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Austronesia Professional Baseball had a massive six player Hall of Fame class in 2006, the second largest in world history behind the mammoth seven player Eurasian Professional Baseball group from the prior year. All six of the APB group was first ballot additions and four of them were absolute slam dunks that got above 97%.



Leading the way were pitchers Alex Clavijo (99.6%), Mulya Dayanti (98.9%), Ricky Jungao (98.9%), and Ronald Purnomo (97.8%). Joining them was LF Nerius Senaen at 79.2% and 1B Tunggul Widhyasari (73.7%). Two other first ballot players had good showings, but fell short of the 66% requirement. SP Hong-Hui Tseng had 63.1% and RF Min-Yi Lu received 57.3%. The best returning player only got 30.7%.

Dropped after ten ballots was DH Ming-Yi Wang, who won two MVPs with Taoyuan. He had a 21-year career but did leave for MLB for around five seasons. In APB, Wang had 1943 hits, 905 runs, 344 doubles, 326 home runs, 990 RBI, a .277/.349/.475 slash, 156 wRC+, and 64.6 WAR. APB voters are notorious tough on hitters and Wang’s MLB excursions kept him just short of some counting milestones. There were also voters that were reluctant regarding a career DH. Wang peaked with a debut at 43.0% and ended with a measly 6.9%.

Closer Wei-Chien Lin also fell off after ten ballots. He also left for MLB for a few years to lower his APB totals. He ended with 298 saves, 913.1 innings, 2.03 ERA, 1057 strikeouts, 137 ERA+, and 25.6 WAR. Lin didn’t win major awards and lacked the dominance of other greats. He peaked at 32.5% on his debut and ended with 5.1%.



Alex Clavijo – Starting Pitcher – Cebu Crows – 99.6% First Ballot

Alex Clavijo was a 6’2’’, 175 pound left-handed pitcher from Kinatihan; a village of around 2,000 people in the Quezon region of the Philippines. Clavijo was known for having phenomenal stuff with very good movement and control. A 96-98 mph cutter led the way and was complimented by a curveball, changeup, and circle change.

Clavijo’s stamina and duraiblty was relatively average compared to most APB aces. Defensively, he did earn Gold Gloves in 1994 and 1995. Clavijo was viewed as a very intelligent guy, but he wasn’t looked to for leadership. Clavijo’s game did the talking, as his peak seasons were among the most dominant you could find.

In April 1980, a teenaged Clavijo was spotted and signed as an amateur by Cebu. He spent the majority of six years in their academy, officially debuting with two relief appearances in 1985 at age 21. He graduated to the rotation full time in 1986 and looked decent, but did lose two months to a strained hamstring. By his only second year, Clavijo was considered by many in APB as the best pitcher in the game.

The 1987 campaign saw his first of six straight 10+ WAR seasons. In this stretch, Clavijo led the Taiwan-Philippine Association in ERA four times, strikeouts four times, WHIP four times, K/BB five times, FIP- six times, WAR four times, wins once, complete games once, and shutouts once. Clavijo won four Pitcher of the Year awards (1987, 88, 90, 91) and took second in 1989. In the midst of this run, Cebu gave Clavijo a six-year, $5,080,000 extension in September 1989.

The finest of his incredible seasons came in 1990, which saw a Triple Crown with a 24-6 record, 0.96 ERA, and 419 strikeouts. It was the third lowest ERA in an APB season by a qualifying starter and as of 2037 is one of only eight seasons with a sub-one ERA. That, the win tally, and his 14.9 WAR were all career bests. The 0.58 WHIP was the second-lowest in APB history at the time and still sits eighth as of 2037.

The 1990 season also saw Clavijo toss APB’s 18^th perfect game. He did it on September 9 with 13 strikeouts against Kaohsiung. 1990 also had a 20 strikeout game on July 6 against Zamboanga which also featured 10 Ks in a row. His 11 shutouts fell one short of the all-time single-season record and the season included a stretch of 53 straight scoreless innings. Clavijo won MVP in addition to POTY in 1990. He was also third in 1987’s MVP voting.

With Clavijo as the ace, Cebu became a regular Philippine League contender. They won the PL in 1988, 90, 91, and 92. He was considered the star despite outstanding efforts by his teammate and fellow 2006 HOFer Ricky Jungao. There were multiple seasons in which they were #1 and #2 in the Pitcher of the Year voting.

The Crows three-peated as Taiwan-Philippine Association champ from 1990-92 and won the Austronesia Championship in 1991 against Batam. In his playoff career for Cebu, Clavijo lacked run support with a 2-6 record over 97.1 innings. Still, he had a 2.03 ERA, 131 strikeouts, 10 walks, 4.7 WAR, and a 137 ERA+. His 38 FIP- showed that he more than held up his end of the bargain.

Clavijo also pitched from 1988-99 for the Philippines in the World Baseball Championship. In 125 WBC innings, he had a 3.31 ERA, 189 strikeouts, 36 walks, 109 ERA+, 64 FIP-, and 4.3 WAR. Clavijo’s career would forever change though with the 1993 WBC. Entering that year’s tournament, he was on top of the world. The 29-year old had won three straight ERA titles and Cebu had won three straight pennants.

Then in his first inning of the WBC on January 20, Clavijo suffered a catastrophic damaged elbow ligament. This ultimately shelved him for 14 months, missing the entire 1993 campaign for Cebu. He rehabbed and made it back in late spring 1994 for the Crows, but was never nearly the unstoppable force he was in his peak. Clavijo’s stuff and movement both took a notable dip.

With that said, he didn’t come back as a bum by any stretch, but his 3.9 WAR in 1994 was very pedestrian after having six straight 10+ efforts. The Crows plummeted to 68-94 in the year he was gone in 1993. They did bounce back to 88 wins in 1994, but missed the playoffs. With the bounce back, Cebu decided to sign Clavijo to a four-year, $5,200,000 extension in January 1995.

Clavijo looked good to start 1995, but Cebu decidedly did not. The Crows ultimately went 66-96 that season and opted to sell at the trade deadline. Clavijo was moved to Taoyuan in exchange for three prospects, ending an impressive decade run with Cebu. He’d still be very well respected for his role in the dynasty and had his #13 uniform eventually retired. As a Crow, Clavijo had a 143-79 record, 1.74 ERA, 2166 innings, 2938 strikeouts, 270 walks, 161 ERA+, 51 FIP-, and 84.9 WAR.

Taoyuan was trying to start their own dynasty, having won the TPA pennant in 1994. The Tsunami won the Taiwan League again in 1995, but fell to Davao in the association final. Clavijo finished the year with a 7.0 WAR and would go onto post another 7 WAR in 1996, 9 WAR in 1997, an 5.1 WAR in 1998. 1997 also had Clavijo lead in K/BB (12.5) and FIP- (47). He looked like a great ace again, but wasn’t the unstoppable strikeout machine of his prime years.

Still, Clavijo helped Taoyuan establish their own dynasty, as they won back-to-back APB titles in 1996 and 1997. He was great in the 1995 and 1996 postseason starts, but did struggle in 1997. For his 42.1 playoff innings with the Tsunami, Clavijo had a 2.98 ERA, 47 strikeouts, 6 walks, 90 ERA+, and 0.5 WAR.

Taoyuan signed Clavijo to a four-year, $10,560,000 extension after the 1998 season. The team fell towards the middle of the standings for the rest of his run. Clavijo looked very average in 1999 and missed seven weeks to a strained forearm. That year, he did cross 4000 career strikeouts, the 11^th APB pitcher to do so.

In 2000, Clavijo’s velocity had noticeable dropped and he was demoted to the bullpen, posting -0.4 WAR over 82 innings. He decided to retire that winter at age 36. With Taoyuan, Clavijo had a 75-50 record, 2.43 ERA, 1089.1 innings, 1191 strikeouts, 162 walks, 111 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 27.7 WAR.

Clavijo ended with a 218-129 record, 1.97 ERA, 3255.1 innings, 4129 strikeouts, 432 walks, 320/390 quality starts, 140 ERA+, 58 FIP-, and 112.5 WAR. His 1987-92 stretch was among the greatest six year runs any pitcher in any league has had. Had the 1993 elbow blowout not happened, some argued Clavijo could’ve been on his way to a GOAT-level career.

Still, he was a no-doubt inner circle Hall of Famer as the ace of two dynasty runs. As of 2037, Clavijo is ninth in WAR among APB pitchers, 20^th in strikeouts, and 20^th in wins. He got 99.6%, the highest vote total of the loaded six-player 2006 APB Hall of Fame class.



Mulya “Rash” Dayanti – Starting Pitcher – Semarang Sliders – 98.9% First Ballot

Mulya Dayanti was a 6’7’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Karang Tengah, Indonesia; a district of 117,000 people within greater Jakarta. Dayanti was a fireballer with excellent stuff, good movement, and solid control. His fastball regularly hit the 99-101 mph range and was mixed with a slider, changeup, and knuckle curve.

Dayanti’s stamina was average by APB ace standards, but he had excellent durability, leading to 200+ innings in all but his final season. He was great at holding runners and considered a strong defensive pitcher, winning a Gold Glove in 1991. His power profile helped him become one of the premiere strikeout pitchers of the 1980s and 1990s in APB.

A 6’7’’ lefty who throws 100 MPH quickly gets the attention of any baseball scout. In the 1983 APB Draft, Dayanti was picked third overall by Semarang. They kept him in developmental in 1984, then debuted him as a full-timer in 1985. Dayanti struck out 307 batters in his debut season, earning 1985 Rookie of the Year honors.

Dayanti had a good 1986, followed by an excellent 1987 with a career and Sundaland Association best 415 strikeouts. The 10.0 WAR effort earned him second in Pitcher of the Year voting. Dayanti led in WHIP in 1988 and the Sliders gave him a five-year, $2,684,000 extension.

That year, Semarang won the Sundaland Association crown, falling to Taipei in the Austronesia Championship. They missed the playoffs in 1989, then won it all over Cebu in 1990. Dayanti was excellent in these playoff runs with a 0.95 ERA in six starts and 47.1 innings, striking out 73 with 5 walks, a 255 ERA+, and 2.3 WAR. After the 1990 title, the Sliders fell towards the middle of the standings for the rest of Dayanti’s tenure.

In 1989 and 1990, he led both seasons in strikeouts and WAR. 1990 also had a league and career best 1.07 ERA, 0.59 WHIP, and 10.2 WAR. 1990 was Dayanti’s lone Pitcher of the Year win and saw a second place in MVP voting. He also had an 8.3 WAR effort in 1991 and won his lone Gold Glove.

Dayanti was also a regular for Indonesia in the World Baseball Championship, tossing 172 innings from 1987-97. He had a 15-5 record, 3.30 ERA, 232 strikeouts, 60 walks, 110 ERA+, 85 FIP-, and 4.1 WAR. Dayanti also posted a no-hitter in the 1992 WBC against Iran with 13 strikeouts and 3 walks. In the 1992 APB season, he also notably had a 20 strikeout game against Depok.

1992 did see some regression with a career worst 2.69 ERA and a 4.8 WAR, his lowest since his rookie year. Dayanti still had another 300+ strikeout season. His eight-year streak of 300+ Ks ended in 1993, although he was generally more effective in fewer innings. Semarang dropped to 80-82, their first losing season since 1983. Still, they seemed committed to Dayanti as their ace, giving him a six-year, $6,960,000 extension in July 1993.

That extension would be spent elsewhere, as the Sliders opted to trade Dayanti in the winter of 1993. They sent him to Taipei for a haul of three prospects, ending the Semarang run after nine seasons. Dayanti remained popular and his #14 uniform would be retired. In total for the Sliders, he had a 147-83 record, 1.78 ERA, 2268.1 innings, 3132 strikeouts, 347 walks, 133 ERA+, 67 FIP-, and 64.0 WAR.

Dayanti was 32 years old as he began his Taipei run, but returned to his dominant form after two weaker years to end the Semarang tenure. He had four straight 8+ WAR seasons and three with 370+ strikeouts, giving him 11 seasons in his career with 300+ Ks. Dayanti was the WARlord with 10+ in both 1995 and 1996. He also led in wins and WHIP in 1994, Ks in 1996, and ERA in 1997.

Ultimately, he didn’t win a second Pitcher of the Year award. But with the Tigercats, he was third in 1994, second in 1995, second in 1996, and third in 1997. Dayanti improved his control and ultimately his effectiveness in his 30s. The best individual moment came with a no-hitter on August 1, 1997 with 11 strikeouts against Cebu.

Taipei was stuck in the middle of the standings during Dayanti’s run, although they did win the Taiwan League in 1998. They lost the association final to Quezon with Dayanti posting a 3.07 ERA over 14.2 playoff innings. The Tigercats were happy with Dayanti’s results and gave him a two-year, $5,920,000 extension after the 1998 campaign.

Age started to catch up with Dayanti’s velocity steeply dropping in 1999, going from high 90s to mid 90s. He was still a decent starter that year and became the fourth APB pitcher to 5000 career strikeouts. Dayanti’s velocity plummeted further and he was demoted to the bullpen in 2000, struggling to a 4.18 ERA and -0.9 WAR in 75.1 innings.

At that point, hitting 90 mph was tough and his hopes of catching Vhon Lasam’s 5365 career strikeouts seemed futile. Dayanti retired that winter at age 38. For his Taipei tenure, he had a 100-60 record, 1.98 ERA, 1612.2 innings, 1904 strikeouts, 137 ERA+, 66 FIP-, and 47.1 WAR.

Dayanti ended with a 247-143 record, 1.86 ERA, 3881 innings, 5036 strikeouts, 557 walks, 387/460 quality starts, 134 ERA+, 66 FIP-, and 111.0 WAR. With such great stats, it is surprising he won Pitcher of the Year only once. But he was directly against a lot of great aces (with four stud pitchers within the 2006 HOF class alone). At 98.9%, Dayanti had the second highest vote total of that group. As of 2037, he is 11^th in pitching WAR, fifth in strikeouts, and seventh in wins.