[FuzzyRussianHat]

After taking second in the prior two seasons, Taichung found itself back at the top of the Taiwan League in 1984. The Toucans were 92-70, beating Tainan by four games and Taipei by seven. Taoyuan’s dynasty officially ended as the two-time defending Austronesian Champions were fourth at 83-79. The Tsunami would have to wait until the 1990s to be a champion again, but they did set a still standing Taiwan-Philippine Association record with 484 stolen bases as a team. Quezon won the Philippine League at 97-65 for their second title in three years, besting Zamboanga by five games. Last year’s PL winner Manila dropped to 77-83.

The TPA would see Triple Crown seasons from both the MVP and Pitcher of the Year. Quezon 1B Indra Gunalan won his second MVP with the 28-year old Indonesian posting a .291 average, 45 home runs, and 107 RBI. He also led the association in runs (177), total bases (355), slugging (.584), OPS (.902), and wRC+ (175). Zamboanga’s Vhon Lasam won his fourth Pitcher of the Year with a 20-7 record, 1.72 ERA, and 377 strikeouts. The 29-year old Filipino lefty tossed 288 innings and also led in WHIP (0.81), FIP- (52), and WAR (11.0).



Defending Sundaland Association champ Medan won the Malacca League for the fourth time in five years. The Marlins had the top record in the SA at 104-58, 17 games ahead of Pekanbaru. Semarang had a great turnaround to win the Java League, going from 67 wins in 1983 to 91-71 in 1984. Last year’s first palce team Jakarta was second at 86-76.

Winning Sundaland Association MVP was Semarang’s Eric Iglesia. The 26-year old Filipino left fielder led the SA in hits (198), average (.331), RBI (102), total bases (365), slugging (.610), OPS (.969), and wRC+ (253). He added 8.1 WAR and 35 home runs. Medan’s Ryco Bujang won his third Pitcher of the Year in the fifth year of his career. The 27-year old Indonesian led in WAR (10.8), WHIP (0.74), K/BB (10.6), quality starts (32), and wins (19-6). He added a 1.51 ERA over 274.1 innings with 330 strikeouts.

The Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship was a seven game thriller with Quezon outlasting Taichung. This was the first title for the Zombies and the first for a Filipino team since 1980. The Sundaland Association was a dud with Medan sweeping Semarang. This gave the Marlins their third title in four years and fourth SA pennant overall.



Medan would again be denied in the Austronesia Championship, moving to 0-3 in their 1980s run. Quezon took the series in six games for their first overall championship. Pitcher Samuel Dau was finals MVP with a stellar postseason, going 3-0 in three starts and 25.1 innings with a 0.36 ERA, 25 strikeouts, and only one walk.



Other notes: APB’s 10^th and 11^th Perfect Games came in 1984. On May 28, Bandung’s Azman Attah struck out nine against Surabaya. On June 12, Palembang’s Gherry Sulaiman fanned 10 against Semarang. Pitcher of the Year Vhon Lasam set a single-game record with 23 strikeouts over 10.1 innings against Cebu. This mark wouldn’t get met again in APB until 2035. Davao’s Jacko Halili had APB’s fourth six-hit game. It would be the last one until 1994.

Angelo Mula became the second batter to 2500 hits, the ninth to 1000 RBI, and the fifth to 1000 runs scored. Francis Pung became the sixth to 1000 runs. It would be the final season for both with Pung finishing with 2741 hits and Mula at 2517. They would remain the top two in APB hits until 2001. Kent Wang won his 15^th and final Gold Glove at first base, which would remain the APB record for any position.