[FuzzyRussianHat]

Three games separated first from third in WAB’s Western League with Bamako narrowly taking first at 95-67. This ended a five-year playoff drought for the Bullfrogs and was their first tie leading the standings since 2003. Dakar, who took first the prior two years, was second at 94-70. The Dukes grew their playoff streak to five seasons.

Abidjan was third at 92-70 for back-to-back berths and their ninth playoff berth in eleven years. The Athletes allowed only 572, while everyone else in the WL by Dakar allowed 800+. They underperformed their expected W/L by 11 games, while Bamako outperformed by nine. The Dukes scored the most runs (900) and had the second fewest allowed (787).

Taking the fourth and final playoff spot was Kumasi at 84-78, beating defending WL champ Banjul by one game. The Monkeys earned their third wild card in four years. Monrovia was also in the hunt for a bit, but dropped to 78-84 at the end for sixth.

Leading Kumasi’s effort was Western League MVP Alex Lebeid. The 26-year old Mauritanian right fielder led in home runs (61) and RBI (151). He added 210 hits, 111 runs, a .344/.385/.699 slash, 174 wRC+, and 6.5 WAR. This would be the one standout season in an otherwise journeyman career that would span four leagues. Lebeid’s next-best effort was 35 homers in 2016.

Abidjan’s Christopher Larbi became the fourth WAB pitcher to win Pitcher of the Year four times in his career. The 29-year old Ghanaian lefty was the first to do it consecutively, leading the league in ERA (2.35), wins (19-4), WHIP (0.93), quality starts (26), and WAR (7.9). Larbi added 256 strikeouts over 219.2 inning and a 193 ERA+.

The Athletes ousted Kumasi 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs, then fell 2-0 at Dakar in round two. The Dukes earned a fourth straight appearance in the Western League Championship Series. They lost in back-to-back years as Bamako won 3-2 in a classic. Game five had a 3-2 final score with a walkoff winner for the Bullfrogs, earning their fifth pennant (1976, 1983, 1986, 2003, 2015).



The top three teams in the Eastern League all extended playoff strengths with the fourth straight for Lome, sixth straight for Cotonou, and third straight by Port Harcourt. The reigning West African Baseball champ Lasers narrowly took first at 97-65, leading in pitching with 644 runs allowed. The Hillcats were one back at 96-66, while the Copperheads fell five games short at 92-70.

Lagos ended a six-year playoff drought and stretch of losing seasons, taking the final wild card at 89-73. Kano (86-76), Niamey (84-78), and Yaounde (83-79) were close behind. For the once dominant Condors, it was their first winning season since 2009. Also notable was Ibadan in eighth at 78-84, which ended an 11-year streak of winning seasons by the Iguanas.

The Yellow Birds fell short despite having a record-setting offense, setting new WAB records for hits (1837) and team slugging percentage (.534). Those remain top three seasons in EL history as of 2037. Yaounde’s 999 runs were close to Cotonou’s top mark from the prior year. Sinking the Yellow Birds were their 971 runs allowed with no other WAB teams even allowing 900+.

Leading the Yaounde offense was DH Shafiu Hassan, who earned Eastern League MVP in his third season. It was the first as a full-time starter for the 23-year old Nigerian lefty, who led in home runs (61), RBI (164), runs (139), total bases (471), and slugging (.709). Hassan also had 234 hits, 52 doubles, a .352 average, and 6.8 WAR.

The Yellow Birds would give Hassan an eight-year, $51,940,000 extension after the 2016 season. He beat out future teammate Fares Belaid for MVP despite the Cotonou DH’s effort. The 26-year old Tunisian had set the world record for hits in a season in 2014 with 266. In 2015, he broke that mark with 268 hits. It is a mark that Belaid would match the next year and top twice later in his storied career. En route to 268 hits, Belaid had a 31-game hit streak that ended in late April and a 34-game streak that ended in late August.

Lome’s Nana Villars repeated as Pitcher of the Year and won it for the third time. The 32-year old Ghanaian righty had a 3.43 ERA and 137 ERA+ over 218 innings, 16-7 record, 266 strikeouts, and 5.1 WAR. Villars would have one more strong year before back troubles tanked his productivity and led to a retirement after the 2018 season.

Cotonou edged Lagos 2-1 in the first round, but quickly was swept 2-0 by Port Harcourt. Despite four playoff berths in five years, the Hillcats hadn’t been to the Eastern League Championship Series since their 1995 WAB title. PH stunned defending champ Lome by not only beating them, but earning a road ELCS sweep. Port Harcourt became six-time Eastern League champs.



Despite the relative successes of both, the 41^st West African Championship was the first finals meeting between Port Harcourt and Bamako. The Hillcats prevailed 4-2 to earn their fourth title, having also won in 1980, 1989, and 1995.

CF Steve Embe was finals MVP in his fourth season for PH. In 11 playoff starts, the Cameroonian had 15 hits, 3 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, and 7 RBI. The finals struggled continued for the Bullfrogs, who fell to 0-5 all-time in the championship. It was also the sixth straight WAB title by an Eastern League team.



Other notes: 2015 didn’t have a no-hitter in WAB, ultimately starting a six-year run without a single no-no. Morrison Udobong became the eighth to reach 2500 career hits. RF Jacob Jamil won his tenth Gold Glove, while LF Julius Ayuba and SP Isaac Appiah won their eighth. Jamil was the first in WAB history to win the award ten times. Bright Abubakar won his seventh Silver Slugger and first as a DH, as his previous six wins were at second base.