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FuzzyRussianHat · 12-17-2024, 01:27 PM

Inner-circle Hall of Fame great Tritha Upadhyaya headlined South Asia Baseball’s two-player 2021 class at a near unanimous 98.6%. RF Han Kywe Khant joined him at 73.9%, finally breaching the 66% requirement on his ninth try. Two catchers were above 50% on their second ballot with Quoc Pham at 53.3% and Trung Lai with 50.7%. No players fell off the SAB ballot after ten failed tries.

Tirtha “Numbers” Upadhyaya – Second Base – Ho Chi Minh City Hedgehogs – 98.6% First Ballot

Tirtha Upadhyaya was a 6’0’’, 195 pound left-handed hitting and right-handed throwing second baseman from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. He was the first-ever Nepali Hall of Famer and had a tremendous impact in growing the game’s popularity back home, even if he never played for his hometown team. Upadhyaya had the nickname “Numbers” for his fascinating with mathematical probabilities related to baseball. When he retired, Upadhyaya was at or near the top of most of SAB’s hitting leaderboards.

At his peak, Upadhyaya was a great contact hitter with incredible home run power. He had a decent eye for drawing walks, but did struggle with strikeouts. When he made contact, he made it count though with 12 seasons of 50+ home runs and 49 dingers over his 162 game average. Upadhyaya found the gap less often than you might think with only 22 doubles and 6 triples per 162, but the raw homer power made him a perennial MVP candidate.

Upadhyaya was especially dominant facing right-handed pitching with an outstanding career 1.007 OPS and 190 wRC+. He was by no means bad against lefties with a .829 OPS and 142 wRC+. Upadhyaya’s speed was merely average, but he was incredibly slick at getting steals at an impressive clip. Few players were smarter on the basepaths at picking their spots.

Defensively, Upadhyaya made about 70% of his career starts at second base where he graded as a poor defender. He sporadically played third base and fared no better there. About 20% of his starts were as a designated hitter. Upadhyaya’s durability was solid in his prime and he still battled age in his later years to pull off a 23-year career. Upadhyaya’s remarkable bat, longevity, and great leadership made him one of the first megastars that South Asia Baseball could market.

In May 1990, a teenaged Upadhyaya moved to India as he signed a developmental deal with Bengaluru. He debuted in 1993 at age 19, but struggled over 87 games and 16 starts. Upadhyaya figured it out the next year with a solid 4.8 WAR effort over 139 games. By his second full season, Upadhyaya was arguably the best player in South Asia Baseball.

Over the next five seasons for the Blazers, Upadhyaya led the IL each year in home runs, total bases, slugging percentage, OPS, and wRC+. All five seasons were above 10+ WAR, leading the league in four of those years. Upadhyaya also led thrice in runs scored and thrice in RBI. His 69 home runs in 1996 broke the previous single-season record by two. Although he only held the top spot for two years, Upadhyaya’s 69 homers ranks as the 10^th best season in SAB as of 2037.

With that, Upadhyaya won five consecutive MVP awards and Silver Sluggers, becoming SAB’s first-ever five-time MVP. 1996 also had Upadhyaya’s highest WAR total at 13.58, which was the second-best to that point and ranks fourth among position players as of 2037. 1997 also had career bests in hits (194), triple slash (.336/.395/.737), OPS (1.132), and wRC+ (261). He also became the first-ever SAB slugger to have multiple four home run games, doing it in both 1997 and 1998.

Upadhyaya’s incredible numbers couldn’t turn Bengaluru into a winner with only two winning seasons and one playoff berth during his tenure. The Blazers won a weak South Division in 1995 and made it to the ILCS, but fell to 124-win Ahmedabad. Upadhyaya wanted to play on a winner and knew he would command the league’s biggest salary as a free agent, thus he left Bengaluru after the 1999 season at only age 26.

With the Blazers, Upadhyaya finished with 1024 hits, 624 runs, 123 doubles, 347 home runs, 680 RBI, 208 stolen bases, a .295/.352/.649 slash, 221 wRC+, and 64.3 WAR. By far, his most dominant tenure was with Bengaluru, but Upadhyaya would be best known for his next run. He signed an eight-year, $15,300,000 deal with Ho Chi Minh City. The Hedgehogs were the dynasty of the Southeast Asia League. When Upadhyaya arrived, they were on a 13-year playoff streak with nine SEAL pennants and three in-a-row. However, they only had one SAB title (1997) thanks to the adjacent Ahmedabad dynasty.

Upadhyaya played a big role in getting them over that final hump. He had a weak debut season by his standards with only 5.9 WAR in 2000, but he’d get more than 7+ WAR over the next six seasons. Upadhyaya led in WAR in 2001 and 2003, but posted his HCMC best in 2002 at 11.1. That year also saw him match his 69 homer best and score a league high 120 runs. Upadhyaya scored a career high 126 runs the next year. 2003 would be his lone MVP in SEAL, giving him six for his career. Only he and Majed Darwish have 6+ MVPS in SAB as of 2037.

In 2004, Upadhyaya smacked 68 homers with 158 RBI, which set a new single-season RBI record. The 158 still ranks eighth best as of 2037. In 2005, Upadhyaya had his third game with four home runs. He is the only player in all of pro baseball history to smack four homers in three different games. Upadhyaya won Silver Sluggers from 2000-03 at second base, then took it in both 2004 and 2006 as a DH.

Ho Chi Minh City’s dominance continued, winning their second SAB Championship in 2000 over Ahmedabad. The Hedgehogs got upset in the 2001 LCS by Yangon and the 2002 LCS by Dhaka. They rebounded for a SAB Championship three-peat, winning 118, 122, and 121 games. By wins, this is the most dominant three-peat in pro baseball history, going 361-125. Hanoi would win two more games in their 2008-10 run, but only got one SAB title in that stretch.

Upadhyaya’s playoff accolades included SAB Championship MVP in 2003 and the LCS MVP in both 2003 and 2005. The 2003 run was an all-timer over 13 games with 19 hits, 14 runs, 3 doubles, 8 homers, 16 RBI, and a 1.600 OPS. In total for HCMC, Upadhyaya played 81 postseason games with 99 hits, 52 runs, 15 doubles, 26 home runs, 64 RBI, 22 stolen bases, a .347/.408/.709 slash, 201 wRC+, and 5.9 WAR.

After the 2005 title run, Upadhyaya opted out of his HCMC contract only to sign a new three-year, $11,240,000 deal with the Hedgehogs. In 2006, he became the second-ever member of SAB’s 700 home run club. He passed Amoda Shah’s 729 to become SAB’s home run king, a title he held for around a decade. In 2006, Upadhyaya also became the fourth to reach 1500 RBI.

Ho Chi Minh City went 116-46 in 2006, but was upset in the LCS by Yangon. Upadhyaya then shocked the Hedgehogs by opting out of his new deal, leaving to sign a one-year deal with the Green Dragons. He posted 6.9 WAR with Yangon, missing a month to a torn thumb ligament. Yangon got back to the LCS, but lost to now rising Hanoi.

Now 34-years old, Upadhyaya went back to Ho Chi Minh City in 2008 on a two-year deal at $8,160,000. He became the first to reach 800 career home runs and the fifth to 2500 hits, getting 7.5 WAR in 2008. HCMC’s playoff streak grew to 22 years, but they were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. This was also Upadhyaya’s final year in Vietnam’s largest city, where he’d remain a beloved superstar for many years after for his role in their historic dynasty. HCMC decided to decline the team option for 2009.

Between stints, Upadhyaya played eight years in HCMC with 1337 hits, 883 runs, 176 doubles, 444 home runs, 997 RBI, 391 walks, 321 stolen bases, a .292/.355/.642 slash, 174 wRC+, and 68.1 WAR. His #9 uniform would get retired and he’d be most commonly remembered in Hedgehogs red. Upadhyaya still had another seven pro seasons to go, although by many measures that was his last great season.

Upadhyaya went back to Yangon in 2009 and missed almost two months to torn thumb ligaments. Still, he earned his 12^th and final Silver Slugger, a mark only reached by three SAB players. The Green Dragons earned their fourth consecutive LCS berth, but would be defeated by Ho Chi Minh City. Upadhyaya would be unavailable for the postseason run due to injury. He still managed 10.4 WAR between his two years with the Green Dragons.

Up next was a two-year, $8,120,000 deal with Kanpur. Upadhyaya became a platoon starter, still looking good in 2010 with 5.7 WAR in 142 games and 96 starts. However, Upadhyaya was actively bad with an 86 wRC+ and 1.0 WAR in 2011. With the Poison, he became the first SAB slugger to 900 home runs and the first to 2000 RBI. Upadhyaya was only the fourth player in all of pro baseball history to reach 900 home runs to that point. He played concurrent to the Arab League’s Nordine Soule, who became the first to reach 1000 dingers in 2012.

Upadhyaya bounced around in his final four seasons as an occasional starter and pinch hitter. He played 2012 with Jaipur, 2013 with Chittagong, 2014 with Dhaka, and 2015 with Hanoi. When it looked like he was building momentum, he ran into injury issues. Upadhyaya’s final playoff appearances came in 2015 with the Hounds, struggling over ten starts. Hanoi fell that year to Yangon in the LCS.

For his playoff career, Upadhyaya played 110 games with 124 hits, 62 runs, 19 doubles, 5 triples, 33 home runs, 80 RBI, 31 walks, 25 stolen bases, .316/372/.641 slash, 178 wRC+, and 6.5 WAR. Most of that was with HCMC, becoming known as a clutch performer. As of 2037, Upadhyaya ranks 11^th in playoff hits, 14^th in runs, 8^th in home runs, and 7^th in RBI.

In his final years, Upadhyaya was padding his spots on the leaderboards. He ended with 973 home runs, second in the world at retirement to Soule’s 1073. Upadhyaya passed Manju Abbas’s 154.75 to become SAB’s WARlord at 156.13. He fell short of Abbas for the most runs scored by 76. Upadhyaya joined Abbas as the only guys with 3000 hits to that point, but he was a long way from Abbas’ 3897. At retirement, Upadhyaya also was the SAB leader in RBI and total bases. He was unsigned in 2016, retiring that winter at age 43.

Upadhyaya finished with 3192 games, 3056 hits, 1981 runs, 431 doubles, 118 triples, 973 home runs, 2160 RBI, 928 walks, 2794 strikeouts, 720 stolen bases, a .283/.347/.614 slash, 178 wRC+, and 156.1 WAR. The big power stats from Majed Darwish and Ratan Canduri would overtake Upadhyaya in the high-powered world of SAB by the time he was inducted. Still, Upadhyaya ranks impressively in many stats.

As of 2037, Upadhyaya is 3^rd in homers, 4^th in RBI, 3^rd in total bases (6642), 4^th in runs, 8^th in hits, 4^th in games played, 76^th in doubles, 21^st in walks drawn, 4^th in strikeouts, and 3^rd in WAR. Among SAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his .961 OPS is 28^th best and Upadhyaya’s slugging ranks 16^th. The OPS number is especially impressive since he doesn’t crack the top 100 in batting average or OBP.

In all of world history as of 2037, Upadhyaya is 8^th in home runs, 32^nd in RBI, 38^th in runs scored, 41^st in games played, and 27^th in WAR among position players. He’s one of only 51 players at any position with 150+ career WAR, ranking 36^th out of everybody. While some worldwide downplay SAB sluggers with the league’s high-homer atmosphere, there’s no doubt that Upadhyaya was one of baseball’s true immortals.

If not for Darwish and Canduri rising to prominence by the end of Upadhyaya’s run, he might get more consideration as South Asia Baseball’s best-ever player. Most scholars will put him in the top five in SAB and in the top five second basemen in world history. Only BSA’s Niculao Semide has more career WAR accumulated specifically at second base.

Upadhyaya is easily Nepal’s greatest baseball export and some argue he makes the top ten for any Asian-born player. He was a critical part of Ho Chi Minh City’s historic dynasty and one of the biggest superstars to ever come out of South Asia Baseball. The 98.6% he received in 2021 was frankly too low, but either way he headlined SAB’s 2021 Hall of Fame class.

Han Kywe Khant – Right Field – Ahmedabad Animals – 73.9% Ninth Ballot

Han Kywe Khant was a 6’2’’, 195 pound right-handed right fielder from Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Khant was an excellent contact hitter who was good at avoiding strikeouts, although he was merely decent at drawing walks. His gap power was impressive, averaging 45 doubles and 4 triples per his 162 game average. Khant wasn’t a prolific slugger, but he was also good for 21 home runs per 162 games. His baserunning skills were respectable, but he was still limited with subpar speed.

Khant exclusively played right field and graded as a consistently weak defender plagued by poor range. He had good durability though for most of his run and certainly deserved his spot with his bat. Khant was considered a solid clubhouse leader and became a popular player with fans and teammates alike. He would be a playoff regular between his two stops, playing in many big games in his career.

Even out of high school, Khant emerged as the top prospect out of Myanmar and arguably the best in all of Southeast Asia. In the 1991 SAB Draft, Chittagong picked him with the #2 overall pick. However, Khant couldn’t come to terms with the Commandos and went to college. Three years later in the 1994 SAB Draft, his hometown Yangon grabbed him with the #5 pick. Khant was a full-time starter immediately for the Green Dragons, winning a Silver Slugger in 1995 and taking second in Rookie of the Year voting. He was also a rare player to hit for the cycle in his rookie season.

1995 also marked the start of what would be a world-record 29-year playoff streak for Yangon, falling to Ho Chi Minh City’s dynasty in the Southeast Asia League Championship. Khant won additional Sluggers in 1996, 1998, and 1999 for the Green Dragons. He had three seasons above 6.5 WAR, leading in both hits and batting average in both 1998 and 1999. 1999 had a second place in MVP voting with career highs in runs (91), hits (212), doubles (48), RBI (136), average (.357), OPS (.959), and WAR (7.7). Khant also led SEAL in doubles and OBP in 1998.

Yangon was only 89-73 in 1996, but they stunned 115-win HCMC to win the SEAL title. The Green Dragons would fall to Ahmedabad in the SAB Championship. Yangon won three division titles over the next four years, but all four seasons saw first round playoff exits. Khant’s playoff stats were respectable over 40 games with 46 hits, 17 runs, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 20 RBI, a .307/.346/.473 slash, 138 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR.

In 2000, Khant’s production dipped a bit down to 4.1 WAR. While still solid, it was the weakest of his Yangon run. Despite his popularity, Khant and his hometown team couldn’t come to terms, sending him to free agency at age 29. With Yangon, Khant had 1143 hits, 472 runs, 266 doubles, 119 home runs, 615 RBI, a .333/.375/533 slash, 159 wRC+, and 35.2 WAR. His stats would be comparable with Yangon and his next stop Ahmedabad, but Khant would be inducted wearing the Animals’ shade of green.

Ahmedabad inked Khant to a seven-year, $16,760,000 deal. At this point, the Animals were on a 16-year playoff streak, winning the Indian League title 13 times in that run and the SAB Championship 11 times. Ahmedabad had won seven consecutive IL crowns, but had just lost the SAB final to Ho Chi Minh City. Khant’s debut saw the Animals finish 125-37, one win behind 1993 HCMC for the most by any team in pro baseball history.

Khant was great in the regular season, matching his career best WAR (7.7) and posting his best wRC+ (207). However, he was iffy in this playoff run with a .627 OPS over eight games. Ahmedabad again won the IL, but was upset ironically by Yangon in the SAB Championship. The Animals won 118 games in 2002, winning the IL crown again with a SAB Championship win over Dhaka. Khant was ILCS MVP with his finest playoff run, getting 23 hits, 3 runs, 5 doubles, 12 RBI, and a .500/.500/.674 slash in 12 starts.

That would be the final title of Ahmedabad’s playoff streak, although they extended the streak for another five years. The Animals had ILCS losses in 2003, 05, and 06; and first round defeats in 04 and 07. Khant had steady numbers throughout, winning his fifth Silver Slugger in 2003. His playoff numbers were quite good over 63 starts for Ahmedabad with 74 hits, 30 runs, 21 doubles, 7 home runs, 29 RBI, 17 walks, a .301/.349/.472 slash, 159 wRC+, and 3.0 WAR.

For his playoff career, Khant played 103 games with 120 hits, 47 runs, 30 doubles, 11 homers, 49 RBI, a .303/.348/.472 slash, 151 wRC+, and 4.6 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 14^th in postseason hits, 39^th in runs, 32^nd in RBI, and 8^th in doubles. Khant’s numbers were less impressive in the World Baseball Championship, regularly playing for Myanmar from 1995-2008. In 129 WBC games, he had 104 hits, 48 runs, 26 doubles, 17 home runs, 55 RBI, a .224/.277/.390 slash, 95 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR.

Khant was steady until falling off a bit in 2006, getting reduced to a part-time role. He reclaimed the starting job in 2007 with a solid 4.0 WAR effort in the last year of his Ahmedabad deal. With the Animals, Khant had 1081 hits, 477 runs, 252 doubles, 124 home runs, 537 RBI, a .309/.354/.496 slash, 169 wRC+, and 34.2 WAR. He still seemed to be starter quality, but Khant couldn’t find any interested teams for the 2008 season. After going unsigned, he retired in the winter at age 36.

The final stats for Khant saw 1867 games, 2224 hits, 949 runs, 518 doubles, 47 triples, 243 home runs, 1152 RBI, 440 walks, a .321/.365/.514 slash, 164 wRC+, and 69.4 WAR. As of 2037, Khant ranks 74^th in hits, 32^nd in doubles, 86^th in RBI, and 84^th in WAR among position players. Among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his batting average sits 25^th and his OBP is 63^rd. While efficient, Khant’s totals were very much borderline.

His solid playoff numbers were a plus, but there had been so many other inductees from the Ahmedabad dynasty already with more impressive stats. Still, Khant debuted in 2013 at 56.4%, a solid start that suggested room for growth. The next three ballots saw 48.1%, 58.5%, and 46.6%. Khant got to 60.9% in his fifth ballot, but then hit a new low of 37.1% in 2018.

In 2019, Khant bounced back big to 65.7%, missing the 66% requirement by the slimmest of margins. He fell back to 45.9% the next year, starting to run out of time. 2021 would be his ninth and potentially penultimate time on the ballot. Voters gave Khant’s resume another look and it won over just enough doubters. At 73.9%, he was a ninth ballot inductee to cap off South Asia Baseball’s 2021 Hall of Fame class.

12-17-2024, 01:27 PM	#1893
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,958	2021 SAB Hall of Fame Inner-circle Hall of Fame great Tritha Upadhyaya headlined South Asia Baseball’s two-player 2021 class at a near unanimous 98.6%. RF Han Kywe Khant joined him at 73.9%, finally breaching the 66% requirement on his ninth try. Two catchers were above 50% on their second ballot with Quoc Pham at 53.3% and Trung Lai with 50.7%. No players fell off the SAB ballot after ten failed tries. Tirtha “Numbers” Upadhyaya – Second Base – Ho Chi Minh City Hedgehogs – 98.6% First Ballot Tirtha Upadhyaya was a 6’0’’, 195 pound left-handed hitting and right-handed throwing second baseman from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. He was the first-ever Nepali Hall of Famer and had a tremendous impact in growing the game’s popularity back home, even if he never played for his hometown team. Upadhyaya had the nickname “Numbers” for his fascinating with mathematical probabilities related to baseball. When he retired, Upadhyaya was at or near the top of most of SAB’s hitting leaderboards. At his peak, Upadhyaya was a great contact hitter with incredible home run power. He had a decent eye for drawing walks, but did struggle with strikeouts. When he made contact, he made it count though with 12 seasons of 50+ home runs and 49 dingers over his 162 game average. Upadhyaya found the gap less often than you might think with only 22 doubles and 6 triples per 162, but the raw homer power made him a perennial MVP candidate. Upadhyaya was especially dominant facing right-handed pitching with an outstanding career 1.007 OPS and 190 wRC+. He was by no means bad against lefties with a .829 OPS and 142 wRC+. Upadhyaya’s speed was merely average, but he was incredibly slick at getting steals at an impressive clip. Few players were smarter on the basepaths at picking their spots. Defensively, Upadhyaya made about 70% of his career starts at second base where he graded as a poor defender. He sporadically played third base and fared no better there. About 20% of his starts were as a designated hitter. Upadhyaya’s durability was solid in his prime and he still battled age in his later years to pull off a 23-year career. Upadhyaya’s remarkable bat, longevity, and great leadership made him one of the first megastars that South Asia Baseball could market. In May 1990, a teenaged Upadhyaya moved to India as he signed a developmental deal with Bengaluru. He debuted in 1993 at age 19, but struggled over 87 games and 16 starts. Upadhyaya figured it out the next year with a solid 4.8 WAR effort over 139 games. By his second full season, Upadhyaya was arguably the best player in South Asia Baseball. Over the next five seasons for the Blazers, Upadhyaya led the IL each year in home runs, total bases, slugging percentage, OPS, and wRC+. All five seasons were above 10+ WAR, leading the league in four of those years. Upadhyaya also led thrice in runs scored and thrice in RBI. His 69 home runs in 1996 broke the previous single-season record by two. Although he only held the top spot for two years, Upadhyaya’s 69 homers ranks as the 10^th best season in SAB as of 2037. With that, Upadhyaya won five consecutive MVP awards and Silver Sluggers, becoming SAB’s first-ever five-time MVP. 1996 also had Upadhyaya’s highest WAR total at 13.58, which was the second-best to that point and ranks fourth among position players as of 2037. 1997 also had career bests in hits (194), triple slash (.336/.395/.737), OPS (1.132), and wRC+ (261). He also became the first-ever SAB slugger to have multiple four home run games, doing it in both 1997 and 1998. Upadhyaya’s incredible numbers couldn’t turn Bengaluru into a winner with only two winning seasons and one playoff berth during his tenure. The Blazers won a weak South Division in 1995 and made it to the ILCS, but fell to 124-win Ahmedabad. Upadhyaya wanted to play on a winner and knew he would command the league’s biggest salary as a free agent, thus he left Bengaluru after the 1999 season at only age 26. With the Blazers, Upadhyaya finished with 1024 hits, 624 runs, 123 doubles, 347 home runs, 680 RBI, 208 stolen bases, a .295/.352/.649 slash, 221 wRC+, and 64.3 WAR. By far, his most dominant tenure was with Bengaluru, but Upadhyaya would be best known for his next run. He signed an eight-year, $15,300,000 deal with Ho Chi Minh City. The Hedgehogs were the dynasty of the Southeast Asia League. When Upadhyaya arrived, they were on a 13-year playoff streak with nine SEAL pennants and three in-a-row. However, they only had one SAB title (1997) thanks to the adjacent Ahmedabad dynasty. Upadhyaya played a big role in getting them over that final hump. He had a weak debut season by his standards with only 5.9 WAR in 2000, but he’d get more than 7+ WAR over the next six seasons. Upadhyaya led in WAR in 2001 and 2003, but posted his HCMC best in 2002 at 11.1. That year also saw him match his 69 homer best and score a league high 120 runs. Upadhyaya scored a career high 126 runs the next year. 2003 would be his lone MVP in SEAL, giving him six for his career. Only he and Majed Darwish have 6+ MVPS in SAB as of 2037. In 2004, Upadhyaya smacked 68 homers with 158 RBI, which set a new single-season RBI record. The 158 still ranks eighth best as of 2037. In 2005, Upadhyaya had his third game with four home runs. He is the only player in all of pro baseball history to smack four homers in three different games. Upadhyaya won Silver Sluggers from 2000-03 at second base, then took it in both 2004 and 2006 as a DH. Ho Chi Minh City’s dominance continued, winning their second SAB Championship in 2000 over Ahmedabad. The Hedgehogs got upset in the 2001 LCS by Yangon and the 2002 LCS by Dhaka. They rebounded for a SAB Championship three-peat, winning 118, 122, and 121 games. By wins, this is the most dominant three-peat in pro baseball history, going 361-125. Hanoi would win two more games in their 2008-10 run, but only got one SAB title in that stretch. Upadhyaya’s playoff accolades included SAB Championship MVP in 2003 and the LCS MVP in both 2003 and 2005. The 2003 run was an all-timer over 13 games with 19 hits, 14 runs, 3 doubles, 8 homers, 16 RBI, and a 1.600 OPS. In total for HCMC, Upadhyaya played 81 postseason games with 99 hits, 52 runs, 15 doubles, 26 home runs, 64 RBI, 22 stolen bases, a .347/.408/.709 slash, 201 wRC+, and 5.9 WAR. After the 2005 title run, Upadhyaya opted out of his HCMC contract only to sign a new three-year, $11,240,000 deal with the Hedgehogs. In 2006, he became the second-ever member of SAB’s 700 home run club. He passed Amoda Shah’s 729 to become SAB’s home run king, a title he held for around a decade. In 2006, Upadhyaya also became the fourth to reach 1500 RBI. Ho Chi Minh City went 116-46 in 2006, but was upset in the LCS by Yangon. Upadhyaya then shocked the Hedgehogs by opting out of his new deal, leaving to sign a one-year deal with the Green Dragons. He posted 6.9 WAR with Yangon, missing a month to a torn thumb ligament. Yangon got back to the LCS, but lost to now rising Hanoi. Now 34-years old, Upadhyaya went back to Ho Chi Minh City in 2008 on a two-year deal at $8,160,000. He became the first to reach 800 career home runs and the fifth to 2500 hits, getting 7.5 WAR in 2008. HCMC’s playoff streak grew to 22 years, but they were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. This was also Upadhyaya’s final year in Vietnam’s largest city, where he’d remain a beloved superstar for many years after for his role in their historic dynasty. HCMC decided to decline the team option for 2009. Between stints, Upadhyaya played eight years in HCMC with 1337 hits, 883 runs, 176 doubles, 444 home runs, 997 RBI, 391 walks, 321 stolen bases, a .292/.355/.642 slash, 174 wRC+, and 68.1 WAR. His #9 uniform would get retired and he’d be most commonly remembered in Hedgehogs red. Upadhyaya still had another seven pro seasons to go, although by many measures that was his last great season. Upadhyaya went back to Yangon in 2009 and missed almost two months to torn thumb ligaments. Still, he earned his 12^th and final Silver Slugger, a mark only reached by three SAB players. The Green Dragons earned their fourth consecutive LCS berth, but would be defeated by Ho Chi Minh City. Upadhyaya would be unavailable for the postseason run due to injury. He still managed 10.4 WAR between his two years with the Green Dragons. Up next was a two-year, $8,120,000 deal with Kanpur. Upadhyaya became a platoon starter, still looking good in 2010 with 5.7 WAR in 142 games and 96 starts. However, Upadhyaya was actively bad with an 86 wRC+ and 1.0 WAR in 2011. With the Poison, he became the first SAB slugger to 900 home runs and the first to 2000 RBI. Upadhyaya was only the fourth player in all of pro baseball history to reach 900 home runs to that point. He played concurrent to the Arab League’s Nordine Soule, who became the first to reach 1000 dingers in 2012. Upadhyaya bounced around in his final four seasons as an occasional starter and pinch hitter. He played 2012 with Jaipur, 2013 with Chittagong, 2014 with Dhaka, and 2015 with Hanoi. When it looked like he was building momentum, he ran into injury issues. Upadhyaya’s final playoff appearances came in 2015 with the Hounds, struggling over ten starts. Hanoi fell that year to Yangon in the LCS. For his playoff career, Upadhyaya played 110 games with 124 hits, 62 runs, 19 doubles, 5 triples, 33 home runs, 80 RBI, 31 walks, 25 stolen bases, .316/372/.641 slash, 178 wRC+, and 6.5 WAR. Most of that was with HCMC, becoming known as a clutch performer. As of 2037, Upadhyaya ranks 11^th in playoff hits, 14^th in runs, 8^th in home runs, and 7^th in RBI. In his final years, Upadhyaya was padding his spots on the leaderboards. He ended with 973 home runs, second in the world at retirement to Soule’s 1073. Upadhyaya passed Manju Abbas’s 154.75 to become SAB’s WARlord at 156.13. He fell short of Abbas for the most runs scored by 76. Upadhyaya joined Abbas as the only guys with 3000 hits to that point, but he was a long way from Abbas’ 3897. At retirement, Upadhyaya also was the SAB leader in RBI and total bases. He was unsigned in 2016, retiring that winter at age 43. Upadhyaya finished with 3192 games, 3056 hits, 1981 runs, 431 doubles, 118 triples, 973 home runs, 2160 RBI, 928 walks, 2794 strikeouts, 720 stolen bases, a .283/.347/.614 slash, 178 wRC+, and 156.1 WAR. The big power stats from Majed Darwish and Ratan Canduri would overtake Upadhyaya in the high-powered world of SAB by the time he was inducted. Still, Upadhyaya ranks impressively in many stats. As of 2037, Upadhyaya is 3^rd in homers, 4^th in RBI, 3^rd in total bases (6642), 4^th in runs, 8^th in hits, 4^th in games played, 76^th in doubles, 21^st in walks drawn, 4^th in strikeouts, and 3^rd in WAR. Among SAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his .961 OPS is 28^th best and Upadhyaya’s slugging ranks 16^th. The OPS number is especially impressive since he doesn’t crack the top 100 in batting average or OBP. In all of world history as of 2037, Upadhyaya is 8^th in home runs, 32^nd in RBI, 38^th in runs scored, 41^st in games played, and 27^th in WAR among position players. He’s one of only 51 players at any position with 150+ career WAR, ranking 36^th out of everybody. While some worldwide downplay SAB sluggers with the league’s high-homer atmosphere, there’s no doubt that Upadhyaya was one of baseball’s true immortals. If not for Darwish and Canduri rising to prominence by the end of Upadhyaya’s run, he might get more consideration as South Asia Baseball’s best-ever player. Most scholars will put him in the top five in SAB and in the top five second basemen in world history. Only BSA’s Niculao Semide has more career WAR accumulated specifically at second base. Upadhyaya is easily Nepal’s greatest baseball export and some argue he makes the top ten for any Asian-born player. He was a critical part of Ho Chi Minh City’s historic dynasty and one of the biggest superstars to ever come out of South Asia Baseball. The 98.6% he received in 2021 was frankly too low, but either way he headlined SAB’s 2021 Hall of Fame class. Han Kywe Khant – Right Field – Ahmedabad Animals – 73.9% Ninth Ballot Han Kywe Khant was a 6’2’’, 195 pound right-handed right fielder from Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Khant was an excellent contact hitter who was good at avoiding strikeouts, although he was merely decent at drawing walks. His gap power was impressive, averaging 45 doubles and 4 triples per his 162 game average. Khant wasn’t a prolific slugger, but he was also good for 21 home runs per 162 games. His baserunning skills were respectable, but he was still limited with subpar speed. Khant exclusively played right field and graded as a consistently weak defender plagued by poor range. He had good durability though for most of his run and certainly deserved his spot with his bat. Khant was considered a solid clubhouse leader and became a popular player with fans and teammates alike. He would be a playoff regular between his two stops, playing in many big games in his career. Even out of high school, Khant emerged as the top prospect out of Myanmar and arguably the best in all of Southeast Asia. In the 1991 SAB Draft, Chittagong picked him with the #2 overall pick. However, Khant couldn’t come to terms with the Commandos and went to college. Three years later in the 1994 SAB Draft, his hometown Yangon grabbed him with the #5 pick. Khant was a full-time starter immediately for the Green Dragons, winning a Silver Slugger in 1995 and taking second in Rookie of the Year voting. He was also a rare player to hit for the cycle in his rookie season. 1995 also marked the start of what would be a world-record 29-year playoff streak for Yangon, falling to Ho Chi Minh City’s dynasty in the Southeast Asia League Championship. Khant won additional Sluggers in 1996, 1998, and 1999 for the Green Dragons. He had three seasons above 6.5 WAR, leading in both hits and batting average in both 1998 and 1999. 1999 had a second place in MVP voting with career highs in runs (91), hits (212), doubles (48), RBI (136), average (.357), OPS (.959), and WAR (7.7). Khant also led SEAL in doubles and OBP in 1998. Yangon was only 89-73 in 1996, but they stunned 115-win HCMC to win the SEAL title. The Green Dragons would fall to Ahmedabad in the SAB Championship. Yangon won three division titles over the next four years, but all four seasons saw first round playoff exits. Khant’s playoff stats were respectable over 40 games with 46 hits, 17 runs, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 20 RBI, a .307/.346/.473 slash, 138 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR. In 2000, Khant’s production dipped a bit down to 4.1 WAR. While still solid, it was the weakest of his Yangon run. Despite his popularity, Khant and his hometown team couldn’t come to terms, sending him to free agency at age 29. With Yangon, Khant had 1143 hits, 472 runs, 266 doubles, 119 home runs, 615 RBI, a .333/.375/533 slash, 159 wRC+, and 35.2 WAR. His stats would be comparable with Yangon and his next stop Ahmedabad, but Khant would be inducted wearing the Animals’ shade of green. Ahmedabad inked Khant to a seven-year, $16,760,000 deal. At this point, the Animals were on a 16-year playoff streak, winning the Indian League title 13 times in that run and the SAB Championship 11 times. Ahmedabad had won seven consecutive IL crowns, but had just lost the SAB final to Ho Chi Minh City. Khant’s debut saw the Animals finish 125-37, one win behind 1993 HCMC for the most by any team in pro baseball history. Khant was great in the regular season, matching his career best WAR (7.7) and posting his best wRC+ (207). However, he was iffy in this playoff run with a .627 OPS over eight games. Ahmedabad again won the IL, but was upset ironically by Yangon in the SAB Championship. The Animals won 118 games in 2002, winning the IL crown again with a SAB Championship win over Dhaka. Khant was ILCS MVP with his finest playoff run, getting 23 hits, 3 runs, 5 doubles, 12 RBI, and a .500/.500/.674 slash in 12 starts. That would be the final title of Ahmedabad’s playoff streak, although they extended the streak for another five years. The Animals had ILCS losses in 2003, 05, and 06; and first round defeats in 04 and 07. Khant had steady numbers throughout, winning his fifth Silver Slugger in 2003. His playoff numbers were quite good over 63 starts for Ahmedabad with 74 hits, 30 runs, 21 doubles, 7 home runs, 29 RBI, 17 walks, a .301/.349/.472 slash, 159 wRC+, and 3.0 WAR. For his playoff career, Khant played 103 games with 120 hits, 47 runs, 30 doubles, 11 homers, 49 RBI, a .303/.348/.472 slash, 151 wRC+, and 4.6 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 14^th in postseason hits, 39^th in runs, 32^nd in RBI, and 8^th in doubles. Khant’s numbers were less impressive in the World Baseball Championship, regularly playing for Myanmar from 1995-2008. In 129 WBC games, he had 104 hits, 48 runs, 26 doubles, 17 home runs, 55 RBI, a .224/.277/.390 slash, 95 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR. Khant was steady until falling off a bit in 2006, getting reduced to a part-time role. He reclaimed the starting job in 2007 with a solid 4.0 WAR effort in the last year of his Ahmedabad deal. With the Animals, Khant had 1081 hits, 477 runs, 252 doubles, 124 home runs, 537 RBI, a .309/.354/.496 slash, 169 wRC+, and 34.2 WAR. He still seemed to be starter quality, but Khant couldn’t find any interested teams for the 2008 season. After going unsigned, he retired in the winter at age 36. The final stats for Khant saw 1867 games, 2224 hits, 949 runs, 518 doubles, 47 triples, 243 home runs, 1152 RBI, 440 walks, a .321/.365/.514 slash, 164 wRC+, and 69.4 WAR. As of 2037, Khant ranks 74^th in hits, 32^nd in doubles, 86^th in RBI, and 84^th in WAR among position players. Among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his batting average sits 25^th and his OBP is 63^rd. While efficient, Khant’s totals were very much borderline. His solid playoff numbers were a plus, but there had been so many other inductees from the Ahmedabad dynasty already with more impressive stats. Still, Khant debuted in 2013 at 56.4%, a solid start that suggested room for growth. The next three ballots saw 48.1%, 58.5%, and 46.6%. Khant got to 60.9% in his fifth ballot, but then hit a new low of 37.1% in 2018. In 2019, Khant bounced back big to 65.7%, missing the 66% requirement by the slimmest of margins. He fell back to 45.9% the next year, starting to run out of time. 2021 would be his ninth and potentially penultimate time on the ballot. Voters gave Khant’s resume another look and it won over just enough doubters. At 73.9%, he was a ninth ballot inductee to cap off South Asia Baseball’s 2021 Hall of Fame class. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)