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FuzzyRussianHat · 08-28-2025, 07:05 AM

Two outfielders were slam dunk inductees for the Arab League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2034 with Mohamed Hassan at 98.3% and Amar Rasmi at 95.7%. 1B Faqi Al-Thakur was close to the 66% requirement, but missed at 60.9% on his sixth ballot. Also on his sixth go was 1B Lance Vogel at 53.3%. SP Muhammed Fadel also breached 50% with a 52.5% debut.

Dropped after ten failed ballots was closer Ibrahim Mourad, who peaked at 38.2% in 2026 and ended at 13.0%. In 13 seasons, he had 335 saves, 3.08 ERA, 852.2 innings, 1262 strikeouts, 126 ERA+, 73 FIP-, and 21.5 WAR. Mourad led in saves twice and ranks 5^th in ALB as of 2037. However, he never won Reliever of the Year, taking second place twice. Mourad was an important part of Abu Dhabi’s pennants in 2016-17 as well. He just didn’t have the overwhelming dominance that voters wanted from relievers. The other inductees either had ERAs below 2.50 or more longevity.

Mohamed Hassan – Left Field – Basra Bulldogs – 98.3% First Ballot

Mohamed Hassan was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from El Mansura, Egypt, a city of around 622,000 on the northern bank of the Nile. Hassan was one of the all-time great home run hitters and an absolute menace facing right-handed pitching. He had a career 1.079 OPS and 177 wRC+ facing RHP, compared to a merely decent .778 OPS and 107 wRC+ against righties. Hassan was an excellent contact hitter against righties, but average-at-best against lefties.

For power, Hassan had an outstanding 52 homers, 41 doubles, and 3 triples per his 162 game average. More than half of his career hits went for extra bases based almost purely on power. Hassan was a smart baserunner, but his speed was terrible. He also drew surprisingly few walks for a power guy and did struggle with strikeouts. But his hits were almost always high value as he never had a full season without at least 35 home runs.

Hassan was a career left fielder and a lousy defender. About ¼ of his career starts came as a designated hitter. Hassan’s durability was mostly great, starting 145+ games in all but two seasons from 2011-28. He had a strong work ethic and was very loyal, becoming a beloved superstar of the loaded outfields of the great Basra dynasties.

In May 2007, Hassan left for Iraq on a developmental deal with Basra. It didn’t take long for him to come up as a rare 18-year old debut in 2009 with nine games. Hassan played 108 games and started 54 in 2010 with promising results at age 19. That earned him a full-time job in 2011, a role he kept for the next 18 years with the Bulldogs.

Basra was already amidst their first dynasty when Hassan arrived, led by ALB home run king Nordine Soule. They had a division title streak back to 2003 with Eastern Conference pennants in 2004, 06, 08, 10, and 11; along with ALB titles in 2006, 2008, and 2011. Hassan won his first Silver Slugger in 2011 as a DH, leading in doubles with 52.

Hassan immediately became a big-time playoff performer, winning conference finals MVP in 2011 against Abu Dhabi. It was Basra’s weakest record of the streak at 86-76, but they went on to beat Alexandria for the ALB title. Hassan had 14 hits, 10 runs, 5 doubles, 5 homers, 8 RBI, and 0.7 WAR in 13 playoff starts. He then had a strong showing in the Baseball Grand Championship with 20 hits, 12 runs, 4 doubles, 7 homers, 16 RBI, 1.032 OPS, and 1.1 WAR over 18 starts. The Bulldogs finished 10-0, one of four teams tied for eighth.

The outfielder group Hassan came to join early in his career is viewed as possibly the strongest OF unit in baseball history. In left was the legendary Nordine Soule, ALB’s leader in homers, WAR, RBI, hits, and runs. Center had Hassan El Zamek and right had Farouk Adam, both of which were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2025. From 2007-10, those three swept the Silver Sluggers in the outfield and even had the top three spots in MVP voting for 2008.

2012 was the last hurrah for this group, taking the top seed at 101-61 but falling to Abu Dhabi in the conference final. It was also the star-making season for Hassan, who won MVP and another Silver Slugger at DH. He had a 6-6 game with three home runs on August 2 against Medina. Hassan led the conference with career bests for home runs (61) and RBI (146) and led with 439 total bases.

It was Soule’s final year in Basra, as he’d play two final seasons with Casablanca before retiring. El Zamek also left for free agency and apart from a one-off in 2015 spent the rest of his career elsewhere. Adam stayed through 2017, but it was now Hassan’s turn to be the leader for the Bulldogs. While he personally played great, it was a transition period for Basra. They had losing seasons from 2013-15 and got back above .500 in 2016-17, although they were still outside of the playoffs.

Hassan moved away from DH during that five-year stretch and won Silver Sluggers four times in LF. He also had a one-off in 2014 at first base, earning his second MVP. Hassan was third in 2015 and 2016’s MVP voting. 2014 was his career bests for WAR (9.7), OPS (1.104), wRC+ (194), triple slash (.340/.381/.722) and total bases (440). Hassan led in homers in both 2013-14, led in RBI in 2014, doubles in 2015, and runs in both 2014-15. 2015 had his bests for both runs (126) and doubles (53).

In September 2016, Hassan signed a girthy eight-year, $139,400,000 extension. Basra started a new nine-year playoff streak in 2018, although they had a first round exit initially. The rest of the streak, the Bulldogs got to the Eastern Conference Final each year, finishing with a 2-6 record for their tries. Hassan had a surprisingly done 2018, but returned closer to form after that. In 2021, he was a conference leader for the final time with 140 RBI and 405 total bases. 2020 was his last Silver Slugger and last time as an MVP finalist, taking third. Hassan finished with ten Sluggers in total.

From 2019-22, Basra met Jeddah in the conference final. The Jackals got the better of them thrice, but the Bulldogs broke through in 2020. They went onto defeat Cairo for the Arab League title with Hassan getting series MVP. In that playoff run, he had 20 hits, 12 runs, 8 doubles, 4 home runs, 10 RBI, and 1.187 OPS. The Bulldogs took third at 13-6 in the Baseball Grand Championship as Hassan posted 20 hits, 12 runs, 2 doubles, 7 homers, and 16 RBI.

Hassan had become a superstar in Iraq, but he was also beloved back home in Egypt. He was a regular in the World Baseball Championship from 2011-27 with 140 games, 103 hits, 68 runs, 18 doubles, 43 home runs, 92 RBI, .246/.318/.601 slash, and 5.0 WAR. The Egyptians notably had their deepest-ever run in 2014, taking fourth place.

Basra won 112 games in 2023 and 100 in 2024, but lost to Abu Dhabi and Kuwait respectively in the conference final. Hassan was still a very effective power hitter at this point, but he was done with the MVP conversation. In July 2024, he signed a five-year, $104,400,000 to remain with the Bulldogs. That year also saw Hassan breach 700 home runs, 1500 runs, and 2500 hits.

In 2025 at 99-63, Hassan got his third ring as the Bulldogs denied 110-win Amman a three-peat in the ALB Championship. This was Hassan’s finest moment, winning MVP in the championship and conference finals. In 14 playoff starts, he had 26 hits, 19 runs, 7 doubles, 6 homers, 19 RBI, 1.451 OPS, 261 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR. Hassan set the ALB playoff record for total bases (51), tied the runs record, and was one short of the hits record also set that year by Dei Barrie (27). They went 8-11 in the BGC with Hassan posting 15 hits, 14 runs, 8 homers, 16 RBI, and .932 OPS.

While he was weak in a few of the early exits, Hassan’s career playoff numbers were quite impressive. In 85 games, he had 103 hits, 59 runs, 32 doubles, 22 homers, 205 total bases, 57 RBI, .318/.354/.633 slash, 154 wRC+, and 3.5 WAR. As of 2037, Hassan is the ALB playoff leader for total bases and doubles. He ranks 3^rd in runs, 2^nd in hits, 7^th in homers, and 5^th in RBI.

Basra had one last conference finals trip in 2026, but lost to Bahrain. The Bulldogs would spend the rest of the decade below .500. By this point, Hassan seemed to have a real shot at catching some of Soule’s all-time records. In 2027 at age 36, he smacked 60 home runs with 145 RBI. Hassan would be the third to 900 home runs, third to 2000 RBI, fourth to 700 doubles, and fourth to 3000 hits.

Hassan still had 43 homers and 100 RBI in 2028, but it was overall his worst full season with 0.3 WAR in 162 games with 94 wRC+ and .810 OPS. He was only 43 hits away from passing Soule, but the other marks would’ve needed a few more decent years. In part out of respect to his former teammate and in part due to worries he’d be benched, Hassan retired that winter at age 38. Basra immediately retired his #4 uniform for a stellar two decades.

The final totals saw 2885 games, 3296 hits, 1919 runs, 722 doubles, 53 triples, 928 home runs, 2234 RBI, 568 walks, 2718 strikeouts, .307/.353/.644 slash, 158 wRC+, and 105.0 WAR. As of 2037, Hassan is 2^nd in games, 3^rd in runs, 2^nd in hits, 2^nd in total bases (6908), 4^th in doubles, 3^rd in homers, 2^nd in RBI, 76^th in walks, 5^th in strikeouts, and 7^th in WAR for position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Hassan’s .997 OPS is 21^st and he’s 14^th in slugging.

Hassan’s power also cracks the world leaderboards as of 2037, ranking 19^th in homers, 12^th in doubles, and 22^nd in RBI. Among world Hall of Famers and retired locks, Hassan is 19^th in slugging and 49^th in OPS. He’s undoubtedly an inner-circle Hall of Famer and has a case for being a top ten or even top five hitter in all of Arab League Baseball history. Hassan’s high strikeout tally, low walk tally, and poor defense and speed might keep him just shy of immortal status. Some scholars argue while an excellent power hitter, he was helped by a higher-scoring league and homer-friendly ballpark in Basra.

On just about any other franchise, Hassan would be that team’s best-ever. But he briefly overlapped with the league GOAT Nordine Soule and another top ten level guy Farouk Adam with the Bulldogs. Hassan led the transition from those guys’ dynasty to a new one, keeping Basra as a league powerhouse. He was a deserved headliner atop the 2034 class at 98.3%.

Amar “Shoeless” Rasmi – Right Field – Khartoum Cottonmouths – 95.7% First Ballot

Amar Rasmi was a 6’1’’, 195 pound switch-hitting right fielder from Port Said, Egypt; a city with around 797,000 people by the Suez Canal. Rasmi was a very different batter from his Hall of Fame classmate Mohamed Hassan, who made his name with raw power. Rasmi was one of the great leadoff guys ever with excellent contact ability and gap power, plus world class speed and baserunning. The nickname “Shoeless” came from how even barefoot, he could beat anyone in the league in a footrace.

Rasmi’s 162 game average was good for 38 doubles and 20 triples, but only 5 home runs. That average also had an absurd 112 stolen bases, swiping 100+ bags in each year from 2015-25. He also was successful on around 73% of his steal attempts. Rasmi was better than most in ALB at avoiding strikeouts, but was below average at drawing walks.

Despite his speed, Rasmi graded poorly defensively as an outfielder, making the vast majority of his starts in right. His durability was generally great, playing 145+ games each year from 2013-26. Rasmi’s personality made him a bit of an enigma, as teammates appreciated his work ethic, intelligence, and adaptability. However, he was also viewed as being very selfish and unconcerned by team results.

Rasmi left Egypt for Sudan in April 2008 on a developmental deal with Khartoum. He debuted in 2012 at age 20 with 73 games and 30 starts with okay results. Rasmi earned a full-time gig after that and spent the next nine seasons starting for the Cottonmouths. He brought excitement to a team stick in perpetual mid-ness. They never made the playoffs during his tenure, but averaged 84.5 wins per season and only twice had a losing record.

From 2013-19, Rasmi led the Western Conference each season in triples. He won Silver Sluggers in 2018 and 2021, but wasn’t an MVP finalist due to lacking home run power. 2016 started a ten-year streak leading in stolen bases. For Khartoum, Rasmi led thrice in runs scored, four times in hits, twice in doubles, and won two batting titles.

2018 was his strongest by WAR (9.0) as well as doubles (62) and steals (143). That broke the ALB steals record and was the third-best single-season in world history to that point. As of 2037, it ranks 10^th in world history and fifth in ALB. The 62+ doubles have also only happened 47 other times in world history. Rasmi had 27 triples in 2016, one short of the ALB record. He had his best for hits (242) and batting average (.376) in 2019 and his highest run total in 2021 at 133.

Khartoum gave Rasmi a four-year, $3,840,000 extension after the 2014 season, then a bigger four-year, $31 million extension after the 2018 campaign. In May 2021, he had a six-hit game against Amman. Rasmi would decline his contract option that winter, becoming a free agent at age 30. For the Cottonmouths, he had 1466 games, 1929 hits, 995 runs, 369 doubles, 186 triples, 54 homers, 496 RBI, 312 walks, 1014 steals, .335/.372/.491 slash, 135 wRC+ and 46.8 WAR. Khartoum would later retire his #30 uniform.

Rasmi joined Jeddah on a six-year, $58,800,000 deal. The Jackals were amidst an 11-year playoff streak and were the defending ALB champs. During that run, they had four ALB titles and five Eastern Conference wins. Jeddah won another conference title in Rasmi’s debut year at 97-65, but lost the ALB Championship to Casablanca. The Jackals playoff streak ran another two years, but both ended in one-and-dones.

A fair criticism of Rasmi was poor playoff results, albeit with a small sample size. In 17 games, he had 17 hits, 6 runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 8 steals, .635 OPS, 58 wRC+, and -0.1 WAR. Rasmi did well otherwise, winning his third Silver Slugger in 2023 with conference bests in hits, triples, and steals. He had 139 swipes, good for the 19^th-best in world history. Rasmi has seven of the top 50 steals efforts in ALB history, although Hassan Shanshol and Zakaria Badwan would both start to top Rasmi’s efforts. Shanshol stole 157 bases in 2024 to break Rasmi’s ALB single-season record and the world record. He then stole 159 in 2030.

With Jeddah, Rasmi passed Farouk Adam’s 1386 career steals to become ALB’s all-time leader. He also blew by Ahmad Abbas’ 218 to become ALB’s triples king by a healthy margin. Rasmi would be the first in ALB to 300+ triples, while no one else has eclipsed 250 yet. In fall 2027, Rasmi had a 36-game hitting streak, tying Alaa Dinari’s 2024 effort for the longest in ALB history. Abdul Jalil Dahir passed them the next year with a 37-game run, but Rasmi still has the #2 spot.

The Jackals’ playoff streak ended in 2025 at 83-79, followed by losing seasons for the rest of the decade. Despite the hitting streak, Rasmi’s overall hitting effectiveness started to decline by this point. For Jeddah in six seasons, he had 900 games, 1125 hits, 589 runs, 201 doubles, 109 triples, 20 homers, 322 RBI, 238 walks, 250 steals, .332/.379/.474 slash, 122 wRC+, and 21.4 WAR.

The last year with Jeddah did get him to 3000 hits, the fourth in ALB to do so. Nordine Soule’s record 3339 seemed possibly reachable and he wanted to chase the world record for steals, held by Europe’s Carsten Dal at 1995. Doha gave him a one-year, $1,420,000 deal for 2028. Unfortunately, Rasmi was subpar over 140 games with 148 hits, 70 runs, 58 steals, .724 OPS, 87 wRC+, and 0.0 WAR. He did move into #2 on the world steals leaderboard, passing Ishmael Perla’s 1721.

The big blow came on September 13, suffering a torn PCL in his left knee with an 8-9 month recovery time. Rasmi wanted to come back and chase the records, but he had become a below average bat before the injury. Teams figured the PCL tear ruined any possible value he might still have. Rasmi spent all of 2029 unsigned and retired that winter at age 38.

Rasmi finished with 2506 games, 3202 hits, 1654 runs, 592 doubles, 312 triples, 76 home runs, 853 RBI, 587 walks, 1533 strikeouts, 1730 steals, 634 caught stealing, .331/.372/.480 slash, 127 wRC+, and 68.2 WAR. As of 2037, Rasmi is still ALB’s triples leader and has the most singles at 2222. Hassan Shanshol eventually passed him as the steals leader in the mid 2030s, but Rasmi is still #2 in ALB and 4^th in world history entering 2037.

He also ranks 23^rd in games, 9^th in runs, 5^th in hits, 40^th in total bases (4646), 25^th in doubles, 2^nd in caught stealing, 70^th in walks, and 46^th in WAR among position players. Although the ALB triples king, he does narrowly miss the world’s top 50. Rasmi is also 22^nd in batting average among ALB batters with 3000+ plate appearances and 35^th in on-base percentage.

Rasmi is certainly notable as one of the absolute best base stealers in the game’s history. Even with the comparatively high swipe rate in ALB relative to other leagues, it’s hard not to place him as a top ten or top five thief of all-time. The low WAR total though goes to show how little things like steals and batting average matter towards Sabermetrics. As such, Rasmi misses out generally on being viewed as an “inner-circle” Hall of Famer by many due to lack of power and poor defense, plus the lack of team/playoff success.

That said, if you retire as the steals and triples leader and came close to being the hit king, you’ll find your way easily in to the Hall of Fame. Even Sabermetrics-minded voters won’t poo-poo those totals and Rasmi’s unique talents in Arab League Baseball history. He received a firm 95.7% as the second member of the 2034 class.

08-28-2025, 07:05 AM	#2411
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,888	2034 ALB Hall of Fame Two outfielders were slam dunk inductees for the Arab League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2034 with Mohamed Hassan at 98.3% and Amar Rasmi at 95.7%. 1B Faqi Al-Thakur was close to the 66% requirement, but missed at 60.9% on his sixth ballot. Also on his sixth go was 1B Lance Vogel at 53.3%. SP Muhammed Fadel also breached 50% with a 52.5% debut. Dropped after ten failed ballots was closer Ibrahim Mourad, who peaked at 38.2% in 2026 and ended at 13.0%. In 13 seasons, he had 335 saves, 3.08 ERA, 852.2 innings, 1262 strikeouts, 126 ERA+, 73 FIP-, and 21.5 WAR. Mourad led in saves twice and ranks 5^th in ALB as of 2037. However, he never won Reliever of the Year, taking second place twice. Mourad was an important part of Abu Dhabi’s pennants in 2016-17 as well. He just didn’t have the overwhelming dominance that voters wanted from relievers. The other inductees either had ERAs below 2.50 or more longevity. Mohamed Hassan – Left Field – Basra Bulldogs – 98.3% First Ballot Mohamed Hassan was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from El Mansura, Egypt, a city of around 622,000 on the northern bank of the Nile. Hassan was one of the all-time great home run hitters and an absolute menace facing right-handed pitching. He had a career 1.079 OPS and 177 wRC+ facing RHP, compared to a merely decent .778 OPS and 107 wRC+ against righties. Hassan was an excellent contact hitter against righties, but average-at-best against lefties. For power, Hassan had an outstanding 52 homers, 41 doubles, and 3 triples per his 162 game average. More than half of his career hits went for extra bases based almost purely on power. Hassan was a smart baserunner, but his speed was terrible. He also drew surprisingly few walks for a power guy and did struggle with strikeouts. But his hits were almost always high value as he never had a full season without at least 35 home runs. Hassan was a career left fielder and a lousy defender. About ¼ of his career starts came as a designated hitter. Hassan’s durability was mostly great, starting 145+ games in all but two seasons from 2011-28. He had a strong work ethic and was very loyal, becoming a beloved superstar of the loaded outfields of the great Basra dynasties. In May 2007, Hassan left for Iraq on a developmental deal with Basra. It didn’t take long for him to come up as a rare 18-year old debut in 2009 with nine games. Hassan played 108 games and started 54 in 2010 with promising results at age 19. That earned him a full-time job in 2011, a role he kept for the next 18 years with the Bulldogs. Basra was already amidst their first dynasty when Hassan arrived, led by ALB home run king Nordine Soule. They had a division title streak back to 2003 with Eastern Conference pennants in 2004, 06, 08, 10, and 11; along with ALB titles in 2006, 2008, and 2011. Hassan won his first Silver Slugger in 2011 as a DH, leading in doubles with 52. Hassan immediately became a big-time playoff performer, winning conference finals MVP in 2011 against Abu Dhabi. It was Basra’s weakest record of the streak at 86-76, but they went on to beat Alexandria for the ALB title. Hassan had 14 hits, 10 runs, 5 doubles, 5 homers, 8 RBI, and 0.7 WAR in 13 playoff starts. He then had a strong showing in the Baseball Grand Championship with 20 hits, 12 runs, 4 doubles, 7 homers, 16 RBI, 1.032 OPS, and 1.1 WAR over 18 starts. The Bulldogs finished 10-0, one of four teams tied for eighth. The outfielder group Hassan came to join early in his career is viewed as possibly the strongest OF unit in baseball history. In left was the legendary Nordine Soule, ALB’s leader in homers, WAR, RBI, hits, and runs. Center had Hassan El Zamek and right had Farouk Adam, both of which were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2025. From 2007-10, those three swept the Silver Sluggers in the outfield and even had the top three spots in MVP voting for 2008. 2012 was the last hurrah for this group, taking the top seed at 101-61 but falling to Abu Dhabi in the conference final. It was also the star-making season for Hassan, who won MVP and another Silver Slugger at DH. He had a 6-6 game with three home runs on August 2 against Medina. Hassan led the conference with career bests for home runs (61) and RBI (146) and led with 439 total bases. It was Soule’s final year in Basra, as he’d play two final seasons with Casablanca before retiring. El Zamek also left for free agency and apart from a one-off in 2015 spent the rest of his career elsewhere. Adam stayed through 2017, but it was now Hassan’s turn to be the leader for the Bulldogs. While he personally played great, it was a transition period for Basra. They had losing seasons from 2013-15 and got back above .500 in 2016-17, although they were still outside of the playoffs. Hassan moved away from DH during that five-year stretch and won Silver Sluggers four times in LF. He also had a one-off in 2014 at first base, earning his second MVP. Hassan was third in 2015 and 2016’s MVP voting. 2014 was his career bests for WAR (9.7), OPS (1.104), wRC+ (194), triple slash (.340/.381/.722) and total bases (440). Hassan led in homers in both 2013-14, led in RBI in 2014, doubles in 2015, and runs in both 2014-15. 2015 had his bests for both runs (126) and doubles (53). In September 2016, Hassan signed a girthy eight-year, $139,400,000 extension. Basra started a new nine-year playoff streak in 2018, although they had a first round exit initially. The rest of the streak, the Bulldogs got to the Eastern Conference Final each year, finishing with a 2-6 record for their tries. Hassan had a surprisingly done 2018, but returned closer to form after that. In 2021, he was a conference leader for the final time with 140 RBI and 405 total bases. 2020 was his last Silver Slugger and last time as an MVP finalist, taking third. Hassan finished with ten Sluggers in total. From 2019-22, Basra met Jeddah in the conference final. The Jackals got the better of them thrice, but the Bulldogs broke through in 2020. They went onto defeat Cairo for the Arab League title with Hassan getting series MVP. In that playoff run, he had 20 hits, 12 runs, 8 doubles, 4 home runs, 10 RBI, and 1.187 OPS. The Bulldogs took third at 13-6 in the Baseball Grand Championship as Hassan posted 20 hits, 12 runs, 2 doubles, 7 homers, and 16 RBI. Hassan had become a superstar in Iraq, but he was also beloved back home in Egypt. He was a regular in the World Baseball Championship from 2011-27 with 140 games, 103 hits, 68 runs, 18 doubles, 43 home runs, 92 RBI, .246/.318/.601 slash, and 5.0 WAR. The Egyptians notably had their deepest-ever run in 2014, taking fourth place. Basra won 112 games in 2023 and 100 in 2024, but lost to Abu Dhabi and Kuwait respectively in the conference final. Hassan was still a very effective power hitter at this point, but he was done with the MVP conversation. In July 2024, he signed a five-year, $104,400,000 to remain with the Bulldogs. That year also saw Hassan breach 700 home runs, 1500 runs, and 2500 hits. In 2025 at 99-63, Hassan got his third ring as the Bulldogs denied 110-win Amman a three-peat in the ALB Championship. This was Hassan’s finest moment, winning MVP in the championship and conference finals. In 14 playoff starts, he had 26 hits, 19 runs, 7 doubles, 6 homers, 19 RBI, 1.451 OPS, 261 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR. Hassan set the ALB playoff record for total bases (51), tied the runs record, and was one short of the hits record also set that year by Dei Barrie (27). They went 8-11 in the BGC with Hassan posting 15 hits, 14 runs, 8 homers, 16 RBI, and .932 OPS. While he was weak in a few of the early exits, Hassan’s career playoff numbers were quite impressive. In 85 games, he had 103 hits, 59 runs, 32 doubles, 22 homers, 205 total bases, 57 RBI, .318/.354/.633 slash, 154 wRC+, and 3.5 WAR. As of 2037, Hassan is the ALB playoff leader for total bases and doubles. He ranks 3^rd in runs, 2^nd in hits, 7^th in homers, and 5^th in RBI. Basra had one last conference finals trip in 2026, but lost to Bahrain. The Bulldogs would spend the rest of the decade below .500. By this point, Hassan seemed to have a real shot at catching some of Soule’s all-time records. In 2027 at age 36, he smacked 60 home runs with 145 RBI. Hassan would be the third to 900 home runs, third to 2000 RBI, fourth to 700 doubles, and fourth to 3000 hits. Hassan still had 43 homers and 100 RBI in 2028, but it was overall his worst full season with 0.3 WAR in 162 games with 94 wRC+ and .810 OPS. He was only 43 hits away from passing Soule, but the other marks would’ve needed a few more decent years. In part out of respect to his former teammate and in part due to worries he’d be benched, Hassan retired that winter at age 38. Basra immediately retired his #4 uniform for a stellar two decades. The final totals saw 2885 games, 3296 hits, 1919 runs, 722 doubles, 53 triples, 928 home runs, 2234 RBI, 568 walks, 2718 strikeouts, .307/.353/.644 slash, 158 wRC+, and 105.0 WAR. As of 2037, Hassan is 2^nd in games, 3^rd in runs, 2^nd in hits, 2^nd in total bases (6908), 4^th in doubles, 3^rd in homers, 2^nd in RBI, 76^th in walks, 5^th in strikeouts, and 7^th in WAR for position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Hassan’s .997 OPS is 21^st and he’s 14^th in slugging. Hassan’s power also cracks the world leaderboards as of 2037, ranking 19^th in homers, 12^th in doubles, and 22^nd in RBI. Among world Hall of Famers and retired locks, Hassan is 19^th in slugging and 49^th in OPS. He’s undoubtedly an inner-circle Hall of Famer and has a case for being a top ten or even top five hitter in all of Arab League Baseball history. Hassan’s high strikeout tally, low walk tally, and poor defense and speed might keep him just shy of immortal status. Some scholars argue while an excellent power hitter, he was helped by a higher-scoring league and homer-friendly ballpark in Basra. On just about any other franchise, Hassan would be that team’s best-ever. But he briefly overlapped with the league GOAT Nordine Soule and another top ten level guy Farouk Adam with the Bulldogs. Hassan led the transition from those guys’ dynasty to a new one, keeping Basra as a league powerhouse. He was a deserved headliner atop the 2034 class at 98.3%. Amar “Shoeless” Rasmi – Right Field – Khartoum Cottonmouths – 95.7% First Ballot Amar Rasmi was a 6’1’’, 195 pound switch-hitting right fielder from Port Said, Egypt; a city with around 797,000 people by the Suez Canal. Rasmi was a very different batter from his Hall of Fame classmate Mohamed Hassan, who made his name with raw power. Rasmi was one of the great leadoff guys ever with excellent contact ability and gap power, plus world class speed and baserunning. The nickname “Shoeless” came from how even barefoot, he could beat anyone in the league in a footrace. Rasmi’s 162 game average was good for 38 doubles and 20 triples, but only 5 home runs. That average also had an absurd 112 stolen bases, swiping 100+ bags in each year from 2015-25. He also was successful on around 73% of his steal attempts. Rasmi was better than most in ALB at avoiding strikeouts, but was below average at drawing walks. Despite his speed, Rasmi graded poorly defensively as an outfielder, making the vast majority of his starts in right. His durability was generally great, playing 145+ games each year from 2013-26. Rasmi’s personality made him a bit of an enigma, as teammates appreciated his work ethic, intelligence, and adaptability. However, he was also viewed as being very selfish and unconcerned by team results. Rasmi left Egypt for Sudan in April 2008 on a developmental deal with Khartoum. He debuted in 2012 at age 20 with 73 games and 30 starts with okay results. Rasmi earned a full-time gig after that and spent the next nine seasons starting for the Cottonmouths. He brought excitement to a team stick in perpetual mid-ness. They never made the playoffs during his tenure, but averaged 84.5 wins per season and only twice had a losing record. From 2013-19, Rasmi led the Western Conference each season in triples. He won Silver Sluggers in 2018 and 2021, but wasn’t an MVP finalist due to lacking home run power. 2016 started a ten-year streak leading in stolen bases. For Khartoum, Rasmi led thrice in runs scored, four times in hits, twice in doubles, and won two batting titles. 2018 was his strongest by WAR (9.0) as well as doubles (62) and steals (143). That broke the ALB steals record and was the third-best single-season in world history to that point. As of 2037, it ranks 10^th in world history and fifth in ALB. The 62+ doubles have also only happened 47 other times in world history. Rasmi had 27 triples in 2016, one short of the ALB record. He had his best for hits (242) and batting average (.376) in 2019 and his highest run total in 2021 at 133. Khartoum gave Rasmi a four-year, $3,840,000 extension after the 2014 season, then a bigger four-year, $31 million extension after the 2018 campaign. In May 2021, he had a six-hit game against Amman. Rasmi would decline his contract option that winter, becoming a free agent at age 30. For the Cottonmouths, he had 1466 games, 1929 hits, 995 runs, 369 doubles, 186 triples, 54 homers, 496 RBI, 312 walks, 1014 steals, .335/.372/.491 slash, 135 wRC+ and 46.8 WAR. Khartoum would later retire his #30 uniform. Rasmi joined Jeddah on a six-year, $58,800,000 deal. The Jackals were amidst an 11-year playoff streak and were the defending ALB champs. During that run, they had four ALB titles and five Eastern Conference wins. Jeddah won another conference title in Rasmi’s debut year at 97-65, but lost the ALB Championship to Casablanca. The Jackals playoff streak ran another two years, but both ended in one-and-dones. A fair criticism of Rasmi was poor playoff results, albeit with a small sample size. In 17 games, he had 17 hits, 6 runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 8 steals, .635 OPS, 58 wRC+, and -0.1 WAR. Rasmi did well otherwise, winning his third Silver Slugger in 2023 with conference bests in hits, triples, and steals. He had 139 swipes, good for the 19^th-best in world history. Rasmi has seven of the top 50 steals efforts in ALB history, although Hassan Shanshol and Zakaria Badwan would both start to top Rasmi’s efforts. Shanshol stole 157 bases in 2024 to break Rasmi’s ALB single-season record and the world record. He then stole 159 in 2030. With Jeddah, Rasmi passed Farouk Adam’s 1386 career steals to become ALB’s all-time leader. He also blew by Ahmad Abbas’ 218 to become ALB’s triples king by a healthy margin. Rasmi would be the first in ALB to 300+ triples, while no one else has eclipsed 250 yet. In fall 2027, Rasmi had a 36-game hitting streak, tying Alaa Dinari’s 2024 effort for the longest in ALB history. Abdul Jalil Dahir passed them the next year with a 37-game run, but Rasmi still has the #2 spot. The Jackals’ playoff streak ended in 2025 at 83-79, followed by losing seasons for the rest of the decade. Despite the hitting streak, Rasmi’s overall hitting effectiveness started to decline by this point. For Jeddah in six seasons, he had 900 games, 1125 hits, 589 runs, 201 doubles, 109 triples, 20 homers, 322 RBI, 238 walks, 250 steals, .332/.379/.474 slash, 122 wRC+, and 21.4 WAR. The last year with Jeddah did get him to 3000 hits, the fourth in ALB to do so. Nordine Soule’s record 3339 seemed possibly reachable and he wanted to chase the world record for steals, held by Europe’s Carsten Dal at 1995. Doha gave him a one-year, $1,420,000 deal for 2028. Unfortunately, Rasmi was subpar over 140 games with 148 hits, 70 runs, 58 steals, .724 OPS, 87 wRC+, and 0.0 WAR. He did move into #2 on the world steals leaderboard, passing Ishmael Perla’s 1721. The big blow came on September 13, suffering a torn PCL in his left knee with an 8-9 month recovery time. Rasmi wanted to come back and chase the records, but he had become a below average bat before the injury. Teams figured the PCL tear ruined any possible value he might still have. Rasmi spent all of 2029 unsigned and retired that winter at age 38. Rasmi finished with 2506 games, 3202 hits, 1654 runs, 592 doubles, 312 triples, 76 home runs, 853 RBI, 587 walks, 1533 strikeouts, 1730 steals, 634 caught stealing, .331/.372/.480 slash, 127 wRC+, and 68.2 WAR. As of 2037, Rasmi is still ALB’s triples leader and has the most singles at 2222. Hassan Shanshol eventually passed him as the steals leader in the mid 2030s, but Rasmi is still #2 in ALB and 4^th in world history entering 2037. He also ranks 23^rd in games, 9^th in runs, 5^th in hits, 40^th in total bases (4646), 25^th in doubles, 2^nd in caught stealing, 70^th in walks, and 46^th in WAR among position players. Although the ALB triples king, he does narrowly miss the world’s top 50. Rasmi is also 22^nd in batting average among ALB batters with 3000+ plate appearances and 35^th in on-base percentage. Rasmi is certainly notable as one of the absolute best base stealers in the game’s history. Even with the comparatively high swipe rate in ALB relative to other leagues, it’s hard not to place him as a top ten or top five thief of all-time. The low WAR total though goes to show how little things like steals and batting average matter towards Sabermetrics. As such, Rasmi misses out generally on being viewed as an “inner-circle” Hall of Famer by many due to lack of power and poor defense, plus the lack of team/playoff success. That said, if you retire as the steals and triples leader and came close to being the hit king, you’ll find your way easily in to the Hall of Fame. Even Sabermetrics-minded voters won’t poo-poo those totals and Rasmi’s unique talents in Arab League Baseball history. He received a firm 95.7% as the second member of the 2034 class. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)