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Left fielder Ibrahim Sani stood alone for induction into the West African Baseball Hall of Fame in 2033 with a near unanimous 99.1%. SP Joseph Masuta was the next closest to the 66% requirement, but missed on his second ballot at 63.9%. Also above 50% was a 56.4% debut for closer Nwaneri Victor and a 51.7% second try for SP Minusu Ekong.



Dropped after ten ballots was 1B Akuneto Adeyemo, who peaked at 42.4% in his penultimate ballot but ended at a low of 10.7%. In 17 seasons between Monrovia and Accra, Adeyemo had two Gold Gloves, one Silver Slugger, 2937 hits, 1259 runs, 649 doubles, 152 triples, 201 home runs, 1262 RBI, 518 steals, .331/.362/.506 slash, 135 wRC+, and 63.2 WAR.

As of 2037, Adeyemo is 11^th in doubles and 13^th in hits, but only 44^th in WAR. He was hurt by the lack of black ink and by voters expecting big home run power from first basemen in particular. Still, he was an important part of Monrovia’s 2008 championship. However, Adeyemo didn’t have the flashy numbers to get beyond the Hall of Pretty Good.

Also worth mention was teammate Abiodun Inyang, who fell below 5% on his seventh ballot and peaked at only 12.7%. He won six Gold Gloves at shortstop, three Silver Sluggers, and was finals and LCS MVP for Monrovia’s 2008 championship. He was also a key starter for their 2006 title as well. Inyang did lose four years of tallies to a run in MLB with Washington.

In WAB, he had 1795 games, 1919 hits, 1112 runs, 389 doubles, 128 triples, 195 home runs, 819 RBI, 501 steals, .278/.342/.457 slash, 116 wRC+, and 65.4 WAR. As of 2037, Inyang is 36^th in WAR, mostly coming from his great defense. Advanced stats suggested he was merely a decent batter though and voters were quite underwhelmed despite his accomplishments.



Ibrahim Sani – Left Field – Conakry Coyotes – 99.1% First Ballot

Ibrahim Sani was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Maine-Soroa, Niger; a town of 78,000 people by the country’s southeast border. He’s the third Nigerien Hall of Famer and is generally regarded as the country’s best-ever hitter. Sani had remarkably steady power with a 162 game average of 40 home runs, 36 doubles, and 9 triples.

Sani was an excellent contact hitter facing right-handed pitching with a career 1.088 OPS and 174 wRC+. He graded as below average against lefties with a .744 OPS and 93 wRC+. On the whole, he was above average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. Sani was an incredibly skilled and crafty baserunner and was a constant threat even with merely good speed.

Defensively, Sani played almost exclusively in left field with subpar fielding metrics. You could definitely do worse though. Around 20% of his starts came as a designated hitter. Sani’s durability was quite good, starting 125+ games in all but his final season in an 18-year career. He was a strong leader with a great work ethic, becoming one of the most universally loved and praised players across the region.

By the 2009 WAB Draft, most scouts saw Sani as the top prospect. Cape Verde agreed and chose him with the #1 overall pick. Sani was a full-timer right away and took 2010 Rookie of the Year honors. The Vulcans had a stunning turnaround that year, going from 57-105 in 2009 to first place and 96-66 in 2010. They lost to defending WAB champ Abidjan in the Western League Championship Series. A young Sani struggled in the series, going 2-15.

It would be his only playoff trip with Cape Verde, who hovered in the mid 70 wins range mostly for the rest of his time. Sani won his first Silver Slugger in 2012 and won again for the Vulcans in 2013, 14, and 15. He led the WL in home runs for the first time with 43 in 2013, a mark he’d top nine times despite only being the HR leader once more in his career.

Sani’s first MVP came in 2014, leading in batting average (.378), total bases (416), and RBI (158). He fell two homers shy of the Triple Crown. Sani was second in 2015’s MVP voting, which saw career and league bests for total bases (446), triple slash (.380/.434/.724), OPS (1.158), wRC+ (199), WAR (9.4) and hits (234). Sani also had his highs for doubles (48) and stolen bases (53). He was second in homers with 48 and third in RBI with 135.

For Cape Verde, Sani had 1080 games, 1327 hits, 767 runs, 234 doubles, 44 triples, 319 home runs, 853 RBI, 349 walks, 208 steals, .329/.385/.646 slash, 159 wRC+, and 44.9 WAR. He left for free agency after the 2016 season at age 29. You could argue the Vulcans run was marginally his best offensively, but his second run with Conakry would be comparable. The Coyotes tenure was his signature run for the dynasty that came with it.

Sani’s deal with Conakry was for $102,200,000 over seven years. The Coyotes had been mostly mediocre to start the decade, but they’d begin a five-year playoff streak in 2018. Sani won Silver Sluggers in 2017, 18, 19, and 21 for Conakry. In 2018, he earned his second MVP, leading in total bases (417), slugging (.695), OPS (1.086), and wRC+ (169). It was also his first 50+ homer season with 52 dingers, 145 RBI, and 123 runs.

In 2019, Sani repeated and won his third MVP with a league-best 56 homers and .710 slugging. He also posted his career high for runs scored with 125 and hit for the cycle in September against Monrovia. Sani dropped off surprisingly to 3.4 WAR and .883 OPS in 2020, but bounced back to his more normal production after that. Sani led the league with 123 runs in 2021.

Conakry had a second round playoff exit in 2018 and WLCS loss in 2019 to Bamako. In 2020, the Coyotes finished first in the standings at 107-55 and won it all, beating Nouakchott in the WLCS and Yaounde in the West African Championship. Conakry then took second in the Baseball Grand Championship at 14-5, one win behind Denver. In the BGC, Sani had 13 hits, 11 runs, 6 homers, 12 RBI, .766 OPS, and 0.7 WAR over 18 games.

In 2021, Conakry was ousted by Bamako in the WLCS. Then in 2022 at 98-64, the Coyotes upset top-seed Abidjan in the WLCS and defeated Niamey to claim their second WAB title in three years. Conakry finished 10-9 in the BGC in a four-way tie for ninth. Because of a knee sprain in the WAB playoffs, Sani only was available four games in the BGC.

Overall in the WAB playoffs, Sani’s stats were rock solid with Conakry. In 31 starts, he had 42 hits, 25 runs, 9 doubles, 7 home runs, 25 RBI, .353/.386/.622 slash, 164 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. The streak ended with an 85-77 playoff miss in 2023, Sani’s final year under contact. In seven seasons with the Coyotes, Sani had 1080 games, 1327 hits, 767 runs, 234 doubles, 44 triples, 319 home runs, 853 RBI, .329/.385/.646 slash, 159 wRC+, and 44.9 WAR.

Now 36-years old, Sani returned to his home country on a three-year, $52,200,000 deal with Niamey. He did notably play for Niger in the World Baseball Championship from 2021-27 with 73 games, 58 hits, 35 runs, 10 doubles, 4 triples, 12 home runs, 41 RBI, .244/.338/.471 slash, and 2.6 WAR.

Sani’s home run power dipped considerably in the Niamey seasons, but he was still an effective batter and even led the Eastern League with a .412 OBP in 2026. In 438 games, Sani had 535 hits, 314 runs, 121 doubles, 34 triples, 69 home runs, 262 RBI, 120 steals, .331/.392/.576 slash, 144 wRC+, and 13.6 WAR. His arrival started a six-year playoff streak for the Atomics, who had won the pennant in 2022.

Niamey finished first in 2025 at 105-57 and set a franchise wins record, but they got upset by Ibadan in the ELCS. The Atomics lost in the first round of 2024 and second round in 2026. In 11 playoff starts, Sani had 11 hits, 7 runs, 4 doubles, 3 homers, 7 RBI, .297/.350/.649 slash, 150 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR.

Sani reached some impressive milestones in the Niamey years. In 2024, he became 4^th to reach 600 home runs and the 8^th to 1500 runs scored. In April 2025, he earned his second cycle against Douala. Then in 2026, Sani became the 4^th member of the 3000 hit club. He was a free agent again after the 2026 campaign at age 39 and inked a two-year, $10,800,000 deal with Dakar. Unfortunately, he fell off hard with -0.3 WAR and .670 OPS over 100 games and 76 starts with the Dukes in 2027. Sani retired from the game that winter at age 39.

The final tallies had 2702 games, 3253 hits, 1852 runs, 596 doubles, 153 triples, 661 home runs, 1946 RBI, 904 walks, 1705 strikeouts, 639 stolen bases, 6138 total bases, .325/.383/.612 slash, 153 wRC+, and 102.1 WAR. As of 2037, Sani is 10^th in games, 8^th in runs, 9^th in hits, 9^th in total bases, 14^th in doubles, 10^th in homers, 9^th in RBI, 14^th in walks, 44^th in steals, and 7^th in WAR among position players.

Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Sani’s .996 OPS ranks 21^st. He also ranks 73^rd/38^th/25^th in the triple slash. Sani’s definitely an inner-circle Hall of Famer for West African Baseball and has a strong case for being a top ten player in league history. He stood alone for induction in 2033 with a near unanimous 99.1%.