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FuzzyRussianHat · 07-03-2024, 06:46 PM

Austronesia Professional Baseball had been looking to expand much their competitors had done throughout the 2000s. The Taiwan-Philippine Association fairly quickly landed on an additional team in each league. The Taiwan League added the Hsinchu Sweathogs and the Philippine League introduced the Cagayan de Oro Critters.

The Sundaland Association began exploring similar and looked at other Indonesian markets, but their more immediate plans were shelved. That was due to South Asia Baseball’s two Malaysian teams expressing interest in defecting. They culturally and geographically made a lot of sense, plus APB was reluctant to do a four-team expansion draft for fear of diluting the talent pool

Hsinchu and Cagayan de Oro began play in 2007 with an expansion draft in the preceding winter. Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru ultimately joined one year later for the 2008 season and merely brought over their existing roster from SAB. Through the additions, APB maintained its existing playoff structure with the two league champs meeting for the Association title in a best-of-seven, followed by a best-of-seven Austronesia Championship.

Two-time defending APB champ Davao won the Philippine League for the third straight year. The Devil Rays at 108-54 set a franchise best and earned the TPA’s top seed, leading in both runs scored (648) and fewest allowed (395). The Taiwan League had a shakeup with Kaohsiung at 102-60, earning their first title since 2001. Tainan’s five-year reign came to a close as they finished third at 87-75, one behind Taoyuan and one ahead of Taichung.

In only his second full season, Taipei DH Ching-Hui Lin won Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. The #1 overall draft pick from 2004 led in home runs (42), RBI (106), total bases (329), slugging (.5570, and OPS (.892). Lin added 172 wRC+ and 7.4 WAR.

Pitcher of the Year was Davao’s Bima Idris. The 28-year old Indonesian lefty led in wins (23-5), strikeouts (362), and complete games (18). Idris added a 1.44 ERA over 250.1 innings and 9.9 WAR. He was second in ERA behind Taichung’s Kan-Lin Tung at 1.12. Idris also finished second in MVP voting with his effort.

Defending Sundaland Association champ Surabaya won another intense Java League battle with Jakarta. The Sunbirds repeated their 102-60 record, topping a 98-64 effort by the Jaguars. Jakarta has the misfortune of winning 95+ in four of the last five seasons, but only making the playoffs once. A weak Malacca League went to Palembang at 86-76 for their third title in four years. The Panthers were seven games ahead of second place Singapore.

Bandung veteran CF Gunansar Owagay picked up the Sundlanad Association MVP. The 31-year old righty was the WARlord at 11.0 and led in slugging (.536) and wRC+ (226). Owagay added 30 home runs, 39 stolen bases, and a .291 average. He pulled off the impressive totals despite missing a month to a separated shoulder.

Surabaya’s Elliot Tran picked up Pitcher of the Year as the 26-year old Singaporean led in WHIP (0.72) and FIP- (58). Tran added a 16-4 record, 1.55 ERA, and 246 strikeouts over 197 innings for 5.8 WAR. The highlight of the season came on May 27 against Medan when Tran struck out 11 in APB’s 28^th Perfect Game. He had signed a five-year, $22,120,000 extension before the season and seemed on his way. However, Tran’s 2007 ended in late August with a damaged elbow ligament. He’d miss the next 12 months and would have a strong 2009, but Tran was never consistently elite after that. Surabaya also saw Arcan Sari win his third straight Reliever of the Year.

In the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship, Kaohsiung stunned reigning APB champ Davao with a sweep. This was the sixth pennant for the Steelheads and first since 2000. Palembang gave Surabaya a nice battle in the Sundaland Association Championship, but the Sunbirds won 4-2 to repeat. It was also Surabaya’s sixth pennant.

The 43^rd Austronesia Championship was the second time that Kaohsiung and Surabaya had met, with the Steelheads winning their 1977 encounter. Kaohsiung had gone 5-0 in their previous finals, while the Sunbirds were 3-2. Surabaya took the series 4-1 to add the 2007 cup next to their 1071, 1979, and 1999 wins. Veteran 3B Rey Susanti was finals MVP, having joined the Sunbirds the prior year after nine years with Pekanbaru. In 11 playoff starts, he had 11 hits, 3 runs, 3 doubles, 1 homer, and 5 RBI.

The Java League continued to be quite strong, representing the Sundaland Association in seven of the last nine APB finals. Four teams (Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang, Jakarta) have won titles in that stretch with a 6-1 record.

Other notes: Henry Fernandes became the 15^th pitcher to 200 career wins. He and Tyson Sugiarto became the 21^st and 22^nd to reach 3500 career strikeouts. CF Paolo Baptista won his seventh Silver Slugger.

07-03-2024, 06:46 PM	#1394
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,094	2007 in APB Austronesia Professional Baseball had been looking to expand much their competitors had done throughout the 2000s. The Taiwan-Philippine Association fairly quickly landed on an additional team in each league. The Taiwan League added the Hsinchu Sweathogs and the Philippine League introduced the Cagayan de Oro Critters. The Sundaland Association began exploring similar and looked at other Indonesian markets, but their more immediate plans were shelved. That was due to South Asia Baseball’s two Malaysian teams expressing interest in defecting. They culturally and geographically made a lot of sense, plus APB was reluctant to do a four-team expansion draft for fear of diluting the talent pool Hsinchu and Cagayan de Oro began play in 2007 with an expansion draft in the preceding winter. Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru ultimately joined one year later for the 2008 season and merely brought over their existing roster from SAB. Through the additions, APB maintained its existing playoff structure with the two league champs meeting for the Association title in a best-of-seven, followed by a best-of-seven Austronesia Championship. Two-time defending APB champ Davao won the Philippine League for the third straight year. The Devil Rays at 108-54 set a franchise best and earned the TPA’s top seed, leading in both runs scored (648) and fewest allowed (395). The Taiwan League had a shakeup with Kaohsiung at 102-60, earning their first title since 2001. Tainan’s five-year reign came to a close as they finished third at 87-75, one behind Taoyuan and one ahead of Taichung. In only his second full season, Taipei DH Ching-Hui Lin won Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. The #1 overall draft pick from 2004 led in home runs (42), RBI (106), total bases (329), slugging (.5570, and OPS (.892). Lin added 172 wRC+ and 7.4 WAR. Pitcher of the Year was Davao’s Bima Idris. The 28-year old Indonesian lefty led in wins (23-5), strikeouts (362), and complete games (18). Idris added a 1.44 ERA over 250.1 innings and 9.9 WAR. He was second in ERA behind Taichung’s Kan-Lin Tung at 1.12. Idris also finished second in MVP voting with his effort. Defending Sundaland Association champ Surabaya won another intense Java League battle with Jakarta. The Sunbirds repeated their 102-60 record, topping a 98-64 effort by the Jaguars. Jakarta has the misfortune of winning 95+ in four of the last five seasons, but only making the playoffs once. A weak Malacca League went to Palembang at 86-76 for their third title in four years. The Panthers were seven games ahead of second place Singapore. Bandung veteran CF Gunansar Owagay picked up the Sundlanad Association MVP. The 31-year old righty was the WARlord at 11.0 and led in slugging (.536) and wRC+ (226). Owagay added 30 home runs, 39 stolen bases, and a .291 average. He pulled off the impressive totals despite missing a month to a separated shoulder. Surabaya’s Elliot Tran picked up Pitcher of the Year as the 26-year old Singaporean led in WHIP (0.72) and FIP- (58). Tran added a 16-4 record, 1.55 ERA, and 246 strikeouts over 197 innings for 5.8 WAR. The highlight of the season came on May 27 against Medan when Tran struck out 11 in APB’s 28^th Perfect Game. He had signed a five-year, $22,120,000 extension before the season and seemed on his way. However, Tran’s 2007 ended in late August with a damaged elbow ligament. He’d miss the next 12 months and would have a strong 2009, but Tran was never consistently elite after that. Surabaya also saw Arcan Sari win his third straight Reliever of the Year. In the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship, Kaohsiung stunned reigning APB champ Davao with a sweep. This was the sixth pennant for the Steelheads and first since 2000. Palembang gave Surabaya a nice battle in the Sundaland Association Championship, but the Sunbirds won 4-2 to repeat. It was also Surabaya’s sixth pennant. The 43^rd Austronesia Championship was the second time that Kaohsiung and Surabaya had met, with the Steelheads winning their 1977 encounter. Kaohsiung had gone 5-0 in their previous finals, while the Sunbirds were 3-2. Surabaya took the series 4-1 to add the 2007 cup next to their 1071, 1979, and 1999 wins. Veteran 3B Rey Susanti was finals MVP, having joined the Sunbirds the prior year after nine years with Pekanbaru. In 11 playoff starts, he had 11 hits, 3 runs, 3 doubles, 1 homer, and 5 RBI. The Java League continued to be quite strong, representing the Sundaland Association in seven of the last nine APB finals. Four teams (Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang, Jakarta) have won titles in that stretch with a 6-1 record. Other notes: Henry Fernandes became the 15^th pitcher to 200 career wins. He and Tyson Sugiarto became the 21^st and 22^nd to reach 3500 career strikeouts. CF Paolo Baptista won his seventh Silver Slugger. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)