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FuzzyRussianHat · 03-02-2024, 05:58 AM

Despite winning the South Asia Baseball Championship seven of the last nine seasons, Ahmedabad still managed to reach a new high. The Animals set a Indian League record at 124-38. Entering 1995, 124 or more wins had only been reached three other times in any world league. The all-time best had been Ho Chi Minh City’s 126-36 in 1995; who suffered a shocking first round playoff defeat that year. The Animals also set a team ERA record of 2.23; which still stands as the SAB single-season record as of 2037. Ahmedabad’s playoff streak extended to 11 seasons with 14 berths over SAB’s 16 seasons to date. 10 of their 11 year streak have seen West Division titles as well.

In the Central Division, Kanpur and Delhi both extended playoff streaks. The Poison took first at 90-72, making the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season and ninth time in a decade. The Drillers earned the wild card at 87-75 to get five playoff appearances in a row. In the South Division, Visakhapatnam’s bid for a seventh straight playoff spot was thwarted by Bengaluru. The Blazers won a weak division at 84-78, finishing four games ahead of the Volts. It was Bengaluru’s first playoff appearance since their run of seven straight from 1980-86.

Indian League MVP went to Bengaluru 2B Tirtha Upadhyaya in his second full season. At only age 21, the Nepali lefty led the league in home runs (60), RBI (120), total bases (381), slugging (.690), OPS (1.045), and wRC+ (234), adding 10.5 WAR and 105 runs. Arvind Lal won his third Pitcher of the Year in his debut season with Ahmedabad. The 6’4’’ lefty had a decade of excellence with Kanpur, but sat out 1994 as no one reached his asking price. At age 31 in his return, he led in wins at 24-4 and posted a 2.15 ERA over 243.1 innings with 285 strikeouts and 6.5 WAR.

Ahmedabad cruised to a first round playoff sweep of Delhi, while Bengaluru outlasted Kanpur in a five game battle. It was the fourth Indian League Championship Series appearance for the Blazers, who last made it a decade earlier. For the Animals, it was ten appearances in a row with a shot at their eighth pennant in a decade. Ahmedabad used their plentiful playoff experience to avoid the letdown that many of the other 120+ win teams in other world leagues had seen. The Animals beat Bengaluru 4-1 for repeat IL titles and their sixth in seven years.

Defending Southeast Asia League champ Ho Chi Minh City had its own historic season. Like Ahmedabad, the Hedgehogs finished 124-38, making it five squads in pro baseball history to hit the mark or better in a season. HCMC extended its playoff streak to nine years with a 12^th berth in 13 years. All other teams in the South Division finished below .500. The Hedgehogs 2.57 team ERA was second-best in SEAL history, behind their own 2.38 from the 126-win 1993 season.

Yangon and Dhaka battled for the North Division title with the Green Dragons (95-67) taking it by one game over the Dobermans (94-68). Yangon snapped a four year playoff drought, as they hadn’t won more than 70 games in that skid. Dhaka picked up a fourth playoff berth in five years by easily winning the first wild card, setting up a playoff rematch with the Green Dragons. There was a big drop to the second wild card spot, claimed by 81-81 Hanoi. The Hounds snatched a second playoff appearance in three years. Mandalay and Bangkok were both two games back.

Ho Chi Minh City CF Van Loi Phung became a four-time SEAL MVP. The 34-year old Vietnamese righty was the WARlord at 11.0 and had 49 home runs, 108 RBI, and 114 runs with a .303/.365/.616 slash. It was the final MVP for the beloved center fielder, who would effectively retire from 1997-99, not playing except for the World Baseball Championship. Phung would return in 2000 and play another five seasons, fully retiring at age 44.

His Hedgehogs teammate Zainal bin Aziz reached rarified air as an eight-time Pitcher of the Year winner. The 35-year old Malaysian lefty fell four ERA points shy of a Triple Crown with a 26-5 record, 2.04 ERA, and 385 strikeouts over 264.1 innings. He also led in K/BB (9.2), FIP- (37), and WAR (13.4). The WAR and wins were both single-season SAB records that still hold up as of 2037. He beat his own 13.05 WAR record from the prior year. It was the final great season for arguably SAB’s best-ever pitcher, as a torn flexor tendon in June 1996 would effectively force his retirement. As of 2037, bin Aziz remains SAB’s only eight-time Pitcher of the Year winner. Six of the top seven pitching seasons by WAR in SAB as of 2037 are bin Aziz.

Ho Chi Minh City was determined to not suffer the same first round failure that the 126-win team had seen two years earlier, sweeping Hanoi. Yangon dusted Dhaka 3-1, giving the Green Dragons their sixth Southeast Asia League Championship appearance and first since 1990. For the Hedgehogs, they had gotten there eight times in nine years with a 5-2 record prior to the 1995 edition. HCMC again avoided the collapse of the 1993 campaign by beating Yangon 4-1 and earning a sixth pennant.

The 16^th South Asia Baseball Championship was historic, setting a world record for the most combined wins between two finalists. As mentioned earlier, 124-38 or better had only happened five times ever in pro baseball counting this season. Having two 124-38 teams meeting for the title was absolutely unprecedented and wouldn’t be matched again.

The matchup was also a familiar one as Ahmedabad had faced Ho Chi Minh City five times in the prior eight championships. Each of those prior meetings, the Animals ended up victorious. For the second time, they needed all seven games to decide it, but yet again it was Ahmedabad on top. A newcomer to the rivalry, LF Deepak Rahim, won finals MVP. The 29-year old had signed with Ahmedabad as a free agent in the offseason from Bengaluru. In the playoffs, Rahim had 15 starts, 17 hits, 13 runs, 7 home runs, and 21 RBI. The 21 RBI was a SAB playoff record that held until 2015.

Triumphant in their historic win, Animals’ supporters argued their case for the 1995 team being the greatest not just in SAB history, but in pro baseball history. The Animals broke the record for most wins by a champion, previously set by Beisbol Sudamerica’s La Paz at 122-40 in 1940. Ahmedabad repeated as champ and won its eighth title in ten years; a mark that no other franchise has matched in any league as of 2037. Seven in a decade had only been met by OBA’s Honolulu from 1981-90

Detractors would point to SAB’s relative lower talent pool and lack of balance to discredit the GOAT team arguments. It wouldn’t be until 2010 that the Baseball Grand Championship was formed to allow all of the world’s champions to battle for supremacy. Regardless, Ahmedabad’s dominance hadn’t been seen before and their 1995 season stands even above their other outstanding squads during the dynasty. It wouldn’t be until 2036 that a team would win its league title with a better win-loss record.

Other notes: Yangon’s Arnav Sumedh had 181 singles, setting a single-season SAB record that still stands in 2037. Sumedh also had a 31-game hit streak, which beat the previous SAB record of 30 games. Although low compared to some other leagues, 31-games would be SAB’s record until passed in 2019. A bad record was set by Phnom Penh’s Phyu Khant Thar, who walked 155 batters.

Pitcher of the Year winner Zainal bin Aziz became the first pitcher to 4000 career strikeouts. He would finish after the 1996 season with 4483, holding the top spot until the late 2010s. V.J. Williams became the first batter to 1500 runs scored, 1500 RBI, and 2500 hits. He also got his 13^th and final Silver Slugger, his third at first base (the others were at second). This would be the most by any SAB player until passed in 2024 by eventual world home run king Majed Darwish. Williams played one more season and retired with 1594 runs, 2656 hits, and 1638 RBI. These marks would get passed in the higher offense environment to come in the new millennium. Williams also would retire with 142.6 WAR, which would be first until 2004. He’s still sixth as of 2037.

03-02-2024, 05:58 AM	#1023
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,954	1995 in SAB Despite winning the South Asia Baseball Championship seven of the last nine seasons, Ahmedabad still managed to reach a new high. The Animals set a Indian League record at 124-38. Entering 1995, 124 or more wins had only been reached three other times in any world league. The all-time best had been Ho Chi Minh City’s 126-36 in 1995; who suffered a shocking first round playoff defeat that year. The Animals also set a team ERA record of 2.23; which still stands as the SAB single-season record as of 2037. Ahmedabad’s playoff streak extended to 11 seasons with 14 berths over SAB’s 16 seasons to date. 10 of their 11 year streak have seen West Division titles as well. In the Central Division, Kanpur and Delhi both extended playoff streaks. The Poison took first at 90-72, making the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season and ninth time in a decade. The Drillers earned the wild card at 87-75 to get five playoff appearances in a row. In the South Division, Visakhapatnam’s bid for a seventh straight playoff spot was thwarted by Bengaluru. The Blazers won a weak division at 84-78, finishing four games ahead of the Volts. It was Bengaluru’s first playoff appearance since their run of seven straight from 1980-86. Indian League MVP went to Bengaluru 2B Tirtha Upadhyaya in his second full season. At only age 21, the Nepali lefty led the league in home runs (60), RBI (120), total bases (381), slugging (.690), OPS (1.045), and wRC+ (234), adding 10.5 WAR and 105 runs. Arvind Lal won his third Pitcher of the Year in his debut season with Ahmedabad. The 6’4’’ lefty had a decade of excellence with Kanpur, but sat out 1994 as no one reached his asking price. At age 31 in his return, he led in wins at 24-4 and posted a 2.15 ERA over 243.1 innings with 285 strikeouts and 6.5 WAR. Ahmedabad cruised to a first round playoff sweep of Delhi, while Bengaluru outlasted Kanpur in a five game battle. It was the fourth Indian League Championship Series appearance for the Blazers, who last made it a decade earlier. For the Animals, it was ten appearances in a row with a shot at their eighth pennant in a decade. Ahmedabad used their plentiful playoff experience to avoid the letdown that many of the other 120+ win teams in other world leagues had seen. The Animals beat Bengaluru 4-1 for repeat IL titles and their sixth in seven years. Defending Southeast Asia League champ Ho Chi Minh City had its own historic season. Like Ahmedabad, the Hedgehogs finished 124-38, making it five squads in pro baseball history to hit the mark or better in a season. HCMC extended its playoff streak to nine years with a 12^th berth in 13 years. All other teams in the South Division finished below .500. The Hedgehogs 2.57 team ERA was second-best in SEAL history, behind their own 2.38 from the 126-win 1993 season. Yangon and Dhaka battled for the North Division title with the Green Dragons (95-67) taking it by one game over the Dobermans (94-68). Yangon snapped a four year playoff drought, as they hadn’t won more than 70 games in that skid. Dhaka picked up a fourth playoff berth in five years by easily winning the first wild card, setting up a playoff rematch with the Green Dragons. There was a big drop to the second wild card spot, claimed by 81-81 Hanoi. The Hounds snatched a second playoff appearance in three years. Mandalay and Bangkok were both two games back. Ho Chi Minh City CF Van Loi Phung became a four-time SEAL MVP. The 34-year old Vietnamese righty was the WARlord at 11.0 and had 49 home runs, 108 RBI, and 114 runs with a .303/.365/.616 slash. It was the final MVP for the beloved center fielder, who would effectively retire from 1997-99, not playing except for the World Baseball Championship. Phung would return in 2000 and play another five seasons, fully retiring at age 44. His Hedgehogs teammate Zainal bin Aziz reached rarified air as an eight-time Pitcher of the Year winner. The 35-year old Malaysian lefty fell four ERA points shy of a Triple Crown with a 26-5 record, 2.04 ERA, and 385 strikeouts over 264.1 innings. He also led in K/BB (9.2), FIP- (37), and WAR (13.4). The WAR and wins were both single-season SAB records that still hold up as of 2037. He beat his own 13.05 WAR record from the prior year. It was the final great season for arguably SAB’s best-ever pitcher, as a torn flexor tendon in June 1996 would effectively force his retirement. As of 2037, bin Aziz remains SAB’s only eight-time Pitcher of the Year winner. Six of the top seven pitching seasons by WAR in SAB as of 2037 are bin Aziz. Ho Chi Minh City was determined to not suffer the same first round failure that the 126-win team had seen two years earlier, sweeping Hanoi. Yangon dusted Dhaka 3-1, giving the Green Dragons their sixth Southeast Asia League Championship appearance and first since 1990. For the Hedgehogs, they had gotten there eight times in nine years with a 5-2 record prior to the 1995 edition. HCMC again avoided the collapse of the 1993 campaign by beating Yangon 4-1 and earning a sixth pennant. The 16^th South Asia Baseball Championship was historic, setting a world record for the most combined wins between two finalists. As mentioned earlier, 124-38 or better had only happened five times ever in pro baseball counting this season. Having two 124-38 teams meeting for the title was absolutely unprecedented and wouldn’t be matched again. The matchup was also a familiar one as Ahmedabad had faced Ho Chi Minh City five times in the prior eight championships. Each of those prior meetings, the Animals ended up victorious. For the second time, they needed all seven games to decide it, but yet again it was Ahmedabad on top. A newcomer to the rivalry, LF Deepak Rahim, won finals MVP. The 29-year old had signed with Ahmedabad as a free agent in the offseason from Bengaluru. In the playoffs, Rahim had 15 starts, 17 hits, 13 runs, 7 home runs, and 21 RBI. The 21 RBI was a SAB playoff record that held until 2015. Triumphant in their historic win, Animals’ supporters argued their case for the 1995 team being the greatest not just in SAB history, but in pro baseball history. The Animals broke the record for most wins by a champion, previously set by Beisbol Sudamerica’s La Paz at 122-40 in 1940. Ahmedabad repeated as champ and won its eighth title in ten years; a mark that no other franchise has matched in any league as of 2037. Seven in a decade had only been met by OBA’s Honolulu from 1981-90 Detractors would point to SAB’s relative lower talent pool and lack of balance to discredit the GOAT team arguments. It wouldn’t be until 2010 that the Baseball Grand Championship was formed to allow all of the world’s champions to battle for supremacy. Regardless, Ahmedabad’s dominance hadn’t been seen before and their 1995 season stands even above their other outstanding squads during the dynasty. It wouldn’t be until 2036 that a team would win its league title with a better win-loss record. Other notes: Yangon’s Arnav Sumedh had 181 singles, setting a single-season SAB record that still stands in 2037. Sumedh also had a 31-game hit streak, which beat the previous SAB record of 30 games. Although low compared to some other leagues, 31-games would be SAB’s record until passed in 2019. A bad record was set by Phnom Penh’s Phyu Khant Thar, who walked 155 batters. Pitcher of the Year winner Zainal bin Aziz became the first pitcher to 4000 career strikeouts. He would finish after the 1996 season with 4483, holding the top spot until the late 2010s. V.J. Williams became the first batter to 1500 runs scored, 1500 RBI, and 2500 hits. He also got his 13^th and final Silver Slugger, his third at first base (the others were at second). This would be the most by any SAB player until passed in 2024 by eventual world home run king Majed Darwish. Williams played one more season and retired with 1594 runs, 2656 hits, and 1638 RBI. These marks would get passed in the higher offense environment to come in the new millennium. Williams also would retire with 142.6 WAR, which would be first until 2004. He’s still sixth as of 2037. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)