 in the first round while Omsk ousted Perm 3-1. The Cossacks earned their fifth Asian League Championship Series trip in seven years, while it was the Otters’ first since 2017. Krasnoyarsk was the huge favorite, but Omsk shocked them in a seven-game classic. The Otters earned their first pennant since 2014 and their eighth overall. The Cossacks have gone 1-4 in their recent ALCS trips and have gone 0-3 with home field advantage. This was also the first time since 2004 that both the ALCS and ELCS went all seven games.

In the 68^th EPB Championship, Omsk kept their unlikely run rolling by upsetting Volgograd 4-2. This was the third title for the Otters (2010, 2014, 2022) and gave the Asian League a fifth straight title over the European League. It also kept a run of wild card success going, as six of the last seven champs have been wild cards with three of them doing it despite winning fewer than 90 regular season games.

Veteran journeyman 1B Markus Lohmus won finals MVP in his third season with the Otters. The 34-year old Estonian had started in the European Second League, then spent eight years as a backup in Africa for Johannesburg. In 17 playoff starts, Lohmus posted 24 hits, 9 runs, 6 doubles, 5 RBI, and 9 stolen bases.

Other notes: Krasnoyark’s Yevgeni Lyubimov threw EPB’s 33^rd Perfect Game, the first one since 2005. On August 30, he struck out 12 in the effort against Ufa. That had been the longest gap between perfect games in EPB history and the next wouldn’t come until 2031.

Sergei Stoev became the 19^th member of the 500 home run club. Tayyar Abdualiyev and Nikolay Kargopolcev became the 23^rd and 24^th to reach 2500 career hits. 1B Artur Sagdatullin won his 13^th Gold Glove, joining RF German Daugelo as the only EPB players to win the award 13+ times at any spot. LF Yuriy Isakov and DH Pavel Khuzin both won their 8^th Silver Sluggers. It was Khuzin’s first as a DH, having won his prior seven at second base.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-06-2025, 09:04 AM

Dublin had the European Baseball Federation Elite’s best record in 2022 at 116-46 atop the Northern Conference’s West Division. This was a new franchise record, beating Dublin’s 115-47 championship season in 2013. The Dinos allowed the fewest runs in EBF at 524 and scored the third-most runs at 817. They picked up their third straight division title. All three division winners in the NC reached triple digit wins. Defending conference champ Hamburg took the #2 seed at 107-55 atop the East Division. The Hammers won their sixth division crown in a row and led EBF in scoring with 875 runs.

Rotterdam repeated as Central Division champs at 100-62. They had the tightest division race with both Amsterdam and Frankfurt finishing 94-68. Those squads got the first two wild cards with the Anacondas grabbing their eighth berth in a decade. The Falcons had their fourth playoff berth in five years.

For the final wild card, Edinburgh and Cologne tied at 89-73, while Manchester, Berlin, and Warsaw were each four back at 85-77. The Enforcers won the tiebreaker game over the Copperheads, giving Edinburgh its second wild card in four years. Cologne missed despite having the second-most hits (1692) and third-most doubles (291) in conference history. For the Wildcats, their playoff streak ended at three years.

Finishing last and getting relegated from the Northern Conference was Kyiv at 60-102. The next closest team to demotion was 66-96 Birmingham, missing the 100+ loss demarcation line by four games. The Kings had made it back to the top tier in 2016, but had fallen back below .500 from 2018 onward. They were now paying for some bad contracts as Kyiv’s nearly $362 million payroll was the second-highest in EBF.

Dublin swept the Northern Conference’s top awards, led by MVP Theofilos Psarras. The 29-year old Greek left fielder became a two-time winner, having grabbed it in his 2018 Dinos debut. In 2022, Psarras led in runs (132), total bases (420), slugging (.712), OPS (1.100), and wRC+ (197). He added 19 doubles, 35 triples, 41 home runs, 116 RBI, 81 stolen bases, and 8.5 WAR. Psarras also hit for the cycle in August against Wroclaw. Psarras won his 8^th Silver Slugger and 2^nd in LF. He had won four times in RF and twice at 1B.

Pitcher of the Year was Johann Soderstijerna in his third season for Dublin. The 33-year old Swedish righty had a 2.35 ERA over 252.1 innings, 166 ERA+, 21-7 record, 195 strikeouts, and 7.4 WAR. He had joined Dublin in 2020 after playing previously with Stockholm and Cluj-Napoca.

Amsterdam edged divisional foe Frankfurt 2-1 in the first round while Rotterdam swept Edinburg 2-0. Both top seeds prevailed in the second round, although they needed all five games to survive. Dublin outlasted the Anacondas and Hamburg held off the Ravens. This set up a rematch in the Northern Conference Championship between the Dinos and Hammers.

Both had been recent powerhouses with Hamburg winning the 2021 and 2019 pennants, while Dublin grabbed the 2020 title. The Dinos got some revenge from the prior year, dropping the Hammers 4-1. They had the third-best record in EBF history by a conference champ. Dublin now had nine pennants (1962, 1967, 1968, 1995, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2020, 2022), tying Amsterdam for the most from the Northern Conference. The Southern Conference’s Barcelona had the most overall with ten.

Two-time defending European Champion Munich was the only team with 100+ wins in the Southern Conference at 107-55. It was their third division title in five years. The Mavericks led the conference in both runs scored (776) and fewest allowed (593) from atop the West Division. The Central Division title and #2 seed went to Naples at 98-64. The Nobles earned their second division title in three years and third playoff berth since returning to the top tier in 2019.

Those two divisions had each of the contenders for the three wild cards. Lisbon (94-68), Prague (92-70), and Zagreb (92-70) got the slots, while Zurich (90-72), Palermo (89-73), and Madrid (86-76) missed the cut. The Gulls got their third straight playoff berth. The Pilots ended an eight-year drought and the Clippers snapped a three-year skid.

In a weak East Division, it was Skopje (86-76) fending off Bucharest (82-80) and last year’s division champ Belgrade (81-81). It was the first-ever playoff berth for the Stags, who were the Second League’s runner-up two years prior. At the bottom was Thessaloniki at 59-103 as the relegated team from the Southern Conference. Ljubljana nearly suffered their own demotion but at 64-98 managed to avoid the 100+ loss threshold narrowly.

Thessaloniki’s decline had been quick and steep. The Tritons had won the conference title in 2017 and had division titles in 2018 and 2018. They fell to 76-86 in 2021, then plummeted off the cliff in 2022. Thessaloniki had lasted 15 years in this run within the EBF Elite and had been perhaps the most successful franchise of those that had debuted in E2L in 2005.

For the second time in three years, Zagreb’s Aleksandr Parts won MVP. The 28-year old Estonian first baseman led in hits (228), average (.373), OPS (1.058), wRC+ (195), and WAR (10.0). Parts added 115 runs, 36 doubles, 28 triples, 21 homers, and 82 steals.

Munich righty Nejc Novak earned Pitcher of the Year in his sixth season. Nicknamed “Big Shot,” the 26-year old Slovene righty was the WARlord at 8.7. Novak had an 18-7 record, 2.56 ERA, 246.1 innings, 277 strikeouts, and 148 ERA+. He would commit to the Mavericks after the 2023 campaign on a six-year, $153,600,000 deal.

Zagreb swept Lisbon and Skopje swept Prague in the first round. The Gulls gave top seed Munich a fierce battle, but the Mavericks survived 3-2. Munich’s hopes for a three-peat and a fourth pennant in five years remained in play. Naples held on 3-1 against the Stags on the other side. For the Nobles, this was only their third-ever Southern Conference Championship appearance, joining their 1957 and 1998 pennants.

Munich was hoping for the first SC three-peat since Zurich in the early 1980s. The series went all seven games for the first time since 2006 with Naples pulling off the upset over the Mavericks. The Nobles also were the first Italian team to make the finals since their own 1998 title.

In the 73^rd European Championship, Dublin crushed Naples in the first finals sweep since 2014. The Dinos at 116-46 posted the second-best record by an EBF champ, besting their own history 115-47 campaign from 2013. 1954 Amsterdam at 118-44 still holds the top spot, although Dublin’s 2022 effort has to be in the conversation for EBF’s best-ever team. The Dinos became the first franchise to win six EBF rings (1962, 1967, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2022),

In his only season in Ireland, catcher Vince Noort earned finals MVP. The 28-year old Dutchman arrived in Dublin in a deadline trade from Athens. Noort started 14 playoff games with 14 hits, 11 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, and 6 RBI. It was a major highlight in an otherwise forgettable career that saw only 9.8 WAR in the top tier.

Other notes: Oslo shortstop Harvey Coyle at only age 35 became EBF’s all-time WARlord. He posted 9.0 WAR in 2022 and finished the year at 178.0 for his career, passing Jacob Ronnberg’s 169.2. The Englishman also won his 12^th Silver Slugger and just missed out on a 14^th Gold Glove. Coyle also became the third EBF member of the 800 home run club, leading the conference with 53. At 818, he ranks just behind Villum Kliest (823) for second and could conceivably pass Jack Kennedy’s 875 as soon as next year. Coyle also became the 19^th to reach 1500 runs scored.

Coyle moved to 6^th in WAR among all players in pro baseball history. He was behind OBA/MLB SS/2B Jimmy Caliw (214), BSA ace and strikeout king Mohamed Ramos (205.1), WAB GOAT SS Darwin Morris (194.4), CABA/MLB ace Ulices Montero (191.7), CABA/MLB 1B Prometheo Garcia (189.1), and EPB two-way star Igor Bury (180.0).

Jiri Lebr finished the year with 2210 RBI, passing Ronnberg’s 2184 to become EBF’s new leader. EBF’s hit king became only the fourth in world history to reach 4000 career hits. Lebr finished the year at 4187, passing MLB’s Stan Provost (4133) and EAB/MLB standout Min-Seong Ryu (4043) for #2 on the all-time list. Only Prometheo Garcia ranks higher at 4917 between his CABA/MLB run. The 41-year old Slovak would spend 2023 with MLB’s Washington before returning for two more EBF seasons.

Jean-Luc Tapie became the 9^th member of the 700 home run club. Tapie and Nicolo Giotto both reached 2500 hits, making that a 39-player club. Pavel Pajitnov was the 28^th to reach 1500 RBI. Luther Bowness was the 26^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts and the 38^th to 200 wins.

After going seven years without a perfect game, EBF had two in 2022. The 36^th perfecto came on May 27 from Belgrade’s Mykola Mischenko with 12 strikeouts versus Malta. The 37^th was August 30 as Amsterdam’s Elias Obexer struck out 11 against Helsinki.

The day prior to Mischenko’s perfect game (5/26) was a no-hitter by teammate Mario Reichenbach also against Malta. This may be the only time in world history that a team no-hit an opponent on back-to-back days. Reichenbach would throw a second no-hitter in 2022 on July 19 against Ljubljana. He became EBF’s 5^th pitcher to throw two no-nos in the same season.

Promotion/Relegation: Kyiv and Thessaloniki were the relegated teams while Seville and Chisinau were promoted. This required some shuffling as both promoted teams made more sense in the Southern Conference. The Counts took the Tritons East Division spot straight up, while the Stingrays were moved in the West Division. Malta was switched from the West to the Central. Krakow was swapped from the SC Central into Kyiv’s former spot in the NC East. In the E2L, Gothenberg was switched from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference to regain the balance.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-06-2025, 06:48 PM

Caracas again was a regular season powerhouse, taking the top seed in the Bolivar League for the fourth year running. The Colts at 114-48 also won their sixth straight Venezuela Division title, leading all of Beisbol Sudamerica in scoring with 904 runs. Even with the frustrations of having no pennants yet in this run, Caracas remained the continent’s hottest ticket. The Colts had a season attendance of 2,859,209, setting a new BSA record.

Barranquilla was the next best at 105-57 atop the Colombia-Ecuador Division. This was the first-ever playoff berth for the 2009 expansion Blues, who stunned many since their only prior winning season was back in 2014. Barranquilla allowed the fewest runs in BSA at 531.

Callao was the weakest division winner at 92-70 atop the Peru-Bolivia Division. The Cats ended a three-year run of losing seasons, while Trujillo’s four-year playoff streak ended. The Thoroughbreds at 89-73 were three short in the division and five away from the second wild card.

Cali (95-67) and defending Copa Sudamerica camp Valencia (94-68) took the two wild card spots. Ciudad Guayana, the BLCS runner-up the prior two years, was the first team out at 90-72. The Cyclones ended a six-year playoff drought and got the #3 overall seed, since BSA’s playoffs doesn’t give seeding preference to division champs.

Ciudad Guayana designated hitter Juan Suarez repeated as Bolivar League MVP in his second season. The 23-year old Colombian led in runs (129), hits (259), home runs (56), RBI (162), total bases (493), slugging (.736), OPS (1.143), and wRC+ (191). Suarez set a new BL record for total bases at 493, topping Valor Melo’s 473 that had held since 1979. Suarez had 38 doubles and 14 triples to go with his 56 homers.

Suarez almost broke the single-season hits record as his 259 finished second by Nuno Escalante’s 262 from 2018. Suarez had 8.9 WAR and a .387 batting average, narrowly missing out on a Triple Crown. Santa Cruz’s Walter Perez had him beat with a .393 average. Suarez’s RBI mark also was notably the third-best single season in BSA history, behind Rodrigo Aguilar’s 173 and 170 from 2009-10. The sky seemed to be the limit for Suarez, but he’d miss much of 2023 to a torn ACL and would run into other injury issues later in his career.

Caracas righty Julio Arias became a four-time Pitcher of the Year, having also won in 2017, 2019, and 2020. The 29-year old Colombian led in wins (19-4), ERA (2.08), and quality starts (26). Arias tossed 225 innings with 228 strikeouts, 199 ERA+, and 6.5 WAR.

Valencia beat Callao 2-1 in the first round, but were promptly swept by Caracas in the Divisional Series, giving Caracas revenge for last year’s early exit. Despite six straight 100+ win seasons, this was only the third time in that run that the Colts advanced to the Bolivar League Championship Series. On the other side, Cali upset Barranquilla 3-2 for their first BLCS trip since 2007.

The Cyclones were looking to end a 33-year title drought and keep the upset train going. Despite Caracas finishing 21 wins better, some thought the Colts might squander another top seed. Caracas finally got over that hump, defeating Cali 4-2 for their first pennant since 2006. The Colts became 14-time Bolivar League champs, which led all teams.

The Southern Cone League’s South Central Division was top heavy with Santiago and Concepcion battling for the #1 seed. The Saints at 103-59 narrowly took it for their third straight division title and seventh playoff berth in eight years. At 102-60, the Chiefs got their sixth berth in seven years and their tenth since 2011. Santiago was the top scoring team at 777 runs while Conception had the best pitching with 545 runs allowed.

Reigning league champ Fortaleza dominated the North Division at 95-67 for their third berth in four years. The Foxes set new league records for team batting average (.299) and on-base percentage (.343). Recife notably fell to 78-84, which ended their nine-year postseason streak. It was also the first losing campaign since 2006 for the Retrievers.

Four teams were within four games of the Southeast Division title with Sao Paulo first at 90-72. Buenos Aires was one back at 89-73, which landed them the second wild card. Rio de Janeiro (88-74) and Montevideo (86-76) were left on the outside. The Padres ended a five-year playoff drought and the Atlantics snapped a two-year skid.

Buenos Aires dominated the top awards, led by Southern Cone League MVP Spinoza Arajo. The 29-year old third baseman led in homers (52) and added 105 runs, 111 RBI, 1.075 OPS, 199 wRC+, and 9.7 WAR. Arajo had inked an eight-year, $81 million extension before the season. His Atlantics teammate Enrico Lula grabbed Rookie of the Year as a reliever with 34 saves, a 1.79 ERA, and 3.7 WAR.

The Argentinian capital also had Pitcher of the Year Adrian Jimenez. The 25-year old Colombian righty led in wins (20-6), walks (82), strikeouts (350), and quality starts (27). Jimenez posted a 1.98 ERA in 254.1 innings and 7.5 WAR. Also worth a mention was Sao Paulo closer Tony Montes winning his third Reliever of the Year in four years.

Sao Paulo edged Buenos Aires 2-1 in the first round, then got swept by Santiago in the Divisional Series. Fortaleza beat Conception 3-1 to set up a Southern Cone League Championship rematch between the defending champ Foxes and the 2020 champ Saints.

Just like in 2022, the series needed all seven games. Fortaleza won at home 4-3 in 2021 and got the 4-3 road win in 2022 to secure the repeat. This gave the Foxes four pennants for the decade, having also repeated in 2013-14. Fortaleza now had 12 pennants, second-most behind Sao Paulo’s 14.

In the 92^nd Copa Sudamerica, Fortaleza would be the runner-up in back-to-back years. Caracas claimed the Cup 4-1, finally securing the top spot again after recent playoff failures. The Colts ended a 59-year title drought and won their fifth Cup. (1933, 1959, 1960, 1962, 2022). They were also the seventh different Cup winner in seven years, although they were the third Venezuelan team in that batch.

At 114-48, the 2022 Caracas squad had the best record by a Copa Sudamerica winner since Recife’s 115-47 in 1996. The only Cup winners with better marks were 1940 La Paz at 122-40, 1934 Medellin at 118-44, and 1931 Medellin at 117-45. The 2022 Colts had a case as being the best-ever modern South American squad and could argue they faced much better competition than the teams from BSA’s first decade.

Other notes: On the opposite end of the spectrum, Barquisimeto’s 2022 squad was likely the undisputed worst-ever in BSA. The Black Cats were an abysmal 35-127, beating the previous worst by nine games. Their pitching was especially putrid, setting BSA worsts for team ERA (5.73), earned runs (959), and WHIP (1.584). Barquisimeto allowed 959 runs, second-worst to Quito’s 972 from the inaugural 1931 season.

There hadn’t been a sub-40 win team in any world league since Shiraz went 38-124 in the 1986 ABF season. Most of the other examples were horribly run teams at the very beginning of new leagues prior to a balance setting in. Barquisimeto didn’t that excuse, marking them as one of the true stinkers in baseball history.

BSA’s 49^th Perfect Game came on June 20 from Concepcion’s Bentley Baantjer, who struck out 8 against Mendoza. This was Baantjer’s second no-hitter, having also done it in 2013. Niccolo Coelho became the 14^th member of the 3000 hit club. SS Tajo Rios won his 7^th Silver Slugger. SP Adrian Chacon won his 8^th Gold Glove, extending his position record.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-07-2025, 05:06 AM

Fukuoka won their third straight West Division title in 2022, but they did it in remarkably dominant fashion. The Frogs were the only team above 100 wins in all of East Asia Baseball, rolling the Japan League field at 11-52. Fukuoka allowed the fewest runs in all of EAB at 471 and scored the second-most runs in Japan at 681. The Frogs’ pitching staff had a 11.25 K/9, setting a new EAB team record. Hiroshima was a solid 94-68 in the division, but with only division champs advancing to the playoffs in the JL, that didn’t mean much.

The Central Division was quite top heavy with defending EAB champ Kyoto advancing at 99-63, holding off 97-65 Nagoya and 91-71 Osaka. The Kamikaze pitching staff allowed 191 walks with a 1.19 BB/9, the second-lowest marks in EAB history behind their own efforts the prior year. The Nightowls notably had their first winning season in a decade.

The other two divisions both had weak winners. In the North, Saitama (84-78) sneaked by Sapporo (82-80) to repeat. In the Capital, 83-79 was good enough for Tokyo to end a 12-year playoff drought. Yokohama was seven back, while last year’s division champ Kawasaki fell from 103 wins to only 73.

Earning Japan league MVP was Nagoya two-way player Ienobu Kan. On the mound, the 25-year old righty led in quality starts (25), adding a 2.50 ERA over 245 innings, 18-7 record, 231 strikeouts, and 6.3 WAR. He had 135 games at the plate primarily in right field, posting 159 hits, 91 runs, 21 doubles, 31 homers, 86 RBI, 1.024 OPS, 216 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. Kan’s 14.6 WAR was the third-best two-way season in EAB history and ranked as the fifth-best when factoring in all EAB players.

Kan had been the #1 overall pick for Nagoya out of high school in the 2015 EAB Draft. They had hoped he could be EAB’s next two-way star and 2022 showed what his max potential was. The Nightowls gave him a three-year, $35,800,000 extension in May. Sadly, he suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his shoulder at the end of the season. 2022 was essentially one of two full load seasons in Kan’s career, as he’d be constantly plagued by elbow and shoulder injuries.

Leading Fukuoka to the top seed was Toshikuni Naikai winning his sixth Pitcher of the Year in seven seasons. The 29-year old lefty again led in ERA (1.53), strikeouts (415), WHIP (0.60), K/BB (21.8), shutouts (4), FIP- (17), ERA+ (218), and WAR (12.5). Naikai had an 18-2 record and 14 saves over 211.2 innings.

Naikai didn’t have the otherworldly totals of some of his prior years, but he did break his own K/9 record at 17.65. This set a new world record among starters, beating Austronesia Professional Baseball stud Ching-Chen Yao’s 16.9 from 2012. Naikai has EAB’s top five seasons by K/9 and has four of the top ten seasons in all of pro baseball history. The 415 strikeouts were his third-best total and the sixth-best in EAB history. Naikai also had his third no-hitter, striking out 19 against Kumamoto on May 10. That was the second-most Ks in an EAB no-no behind his own 21 from 2019.

The top teams prevailed in the first round with Fukuoka over Tokyo 3-1 and Kyoto over Saitama 3-2. The Kamikaze’s repeat bid was alive, while the Frogs were in their second Japan League Championship Series in three years. Fukuoka showed that top seed was no fluke, dethroning the reigning champ Kyoto 4-1 to end a 41-year pennant drought. The Frogs became four-time Japan League champs (1928, 1929, 1980, 2022).

There wasn’t a clear #1 team in the Korea League as the top seed and second wild card were separated by only three wins. Defending KL champ Changwon had the top seed at 95-67 atop the South Division, earning their sixth playoff berth in seven years. Both wild cards were in the South with Busan (94-68) and Daegu (92-70) close behind. The Blue Jays earned their third consecutive playoff berth and the Diamondbacks got their second in four years.

In the North Division, Incheon grabbed their first title and playoff berth since 2014. The Inferno finished 94-68, taking the division by eight games over 86-76 Seongnam. Last year’s division champ Suwon was third at 84-78. Changwon led the KL in scoring (832) while Incheon allowed the fewest runs (602).

Ji-Hwan Kim repeated as Korea League MVP, although he did it with a different team. After 11 years with Jeonju, Kim joined Incheon on a six-year, $112,800,000 deal. The 30-year old switch-hitting left fielder delivered a playoff berth and led in runs (125) and total bases (366). Kim had 46 homers, 117 RBI, 1.009 OPS, 163 wRC+, and 8.1 WAR.

Earning Pitcher of the Year was Suwon lefty Jun-Hwi Jung. The 29-year old lefty led in wins (22-6), complete games (19), and WAR (7.4). Jung posted a 2.39 ERA over 263.1 innings with 272 strikeouts in his eighth year for the Snappers. Jung would get another big extension from Suwon in April 2024 at $158,400,000 over six years.

Daegu earned a 3-2 road win over top seed Changwon in the first round and Incheon bested Busan 3-1. The Diamondbacks got their first Korea League Championship Series since winning it all in 2013. For the Inferno, they hadn’t gotten this far since 2003. Despite the similar records, the KLCS wasn’t remotely competitive with Daegu sweeping Incheon. The Diamondbacks became a record 15-time Korea League champ.

The 102^nd East Asian Championship saw Fukuoka defeat Daegu 4-2 to give the Frogs only their third-ever title (1929, 1980, 2022). Finals MVP went to 1B Shinichi Suzuki with the 27-year old starting 15 playoff games with 19 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, and 11 RBI.

Pitcher of the Year Toshikuni Naikai was a beast in the playoffs as well, destroying the former EAB playoff strikeout record of 55. Naikai fanned 64 in only 35 innings, posting a 1.03 ERA, 3-0 record, 325 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR. It was the fourth-time an EAB pitcher had 2+ WAR in the playoffs, a mark Naikai himself had reached two years prior.

Other notes: EAB’s 38^th Perfect Game was thrown by Jeonju’s Seon-Keun Yun on August 2, striking out 10 versus Suwon. Hitoshi Kubota became the 5^th member of the 800 home run club and the 23^rd member of the 3000 hit club. Kubota also won his 12^th Silver Slugger in left field, matching Lei Meng’s position record. 3B CHul Park won his 9^th Silver Slugger. Jae-A Choi was the 46^th to reach 1500 RBI. Takeo Nagai and Si-Hun Choi both reached 3500 strikeouts as pitchers, a mark met by 40 EAB arms.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-07-2025, 12:58 PM

Four wins separated the playoff teams in a top heavy Mexican League for 2022. Juarez returned to the North Division perch and the top seed at 102-60. The Jesters grew their playoff streak to nine years with their seventh division title in that stretch. Torreon was second at 96-66, which earned the second wild card. Although the Tomahawks have posted 23 consecutive winning seasons, their 2022 effort ended a four-year playoff drought.

Ecatepec at 99-63 edged out Mexico City at 98-64 in the South Division. The Explosion snapped a nine-year playoff drought. The Aztecs got the first wild card to earn repeat playoff berths. The next closest teams in the wild card race were defending CABA champion Tijuana (89-73) and Merida (88-74). Ecatepec led the ML in scoring by a healthy margin at 802 runs, while Juarez allowed the fewest at 547.

Mexican League MVP went to veteran slugger Noah Breton in his seventh year with Torreon. It was the first MVP for the 31-year old Puerto Rican first baseman despite leading in home runs for the sixth time. Breton socked 63 dingers and led in runs (117), walks (86), total bases (388), OBP (.403), slugging (.697), OPS (1.100), wRC+ (205), and WAR (8.5). He added 133 RBI and a .312 batting average along with his 7^th Silver Slugger.

Tijuana lefty Richard Wright won his third Pitcher of the Year in a row in only his fourth season. The 24-year old Jamaican led in ERA (2.01), strikeouts (384), WHIP (0.81), quality starts (27), complete games (13), and shutouts (6). Wright’s 18-6 record left him one win shy of a repeat Triple Crown. He had 8.8 WAR over 255 innings. Wright also threw his second no-hitter, striking out nine and walking two against Monterrey on May 22. The Toros locked up their star ace in spring 2023 to a seven-year, $131 million extension.

Despite the small wins differences between playoff teams, both division champs earned first round sweeps with Juarez over Torreon and Ecatepec over Mexico City. The Jesters earned their fourth consecutive Mexican League Championship Series trip and their ninth since 2012. For the Explosion, this was their first trip since falling to Juarez in 2012.

The Jesters reclaimed the crown with an MLCS sweep over Ecatepec, winning their sixth pennant in eleven years. Juarez now has 17 Mexican League titles, second only to Monterrey’s 18. It was the first time under the two wild card format that the Mexican League’s first round and the MLCS ended in sweeps. This was especially surprising considering how close together each team finished in the regular season.

The Caribbean League’s top two records fought for the Continental Division crown. Guatemala repeated and again was the top seed at 106-56. Suriname at 102-60 gave them a run, earning a third straight playoff berth. Over in the Island Division, Haiti finished first at 99-63. That ended a three-year playoff drought for the Herons and was their first division title since their 2015 CABA title.

For the second wild card, Santo Domingo (92-70) squeaked by Havana (91-71), Honduras (88-74) and Panama (88-74). This ended the Dolphins’ eight-year playoff drought and was only the second miss in seven years for the Hurricanes. Defending CL champ Puerto Rico was a non-factor at 77-85. The Parrots led in scoring at 782 and the Ghosts allowed the fewest runs at 513. Guatemala allowed 100+ fewer than the rest of the league.

In his second year as a full-time starter, Suriname’s Bertie Duncan won Caribbean League MVP. The 25-year old Trinidadian second baseman led in home runs (53), RBI (122), runs (126), total bases (410), slugging (.695), OPS (1.059), wRC+ (184), and WAR (10.5). Duncan added a .315 average and 69 stolen bases. The Silverbacks secured him after the 2023 season to an eight-year, $130,600,000 extension.

Guatemala’s Israel Montague repeated as Pitcher of the Year. The 25-year old Panamanian lefty led in ERA (1.92), WHIP (0.83), K/BB (11.1), FIP- (60), and WAR (8.3). Montague had 288 strikeouts over 239.1 innings with a 20-6 record. He narrowly beat out Suriname’s Angel Brea, who had the most strikeouts (359) and best record (26-4). It was only the sixth time a CABA pitcher had 26+ wins, but Montague’s ERA (1.92 versus 2.69) won the day.

Suriname survived 3-2 against Haiti in the first round while Guatemala swept Santo Domingo. This was the first-ever Caribbean League Championship Series for the Silverbacks, who joined in the 2003 expansion. For the Ghosts, they hadn’t gotten this far since their most recent pennant way back in 1983. Guatemala would end their 38-year title drought, stopping Suriname 4-2 to become seven-time Caribbean champs.

The 112^th Central American Baseball Association Championship was the second time that Guatemala and Juarez had met in the final. The Ghosts’ only prior CABA title came back in that 1974 encounter. The 2022 rematch was a seven-game classic with Guatemala earning their second championship. The Jesters moved to 3-5 in their finals trips since 2005. RF James Figueroa went on a tear in the playoffs, winning CLCS and finals MVP. In his 7^th year starting for Guatemala, the 28-year old Salvadoran had 15 playoff starts with 23 hits, 6 runs, 3 doubles, 3 homers, and 11 RBI.

Other notes: Matias Esquilin joined Wesley Dubar as the only players to score 2000 runs in CABA. The 38-year old Juarez LF finished the year at 2006, just behind Dubar’s 2028. In all of baseball history to this point, they were two of only 20 players with 2000+ professional runs. Esquilin was also already CABA’s stolen bases leader now at 1301 and became the 57^th member of the 500 home club.

Max Valentin and Noah Breton became the 19^th and 20^th members of the 600 homer club. Alva Cervantes was the 55^th to reach 2500 hits. Pancho Burgos was the 31^st to 1500 RBI. Jamarca Akim and Albert Villa was the 50^th and 51^st pitchers to 200 wins. 3B Jesus Lombranta won his 8^th Gold Glove. C Luis Moran won his 11^th Silver Slugger, tying the CABA position record.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-07-2025, 05:42 PM

2020 National Association champ Cincinnati took the top seed and bye in 2022 with MLB’s best overall record at 109-53. The Reds won their third straight Lower Midwest Division title, leading the NA in scoring at 794 runs. The next best was Northeast Division champ Ottawa at 102-60. The Elks got repeat playoff berths, but it was their first division title since 2003. Quebec City was a close second at 98-64 to earn the first wild card. The Nordiques allowed the fewest runs in MLB (521) and earned their third playoff berth in four years.

Chicago’s playoff streak grew to three as they took the Upper Midwest Division at 94-68, beating Winnipeg by five and defending NA champ Detroit by eight. Boston (93-69) picked up the second wild card and Indianapolis (90-72) took the third, while the Wolves (89-73), Louisville (87-75), Detroit (86-76), and Washington (86-76) were the first teams out. The Red Sox secured a fifth playoff berth in six years, while the Racers ended an eight-year drought.

Meanwhile in the East Division, Virginia Beach and Philadelphia finished tied at 87-75, while Washington was one back and both Brooklyn and New York were five back. In the one-game playoff tiebreaker, the Vikings defeated the Phillies to end their 24-year postseason drought. VB had been tied for the second-longest active drought in the National Association. Louisville currently has the longest drought at 36 seasons. Also notable was St. Louis falling to 70-92, ending their streak of 12 straight winning seasons.

Cincinnati first baseman Mike Rojas won his third straight National Association MVP. The 27-year old Michigander led in runs (127), total bases (378), slugging (.633), OPS (1.024), wRC+ (207), and WAR (9.1). Rojas had 203 hits, 41 home runs, 121 RBI, and a .340 average.

Virginia Beach righty Truman Bloodworth secured Pitcher of the Year in his fifth season. The 25-year old Brooklyn native led in strikeouts (300), innings (265.1), quality starts (28), FIP- (55), and WAR (10.2). Bloodworth had a 20-6 record, 2.17 ERA, and 163 ERA+. He was 20 ERA points and one win from a Triple Crown. After the season, the Vikings gave him a five-year, $96,600,000 extension.

Chicago was the only team to get a first round sweep as they rolled Boston. Virginia Beach survived 3-2 over Quebec City, while Indianapolis shocked #2 seed Ottawa 3-2. The Racers nearly upset #1 seed Cincinnati as well, but the Reds outlasted them 3-2 in the second round. On the other side, the Cubs bested Virginia Beach 3-1.

The last time Chicago had made it to the National Association Championship Series was 1998 and their last pennant was 1984. Their drought would continue though as Cincinnati won a seven-game thriller over the Cubs for their second title in three years. The Reds were now five-time National Association champs (1919, 2008, 2009, 2020, 2022).

Denver and Los Angeles both finished at 106-56 atop the American Association ranks with the tiebreaker formula giving the top seed and lone bye to the Angels. LA repeated as Southwest Division champs, while the Dragons’ MLB-record streak atop the Northwest Division grew to 13 years. San Francisco was a strong second in the Southwest at 98-64, easily earning repeat wild cards.

Los Angeles allowed the fewest runs in the AA at 570, while Houston scored the most at 942. The Hornets’ effort landed them a 102-60 record and the South Central Division crown. It was their second playoff berth in three years and their first division title since 2017. It was also Houston’s first 100+ win campaign since 2003. In addition to their offense, the Hornets’ pitching staff also set a new AA record with an 8.49 K/9. Dallas was second at 92-70, landing the second wild card to end a 23-year playoff drought.

The weakest division winner would be Nashville in the Southeast at 92-70. The Knights repeated and won their fourth division title in five years. Atlanta was two back at 90-72, which was just enough to give the Aces the third wild card and their second berth in three years. Just missing the cut were Albuquerque (89-73), Oakland (88-74), Las Vegas (87-75), Seattle (87-75), and New Orleans (86-76). The Mudcats won the World Series in 2021 at 112-50, but fell four games short of the 2022 postseason. Also worth a mention was 83-79 Miami, which was only the second winning season for them in 36 years. The hapless Mallards have MLB’s longest active playoff drought at 50 years.

American Association MVP went to Dallas veteran Dean Ott. The 31-year old lefty from Edinburg, Texas had been a reliable slugger for a decade with the Dalmatians, but he had only topped 40+ dingers thrice. In 2022, Ott shocked many by tying Killian Fruechte’s 2012 single-season MLB home run record by smacking 67 dingers. Ott also led the AA with 134 RBI and added 8.0 WAR, 109 runs, 1.011 OPS, and 170 wRC+.

Tying the home run record makes your value skyrocket. Ott had signed an eight-year, $163,400,000 extension with Dallas in summer 2019, but used his opt-out after the 2022 campaign to hit free agency. San Francisco signed him for five years and $155 million, making him one of the first ever with $30 million annually. Ott would never come close to replicating this effort and posted a mere 105 wRC+ and .779 OPS with the Gold Rush.

Pitcher of the Year went to Los Angeles righty Vincent Lepp, who became MLB’s eighth pitcher to win the award 4+ times. He had won from 2012-14 with St. Louis, becoming one of the very few to win the award in both associations. Lepp had signed a free agent deal with Los Angeles in 2020. In 2022, he led in innings (286.2) and complete games (24), adding a 21-8 record, 2.57 ERA, 254 strikeouts, and 9.0 WAR. Lepp would return “home” in the offseason, going back to the Cardinals on a four-year, $137 million deal.

Lepp beat out Denver’s Oscar Dissard for the top award despite Dissard’s 12.37 WAR effort. That was the fifth-best single-season WAR for an MLB pitcher ever, not far from T.J. Nakabayashi’s record of 12.64 from 1991. Dissard led in wins (24-6) and had a 2.92 ERA over 271.1 innings with 301 strikeouts in his MLB debut season. The 31-year old Frenchman had won three POTY awards previously in Europe with Brussels. He came to America in 2022 on a four-year, $85,600,000 deal with the Dragons.

Houston swept Dallas 3-0 and Denver downed Atlanta 3-1 in the first round to advance as division winners. Top wild card San Francisco would edge the weakest division winner Nashville 3-2. The Gold Rush parlayed that into a huge 3-2 upset over top seed and divisional foe Los Angeles in the second round. SF secured its third American Association Championship Series appearance in six years.

On the other side, Denver dropped Houston 3-1 to earn their third AACS in a row and their ninth appearance during their playoff streak. San Francisco’s magic ran out against the well-seasoned Dragons as Denver took the AACS 4-1. Denver won its second pennant in three years and its fourth of the decade. It was the tenth title for the Dragons, tying Houston for the second most among AA teams. Phoenix (12) holds the most still.

The 122th World Series was the first sweep since 2014 as Denver dominated Cincinnati in a rematch of the 2020 finale. The Dragons are now 9-1 all-time in the World Series and stand alone with the most MLB titles, winning it all in 1925, 1938, 1962, 1989, 1995, 2013, 2015, 2020, and 2022.

World Series MVP was Hungarian 1B Tomas Erdos, another of Denver’s international imports. The 32-year old had spent most of his time in the European Second League with London, winning three MVPs there. He had a strong MLB debut in 2022 for the Dragons, getting 16 playoff starts with 21 hits, 14 runs, 2 doubles, 7 home runs, and 19 RBI.

Other notes: 2022 was the final season for MLB’s career WARlord Morgan Short, who played his final two seasons with expansion Sacramento. Over 21 years between there, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and Houston, Short won five MVPs, six Gold Gloves, and 14 Silver Sluggers in center field. Short’s 170.5 WAR as of 2037 ranks 13^th among all players in world baseball history.

Phoenix’s Bsiei Kubota struck out 21 in 10 innings against Oakland on July 10. This tied two others for the second-most strikeouts in an MLB game. Carny Valvo holds the top spot with 22 over 11 innings back in 1964. Joran Mallery and Ichisake Kawasaki became the 92^nd and 93^rd to reach 500 home runs. Killian Fruechte got to both 1500 RBI and 2500 hits in 2022. SS Fritz Louissi won his 10^th Silver Slugger and 3B Hossein Kokabi won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-08-2025, 06:30 AM

The 13^th Baseball Grand Championship was hosted in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The auto-bid participants were MLB’s Denver and Cincinnati, CABA’s Juarez and Guatemala, EAB’s Daegu and Fukuoka, BSA’s Caracas and Fortaleza, EBF’s Dublin and Naples, EPB’s Omsk, OBA’s Sydney, APB’s Quezon, CLB’s Hong Kong, WAB’s Conakry, SAB’s Yangon, ABF’s Bishkek, ALB’s Casablanca, and AAB’s Kampala. Earning the wild card slot was ABF runner-up Bishkek.

2022 saw a competitive field with Caracas and Kampala tying for the top spot at 13-6. In their November 18 meeting, the Colts won 4-1, giving them the tiebreaker and Grand Champion honors. Caracas became the first-ever South American champ, while the Peacocks were the runner-up in back-to-back seasons. Kampala joins Concepcion (2017-18) as the teams to finish second twice.

Caracas went big to make up for their early playoff exits in recent years. Combining their regular season, playoff, and BGC results got them a 138-57 record. This was the second-best winning percentage (.708) and tied for the second-most wins since the BGC started. Only 2020 Denver at 140-54 and .722 had been better. This gave the 2022 Colts a deserved look when discussing the best-ever Beisbol Sudamerica team and baseball’s best-ever, full stop.

Kampala had ended up with the best run differential at +31, followed by Dublin at +25 and Caracas at +24. The Colts allowed the fewest runs (50) with the Dinos (51) and Peacocks (53) right behind. Dublin finished third place at 12-7, matching 2015 Antwerp for the best-ever finish from an EBF team. There was then a five-way tie next in line at 11-8.

Officially based on tiebreakers, Fukuoka finished fourth, Juarez fifth, Naples sixth, Yangon seventh, and Bishkek eighth. Next at 10-0 were Baku, Conakry, Denver, and Guatemala. Cincinnati and Casablanca were both 9-10 despite having the most runs of any team. The Reds had the most at 94, while the Bruins and Juarez tied for second at 91 runs.

Fortaleza, Omsk, and Sydney finished 8-11. Hong Kong was alone in 16^th at 7-12, followed by Quezon at 5-14 and Daegu at 3-16. The Diamondbacks tied 2014 Shantou for the worst records under the BGC’s current format.

Cincinnati’s Mike Rojas became the first player to win Grand Championship Tournament MVP twice, having also done it in 2020. In 19 starts, the 27-year old first baseman had 26 hits, 16 runs, 5 doubles, 9 home runs, 20 RBI, 1.138 OPS, 237 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR.

Best Pitcher went to Bishkek veteran Sijad Khaleel, a two-time Pitcher of the Year winner in the ABF. The 32-year old Afghan lefty tossed 27.2 innings with a 0.65 ERA, 4-0 record, and 36 strikeouts. Khaleel allowed 12 hits and 5 walks for 1.6 WAR.

Other notes: Caracas’ Daniel Schafer had 29 hits, the second-most by one player behind Pedro Serna’s 31 from 2014. Juarez’s Loyd Wayne had a .542 OBP, the fourth-best qualifying effort to date. Denver’s Oscar Dissard had 2.57 pitching WAR, the third-highest effort so far.

Cincinnati’s Riley Morales had a 19-strikeout effort on November 22 against Conakry, tying the BGC record for strikeouts in a regulation game. Amsterdam’s Luther Bowness has the record with 20 Ks in extras in 2016. Casablanca’s Wahab Khalifa drew five walks on November 8 and Loyd Wayne drew five the next day. As of 2037, they’re the only players with a five-walk BGC game.

Quezon’s offense had a .239 on-base percentage and .279 slugging, both all-time BGC worsts. Sydney stole 38 bases, the second-best behind their own 41 from 2019. Champion Caracas showed steals weren’t required, as their three swipes was the second-lowest in BGC history.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-08-2025, 01:17 PM

Major League Baseball’s 2023 Hall of Fame class had two slam dunk inductees with OF Bryant Packer at 99.7% and 3B Daniel Hecker at 97.9%. Two barely missed the 66% requirement with SP Rinat Khan at 64.2% on his second ballot and SS/3B Robert Hightower at 63.2% in his tenth and final chance. Also cracking 50% was 3B Jeanpaul Vick (58.0%, 4^th ballot), C Sebastian Van Velzen (57.6%, 7^th ballot), 2B Adrian Bega (53.5%, 2^nd ballot), CL Jeremy Dau (53.5%, 2^nd ballot), and SP Victor Burke (53.5%, 5^th ballot).

For Hightower, he fell painfully short with five ballots above 60% and a peak of 64.8% in 2020. He played 18 years between four teams with five Silver Sluggers, 2837 hits, 1288 runs, 539 doubles, 252 home runs, 1238 RBI, .320/.375/.475 slash, 135 wRC+, and 53.7 WAR. Hightower was the 1993 World Series MVP for Calgary and helped Edmonton to their 1999 title.

Hurting Hightower was truly putrid defense between shortstop and third base. At SS in 1224 games, he had -238.0 zone rating and .872 EFF. That greatly tanked his WAR value, plus he was a terrible baserunner for a leadoff type guy. He also lacked home run power, but he had two batting titles and an impressive 5.6% strikeout rate. Hightower’s downsides outweighed his positives just enough to keep him outside the Hall of Fame.

Bryant Packer – Outfield/Designated Hitter – Louisville Lynx – 99.7% First Ballot

Bryant Packer was a 6’2’’, 205 pound left-handed outfielder from Tallahassee, the capital of Florida. Packer was one of the better all-around batters of his era, but he was an especially impressive contact hitter. He had a knack for extra base hits with a 162 game average of 38 home runs, 26 doubles, and 14 triples. Packer was also excellent at avoiding strikeouts with an 8.9% K rate, although he was merely average at drawing walks. He was also one of MLB’s fastest and most adept baserunners.

Packer’s power was especially potent against right-handed pitching with a career 177 wRC+ and .982 OPS. Versus lefties, he was still quite solid with a 140 wRC+ and .846 OPS. Despite Packer’s athleticism, he was a lousy defender. He made just over half of his career starts in right field with terrible results. Packer saw limited time in left field and at first base with similarly poor results. Around ¼ of his career starts came as a designated hitter.

His offensive prowess and impressive durability made Packer a must start even with his defensive deficiencies. Packer was one of the hardest working and selfless players you’d find, although he did sometimes have more guts than sense. These unique skills made him one of MLB’s most beloved superstars despite playing almost exclusively for subpar teams.

Packer moved from Florida up to Indiana as he played three years in college at Notre Dame. In 144 games over three seasons, Packer had 173 hits, 98 runs, 19 doubles, 4 triples, 50 home runs, 115 RBI, .313/.370/.634 slash, 187 wRC+, and 8.9 WAR. Packer was one of the top prospects for the 2000 MLB Draft and went third overall to Louisville.

The Lynx made Packer a starter immediately with great results, winning 2001 Rookie of the Year with 5.7 WAR and a National Association best 18 triples. With Louisville, Packer had 11 seasons above 5+ WAR and seven seasons above 7+ WAR. He led in triples five times, total bases thrice, and once in hits, stolen bases, batting average, and slugging.

Packer won Silver Sluggers in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009 with Louisville. The first was in left field with the rest in right. Packer finished second in 2003 and 2005’s MVP voting and third in both 2007 and 2009, ultimately never winning the top honor in MVP. He signed an eight-year, $97,600,000 extension after the 2006 season to keep his roots in Kentucky.

Despite his efforts, Louisville never made the playoffs in his tenure. They usually weren’t awful, averaging 78.3 wins per season in Packer’s tenure. The Lynx had four winning seasons with their best effort being 92-70 in 2007, falling three games short of a wild card. Still, Packer was beloved and the biggest draw at the ballpark. His #9 uniform would be the first number retired by Louisville with none joining him as of 2037.

Packer’s production would notably drop in 2012 with career lows in homers (17), OPS (.862), and WAR (3.8) to that point. The year ended with a herniated disc at the end of August. Packer surprised many that winter by opting out of the remainder of his Louisville deal, becoming a free agent at age 32. With the Lynx, Packer had 2251 hits, 1216 runs, 286 doubles, 179 triples, 401 home runs, 1148 RBI, 517 walks, 470 stolen bases, .319/.369/.582 slash, 188 wRC+, and 82.9 WAR.

Many teams still thought Packer had plenty to offer. Edmonton led this group, giving Packer a five-year, $107 million deal. Packer never hit his Louisville highs with the Eels, but he did give them 5+ WAR in his first two seasons. Packer dipped in his final two years and ultimately didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the fifth year of the contract. With Edmonton, he did notably reach the 500 home run and 1500 runs scored thresholds. The Eels were a bottom-tier team in the 2010s and Packer would ultimately be one of the best-ever MLB players to never see a postseason game.

With Edmonton, Packer had 661 hits, 340 runs, 86 doubles, 59 triples, 104 home runs, 348 RBI, .296/.342/.528 slash, 136 wRC+, and 14.9 WAR. For 2017, the 36-year old Packer signed a two-year, $28,800,000 deal with Virginia Beach. There he joined the 3000 hit club, but he missed almost half the year to a herniated disc. Packer posted 0.8 WAR and .731 OPS over 100 games for the Vikings, who let him go for 2018.

That marked the end of Packer’s MLB career, although he still wanted to play somewhere. He found an unlikely home in the African Second League, which was making its debut season in 2018. The upstart league liked the idea of having name brand international stars and Packer signed a two-year deal at $14,400,000 with Bangui.

While Packer might not have been MLB starter caliber anymore, he wrecked the field in the new A2L. He won back-to-back MVPs for the Badgers, including a 70 home run, 186 RBI, 182 run effort in 2018 in the incredibly high scoring league. Packer helped set the tone for Bangui, who won the inaugural A2L title in 2018 and took runner up in 2019.

Packer stayed in Africa in 2020 signing with Bulawayo, although he was merely a decent starter for the Buzz. He was unsigned in 2021, retiring that winter at age 41. In three seasons in A2L, Packer had 594 hits, 463 runs, 107 doubles, 158 home runs, 463 RBI, 236 stolen bases, .328/.405/.678 slash, 144 wRC+, and 15.6 WAR.

For his MLB career, Packer ended with 3003 hits, 1610 runs, 380 doubles, 245 triples, 524 home runs, 1545 RBI, 686 walks, 607 stolen bases, .311/.360/.564 slash, 173 wRC+, and 98.6 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 73^rd in hits, 78^th in runs, 6^th in triples, 53^rd in stolen bases, and 58^th in WAR among position players. Among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Packer’s .923 OPS ranks 84^th.

While Packer’s resume doesn’t put him among the inner-circle greats, he almost quietly was one of the most efficient batters of his era. The Hall of Fame voters didn’t need any convincing for the beloved slugger, who became the first inductee in Louisville light blue. Packer was nearly unanimously inducted at 99.7% as part of MLB’s 2023 class.

Daniel “Coach” Hecker – Third Base – Albuquerque Isotopes – 97.9% First Ballot

Daniel Hecker was a 6’1’’, 200 pound switch-hitting third baseman from Paramount, California; a city of 54,000 people in Los Angeles County. Hecker was best known for his reliable home run power, hitting 30+ dingers in 13 seasons. He rated as above average to good in terms of his contact ability and eye for walks, although his strikeout rate was unremarkable. Hecker could find the gap with solid success and had a 162 game average of 36 homers, 24 doubles, and 7 triples.

Hecker didn’t have extreme splits, but did fare notably better facing right-handed pitching (.892 OPS) versus lefties (.783 OPS). He was a fantastic baserunner and base stealer and was among the fastest in the game at his peak. You might not expect a speedster at third base, but Hecker spent his entire career at the hot corner. He graded as remarkably average, finishing with a career zone rating of 0 and EFF of 1.000; literally as average as you can be.

Few players were more popular in his generation. Hecker was a true fan favorite, but he wasn’t one to take the leadership reigns in the clubhouse. He was ol’ reliable with outstanding durability in his career, playing 135+ games in all but the final three years of a 20-year career. Hecker ended up as the beloved face of the Albuquerque Isotopes, who picked his 13^th overall in MLB’s 1997 MLB Draft.

Before that, Hecker spent three college seasons at Penn State. He played 139 games for the Nittany Lions with 142 hits, 92 runs, 20 doubles, 45 home runs, 97 RBI, 61 walks, 17 stolen bases, .273/.356/.578 slash, 175 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR. That got him on Albuquerque’s radar, who made Hecker a full-time starter immediately after drafting him. He was a staple of the Isotopes lineup for 13 and a half seasons. Hecker debuted with 38 home runs and 6.5 WAR, taking second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1998.

Hecker won Silver Sluggers in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2011 with Albuquerque. He wasn’t generally a league leader, but he did notably lead in 2004 in RBI (133), total bases (38), and slugging (.639). That year had his career highs in hits (195), homers (45), average (.328), OPS (1.021), wRC+ (170), and WAR (9.0). Hecker was second in 2004’s MVP and took third in 2001, but never won the top honor. He would lead the American Association twice in stolen bases and had ten seasons above 6+ WAR for the Isotopes.

The fans in New Mexico quickly fell in love with Hecker. Albuquerque became a contender during his run, making the playoffs from 2001-06 and again from 2008-09. Thrice they won the Southwest Division against a tough field that included repeat pennants by both Phoenix and San Diego. In 2002 as a wild card, the Isotopes won the AA pennant over defending champ Nashville. Albuquerque would be defeated by Milwaukee in the World Series. Hecker had a solid playoff run with 22 hits, 17 runs, 4 doubles, 4 homers, 18 RBI, and 9 stolen bases.

In July 2003, Albuquerque signed Hecker to an eight-year, $71,800,000 extension. He had a solid run in the 2005 postseason, but had underwhelming stats in their other efforts. The Isotopes fell in the 2005 AACS to Seattle, but wouldn’t get beyond the second round in any of Hecker’s other seasons. In 15 playoff starts, he had 52 hits, 31 runs, 8 doubles, 12 home runs, 47 RBI, 19 stolen bases, .249/.326/.469 slash, 116 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR. Far from dominant, but Hecker was still beloved for helping Albuquerque be regularly in the mix for a decade.

By 2011, Albuquerque needed to rebuild as that would be their first losing campaign since 1999. With one year left on his deal, the Isotopes surprised many by trading their long-time superstar. The 34-year old Hecker was set near the deadline to Tampa for four prospects. He maintained a great relationship with the organization and fans and would see his #23 uniform later retired. With the Isotopes, Hecker had 2299 hits, 1387 runs, 325 doubles, 95 triples, 504 home runs, 1417 RBI, 777 walks, 479 stolen bases, .285/.350/.537 slash, 138 wRC+, and 88.0 WAR.

Hecker helped Tampa’s playoff push as they grabbed the second wild card, then went on a stunning run to a World Series win over Brooklyn. The Thunderbirds ended the longest drought between championships in pro baseball history with their 2011 win, as their only other title had been MLB’s inaugural 1901 season. Hecker had 2.2 WAR in the final two months, but did struggle to -0.1 WAR and .617 in the playoffs.

He fared better in the second-ever Baseball Grand Championship, getting 17 hits, 19 runs, 3 doubles, 6 home runs, 11 RBI, 12 walks, a .266/.405/.594 slash, 183 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. Tampa finished 15-4 to become the second-ever Grand Champion, giving Hecker two rings in three months of work. Now 35-years old, he entered free agency for the first time heading into 2012.

It was one of the bigger culture shifts you could find, going from a decade-plus in the desert Southwest to French Canada. Hecker signed a three-year, $55,400,000 deal with Montreal, where he quickly crossed the 2500 hit, 1500 run, and 1500 RBI milestones. He won a Silver Slugger in 2013, giving him nine for his career. Hecker led the National Association in doubles in 2012 and in runs scored in 2013. He averaged more than 6+ WAR per season in his three-year stint for the Maples.

Montreal would win division titles in 2013 and 2014, although they couldn’t get beyond the second round. Hecker did struggle in the small playoff sample size, going 4-30. In total though, Hecker was quite good for the Maples with 465 hits, 301 runs, 81 doubles, 82 home runs, 212 RBI, 95 steals, .272/.339/.484 slash, 152 wRC+, and 18.8 WAR.

Back to free agency, the now 38-year old signed for two years and $44 million with Philadelphia. 2015 would be rough as Hecker missed most of the year to a fractured ankle. He looked subpar prior to the injury and was used as a backup in 2016. In 186 games for the Phillies, he had 3.0 WAR, .717 OPS, and 106 wRC+.

Hecker still wanted to play and got a one-year deal for 2016 with Detroit. He fared better for the Tigers with 2.4 WAR and .826 OPS in 128 games and 81 starts. While there, Hecker was also able to join the 3000 hit club. Unfortunately by this point, teams could find equivalent players who were much younger and cheaper. Hecker was unsigned in 2018 and retired that winter not long after his 42^nd birthday.

In total, Hecker had 2933 games, 3033 hits, 1872 runs, 441 doubles, 118 triples, 649 home runs, 1787 RBI, 1056 walks, 614 stolen bases, .279/.345/.521 slash, 139 wRC+, and 114.4 WAR. As of 2037, Hecker ranks 33^rd in games, 65^th in hits, 15^th in runs, 35^th in home runs, 36^th in RBI, 48^th in stolen bases, and 20^th in WAR among position players. Specifically at third base, Hecker has the 2^nd-most WAR and leads in both runs and homers.

Like his Hall of Fame classmate Bryant Packer, Hecker almost quietly built up his stellar resume since he wasn’t usually atop leaderboards. Hecker ended up being on the shortlist for MLB’s best-ever third baseman and remains a beloved spokesman for the sport. At 97.9%, Hecker joined Packer for an impressive one-two punch for MLB’s 2023 Hall of Fame class.

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-08-2025, 05:43 PM

The Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame class in 2023 had three inductees, headlined by SP Papu Rodriquez with a debut at 84.0%. The other additions both received 69.2%, narrowly breaching the 66% requirement. SP Emiliano Carreras did it on his debut, while OF Einar Rodriguez finally made the cut on his sixth try. SP Secretario Sanz came close on his sixth try, but missed at 61.8%. Two other debuts were above 50% with LF Hugo Garcia at 52.3% and SP Montell Donald with 50.5%.

The one player dropped from the ballot after ten failed tries was 1B Hector Renteria, who played 13 years for Ecatepec. He peaked at only 18.1% in his debut and survived ten years, ending at 4.3%. Renteria was a notable playoff performer for the Explosion’s dynasty, winning MLCS MVP thrice. He had 1826 hits, 1115 runs, 383 doubles, 159 triples, 399 home runs, 1202 RBI, 553 stolen bases, .293/.345/.597 slash, 160 wRC+, and 54.6 WAR.

Renteria’s playoff stats saw 119 games, 108 hits, 64 runs, 15 doubles, 13 triples, 25 home runs, 75 RBI, .268/.309/.556 slash, 142 wRC+, and 3.9 WAR. As of 2037, he does rank 5^th in playoff runs, 9^th in hits, and 6^th in homers. Renteria only won Silver Slugger once though and his regular season numbers needed either more dominance or more tenure to get the attention. He was a significant bit-player for Ecatepec, but ultimately on the outside for the Hall of Fame.

Papu Rodriquez – Pitcher – Leon Lions – 84.0% First Ballot

Papu Rodriquez was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Mendoza, Argentina’s fourth-largest metropolitan area. Rodriquez was a hard thrower with excelkent stuff and very good control, although his movement was average at best. He regularly hit 99-101 mph with an arsenal of splitter, cutter, forkball, and changeup.

Rodriquez’s stamina was respectable compared to most CABA aces, but he would be plagued with elbow injuries in his career and only reached 200+ innings in seven seasons. He was above average defensively and at holding runners. Some thought Rodriquez’s work ethic was lacking, but he was able to expertly adapt to his situation.

Argentinians obviously came up almost exclusively in the Beisbol Sudamerica framework. Rodriquez was quickly emerging as one of the country’s top prospect, which caught the eye of a scout back in Mexico. They convinced Rodriquez to leave for Leon, signing a developmental deal in November 1997. Rodriquez would be the first-ever CABA Hall of Famer born in Argentina and only the sixth to be born in South America.

Rodriquez spent most of five years in the Lions’ academy, officially debuting with six relief appearances in 2002 at age 20. He was a full-time reliever with decent results in 2003, then made his way into the rotation after that. Rodriquez was okay in 2004, then posted a stellar 2005 campaign. He led in ERA (2.11) and WAR (9.2), taking second in Pitcher of the Year voting. Rodriquez was hurt by it being a down era for Leon, who had a playoff drought from 1993-2009.

2006 began his injury issues, as Rodriquez missed the second half to shoulder inflammation. Then in 2007, he was out almost all year with bone chips in his elbow. Leon cautiously hoped Rodriquez could still be an ace, thus they extended him for only four years that winter at $31,600,000. Rodriquez would manage to stay at least somewhat healthy over the next few years for the Lions.

In 2008, Rodriquez led the Mexican League in strikeouts, WHIP, and K/BB, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. He led in WHIP and K/BB again in 2009 for another third place. Then in 2010, Rodriquez won his lone Pitcher of the Year, leading in innings (264), strikeouts (339), and WAR (7.8). Leon ended their playoff drought, although they lost in the first round. The Lions now felt more confident in giving Rodriquez a long-term deal. At age 29, he inked a six-year, $77,600,000 extension in June 2011.

Rodriquez led twice more in WHIP and K/BB and won an ERA title in 2013 at 2.21, although he only had 162.2 innings that year because of more bone chips. Rodriquez also managed a second place in 2014’s POTY voting. The Lions started a playoff streak from 2013-16 with first round losses in the front end and MLCS defeats in the back end. To his credit, Rodriquez had a 2.41 career ERA over 33.2 playoff innings with 39 strikeouts. In addition, Rodriquez did return home to Argentina to pitch in the World Baseball Championship from 2005-15. He had a 3.24 ERA over 114 innings, 6-9 record, 6 saves, 147 strikeouts, 112 ERA+, and 4.0 WAR.

2015 was disastrous with a bone spur in his elbow keeping him out all spring and most of the summer. Shortly after getting back in August, he suffered a torn flexor tendon, knocking Rodriquez out eight months. He made it back for a partial 2016, but his production was merely average. Rodriquez ran into shoulder issues for much of the season.

In 2017, Rodriquez again had bone chips in his elbow that kept him out most of the year. In his limited action, he struggled to a 5.35 ERA over 33.2 innings. Rodriquez’s deal was coming to an end and it didn’t look like he had any juice left, thus he retired shortly after his 36^th birthday. Leon appreciated Rodriquez for his efforts over 15 years and retired his #22 uniform.

Rodriquez had a 154-98 record, 2.87 ERA, 2303.2 innings, 2730 strikeouts, 301 walks, 0.99 WHIP, 97 complete games, 126 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 59.9 WAR. The rate stats certainly look good compared to many other Hall of Fame starters. His WHIP ranks 63^rd among all pitchers with 1000+ innings. However, Rodriquez is outside of the top 100 in counting stats due to his low inning count.

Many voters were sympathetic and gave Rodriquez some grace for the low totals because of his injuries. He was a well-liked player generally and playing with one team goes a long way for some. Rodriquez also had a POTY win and led twice in ERA, strikeouts, and WAR. Those accolades pushed him in easily despite unremarkable tallies. At 84.0%, Rodriquez earned first ballot induction and headlined CABA’s three-player 2023 class

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-09-2025, 05:09 AM

Einar Rodriguez – Outfield/Designated Hitter – Havana Hurricanes – 69.2% Sixth Ballot

Einar Rodriguez was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Manicaragua, a municipality of around 61,000 in central Cuba’s Villa Clara Province. Rodriguez was a solid contract hitter in his prime with reliable pop in his bat. He was above average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts as well. While not a prolific slugger, Rodriguez got you 39 home runs and 33 doubles per his 162 game average. He wasn’t much of an athlete with terrible speed and mediocre baserunning chops.

Rodriguez was also a subpar defender, who split his starts in the field roughly evenly between right field and left. Around 1/3 of his career starts came as a designated hitter. While a poor fielder, you could definitely do worse. Rodriguez’s excellent leadership and work ethic often made up for any lost defensive value. He would unfortunately see his tallies impacted by various injuries, but Rodriguez still managed a fine 14 year run.

By the 1998 CABA Draft, Rodriguez had emerged as arguably Cuba’s best prospect. That certainly got attention in the capital, as he was picked 7^th overall by Havana. He spent his entire pro career there and regularly represented Cuba in the World Baseball Championship. From 2000-13, Rodriguez played 101 WBC games with 71 starts, 72 hits, 37 runs, 10 doubles, 19 home runs, 47 RBI, .260/.322/.516 slash, 136 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR.

Rodriguez started most of his rookie year with solid results, taking second in 1999’s Rookie of the Year voting. He was on an excellent pace in 2000, but arm injuries and a strained PCL kept him out for a good chunk. Rodriguez showed his top potential in 2001 and 2002, staying healthy both years. Both seasons saw him led the Caribbean League in hits, doubles, and total bases.

2002 saw most of Rodriguez’s career bests, including hits (232), runs (115), home runs (44), RBI (132), total bases (408), batting average (.347), and WAR (7.1). He won his lone Silver Slugger in 2002 and was second in MVP voting, his only time as a finalist. In June 2002, Havana gave Rodriguez a four-year, $18,320,000 extension.

The Hurricanes as a wild card made the CLCS in 2002, but lost to Haiti’s dynasty. Havana lost in the 2004 CLCS to Honduras and had a first round loss in 2005 before retreating to the middle tier. Elbow issues cost Rodriguez bits of 2004 and 2005. Still, they were generally happy with his production and gave him a seven-year, $42,100,000 extension in May 2006.

Rodriguez stayed mostly healthy the next few years apart for missing much of 2008. His production was a bit inconsistent, but he did top 5+ WAR in 2006 and 2009. It was 2009 which would be Rodriguez’s most famous effort, winning CABA Championship MVP as Havana won it all over Monterrey. In 16 playoff starts, Rodriguez had 23 hits, 12 runs, 5 doubles, 5 homers, 15 RBI, 1.111 OPS, and 0.9 WAR.

Havana couldn’t follow up that title run, finishing below .500 for the following four seasons. Rodriguez’s production notably dipped in 2012 and the Hurricanes voided the team option year of his contract. Rodriguez wanted to play somewhere, but couldn’t find any suitors for 2013. He retired that winter at age 37.

Rodriguez finished with 2114 hits, 1126 runs, 370 doubles, 442 home runs, 1272 RBI, 456 walks, .311/.352/.569 slash, 143 wRC+, and 56.5 WAR. As of 2037, the only stat that he cracks the top 100 in is RBI at 99^th. The injuries certainly dented his final totals, which led many voters to dismiss Rodriguez as a Hall of Good type guy. His rate stats were quite solid, but weren’t otherworldly.

In 2018, Rodriguez debuted on the ballot at only 35.7%, then moved to 45.0% and 43.7%. He got a notable bump to 60.3% in 2021, then dropped to 53.8% in 2022. There seemed to be a late push for Rodriguez’s candidacy. Supporters especially pointed towards his role in Havana’s 2009 championship and having stayed with one team. He was given some grace for injury woes as well by those in favor. Rodriguez received the boost he needed in 2023 up to 69.2%, earning him a sixth ballot induction into CABA’s Hall of Fame.

Emiliano “Stumpy” Carreras – Starting Pitcher – Leon Lions – 69.2% First Ballot

Emiliano Carreras was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Texcoco, Mexico, a city of 35,400 located 25 kilometers northeast of Mexico City. Carreras wasn’t amazing at any one thing, but his stuff, movement, and control all graded as above average to good. His fastball peaked in the 96-98 mph range and was considered one of the stronger ones in the league. Carreras also had a great splitter and a nice changeup as his other options.

Carreras had very good stamina and solid durability. He was a good defensive pitcher who was decent at holding runners. Carreras ended up being a late bloomer, making for a unique career. He wasn’t one to draw attention to himself, which maybe limited his use earlier in his career.

Expectations were high initially for Carreras as he was picked 4^th overall by Leon in the 2003 CABA Draft. However, he saw limited relief use in his first five seasons despite being healthy. Carreras’s bullpen numbers were respectable, but several coaches thought his three-pitch arsenal wasn’t diverse enough to be a starter. It wasn’t until 2009 that Carreras earned his first shot as a full-time starter.

Carreras led the Mexican League in complete games, shutouts, and innings in 2009, proving he can hang in the rotation. He would finish third in 2010’s Pitcher of the Year voting and second in 2011. He won an ERA title in the former at 2.31 and the WARlord in the latter at 6.7. Along with Hall of Fame classmate Papu Rodriquez in the rotation, Leon started to compete into the 2010s. Carreras signed a seven-year, $81,200,000 extension in September 2011.

The Lions would suffer first round playoff exits in 2010, 2013, and 2014. Leon made it to the Mexican League Championship Series in both 2015 and 2016, but fell to Juarez’s fledgling dynasty both years. Carreras’s playoff stats were generally underwhelming with a 4.13 ERA over 61 innings, 2-5 record, 52 strikeouts, 91 ERA+, and 0.6 WAR.

Carreras put up reliable innings into his 30s, although his production was up-and-down since he wasn’t a big strikeout guy. He took third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2014, then won the award in 2015. Carreras earned the ERA title at 1.91 and led in WHIP at 0.85, while adding career bests in wins (22-7), WAR (7.5), strikeouts (253), and quality starts (28). He couldn’t replicate that effort later, posting roughly league average numbers for his final two seasons. Carreras decided to retire after the 2017 campaign at age 36 with Leon retiring his #13 uniform soon after.

In total, Carreras had a 160-106 record, 2.99 ERA, 2423 innings, 2169 strikeouts, 369 walks, 185/272 quality starts, 101 complete games, 124 ERA+, and 50.5 WAR. Like his former teammate Rodriquez, Carreras’s final tallies fall outside of the top 100 lists. While Rodriquez had injuries to blame, Carreras’s were in part from barely getting used in his first few seasons. He was a somewhat polarizing candidate for that reason when comparing his raw numbers to contemporaries.

Carreras’s rate stats were comparable to some of the lower-end Hall of Famers, but a bit lower than Rodriquez. Most voters felt strongly about Rodriquez though, which helped Carreras’s case. He had two ERA titles and a POTY, plus he spent his entire career with one franchise. Those factors were just enough to get Carreras across the 66% requirement on his debut ballot. At 69.2%, Carreras rounded out CABA’s three-player Hall of Fame class for 2023.

01-02-2025, 06:04 PM	#1941
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in A2L 2022 marked the fifth season of the African Second League, which had seen a solid growth in local talent as hoped. The fifth season was its most important yet, as promotion and relegation was to begin. Thus, a conference championship win earned you a spot into the African Association of Baseball’s top league. Defending A2L champ Nampula repeated as Southern Conference champ to earn their spot in the top tier. The Pheasants finished 94-68, fending off challenges from 92-70 Maseru and both Blantyre and Port Elizabeth at 88-74. Bangui continued their dominance of the Central Conference, taking first for the fourth time in five years. It was fitting that the Badgers earned the first promotion with their success. Bangui was 100-62 with only 93-69 Juba really in contention at all. In a Second League Championship rematch, Nampula defeated Bangui to repeat as champs. With promotion/relegation in effect from now onward, the Pheasants would forever be the only repeat champ in A2L history. Other notes: Leading the way for Nampula was 2B Abdoulaye Umba, who posted the first-ever A2L Triple Crown hitting season with 61 home runs, 177 RBI, and a .376 average. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-03-2025, 05:19 AM	#1942
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in E2L Cardiff repeated as the first place finisher in the European Second League’s Western Conference, hoping this time it would earn them a promotion. The Crew took it at 106-56, fending off a strong challenge by 103-59 Seville. The Stingrays picked up their third consecutive playoff berth. Stockholm (96-66) and Liverpool (94-68) took the remaining playoff spots with a steep drop to fifth place Belfast at 86-76. The Swordsmen earned their first berth since getting relegated to E2L for 2019. Liverpool earned their first berth since 2015 and is one of the few teams that have never been promoted even once. The Phantoms set a new E2L record with 62 triples as a team. In the Double Round Robin, Stockholm had the best finish at 5-1 to advance to the Western Conference Championship. Seville joined them with a 3-3 finish, while top seed Cardiff and Liverpool were both ousted at 2-4. The Stingrays then routed the Swordsmen 4-1, sending Seville back to the European Baseball Federation’s Elite tier after an eight year stay in the Second League. Gothenburg for the first time had the top record in the Eastern Conference at 102-60, earning their second playoff spot in four years. Last year’s #1 seed Chisinau took second at 99-63. It was a tight battle for the remaining two playoff spots with Riga finishing third at 95-67. The Roosters hadn’t been a playoff team since 2010. Lodz and Odesa finished tied at 94-68 for the final spot, while Varna (92-70), Tallinn (90-72) and Sarajevo (88-74) each fell short. The Legion won the tiebreaker game over the Drifters to give Lodz back-to-back wild cards. They have five playoff appearances in seven years, but remain one of the squads to never be promoted. Athens, a wild card last year, fell to 77-85. Riga surprised many by taking the best record in the Double Round Robin at 4-2. Top seed Gothenburg and Chisinau were 3-3 and Lodz went 2-4. The tiebreaker pushed the Counts forward, who then clobbered the Roosters 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Championship. Chisinau earned its second promotion after being back in E2L for only two years. In an exciting Second League Championship, Seville outlasted Chisinau in a seven game classic. The Stingrays had also won it all in 2006, joining Valencia as the only two-time E2L champs. No extra teams would be relegated from the EBF Elite in 2022, meaning Seville and Chisinau were the only teams to earn promotion. Other notes: Bratislava was booty at 52-110, scoring the fewest runs in E2L history at 361. They also had the second fewest homers (73) and the second worth batting average (.193) and slugging percentage (.274) in Eastern Conference history to that point. Their .260 OBP was an all-time EC worst as well. Sarajevo’s Zurab Karpenko became the first E2L player with 500 career home runs, finishing his final season with 508. He would also retire as the E2L leader in RBI (1274) and WAR (106.94). Lodz’ Yuriy Naichukov won his third MVP in a row, joining Karpenko as the only three time MVPs in E2L. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-03-2025, 10:58 AM	#1943
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in AAB Last year’s second place finisher in the African Association of Baseball’s Southern Conference was Antananarivo. They were first place in 2022 by a healthy margin at 100-62, taking the top spot by 12 games. The Eagles outperformed their expected win/loss by nine games, finishing second in both runs scored (767) and fewest allowed (670). There were five teams within six games of the second playoff spot. Harare (88-74) narrowly took it to end a seven-year playoff drought. Defending conference champ Lilongwe and Johannesburg tied for third at 85-77, followed by Lusaka at 83-79 and Cape Town at 82-80. 2022 was the first year of promotion/relegation with the African Second League, meaning last place finishers in each conference were demoted. Maputo suffered the unfortunate relegation in the SC at 65-97, six games behind their closest foe Durban. The Piranhas were conference champ only five years prior. They would be replaced in 2023 by A2L champ Nampula. Harare led the Southern Conference in runs (786) with designated hitter Maninho Magaia leading the way as MVP. The 27-year old Mozambican became the eighth in AAB history to smack 70+ home runs by getting 73 dingers. Magaia also led in runs (125), RBI (138), and total bases (396). He had a 1.044 OPS, 173 wRC+, and 6.5 WAR. Lilongwe righty Julian Ndaya won Pitcher of the Year in his sixth season. The 28-year old from the Democratic Republic of the Congo won the ERA title at 2.89 and was the WARlord at 7.9. Ndaya won his fifth Gold Glove and posted a 16-6 record and 251 strikeouts in 249.1 innings. Two-time defending Africa Series champ Kampala finished first in the Central Conference for the fourth time in five years. The Peacocks at 104-58 had by far the most runs in the league at 861 and allowed the second-fewest at 592. Allowing the fewest was Ndjamena at 567, which pushed the Magic to second place at 95-67. Ndjamena ended a 15-year playoff drought, beating last year’s wild card Lubumbashi and Nairobi both by five games at 90-72. The cross-river rivals Kinshasa and Brazzaville battled at the bottom of the standings trying to avoid relegation. The Sun Cats ended up the worst at 62-100, while the Blowfish survived at 64-98. It was shocking that Kinshasa was the first to be demoted considering they had the first dynasty run in the 1990s and early 2000s. Bangui would take their place for 2023. Another former dynasty Addis Ababa had been god awful from 2018-21, but climbed out of the hole just in time to avoid demotion with a 78-84 record in 2022. Central Conference MVP went to Nairobi third baseman Ibukun da Costa in only his third season. The 25-year old Angolan was the home run leader with 51 and added 104 runs, 103 RBI, .995 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 7.0 WAR. The Night Hawks had picked da Costa ninth overall in the 2019 AAB Draft and he had immediately delivered. He was the Rookie of the Year back in 2020. Pitcher of the Year went to Ndjamena’s John Saya, who led in wins (26-5), innings (206.1), strikeouts (306), and quality starts (27). The 25-year old Tanzanian lefty had a 2.28 ERA, missing the Triple Crown by only nine points to teammate Bradley Lindsay. Saya had a 170 ERA+ and 7.3 WAR, bouncing back after missing much of the prior year to shoulder inflammation. The Southern Conference Championship needed all seven games with top seed Antananarivo outlasting Harare. The Eagles became five-time pennant winners, ending a 13-year title drought (2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2022). Kampala continued to dominate the Central Conference with a sweep of Ndjamena, winning their third consecutive pennant and fourth in five years. The 28^th Africa Series saw the continuation of Kampala’s dynasty, defeating Antananarivo 5-3 to complete the three-peat. The Peacocks also won their fourth title in five years, joining the great Kinshasa and Addis Ababa dynasties in achieving the feat. It also continued the Central Conference’s dominance of the final, now leading the Southern Conference 20-8 in the Africa Series. Finals MVP went to 3B Javin Dinesh in his 11^th season with Kampala. The 31-year old South African in 11 playoff starts had 13 hits, 7 runs, 5 doubles, 4 homers, and 9 RBI. Peacocks manager Kirk Scott became the third in AAB history with three championships as the Englishman had joined in 2020. He also won his third consecutive Manager of the Year. Other notes: In a losing effort, Antananarivo 3B Ibrahim Abdoulkader had 19 playoff RBI, setting an AAB record that still holds as of 2037. The Eagles offense had a bad stat with only 390 walks drawn all season as a team, a new AAB low. Bujumbura had the fewest doubles ever by an AAB squad at 194. Franklin Goagoseb was the second pitcher to 200 wins and the 4^th to 3000 strikeouts. Goagoseb passed Henry Kibirige’s 203 to become the new wins leader and would get three more in 2023 to finish with 208. He’d only briefly hold the top mark with Ermias Tadele passing him almost immediately, but he still ranks 3^rd as of 2037. Relebogile Matima became the 7^th to reach 1500 RBI. 1B Patrick Babila won his seventh Gold Glove. Promotion/Relegation: Maputo and Kinshasa were demoted to the African Second League, replaced by Nampula and Bangui, respectively. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-03-2025, 04:58 PM	#1944
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in ALB Amman narrowly earned the Arab League Baseball Western Conference’s top seed at 97-65, fending off a 93-69 Jerusalem to take the Levant Division crown from the Jets. The Aviators earned their second berth in three years, but guaranteed their first conference finals berth since 2012. Amman allowed the fewest runs in ALB (614) and their staff had the second most strikeouts (1815) and second-best K/9 (11.15) in conference history. On top of racing Jerusalem for the division, Amman beat Mediterranean Division champ Casablanca by one for the top seed. The 96-66 Bruins won the division by 14 games to end a four-year playoff drought. Casablanca set new conference records for runs scored (944) and home runs (301). The Nile Division had an intense battle for first with Cairo (88-74) squeezing by Giza (87-75). The two-time defending conference champ Pharaohs grew their playoff streak to six seasons. Tripoli and Algiers were both non-factors at 79-83, but their stars claimed the Western Conference’s top awards. Privateers third baseman Malik Zouaoui won MVP in his fourth season, leading in home runs (64), total bases (429), slugging (.723), OPS (1.137), wRC+ (186), and WAR (9.2). The 24-year old Tunisian added 131 runs, 131 RBI, and a .342 batting average. Tripoli had given Zouaoui an eight-year, $60.3 million extension the prior spring. Arsenal lefty Muhammad Nour repeated as Pitcher of the Year in his fourth season for Algiers. The 24-year old Algerian lefty led in ERA (2.45), quality starts (26), and WAR (7.8). Nour tossed 227.1 innings with 302 strikeouts and an 18-5 record. Casablanca survived 2-1 in the first round over Cairo, earning their first Western Conference Final berth since their 2017 title. The Bruins’ great offense overpowered top seed Amman’s pitching, winning the WCF 3-1. Casablanca won its tenth pennant, becoming the first franchise to double-digits. As of 2037, the Bruins are still the only team with 10+ conference titles. Basra ran away with the Eastern Conference’s top seed at 108-54, guaranteeing a fourth straight conference finals trip. The Bulldogs earned their fifth straight Mesopotamia Division by allowing the fewest runs at 625. Divisional foe Kuwait at 95-67 set a runs scored high mark at 948, but were sank by also allowing 835. Each of the division titles were won by 13+ games. Reigning Arab League champ Jeddah continued their ALB-record reign atop the Saudi Division at 97-65, extending their streak to 12 seasons. Abu Dhabi ended a five-year playoff drought as the only Gulf Division team above .500 at 94-68. Eastern Conference MVP was Abu Dhabi first baseman Mohamed Ali Mansour in his third season. The 23-year old Moroccan led in RBI (134) and added 58 home runs, 113 runs, 1.086 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 6.9 WAR. Basra’s Ahmed Hussain won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also done it in 2018. The 30-year old Qatari lefty was in his 11^th season with the Bulldogs and led in wins (23-4), ERA (1.87), WHIP (0.84), K/BB (11.0), quality starts (27), ERA+ (239), FIP- (46), and WAR (11.6). Hussain’s WAR was the sixth-best single-season to that point by an ALB pitcher. He struck out 329 batters, missing the Triple Crown by 11 to Riyadh’s Diyar Abbas. Jeddah swept Abu Dhabi in the first round for their fifth Eastern Conference Final in a row and their eighth of the playoff streak. It was the fourth straight year the Jackals battled Basra for the pennant. The Bulldogs had won in 2020, while Jeddah took it in 2019 and 2021. Notably, the team with home field advantage had lost in 2020 and 2011. Basra was the heavy favorite by wins, but the trend of road winners continued. Jeddah cruised to a stunning sweep of the Bulldogs to earn repeat pennants. The Jackals earned their fourth pennant in five years, joining 1992-95 Medina as the only teams to do that in ALB history. It was their sixth conference title overall, becoming the first franchise with six finals berth over a ten year period. Despite both teams’ recent success, the 33^rd Arab League Championship was the first finals battle between Jeddah and Casablanca. The Bruins denied the Jackals’ repeat bid, taking the series 4-2. Casablanca became ALB’s first team with six rings (1994, 1995, 2003, 2015, 2017, 2022). Manager Dong-Yeon Kim had taken over in 2015 and became the second ALB manager to win three titles, joining former Mosul skipper Bertel Pitkamaki. In a losing effort, Jeddah 1B Zach Aubin was finals MVP. The 36-year old Canadian had also earned the award back in 2018. In 2022, he started 11 playoff games with 20 hits, 8 runs, 6 doubles, 4 homers, and 6 RBI. Aubin had emerged as a playoff stud in his brief time in Saudi Arabia, also winning three conference finals MVPs with a career 1.216 OPS, 221 wRC+, and 4.1 WAR in 51 playoff starts. Other notes: Doha’s pitching staff allowed only 266 walks with a 1.68 BB/9, the second-best in Eastern Conference history. Dubai set an ALB worst as their staff allowed 1697 hits. Bahrain also set a new worst with their pitching staff posting a lousy 1.502 WHIP. Both Livan Martinez and Ali Khalaf had four home run games, a feat now achieved 14 times in ALB. For the first time in ALB, there were back-to-back seasons without a no-hitter thrown. Mohamed Hassan and Hamdan Fahed became the 10^th and 11^th members of the 600 home run club. Hassan and Khaled Mohamed both reached 1500 RBI, a mark achieved by 14 in ALB. Yahya bin Hakam became the 13^th to reach 2500 hits and won his tenth Silver Slugger. He now had eight at first base and two as a DH. Fawaz Hussein became only the third pitcher to 4000 strikeouts, retiring at 4022. He just passed Rashid Tariq’s 4008 for second, but finished just behind Abdullah Al-Tamtami’s 4035 for the #1 spot. Herdi Wahib and Atef Abdelhakim became the 7^th and 8^th to 200 wins. Four pitchers earned their 3000^th strikeout, making that club 17 strong. SP Mohamed Taleb won his seventh Gold Glove, tying the position record. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-04-2025, 05:12 AM	#1945
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in ABF The Asian Baseball Federation’s East League had the same playoff teams for the third straight year, although some positions were switched in the North Division. Dushanbe went from a 2021 wild card to the top seed at 109-53. The Dynamo now stood alone with the longest playoff streak in ABF history at ten seasons. Almaty (99-63) got their third straight wild card and last year’s division champ Bishkek earned the second wild card at 97-65. Over in the South Division, reigning ABF champ Faisalabad rolled to a fourth straight division title at 105-57. The Fire narrowly beat Dushanbe for the most wins in the EL (747 to 741) and was just behind Bishkek for the fewest allowed (494 to 503). Multan was the next closest at 88-74, 17 short in the division race and nine away from the second wild card. After missing part of 2021 to a fractured hand, Dushanbe shortstop Nizami Aghazade returned to the perch as East League MVP for the eighth time. This was the ABF record and to this point, only six players in world history had won more MVPs. Aghazade also got his ninth Silver Slugger in his 11^th season for the Dynamo. The 34-year old Kazakh righty led in runs (109), total bases (361), OBP (.413), OPS (1.049), and WAR (12.5). Aghazade added 42 home runs, 120 RBI, and a 219 wRC+. In all eight of his MVP seasons, Aghazade posted at least 12.5 WAR; amazingly this was his weakest outing as he grew to an ABF-best 130.6 career WAR. The prior seven MVP seasons held seven of the top eight WAR seasons by an ABF position player. Aghazade would sign another three year, $66,600,000 extension with Dushanbe after the 2023 season to remain their franchise icon. Pitcher of the Year went to Almaty righty Stanislav Mukhamadiev in his second season in the rotation. The 23-year old Russian led in shutouts (6) while adding a 2.47 ERA over 248 innings, 17-6 record, 326 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR. Top seed Dushanbe was shocked with a first round sweep loss to Bishkek, while Faisalabad survived 3-2 against Almaty. This set up an East League Championship Series rematch between the EL’s most recent champs. The Fire beat the Black Sox in 2021, while Bishkek beat Faisalabad in the 2020 first round end route to a title. Round three saw the Black Sox continue to roll on the road, taking the series 4-1. This was Bishkek’s third pennant since joining ABF (2007, 2020, 2022) and their 12^th when factoring in their Eurasian Professional Baseball days. Tabriz’s reign atop the West League Central Division continued for a fifth straight year with the Tiger Sharks’ playoff streak growing to seven seasons. At 103-59, Tabriz also earned the top overall seed for the fifth year running. They took it by just one game over West Division champ Baku this year. The 102-60 Blackbirds ended a four-year playoff drought with their effort. ABF doesn’t use tiebreaker games, which made the wild card race tricky with three teams tying for two spots. Isfahan, Mashhad, and Ankara each were 90-72 with the spots going to the Imperials and Mercury. Isfahan ended a decade-long playoff drought while Mashhad earned repeat berths. Last year’s WL champ Izmir and Asgabat both finished 85-77. The Ice Caps had a four-year postseason streak ended and the Alphas saw their five-year run ruined. Bursa was right at .500, scoring the most runs (805) but allowing the second most (792). Leading the offense was West League MVP Emre Fez in his fifth season. The 25-year old Turkish left fielder led in runs (139), hits (217), RBI (143), total bases (415), average (.360), slugging (.689), OPS (1.103), wRC+ (177), and WAR (11.1). Fez added 44 homers, 38 doubles, 14 triples, and 85 stolen bases. He would remain with the Blue Claws for the long haul, inking an eight-year, $117,400,000 extension after the 2023 campaign. Istanbul veteran Temuri Omarov won Pitcher of the Year in his ninth season. The 30-year old Georgian righty won the ERA title at 2.16 and led in WHIP (0.87), quality starts (22), ERA+ (190), FIP- (59), and WAR (7.4). Omarov struck out 299 over 212.1 innings with a 14-9 record and 7 saves. Tabriz survived 3-2 against Mashhad in the first round and Baku cruised to a sweep of Isfahan. The Tiger Sharks earned their fourth West League Championship Series try in five years, while it was the first since 2017 for the Blackbirds. Baku pulled off the win 4-2 on the road to secure their fourth pennant (2010, 2012, 2013, 2022). Despite five straight years as the top seed, Tabriz only had their 2019 title to show for it, going 1-3 in the WLCS. In the 38^th ABF Championship, Bishkek continued its impressive run as the #4 seed by besting Baku 4-2, winning their second title in three years. Veteran LF Ramin Abilov won finals MVP, having signed with the Black Sox in 2021 after 14 years between Tehran and Dushanbe. The 33-year old Uzbek in 14 playoff starts had 18 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 3 RBI, and 1.028 OPS. Other notes: Mehmet Fatih Canaydin became ABF’s new career hits leader, passing the previous high mark of 2795 by Petri Viskari. The 37-year old Canaydin finished 2022 at 2829 hits. He also got to 1412 runs scored, just behind Viskari’s 1446. Shadi Alam (1408) was also in position to surpass Viskari’s mark in the next season. Canaydin was also the stolen bases leader at this point by a healthy margin at 1284. Rafkat Kudabergenov, Emmanouil Karakostas, and Eser Haspolatli all reached 2500 hits, making eight ABF batters to do so. Fakhri Rajavi became the 4th member of the 600 home run club and Habib Saquib became the 12^th to reach 500 home runs. Ozgur Ermalci was the 10^th pitcher to 200 wins and Dabir Arif was the 13^th to reach 3500 strikeouts. Rawalpindi and Samarkand’s offenses both drew only 249 walks, setting a new ABF team worst. The Spurs’ pitching staff also had a 4.48 ERA, the third-worst in East League history. Shahid Safaq had a 31-game hit streak, tying the fifth-longest in ABF history. 3B Eser Haspolatli won his 14^th straight and final Gold Glove. He has won the award more than any other ABF player and is just one of 12 to win the award 14 times in any world league. Haspolatli is one of four in that group that were third basemen. RF Hana Zuhair won his tenth consecutive Gold Glove. CF Bardia Petrosian won his seventh Silver Slugger. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-04-2025, 11:35 AM	#1946
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in SAB The Indian League’s top seed in 2022 went to Hyderabad at 101-61 atop the South Division. The Hippos led in scoring with 766 runs, ending a three-year playoff drought. Mumbai won the West Division at 99-63 to end a three-year playoff drought. Defending South Asia Baseball champ Delhi won the Central Division at 96-66 to grow their playoff streak to three. The Drillers had the fewest runs allowed at 528. In the wild card race, Kolkata and Ahmedabad tied for the spot at 89-73, while Visakhapatnam (87-75) and Nagpur (86-76) just missed the cut. The tiebreaker game went to the Cosmos for back-to-back berths. For the Patriots, their playoff streak ended at four seasons. Pune (81-81) had their playoff streak ended at three years despite having SAB’s largest payroll at just over $152 million. Indian League MVP went to Ahmedabad right fielder Vij Kumaragupta. The 29-year old righty led in runs (113), home runs (53), RBI (124), walks (78), total bases (381), OPS (1.091), wRC+ (220), and WAR (9.5). Kumaragupta added a .323 average and 42 stolen bases. The Animals gave him an eight-year, $94.7 million extension the prior summer. Pitcher of the Year was fourth year Delhi righty Amir Kapur. The 26-year old Indian led in ERA (1.99), strikeouts (332), quality starts (25), ERA+ (187), FIP- (44), and WAR (9.3). Kapur pitched 213 innings with a 16-7 record, falling two wins short of a Triple Crown. The Drillers gave Kapur a six-year, $37,020,000 extension in late April to lock him up into his 30s. Hyderabad survived 3-2 over Kolkata in the first round while Mumbai ousted reigning champ Delhi 3-1. The Hippos earned their third Indian League Championship Series try in six years, while it was the Meteors’ first since their back-to-back pennants in 2015-16. Hyderabad again couldn’t get over the hump with a 4-2 series win for Mumbai. The Meteors secured their fifth IL title (2006, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2022). Five teams finished within six wins of the #1 seed in the Southeast Asia League, making for an intense fight for the four playoff spots. Hai Phong got the top spot at 102-60 to win a third consecutive North Division title. Dhaka was close behind in the division, ending the regular season at 98-64. Meanwhile, the South Division’s Yangon and Vientiane both ended at 98-64 as well, while Da Nang was the odd team out at 96-66. In a tiebreaker game for the division title, the Green Dragons defeated the Vampires. For seeding, the Dobermans then beat Vientiane for the #3 seed. Yangon’s world record playoff streak grew to 28 seasons. The Vampires earned their ninth berth in 11 years, while Dhaka got back-to-back spots. The Nailers’ had their bid for a third straight spot denied despite leading in scoring at 823 runs. The Dobermans allowed the fewest runs at 606. Dhaka’s pitching staff allowed only 253 walks with a 1.55 BB/9, setting new SEAL team records. Winning Southeast Asia League MVP was Vientiane second baseman Shivansh Mahapatra. The 28-year old Indian had the best batting average (.360) and WAR (8.4). Mahapatra scored 107 runs on 218 hits with 40 doubles, 39 homers, 125 RBI, 1.026 OPS, and 173 wRC+. In June, the Vampires paid Mahapatra for his efforts with an eight-year, $84 million extension. Dhaka lefty Dusit Kyo secured Pitcher of the Year in his fourth season in the rotation. The 25-year old from Thailand led in WAR (8.5), complete games (12), shutouts (3), and FIP- (63). Kyo had a 16-10 record over 251 innings, 2.80 ERA, and 342 strikeouts. He earned his five-year, $25,580,000 extension from the Dobermans in the prior offseason. Top seed Hai Phong swept Vientiane in the first round while Yangon swept Dhaka, setting up a rematch of the 2020 Southeast Asia League Championship. Again the Prowlers were the top seed, but were denied their first-ever pennant by the Green Dragons. Yangon cruised to a 4-1 win for their sixth pennant in 11 years and their 12^th SEAL title overall. It was their ninth pennant of the historic playoff streak. The 43^rd South Asia Baseball Championship was the second finals meeting between Yangon and Mumbai with the Green Dragons winning in their 2015 encounter. Yangon would prevail again 4-2 to become five-time SAB champs (2001, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2022). The Meteors’ bad finals fortune continued, moving to 0-5 all-time in the SAB Championship. They had the most runner-up finishes amongst the SAB teams that hadn’t won it all at least once. Finals MVP went to journeyman shortstop Kader Ahmed in his third year with Yangon. The 31-year old Bangladeshi in 14 playoff starts had 18 hits, 7 runs, 5 extra base hits, and 7 RBI. Other notes: World home run king Majed Darwish added world RBI king to his titles, passing the 2618 set by CABA/MLB legend Prometheo Garcia from 1943-1968. Darwish ended the year at 2655 and grew his record homer mark to 1123. Darwish also finished the year at 2366 runs, only eight from passing Garcia’s world record 2374. Darwish became the new SAB runs leader in 2022, passing Ratan Canduri’s 2334 and beat MLB’s Stan Provost (2348) for the #2 spot on the world list. It was also the final year for Darwish with Hanoi after a 20-year odyssey. The 39-year old Bahraini would play three more seasons between Da Nang and Dhaka. Chennai’s Gotam Bhagwan set a new SAB single-season record with 60 doubles, beating the previous high mark of 59 by Kasi Kumar in 2009. Bhagwan’s mark wouldn’t be beaten until 2034. Hanoi’s Arush Jitender set a bad record, allowing 51 home runs on the season. Bengaluru’s offense only hit 159 doubles, an all-time SAB low. Their 21 triples tied for the third lowest. Kathmandu’s pitching staff had 1167 strikeouts and 7.27 K/9, both were the second-lowest in SAB history behind Phnom Penh from the prior year. CF Omer al-Jabiri won his seventh Gold Glove. Delhi’s Oliver Cook had the lone no-hitter of 2022, striking out 17 against Chennai on July 6. This tied Sakar Sheikh’s 2012 record for most Ks in an SAB no-hitter. Baladhya Jain was the 6^th reliever to 400 saves. Duc Son became the 24^th member of the 500 home run club. Mohan Zaman and Nyi Moe Win became the 24^th and 25^th to reach 2500 hits. 3B Yasir Malkawi won his tenth Silver Slugger, tying Jatinder Chowdhary for the position record. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-04-2025, 06:17 PM	#1947
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in WAB Abidjan had the best overall record in West African Baseball at 104-58. It was the fourth playoff berth in five years for the Athletes and their first time in the Western League’s top spot since 2018. Conakry was second at 98-64 to grow their playoff streak to five seasons. The Coyotes allowed the fewest runs at 689. Abidjan was third in both runs scored (923) and fewest allowed (713). For the remaining two playoff spots, Freetown (92-70) and Cape Verde (91-71) advanced with Accra (88-74) falling short. The Foresters had both their first playoff berth and winning season since 2014, while the Vulcans ended an 11-year postseason drought. CV had the most runs (964) with Freetown next (949). Defending WL champ Bamako was sixth at 83-79, which ended their seven-year postseason streak. Cape Verde 3B Okoro Yusuf kept rolling with his third straight Western League MVP. The 25-year old Nigerian had just led his country to the World Baseball Championship title as WBC MVP. In 2022, he led the WL in hits (245), total bases (464), batting average (.404), OBP (.456), OPS (1.222), wRC+ (206), and WAR (11.5). Yusuf’s average was the third-best in WAB history to that point and was the seventh-ever WAB effort above .400. His OBP ranked seventh-best and his OPS was third. Yusuf also had 126 runs, 52 home runs, 49 doubles, and 150 RBI. The Vulcans had wisely given him an eight-year, $113,500,000 extension the prior summer. It took an effort that strong to overshadow Freetown’s Youssoupha Diop, who became WAB’s single-season home run king. The 25-year old Senegalais first baseman socked a nice 69 dingers, besting Shahnawaz Ikram’s 66 from 2006. Diop’s 169 RBI was the fourth-best in WAB history. Diop also had 143 runs, 1.215 OPS, 194 wRC+, and 9.1 WAR. The Foresters would have the Pitcher of the Year Koku Omouroun in his fourth season, earning the tenth Triple Crown pitching season in WAB history. The 26-year old Togolese lefty had an 18-6 record, 2.53 ERA, and 300 strikeouts. Omouroun pitched 206.2 innings and also led in WHIP (0.95), quality starts (22), FIP- (61), and WAR (7.2). Freetown had given him a six-year, $36,540,000 extension the prior winter. Cape Verde edged Freetown 2-1 in the first round, but got rolled 2-0 in round two by Conakry. The Coyotes earned their fourth consecutive Western League Championship Series appearance and shocked top seed Abidjan with a 3-0 sweep. Conakry secured its second pennant in three years and its fourth overall (1989, 1990, 2020, 2022). In the Eastern League, Niamey (98-64) narrowly took the top spot from last year’s ELCS runner-up Libreville (97-65). The Atomics got their second playoff berth in four years, although they hadn’t taken first place since their 2007 pennant. For the Lakers, their playoff streak grew to three seasons. Niamey led in scoring (915) and fewest runs allowed (729). Ibadan (93-69) and Lome (90-72) earned the remaining playoff spots, while defending WAB champ Yaounde (87-75) and Ouagadougou (85-77) were the first teams out. The Iguanas ended a four-year playoff drought while the Lasers stopped a five-year skid. The Yellow Birds’ playoff streak ended at four and Kano (74-88) had their streak end at six years. Niamey swept the top awards with fourth-year LF Kevin Serville taking Eastern League MVP. The 25-year old Central African led in RBI (142) while adding 36 homers, 50 doubles, 17 triples, 120 runs, a .371/.405/.694 slash, 174 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. Serville signed an eight-year, $54,760,000 extension with the Atomics the prior winter. His 2022 included hitting for the cycle during a 26-game hit streak. Teammate Sabado Balde won his third Pitcher of the Year in four seasons. The 30-year old Bissau-Guinean led in wins (21-7), ERA (2.92), quality starts (21), and WAR (8.5). Balde struck out 290 in 249.1 innings, missing a Triple Crown by only 17 Ks. He spent one more year with Niamey, then departed for five years to MLB’s Columbus Chargers. Ibadan beat Lome 2-0 in the first round, then knocked off Libreville 2-1 in round two. The Iguanas earned their first Eastern League Championship Series trip since 2013. They couldn’t overcome top seed Niamey as the Atomics took the ELCS 3-1. Niamey became four-time EL champs (1987, 2006, 2007, 2022). The 48^th West African Championship saw Conakry earn their second title in three years. Like their 2020 win over Yaounde, the Coyotes got the sweep in their victory over Niamey. Conakry became three-time champs having also won back in 1990. The Coyotes finished undefeated in the playoffs at 9-0, becoming the first team in WAB history to achieve the feat. Finals MVP was RF Romeo Volz in his second year for the Coyotes as the 32-year old French journeyman arrived after eight years in Europe. In 2022, Volz had 9 playoff starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, 9 RBI, 7 walks, and 6 stolen bases. Reliever Mamba Diallo was also notable for going 5-0 with 2 saves in seven appearances, posting a 1.84 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Five wins set a new WAB playoff record. Other notes: WAB hits leader Lawrence Nassif also became the RBI and doubles leader in his penultimate season. The 37-year old 1B finished the year at 2215 RBI and 671 doubles, passing Darwin Morris’s 2129 RBI and Jack Kiadii’s 659 doubles. Nassif also got to 716 home runs, joining Morris (806) and Ahamad Mathew (740) in the 700 club. He also finished 2022 at 3592 hits, becoming the first in WAB to breach 3500. Port Harcourt’s Jacques Ahouansou set a new WAB single-game record by striking out 23 in only eight innings against Niamey on May 25. He was only the ninth in world history to fan 23+ in a game and one of only four to do it without extra innings. Ahouansou hit his mark with the fewest total outs with a remarkable 23/24 outs via strikeout. Libreville’s Ahmed Kone had a 41-game hitting streak in the summer, falling two games short of Fares Belaid’s record 43 from the prior year. Kone himself had notably posted a 37-game streak in 2021 as well. Kone is only the 15^th player in world history to have a 40+ game hit streak and is the only player to have multiple 35+ game streaks. Belaid barely misses that cutoff, having two 34-game streaks along with his 43-game record. Belaid won his eighth Silver Slugger in 2022 and seventh as a DH. Ibrahim Sani became the 9^th to reach 1500 RBI and Clarence Cole was the 7^th to 1500 runs scored. Cole and three others reached 2500 hits, a mark met by 21 WAB batters. Kadir Onyeali was the 7^th pitcher to reach 3500 strikeouts. 3B Seidath Boni won his 11^th consecutive Gold Glove, becoming only the third 11+ GG winner at any position in WAB. SS Romuald Assane won his seventh Gold Glove __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-05-2025, 04:34 AM	#1948
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in CLB Defending Chinese League Baseball champ Nanjing finished first in the Northern League at 100-62 in 2022, earning a fourth playoff berth in five years. The Nuggets barely beat out Tianjin (99-63) for the top spot as the Jackrabbits ended a decade-long playoff drought. Qingdao was third at 92-70 to end their own five-year playoff drought. The Devils led the NL in scoring with 597 runs. In a tight fight for the final playoff spot, Urumqi (88-74) edged out 87-75 efforts by last year’s first place team Changchun and Hangzhou. Shanghai (84-78) was seventh despite allowing the fewest runs in CLB at 431. The Unicorns got their second-ever playoff berth (2017) since joining in the 2009 expansion. Also notable was Shenyang falling to 73-89, ending a five year streak of semifinal appearances by the Swans. Nanjing’s Kenny Sang won his third Northern League MVP, having also won in 2018 and 2019. The 28-year old second baseman led in runs (108), hits (191), home runs (58), RBI (115), total bases (404), slugging (.667), wRC+ (256), and WAR (12.8). As of 2037, Sang’s 2022 has the 21^st highest single-season WAR by a position player. He remained committed to the Nuggets by signing an eight-year, $60,100,000 extension before the season. The Pitcher of the Year trophy also came to Nanjing with seventh-year lefty Ling Yu. He won the ERA title at 1.42 and led in K/BB (12.7), quality starts (30), and WAR (10.5). Yu had 318 strikeouts over 259 innings and a 19-5 record. The Nuggets also invested in keeping Yu around with a five-year, $46 million extension signed after the 2022 campaign. Nanjing was the strongest team in the Round Robin at 5-1, advancing to the semifinal along with Urumqi (3-3) while Qingdao (2-4) and Tianjin (2-4) were eliminated. The Nuggets were looking to repeat and earn their third NL title in five years. However, the Unicorns pulled off the shocking 4-1 semifinal upset. Urumqi became the fourth of the six 2009 expansion teams to earn a trip to the China Series. Defending Southern League champ Hong Kong and Dongguan both finished 96-66 atop the standings. The tiebreaker officially went to the Donkeys, who hadn’t taken first in the standings since 1986. It was also their first playoff appearance at all since 2009. The Champions meanwhile got their fifth straight playoff berth. Dongguan was the top offense in China with 658 runs scored. Both Changsha and Foshan at 94-68 took the remaining playoff spots, missing first place by only two games. The Flyers’ streak grew to five years, while the Cannons ended a nine season drought. Xiamen was fifth at 89-73 despite allowing the SL’s fewest runs at 468. Kunming (86-76) and Guangzhou (85-77) were next, both unable to earn repeat playoff berths. Changsha LF Tao Cai repeated as Southern League MVP in only his fourth season. The 25-year old righty was the leader in runs (114), homers (59), slugging (.664), OPS (1.028), wRC+ (213), and WAR (11.5). Cai added 128 RBI and a .296 batting average. Guangzhou righty Kamesh Sajeev earned Pitcher of the Year in just his second season. The 23-year old Indian was the WARlord at 8.5 and led with 8 shutouts. Sajeev tossed 232.2 innings with 287 strikeouts, a 1.93 ERA, and 16-7 record. Hong Kong finished 5-1 atop the Southern League’s round robin, Foshan and Changsha were 3-3 and top-seed Dongguan was 1-5. The tiebreaker sent the Flyers forward for over the Cannons. Both HK and Foshan earned their fourth semifinal trip in five years. The luck yet again favored the Champions, who moved to 4-0 in those trips and while the Flyers moved to 0-4. It was their third meeting of this run, this time going to Hong Kong 4-2. The Champions became only the third franchise to earn four China Series trips in five years, joining Dalian (1989-94) and Beijing (1984-87). The 53^rd China Series saw Hong Kong roll Urumqi 4-1 to become four-time CLB champs (1984, 2007, 2019, 2022). LF Shikai Xu was finals MVP in his ninth season with the Champions. The 32-year old in 17 starts had 31 hits, 7 runs, 6 doubles, 2 homers, and 12 RBI. The 31 hits set a new CLB playoff record, beating the old high mark of 26. Xu’s 31 wouldn’t be matched for a decade. This marked the end of his CLB career, as Xu left in the offseason on a five-year, $32 million deal with Amman of the Arab League. Other notes: The season saw an exciting chase as Wenzhou’s Boyu Long and Shijiazhuang’s Cheng Kang both chased Tao Yang’s CLB home run career record of 497. Long passed it barely to end the season at 498, while Kang finished tied with Yang at 497. Both were chasing Xinze Yan’s RBI record of 1157 as well. Long finished 2022 with 1148 RBI with Kang at 1124. Foshan’s Zhen Zhang was also right in the mix at 1128. Kang won his tenth Silver Slugger with his eighth in left field along with two in right. Long became an eight-time Slugger winner in RF and Zheng an eight-time winner in CF. CLB’s 53^rd perfect game was thrown by Huikang Liu of Guangzhou on June 29, striking out seven against Wenzhou. 3B Chan Koh and CF Cheung Huang both won their seventh consecutive Gold Glove. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-05-2025, 11:31 AM	#1949
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in APB The Taiwan-Philippine Association saw two lengthy playoff droughts ended. In the Taiwan League, Taoyuan took the top spot at 101-61 for their first playoff berth since their 2008 Austronesia Championship. The Tsunami led in scoring (613 runs) and were five ahead of defending TPA champ Hsinchu at 96-66. Kaohsiung was also competitive at 90-72. Meanwhile, Taipei collapsed to 63-99 to end their APB-record 14-year stretch of winning seasons. Quezon (94-68) beat out Zamboanga (92-70) and Manila (91-71) in a very competitive Philippine League. This ended a 23-year playoff drought for the Zombies back to 1998. Pitching led the way, as they allowed the fewest runs at 433. Last year’s PL winner Cagayan de Oro was a non-factor at 76-86. Hsinchu designated hitter Binh Tang won his third consecutive Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. Still only 22-years old, the Vietnamese lefty led in runs (101), hits (193), RBI (102), walks (65), and total bases (360). Tang had 42 homers, .970 OPS, 196 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR. For the first time since 2014, someone other than Ching-Chen Yao won Pitcher of the Year. Quezon’s Donald Daang broke up that streak as the 27-year old Filipino lefty led in ERA (1.44), innings (287.1), strikeouts (309), quality starts (29), complete games (19), shutouts (8), and WAR (8.8). Daang had a 17-10 record, three wins shy of the Triple Crown. This was the peak for Daang, who would be derailed by back-to-back UCL tears in the next two seasons. As for Yao, he was third in 2022’s POTY voting despite missing a month to a strained hamstring. The Zamboanga ace still led in strikeouts with 309, his tenth time as the leader. Even in a “down year,” Yao threw two no-hitters, striking out 16 versus Kaohsiung on 5/16 and fanning 13 versus Manila on 7/20. He became the fifth APB ace with 4+ career no-nos. Yao was denied the WARlord title for only the second time since 2012, but still had a great year at 8.0. This got him to 144.7 career WAR, passing fellow pitchers Hadi Ningsih (144.5), Wisnu Mahmudiana (143.3), and Donnie Luzon (137.8) to become the all-time WARlord in Austronesia Professional Baseball. It also moved him to 15^th on the all-time world leaderboard for pitching WAR. Medan had the Sundaland Association’s best record at 95-67, winning the Malacca League title for the second time in three years. The Marlins held off 92-70 Singapore for the spot despite the Sharks leading in scoring with 526 runs. Medan was second in runs scored (508) and fewest allowed (415). Last year’s ML winner Kuala Lumpur fell to fourth place at 79-83. Bandung earned their first Java Sea League crown since their 2015 APB title. The Blackhawks at 92-70 dethroned reigning APB champ and three-time defending SA winner Palembang at 89-73. Bandung allowed the fewest runs at 408. Depok was also in the mix with an 86-76 record, their first winning campaign since 2011. Sundaland Association MVP went to Medan right fielder Mohd Aqmal Kunanlan. The 27-year old Malaysian led in runs (102), RBI (91), triple slash (.317/.395/.626), OPS (1.021), wRC+ (264), and WAR (11.5). He hit 47 home runs, missing the Triple Crown by three to Pekanbaru’s James Yuwono’s 50. The Marlins had given Kunanlan an eight-year, $41,920,000 extension prior to the 2022 campaign. Medan also had the Pitcher of the Year as Purnadi Supriatna won it for the second time in three years. The 27-year old Indonesian lefty led in strikeouts (401), FIP- (38), and WAR (12.2). Supriatna saw a 1.71 ERA over 273.1 innings and a 19-8 record. He also had a 22 strikeout game against Depok on September 2, tying the APB record for Ks in a regulation game. Vhon Lasam had 23 over 10.1 innings in 1984. The Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship went all seven games for the fourth consecutive year. Quezon outlasted Taoyuan to win their third pennant (1984, 1998, 2022), ending a 23-year title drought. Medan beat Bandung 4-2 in the Sundaland Association Championship to snap their own 11-year drought. The Marlins won their ninth pennant (1966, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 2000, 2010, 2022), tying them with Jakarta for the most. The 58^th Austronesia Championship was a rematch of the 1984 final, which was Quezon’s lone title. The Zombies secured their second ring in 2022, defeating Medan in a 4-3 classic. Seventh-year CF Som Sous won finals MVP as the 28-year old Cambodian in 14 starts had 15 hits, 13 runs, 3 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. The 13 runs set a new APB playoff record that hasn’t been passed as of 2037. Quezon’s Widodo Megawati also set a playoff record by drawing 10 walks. Other notes: APB’s 46^th perfect game came on June 3 from Kaohsiung’s Tse-Chun Fu, striking out 10 versus Manila. The 47^th perfecto then came on October 2 from Batam’s Cirmezi Khan, striking out 17 versus Johor Bahru. Singapore’s Fahrudin Ramli threw his second no-hitter on June 2 against Jakarta. Ching-Chen Yao became the 20^th pitcher to 4000 strikeouts. APB home run king Wil Tabaldo became the 1^st member of the 700 home run club and the first to reach 1500 career RBI. Iqbal Safari became the 2^nd to 3000 career hits, finishing his career at 3045. Safari also was the 9^th to reach 500 homers, ending at 518. LF Liu Hu won his 8^th Silver Slugger. Achmad Albaar became the third to 400 saves. He pitched two more years and ended at 418, second to Metta Adam’s 437. Rob Bruja was the 26^th pitcher to 200 wins and the 33^rd to 3500 strikeouts. Earlier in the year, Gosner Rahmawati also reached 3500 Ks. 1B Widodo Megawati won his 12^th consecutive and final Gold Glove. C Muhammad Aqsar won his 7^th Gold Glove. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-05-2025, 04:32 PM	#1950
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in OBA For the first time since 1984, the Australasia League had a tie for first place. Sydney and Auckland were both even at 101-61, which led to a one-game playoff won by the Snakes. Sydney earned its third pennant in five years, while the Avengers’ drought grew to 21 seasons. The Snakes allowed the fewest runs (599) while Auckland scored the most (793). Sydney’s offense had 165 triples, 552 stolen bases, and only struck out 875 times. All of these were new OBA team records. Melbourne (93-69) and Canberra (91-71) were distant third and fourth place finishers. Two-time defending AL champ Christchurch dropped to fifth at 85-77. The Chinooks did extend their streak of winning seasons to 12. Australasia League MVP went to third-year first baseman Jordy Vincent. The 23-year old New Caledonian led in home runs (53), RBI (149), and slugging (.641). Vincent added 8.2 WAR, 115 runs, 1.032 OPS, and a 173 wRC+. Vincent also earned a Gold Glove for his efforts. The Centurions gave him a five-year, $24.5 million extension before the season. In his Oceania Baseball Association debut, Sydney’s Chuchuan Cao won Pitcher of the Year. The 33-year old lefty won his sixth POTY overall, having won five in Chinese League Baseball with Shenyang. Cao also had won five MVPs as a two-way player, although the Snakes limited him just to pitching. He signed a four-year, $43,200,000 deal to join Sydney. Cao led the AL in wins (28-6), innings (319), K/BB (12.0), complete games (19), shutouts (5), FIP- (68), and WAR (10.0). He added a 2.93 ERA and 361 strikeouts. Between CLB and OBA now, Cao had a combined 169.3 career WAR, which places him inside the top 15 among all pro baseball players. Defending Oceania Champion Vanuatu repeated as Pacific League champion at 99-63. The Wizards edged out Guadalcanal (97-65) and Guam (93-69) for the top spot. Vanuatu allowed the fewest runs (564) and scored the second most (780). The Green Jackets had the top offense at 784 runs for their 14^th consecutive winning season. Vanuatu had 102 triples, the second-most in a PL season. The Golden Eagles set new OBA team pitching records for walks (209) and BB/9 (1.29). Vanuatu LF Hama Brotherson won his second Pacific League MVP, having also won back in 2017. The 30-year old Tahitian led in hits (203), total bases (357), stolen bases (85), average (.343), OBP (.370), wRC+ (183), and WAR (8.1). Brotherson had 101 runs, 24 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers, and 103 RBI. It was the final year of his Wizards run, leaving in the offseason for a $150,400,000, six-year deal with MLB’s Sacramento Shamrocks. In fourth place was Port Moresby at 87-75, led by Pitcher of the Year Colton Stark. The 29-year old Australian righty led in wins (23-11), ERA (2.25), WHIP (0.93), FIP- (56), and WAR (10.9). Stark struck out 321 over 292.1 innings with a 161 ERA+. The Mud Hens signed him in spring training 2023 to a six-year, $152 million deal. The 63^rd Oceania Championship saw Sydney sweep the defending champ Vanuatu, giving the Snakes their third title in five years (2018, 2019, 2022). In only his second year as a starter, 1B David Odom won finals MVP. The 22-year old New Zealander went 7-17 with 2 runs, 1 double, 1 home, and 4 RBI. Other notes: Auckland’s Nilton Paiva set multiple single-season records in 2022. He had a .374 batting average, 238 hits, and 42 triples; all new OBA records. The 42 triples tied for the fourth-most by any player in any world league. Sydney’s David Odom matched him with 42 triples and had 230 hits, which also broke the old OBA record of 226. Paiva had a 33-game hit streak and Odom had a 31-game streak as well, both just missing the OBA record of 34. Fiji ace Akira Brady became OBA’s all-time wins leader by going 22-14, finishing the season with 333 to pass Tarzan Rao’s 314 for the top mark. The 35-year old New Zealander now was OBA’s leader in wins, strikeouts, and WAR. Brady passed 6000 strikeouts in 2022, becoming only the fifth pitcher in all of world baseball history to reach the mark. Brady would see his first major setback in 2023 with shoulder inflammation knocking him out five months. Roe Kaupa became the 4^th member of the 700 home run club and the 18^th to reach 1500 runs scored, hitting both marks in the same week in mid-August. Kaupa also won his 12^th Silver Slugger with them split between 1B/DH. CF Pouvalu Manu won his 8^th Gold Glove. Closers Nathan Bouye and Aidan Wray became the 3^rd and 4^th members of the 300 save club. Nathan Henderson was the 8^th pitcher to 250 wins and Alison Kila was the 21^st to reach 3500 strikeouts. Hobart was last in the AL at 59-103 with historically bad pitching. The Tasmaniacs allowed the most runs (902) and earned runs (817) in OBA history and posted the second-worst ERA (5.02), hits allowed (1695), and H/9 (10.41). __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-06-2025, 04:59 AM	#1951
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in EPB Minsk returned to the top spot in the EPB European League standings for the first time since 2009. The Miners finished 104-58 to win the North Division and earn their second playoff berth in three years. Volgograd repeated as South Division champ at 100-62 and earned a third straight playoff berth. The Voyagers were league leaders in runs scored (717) with Minsk close behind (705). Both teams were 100+ runs ahead of the rest of the EL. Both wild cards came from the North Division with Nizhny Novgorod at 91-71 and St. Petersburg at 87-75. The Ninjas earned back-to-back wild cards and allowed the fewest runs at 508. The Polar Bears ended a 15-year postseason drought, while reigning EL champ Moscow had their four-year streak ended. Voronezh also had a three-year run snapped, finishing 81-81 along with the Mules. For Moscow, the .500 finish was their first non-winning season since 1998. No position players in the European League had above 7 WAR, opening up the MVP race to pitchers. Minsk’s Nehor Pomerantz took advantage, winning both MVP and Pitcher of the Year in his third season. The 24-year old Israeli lefty led in wins at 24-3, adding a 1.70 ERA, 232.2 innings, 314 strikeouts, 190 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR. Pomerantz was the first pure pitcher to win MVP in Eurasian Professional Baseball since Matvey Ivanov in 2002. Pomerantz was a surprising choice since he was fourth in WAR among pitchers. Three-time defending POTY Svyatoslav Tyahnybok of Volgograd was the leader in WAR (11.2) and strikeouts (378), but missed the top five in ERA at 2.37. St. Petersburg’s Jack Burge had the best ERA at 1.46, which was the lowest qualifying season since 2006. However, he missed the final month of the year to a torn flexor tendon that sadly largely derailed his remaining career. St. Petersburg shocked top seed Minsk 3-2 in the first round, giving the Polar Bears their first European League Championship Series trip since 2006. Volgograd rolled to a sweep of Nizhny Novgorod. The Voyagers claimed their second pennant in three years, besting the Polar Bears 4-3. That extended St. Petersburg’s pennant drought to 45 seasons, the longest active drought in EPB. Krasnoyarsk was miles ahead of the competition in the Asian League, winning their third straight East Division title and earning a fifth playoff berth in a row. The Cossacks cruised to 106-56 while no other AL teams got above 90 wins. Krasnoyarsk led in scoring at 723 runs and allowed the second fewest at 549. Omsk allowed the fewest runs at 484. Six teams were within six games of the other three playoff spots. Five of those teams were in the West Division, won by defending EPB champ Perm at 89-73. The Pitbulls secured a third straight division title, although it was a big drop from their prior 100+ win campaigns. The Otters took the first wild card at 86-76, ending Omsk’s four-year playoff drought. For the second wild card, Chelyabinsk (84-78) squeaked by 83-79 efforts by Ufa, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok. The Cadets snagged a fourth wild card in a row. Ulaanbaatar was down at 80-82, ending their bid for a third straight wild card. For the Shibas, 83-79 was the first winning campaign of their so-far unimpressive tenure. The other three 2008 expansion teams have each made it to the LCS already. Asian League MVP went to Yekaterinburg LF Brandon Chunchignorov. In his seventh season, the 30-year old Mongolian lefty also won his seventh consecutive Gold Glove. Chunchignorov led in runs (95), OBP (.393), slugging (.636), OPS (1.029), wRC+ (189), and WAR (9.7). He added 43 home runs and 125 RBI. Omsk’s Mark Luo won Pitcher of the Year in his EPB debut. The 33-year old Chinese righty had won the award previously in CLB for Shantou in 2019. With the Otters, he led in ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.76), K/BB (20.0), and quality starts (28). Luo added 9.5 WAR, 272.1 innings, 260 strikeouts, and an 18-8 record. Krasnoyarsk downed Chelyabinsk 3-1 in the first round while Omsk ousted Perm 3-1. The Cossacks earned their fifth Asian League Championship Series trip in seven years, while it was the Otters’ first since 2017. Krasnoyarsk was the huge favorite, but Omsk shocked them in a seven-game classic. The Otters earned their first pennant since 2014 and their eighth overall. The Cossacks have gone 1-4 in their recent ALCS trips and have gone 0-3 with home field advantage. This was also the first time since 2004 that both the ALCS and ELCS went all seven games. In the 68^th EPB Championship, Omsk kept their unlikely run rolling by upsetting Volgograd 4-2. This was the third title for the Otters (2010, 2014, 2022) and gave the Asian League a fifth straight title over the European League. It also kept a run of wild card success going, as six of the last seven champs have been wild cards with three of them doing it despite winning fewer than 90 regular season games. Veteran journeyman 1B Markus Lohmus won finals MVP in his third season with the Otters. The 34-year old Estonian had started in the European Second League, then spent eight years as a backup in Africa for Johannesburg. In 17 playoff starts, Lohmus posted 24 hits, 9 runs, 6 doubles, 5 RBI, and 9 stolen bases. Other notes: Krasnoyark’s Yevgeni Lyubimov threw EPB’s 33^rd Perfect Game, the first one since 2005. On August 30, he struck out 12 in the effort against Ufa. That had been the longest gap between perfect games in EPB history and the next wouldn’t come until 2031. Sergei Stoev became the 19^th member of the 500 home run club. Tayyar Abdualiyev and Nikolay Kargopolcev became the 23^rd and 24^th to reach 2500 career hits. 1B Artur Sagdatullin won his 13^th Gold Glove, joining RF German Daugelo as the only EPB players to win the award 13+ times at any spot. LF Yuriy Isakov and DH Pavel Khuzin both won their 8^th Silver Sluggers. It was Khuzin’s first as a DH, having won his prior seven at second base. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-06-2025, 09:04 AM	#1952
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in EBF Dublin had the European Baseball Federation Elite’s best record in 2022 at 116-46 atop the Northern Conference’s West Division. This was a new franchise record, beating Dublin’s 115-47 championship season in 2013. The Dinos allowed the fewest runs in EBF at 524 and scored the third-most runs at 817. They picked up their third straight division title. All three division winners in the NC reached triple digit wins. Defending conference champ Hamburg took the #2 seed at 107-55 atop the East Division. The Hammers won their sixth division crown in a row and led EBF in scoring with 875 runs. Rotterdam repeated as Central Division champs at 100-62. They had the tightest division race with both Amsterdam and Frankfurt finishing 94-68. Those squads got the first two wild cards with the Anacondas grabbing their eighth berth in a decade. The Falcons had their fourth playoff berth in five years. For the final wild card, Edinburgh and Cologne tied at 89-73, while Manchester, Berlin, and Warsaw were each four back at 85-77. The Enforcers won the tiebreaker game over the Copperheads, giving Edinburgh its second wild card in four years. Cologne missed despite having the second-most hits (1692) and third-most doubles (291) in conference history. For the Wildcats, their playoff streak ended at three years. Finishing last and getting relegated from the Northern Conference was Kyiv at 60-102. The next closest team to demotion was 66-96 Birmingham, missing the 100+ loss demarcation line by four games. The Kings had made it back to the top tier in 2016, but had fallen back below .500 from 2018 onward. They were now paying for some bad contracts as Kyiv’s nearly $362 million payroll was the second-highest in EBF. Dublin swept the Northern Conference’s top awards, led by MVP Theofilos Psarras. The 29-year old Greek left fielder became a two-time winner, having grabbed it in his 2018 Dinos debut. In 2022, Psarras led in runs (132), total bases (420), slugging (.712), OPS (1.100), and wRC+ (197). He added 19 doubles, 35 triples, 41 home runs, 116 RBI, 81 stolen bases, and 8.5 WAR. Psarras also hit for the cycle in August against Wroclaw. Psarras won his 8^th Silver Slugger and 2^nd in LF. He had won four times in RF and twice at 1B. Pitcher of the Year was Johann Soderstijerna in his third season for Dublin. The 33-year old Swedish righty had a 2.35 ERA over 252.1 innings, 166 ERA+, 21-7 record, 195 strikeouts, and 7.4 WAR. He had joined Dublin in 2020 after playing previously with Stockholm and Cluj-Napoca. Amsterdam edged divisional foe Frankfurt 2-1 in the first round while Rotterdam swept Edinburg 2-0. Both top seeds prevailed in the second round, although they needed all five games to survive. Dublin outlasted the Anacondas and Hamburg held off the Ravens. This set up a rematch in the Northern Conference Championship between the Dinos and Hammers. Both had been recent powerhouses with Hamburg winning the 2021 and 2019 pennants, while Dublin grabbed the 2020 title. The Dinos got some revenge from the prior year, dropping the Hammers 4-1. They had the third-best record in EBF history by a conference champ. Dublin now had nine pennants (1962, 1967, 1968, 1995, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2020, 2022), tying Amsterdam for the most from the Northern Conference. The Southern Conference’s Barcelona had the most overall with ten. Two-time defending European Champion Munich was the only team with 100+ wins in the Southern Conference at 107-55. It was their third division title in five years. The Mavericks led the conference in both runs scored (776) and fewest allowed (593) from atop the West Division. The Central Division title and #2 seed went to Naples at 98-64. The Nobles earned their second division title in three years and third playoff berth since returning to the top tier in 2019. Those two divisions had each of the contenders for the three wild cards. Lisbon (94-68), Prague (92-70), and Zagreb (92-70) got the slots, while Zurich (90-72), Palermo (89-73), and Madrid (86-76) missed the cut. The Gulls got their third straight playoff berth. The Pilots ended an eight-year drought and the Clippers snapped a three-year skid. In a weak East Division, it was Skopje (86-76) fending off Bucharest (82-80) and last year’s division champ Belgrade (81-81). It was the first-ever playoff berth for the Stags, who were the Second League’s runner-up two years prior. At the bottom was Thessaloniki at 59-103 as the relegated team from the Southern Conference. Ljubljana nearly suffered their own demotion but at 64-98 managed to avoid the 100+ loss threshold narrowly. Thessaloniki’s decline had been quick and steep. The Tritons had won the conference title in 2017 and had division titles in 2018 and 2018. They fell to 76-86 in 2021, then plummeted off the cliff in 2022. Thessaloniki had lasted 15 years in this run within the EBF Elite and had been perhaps the most successful franchise of those that had debuted in E2L in 2005. For the second time in three years, Zagreb’s Aleksandr Parts won MVP. The 28-year old Estonian first baseman led in hits (228), average (.373), OPS (1.058), wRC+ (195), and WAR (10.0). Parts added 115 runs, 36 doubles, 28 triples, 21 homers, and 82 steals. Munich righty Nejc Novak earned Pitcher of the Year in his sixth season. Nicknamed “Big Shot,” the 26-year old Slovene righty was the WARlord at 8.7. Novak had an 18-7 record, 2.56 ERA, 246.1 innings, 277 strikeouts, and 148 ERA+. He would commit to the Mavericks after the 2023 campaign on a six-year, $153,600,000 deal. Zagreb swept Lisbon and Skopje swept Prague in the first round. The Gulls gave top seed Munich a fierce battle, but the Mavericks survived 3-2. Munich’s hopes for a three-peat and a fourth pennant in five years remained in play. Naples held on 3-1 against the Stags on the other side. For the Nobles, this was only their third-ever Southern Conference Championship appearance, joining their 1957 and 1998 pennants. Munich was hoping for the first SC three-peat since Zurich in the early 1980s. The series went all seven games for the first time since 2006 with Naples pulling off the upset over the Mavericks. The Nobles also were the first Italian team to make the finals since their own 1998 title. In the 73^rd European Championship, Dublin crushed Naples in the first finals sweep since 2014. The Dinos at 116-46 posted the second-best record by an EBF champ, besting their own history 115-47 campaign from 2013. 1954 Amsterdam at 118-44 still holds the top spot, although Dublin’s 2022 effort has to be in the conversation for EBF’s best-ever team. The Dinos became the first franchise to win six EBF rings (1962, 1967, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2022), In his only season in Ireland, catcher Vince Noort earned finals MVP. The 28-year old Dutchman arrived in Dublin in a deadline trade from Athens. Noort started 14 playoff games with 14 hits, 11 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, and 6 RBI. It was a major highlight in an otherwise forgettable career that saw only 9.8 WAR in the top tier. Other notes: Oslo shortstop Harvey Coyle at only age 35 became EBF’s all-time WARlord. He posted 9.0 WAR in 2022 and finished the year at 178.0 for his career, passing Jacob Ronnberg’s 169.2. The Englishman also won his 12^th Silver Slugger and just missed out on a 14^th Gold Glove. Coyle also became the third EBF member of the 800 home run club, leading the conference with 53. At 818, he ranks just behind Villum Kliest (823) for second and could conceivably pass Jack Kennedy’s 875 as soon as next year. Coyle also became the 19^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Coyle moved to 6^th in WAR among all players in pro baseball history. He was behind OBA/MLB SS/2B Jimmy Caliw (214), BSA ace and strikeout king Mohamed Ramos (205.1), WAB GOAT SS Darwin Morris (194.4), CABA/MLB ace Ulices Montero (191.7), CABA/MLB 1B Prometheo Garcia (189.1), and EPB two-way star Igor Bury (180.0). Jiri Lebr finished the year with 2210 RBI, passing Ronnberg’s 2184 to become EBF’s new leader. EBF’s hit king became only the fourth in world history to reach 4000 career hits. Lebr finished the year at 4187, passing MLB’s Stan Provost (4133) and EAB/MLB standout Min-Seong Ryu (4043) for #2 on the all-time list. Only Prometheo Garcia ranks higher at 4917 between his CABA/MLB run. The 41-year old Slovak would spend 2023 with MLB’s Washington before returning for two more EBF seasons. Jean-Luc Tapie became the 9^th member of the 700 home run club. Tapie and Nicolo Giotto both reached 2500 hits, making that a 39-player club. Pavel Pajitnov was the 28^th to reach 1500 RBI. Luther Bowness was the 26^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts and the 38^th to 200 wins. After going seven years without a perfect game, EBF had two in 2022. The 36^th perfecto came on May 27 from Belgrade’s Mykola Mischenko with 12 strikeouts versus Malta. The 37^th was August 30 as Amsterdam’s Elias Obexer struck out 11 against Helsinki. The day prior to Mischenko’s perfect game (5/26) was a no-hitter by teammate Mario Reichenbach also against Malta. This may be the only time in world history that a team no-hit an opponent on back-to-back days. Reichenbach would throw a second no-hitter in 2022 on July 19 against Ljubljana. He became EBF’s 5^th pitcher to throw two no-nos in the same season. Promotion/Relegation: Kyiv and Thessaloniki were the relegated teams while Seville and Chisinau were promoted. This required some shuffling as both promoted teams made more sense in the Southern Conference. The Counts took the Tritons East Division spot straight up, while the Stingrays were moved in the West Division. Malta was switched from the West to the Central. Krakow was swapped from the SC Central into Kyiv’s former spot in the NC East. In the E2L, Gothenberg was switched from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference to regain the balance. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-06-2025, 06:48 PM	#1953
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in BSA Caracas again was a regular season powerhouse, taking the top seed in the Bolivar League for the fourth year running. The Colts at 114-48 also won their sixth straight Venezuela Division title, leading all of Beisbol Sudamerica in scoring with 904 runs. Even with the frustrations of having no pennants yet in this run, Caracas remained the continent’s hottest ticket. The Colts had a season attendance of 2,859,209, setting a new BSA record. Barranquilla was the next best at 105-57 atop the Colombia-Ecuador Division. This was the first-ever playoff berth for the 2009 expansion Blues, who stunned many since their only prior winning season was back in 2014. Barranquilla allowed the fewest runs in BSA at 531. Callao was the weakest division winner at 92-70 atop the Peru-Bolivia Division. The Cats ended a three-year run of losing seasons, while Trujillo’s four-year playoff streak ended. The Thoroughbreds at 89-73 were three short in the division and five away from the second wild card. Cali (95-67) and defending Copa Sudamerica camp Valencia (94-68) took the two wild card spots. Ciudad Guayana, the BLCS runner-up the prior two years, was the first team out at 90-72. The Cyclones ended a six-year playoff drought and got the #3 overall seed, since BSA’s playoffs doesn’t give seeding preference to division champs. Ciudad Guayana designated hitter Juan Suarez repeated as Bolivar League MVP in his second season. The 23-year old Colombian led in runs (129), hits (259), home runs (56), RBI (162), total bases (493), slugging (.736), OPS (1.143), and wRC+ (191). Suarez set a new BL record for total bases at 493, topping Valor Melo’s 473 that had held since 1979. Suarez had 38 doubles and 14 triples to go with his 56 homers. Suarez almost broke the single-season hits record as his 259 finished second by Nuno Escalante’s 262 from 2018. Suarez had 8.9 WAR and a .387 batting average, narrowly missing out on a Triple Crown. Santa Cruz’s Walter Perez had him beat with a .393 average. Suarez’s RBI mark also was notably the third-best single season in BSA history, behind Rodrigo Aguilar’s 173 and 170 from 2009-10. The sky seemed to be the limit for Suarez, but he’d miss much of 2023 to a torn ACL and would run into other injury issues later in his career. Caracas righty Julio Arias became a four-time Pitcher of the Year, having also won in 2017, 2019, and 2020. The 29-year old Colombian led in wins (19-4), ERA (2.08), and quality starts (26). Arias tossed 225 innings with 228 strikeouts, 199 ERA+, and 6.5 WAR. Valencia beat Callao 2-1 in the first round, but were promptly swept by Caracas in the Divisional Series, giving Caracas revenge for last year’s early exit. Despite six straight 100+ win seasons, this was only the third time in that run that the Colts advanced to the Bolivar League Championship Series. On the other side, Cali upset Barranquilla 3-2 for their first BLCS trip since 2007. The Cyclones were looking to end a 33-year title drought and keep the upset train going. Despite Caracas finishing 21 wins better, some thought the Colts might squander another top seed. Caracas finally got over that hump, defeating Cali 4-2 for their first pennant since 2006. The Colts became 14-time Bolivar League champs, which led all teams. The Southern Cone League’s South Central Division was top heavy with Santiago and Concepcion battling for the #1 seed. The Saints at 103-59 narrowly took it for their third straight division title and seventh playoff berth in eight years. At 102-60, the Chiefs got their sixth berth in seven years and their tenth since 2011. Santiago was the top scoring team at 777 runs while Conception had the best pitching with 545 runs allowed. Reigning league champ Fortaleza dominated the North Division at 95-67 for their third berth in four years. The Foxes set new league records for team batting average (.299) and on-base percentage (.343). Recife notably fell to 78-84, which ended their nine-year postseason streak. It was also the first losing campaign since 2006 for the Retrievers. Four teams were within four games of the Southeast Division title with Sao Paulo first at 90-72. Buenos Aires was one back at 89-73, which landed them the second wild card. Rio de Janeiro (88-74) and Montevideo (86-76) were left on the outside. The Padres ended a five-year playoff drought and the Atlantics snapped a two-year skid. Buenos Aires dominated the top awards, led by Southern Cone League MVP Spinoza Arajo. The 29-year old third baseman led in homers (52) and added 105 runs, 111 RBI, 1.075 OPS, 199 wRC+, and 9.7 WAR. Arajo had inked an eight-year, $81 million extension before the season. His Atlantics teammate Enrico Lula grabbed Rookie of the Year as a reliever with 34 saves, a 1.79 ERA, and 3.7 WAR. The Argentinian capital also had Pitcher of the Year Adrian Jimenez. The 25-year old Colombian righty led in wins (20-6), walks (82), strikeouts (350), and quality starts (27). Jimenez posted a 1.98 ERA in 254.1 innings and 7.5 WAR. Also worth a mention was Sao Paulo closer Tony Montes winning his third Reliever of the Year in four years. Sao Paulo edged Buenos Aires 2-1 in the first round, then got swept by Santiago in the Divisional Series. Fortaleza beat Conception 3-1 to set up a Southern Cone League Championship rematch between the defending champ Foxes and the 2020 champ Saints. Just like in 2022, the series needed all seven games. Fortaleza won at home 4-3 in 2021 and got the 4-3 road win in 2022 to secure the repeat. This gave the Foxes four pennants for the decade, having also repeated in 2013-14. Fortaleza now had 12 pennants, second-most behind Sao Paulo’s 14. In the 92^nd Copa Sudamerica, Fortaleza would be the runner-up in back-to-back years. Caracas claimed the Cup 4-1, finally securing the top spot again after recent playoff failures. The Colts ended a 59-year title drought and won their fifth Cup. (1933, 1959, 1960, 1962, 2022). They were also the seventh different Cup winner in seven years, although they were the third Venezuelan team in that batch. At 114-48, the 2022 Caracas squad had the best record by a Copa Sudamerica winner since Recife’s 115-47 in 1996. The only Cup winners with better marks were 1940 La Paz at 122-40, 1934 Medellin at 118-44, and 1931 Medellin at 117-45. The 2022 Colts had a case as being the best-ever modern South American squad and could argue they faced much better competition than the teams from BSA’s first decade. Other notes: On the opposite end of the spectrum, Barquisimeto’s 2022 squad was likely the undisputed worst-ever in BSA. The Black Cats were an abysmal 35-127, beating the previous worst by nine games. Their pitching was especially putrid, setting BSA worsts for team ERA (5.73), earned runs (959), and WHIP (1.584). Barquisimeto allowed 959 runs, second-worst to Quito’s 972 from the inaugural 1931 season. There hadn’t been a sub-40 win team in any world league since Shiraz went 38-124 in the 1986 ABF season. Most of the other examples were horribly run teams at the very beginning of new leagues prior to a balance setting in. Barquisimeto didn’t that excuse, marking them as one of the true stinkers in baseball history. BSA’s 49^th Perfect Game came on June 20 from Concepcion’s Bentley Baantjer, who struck out 8 against Mendoza. This was Baantjer’s second no-hitter, having also done it in 2013. Niccolo Coelho became the 14^th member of the 3000 hit club. SS Tajo Rios won his 7^th Silver Slugger. SP Adrian Chacon won his 8^th Gold Glove, extending his position record. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-07-2025, 05:06 AM	#1954
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in EAB Fukuoka won their third straight West Division title in 2022, but they did it in remarkably dominant fashion. The Frogs were the only team above 100 wins in all of East Asia Baseball, rolling the Japan League field at 11-52. Fukuoka allowed the fewest runs in all of EAB at 471 and scored the second-most runs in Japan at 681. The Frogs’ pitching staff had a 11.25 K/9, setting a new EAB team record. Hiroshima was a solid 94-68 in the division, but with only division champs advancing to the playoffs in the JL, that didn’t mean much. The Central Division was quite top heavy with defending EAB champ Kyoto advancing at 99-63, holding off 97-65 Nagoya and 91-71 Osaka. The Kamikaze pitching staff allowed 191 walks with a 1.19 BB/9, the second-lowest marks in EAB history behind their own efforts the prior year. The Nightowls notably had their first winning season in a decade. The other two divisions both had weak winners. In the North, Saitama (84-78) sneaked by Sapporo (82-80) to repeat. In the Capital, 83-79 was good enough for Tokyo to end a 12-year playoff drought. Yokohama was seven back, while last year’s division champ Kawasaki fell from 103 wins to only 73. Earning Japan league MVP was Nagoya two-way player Ienobu Kan. On the mound, the 25-year old righty led in quality starts (25), adding a 2.50 ERA over 245 innings, 18-7 record, 231 strikeouts, and 6.3 WAR. He had 135 games at the plate primarily in right field, posting 159 hits, 91 runs, 21 doubles, 31 homers, 86 RBI, 1.024 OPS, 216 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. Kan’s 14.6 WAR was the third-best two-way season in EAB history and ranked as the fifth-best when factoring in all EAB players. Kan had been the #1 overall pick for Nagoya out of high school in the 2015 EAB Draft. They had hoped he could be EAB’s next two-way star and 2022 showed what his max potential was. The Nightowls gave him a three-year, $35,800,000 extension in May. Sadly, he suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his shoulder at the end of the season. 2022 was essentially one of two full load seasons in Kan’s career, as he’d be constantly plagued by elbow and shoulder injuries. Leading Fukuoka to the top seed was Toshikuni Naikai winning his sixth Pitcher of the Year in seven seasons. The 29-year old lefty again led in ERA (1.53), strikeouts (415), WHIP (0.60), K/BB (21.8), shutouts (4), FIP- (17), ERA+ (218), and WAR (12.5). Naikai had an 18-2 record and 14 saves over 211.2 innings. Naikai didn’t have the otherworldly totals of some of his prior years, but he did break his own K/9 record at 17.65. This set a new world record among starters, beating Austronesia Professional Baseball stud Ching-Chen Yao’s 16.9 from 2012. Naikai has EAB’s top five seasons by K/9 and has four of the top ten seasons in all of pro baseball history. The 415 strikeouts were his third-best total and the sixth-best in EAB history. Naikai also had his third no-hitter, striking out 19 against Kumamoto on May 10. That was the second-most Ks in an EAB no-no behind his own 21 from 2019. The top teams prevailed in the first round with Fukuoka over Tokyo 3-1 and Kyoto over Saitama 3-2. The Kamikaze’s repeat bid was alive, while the Frogs were in their second Japan League Championship Series in three years. Fukuoka showed that top seed was no fluke, dethroning the reigning champ Kyoto 4-1 to end a 41-year pennant drought. The Frogs became four-time Japan League champs (1928, 1929, 1980, 2022). There wasn’t a clear #1 team in the Korea League as the top seed and second wild card were separated by only three wins. Defending KL champ Changwon had the top seed at 95-67 atop the South Division, earning their sixth playoff berth in seven years. Both wild cards were in the South with Busan (94-68) and Daegu (92-70) close behind. The Blue Jays earned their third consecutive playoff berth and the Diamondbacks got their second in four years. In the North Division, Incheon grabbed their first title and playoff berth since 2014. The Inferno finished 94-68, taking the division by eight games over 86-76 Seongnam. Last year’s division champ Suwon was third at 84-78. Changwon led the KL in scoring (832) while Incheon allowed the fewest runs (602). Ji-Hwan Kim repeated as Korea League MVP, although he did it with a different team. After 11 years with Jeonju, Kim joined Incheon on a six-year, $112,800,000 deal. The 30-year old switch-hitting left fielder delivered a playoff berth and led in runs (125) and total bases (366). Kim had 46 homers, 117 RBI, 1.009 OPS, 163 wRC+, and 8.1 WAR. Earning Pitcher of the Year was Suwon lefty Jun-Hwi Jung. The 29-year old lefty led in wins (22-6), complete games (19), and WAR (7.4). Jung posted a 2.39 ERA over 263.1 innings with 272 strikeouts in his eighth year for the Snappers. Jung would get another big extension from Suwon in April 2024 at $158,400,000 over six years. Daegu earned a 3-2 road win over top seed Changwon in the first round and Incheon bested Busan 3-1. The Diamondbacks got their first Korea League Championship Series since winning it all in 2013. For the Inferno, they hadn’t gotten this far since 2003. Despite the similar records, the KLCS wasn’t remotely competitive with Daegu sweeping Incheon. The Diamondbacks became a record 15-time Korea League champ. The 102^nd East Asian Championship saw Fukuoka defeat Daegu 4-2 to give the Frogs only their third-ever title (1929, 1980, 2022). Finals MVP went to 1B Shinichi Suzuki with the 27-year old starting 15 playoff games with 19 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, and 11 RBI. Pitcher of the Year Toshikuni Naikai was a beast in the playoffs as well, destroying the former EAB playoff strikeout record of 55. Naikai fanned 64 in only 35 innings, posting a 1.03 ERA, 3-0 record, 325 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR. It was the fourth-time an EAB pitcher had 2+ WAR in the playoffs, a mark Naikai himself had reached two years prior. Other notes: EAB’s 38^th Perfect Game was thrown by Jeonju’s Seon-Keun Yun on August 2, striking out 10 versus Suwon. Hitoshi Kubota became the 5^th member of the 800 home run club and the 23^rd member of the 3000 hit club. Kubota also won his 12^th Silver Slugger in left field, matching Lei Meng’s position record. 3B CHul Park won his 9^th Silver Slugger. Jae-A Choi was the 46^th to reach 1500 RBI. Takeo Nagai and Si-Hun Choi both reached 3500 strikeouts as pitchers, a mark met by 40 EAB arms. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-07-2025, 12:58 PM	#1955
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in CABA Four wins separated the playoff teams in a top heavy Mexican League for 2022. Juarez returned to the North Division perch and the top seed at 102-60. The Jesters grew their playoff streak to nine years with their seventh division title in that stretch. Torreon was second at 96-66, which earned the second wild card. Although the Tomahawks have posted 23 consecutive winning seasons, their 2022 effort ended a four-year playoff drought. Ecatepec at 99-63 edged out Mexico City at 98-64 in the South Division. The Explosion snapped a nine-year playoff drought. The Aztecs got the first wild card to earn repeat playoff berths. The next closest teams in the wild card race were defending CABA champion Tijuana (89-73) and Merida (88-74). Ecatepec led the ML in scoring by a healthy margin at 802 runs, while Juarez allowed the fewest at 547. Mexican League MVP went to veteran slugger Noah Breton in his seventh year with Torreon. It was the first MVP for the 31-year old Puerto Rican first baseman despite leading in home runs for the sixth time. Breton socked 63 dingers and led in runs (117), walks (86), total bases (388), OBP (.403), slugging (.697), OPS (1.100), wRC+ (205), and WAR (8.5). He added 133 RBI and a .312 batting average along with his 7^th Silver Slugger. Tijuana lefty Richard Wright won his third Pitcher of the Year in a row in only his fourth season. The 24-year old Jamaican led in ERA (2.01), strikeouts (384), WHIP (0.81), quality starts (27), complete games (13), and shutouts (6). Wright’s 18-6 record left him one win shy of a repeat Triple Crown. He had 8.8 WAR over 255 innings. Wright also threw his second no-hitter, striking out nine and walking two against Monterrey on May 22. The Toros locked up their star ace in spring 2023 to a seven-year, $131 million extension. Despite the small wins differences between playoff teams, both division champs earned first round sweeps with Juarez over Torreon and Ecatepec over Mexico City. The Jesters earned their fourth consecutive Mexican League Championship Series trip and their ninth since 2012. For the Explosion, this was their first trip since falling to Juarez in 2012. The Jesters reclaimed the crown with an MLCS sweep over Ecatepec, winning their sixth pennant in eleven years. Juarez now has 17 Mexican League titles, second only to Monterrey’s 18. It was the first time under the two wild card format that the Mexican League’s first round and the MLCS ended in sweeps. This was especially surprising considering how close together each team finished in the regular season. The Caribbean League’s top two records fought for the Continental Division crown. Guatemala repeated and again was the top seed at 106-56. Suriname at 102-60 gave them a run, earning a third straight playoff berth. Over in the Island Division, Haiti finished first at 99-63. That ended a three-year playoff drought for the Herons and was their first division title since their 2015 CABA title. For the second wild card, Santo Domingo (92-70) squeaked by Havana (91-71), Honduras (88-74) and Panama (88-74). This ended the Dolphins’ eight-year playoff drought and was only the second miss in seven years for the Hurricanes. Defending CL champ Puerto Rico was a non-factor at 77-85. The Parrots led in scoring at 782 and the Ghosts allowed the fewest runs at 513. Guatemala allowed 100+ fewer than the rest of the league. In his second year as a full-time starter, Suriname’s Bertie Duncan won Caribbean League MVP. The 25-year old Trinidadian second baseman led in home runs (53), RBI (122), runs (126), total bases (410), slugging (.695), OPS (1.059), wRC+ (184), and WAR (10.5). Duncan added a .315 average and 69 stolen bases. The Silverbacks secured him after the 2023 season to an eight-year, $130,600,000 extension. Guatemala’s Israel Montague repeated as Pitcher of the Year. The 25-year old Panamanian lefty led in ERA (1.92), WHIP (0.83), K/BB (11.1), FIP- (60), and WAR (8.3). Montague had 288 strikeouts over 239.1 innings with a 20-6 record. He narrowly beat out Suriname’s Angel Brea, who had the most strikeouts (359) and best record (26-4). It was only the sixth time a CABA pitcher had 26+ wins, but Montague’s ERA (1.92 versus 2.69) won the day. Suriname survived 3-2 against Haiti in the first round while Guatemala swept Santo Domingo. This was the first-ever Caribbean League Championship Series for the Silverbacks, who joined in the 2003 expansion. For the Ghosts, they hadn’t gotten this far since their most recent pennant way back in 1983. Guatemala would end their 38-year title drought, stopping Suriname 4-2 to become seven-time Caribbean champs. The 112^th Central American Baseball Association Championship was the second time that Guatemala and Juarez had met in the final. The Ghosts’ only prior CABA title came back in that 1974 encounter. The 2022 rematch was a seven-game classic with Guatemala earning their second championship. The Jesters moved to 3-5 in their finals trips since 2005. RF James Figueroa went on a tear in the playoffs, winning CLCS and finals MVP. In his 7^th year starting for Guatemala, the 28-year old Salvadoran had 15 playoff starts with 23 hits, 6 runs, 3 doubles, 3 homers, and 11 RBI. Other notes: Matias Esquilin joined Wesley Dubar as the only players to score 2000 runs in CABA. The 38-year old Juarez LF finished the year at 2006, just behind Dubar’s 2028. In all of baseball history to this point, they were two of only 20 players with 2000+ professional runs. Esquilin was also already CABA’s stolen bases leader now at 1301 and became the 57^th member of the 500 home club. Max Valentin and Noah Breton became the 19^th and 20^th members of the 600 homer club. Alva Cervantes was the 55^th to reach 2500 hits. Pancho Burgos was the 31^st to 1500 RBI. Jamarca Akim and Albert Villa was the 50^th and 51^st pitchers to 200 wins. 3B Jesus Lombranta won his 8^th Gold Glove. C Luis Moran won his 11^th Silver Slugger, tying the CABA position record. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-07-2025, 05:42 PM	#1956
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 in MLB 2020 National Association champ Cincinnati took the top seed and bye in 2022 with MLB’s best overall record at 109-53. The Reds won their third straight Lower Midwest Division title, leading the NA in scoring at 794 runs. The next best was Northeast Division champ Ottawa at 102-60. The Elks got repeat playoff berths, but it was their first division title since 2003. Quebec City was a close second at 98-64 to earn the first wild card. The Nordiques allowed the fewest runs in MLB (521) and earned their third playoff berth in four years. Chicago’s playoff streak grew to three as they took the Upper Midwest Division at 94-68, beating Winnipeg by five and defending NA champ Detroit by eight. Boston (93-69) picked up the second wild card and Indianapolis (90-72) took the third, while the Wolves (89-73), Louisville (87-75), Detroit (86-76), and Washington (86-76) were the first teams out. The Red Sox secured a fifth playoff berth in six years, while the Racers ended an eight-year drought. Meanwhile in the East Division, Virginia Beach and Philadelphia finished tied at 87-75, while Washington was one back and both Brooklyn and New York were five back. In the one-game playoff tiebreaker, the Vikings defeated the Phillies to end their 24-year postseason drought. VB had been tied for the second-longest active drought in the National Association. Louisville currently has the longest drought at 36 seasons. Also notable was St. Louis falling to 70-92, ending their streak of 12 straight winning seasons. Cincinnati first baseman Mike Rojas won his third straight National Association MVP. The 27-year old Michigander led in runs (127), total bases (378), slugging (.633), OPS (1.024), wRC+ (207), and WAR (9.1). Rojas had 203 hits, 41 home runs, 121 RBI, and a .340 average. Virginia Beach righty Truman Bloodworth secured Pitcher of the Year in his fifth season. The 25-year old Brooklyn native led in strikeouts (300), innings (265.1), quality starts (28), FIP- (55), and WAR (10.2). Bloodworth had a 20-6 record, 2.17 ERA, and 163 ERA+. He was 20 ERA points and one win from a Triple Crown. After the season, the Vikings gave him a five-year, $96,600,000 extension. Chicago was the only team to get a first round sweep as they rolled Boston. Virginia Beach survived 3-2 over Quebec City, while Indianapolis shocked #2 seed Ottawa 3-2. The Racers nearly upset #1 seed Cincinnati as well, but the Reds outlasted them 3-2 in the second round. On the other side, the Cubs bested Virginia Beach 3-1. The last time Chicago had made it to the National Association Championship Series was 1998 and their last pennant was 1984. Their drought would continue though as Cincinnati won a seven-game thriller over the Cubs for their second title in three years. The Reds were now five-time National Association champs (1919, 2008, 2009, 2020, 2022). Denver and Los Angeles both finished at 106-56 atop the American Association ranks with the tiebreaker formula giving the top seed and lone bye to the Angels. LA repeated as Southwest Division champs, while the Dragons’ MLB-record streak atop the Northwest Division grew to 13 years. San Francisco was a strong second in the Southwest at 98-64, easily earning repeat wild cards. Los Angeles allowed the fewest runs in the AA at 570, while Houston scored the most at 942. The Hornets’ effort landed them a 102-60 record and the South Central Division crown. It was their second playoff berth in three years and their first division title since 2017. It was also Houston’s first 100+ win campaign since 2003. In addition to their offense, the Hornets’ pitching staff also set a new AA record with an 8.49 K/9. Dallas was second at 92-70, landing the second wild card to end a 23-year playoff drought. The weakest division winner would be Nashville in the Southeast at 92-70. The Knights repeated and won their fourth division title in five years. Atlanta was two back at 90-72, which was just enough to give the Aces the third wild card and their second berth in three years. Just missing the cut were Albuquerque (89-73), Oakland (88-74), Las Vegas (87-75), Seattle (87-75), and New Orleans (86-76). The Mudcats won the World Series in 2021 at 112-50, but fell four games short of the 2022 postseason. Also worth a mention was 83-79 Miami, which was only the second winning season for them in 36 years. The hapless Mallards have MLB’s longest active playoff drought at 50 years. American Association MVP went to Dallas veteran Dean Ott. The 31-year old lefty from Edinburg, Texas had been a reliable slugger for a decade with the Dalmatians, but he had only topped 40+ dingers thrice. In 2022, Ott shocked many by tying Killian Fruechte’s 2012 single-season MLB home run record by smacking 67 dingers. Ott also led the AA with 134 RBI and added 8.0 WAR, 109 runs, 1.011 OPS, and 170 wRC+. Tying the home run record makes your value skyrocket. Ott had signed an eight-year, $163,400,000 extension with Dallas in summer 2019, but used his opt-out after the 2022 campaign to hit free agency. San Francisco signed him for five years and $155 million, making him one of the first ever with $30 million annually. Ott would never come close to replicating this effort and posted a mere 105 wRC+ and .779 OPS with the Gold Rush. Pitcher of the Year went to Los Angeles righty Vincent Lepp, who became MLB’s eighth pitcher to win the award 4+ times. He had won from 2012-14 with St. Louis, becoming one of the very few to win the award in both associations. Lepp had signed a free agent deal with Los Angeles in 2020. In 2022, he led in innings (286.2) and complete games (24), adding a 21-8 record, 2.57 ERA, 254 strikeouts, and 9.0 WAR. Lepp would return “home” in the offseason, going back to the Cardinals on a four-year, $137 million deal. Lepp beat out Denver’s Oscar Dissard for the top award despite Dissard’s 12.37 WAR effort. That was the fifth-best single-season WAR for an MLB pitcher ever, not far from T.J. Nakabayashi’s record of 12.64 from 1991. Dissard led in wins (24-6) and had a 2.92 ERA over 271.1 innings with 301 strikeouts in his MLB debut season. The 31-year old Frenchman had won three POTY awards previously in Europe with Brussels. He came to America in 2022 on a four-year, $85,600,000 deal with the Dragons. Houston swept Dallas 3-0 and Denver downed Atlanta 3-1 in the first round to advance as division winners. Top wild card San Francisco would edge the weakest division winner Nashville 3-2. The Gold Rush parlayed that into a huge 3-2 upset over top seed and divisional foe Los Angeles in the second round. SF secured its third American Association Championship Series appearance in six years. On the other side, Denver dropped Houston 3-1 to earn their third AACS in a row and their ninth appearance during their playoff streak. San Francisco’s magic ran out against the well-seasoned Dragons as Denver took the AACS 4-1. Denver won its second pennant in three years and its fourth of the decade. It was the tenth title for the Dragons, tying Houston for the second most among AA teams. Phoenix (12) holds the most still. The 122th World Series was the first sweep since 2014 as Denver dominated Cincinnati in a rematch of the 2020 finale. The Dragons are now 9-1 all-time in the World Series and stand alone with the most MLB titles, winning it all in 1925, 1938, 1962, 1989, 1995, 2013, 2015, 2020, and 2022. World Series MVP was Hungarian 1B Tomas Erdos, another of Denver’s international imports. The 32-year old had spent most of his time in the European Second League with London, winning three MVPs there. He had a strong MLB debut in 2022 for the Dragons, getting 16 playoff starts with 21 hits, 14 runs, 2 doubles, 7 home runs, and 19 RBI. Other notes: 2022 was the final season for MLB’s career WARlord Morgan Short, who played his final two seasons with expansion Sacramento. Over 21 years between there, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and Houston, Short won five MVPs, six Gold Gloves, and 14 Silver Sluggers in center field. Short’s 170.5 WAR as of 2037 ranks 13^th among all players in world baseball history. Phoenix’s Bsiei Kubota struck out 21 in 10 innings against Oakland on July 10. This tied two others for the second-most strikeouts in an MLB game. Carny Valvo holds the top spot with 22 over 11 innings back in 1964. Joran Mallery and Ichisake Kawasaki became the 92^nd and 93^rd to reach 500 home runs. Killian Fruechte got to both 1500 RBI and 2500 hits in 2022. SS Fritz Louissi won his 10^th Silver Slugger and 3B Hossein Kokabi won his 7^th Silver Slugger. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-08-2025, 06:30 AM	#1957
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2022 Baseball Grand Championship The 13^th Baseball Grand Championship was hosted in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The auto-bid participants were MLB’s Denver and Cincinnati, CABA’s Juarez and Guatemala, EAB’s Daegu and Fukuoka, BSA’s Caracas and Fortaleza, EBF’s Dublin and Naples, EPB’s Omsk, OBA’s Sydney, APB’s Quezon, CLB’s Hong Kong, WAB’s Conakry, SAB’s Yangon, ABF’s Bishkek, ALB’s Casablanca, and AAB’s Kampala. Earning the wild card slot was ABF runner-up Bishkek. 2022 saw a competitive field with Caracas and Kampala tying for the top spot at 13-6. In their November 18 meeting, the Colts won 4-1, giving them the tiebreaker and Grand Champion honors. Caracas became the first-ever South American champ, while the Peacocks were the runner-up in back-to-back seasons. Kampala joins Concepcion (2017-18) as the teams to finish second twice. Caracas went big to make up for their early playoff exits in recent years. Combining their regular season, playoff, and BGC results got them a 138-57 record. This was the second-best winning percentage (.708) and tied for the second-most wins since the BGC started. Only 2020 Denver at 140-54 and .722 had been better. This gave the 2022 Colts a deserved look when discussing the best-ever Beisbol Sudamerica team and baseball’s best-ever, full stop. Kampala had ended up with the best run differential at +31, followed by Dublin at +25 and Caracas at +24. The Colts allowed the fewest runs (50) with the Dinos (51) and Peacocks (53) right behind. Dublin finished third place at 12-7, matching 2015 Antwerp for the best-ever finish from an EBF team. There was then a five-way tie next in line at 11-8. Officially based on tiebreakers, Fukuoka finished fourth, Juarez fifth, Naples sixth, Yangon seventh, and Bishkek eighth. Next at 10-0 were Baku, Conakry, Denver, and Guatemala. Cincinnati and Casablanca were both 9-10 despite having the most runs of any team. The Reds had the most at 94, while the Bruins and Juarez tied for second at 91 runs. Fortaleza, Omsk, and Sydney finished 8-11. Hong Kong was alone in 16^th at 7-12, followed by Quezon at 5-14 and Daegu at 3-16. The Diamondbacks tied 2014 Shantou for the worst records under the BGC’s current format. Cincinnati’s Mike Rojas became the first player to win Grand Championship Tournament MVP twice, having also done it in 2020. In 19 starts, the 27-year old first baseman had 26 hits, 16 runs, 5 doubles, 9 home runs, 20 RBI, 1.138 OPS, 237 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR. Best Pitcher went to Bishkek veteran Sijad Khaleel, a two-time Pitcher of the Year winner in the ABF. The 32-year old Afghan lefty tossed 27.2 innings with a 0.65 ERA, 4-0 record, and 36 strikeouts. Khaleel allowed 12 hits and 5 walks for 1.6 WAR. Other notes: Caracas’ Daniel Schafer had 29 hits, the second-most by one player behind Pedro Serna’s 31 from 2014. Juarez’s Loyd Wayne had a .542 OBP, the fourth-best qualifying effort to date. Denver’s Oscar Dissard had 2.57 pitching WAR, the third-highest effort so far. Cincinnati’s Riley Morales had a 19-strikeout effort on November 22 against Conakry, tying the BGC record for strikeouts in a regulation game. Amsterdam’s Luther Bowness has the record with 20 Ks in extras in 2016. Casablanca’s Wahab Khalifa drew five walks on November 8 and Loyd Wayne drew five the next day. As of 2037, they’re the only players with a five-walk BGC game. Quezon’s offense had a .239 on-base percentage and .279 slugging, both all-time BGC worsts. Sydney stole 38 bases, the second-best behind their own 41 from 2019. Champion Caracas showed steals weren’t required, as their three swipes was the second-lowest in BGC history. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-08-2025, 01:17 PM	#1958
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2023 MLB Hall of Fame Major League Baseball’s 2023 Hall of Fame class had two slam dunk inductees with OF Bryant Packer at 99.7% and 3B Daniel Hecker at 97.9%. Two barely missed the 66% requirement with SP Rinat Khan at 64.2% on his second ballot and SS/3B Robert Hightower at 63.2% in his tenth and final chance. Also cracking 50% was 3B Jeanpaul Vick (58.0%, 4^th ballot), C Sebastian Van Velzen (57.6%, 7^th ballot), 2B Adrian Bega (53.5%, 2^nd ballot), CL Jeremy Dau (53.5%, 2^nd ballot), and SP Victor Burke (53.5%, 5^th ballot). For Hightower, he fell painfully short with five ballots above 60% and a peak of 64.8% in 2020. He played 18 years between four teams with five Silver Sluggers, 2837 hits, 1288 runs, 539 doubles, 252 home runs, 1238 RBI, .320/.375/.475 slash, 135 wRC+, and 53.7 WAR. Hightower was the 1993 World Series MVP for Calgary and helped Edmonton to their 1999 title. Hurting Hightower was truly putrid defense between shortstop and third base. At SS in 1224 games, he had -238.0 zone rating and .872 EFF. That greatly tanked his WAR value, plus he was a terrible baserunner for a leadoff type guy. He also lacked home run power, but he had two batting titles and an impressive 5.6% strikeout rate. Hightower’s downsides outweighed his positives just enough to keep him outside the Hall of Fame. Bryant Packer – Outfield/Designated Hitter – Louisville Lynx – 99.7% First Ballot Bryant Packer was a 6’2’’, 205 pound left-handed outfielder from Tallahassee, the capital of Florida. Packer was one of the better all-around batters of his era, but he was an especially impressive contact hitter. He had a knack for extra base hits with a 162 game average of 38 home runs, 26 doubles, and 14 triples. Packer was also excellent at avoiding strikeouts with an 8.9% K rate, although he was merely average at drawing walks. He was also one of MLB’s fastest and most adept baserunners. Packer’s power was especially potent against right-handed pitching with a career 177 wRC+ and .982 OPS. Versus lefties, he was still quite solid with a 140 wRC+ and .846 OPS. Despite Packer’s athleticism, he was a lousy defender. He made just over half of his career starts in right field with terrible results. Packer saw limited time in left field and at first base with similarly poor results. Around ¼ of his career starts came as a designated hitter. His offensive prowess and impressive durability made Packer a must start even with his defensive deficiencies. Packer was one of the hardest working and selfless players you’d find, although he did sometimes have more guts than sense. These unique skills made him one of MLB’s most beloved superstars despite playing almost exclusively for subpar teams. Packer moved from Florida up to Indiana as he played three years in college at Notre Dame. In 144 games over three seasons, Packer had 173 hits, 98 runs, 19 doubles, 4 triples, 50 home runs, 115 RBI, .313/.370/.634 slash, 187 wRC+, and 8.9 WAR. Packer was one of the top prospects for the 2000 MLB Draft and went third overall to Louisville. The Lynx made Packer a starter immediately with great results, winning 2001 Rookie of the Year with 5.7 WAR and a National Association best 18 triples. With Louisville, Packer had 11 seasons above 5+ WAR and seven seasons above 7+ WAR. He led in triples five times, total bases thrice, and once in hits, stolen bases, batting average, and slugging. Packer won Silver Sluggers in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009 with Louisville. The first was in left field with the rest in right. Packer finished second in 2003 and 2005’s MVP voting and third in both 2007 and 2009, ultimately never winning the top honor in MVP. He signed an eight-year, $97,600,000 extension after the 2006 season to keep his roots in Kentucky. Despite his efforts, Louisville never made the playoffs in his tenure. They usually weren’t awful, averaging 78.3 wins per season in Packer’s tenure. The Lynx had four winning seasons with their best effort being 92-70 in 2007, falling three games short of a wild card. Still, Packer was beloved and the biggest draw at the ballpark. His #9 uniform would be the first number retired by Louisville with none joining him as of 2037. Packer’s production would notably drop in 2012 with career lows in homers (17), OPS (.862), and WAR (3.8) to that point. The year ended with a herniated disc at the end of August. Packer surprised many that winter by opting out of the remainder of his Louisville deal, becoming a free agent at age 32. With the Lynx, Packer had 2251 hits, 1216 runs, 286 doubles, 179 triples, 401 home runs, 1148 RBI, 517 walks, 470 stolen bases, .319/.369/.582 slash, 188 wRC+, and 82.9 WAR. Many teams still thought Packer had plenty to offer. Edmonton led this group, giving Packer a five-year, $107 million deal. Packer never hit his Louisville highs with the Eels, but he did give them 5+ WAR in his first two seasons. Packer dipped in his final two years and ultimately didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the fifth year of the contract. With Edmonton, he did notably reach the 500 home run and 1500 runs scored thresholds. The Eels were a bottom-tier team in the 2010s and Packer would ultimately be one of the best-ever MLB players to never see a postseason game. With Edmonton, Packer had 661 hits, 340 runs, 86 doubles, 59 triples, 104 home runs, 348 RBI, .296/.342/.528 slash, 136 wRC+, and 14.9 WAR. For 2017, the 36-year old Packer signed a two-year, $28,800,000 deal with Virginia Beach. There he joined the 3000 hit club, but he missed almost half the year to a herniated disc. Packer posted 0.8 WAR and .731 OPS over 100 games for the Vikings, who let him go for 2018. That marked the end of Packer’s MLB career, although he still wanted to play somewhere. He found an unlikely home in the African Second League, which was making its debut season in 2018. The upstart league liked the idea of having name brand international stars and Packer signed a two-year deal at $14,400,000 with Bangui. While Packer might not have been MLB starter caliber anymore, he wrecked the field in the new A2L. He won back-to-back MVPs for the Badgers, including a 70 home run, 186 RBI, 182 run effort in 2018 in the incredibly high scoring league. Packer helped set the tone for Bangui, who won the inaugural A2L title in 2018 and took runner up in 2019. Packer stayed in Africa in 2020 signing with Bulawayo, although he was merely a decent starter for the Buzz. He was unsigned in 2021, retiring that winter at age 41. In three seasons in A2L, Packer had 594 hits, 463 runs, 107 doubles, 158 home runs, 463 RBI, 236 stolen bases, .328/.405/.678 slash, 144 wRC+, and 15.6 WAR. For his MLB career, Packer ended with 3003 hits, 1610 runs, 380 doubles, 245 triples, 524 home runs, 1545 RBI, 686 walks, 607 stolen bases, .311/.360/.564 slash, 173 wRC+, and 98.6 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 73^rd in hits, 78^th in runs, 6^th in triples, 53^rd in stolen bases, and 58^th in WAR among position players. Among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Packer’s .923 OPS ranks 84^th. While Packer’s resume doesn’t put him among the inner-circle greats, he almost quietly was one of the most efficient batters of his era. The Hall of Fame voters didn’t need any convincing for the beloved slugger, who became the first inductee in Louisville light blue. Packer was nearly unanimously inducted at 99.7% as part of MLB’s 2023 class. Daniel “Coach” Hecker – Third Base – Albuquerque Isotopes – 97.9% First Ballot Daniel Hecker was a 6’1’’, 200 pound switch-hitting third baseman from Paramount, California; a city of 54,000 people in Los Angeles County. Hecker was best known for his reliable home run power, hitting 30+ dingers in 13 seasons. He rated as above average to good in terms of his contact ability and eye for walks, although his strikeout rate was unremarkable. Hecker could find the gap with solid success and had a 162 game average of 36 homers, 24 doubles, and 7 triples. Hecker didn’t have extreme splits, but did fare notably better facing right-handed pitching (.892 OPS) versus lefties (.783 OPS). He was a fantastic baserunner and base stealer and was among the fastest in the game at his peak. You might not expect a speedster at third base, but Hecker spent his entire career at the hot corner. He graded as remarkably average, finishing with a career zone rating of 0 and EFF of 1.000; literally as average as you can be. Few players were more popular in his generation. Hecker was a true fan favorite, but he wasn’t one to take the leadership reigns in the clubhouse. He was ol’ reliable with outstanding durability in his career, playing 135+ games in all but the final three years of a 20-year career. Hecker ended up as the beloved face of the Albuquerque Isotopes, who picked his 13^th overall in MLB’s 1997 MLB Draft. Before that, Hecker spent three college seasons at Penn State. He played 139 games for the Nittany Lions with 142 hits, 92 runs, 20 doubles, 45 home runs, 97 RBI, 61 walks, 17 stolen bases, .273/.356/.578 slash, 175 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR. That got him on Albuquerque’s radar, who made Hecker a full-time starter immediately after drafting him. He was a staple of the Isotopes lineup for 13 and a half seasons. Hecker debuted with 38 home runs and 6.5 WAR, taking second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1998. Hecker won Silver Sluggers in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2011 with Albuquerque. He wasn’t generally a league leader, but he did notably lead in 2004 in RBI (133), total bases (38), and slugging (.639). That year had his career highs in hits (195), homers (45), average (.328), OPS (1.021), wRC+ (170), and WAR (9.0). Hecker was second in 2004’s MVP and took third in 2001, but never won the top honor. He would lead the American Association twice in stolen bases and had ten seasons above 6+ WAR for the Isotopes. The fans in New Mexico quickly fell in love with Hecker. Albuquerque became a contender during his run, making the playoffs from 2001-06 and again from 2008-09. Thrice they won the Southwest Division against a tough field that included repeat pennants by both Phoenix and San Diego. In 2002 as a wild card, the Isotopes won the AA pennant over defending champ Nashville. Albuquerque would be defeated by Milwaukee in the World Series. Hecker had a solid playoff run with 22 hits, 17 runs, 4 doubles, 4 homers, 18 RBI, and 9 stolen bases. In July 2003, Albuquerque signed Hecker to an eight-year, $71,800,000 extension. He had a solid run in the 2005 postseason, but had underwhelming stats in their other efforts. The Isotopes fell in the 2005 AACS to Seattle, but wouldn’t get beyond the second round in any of Hecker’s other seasons. In 15 playoff starts, he had 52 hits, 31 runs, 8 doubles, 12 home runs, 47 RBI, 19 stolen bases, .249/.326/.469 slash, 116 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR. Far from dominant, but Hecker was still beloved for helping Albuquerque be regularly in the mix for a decade. By 2011, Albuquerque needed to rebuild as that would be their first losing campaign since 1999. With one year left on his deal, the Isotopes surprised many by trading their long-time superstar. The 34-year old Hecker was set near the deadline to Tampa for four prospects. He maintained a great relationship with the organization and fans and would see his #23 uniform later retired. With the Isotopes, Hecker had 2299 hits, 1387 runs, 325 doubles, 95 triples, 504 home runs, 1417 RBI, 777 walks, 479 stolen bases, .285/.350/.537 slash, 138 wRC+, and 88.0 WAR. Hecker helped Tampa’s playoff push as they grabbed the second wild card, then went on a stunning run to a World Series win over Brooklyn. The Thunderbirds ended the longest drought between championships in pro baseball history with their 2011 win, as their only other title had been MLB’s inaugural 1901 season. Hecker had 2.2 WAR in the final two months, but did struggle to -0.1 WAR and .617 in the playoffs. He fared better in the second-ever Baseball Grand Championship, getting 17 hits, 19 runs, 3 doubles, 6 home runs, 11 RBI, 12 walks, a .266/.405/.594 slash, 183 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. Tampa finished 15-4 to become the second-ever Grand Champion, giving Hecker two rings in three months of work. Now 35-years old, he entered free agency for the first time heading into 2012. It was one of the bigger culture shifts you could find, going from a decade-plus in the desert Southwest to French Canada. Hecker signed a three-year, $55,400,000 deal with Montreal, where he quickly crossed the 2500 hit, 1500 run, and 1500 RBI milestones. He won a Silver Slugger in 2013, giving him nine for his career. Hecker led the National Association in doubles in 2012 and in runs scored in 2013. He averaged more than 6+ WAR per season in his three-year stint for the Maples. Montreal would win division titles in 2013 and 2014, although they couldn’t get beyond the second round. Hecker did struggle in the small playoff sample size, going 4-30. In total though, Hecker was quite good for the Maples with 465 hits, 301 runs, 81 doubles, 82 home runs, 212 RBI, 95 steals, .272/.339/.484 slash, 152 wRC+, and 18.8 WAR. Back to free agency, the now 38-year old signed for two years and $44 million with Philadelphia. 2015 would be rough as Hecker missed most of the year to a fractured ankle. He looked subpar prior to the injury and was used as a backup in 2016. In 186 games for the Phillies, he had 3.0 WAR, .717 OPS, and 106 wRC+. Hecker still wanted to play and got a one-year deal for 2016 with Detroit. He fared better for the Tigers with 2.4 WAR and .826 OPS in 128 games and 81 starts. While there, Hecker was also able to join the 3000 hit club. Unfortunately by this point, teams could find equivalent players who were much younger and cheaper. Hecker was unsigned in 2018 and retired that winter not long after his 42^nd birthday. In total, Hecker had 2933 games, 3033 hits, 1872 runs, 441 doubles, 118 triples, 649 home runs, 1787 RBI, 1056 walks, 614 stolen bases, .279/.345/.521 slash, 139 wRC+, and 114.4 WAR. As of 2037, Hecker ranks 33^rd in games, 65^th in hits, 15^th in runs, 35^th in home runs, 36^th in RBI, 48^th in stolen bases, and 20^th in WAR among position players. Specifically at third base, Hecker has the 2^nd-most WAR and leads in both runs and homers. Like his Hall of Fame classmate Bryant Packer, Hecker almost quietly built up his stellar resume since he wasn’t usually atop leaderboards. Hecker ended up being on the shortlist for MLB’s best-ever third baseman and remains a beloved spokesman for the sport. At 97.9%, Hecker joined Packer for an impressive one-two punch for MLB’s 2023 Hall of Fame class. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-08-2025, 05:43 PM	#1959
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2023 CABA Hall of Fame (Part 1) The Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame class in 2023 had three inductees, headlined by SP Papu Rodriquez with a debut at 84.0%. The other additions both received 69.2%, narrowly breaching the 66% requirement. SP Emiliano Carreras did it on his debut, while OF Einar Rodriguez finally made the cut on his sixth try. SP Secretario Sanz came close on his sixth try, but missed at 61.8%. Two other debuts were above 50% with LF Hugo Garcia at 52.3% and SP Montell Donald with 50.5%. The one player dropped from the ballot after ten failed tries was 1B Hector Renteria, who played 13 years for Ecatepec. He peaked at only 18.1% in his debut and survived ten years, ending at 4.3%. Renteria was a notable playoff performer for the Explosion’s dynasty, winning MLCS MVP thrice. He had 1826 hits, 1115 runs, 383 doubles, 159 triples, 399 home runs, 1202 RBI, 553 stolen bases, .293/.345/.597 slash, 160 wRC+, and 54.6 WAR. Renteria’s playoff stats saw 119 games, 108 hits, 64 runs, 15 doubles, 13 triples, 25 home runs, 75 RBI, .268/.309/.556 slash, 142 wRC+, and 3.9 WAR. As of 2037, he does rank 5^th in playoff runs, 9^th in hits, and 6^th in homers. Renteria only won Silver Slugger once though and his regular season numbers needed either more dominance or more tenure to get the attention. He was a significant bit-player for Ecatepec, but ultimately on the outside for the Hall of Fame. Papu Rodriquez – Pitcher – Leon Lions – 84.0% First Ballot Papu Rodriquez was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Mendoza, Argentina’s fourth-largest metropolitan area. Rodriquez was a hard thrower with excelkent stuff and very good control, although his movement was average at best. He regularly hit 99-101 mph with an arsenal of splitter, cutter, forkball, and changeup. Rodriquez’s stamina was respectable compared to most CABA aces, but he would be plagued with elbow injuries in his career and only reached 200+ innings in seven seasons. He was above average defensively and at holding runners. Some thought Rodriquez’s work ethic was lacking, but he was able to expertly adapt to his situation. Argentinians obviously came up almost exclusively in the Beisbol Sudamerica framework. Rodriquez was quickly emerging as one of the country’s top prospect, which caught the eye of a scout back in Mexico. They convinced Rodriquez to leave for Leon, signing a developmental deal in November 1997. Rodriquez would be the first-ever CABA Hall of Famer born in Argentina and only the sixth to be born in South America. Rodriquez spent most of five years in the Lions’ academy, officially debuting with six relief appearances in 2002 at age 20. He was a full-time reliever with decent results in 2003, then made his way into the rotation after that. Rodriquez was okay in 2004, then posted a stellar 2005 campaign. He led in ERA (2.11) and WAR (9.2), taking second in Pitcher of the Year voting. Rodriquez was hurt by it being a down era for Leon, who had a playoff drought from 1993-2009. 2006 began his injury issues, as Rodriquez missed the second half to shoulder inflammation. Then in 2007, he was out almost all year with bone chips in his elbow. Leon cautiously hoped Rodriquez could still be an ace, thus they extended him for only four years that winter at $31,600,000. Rodriquez would manage to stay at least somewhat healthy over the next few years for the Lions. In 2008, Rodriquez led the Mexican League in strikeouts, WHIP, and K/BB, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. He led in WHIP and K/BB again in 2009 for another third place. Then in 2010, Rodriquez won his lone Pitcher of the Year, leading in innings (264), strikeouts (339), and WAR (7.8). Leon ended their playoff drought, although they lost in the first round. The Lions now felt more confident in giving Rodriquez a long-term deal. At age 29, he inked a six-year, $77,600,000 extension in June 2011. Rodriquez led twice more in WHIP and K/BB and won an ERA title in 2013 at 2.21, although he only had 162.2 innings that year because of more bone chips. Rodriquez also managed a second place in 2014’s POTY voting. The Lions started a playoff streak from 2013-16 with first round losses in the front end and MLCS defeats in the back end. To his credit, Rodriquez had a 2.41 career ERA over 33.2 playoff innings with 39 strikeouts. In addition, Rodriquez did return home to Argentina to pitch in the World Baseball Championship from 2005-15. He had a 3.24 ERA over 114 innings, 6-9 record, 6 saves, 147 strikeouts, 112 ERA+, and 4.0 WAR. 2015 was disastrous with a bone spur in his elbow keeping him out all spring and most of the summer. Shortly after getting back in August, he suffered a torn flexor tendon, knocking Rodriquez out eight months. He made it back for a partial 2016, but his production was merely average. Rodriquez ran into shoulder issues for much of the season. In 2017, Rodriquez again had bone chips in his elbow that kept him out most of the year. In his limited action, he struggled to a 5.35 ERA over 33.2 innings. Rodriquez’s deal was coming to an end and it didn’t look like he had any juice left, thus he retired shortly after his 36^th birthday. Leon appreciated Rodriquez for his efforts over 15 years and retired his #22 uniform. Rodriquez had a 154-98 record, 2.87 ERA, 2303.2 innings, 2730 strikeouts, 301 walks, 0.99 WHIP, 97 complete games, 126 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 59.9 WAR. The rate stats certainly look good compared to many other Hall of Fame starters. His WHIP ranks 63^rd among all pitchers with 1000+ innings. However, Rodriquez is outside of the top 100 in counting stats due to his low inning count. Many voters were sympathetic and gave Rodriquez some grace for the low totals because of his injuries. He was a well-liked player generally and playing with one team goes a long way for some. Rodriquez also had a POTY win and led twice in ERA, strikeouts, and WAR. Those accolades pushed him in easily despite unremarkable tallies. At 84.0%, Rodriquez earned first ballot induction and headlined CABA’s three-player 2023 class __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)

01-09-2025, 05:09 AM	#1960
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,895	2023 CABA Hall of Fame (Part 2) Einar Rodriguez – Outfield/Designated Hitter – Havana Hurricanes – 69.2% Sixth Ballot Einar Rodriguez was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Manicaragua, a municipality of around 61,000 in central Cuba’s Villa Clara Province. Rodriguez was a solid contract hitter in his prime with reliable pop in his bat. He was above average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts as well. While not a prolific slugger, Rodriguez got you 39 home runs and 33 doubles per his 162 game average. He wasn’t much of an athlete with terrible speed and mediocre baserunning chops. Rodriguez was also a subpar defender, who split his starts in the field roughly evenly between right field and left. Around 1/3 of his career starts came as a designated hitter. While a poor fielder, you could definitely do worse. Rodriguez’s excellent leadership and work ethic often made up for any lost defensive value. He would unfortunately see his tallies impacted by various injuries, but Rodriguez still managed a fine 14 year run. By the 1998 CABA Draft, Rodriguez had emerged as arguably Cuba’s best prospect. That certainly got attention in the capital, as he was picked 7^th overall by Havana. He spent his entire pro career there and regularly represented Cuba in the World Baseball Championship. From 2000-13, Rodriguez played 101 WBC games with 71 starts, 72 hits, 37 runs, 10 doubles, 19 home runs, 47 RBI, .260/.322/.516 slash, 136 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR. Rodriguez started most of his rookie year with solid results, taking second in 1999’s Rookie of the Year voting. He was on an excellent pace in 2000, but arm injuries and a strained PCL kept him out for a good chunk. Rodriguez showed his top potential in 2001 and 2002, staying healthy both years. Both seasons saw him led the Caribbean League in hits, doubles, and total bases. 2002 saw most of Rodriguez’s career bests, including hits (232), runs (115), home runs (44), RBI (132), total bases (408), batting average (.347), and WAR (7.1). He won his lone Silver Slugger in 2002 and was second in MVP voting, his only time as a finalist. In June 2002, Havana gave Rodriguez a four-year, $18,320,000 extension. The Hurricanes as a wild card made the CLCS in 2002, but lost to Haiti’s dynasty. Havana lost in the 2004 CLCS to Honduras and had a first round loss in 2005 before retreating to the middle tier. Elbow issues cost Rodriguez bits of 2004 and 2005. Still, they were generally happy with his production and gave him a seven-year, $42,100,000 extension in May 2006. Rodriguez stayed mostly healthy the next few years apart for missing much of 2008. His production was a bit inconsistent, but he did top 5+ WAR in 2006 and 2009. It was 2009 which would be Rodriguez’s most famous effort, winning CABA Championship MVP as Havana won it all over Monterrey. In 16 playoff starts, Rodriguez had 23 hits, 12 runs, 5 doubles, 5 homers, 15 RBI, 1.111 OPS, and 0.9 WAR. Havana couldn’t follow up that title run, finishing below .500 for the following four seasons. Rodriguez’s production notably dipped in 2012 and the Hurricanes voided the team option year of his contract. Rodriguez wanted to play somewhere, but couldn’t find any suitors for 2013. He retired that winter at age 37. Rodriguez finished with 2114 hits, 1126 runs, 370 doubles, 442 home runs, 1272 RBI, 456 walks, .311/.352/.569 slash, 143 wRC+, and 56.5 WAR. As of 2037, the only stat that he cracks the top 100 in is RBI at 99^th. The injuries certainly dented his final totals, which led many voters to dismiss Rodriguez as a Hall of Good type guy. His rate stats were quite solid, but weren’t otherworldly. In 2018, Rodriguez debuted on the ballot at only 35.7%, then moved to 45.0% and 43.7%. He got a notable bump to 60.3% in 2021, then dropped to 53.8% in 2022. There seemed to be a late push for Rodriguez’s candidacy. Supporters especially pointed towards his role in Havana’s 2009 championship and having stayed with one team. He was given some grace for injury woes as well by those in favor. Rodriguez received the boost he needed in 2023 up to 69.2%, earning him a sixth ballot induction into CABA’s Hall of Fame. Emiliano “Stumpy” Carreras – Starting Pitcher – Leon Lions – 69.2% First Ballot Emiliano Carreras was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Texcoco, Mexico, a city of 35,400 located 25 kilometers northeast of Mexico City. Carreras wasn’t amazing at any one thing, but his stuff, movement, and control all graded as above average to good. His fastball peaked in the 96-98 mph range and was considered one of the stronger ones in the league. Carreras also had a great splitter and a nice changeup as his other options. Carreras had very good stamina and solid durability. He was a good defensive pitcher who was decent at holding runners. Carreras ended up being a late bloomer, making for a unique career. He wasn’t one to draw attention to himself, which maybe limited his use earlier in his career. Expectations were high initially for Carreras as he was picked 4^th overall by Leon in the 2003 CABA Draft. However, he saw limited relief use in his first five seasons despite being healthy. Carreras’s bullpen numbers were respectable, but several coaches thought his three-pitch arsenal wasn’t diverse enough to be a starter. It wasn’t until 2009 that Carreras earned his first shot as a full-time starter. Carreras led the Mexican League in complete games, shutouts, and innings in 2009, proving he can hang in the rotation. He would finish third in 2010’s Pitcher of the Year voting and second in 2011. He won an ERA title in the former at 2.31 and the WARlord in the latter at 6.7. Along with Hall of Fame classmate Papu Rodriquez in the rotation, Leon started to compete into the 2010s. Carreras signed a seven-year, $81,200,000 extension in September 2011. The Lions would suffer first round playoff exits in 2010, 2013, and 2014. Leon made it to the Mexican League Championship Series in both 2015 and 2016, but fell to Juarez’s fledgling dynasty both years. Carreras’s playoff stats were generally underwhelming with a 4.13 ERA over 61 innings, 2-5 record, 52 strikeouts, 91 ERA+, and 0.6 WAR. Carreras put up reliable innings into his 30s, although his production was up-and-down since he wasn’t a big strikeout guy. He took third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2014, then won the award in 2015. Carreras earned the ERA title at 1.91 and led in WHIP at 0.85, while adding career bests in wins (22-7), WAR (7.5), strikeouts (253), and quality starts (28). He couldn’t replicate that effort later, posting roughly league average numbers for his final two seasons. Carreras decided to retire after the 2017 campaign at age 36 with Leon retiring his #13 uniform soon after. In total, Carreras had a 160-106 record, 2.99 ERA, 2423 innings, 2169 strikeouts, 369 walks, 185/272 quality starts, 101 complete games, 124 ERA+, and 50.5 WAR. Like his former teammate Rodriquez, Carreras’s final tallies fall outside of the top 100 lists. While Rodriquez had injuries to blame, Carreras’s were in part from barely getting used in his first few seasons. He was a somewhat polarizing candidate for that reason when comparing his raw numbers to contemporaries. Carreras’s rate stats were comparable to some of the lower-end Hall of Famers, but a bit lower than Rodriquez. Most voters felt strongly about Rodriquez though, which helped Carreras’s case. He had two ERA titles and a POTY, plus he spent his entire career with one franchise. Those factors were just enough to get Carreras across the 66% requirement on his debut ballot. At 69.2%, Carreras rounded out CABA’s three-player Hall of Fame class for 2023. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)