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FuzzyRussianHat · 06-10-2024, 12:49 PM

WAB’s Western League looked very different in 2005 than it had in a number of years. The three playoff teams each snapped notable postseason streaks, led by first place Monrovia at 97-65. The Diplomats hadn’t seen the postseason since 1991. Second place was Abidjan at 95-67, although it had only been three years since their dynasty run ended. Third went to Conakry at 90-72, ending a 14-year skid.

Defending West African Champion Kumasi was fourth at 87-75, ending a three-year playoff streak. Nouakchott, first in 2004, was fifth at 82-80. Bamako’s three-year streak ended with the Bullfrogs falling to eighth at 73-89.

MVP went to Conakry designated hitter Germain Rabiou. The third-year righty from Niger had 56 home runs, 125 RBI, 205 hits, 115 runs, a .322/.357/.648 slash, 171 wRC+, and 7.1 WAR. His Coyotes teammate Fode Kourouma was Pitcher of the Year, also in his third season. The 23-year old Guinean led in wins at 19-4. He had a 2.66 ERA over 203 innings with 240 strikeouts and 3.6 WAR. By WAR at least, Kourouma is of the weaker POTY winners of all-time.

Conakry upset Abidjan 2-1 in the wild card round, giving the Coyotes their first Western League Championship Series appearance since their 1990 title. For top seed Monrovia, they hadn’t been there since 1982. The Diplomats downed Conakry 3-1 to win their second-ever pennant, joining the 1980 campaign.

For the first time since 1994, Lagos had the top record in the Eastern League. The Lizards extended their postseason streak to three seasons with a 104-58 record. Eight-time defending ELCS winner Kano grew its playoff run to 11 years, taking second at 97-65. There was a big drop to third place, which saw Ouagadougou (86-76) edge out Niamey (84-78) and last year’s first place team Ibadan (83-79). The Osprey hadn’t gotten to the playoffs since 1983.

Kano SS Darwin Morris won a historic tenth Eastern League MVP. He joined OBA/MLB’s Jimmy Caliw and CABA’s Kiko Velazquez as the only players in world history with ten or more MVPs. Morris also did something he hadn’t done before; won the Triple Crown. He became the fourth WAB batter to do so with 59 home runs, 147 RBI, and a .354 average. The 33-year old Liberian also led in runs (136), total bases (408), OBP (.437), slugging (.756), OPS (1.192), wRC+ (234), and WAR (13.8).

For Morris, this was his 12^th straight seasons leading in WAR, his ninth season with 10+, and his sixth with 13+. As of 2037, the top seven WAR seasons by a WAB position player are all Morris. He as the only position player in world history with six 13+ WAR seasons; only Beisbol Sudamerica GOAT pitcher Mohamed Ramos had more with eight. The Condors gave their franchise icon another five years and $14,160,000 at the start of 2005.

Pitcher of the Year in the Eastern Conference was Lagos’ Mustafa Khalaf. The 26-year old Mauritanian righty led in wins (21-8) and K/BB (10.3). Khalaf added a 2.95 ERA over 256.2 innings, 267 strikeouts, and 6.3 WAR.

In the wild card round, Kano topped Ouagadougou 2-1 to send the Condors to the Eastern League Championship Series for the 11^th straight year. For Lagos, it was their second ELCS in three years. Despite having home field, the Lizards couldn’t upend the Condors’ dynasty. Kano took the series 3-1 and won a ninth consecutive pennant and their 13^th overall. The only other franchise in world baseball history to win nine straight subleague pennants was SAB’s Ahmedabad from 1994-02.

Kano reclaimed the overall perch by winning the 31^st West African Championship 4-1 over Monrovia. CF Sosthene Boussari was finals MVP in his final year in WAB before leaving for MLB. In his fifth year with the Condors, the 31-year old Beninois had 16 hits, 12 runs, 6 doubles, 2 home runs, and 8 RBI over 12 playoff starts.

This gave the Kano their seventh WAB ring in nine years, joining SAB’s Ahmedabad (1986-99) and OBA’s Honolulu (1982-90) as the only franchise to pull off seven overall titles in nine seasons. This decade of excellence is almost always considered WAB’s best dynasty and has a case as one of the finest in pro baseball history. 2005 did also mark the peak for the Condors, although they’d be back in the ELCS twice more in the next three years. Kano would remain competitive and one of WAB’s signature franchise, but they wouldn’t be back in the finals until 2017.

Other notes: Arnaud Aho became the first slugger to 1500 career RBI, which Darwin Morris matched later in the year. Morris also became the first to 1500 runs scored and held the top runs mark until the late 2020s. This was Aho’s last year and Morris would overtake him as the RBI leader in 2006, which he held until the early 2020s. Aho also became the second to 2500 hits, but retired just short of Abel Alemu’s 2692 record. This was yet another record Morris would overtake by the end of the decade.

Morris also crossed 150 career WAR in 2005, a mark no one else has sniffed in WAB. He also won his 12^th Silver Slugger at shortstop in 2005. Morris firmly was the WAB GOAT in many minds and he’d still have another decade left in his career.

Bamako’s Mahamane Dembele had a 34-game hit streak, falling one game short of Kelly Ballard’s 2001 record. Tiemogo Idrissa became the 12^th pitcher to 3000 career strikeouts.

06-10-2024, 12:49 PM	#1324
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,720	2005 in WAB WAB’s Western League looked very different in 2005 than it had in a number of years. The three playoff teams each snapped notable postseason streaks, led by first place Monrovia at 97-65. The Diplomats hadn’t seen the postseason since 1991. Second place was Abidjan at 95-67, although it had only been three years since their dynasty run ended. Third went to Conakry at 90-72, ending a 14-year skid. Defending West African Champion Kumasi was fourth at 87-75, ending a three-year playoff streak. Nouakchott, first in 2004, was fifth at 82-80. Bamako’s three-year streak ended with the Bullfrogs falling to eighth at 73-89. MVP went to Conakry designated hitter Germain Rabiou. The third-year righty from Niger had 56 home runs, 125 RBI, 205 hits, 115 runs, a .322/.357/.648 slash, 171 wRC+, and 7.1 WAR. His Coyotes teammate Fode Kourouma was Pitcher of the Year, also in his third season. The 23-year old Guinean led in wins at 19-4. He had a 2.66 ERA over 203 innings with 240 strikeouts and 3.6 WAR. By WAR at least, Kourouma is of the weaker POTY winners of all-time. Conakry upset Abidjan 2-1 in the wild card round, giving the Coyotes their first Western League Championship Series appearance since their 1990 title. For top seed Monrovia, they hadn’t been there since 1982. The Diplomats downed Conakry 3-1 to win their second-ever pennant, joining the 1980 campaign. For the first time since 1994, Lagos had the top record in the Eastern League. The Lizards extended their postseason streak to three seasons with a 104-58 record. Eight-time defending ELCS winner Kano grew its playoff run to 11 years, taking second at 97-65. There was a big drop to third place, which saw Ouagadougou (86-76) edge out Niamey (84-78) and last year’s first place team Ibadan (83-79). The Osprey hadn’t gotten to the playoffs since 1983. Kano SS Darwin Morris won a historic tenth Eastern League MVP. He joined OBA/MLB’s Jimmy Caliw and CABA’s Kiko Velazquez as the only players in world history with ten or more MVPs. Morris also did something he hadn’t done before; won the Triple Crown. He became the fourth WAB batter to do so with 59 home runs, 147 RBI, and a .354 average. The 33-year old Liberian also led in runs (136), total bases (408), OBP (.437), slugging (.756), OPS (1.192), wRC+ (234), and WAR (13.8). For Morris, this was his 12^th straight seasons leading in WAR, his ninth season with 10+, and his sixth with 13+. As of 2037, the top seven WAR seasons by a WAB position player are all Morris. He as the only position player in world history with six 13+ WAR seasons; only Beisbol Sudamerica GOAT pitcher Mohamed Ramos had more with eight. The Condors gave their franchise icon another five years and $14,160,000 at the start of 2005. Pitcher of the Year in the Eastern Conference was Lagos’ Mustafa Khalaf. The 26-year old Mauritanian righty led in wins (21-8) and K/BB (10.3). Khalaf added a 2.95 ERA over 256.2 innings, 267 strikeouts, and 6.3 WAR. In the wild card round, Kano topped Ouagadougou 2-1 to send the Condors to the Eastern League Championship Series for the 11^th straight year. For Lagos, it was their second ELCS in three years. Despite having home field, the Lizards couldn’t upend the Condors’ dynasty. Kano took the series 3-1 and won a ninth consecutive pennant and their 13^th overall. The only other franchise in world baseball history to win nine straight subleague pennants was SAB’s Ahmedabad from 1994-02. Kano reclaimed the overall perch by winning the 31^st West African Championship 4-1 over Monrovia. CF Sosthene Boussari was finals MVP in his final year in WAB before leaving for MLB. In his fifth year with the Condors, the 31-year old Beninois had 16 hits, 12 runs, 6 doubles, 2 home runs, and 8 RBI over 12 playoff starts. This gave the Kano their seventh WAB ring in nine years, joining SAB’s Ahmedabad (1986-99) and OBA’s Honolulu (1982-90) as the only franchise to pull off seven overall titles in nine seasons. This decade of excellence is almost always considered WAB’s best dynasty and has a case as one of the finest in pro baseball history. 2005 did also mark the peak for the Condors, although they’d be back in the ELCS twice more in the next three years. Kano would remain competitive and one of WAB’s signature franchise, but they wouldn’t be back in the finals until 2017. Other notes: Arnaud Aho became the first slugger to 1500 career RBI, which Darwin Morris matched later in the year. Morris also became the first to 1500 runs scored and held the top runs mark until the late 2020s. This was Aho’s last year and Morris would overtake him as the RBI leader in 2006, which he held until the early 2020s. Aho also became the second to 2500 hits, but retired just short of Abel Alemu’s 2692 record. This was yet another record Morris would overtake by the end of the decade. Morris also crossed 150 career WAR in 2005, a mark no one else has sniffed in WAB. He also won his 12^th Silver Slugger at shortstop in 2005. Morris firmly was the WAB GOAT in many minds and he’d still have another decade left in his career. Bamako’s Mahamane Dembele had a 34-game hit streak, falling one game short of Kelly Ballard’s 2001 record. Tiemogo Idrissa became the 12^th pitcher to 3000 career strikeouts. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)