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Center fielder Libo Li received an induction into the Chinese League Baseball as the lone member of the 1997 Hall of Fame class. Li was a first ballot selection at 83.7%. The next closest to making it was closer Huyi Gao at 59.3% for his fourth try. Two others were above 50% with RF Zhengyu Peng at 54.8% and SP Xiabin Chen at 52.1%; both on their first ballots. No players were dumped from the ballot after ten failed tries.



Libo Li – Center Field – Qingdao Devils – 83.7% First Ballot

Libo Li was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed center fielder from Huaibei, a city of just under two million people in east China’s Anhui province. Li was a solid contact hitter with a terrific pop in his bat. He wasn’t a prolific home run hitter, but he added around 25 per 162 games. Li’s ability to find the gap made him very dangerous, posting upwards of 40-50 doubles/triples in his best seasons. He had a respectable eye for drawing walks with an average strikeout rate.

Li was also incredibly fast and was a terrific baserunner, adept at steals and stretching out for extra bags. He was a career center fielder and an excellent defender, winning six Gold Gloves in his career. Despite the physical demands of the position, Li rarely missed time to injury in his prime seasons. Although he started to break down some as he aged, Li had the very rare distinction as someone still capable of playing center effectively into his 40s. Li also was occasionally used as a pitcher, although he wasn’t a true two-way guy. He had a fastball and circle change combo, posting a 2.82 career ERA with 16 saves over 76.2 innings.

Li seemed to have all of the tools, making him the top prospect ahead of the 1974 Chinese League Baseball Draft. Qingdao had the first overall pick and used it on Li. He was a full-time starter immediately and posted an impressive 8.6 WAR in his debut, taking the 1975 Rookie of the Year. That year, he also became the third CLB hitter to have a six hit game. His great defense gave him impressive WAR totals with 11 consecutive seasons worth 8+ WAR to start his career. Li’s Gold Gloves were six straight from 1976-81.

Li very quickly added offensive excellence to his defensive greatness. He would lead the Northern League in runs scored twice, triples five times, home runs once, RBI twice, total bases twice, stolen bases twice, batting average once, OBP twice, slugging twice, OPS twice, wRC+ twice, and WAR five times. Li won eight Silver Sluggers (1977, 79-85).

These dynamic performances made him one of the most beloved figures in Chinese baseball. He also was a regular for the Chinese team in the World Baseball Championship. Li played in 18 editions of the event from 1977-96, playing 248 games and starting 247. He had 208 hits, 158 runs, 32 doubles, 13 triples, 53 home runs, 124 RBI, a .237/.331/.484 slash, 133 wRC+, and 8.5 WAR. Li was second in WBC MVP voting in 1979, helping China take the World Championship. He got a second world title with the 1994 team.

Li was a regular MVP finalist with Qingdao. He won the award in 1980 and 1985. Li took second in 1977, third in 1978, third in 1982, second in 1983, and third in 1984. In 1980, his staggering 15.8 WAR set the CLB record for the most in a season, a mark that still stands as the all-time best in 2037. Li scored 121 runs, which held as the CLB record until 2029. He also posted career bests in home runs (41), total bases (386), average (.311), OPS (1.020), and wRC+ (244).

He was beloved by Qingdao, but he couldn’t turn the Devils into a winner. 1982 would be their only playoff appearance in his entire run, falling in the semifinal to Hong Kong. Qingdao was usually just above .500 during Li’s run, but couldn’t get over the hump. Still, Devils crowds were full of #20 jerseys. They would eventually retire the #20 once Li’s impressive run was done. In the summer of 1982, he would sign a seven-year, $4,830,000 extension to stay in Qingdao.

In 1986, things would trend downward for the Devils. They finished at 66-96, their worst season in a decade. Li missed the second half of the season with a broken bone in his elbow. It didn’t look like Qingdao would be competitive in the coming years. Li disappointed many fans by opting out of the remainder of his contract, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 35. This would also end his time playing in China, although he still remained nationally popular as he left for the United States.

With Qingdao, Li had 1841 hits, 1002 runs, 239 doubles, 270 triples, 248 home runs, 841 RBI, 771 stolen bases, a .278/.334/.509 slash, 180 wRC+, and 130.6 WAR. As of 2037, he’s still fifth all-time in batting WAR. He was the all-time triples leader until 2035. Had his last decade of stats been still in China, Li might have totals atop the leaderboards to put him in the GOAT conversations. It was still more than enough to get him the first ballot induction, although some voters were against him for leaving and for his lack of playoff success with Qingdao. Li ended up at 83.7% as the lone inductee into CLB’s Hall of Fame in 1997.

He had another decade of baseball ahead, signing a four-year, $6,780,000 with MLB’s San Francisco. Li never was an award winner in MLB, but he still provided strong value, especially with his great defense. With the Gold Rush, he had 15.8 WAR, 441 hits, 251 runs, and a .270/.329/.497 slash. He struggled a bit offensively in 1989 with the Gold Rush and the team traded him early in the 1990 season. Li was traded to Tampa for two pitchers. His Thunderbirds season was plagued by injury, putting his future in doubt after the campaign. Li was a free agent at age 39, signing a one-year deal with Portland.

Li spend three season ultimately with the Pacifics, posting 6.3 WAR, 294 hits, 156 runs, 53 home runs, and a .233/.294/.418 average. In 1994, the now 42-year old signed with Washington and saw a resurgence, as he had been subpar offensively in the prior couple seasons. Li posted 5.1 WAR and 33 home runs in his one year with the Admirals. Toronto signed him for 1995 and he looked decent, but missed time to injury. Li ended up in Tampa in 1996 and finally looked cooked that season. He retired that winter at age 44.

For his MLB career, Li had 1077 hits, 610 runs, 149 doubles, 58 triples, 204 home runs, 593 RBI, a .248/.309/.451 slash, 111 wRC+, and 29.7 WAR. A pretty solid decade for a guy on the back end of his career. He didn’t have any better luck being on playoff teams in MLB, only seeing two playoff games in 1987 with San Francisco. For his entire pro run, Li had 2918 hits, 1612 runs, 388 doubles, 328 triples, 452 home runs, 1434 RBI, 994 stolen bases, a .266/.324/.486 slash, 152 wRC+, and 160.3 WAR. Li was one of the finest center fielders of his era and one of the absolute best players of any era to come out of China.