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The Oceania Baseball Association had two players added to the Hall of Fame with the 2006 voting. Both were first ballot picks with LF Quentin Basa a lock at 97.5% and a solid 76.8% by SP Evan Tofuola. RF Ryan Whatley got 53.9% in his tenth and final opportunity and CL Garnet Wallace earned 52.5% for his third go. No one else was above 50%.



For Whatley, he was hurt by having half his career in MLB. He had a decade in Sydney, winning three MVPs and seven Silver Sluggers. Whatley then spent nine years in MLB before playing a final OBA season with Honolulu. The extremely popular Australian for his full pro career had 2715 hits, 1388 runs, 412 doubles, 151 triples, 277 home runs, 1200 RBI, 1050 walks, 996 stolen bases, a .290/.359/.454 slash, 139 wRC+, and 92.6 WAR.

For just OBA though, Whatley had 1468 hits, 726 runs, 241 doubles, 156 home runs, 673 RBI, 541 walks, 664 stolen bases, a .289/.354/.467 slash, 149 wRC+, and 59.4 WAR. There was a lot of voters who couldn’t get over the low totals and the fact that Whatley played on some bad Sydney teams despite his efforts. Not many guys had three MVPs though and his brief dominance still got him as high as 61.2% on the 2003 ballot. Whatley ended at 53.9%, losing out on a likely HOF nod due to leaving for MLB.



Quentin Basa – Left Field – Tahiti Tropics – 97.5% First Ballot

Quentin Basa was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Santa Cruz, Philippines; a city of around 120,000 on the main Luzon island. Basa was a very well-rounded hitter who generally graded out as good to great across the board. He was a solid contact and power hitter with a good eye, although his strikeout rate was average. Basa averaged around 34 home runs and 28 doubles/triples per his 162 game average.

Basa’s speed wasn’t awful, but was firmly below average. He played exclusively in left field defensively and graded out as reliably average for his career. Basa had excellent durability and started 130+ games in 19 consecutive seasons. He was a scrappy sparkplug with a tireless work ethic, becoming one of OBA’s most enduring superstars of the 1980s and 1990s.

The first three rounds of the OBA Draft had regional restrictions which didn’t include the few Filipino players that opted for OBA instead of Austronesia Professional Baseball. Basa declared his OBA intent and was viewed as an elite hitting prospect, even if he couldn’t be picked until the fourth round. He was the first pick of the fourth, 52^nd overall, in 1979 by Tahiti. Basa earned a starting spot immediately with the Tropics and took third in Rookie of the Year voting in 1980.

Basa was a respectable rookie, but was elite by year two, winning the 1981 MVP and leading the Pacific League in wRC+. That was his first of three seasons worth 8+ WAR. He’d post 11 straight worth 5+ WAR with six of those going for 6+. Basa’s well-rounded nature meant he wasn’t often the leader in the big stats, but he was regularly in the top five or top ten. With Tahiti, he led in hits once, batting average once, runs once, walks once, WAR once, and OBP twice.

Basa was third in MVP voting in 1983, 84, 88, and 89. He won six of his ten Silver Sluggers with Tahiti (1981, 82, 83, 88, 89, 93). Basa was a beloved superstar for Tropics fans and signed an eight-year, $6,420,000 extension in the summer of 1986. Despite his efforts, Tahiti was largely average during his tenure with their best years paling in comparison to the Honolulu dynasty. Over his 15 year with the Tropics, they averaged 78 wins per season.

Although playing in the Pacific League, Basa was extremely popular back home in the Philippines. He played in 163 games with 137 starts from 1981-99 in the World Baseball Championship. Basa had 136 hits, 88 runs, 13 doubles, 36 home runs, 80 RBI, a .264/.353/.510 slash, 149 wRC+, and 5.6 WAR with the Filipino national team.

Basa still was playing at a high level into his 30s, even leading in WAR in 1993 at age 34. After 1994, his contract was up and he and Tahiti mutually agreed to move on. With the Tropics, Basa had 2376 hits, 1134 runs, 330 doubles, 463 home runs, 1156 RBI, a .280/.341/.498 slash, 166 wRC+, and 93.4 WAR. He’d remain a beloved franchise icon for years to come and would see his #4 uniform retired at the end of his career.

Even at age 36, Basa still attracted plenty of free agent attention. He signed a three-year, $5,460,000 deal with Guam, who was the runner-up the prior year in the OBA Championship. Basa won Silver Sluggers in both 1995 and 1996 for the Golden Eagles, who finished behind Honolulu both seasons in the Pacific League standings. With Guam, Basa had 309 hits, 147 runs, 68 home runs, 160 RBI, a .279/.341/.509 slash, 156 wRC+, and 11.6 WAR.

Now 38 years old, Basa was traded by Guam of all places to their main rival Honolulu for two prospects. Basa still had no luck getting that elusive finals appearance, as the Honu finished third behind Guam and Samoa. He won his ninth Silver Slugger in his one year with Honolulu with 40 home runs and 104 RBI. It was his first triple-digit RBI season and his fourth time hitting 40 homers.

The 39-year old Basa signed for 1998 with Samoa on a three-year, $4,960,000 deal. He seemingly found the fountain of youth as he was moved to DH and hit league bests in runs (101), RBI (109), total bases (352), slugging (.644), OPS (.955), and 187 wRC+. All but the wRC+ mark were career bests for Basa, as was his 52 homers. He won his second Pacific League MVP a remarkable 17 years after his first. It was his last great shot at a pennant and he was thwarted again as the Sun Sox took second to Guam.

In that 1998 season as well, Basa passed Sione Hala’s 2872 hits and 1402 runs to become the new OBA career hits and runs leader. Age caught up to him and Basa looked merely okay as a part-time starter in 1999, but he became the first OBA batter to reach 3000 career hits and the first to reach 1500 runs scored. Basa also became the fourth to 1500 career RBI. He only saw 21 games and 2 starts in 2000 for Samoa, retiring that winter at age 42. Basa had 8.8 WAR and a 166 wRC+ with the Sun Sox.

For his career, Basa had 3078 hits, 1506 runs, 434 doubles, 87 triples, 643 home runs, 1582 RBI, 984 walks, a .279/.339/.509 slash, 165 wRC+, and 119.8 WAR. At retirement, he was the only OBA player to have played 3000+ games (3072). Basa also retired as the hits and runs leader, seventh in doubles, fourth in home runs, third in RBI, and third in WAR for position players.

As of 2037, Basa is still second in games played, sixth in hits, eighth in runs, ninth in homers, ninth in RBI, and fourth in WAR for position players. His longevity and reliability were remarkable and being to win MVP at age 22 and age 39 is incredibly impressive. That is believed to be the longest gap in pro baseball history between MVP wins. Basa was a slam dunk first ballot choice for the 2006 ballot at 97.5% and was an inner-circle level superstar.



Evan Tofuola – Starting Pitcher – Honolulu Honu – 76.8% First Ballot

Evan Tofuola was a 5’11’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Faleasiu, Samoa; a village with around 4,000 people on the island of Upolu. Tofuola had excellent stuff with roughly average control and movement. His fastball regularly hit 96-98 mph, but his most dominant pitch was an awesome slider. Tofuola also had a good curveball and okay changeup in the arsenal.

His stamina was considered fairly average, but he did run into sporadic injury issues. Tofuola was a team captain, known for being an excellent leader with a terrific work ethic. He was one of the important figures in the clubhouse during the second chunk of Honolulu’s great dynasty run in the Pacific League.

Tofuola was spotted as a teenager at a baseball camp in Samoa by a visiting scout from the Honu. They signed him to an amateur deal in February 1982, bringing Tofuola to Hawaii. He officially debuted in 1986 at age 21, but he saw limited action with 180.2 innings over his first three years. Cracking the lineup was difficult in the four-man rotation of OBA for a dominant club. Tofuola’s first OBA Championship ring came with the 1986 squad, although he didn’t play in the final.

1988 was Tofuola’s first time pitching in the final and he did well with a 1.93 ERA over 14 innings, helping Honolulu win the title over Christchurch. That helped earn Tofuola a full-time rotation slot going forward. He got to see their second three-peat in a decade as the Honu won the 1988, 89, and 90 OBA titles. Tofuola had a great 1989 finals with a 1.40 ERA in 19.1 innings, although he struggled with a 7.20 ERA in 10 innings in 1990.

Tofuola earned third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1989. 1990 was Tofuola’s real breakout season, leading the Pacific League in strikeouts (401) and FIP- (65), and WAR (9.1). Those were all career bests, but amazingly he wasn’t a POTY finalist. He led in WHIP in 1991, but missed two months to an elbow strain. That year was also notable as he tossed a no-hitter on September 11 with nine strikeouts and two walks versus Tahiti.

Honolulu finished second in the PL in both 1991 and 1992. The Honu gave Tofuola a three-year, $3,360,000 extension in the spring of 1992. That was a tough year for him though as an elbow strain, followed by a torn meniscus cost him most of the year. A setback with his knee knocked him out nine months in total.

He came back for a pretty good 1993 though, helping Honolulu to another PL pennant. They lost the OBA Championship to Perth and didn’t have Tofuola for the final part of the season due to a partially torn labrum. He bounced back with a full 1994, leading in strikeouts for the second time with 368. Tofuola was again third in POTY voting, the closest he’d get. The Honu took second in the PL that year to Guam.

Honolulu committed long-term to the now 30-year old Tofuola in February with a six-year, $8,280,000 extension. He was solid in 1995 and 1996, helping the Honu win two more pennants. They took the 1995 OBA final, but lost in 1996. Tofuola was great in the 1995 run, but poor in his lone 1996 start. For his playoff career, Tofuola recorded a 2.85 ERA and 4-2 record over 66.1 innings with 80 strikeouts, 21 walks, a 105 ERA+, and 1.1 WAR.

On September 12, 1996, Tofuola made history with the seventh OBA Perfect Game, striking out 14 against Honolulu. He became the 13^th OBA pitcher to have multiple no-hitters in a career. That would mark the end of the great dynasty, as the Honu fell below .500 by the end of the century. In 1997, an elbow strain and shoulder inflammation limited him to only 13 starts for the full season.

When Tofuola returned for 1998, his ability had diminished notably. He stayed relatively healthy in his final three years, but put up mediocre numbers. He even led the league with 102 walks in 1999. Tofuola tore his meniscus late in 2000 and retired that winter at age 35. Honolulu honored their long-term captain by retiring his #37 uniform.

Tofuola ended with a 176-138 record, 2.82 ERA, 3062.2 innings, 3390 strikeouts, 777 walks, 267/398 quality starts, 113 ERA+, 91 FIP-, and 53.3 WAR. His numbers aren’t necessarily out of place, but he was neither overly dominant nor someone with great longevity and tallies. At a glance, Tofuola wasn’t an absolute slam dunk pick.

However, he was well respected for his great leadership, a hard to measure intangible that helped Honolulu keep its dynasty running. That was a helpful fact for some of the skeptical voters who had Tofuola on the borderline. He received 76.8%, good enough for the first ballot addition to round out the 2006 OBA class.