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FuzzyRussianHat · 08-31-2024, 07:50 AM

Almaty had the ABF East League’s #1 seed at 97-65. The Assassins extended their playoff streak to four seasons and won their third North Division title since the 2009 realignment. Hyderabad won the South Division at 93-69, their first time in first place since 2008. Despite that, the Horned Frogs picked up their fifth playoff berth in six years.

Both wild cards came out of the South with Lahore (89-73) and reigning Asian Baseball Federation champ Faisalabad (86-76) advancing. The Longhorns ended a three-year playoff drought, while the Fire grew their streak to three. Just missing out on the final spot were Bishkek (84-78) and Dushanbe (83-79). Karachi fell to 77-85, the first losing season since 2003 for the Carp.

The Dynamo had their first winning season since their 2004 pennant, led by perhaps the greatest rookie season ever by shortstop Nizami Aghazade. The Kazakh righty nicknamed “Dingus” was the third overall pick in the 2011 ABF Draft. He broke the world record for most WAR by a Rookie of the Year winner in any league, as Aghazade’s 13.9 bested the 13.7 set by 1977 WAB Pitcher of the Year Kouadio Diao.

That WAR mark was the second-most by any player in ABF history to that point, only behind Gokhan Karatas’ 14.9 in 1993. Aghazade won East League MVP and posted the eighth Triple Crown season by an ABF hitter. He led in home runs (47), RBI (110), triple slash (.364/.433/.685), OPS (1.118), wRC+ (247), runs (103), hits (208), and WAR (13.9). By the time he was done, most would agree that Aghazade was the greatest player in ABF history.

Bishkek’s Oskar Tamm also made history with his sixth East League Pitcher of the Year, joining Yazeed Anwari (8) as the only ABF pitchers with 6+ POTYs. The 35-year old Estonian lefty led in WAR (5.9), complete games (18), and innings (267). Tamm added a 2.43 ERA, 296 strikeouts, 15-13 record, and 134 ERA+. Tamm also became the fifth ABF pitcher with 200 career wins and the third to 4000 strikeouts in 2012. He played one more season with the Black Sox before finishing his career between MLB and EPB.

Both first round playoff matchups went all five games. Top seed Almaty ousted defending champ Faisalabad in a rematch of last year’s East League Championship Series, while wild card Lahore upset Hyderabad. The Assassins grabbed their third ELCS berth in four years, while the Longhorns had their first since their back-to-back pennants in 2005-06.

Lahore pulled off another upset, defeating Almaty 4-2. This continued the bad luck for the Assassins, who are 0-5 in the ELCS since joining the ABF in 2000. Going back to their Eurasian Professional Baseball days, Almaty has lost in nine straight LCS appearances.

Baku had the ABF’s best overall record at 108-54, taking the top seed in the West League and their fourth straight Central Division title. They fended off tough competition from Tehran (98-64), Mashhad (95-67), and Shiraz (91-71). The defending conference champ Tarpons were the first wild card, while the Meteors got the second. Mashhad ended a four-year playoff drought. Meanwhile, last year’s WLCS runner-up Isfahan fell to 79-83, their first losing season since 2004.

Gaziantep won the Turkish Division at 88-74 with Ankara (82-80) as their only real competition. It was impressively the Gorillas’ second division title despite being in only their fourth season post-expansion. They were the only expansion team in any world league to pull off that feat to that point.

Baku 1B Ali Sungu won his second West League MVP in three years. The 27-year old Turkish lefty led in runs (131), homers (65), RBI (148), total bases (418), OBP (.400), slugging (.706), OPS (1.106), wRC+ (216), and WAR (11.0). His 131 runs fell two short of Gokhan Karatas’ single-season record of 133 from 1993. Sungu’s .326 batting average was also only seven points from a Triple Crown.

Pitcher of the Year as Istanbul’s Khatib Karzai. The 27-year old Pakistani righty was the strikeout leader (371) and WARlord (9.7) and led with 4 shutouts. Karzai added a 2.16 ERA over 24 6 innings, a 17-8 record, and 159 ERA+. He stayed two more years with the Ironmen before leaving for MLB on a hefty four-year, $50,700,000 deal with Toronto.

Division champs prevailed in round one with Baku sweeping Mashhad and Gaziantep topping Tehran 3-1. This was the first-ever West League Championship Series for the young Gorillas franchise. Ultimately, the high-powered Blackbirds rolled 4-1 to their second pennant in three years.

The 28^th Asian Baseball Federation Championship was a seven game classic with Baku outlasting Lahore 4-3. The Blackbirds earned their first-ever league title and became the 17^th unique champ in ABF history. Baku was also the fifth different champion in five seasons. 28-year old catcher Firdoze Umar was finals MVP, getting 18 hits, 8 doubles, 2 runs, 1 homer, and 10 RBI in 15 playoff starts.

Other notes: Lahore’s Mehmet Fatih Canadin stole 18 bases in the playoffs, tying the world playoff record set by SAB’s David Rusli in 2006. 18 would be matched again, but still hasn’t been topped anywhere as of 2037. 3B Shaheed Abbas and LF Martyn Khaladkow won their eighth Gold Gloves. OF Majd Bsharri won his eighth Silver Slugger.

08-31-2024, 07:50 AM	#1569
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,880	2012 in ABF Almaty had the ABF East League’s #1 seed at 97-65. The Assassins extended their playoff streak to four seasons and won their third North Division title since the 2009 realignment. Hyderabad won the South Division at 93-69, their first time in first place since 2008. Despite that, the Horned Frogs picked up their fifth playoff berth in six years. Both wild cards came out of the South with Lahore (89-73) and reigning Asian Baseball Federation champ Faisalabad (86-76) advancing. The Longhorns ended a three-year playoff drought, while the Fire grew their streak to three. Just missing out on the final spot were Bishkek (84-78) and Dushanbe (83-79). Karachi fell to 77-85, the first losing season since 2003 for the Carp. The Dynamo had their first winning season since their 2004 pennant, led by perhaps the greatest rookie season ever by shortstop Nizami Aghazade. The Kazakh righty nicknamed “Dingus” was the third overall pick in the 2011 ABF Draft. He broke the world record for most WAR by a Rookie of the Year winner in any league, as Aghazade’s 13.9 bested the 13.7 set by 1977 WAB Pitcher of the Year Kouadio Diao. That WAR mark was the second-most by any player in ABF history to that point, only behind Gokhan Karatas’ 14.9 in 1993. Aghazade won East League MVP and posted the eighth Triple Crown season by an ABF hitter. He led in home runs (47), RBI (110), triple slash (.364/.433/.685), OPS (1.118), wRC+ (247), runs (103), hits (208), and WAR (13.9). By the time he was done, most would agree that Aghazade was the greatest player in ABF history. Bishkek’s Oskar Tamm also made history with his sixth East League Pitcher of the Year, joining Yazeed Anwari (8) as the only ABF pitchers with 6+ POTYs. The 35-year old Estonian lefty led in WAR (5.9), complete games (18), and innings (267). Tamm added a 2.43 ERA, 296 strikeouts, 15-13 record, and 134 ERA+. Tamm also became the fifth ABF pitcher with 200 career wins and the third to 4000 strikeouts in 2012. He played one more season with the Black Sox before finishing his career between MLB and EPB. Both first round playoff matchups went all five games. Top seed Almaty ousted defending champ Faisalabad in a rematch of last year’s East League Championship Series, while wild card Lahore upset Hyderabad. The Assassins grabbed their third ELCS berth in four years, while the Longhorns had their first since their back-to-back pennants in 2005-06. Lahore pulled off another upset, defeating Almaty 4-2. This continued the bad luck for the Assassins, who are 0-5 in the ELCS since joining the ABF in 2000. Going back to their Eurasian Professional Baseball days, Almaty has lost in nine straight LCS appearances. Baku had the ABF’s best overall record at 108-54, taking the top seed in the West League and their fourth straight Central Division title. They fended off tough competition from Tehran (98-64), Mashhad (95-67), and Shiraz (91-71). The defending conference champ Tarpons were the first wild card, while the Meteors got the second. Mashhad ended a four-year playoff drought. Meanwhile, last year’s WLCS runner-up Isfahan fell to 79-83, their first losing season since 2004. Gaziantep won the Turkish Division at 88-74 with Ankara (82-80) as their only real competition. It was impressively the Gorillas’ second division title despite being in only their fourth season post-expansion. They were the only expansion team in any world league to pull off that feat to that point. Baku 1B Ali Sungu won his second West League MVP in three years. The 27-year old Turkish lefty led in runs (131), homers (65), RBI (148), total bases (418), OBP (.400), slugging (.706), OPS (1.106), wRC+ (216), and WAR (11.0). His 131 runs fell two short of Gokhan Karatas’ single-season record of 133 from 1993. Sungu’s .326 batting average was also only seven points from a Triple Crown. Pitcher of the Year as Istanbul’s Khatib Karzai. The 27-year old Pakistani righty was the strikeout leader (371) and WARlord (9.7) and led with 4 shutouts. Karzai added a 2.16 ERA over 24 6 innings, a 17-8 record, and 159 ERA+. He stayed two more years with the Ironmen before leaving for MLB on a hefty four-year, $50,700,000 deal with Toronto. Division champs prevailed in round one with Baku sweeping Mashhad and Gaziantep topping Tehran 3-1. This was the first-ever West League Championship Series for the young Gorillas franchise. Ultimately, the high-powered Blackbirds rolled 4-1 to their second pennant in three years. The 28^th Asian Baseball Federation Championship was a seven game classic with Baku outlasting Lahore 4-3. The Blackbirds earned their first-ever league title and became the 17^th unique champ in ABF history. Baku was also the fifth different champion in five seasons. 28-year old catcher Firdoze Umar was finals MVP, getting 18 hits, 8 doubles, 2 runs, 1 homer, and 10 RBI in 15 playoff starts. Other notes: Lahore’s Mehmet Fatih Canadin stole 18 bases in the playoffs, tying the world playoff record set by SAB’s David Rusli in 2006. 18 would be matched again, but still hasn’t been topped anywhere as of 2037. 3B Shaheed Abbas and LF Martyn Khaladkow won their eighth Gold Gloves. OF Majd Bsharri won his eighth Silver Slugger. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)