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Pitcher Tiemogo Idrissa was West African Baseball’s lone Hall of Fame addition in 2015, but he was a no-doubter at 98.9%. Six other guys were above 50%, but short of the 66% requirement. RF Emmanuel Kao had the best showing with 62.9% for his second ballot. Next was RF Ada Nwankwo at 60.1% on his sixth go. SP Alusine Sadiq posted 58.3% in his seventh ballot, 3B Yakubu Odiye got 56.5% on his third chance, 3B Awudu Haddad debuted at 53.2%, and 3B Falaba Bah received 52.2% for his third ballot.



Dropped after ten ballots included reliever Corliss Ganiyu, who won Reliever of the Year twice and led in saves four times between nine seasons with Ibadan and Freetown. His tallies were weakened by later MLB and EBF stints, finishing in WAB with 228 saves, a 1.96 ERA, 523 innings, 724 strikeouts, 195 ERA+, and 19.9 WAR. Ganiyu still never was lower than 37%, but he peaked at 48.7% in 2008.

Also dropped was 1B Theodore Lawal, who played 12 years with four teams, winning three Silver Sluggers. He won four championship rings, one with Port Harcourt in 1995 (with a finals MVP) and three with Kano from 1997-99. Lawal peaked with his 38.3% debut and dropped down to 9.0 by the end.

He was hurt by low tallies, as he was only a full-time starter in nine seasons. Lawal still managed to get 1661 hits, 879 runs, 341 doubles, 357 home runs, 1040 RBI, a .293/.341/.552 slash, 149 wRC+, and 46.0 WAR. That pace with a few more years might have gotten him in. Lawal wasn’t dominant enough in his short peak to overcome the lack of overall tallies.



Tiemogo Idrissa – Starting Pitcher – Ibadan Iguanas – 98.9% First Ballot

Tiemogo Idrissa was a 6’8’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from the capital of Niger, Niamey. He was too lanky to have overpowering stuff, but Idrissa’s movement was outstanding. His stuff still graded as above average with 95-97 mph peak velocity and his control was quite good. Idrissa’s arsenal was cutter, slider, curveball, and changeup.

Idrissa’s stamina was very good for a WAB ace and while he had some lingering back troubles, he still topped 200+ innings 12 times. Idrissa was a great defensive pitcher, but was awful at holding runners that got on. His great work ethic allowed him to often overcome any flaws, becoming a very popular player in his time.

Although he grew up in Niger, he spent the vast majority of his career in neighboring Nigeria. Idrissa was very tall from a young age, which caught scouts’ attention. They thought he’d fill out more than he did, but his potential was undeniable regardless. Ibadan snagged Idrissa to a developmental deal in August 1986. He spent four years in the Iguanas’ academy before debuting in 1991 at age 21.

Idrissa was a reliever in his first two seasons with fairly unremarkable results. Cracking the rotation also wasn’t easy as Ibadan had started what would be a 12-year playoff streak in 1990. They lost in the 1992 Eastern League Championship Series to eventual champ Lagos, but Idrissa’s 2.57 ERA in seven innings of relief earned him a greater role in 1993. Idrissa wasn’t 100% a starter though until 1994.

He only tossed 2.2 innings in the 1993 postseason, but they were scoreless. Ibadan led WAB at 110-52 and beat Abidjan for the championship. The Iguanas won the EL pennant again in 1994 and 1996, but lost in the finals both years. The Athletes got revenge in 1994, while Accra beat Ibadan in 1996. While the Iguanas’ playoff streak continued five more years, they had a first round loss in 1997 and four straight ELCS losses to the Kano dynasty from 1998-2001.

For his playoff career, Idrissa had a mixed bag with a 3.44 ERA, 5-6 record, 102 innings, 82 strikeouts, 18 walks, 111 ERA+, and 1.8 WAR. He also pitched 87 innings for his country Niger in eight editions of the World Baseball Championship from 1992-2000. In the WBC, Idrissa had a 2.69 ERA, 4-5 record, 3 saves, 92 strikeouts, 29 walks, 133 ERA+, and 2.9 WAR.

Idrissa first looked like a stud in 1996, taking second in Pitcher of the Year voting with league bests in wins (24-6), innings (266.2), and shutouts (7). That year also had his career best in strikeouts (285) and was one of three seasons worth 7+ WAR. He reliably got 4+ WAR each year from 1993-2006. Ibadan’s team success allowed him to lead in wins five times in his career. The Iguanas gave him a three-year, $3,900,000 extension after the 1995 season.

In 1998, Idrissa won Pitcher of the Year with league bests in wins (18-6), and WAR (7.4). Ibadan locked him up to a six-year, $14,620,000 extension that winter. Idrissa repeated in 1999 as POTY and had his finest season with his lone ERA title (2.28). That was a career best, as was his 8.3 WAR, 171 ERA+, 24-6 record, and 26 quality starts. He led in innings each year from 1999-2001 and took second in POTY voting in 2001.

Idrissa was less dominant, but still reliable for the next few years. Ibadan missed the playoffs in 2002 and 2003, then lost in the 2004 ELCS to Kano. 2005 had injury issues, but he posted a career and EL best 0.94 WHIP and 4.7 WAR over 175.1 innings. Ibadan gave the soon-to-be 36 year old another three-year, $7,800,000 extension with that.

2006 would be his last strong year, taking second in POTY voting and leading again in WHIP. Idrissa also passed Power Bonou’s 238 to become WAB’s all-time wins leader. 2007 was notable for reaching the 250 win and 3500 strikeout milestones. He was only the fifth to reach 3500 Ks in WAB. However, Idrissa’s productivity dropped steeply with a 4.22 ERA, his worst as a full-time starter to that point. He was used only for one relief appearance in the playoffs as Ibadan again lost in the ELCS, this time to Niamey.

Mainly out of respect, Ibadan gave Idrissa a two-year, $3,600,000 extension in 2008. His velocity was dropping and he struggled to a 4.73 ERA in 104.2 innings. The Iguanas ended up trading Idrissa to Niamey three prospects, sending him to his hometown team. The Atomics were back-to-back EL champs and hoped Idrissa could provide some veteran leadership and ticket sales as a hometown guy made good.

Unfortunately, he stunk with a 5.50 ERA in 90 innings and Niamey narrowly missed the playoffs. Idrissa was worse in 2009 with a 6.21 ERA and had his season ended with shoulder inflammation. His return home had a terrible 5.94 ERA over 239.1 innings. Idrissa retired that winter at age 39 and his second home Ibadan quickly retired his #20 uniform.

Idrissa finished with a 268-172 record, 3.44 ERA, 3926.2 innings, 3713 strikeouts, 678 walks, 322/519 quality starts, 84 complete games, 113 ERA+, and 79.9 WAR. As of 2037, he’s still WAB’s all-time wins leader and with his longevity, also leads in games started (519), innings, and hits allowed (3810). Idrissa ranks fifth in strikeouts and fourth in WAR.

There were more dominant pitchers, as his ERA doesn’t crack the top 100 among all WAB arms with 1000+ innings. But Idrissa was as reliably solid as they come and for the majority of his career gave Ibadan a good shot at winning in each start. Idrissa was a slam dunk for the 2015 WAB Hall of Fame, standing alone in the class at 98.9%.