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Tainan made it four straight Taiwan League titles with a franchise record 108-54. The Titans had the Taiwan-Philippine Association’s top record for the third time in four years. It took work though as Davao was an impressive 104-58 atop the Philippine League. The Devil Rays set their own franchise record for their second PL title in four years. Zamboanga, who had won back-to-back TPA pennants, was a very distant second at 82-80.

Davao RF Junior Sanchez won Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. In his ninth year as a pro at age 27, he led in hits (203), stolen bases (101), batting average (.333), OBP (.363), and OPS (.856). Sanchez added 7.8 WAR and a 165 wRC+. It was his fourth straight batting title and his fifth time leading in hits; fitting for the eventual APB hit king. It would be Sanchez’ only MVP though despite his exploits. The Devil Rays kept him as the franchise face with a massive six-year, $59,400,000 extension signed in June 2007.

Taichung’s Kan-Lin Tung earned Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (22-11), innings (294), quality starts (31), and complete games (22). Tung added a 1.81 ERA, 306 strikeouts, and 8.5 WAR.



The Sundaland Association’s top two were fighting for the Java League crown. After just taking second the prior two years, Semarang reclaimed the throne at 99-63, edging Depok by three games. The Sliders’ pitching staff set an APB Baseball record by allowing only 940 hits all season. This remains the all-time mark as of 2037.

Reigning Austronesia Champion Jakarta was a distant third in the JL at 84-78. In a weak Malacca League, Palembang (81-81) managed to repeat over Pekanbaru (79-83), and Batam (78-84). The Panthers were the first playoff team in APB history to not have a winning record.

Although Palembang was unremarkable, they did have the Sundaland Association MVP Owen Puyol. The 28-year old Filipino right fielder led in slugging (.531), OPS (.880), and wRC+ (221). He added 7.6 WAR, a .298 average, and 30 home runs. In April 2006, the Panthers gave Puyol a mammoth six year, $54,900,000 contract extension.

Bayu Rotinsulu won Pitcher of the Year, having joined Semarang in a trade the prior summer from Taichung. The 29-year old Indonesian lefty led in strikeouts at 377 and quality starts at 31, but also had the most walks at 109. Rotinsulu had a 1.52 ERA over 278.1 innings with a 19-12 record and 6.1 WAR.

For the fourth straight year, Tainan couldn’t get beyond the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship. Davao downed the Titans 4-2, giving the Devil Rays their fourth pennant (1975, 1995, 2002, 2005). Semarang was the heavy favorite in the Sundaland Association Championship, but perhaps overlooked the .500 Palembang squad. The Panthers pulled off the upset in six games to win their fourth pennant and first 1978.



Davao wasn’t about to make the same mistake as Semarang, as they swept Palembang in the 41^st Austronesia Championship. This was only the second-ever APB title for the Devil Rays, joining their 1995 title. Surprisingly, that was also the most recent title by a team from the Philippines. 2B Ray Constanza was finals MVP, as the third-year lefty had 8 hits, 6 runs, 3 homers, and 7 RBI in 9 playoff games.



Other notes: Depok’s Chih-Chiang Tu set a single-season APB record with a 0.37 BB/9. He walked only eight in 194.2 innings. Depok’s Kim Kuswanto also set an APB pitching record by appearing in 87 games.