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Angelo Costa – Starting Pitcher – Monrovia Diplomats – 70.5% Third Ballot

Angelo Costa was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from the capital of Cape Verde, Praia. At his peak, Costa had incredible stuff and movement along with solid control. His fastball was exceptional with 97-99 mph velocity, but he also had excellent options with a slider, changeup, sinker, and circle change. Scouts gave him a 9/10 grade in both stuff and movement during his best years; marks rarely reached by any pitcher.

Costa also had excellent stamina and won a Gold Glove in 1995. He had decent durability in his 20s, but injuries derailed him into his 30s. Some teammates criticized him for selfishness and occasional laziness. However, Costa’s peak was remarkable and made him one of the renowned pitchers of his era.

A scout visiting Cape Verde in 1989 took notice of a teenage Costa and signed him to a developmental deal with Monrovia in March. He spent five years in development and debuted in 1994 at age 21 as a part-time starter. He looked merely average as a rookie and in 1995 as a full-time starter. However, Costa put it all together by his third season.

In 1996, Costa won Pitcher of the Year and led the Western League in wins, innings, strikeouts, quality starts, complete games, and WAR. The 292 innings was the second-most in a single-season in WAB history and the 20 complete games remains the WAB record in 2037. He was the WARlord in five consecutive seasons and had 6.5+ WAR in seven straight WAB seasons.

Costa also led in strikeouts in 1997 and 1998, while leading in ERA in 1998. The 2.09 ERA in 1998 was a career best and he fell two wins short of the Triple Crown. Costa was second in 1997 POTY voting, won it in 1998, and was third in 1999. He thrived despite Monrovia’s struggles, who averaged only 71.5 wins per season from 1994-99.

After the 1998 season, Costa signed a two-year, $4,000,000 extension with Monrovia. They couldn’t get a long-term extension with him and traded him for three prospects before the 2000 season with Kano. The Condors had won three straight WAB Championships, having just posted a record-setting 123-39 in 1999.

In his lone Kano season, Costa won his third Pitcher of the Year and earned a Triple Crown with a 24-2 record, 2.19 ERA, and 370 strikeouts. He also led in innings, K/BB, shutouts, and had a career-best 11.7 WAR. That sits third-best all-time in WAB history by a pitcher as of 2037.

The Condors broke their own record at 125-37, but suffered a stunning finals loss to Abidjan. Costa was great in his three playoff starts with a 0.77 ERA over 23.1 innings with 33 strikeouts. That marked the end of his WAB career, as Costa was a free agent for the first time at age 28 and had attention from all around the world.

For his seven WAB seasons, Costa had a 116-67 record, 2.74 ERA, 1727.2 innings, 2137 strikeouts, 306 walks, 143/207 quality starts, 77 complete games, 142 ERA+, 66 FIP-, and 55.1 WAR. It was about as strong of seven years as you can have. However, many WAB Hall of Fame voters felt he simply didn’t have the tenure to deserve the nod. He had the fewest wins of any HOF as of 2037, but still ranks 38^th in WAR.

Some voters figured he’d have continued to dominate had he stayed considering he would do great in MLB. Still, Costa missed the cut at 58.6% on his debut in 2009. He barely missed in 2010 at 65.5%, then crossed the 66% requirement at 70.5% in 2011. That made Costa a third-ballot inductee with WAB’s 2011 class.

Costa found a big payday in MLB for 2001 with a five-year, $39,500,000 deal with Montreal. He debuted with a third place finish in Pitcher of the Year voting and 8.4 WAR in 2001. Costa was again strong in 2002 and finished in two years with the Maples with a 30-27 record, 2.86 ERA, 538.2 innings, 505 strikeouts, 121 ERA+, and 16.3 WAR.

Montreal was mid-grade during his two seasons. It shocked many as Costa opted out of his deal after two years, becoming a free agent again at age 30. Philadelphia gave him an all-time lucrative deal of seven seasons and $80,200,000. The Phillies won the National Association pennant in 2001, but just missed the playoffs in 2002.

Costa’s 2003 season was an all-timer, leading in wins (22-9), strikeouts (319), and WAR (11.7). The WAR mark was the seventh-best by a MLB pitcher. Costa had a 2.15 ERA and 159 ERA+, winning the fourth Pitcher of the Year of his career. He became one of a select group to win POTY in multiple leagues.

But even more impressive was this season earned National Association MVP. This was only the second time in NA history that a non-two-way pitcher won MVP, joining Jerry Addison in 1964. Philadelphia took the top seed at 102-60, but Costa struggled with a 5.14 ERA in 21 playoff innings. The Phillies lost to Ottawa in the NACS.

Costa still looked pretty good in 2004, but he missed much of the fall to shoulder inflammation. He allowed 3 runs in 13 playoff innings as Philadelphia lost in the second round. Costa had an okay start to 2005, but disaster struck with a torn rotator cuff in late May, putting him out five months.

He managed to make it back just in time for one World Series start in 2005, but got rocked with six runs allowed in three innings. Philadelphia ultimately lost in the World Series to Seattle. Costa decided not to opt out of his deal with a huge payday still owed for the next four seasons. However, Costa struggled in spring training and Philadelphia cut him in late March.

With the Phillies, Costa had a 33-16 record, 2.34 ERA, 488 innings, 557 strikeouts, 114 walks, 146 ERA+, and 18.1 WAR. It was a very impressive three years, but the rotator cuff injury absolutely ruined his control. Omaha signed him for 2006, but he was terrible with 74 walks in 126 innings. Costa’s highest walk total previously as 58 over 274.1 innings.

Costa had a -0.6 WAR with the Hawks, who cut him in late August 2006. He finished the year struggling with minor league Morgantown. Buffalo gave him a shot in 2007, but he stunk with a 7.36 ERA and -1.1 WAR in only four starts. The Blue Sox cut him in late April and Costa couldn’t find another job in 2007 or 2008. He retired from the game at age 35.

In MLB, Costa had a 68-56 record, 2.92 ERA, 1178.1 innings, 1166 strikeouts, 299 walks, 117 ERA+, and 32.7 WAR. For his entire pro career, he had a 184-123 record, 2.81 ERA, 2906 innings, 3303 strikeouts, 605 walks, 130 ERA+, and 87.8 WAR. His decline was steep, but Costa was arguably the best pitcher in all of pro baseball in his peak. Winning four Pitcher of the Years and a MLB MVP is a very impressive run.



Hamza Seidu – Second Base – Monrovia Diplomats – 66.5% Third Ballot

Hamza Seidu was a 6’0’’, 195 pound switch-hitting second baseman from Zaria, Nigeria; a city of 736,000 people in the north central part of the nation. Seidu overall a solid contact hitter with an above average ability to draw walks, although his strikeout rate was subpar. He had extreme splits with great numbers against right-handed arms (.989 OPS, 166 wRC+) compared to very average stats against lefties (.749 OPS, 108 wRC+).

Seidu had a much stronger bat than most second basemen, topping 30+ home runs seven times and 40+ thrice. He also was effective at finding the gap and had 33 doubles and 10 triples per his 162 game average. Seidu had excellent running speed, yet he had terrible baserunning skills and was mediocre at getting steals.

Defensively, Seidu played exclusively at second base and was a reliably strong glove, winning Gold Gloves in both 1994 and 1995. His durability was decent, managing to play 135+ games in all but two seasons from 1991-2001. Seidu worked very hard and was considered a solid leader. He was a likeable and respected player that became extremely popular with fans.

A visiting scout from Monrovia was impressed by a teenaged Seidu and signed him to a developmental deal in October 1985. He spent five years developing in Liberia before debuting in 1991 at age 21. Seidu was a full-time starter from the start with an impressive .300/.358/.536 slash as a rookie with 6.1 WAR, earning Rookie of the Year honors.

A sprained ankle cost Seidu about two months in 1992, but he bounced back in 1993 for his first Silver Slugger and a third place in MVP voting. He led in slugging and WAR in 1993. Seidu had 7+ WAR again in 1994 and won his first Gold Glove.

1995 would be his strongest year, winning both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. Seidu was second in MVP voting, leading the Western League with 9.2 WAR. He also had career bests in home runs (52), runs (97), hits (186), RBI (127), average (.321), slugging (.688), OPS (1.066), and wRC+ (190).

It was hard to get noticed despite his talent as Monrovia stunk in the 1990s. They were a wild card in Seidu’s rookie year, but only had one winning season in the rest of his tenure (a mere 82-80 in 1992). Seidu didn’t lead in any stats beyond 1995, but he won additional Silver Sluggers in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001.

Seidu also played for his native Nigeria from 1992-2003 in the World Baseball Championship. He had 113 starts with 89 hits, 53 runs, 15 doubles, 5 triples, 27 home runs, 63 RBI, a .213/.267/.460 slash, 104 wRC+, and 2.1 WAR.

Monrovia gave Seidu an eight-year, $11,000,000 extension in July 1994 and he kept plugging along. In total for the Diplomats, Seidu had 1753 hits, 884 runs, 323 doubles, 103 triples, 381 home runs, 1065 RBI, a .294/.354/.574 slash, 151 wRC+, and 63.8 WAR. Seidu and HOF classmate Angelo Costa were redeeming qualities in an otherwise lousy era for Monrovia. The Diplomats would retire his #12 uniform soon after he retired.

Seidu’s final season with Monrovia ended with a ruptured Achilles tendon in late September 2001. He had one year left on his contract, but the Diplomats opted to trade him to Kumasi for three prospects. The Monkeys gave Seidu a two-year, $3,600,000 extension in early May in hopes he could be a solid starter.

Kumasi made it to the WLCS in both 2002 and 2003, but lost both times. Injuries meant Seidu only played in around half of the games in both years with solid hitting in 2002, but merely okay stats in 2003. He had 4.0 WAR, a .265/.294/.502 slash, and 126 wRC+ with Kumasi. Seidu decided to retire after the 2003 campaign at only age 34.

For his career, Seidu had 1919 hits, 971 runs, 361 doubles, 112 triples, 412 home runs, 1167 RBI, 601 walks, 326 stolen bases, a .291/.349/.567 slash, 149 wRC+, and 67.8 WAR. A relatively short career gave him lower accumulations than many WAB Hall of Famers. A few guys got in with lower totals, but that was because they started official WAB careers late, entering the debuting league as seasoned pros.

Working in Seidu’s favor was that he was the WAR leader among second baseman, a mark he still holds in 2037. Among all position players, he ranked 29^th. But second base was a lesser valued position and Seidu also was stuck on some forgettable Monrovia teams.

He missed the cut at 57.3% and 57.7% on his first two ballots. Seidu’s popularity and likeable nature helped get him a bump just beyond the 66% requirement on his third ballot. At 66.5%, he became the third and final member of WAB’s 2011 Hall of Fame class.