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FuzzyRussianHat · 06-24-2025, 06:22 AM

Two guys barely crossed the 66% requirement for induction into the Oceania Baseball Association Hall of Fame for 2031. Both notably still got in on their debuts with 1B Isaac Endo at 73.4% and SP Alamoana Nembil with 68.3%. 3B Dale Harper was the best returner, barely missing the cut at 63.3% on his third ballot. Also above 50% was 1B R.W. Putnam at 59.5% for his second try and SP George Hudson with 54.4% on his seventh attempt. No players were dropped after ten failed attempts.

Isaac Endo – First Base – Melbourne Mets – 73.4% First Ballot

Isaac Endo was a 6’2’’, 195 pound right-handed first baseman born on the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, built in the latter stages of World War II. Endo was best known for consistent home run power and a solid eye for drawing walks. He was considered above average at best in terms of contact ability and did struggle with strikeouts. The 37 home runs per his 162 game average often made up for his hitting deficiencies.

Endo’s gap power was respectable with 28 doubles and 3 triples per 162. He was a smart and adept baserunner, but his usefulness was limited by terrible speed. Despite the slowness, his glove work and positioning were quite good as a career first baseman, winning four Gold Gloves. Endo still made about ¼ of his starts as a designated hitter, mostly in his late 30s. While he did deal with some injuries, his adaptability and bat kept him employed across 18 seasons.

As a military brat, Endo wasn’t stationary for much of his youth, although he typically wasn’t too far from Guam or a neighboring Pacific island. His family’s connections did allow for ample baseball training amidst the chaos, getting on the radar of some OBA clubs. Melbourne took an interest in the then 17-year old Endo and gave him a developmental deal in February 2002. He spent much of the next seven years in their training academy in Australia.

Endo did see limited usage in his early 20s with 72 games and 55 starts between 2006-08. Even if he was ready, Melbourne was amidst a historic dynasty run with prominent spots hard to come by. Endo earned Oceania Championship rings with the 2006 and 2007 squads, although he saw merely one playoff appearance in 2007. Endo did start in the 2008 finals, but was a terrible 2-27 with 12 strikeouts. The 114-win Mets would be denied an historic fifth straight title in a seven-game thriller against Tahiti.

In 2009, Endo was a part-time starter and had promising results with 3.9 WAR and .908 OPS in 108 games. Melbourne won its seventh straight Australasia League pennant and returned to the top perch in a seven game Oceania Championship win over Guam. Endo redeemed his prior playoff failing and won finals MVP, going 11-27 with 6 runs, 2 homers, 2 RBI, and 0.7 WAR.

Endo earned the full-time gig in 2010 and led the AL in runs scored (113) and OBP (.393). Both marks would be career bests, as was his .325 batting average and 200 hits. Endo earned his first Silver Slugger and was second in MVP voting. Melbourne dominated the AL again at 113-49 and won their sixth OBA title in seven years, defeating Guadalcanal in the finale. Endo repeated as finals MVP with a 1.502 OPS, 0.8 WAR, 11 hits, 4 runs, 3 doubles, 4 homers, and 11 RBI in six games. His OPS was the fifth-best qualifying OPS in OBA finals history and his 11 RBI was tied for the most.

2010 was also the debut of the Baseball Grand Championship and was the only edition using a two-division format. Melbourne was 5-4 with Endo posting .892 OPS and 0.4 WAR. He matched the 113 runs in 2011 to again take second in MVP voting as the Mets made it nine straight pennants. Endo had a decent postseason, but they were denied the top prize by Tahiti. In April 2012, Melbourne gave Endo a four-year, $24,460,000 extension.

Endo won another Slugger and was third in 2012’s MVP voting. This season had his career bests for homers (49), RBI (130), slugging (.625), OPS (1.012), wRC+ (171), and WAR (9.0). Melbourne became the only team in all of pro baseball history to earn ten consecutive pennants, although Guadalcanal denied them their seventh OBA title of the dynasty. Endo had another solid playoff showing with a 1.143 OPS and 0.6 WAR over seven starts.

For his Melbourne playoff career, Endo had 35 games, 43 hits, 18 runs, 7 doubles, 12 home runs, 31 RBI, .314/.356/.628 slash, 177 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. The Mets finished 11-8 in the 2012 BGC as the at-large team, one game away from first but in a four-way tie for sixth. Endo had a strong showing with 17 hits, 15 runs, 6 doubles, 7 home runs, 20 RBI, .250/.414/.627 slash, 196 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. He had firmly cemented himself as a big game player.

Endo’s time as an MVP candidate was done after this, although he was still a quality starter for another decade-plus. This also marked the end of Melbourne’s time on top. The Mets won 94, 99, and 84 games from 2013-15, but ceded the top spot to a new Christchurch dynasty. With a possible rebuild looming, Endo declined his contact option after the 2015 season, becoming a free agent at age 30.

With Melbourne, Endo played 1133 games with 1229 hits, 704 runs, 216 doubles, 268 home runs, 718 RBI, .290/.366/.540 slash, 149 wRC+, and 42.0 WAR. He was an important and popular player in the back end of one of the all-time dynasties in baseball history, which earned the retirement of his #17 uniform when it was all said and done. Endo’s time as a big game player wasn’t done though as he signed a five-year, $50,800,000 deal with Sydney.

To that point, the Snakes were the only OBA original team that had never won a pennant since the association’s 1960 founding. Sydney had started to look competitive in the 2010s and set a new franchise record in Endo’s debut season in 2016 at 105-57. Unfortunately, they shared a league with the Chinooks, who tied the world record with an absurd 126-36 campaign. Sydney finished six games out of first in 2017 and Endo won his first of four consecutive Gold Gloves.

In 2018, Sydney finally made it to the top of the Australasia League at 100-62, winning the Oceania Championship over Samoa. Endo was merely okay in the series going 3-18, but he still had 2 homers and 4 runs. He now had five OBA championship rings to his name. Endo had a strong BGC showing with a 1.115 OPS, 8 homers, 22 hits, 12 runs, and 18 RBI;; although the Snakes finished 8-11.

Endo remained steady as Sydney repeated as OBA champs in 2019, this time over Honolulu in the final. He went 9-25 in the seven game series, earning his sixth OBA ring and ninth AL pennant. The Snakes again were 8-11 in the Baseball Grand Championship, which saw a lackluster .651 OPS from Endo. Over 66 BGC games, Endo finished with 58 hits, 42 runs, 11 doubles, 23 home runs, 55 RBI, .244/.361/.580 slash, 162 wRC+, and 3.1 WAR.

For his OBA playoff career over 48 games, Endo had 55 this, 24 runs, 8 doubles, 16 home runs, 39 RBI, 20 walks, .306/.376/.617 slash, 171 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR. As of 2037, Endo is tied for 1^st in OBA playoff RBI and ranks 7^th in games, 4^th in hits, 5^th in runs, 3^rd in homers, 3^rd in walks, and 3^rd in strikeouts. He’s also 4^th in total bases (111) and 23^rd in OPS (.993) among those with 40+ plate appearances.

Sydney was a second place 96-66 in 2020, Endo’s fifth and final year with the Snakes. In 721 games, he had 718 hits, 426 runs, 116 doubles, 156 home runs, 480 RBI, 284 walks, .269/.340/.498 slash, 127 wRC+, and 19.9 WAR. A free agent again at age 35, Endo next joined Brisbane on a three-year, $28,800,000 deal. For the first time, Endo was now with a loser as the Black Bears were near the bottom of the standings for his time there.

Endo lost some of 2021 to plantar fasciitis, but was still respectable overall over two seasons with 251 games, 239 hits, 135 runs, 42 doubles, 49 home runs, 146 RBI, .264/.344/.487 slash, 126 wRC+, and 5.3 WAR. He was traded in the third year of his deal to New Caledonia for three prospects. Endo ultimately decided to ink a three-year, $26,500,000 extension with the Colonels, where he finished out his career. They’d be just below .500 across his tenure.

2023 was a surprise resurgence for Endo as a DH, winning a Silver Slugger with a league and career best 92 walks. He also smacked 46 home runs with 119 RBI and 5.5 WAR, power numbers not seen since the Melbourne days. Endo had a nice effort in 2024, but lost a chunk of the season to plantar fasciitis. He struggled in only 19 games in 2025, missing almost the entire season to a broken bone in his elbow.

For New Caledonia, Endo had 287 games, 271 hits, 151 runs, 35 doubles, 76 home runs, 193 RBI, .256/.349/.513 slash, 139 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR. He fell just short of the 550 home run and 2500 hit thresholds, but did cross 1500 RBI and 1000 walks. Endo retired from the game after the 2025 season at age 40.

The final tallies had 2392 games, 2457 hits, 1416 runs, 409 doubles, 44 triples, 549 home runs, 1537 RBI, 1009 walks, 2350 strikeouts, 126 stolen bases, .277/.354/.519 slash, 139 wRC+, and 74.7 WAR. As of 2037, Endo is 32^nd in games played, 30^th in hits, 13^th in runs, 23^rd in total bases (4601), 31^st in doubles, 19^th in home runs, 14^th in RBI, 10^th in walks, 14^th in strikeouts, and 35^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Endo’s .873 OPS ranks 52^nd and he ranks 34^th in OBP and 76^th in slugging.

Despite his tallies, Endo rarely had overwhelming tallies and rarely was a league leader. The lack of black ink led more voters than you’d expect to vote against him. If Endo had the exact same stats but played entirely on bad teams, the case could more credibly be made that his resume is on the border line.

However, Endo’s playoff excellence can’t be overlooked, posting better rate stats in the playoffs (.993 OPS, 171 wRC+) compared to the regular season (.873 OPS, 139 wRC+). Endo stepped up when it counted and was a big piece on the back-end of Melbourne’s dynasty and for Sydney’s first-ever titles. The 73.4% seems surprisingly low, but Endo is a first ballot Hall of Famer in any case. This was the top mark for the two-player 2031 class for the Oceania Baseball Association. He also became the first inductee that was born in Guam.

Alamoana Nembil – Starting Pitcher – Christchurch Chinooks – 68.3% First Ballot

Alamoana Nembil was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Bairiki, a town of 3,500 people within Kiribati’s Gilbert Islands. Nembil became the first I-Kiribati to earn Hall of Fame induction. The man was all stuff and no brakes, certainly making for interesting outings. Nembil’s stuff was excellent, but his control and movement were both mediocre at best, leading to wildly inconsistent results. Nembil’s fastball regularly hit 99-101 mph, although his most deadly pitch was his forkball. He also had a very good slider and a decent changeup in the arsenal and was great at changing speeds.

Nembil’s stamina was merely decent and his boom-or-bust skillset meant he didn’t go deep in games as often as most OBA aces. His durability was good for most of his run though. Nembil had a nice pickoff move, but weak defense otherwise. His work ethic also was lacking at times and many felt he over-relied on his raw stuff instead of working on his fundamentals.

Even with the raw talent, it was especially hard to get noticed in tiny Kiribati. At just under 100,000 people, it is among the smallest countries to ever produce a HOF inductee and has only seen a handful of tenured pros. Nembil’s deficiencies also scared some of the teams that were aware of him. Port Moresby was willing to take a flyer though late in the third round of the 2010 OBA Draft, selecting Nembil 60^th overall.

Nembil spent three full years in the Mud Hens academy, then had some issues in his 2014 debut at age 23 with a 4.13 ERA over 65.1 innings. He earned a mostly full-time roster spot in 2014 with very mixed results. Then in 2016, Nembil led the Pacific League in wins at 24-8, posting a rock solid 2.62 ERA, 339 strikeouts, and 6.4 WAR. Port Moresby finished 87-75, one of their better years during a playoff drought dating back to 1985.

In 2017, Nembil had only 1.7 WAR over 231 innings as walks and home runs popped up as issues again. The Mud Hens fell off and were worried that Nembil’s 2016 was a fluke. He was traded in a four-player deal in the offseason to Hobart, ending the Port Moresby run with only four seasons. Nembil had a 45-43 record, 3.21 ERA, 798.1 innings, 890 strikeouts, 256 walks, 108 ERA+, 102 FIP-, and 9.3 WAR.

The Tasmaniacs were hovering around .500 at this point, hoping for their first successes since joining in the 2006 expansion. Nembil was a mixed bag in two seasons for Hobart, striking out 300+ in both years but with a 3.79 ERA, 103 ERA+, and 101 FIP-. He had a 38-26 record over 573 innings, 640 strikeouts, and 7.0 WAR. Nembil now became a free agent for the first time heading towards age 29 and no one wanted to commit to a long-term deal.

For 2020, Sydney gave him a one year, $3,280,000 deal which saw a 3.54 ERA, 17-7 record, 211 innings, 267 strikeouts, 115 ERA+, 100 FIP-, and 2.5 WAR. It was enough to prompt Christchurch to sign Nembil for three years and $11,360,000; starting his most famous tenure. The Chinooks had returned to the Australasia League perch in 2020 at 106-56, falling to Guam in the Oceania Championship.

While they would’ve been happy with decent pitching depth, Nembil won Pitcher of the Year honors in 2021 with a league-best 28-6 record. He also had his career highs for strikeouts (369), innings (306.2), ERA (2.79), and WAR (7.7). Christchurch finished 101-61 to repeat as AL champ, but lost to Vanuatu in the OBA finale. In his only playoff starts, Nembil was excellent with 19 strikeouts and three runs allowed over 16 innings.

Nembil led the league in strikeouts in 2022 with 367 and had 7.0 WAR, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. However, the Chinooks fell to 85-77 and decided to “sell high” on Nembil. He was traded in the offseason to Melbourne for three prospects and a draft pick. Nembil was wildly inconsistent and in-and-out of the rotation for the Mets, who finished fifth at 89-73. In 181 innings, he had a 3.63ERA with 216 strikeouts and 0.9 WAR.

Now a free agent again heading towards age 33, Christchurch brought him back on a surprisingly big five year, $50,500,000 deal. Nembil had a good return season with 321 strikeouts and 5.8 WAR over 224.1 innings with a 2.81 ERA. The Chinooks finished one game out of first place, but felt they were will still in position to contend in the next few years.

Nembil had a similar pace for much of 2025, but the season was hampered by a rotator cuff strain and hamstring strain. His velocity was weakened by the injury and in spring training 2026, he was now peaking in the 95-97 mph range. Nembil’s already poor control got worse and he ultimately didn’t pitch a single game in 2026 despite being under contract, retiring that winter at age 35. Between Christchurch stints, Nembil had a 72-29 record, 3.00 ERA, 952.2 innings, 1232 strikeouts, 259 walks, 133 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 23.2 WAR.

In total, Nembil had a 183-116 record, 3.31 ERA, 2716 innings, 3245 strikeouts, 832 walks, 217/344 quality starts, 343 home runs allowed, 115 ERA+, 94 FIP-, and 42.9 WAR. As of 2037, Nembil is 39^th in strikeouts, 50^th in wins, 70^th in innings, and 94^th in pitching WAR. His 10.75 K/9 is 24^th among pitchers with 1000+ career innings, but he’s also 11^th in walks allowed and 23^rd in homers allowed.

His resume is a tough one to suss out with advanced stats not looking favorably due to the homers and walks surrendered. Many who favored Sabermetrics thought Nembil was a pass. But getting 3000+ strikeouts was often enough historically when looking at the Oceania Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame. OBA voters were often viewed as more pro-pitcher compared to the other world leagues.

His best years and his Pitcher of the Year came in his later seasons, perhaps providing some recency bias. Plus, strikeouts are fun and helped folks remember Nembil as perhaps more dominant than he actually was. He only barely crossed the 66% requirement, but a quieter ballot helped Nembil reach 68.3% to earn induction for 2031.

06-24-2025, 06:22 AM	#2287
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,729	2031 OBA Hall of Fame Two guys barely crossed the 66% requirement for induction into the Oceania Baseball Association Hall of Fame for 2031. Both notably still got in on their debuts with 1B Isaac Endo at 73.4% and SP Alamoana Nembil with 68.3%. 3B Dale Harper was the best returner, barely missing the cut at 63.3% on his third ballot. Also above 50% was 1B R.W. Putnam at 59.5% for his second try and SP George Hudson with 54.4% on his seventh attempt. No players were dropped after ten failed attempts. Isaac Endo – First Base – Melbourne Mets – 73.4% First Ballot Isaac Endo was a 6’2’’, 195 pound right-handed first baseman born on the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, built in the latter stages of World War II. Endo was best known for consistent home run power and a solid eye for drawing walks. He was considered above average at best in terms of contact ability and did struggle with strikeouts. The 37 home runs per his 162 game average often made up for his hitting deficiencies. Endo’s gap power was respectable with 28 doubles and 3 triples per 162. He was a smart and adept baserunner, but his usefulness was limited by terrible speed. Despite the slowness, his glove work and positioning were quite good as a career first baseman, winning four Gold Gloves. Endo still made about ¼ of his starts as a designated hitter, mostly in his late 30s. While he did deal with some injuries, his adaptability and bat kept him employed across 18 seasons. As a military brat, Endo wasn’t stationary for much of his youth, although he typically wasn’t too far from Guam or a neighboring Pacific island. His family’s connections did allow for ample baseball training amidst the chaos, getting on the radar of some OBA clubs. Melbourne took an interest in the then 17-year old Endo and gave him a developmental deal in February 2002. He spent much of the next seven years in their training academy in Australia. Endo did see limited usage in his early 20s with 72 games and 55 starts between 2006-08. Even if he was ready, Melbourne was amidst a historic dynasty run with prominent spots hard to come by. Endo earned Oceania Championship rings with the 2006 and 2007 squads, although he saw merely one playoff appearance in 2007. Endo did start in the 2008 finals, but was a terrible 2-27 with 12 strikeouts. The 114-win Mets would be denied an historic fifth straight title in a seven-game thriller against Tahiti. In 2009, Endo was a part-time starter and had promising results with 3.9 WAR and .908 OPS in 108 games. Melbourne won its seventh straight Australasia League pennant and returned to the top perch in a seven game Oceania Championship win over Guam. Endo redeemed his prior playoff failing and won finals MVP, going 11-27 with 6 runs, 2 homers, 2 RBI, and 0.7 WAR. Endo earned the full-time gig in 2010 and led the AL in runs scored (113) and OBP (.393). Both marks would be career bests, as was his .325 batting average and 200 hits. Endo earned his first Silver Slugger and was second in MVP voting. Melbourne dominated the AL again at 113-49 and won their sixth OBA title in seven years, defeating Guadalcanal in the finale. Endo repeated as finals MVP with a 1.502 OPS, 0.8 WAR, 11 hits, 4 runs, 3 doubles, 4 homers, and 11 RBI in six games. His OPS was the fifth-best qualifying OPS in OBA finals history and his 11 RBI was tied for the most. 2010 was also the debut of the Baseball Grand Championship and was the only edition using a two-division format. Melbourne was 5-4 with Endo posting .892 OPS and 0.4 WAR. He matched the 113 runs in 2011 to again take second in MVP voting as the Mets made it nine straight pennants. Endo had a decent postseason, but they were denied the top prize by Tahiti. In April 2012, Melbourne gave Endo a four-year, $24,460,000 extension. Endo won another Slugger and was third in 2012’s MVP voting. This season had his career bests for homers (49), RBI (130), slugging (.625), OPS (1.012), wRC+ (171), and WAR (9.0). Melbourne became the only team in all of pro baseball history to earn ten consecutive pennants, although Guadalcanal denied them their seventh OBA title of the dynasty. Endo had another solid playoff showing with a 1.143 OPS and 0.6 WAR over seven starts. For his Melbourne playoff career, Endo had 35 games, 43 hits, 18 runs, 7 doubles, 12 home runs, 31 RBI, .314/.356/.628 slash, 177 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. The Mets finished 11-8 in the 2012 BGC as the at-large team, one game away from first but in a four-way tie for sixth. Endo had a strong showing with 17 hits, 15 runs, 6 doubles, 7 home runs, 20 RBI, .250/.414/.627 slash, 196 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. He had firmly cemented himself as a big game player. Endo’s time as an MVP candidate was done after this, although he was still a quality starter for another decade-plus. This also marked the end of Melbourne’s time on top. The Mets won 94, 99, and 84 games from 2013-15, but ceded the top spot to a new Christchurch dynasty. With a possible rebuild looming, Endo declined his contact option after the 2015 season, becoming a free agent at age 30. With Melbourne, Endo played 1133 games with 1229 hits, 704 runs, 216 doubles, 268 home runs, 718 RBI, .290/.366/.540 slash, 149 wRC+, and 42.0 WAR. He was an important and popular player in the back end of one of the all-time dynasties in baseball history, which earned the retirement of his #17 uniform when it was all said and done. Endo’s time as a big game player wasn’t done though as he signed a five-year, $50,800,000 deal with Sydney. To that point, the Snakes were the only OBA original team that had never won a pennant since the association’s 1960 founding. Sydney had started to look competitive in the 2010s and set a new franchise record in Endo’s debut season in 2016 at 105-57. Unfortunately, they shared a league with the Chinooks, who tied the world record with an absurd 126-36 campaign. Sydney finished six games out of first in 2017 and Endo won his first of four consecutive Gold Gloves. In 2018, Sydney finally made it to the top of the Australasia League at 100-62, winning the Oceania Championship over Samoa. Endo was merely okay in the series going 3-18, but he still had 2 homers and 4 runs. He now had five OBA championship rings to his name. Endo had a strong BGC showing with a 1.115 OPS, 8 homers, 22 hits, 12 runs, and 18 RBI;; although the Snakes finished 8-11. Endo remained steady as Sydney repeated as OBA champs in 2019, this time over Honolulu in the final. He went 9-25 in the seven game series, earning his sixth OBA ring and ninth AL pennant. The Snakes again were 8-11 in the Baseball Grand Championship, which saw a lackluster .651 OPS from Endo. Over 66 BGC games, Endo finished with 58 hits, 42 runs, 11 doubles, 23 home runs, 55 RBI, .244/.361/.580 slash, 162 wRC+, and 3.1 WAR. For his OBA playoff career over 48 games, Endo had 55 this, 24 runs, 8 doubles, 16 home runs, 39 RBI, 20 walks, .306/.376/.617 slash, 171 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR. As of 2037, Endo is tied for 1^st in OBA playoff RBI and ranks 7^th in games, 4^th in hits, 5^th in runs, 3^rd in homers, 3^rd in walks, and 3^rd in strikeouts. He’s also 4^th in total bases (111) and 23^rd in OPS (.993) among those with 40+ plate appearances. Sydney was a second place 96-66 in 2020, Endo’s fifth and final year with the Snakes. In 721 games, he had 718 hits, 426 runs, 116 doubles, 156 home runs, 480 RBI, 284 walks, .269/.340/.498 slash, 127 wRC+, and 19.9 WAR. A free agent again at age 35, Endo next joined Brisbane on a three-year, $28,800,000 deal. For the first time, Endo was now with a loser as the Black Bears were near the bottom of the standings for his time there. Endo lost some of 2021 to plantar fasciitis, but was still respectable overall over two seasons with 251 games, 239 hits, 135 runs, 42 doubles, 49 home runs, 146 RBI, .264/.344/.487 slash, 126 wRC+, and 5.3 WAR. He was traded in the third year of his deal to New Caledonia for three prospects. Endo ultimately decided to ink a three-year, $26,500,000 extension with the Colonels, where he finished out his career. They’d be just below .500 across his tenure. 2023 was a surprise resurgence for Endo as a DH, winning a Silver Slugger with a league and career best 92 walks. He also smacked 46 home runs with 119 RBI and 5.5 WAR, power numbers not seen since the Melbourne days. Endo had a nice effort in 2024, but lost a chunk of the season to plantar fasciitis. He struggled in only 19 games in 2025, missing almost the entire season to a broken bone in his elbow. For New Caledonia, Endo had 287 games, 271 hits, 151 runs, 35 doubles, 76 home runs, 193 RBI, .256/.349/.513 slash, 139 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR. He fell just short of the 550 home run and 2500 hit thresholds, but did cross 1500 RBI and 1000 walks. Endo retired from the game after the 2025 season at age 40. The final tallies had 2392 games, 2457 hits, 1416 runs, 409 doubles, 44 triples, 549 home runs, 1537 RBI, 1009 walks, 2350 strikeouts, 126 stolen bases, .277/.354/.519 slash, 139 wRC+, and 74.7 WAR. As of 2037, Endo is 32^nd in games played, 30^th in hits, 13^th in runs, 23^rd in total bases (4601), 31^st in doubles, 19^th in home runs, 14^th in RBI, 10^th in walks, 14^th in strikeouts, and 35^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Endo’s .873 OPS ranks 52^nd and he ranks 34^th in OBP and 76^th in slugging. Despite his tallies, Endo rarely had overwhelming tallies and rarely was a league leader. The lack of black ink led more voters than you’d expect to vote against him. If Endo had the exact same stats but played entirely on bad teams, the case could more credibly be made that his resume is on the border line. However, Endo’s playoff excellence can’t be overlooked, posting better rate stats in the playoffs (.993 OPS, 171 wRC+) compared to the regular season (.873 OPS, 139 wRC+). Endo stepped up when it counted and was a big piece on the back-end of Melbourne’s dynasty and for Sydney’s first-ever titles. The 73.4% seems surprisingly low, but Endo is a first ballot Hall of Famer in any case. This was the top mark for the two-player 2031 class for the Oceania Baseball Association. He also became the first inductee that was born in Guam. Alamoana Nembil – Starting Pitcher – Christchurch Chinooks – 68.3% First Ballot Alamoana Nembil was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Bairiki, a town of 3,500 people within Kiribati’s Gilbert Islands. Nembil became the first I-Kiribati to earn Hall of Fame induction. The man was all stuff and no brakes, certainly making for interesting outings. Nembil’s stuff was excellent, but his control and movement were both mediocre at best, leading to wildly inconsistent results. Nembil’s fastball regularly hit 99-101 mph, although his most deadly pitch was his forkball. He also had a very good slider and a decent changeup in the arsenal and was great at changing speeds. Nembil’s stamina was merely decent and his boom-or-bust skillset meant he didn’t go deep in games as often as most OBA aces. His durability was good for most of his run though. Nembil had a nice pickoff move, but weak defense otherwise. His work ethic also was lacking at times and many felt he over-relied on his raw stuff instead of working on his fundamentals. Even with the raw talent, it was especially hard to get noticed in tiny Kiribati. At just under 100,000 people, it is among the smallest countries to ever produce a HOF inductee and has only seen a handful of tenured pros. Nembil’s deficiencies also scared some of the teams that were aware of him. Port Moresby was willing to take a flyer though late in the third round of the 2010 OBA Draft, selecting Nembil 60^th overall. Nembil spent three full years in the Mud Hens academy, then had some issues in his 2014 debut at age 23 with a 4.13 ERA over 65.1 innings. He earned a mostly full-time roster spot in 2014 with very mixed results. Then in 2016, Nembil led the Pacific League in wins at 24-8, posting a rock solid 2.62 ERA, 339 strikeouts, and 6.4 WAR. Port Moresby finished 87-75, one of their better years during a playoff drought dating back to 1985. In 2017, Nembil had only 1.7 WAR over 231 innings as walks and home runs popped up as issues again. The Mud Hens fell off and were worried that Nembil’s 2016 was a fluke. He was traded in a four-player deal in the offseason to Hobart, ending the Port Moresby run with only four seasons. Nembil had a 45-43 record, 3.21 ERA, 798.1 innings, 890 strikeouts, 256 walks, 108 ERA+, 102 FIP-, and 9.3 WAR. The Tasmaniacs were hovering around .500 at this point, hoping for their first successes since joining in the 2006 expansion. Nembil was a mixed bag in two seasons for Hobart, striking out 300+ in both years but with a 3.79 ERA, 103 ERA+, and 101 FIP-. He had a 38-26 record over 573 innings, 640 strikeouts, and 7.0 WAR. Nembil now became a free agent for the first time heading towards age 29 and no one wanted to commit to a long-term deal. For 2020, Sydney gave him a one year, $3,280,000 deal which saw a 3.54 ERA, 17-7 record, 211 innings, 267 strikeouts, 115 ERA+, 100 FIP-, and 2.5 WAR. It was enough to prompt Christchurch to sign Nembil for three years and $11,360,000; starting his most famous tenure. The Chinooks had returned to the Australasia League perch in 2020 at 106-56, falling to Guam in the Oceania Championship. While they would’ve been happy with decent pitching depth, Nembil won Pitcher of the Year honors in 2021 with a league-best 28-6 record. He also had his career highs for strikeouts (369), innings (306.2), ERA (2.79), and WAR (7.7). Christchurch finished 101-61 to repeat as AL champ, but lost to Vanuatu in the OBA finale. In his only playoff starts, Nembil was excellent with 19 strikeouts and three runs allowed over 16 innings. Nembil led the league in strikeouts in 2022 with 367 and had 7.0 WAR, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. However, the Chinooks fell to 85-77 and decided to “sell high” on Nembil. He was traded in the offseason to Melbourne for three prospects and a draft pick. Nembil was wildly inconsistent and in-and-out of the rotation for the Mets, who finished fifth at 89-73. In 181 innings, he had a 3.63ERA with 216 strikeouts and 0.9 WAR. Now a free agent again heading towards age 33, Christchurch brought him back on a surprisingly big five year, $50,500,000 deal. Nembil had a good return season with 321 strikeouts and 5.8 WAR over 224.1 innings with a 2.81 ERA. The Chinooks finished one game out of first place, but felt they were will still in position to contend in the next few years. Nembil had a similar pace for much of 2025, but the season was hampered by a rotator cuff strain and hamstring strain. His velocity was weakened by the injury and in spring training 2026, he was now peaking in the 95-97 mph range. Nembil’s already poor control got worse and he ultimately didn’t pitch a single game in 2026 despite being under contract, retiring that winter at age 35. Between Christchurch stints, Nembil had a 72-29 record, 3.00 ERA, 952.2 innings, 1232 strikeouts, 259 walks, 133 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 23.2 WAR. In total, Nembil had a 183-116 record, 3.31 ERA, 2716 innings, 3245 strikeouts, 832 walks, 217/344 quality starts, 343 home runs allowed, 115 ERA+, 94 FIP-, and 42.9 WAR. As of 2037, Nembil is 39^th in strikeouts, 50^th in wins, 70^th in innings, and 94^th in pitching WAR. His 10.75 K/9 is 24^th among pitchers with 1000+ career innings, but he’s also 11^th in walks allowed and 23^rd in homers allowed. His resume is a tough one to suss out with advanced stats not looking favorably due to the homers and walks surrendered. Many who favored Sabermetrics thought Nembil was a pass. But getting 3000+ strikeouts was often enough historically when looking at the Oceania Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame. OBA voters were often viewed as more pro-pitcher compared to the other world leagues. His best years and his Pitcher of the Year came in his later seasons, perhaps providing some recency bias. Plus, strikeouts are fun and helped folks remember Nembil as perhaps more dominant than he actually was. He only barely crossed the 66% requirement, but a quieter ballot helped Nembil reach 68.3% to earn induction for 2031. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)