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Nerius Senaen – Left Field – Batam Blue Raiders – 79.2% First Ballot

Nerius Senaen was a 6’1’’, 185 pound left-handed left fielder from Tarogong, Indonesia, a district with around 115,000 people on the West Java province. Senaen was an all-around excellent hitter who was very effective at hitting for contact and drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was average. He had a strong bad as well, averaging 31 home runs, 28 doubles, and 9 triples per his 162 game average.

Senaen was firmly above average in terms of baserunning speed and ability. He played the vast majority of his defense in left field and also graded out there as consistently above average to sometimes good. Despite his long career, he would have a couple seasons where he missed a month or two to injury. Senaen was known as a strong leader and hard worker, becoming a wildly popular figure within Indonesian baseball.

With the third pick in the 1988 APB Draft, Senaen was picked third overall by Batam. His entire APB run came with the Blue Raiders, who made him a full-time starter immediately. Senaen placed third in Rookie of the Year voting in 1989. Then, he exploded onto the scene as his sophomore season was arguably the finest of his entire storied career.

Senaen posted a Triple Crown season with 38 home runs, 93 RBI, and .313 batting average. His 12.4 WAR was the second-most in a season by a position player at that point in APB history and still sits seventh as of 2037. Senaen also led in the triple slash, wRC+, total bases, and runs scored. Naturally, he won Sundaland Association MVP and his first of seven Silver Sluggers.

Senaen ushered in a decade of regular contention for Batam, who won eight Malacca League titles from 1990-99. The Blue Raiders won the SA pennant in 1991, 1997, and 1998. In 1998, they finally won the Austronesia Championship against Quezon. Senaen’s playoff career had 64 starts, 67 hits, 25 runs, 12 doubles, 6 home runs, 27 RBI, a .275/.327/.422 slash, 157 wRC+, and 2.8 WAR.

From 1990-2003, Senaen also saw 187 games and 175 starts for Indonesia in the World Baseball Championship. He posted 181 hits, 115 runs, 36 doubles, 43 home runs, 106 RBI, a .279/.389/.554 slash, 172 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR. He took second in 1993 WBC MVP voting, then won it in 1997. That year, he led all players with 10 home runs and 2.4 WAR. Senaen also earned a world title with the 1999 Indonesia team. As of 2037, he’s Indonesia’s WBC all-time leader in WAR, games, starts, hits, runs, and doubles.

Senaen was a mega-star and regularly dominated the leaderboards. Batam gave him an eight-year, $13,360,000 extension in June 1993. Over 12 years, he led the Sundaland Association in runs thrice, hits twice, doubles thrice, homers once, RBI thrice, walks once, total bases four times, batting average five times, OBP eight times, slugging four times, OPS five times, wRC+ five times, and WAR four times.

Even with some injuries in that run, he had a 10-year run of 7+ WAR seasons and hit 10+ six times. Apart from his rookie and final season, Senaen’s wRC+ topped 200 each season. He won six MVPs (1990, 92, 93, 94, 98, 99) while taking second in 1991 and 1996 with a third in 1997. Senaen’s Silver Sluggers were 1990, 91, 92, 93, 96, 98, and 99. He also won Gold Gloves in 1993 and 1994. Senaen was the first-ever six-time MVP in APB, a mark which wouldn’t be matched until 2025.

Senaen rolled into his 30s looking great, posting 10.5 and 11.5 WAR in his age 32 and 33 seasons. He finally looked mortal though in 2000 as a herniated disc cost Senaen half of the season. That season also had career worsts in wRC+ and WAR. Batam also missed the playoffs and appeared to be heading into a rebuilding phase. With that, they parted with their superstar slugger. Senaen still remained adored and his #38 uniform would be retired.

Heading into his age 35 season, Senaen was a free agent for the first time. Having six MVPs will get you worldwide attention and he cashed in for MLB money. Senaen signed a four-year, $30,000,000 deal with Toronto. He had a pretty strong debut season for the Timberwolves with 5.4 WAR and 165 wRC+. In 2002, he looked merely okay as his batting average dropped while his strikeout rate worsened.

By 2003, Senaen was now demoted to a bench role. He only had 29 starts in his final two seasons and only saw sporadic pinch hit appearances generally against righties only. For his Toronto run with MLB, he had 8.7 WAR, 304 hits, 178 runs, 65 home runs, 168 RBI, and a .248/.311/.459 slash. Senaen retired after the 2004 season at age 38.

For his APB run, Senaen had 1836 hits, 885 runs, 324 doubles, 107 triples, 340 home runs, 944 RBI, 361 stolen bases, a .303/.370/.560 slash, 221 wRC+, and 106.1 WAR. As of 2037, he’s one of only three APB Hall of Famers with a career batting average above .300 and one of three with a .900+ OPS; a very difficult feat in the dead ball world of APB.

At retirement, he also led all APB batters in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS. His rate stats are certainly among the absolute top-tier of APB batters. With a career 206 wRC+, Senaen joins a very small group in any world league above 200+ for a full career. As of 2037 among all APB players with 3000 plate appearances, he is second in OBP, fourth in slugging, and third in OPS.

However, because he left when he did, the grand accumulations are lower than you’d expect. As of 2037, he is 15^th in WAR among position players, but outside of the top 50 in the counting stats. That, plus the general harsh standards of APB voters meant Senaen only got 79.2% even as a six-time MVP. Regardless, he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the six-player 2006 class and one of the most efficient hitters in APB history.



Tunggul Widhyasari – First Base – Medan Marlins – 73.7% First Ballot

Tunggul Widhyasari was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Psarkemis, Indonesia; a district with 273,000 people in the Banten province. At his peak, Widhyasari was an outstanding all-around hitter who could hit well for average and power and had a sharp eye. Even in the very low offense environment of APB, he hit 40 home runs in four seasons. Widhyasari also regularly got around 25 doubles per year as well. His strikeout rate was a bit below average, but he made his opportunities count.

Widhyasari was a very intelligent and crafty baserunner, although his speed was firmly mediocre. He primarily played first base with the occasional start in left field or as a designated hitter. Defensively, he was quite lousy. While he did have nagging injuries in his career, Widhyasari managed to hang around into his mid 40s. Some teammates thought he was a bit selfish, but his excellent bat made him very popular in his prime.

Even out of high school, Widhyasari received a lot of attention from scouts throughout Indonesia. He was a rare teenage draft pick in the 1974 APB Draft, picked 15^th overall by Jakarta. Widhyasari opted to pass though and begin his collegiate career. He only improved his stock by the time he was next eligible in 1977. That year, Medan picked Widhyasari with the #1 overall pick.

Widhyasari was used as a platoon starter as a rookie, taking third in Rookie of the Year voting. He was a full-time starter after, but continued to have a very pronounced split difference. For his full pro career against righties, Widhyasari had a 195 wRC+ and .905 OPS. Against lefties, he had a .662 OPS and 124 wRC+. Widhyasari was good in his prime against lefties, but he was absolutely dominant against righties.

That dominance helped make him a fixture on the leaderboards while with Medan. In nine seasons with the Marlins, Widhyasari led the Sundlaand Association in runs four times, hits twice, doubles thrice, home runs four times, RBI four times, walks thrice, total bases thrice, batting average four times, OBP six times, slugging thrice, OPS four times, wRC+ four times, and WAR thrice. Widhyasari had six seasons worth 8+ WAR and two worth 10+.

In 1980 and 1981, Widhyasari earned back-to-back Triple Crowns, then did it a third time in 1985. Until Binh Tang came around and re-wrote the history books in the 2020s, Widhyasari had three of the eight Triple Crowns seasons in APB history by a batter. 1980 was the big year with APB career bests in hits (200), homers (47), RBI (120), total bases (373), average (.329), slugging (.613), OPS (.992), and wRC+ (247).

Widhyasari was Sundlanad Association MVP in each of his Triple Crown seasons. He also took second in 1979, second in 1983, and second in 1984 during his Medan run. Widhyasari also took Silver Sluggers in 1980, 81, 83, 84, and 85. With Widhyasari’s potent bat, Medan became a regular fixture at the top of the Malacca League.

From 1980-84, Medan earned four ML titles and won the Sundaland Association title in 1981, 83, and 84. Each time, they were ultimately denied in the Austronesia Championship. Widhyasari’s 36 playoff starts for the Marlins saw 34 hits, 11 runs, 5 doubles, 4 home runs, 12 RBI, a .260/.340/.405 slash, 165 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR.

Widhyasari was also a regular for Indonesia in the World Baseball Championship from 1979-93, making 153 starts and playing 164 games. He had 135 hits, 93 runs, 33 doubles, 45 home runs, 107 RBI, 77 walks, a .246/.343/.557 slash, 149 wRC+, and 6.8 WAR. Widhyasari won MVP of the 1986 WBC with 14 home runs, 27 RBI, 22 runs, 32 hits, 8 doubles, and 2.7 WAR in 25 starts. That year, Indonesia made it to the World Championship for the first time, losing the final to Canada.

That was the peak of 1986 though, as that season was a rough one. A severely strained hip muscle in late March cost him three months, then a hamstring strain cost him another two months. Widhyasari only played five games in what would be his final season with Medan. The Marlins had been trying for years to lock him up long-term, but Widhyasari was interested in testing the market. Although, the injury did hurt his earning potential as he’d enter free agency at age 31.

With Medan, Widhyasari had 1265 hits, 637 runs, 206 doubles, 287 home runs, 679 RBI, 478 walks, .296/.366/.553 slash, 223 wRC+, and 64.4 WAR. He would remain very popular with Marlins fans and his #15 uniform would eventually be retired. Widhyasari didn’t get the big long-term deal he hoped, signing a two-year, $1,120,000 deal with two-time defending Sundaland Association champ Jakarta.

Widhyasari returned to form in 1987 for the Jaguars, leading in runs, homers, RBI, walks, total bases, slugging, and OPS. He won his sixth and final Silver Slugger and took second in MVP voting. Jakarta made the playoffs, but incidentally lost the association final to Medan. He went 8-28 in the series with one homer. Widhyasari’s old team would win it all in their first-year without him under employ.

Jakarta just missed the playoffs in 1988 and Widhyasari missed close to three months to injury. While still solid when healthy, he wasn’t quite at the MVP level. In his two years with the Jaguars (plus a 1997 return season), Widhyasari had 352 hits, 184 runs, 66 home runs, 184 RBI, a .263/.343/.464 slash, 172 wRC+, and 15.6 WAR. This ended his first run within Austronesia Professional Baseball.

Now 33 years old, Widhyasari was able to get a five-year, $8,400,000 deal with MLB’s Oklahoma City. His tenure was mixed with the Outlaws, who were firmly one of MLB’s weaker squads in his run. Widhyasari had a powerful 1991 with 48 home runs, 146 wRC+, and 5.2 WAR. His other seasons were merely above average and saw sporadic injury woes. Still, OKC was fine with the production they got from a guy in his mid 30s.

In total in MLB, Widhyasari had 639 games, 614 hits, 357 runs, 77 doubles, 154 home runs, 350 RBI, a.262/.336/.495 slash, 126 wRC+, and 12.9 WAR. He decided to return to Indonesia and signed a two-year, $4,160,000 deal with Semarang. Widhyasari would never play a game for the Sliders, suffering a broken kneecap in spring training 1994. He missed the entire season, then was traded that winter to Batam for three prospects.

Widhyasari was 39 years old entering the 1995 campaign and looked very mid with a 1.3 WAR over 104 games for the Blue Raiders. He signed for 1996 with Bandung and only played 110 games, but he still put up good batting numbers in a fully platoon role with 3.0 WAR. Jakarta brought him back for 1997 he had 3.0 WAR over 122 games. Batam then re-signed a now 42-year old Widhyasari for 1998.

That year, he had an impressive resurgence with 4.7 WAR and a 171 wRC+ in 143 games. Widhyasari also had a respectable postseason and helped the Blue Raiders win the 1998 APB Championship for his first ring. Widhyasari had 11 hits, 5 runs, 4 extra base hits, and 7 RBI in 12 playoff starts. That would be his final season as a full-time starter.

Widhyasari played two more seasons almost exclusively as a pinch hitter role. He played 117 games for Palembang in 1999, then had 98 games for Bandung in 2000. Widhyasari retired after the 2000 campaign as one of the select few in pro baseball history to play games as a 45-year old. For his entire pro career, Widhyasari had 2568 hits, 1349 runs, 384 doubles, 568 home runs, 1379 RBI, 1058 walks, a .276/.350/.508 slash, 182 wRC+, and 104.5 WAR.

For just his APB years, Widhyasari had 1954 hits, 992 runs, 307 doubles, 414 home runs, 1029 RBI, 801 walks, a .281/.355/.512 slash, 201 wRC+, and 91.6 WAR. Like Senaen, his MLB excursion cost him some tallies on the accumulation leaderboards, falling shy of the 1000 run and 2000 hit milestones. As of 2037, his WAR total is 25^th among all position players. Because of his elder statesmen years, some may have forgotten how dominant he was in his prime.

The notoriously tough on hitters APB voters only gave Widhyasari 73.7% to round out the six-player 2006 class. However, three MVPs and three Triple Crowns prove that in his prime in the 1980s, Widhyasari was arguably APB’s finest hitter. His career OPS is still 15^th best among all APB players with 3000 plate appearances.