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FuzzyRussianHat · 10-19-2024, 03:40 PM

Yet again, Taipei had the Taiwan-Philippine Association’s top seed, winning a fifth straight Taiwan League title at 103-59. It was their seventh TL title in eight years with 98 or more wins in all eight seasons. Their closest foe was Tainan at a distant 90-72.

The Philippine League had a shakeup with Davao back on top at 97-65. The Devil Rays were a dynasty from 2005-2011, but had bottomed out at 60-102 in 2015. They broke up Zamboanga’s four-peat dreams, as the Zebras were second at 88-74. Cebu, who won 100 games in 2015, fell off to 72-90. Zamboanga allowed the fewest runs in the TPA at 405, while Davao scored the most at 583. The Zebras under-performed their expected win/loss by nine games.

Taichung was just above .500, but they had the Taiwan-Philippine Association VP Buwono Gunawan. The 25-year old Indonesian second baseman was already in his seventh year, leading in the triple slash (.322/.366/.581), OPS (.946), wRC+ (198), WAR (11.0), hits (189), doubles (32), total bases (341), and runs (94). Gunawan added 30 home runs and 70 stolen bases. He beat out Tainan’s Yao Tsai for MVP despite the latter’s 52 home runs.

Zamboanga ace Ching-Chen Yao was also in the MVP mix, winning back-to-back Pitcher of the Year awards and the fourth of his career. He followed up his bonkers 17.2 WAR 2015 campaign by leading in WAR (14.8), strikeouts (384), ERA (0.80), WHIP (0.61), and shutouts (7). Yao had a 343 ERA+ over 247.1 innings and an 18-6 record, falling two wins short of a Triple Crown.

The 0.80 ERA was the second-lowest by a qualifying starter in APB history to that point, only behind his record-setting 0.73 in 2014. As of 2037, Yao’s 2016 still ranks third-best, while his opponent’s OPS (.371) ranks fourth and his WAR ranks 11^th. In the last five seasons, the 28-year old lefty had posted 70.8 WAR. On a scale from 1/10, many scouts graded his stuff as an 11 at this point.

For the first time since leaving South Asia Baseball for Austronesia Professional Baseball in 2008, Johor Bahru earned a playoff berth. The Blue Wings hadn’t even won more than 74 games in APB prior, but they had the top seed in the Sundlanad Association at 96-66 atop the Malacca League. Their Malaysian rival Kuala Lumpur had won their first division title the prior year, but fell off a cliff in 2016 at 63-99.

In a very competitive Java Sea League, Semarang and Palembang tied for the top spot at 91-71, while reigning APB champ Bandung finished third at 89-73 and Surabaya was 85-77. The Sliders won the one-game tiebreaker over the Panthers for their first playoff berth since winning it all in 2012. Semarang had the fewest runs allowed in the SA at 402. Palembang had the second most stolen bases in SA history at 402, but it wasn’t enough to advance.

Semarang secured the Sundaland Association’s top awards, led by MVP Terrence Kuike. The 31-year old center fielder was the WARlord (11.9) in his 12^th season for the Sliders. Kuike had a .293/.340/.487 slash, 195 wRC+, 28 home runs, and 168 hits with 56 stolen bases. He also posted a 13.4 zone rating and 1.047 EFF defensively.

Pitcher of the Year went to Benigno Espinoza. The 27-year old Filipino lefty led in K/BB (20.2) and quality starts (30). Espinoza tossed 270.1 innings with a 1.56 ERA, 17-8 record, 344 strikeouts, 17 walks, 159 ERA+, and 8.9 WAR. He signed a four-year extension before the season and had a few more solid seasons before regressing hard in his early 30s.

Taipei had become known for being a playoff choker in recent memory, going 0-6 in the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship from 2009-2015. They had lost to Davao in 2009 and 2010 and the 2016 final seemed to be going in the same direction. The Devil Rays started up 3-0, but the Tigercats made the improbable comeback to win the series in seven games. Taipei finally won the big one for their first pennant since 1993 and their fifth overall.

The Sundaland Association Championship was far less dramatic as Semarang rolled Johor Bahru 4-1. The Sliders earned their eighth pennant with wins in 1975, 1980, 1988, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2012 and 2016. That gave them an impressive 8-2 record in their SA finals berths.

The 52^nd Austronesia Championship was an all-timer, needing all seven games and extra innings in the finale. Semarang went up 5-4 in the top of the 13^th inning and came away with the win over Taipei. Pitcher of the Year Benigno Espinoza was the finals MVP, posting a 1.05 ERA over three playoff starts with 27 strikeouts over 25.2 innings. He tossed a three-hit shutout in the series.

This was Semarang’s sixth APB title (1975, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2016), tying them with Jakarta and Taoyuan for the most. One of their two defeats had been Taipei’s last title when they met previously in 1988. The Sliders were the fourth different champ in four years, although they broke up the parity having won five years prior.

Other notes: APB’s 40^th perfect game came on June 18 from Singapore’s Rob Bruja, striking out 10 against Johor Bahru. Cebu’s Favian Frias had his third no-hitter in a 15-strikeout performance over Tainan. Singapore’s Wil Tabaldo hit 51 home runs in 2016, becoming the only player in APB history with four 50+ homer seasons. Tabaldo became the 20^th to reach 400 career home runs in 2016. Kyle Oliveira became the ninth reliever to 300 career saves. RF Shih-Chieh Tseng won his ninth Gold Glove and 3B Adalberto Salenda won his eighth.

10-19-2024, 03:40 PM	#1715
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,228	2016 in APB Yet again, Taipei had the Taiwan-Philippine Association’s top seed, winning a fifth straight Taiwan League title at 103-59. It was their seventh TL title in eight years with 98 or more wins in all eight seasons. Their closest foe was Tainan at a distant 90-72. The Philippine League had a shakeup with Davao back on top at 97-65. The Devil Rays were a dynasty from 2005-2011, but had bottomed out at 60-102 in 2015. They broke up Zamboanga’s four-peat dreams, as the Zebras were second at 88-74. Cebu, who won 100 games in 2015, fell off to 72-90. Zamboanga allowed the fewest runs in the TPA at 405, while Davao scored the most at 583. The Zebras under-performed their expected win/loss by nine games. Taichung was just above .500, but they had the Taiwan-Philippine Association VP Buwono Gunawan. The 25-year old Indonesian second baseman was already in his seventh year, leading in the triple slash (.322/.366/.581), OPS (.946), wRC+ (198), WAR (11.0), hits (189), doubles (32), total bases (341), and runs (94). Gunawan added 30 home runs and 70 stolen bases. He beat out Tainan’s Yao Tsai for MVP despite the latter’s 52 home runs. Zamboanga ace Ching-Chen Yao was also in the MVP mix, winning back-to-back Pitcher of the Year awards and the fourth of his career. He followed up his bonkers 17.2 WAR 2015 campaign by leading in WAR (14.8), strikeouts (384), ERA (0.80), WHIP (0.61), and shutouts (7). Yao had a 343 ERA+ over 247.1 innings and an 18-6 record, falling two wins short of a Triple Crown. The 0.80 ERA was the second-lowest by a qualifying starter in APB history to that point, only behind his record-setting 0.73 in 2014. As of 2037, Yao’s 2016 still ranks third-best, while his opponent’s OPS (.371) ranks fourth and his WAR ranks 11^th. In the last five seasons, the 28-year old lefty had posted 70.8 WAR. On a scale from 1/10, many scouts graded his stuff as an 11 at this point. For the first time since leaving South Asia Baseball for Austronesia Professional Baseball in 2008, Johor Bahru earned a playoff berth. The Blue Wings hadn’t even won more than 74 games in APB prior, but they had the top seed in the Sundlanad Association at 96-66 atop the Malacca League. Their Malaysian rival Kuala Lumpur had won their first division title the prior year, but fell off a cliff in 2016 at 63-99. In a very competitive Java Sea League, Semarang and Palembang tied for the top spot at 91-71, while reigning APB champ Bandung finished third at 89-73 and Surabaya was 85-77. The Sliders won the one-game tiebreaker over the Panthers for their first playoff berth since winning it all in 2012. Semarang had the fewest runs allowed in the SA at 402. Palembang had the second most stolen bases in SA history at 402, but it wasn’t enough to advance. Semarang secured the Sundaland Association’s top awards, led by MVP Terrence Kuike. The 31-year old center fielder was the WARlord (11.9) in his 12^th season for the Sliders. Kuike had a .293/.340/.487 slash, 195 wRC+, 28 home runs, and 168 hits with 56 stolen bases. He also posted a 13.4 zone rating and 1.047 EFF defensively. Pitcher of the Year went to Benigno Espinoza. The 27-year old Filipino lefty led in K/BB (20.2) and quality starts (30). Espinoza tossed 270.1 innings with a 1.56 ERA, 17-8 record, 344 strikeouts, 17 walks, 159 ERA+, and 8.9 WAR. He signed a four-year extension before the season and had a few more solid seasons before regressing hard in his early 30s. Taipei had become known for being a playoff choker in recent memory, going 0-6 in the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship from 2009-2015. They had lost to Davao in 2009 and 2010 and the 2016 final seemed to be going in the same direction. The Devil Rays started up 3-0, but the Tigercats made the improbable comeback to win the series in seven games. Taipei finally won the big one for their first pennant since 1993 and their fifth overall. The Sundaland Association Championship was far less dramatic as Semarang rolled Johor Bahru 4-1. The Sliders earned their eighth pennant with wins in 1975, 1980, 1988, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2012 and 2016. That gave them an impressive 8-2 record in their SA finals berths. The 52^nd Austronesia Championship was an all-timer, needing all seven games and extra innings in the finale. Semarang went up 5-4 in the top of the 13^th inning and came away with the win over Taipei. Pitcher of the Year Benigno Espinoza was the finals MVP, posting a 1.05 ERA over three playoff starts with 27 strikeouts over 25.2 innings. He tossed a three-hit shutout in the series. This was Semarang’s sixth APB title (1975, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2016), tying them with Jakarta and Taoyuan for the most. One of their two defeats had been Taipei’s last title when they met previously in 1988. The Sliders were the fourth different champ in four years, although they broke up the parity having won five years prior. Other notes: APB’s 40^th perfect game came on June 18 from Singapore’s Rob Bruja, striking out 10 against Johor Bahru. Cebu’s Favian Frias had his third no-hitter in a 15-strikeout performance over Tainan. Singapore’s Wil Tabaldo hit 51 home runs in 2016, becoming the only player in APB history with four 50+ homer seasons. Tabaldo became the 20^th to reach 400 career home runs in 2016. Kyle Oliveira became the ninth reliever to 300 career saves. RF Shih-Chieh Tseng won his ninth Gold Glove and 3B Adalberto Salenda won his eighth. __________________ 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)