OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

FuzzyRussianHat · 09-18-2025, 09:57 PM

Two years removed from getting relegated, Dar es Salaam was on top of the African Association of Baseball’s Southern Conference at 100-62. This was their first playoff trip since their 2027 pennant. The Sabercats scored 965 runs, the third-highest single-season total in AAB history. Still, they only took first place by one game with Durban right behind at 99-63.

For the Deer, this ended a 25-year playoff drought and was an impressive turnaround after four consecutive losing seasons. Defending conference champ Cape Town was third at 95-67 with Lilongwe fourth at 90-72. The Cowboys allowed the fewest runs at 651. Johannesburg, first in the standings last year, dropped to sixth at 81-81. Bulawayo was firmly last at 55-107, suffering relegation after a five-year run in the first league.

Southern Conference MVP was DH Ketema Gudeta in his seventh season with Dar es Salaam. The 27-year old Ethiopian lefty led in the triple slash (.3576/.417/.735), OPS (1.152), wRC+ (188), and WAR (6.9) despite missing six weeks to a fractured thumb. In 125 games, Gudeta had 176 hits, 112 runs, 40 doubles, 48 homers, and 136 RBI. The Sabercats gave Gudeta a four-year, $54,700,000 extension after the season. He beat out teammate Ferdinand Rajerison, who led with 62 homers and 159 RBI.

Cape Town’s Oteng Thapelo won Pitcher of the Year in his third year with the squad. The 31-year old Motswana righty had signed a six-year, $97,200,000 deal with the Cowboys after starting with Luanda. Nicknamed “Fireball” for his tremendous 99-101 mph fastball, Thapelo led in ERA (2.47) and WHIP (1.00). He had an 18-7 record, 219 innings, 266 strikeouts, 187 ERA+, and 6.0 WAR.

Nairobi took first in the Central Conference at 94-68 and allowed the fewest runs in the CC at 669. Their pitching staff allowed only 313 walks with a 1.94 BB/9, both AAB all-time bests. The Night Hawks had won the Africa Series and the Baseball Grand Championship in 2032, but had back-to-back losing seasons immediately after.

Seven teams were within only five games of the second place spot. Addis Ababa narrowly took it at 88-74 ahead of Bangui (86-76), Kinshasa (86-76), Lubumbashi (85-77), Kampala (84-78), Djibouti (83-79), and defending AAB champ Brazzaville (83-79). Although it was the fifth straight winning season for the Brahmas, this ended a six-year playoff drought. Bukavu was last at 64-98 with Mogadishu (69-93) narrowly escaping relegation. The Bluefins lasted seven seasons in the top tier despite never winning more than 71 games in a season.

It was a disappointing year for the Sun Cats, having won 101 games the prior year. Kinshasa’s Martin Kulatilaka had a mammoth year though and won Central Conference MVP. The 27-year old first baseman from Seychelles led in home runs (75), RBI (159), and total bases (453). It was the fifth time in AAB that a slugger hit 75+ homers and one of only 24 seasons in world history. Kulatilaka also had 194 hits, 116 runs, 8.2 WAR, 192 wRC+, and a .328/.411/.766 slash.

Kampala’s Abdullahi Ali won Pitcher of the Year with what was the best pitching effort in AAB history to that point. The 23-year old Somali lefty had set the strikeouts record with 400 the prior year and broke that with 430 Ks in 2025. Ali also set new AAB records for pitching WAR (13.0) and K/9 (16.10). This was only the 15^th qualifying season in world history (162+ inning minimum) where an ace had a K/9 above 16. The previous pitching WAR record in AAB was 11.96 by Ghebrezgiabhier Alemayehu in 2028.

Ali’s effort was also only the seventh pitching Triple Crown season in AAB history as he had a 22-6 record and 2.10 ERA in 240.1 innings. He was also the leader in WHIP (0.82), K/BB (7.3), quality starts (22), and FIP- (34). Ali’s season ranked as the ninth-best ERA, third-best WHIP, third-best opponent’s OPS (.516), and seventh-best H/9 (5.21) in AAB history.

On top of that, Ali had two games with 20 strikeouts in 2035, doing it to Mogadishu on April 28 and Kinshasa on May 20. 20+ Ks had only happened twice at all in AAB before that with Paul Lambote’s 21 Ks in 2009 as the single-game record. Ali also had two 19 strikeout efforts in 2025. Scouts gave him an absurd 13/10 stuff rating with his fastball, slider, screwball, and changeup all rated as 10/10 or better by the consensus. Some feel Ali stands presently as the best pitcher in the world with the possibility for an all-time career.

Dar es Salaam downed Durban 4-1 in the Southern Conference Championship for their fourth pennant (1997, 2004, 2027, 2035). Nairobi clobbered Addis Ababa in a Central Conference Championship sweep for their third pennant (2014, 2032, 2035). After two lopsided semifinals, the 41^st Africa Series was a classic that needed all nine games.

In the end, the Sabercats survived 5-4 over the Night Hawks for only their second overall title, joining the 2004 win. Dar es Salaam was the sixth different AAB champ in as many years. Nairobi speedster Namir Jamal was finals MVP in the losing effort. In 12 playoff starts, the Tanzanian RF had 19 hits, 11 runs, 4 doubles, 2 homers, 11 RBI, 6 steals, 1.195 OPS, and 0.9 WAR.

Other notes: In the regular season, Jamal stole 150 bases, which was only the 6^th time in world history that a player had 150+ swipes. He was three behind the AAB record by Destin Mpika in 2028 and nine behind Hassan Shanshol’s world record 159 from 2030 in the Arab League. There have been only 43 seasons in world history of 130+ steals; six of which were by Jamal. He turned 30 on August 31 and finished the season already at 1094 career steals in AAB, potentially on a world record pace.

SS Djibrilla Ousseini became AAB’s new steals leader at 1610, passing Jose Santarem’s record 1602 which had held since 2020. Ousseini is one of only 13 in all of world history with 1600+ career swipes. He also won his 15^th Silver Slugger at shortstop, one of 13 in world history with 15+ Sluggers. This ties CF Mwarami Tale for the most by an AAB player.

The 37-year old Ousseini was already AAB’s leader in hits, singles, doubles, and triples. In 2035, he became only the third in all of world history with 800+ doubles. Ousseini finished the year at 829, passing SAB’s Manju Abbas for the #2 spot (816). World hits leader Fares Belaid from WAB holds the top mark at 939. Ousseini also became the first AAB batter with 3500+ hits.

Port Elizabeth’s Jeremiah Adderley had 68 doubles, the third-highest in AAB history and three behind Stefan Cejka’s 71 from 1996. This was one of only 12 seasons in all of world baseball history that a player had 68+ doubles in a season. Kampala’s Leonard Kette had a 29-game hitting streak, tied for the 6^th-longest in AAB.

Johannesburg’s Ibukun da Costa had AAB’s 17^th four home run game on May 16 against Comoros. He made history as he had done it before for Nairobi back in 2031. This made da Costa the fifth player in world history with multiple four home run games. He also became AAB’s 15^th slugger with 1500+ career RBI.

In other milestones, Dagne Mersha was the 17^th to 1500 runs scored. Lane Maloba was only the 4^th pitcher to 200 wins and Sipho Zuke was the 2^nd to 400 saves. CF Noel Malama won his 9^th Silver Slugger, LF Asa Ngoie won his 8^th, and DH Dagne Mersha grabbed his 7^th.

Promotion/Relegation: Bukavu was relegated out of the Central Conference and Bulawayo was booted from the Southern Conference. Gaborone moved up into the Buzz’s slot from the African Second League and Bahir Dar replaced the Bluefins.

09-18-2025, 09:57 PM	#2453
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,279	2035 in AAB Two years removed from getting relegated, Dar es Salaam was on top of the African Association of Baseball’s Southern Conference at 100-62. This was their first playoff trip since their 2027 pennant. The Sabercats scored 965 runs, the third-highest single-season total in AAB history. Still, they only took first place by one game with Durban right behind at 99-63. For the Deer, this ended a 25-year playoff drought and was an impressive turnaround after four consecutive losing seasons. Defending conference champ Cape Town was third at 95-67 with Lilongwe fourth at 90-72. The Cowboys allowed the fewest runs at 651. Johannesburg, first in the standings last year, dropped to sixth at 81-81. Bulawayo was firmly last at 55-107, suffering relegation after a five-year run in the first league. Southern Conference MVP was DH Ketema Gudeta in his seventh season with Dar es Salaam. The 27-year old Ethiopian lefty led in the triple slash (.3576/.417/.735), OPS (1.152), wRC+ (188), and WAR (6.9) despite missing six weeks to a fractured thumb. In 125 games, Gudeta had 176 hits, 112 runs, 40 doubles, 48 homers, and 136 RBI. The Sabercats gave Gudeta a four-year, $54,700,000 extension after the season. He beat out teammate Ferdinand Rajerison, who led with 62 homers and 159 RBI. Cape Town’s Oteng Thapelo won Pitcher of the Year in his third year with the squad. The 31-year old Motswana righty had signed a six-year, $97,200,000 deal with the Cowboys after starting with Luanda. Nicknamed “Fireball” for his tremendous 99-101 mph fastball, Thapelo led in ERA (2.47) and WHIP (1.00). He had an 18-7 record, 219 innings, 266 strikeouts, 187 ERA+, and 6.0 WAR. Nairobi took first in the Central Conference at 94-68 and allowed the fewest runs in the CC at 669. Their pitching staff allowed only 313 walks with a 1.94 BB/9, both AAB all-time bests. The Night Hawks had won the Africa Series and the Baseball Grand Championship in 2032, but had back-to-back losing seasons immediately after. Seven teams were within only five games of the second place spot. Addis Ababa narrowly took it at 88-74 ahead of Bangui (86-76), Kinshasa (86-76), Lubumbashi (85-77), Kampala (84-78), Djibouti (83-79), and defending AAB champ Brazzaville (83-79). Although it was the fifth straight winning season for the Brahmas, this ended a six-year playoff drought. Bukavu was last at 64-98 with Mogadishu (69-93) narrowly escaping relegation. The Bluefins lasted seven seasons in the top tier despite never winning more than 71 games in a season. It was a disappointing year for the Sun Cats, having won 101 games the prior year. Kinshasa’s Martin Kulatilaka had a mammoth year though and won Central Conference MVP. The 27-year old first baseman from Seychelles led in home runs (75), RBI (159), and total bases (453). It was the fifth time in AAB that a slugger hit 75+ homers and one of only 24 seasons in world history. Kulatilaka also had 194 hits, 116 runs, 8.2 WAR, 192 wRC+, and a .328/.411/.766 slash. Kampala’s Abdullahi Ali won Pitcher of the Year with what was the best pitching effort in AAB history to that point. The 23-year old Somali lefty had set the strikeouts record with 400 the prior year and broke that with 430 Ks in 2025. Ali also set new AAB records for pitching WAR (13.0) and K/9 (16.10). This was only the 15^th qualifying season in world history (162+ inning minimum) where an ace had a K/9 above 16. The previous pitching WAR record in AAB was 11.96 by Ghebrezgiabhier Alemayehu in 2028. Ali’s effort was also only the seventh pitching Triple Crown season in AAB history as he had a 22-6 record and 2.10 ERA in 240.1 innings. He was also the leader in WHIP (0.82), K/BB (7.3), quality starts (22), and FIP- (34). Ali’s season ranked as the ninth-best ERA, third-best WHIP, third-best opponent’s OPS (.516), and seventh-best H/9 (5.21) in AAB history. On top of that, Ali had two games with 20 strikeouts in 2035, doing it to Mogadishu on April 28 and Kinshasa on May 20. 20+ Ks had only happened twice at all in AAB before that with Paul Lambote’s 21 Ks in 2009 as the single-game record. Ali also had two 19 strikeout efforts in 2025. Scouts gave him an absurd 13/10 stuff rating with his fastball, slider, screwball, and changeup all rated as 10/10 or better by the consensus. Some feel Ali stands presently as the best pitcher in the world with the possibility for an all-time career. Dar es Salaam downed Durban 4-1 in the Southern Conference Championship for their fourth pennant (1997, 2004, 2027, 2035). Nairobi clobbered Addis Ababa in a Central Conference Championship sweep for their third pennant (2014, 2032, 2035). After two lopsided semifinals, the 41^st Africa Series was a classic that needed all nine games. In the end, the Sabercats survived 5-4 over the Night Hawks for only their second overall title, joining the 2004 win. Dar es Salaam was the sixth different AAB champ in as many years. Nairobi speedster Namir Jamal was finals MVP in the losing effort. In 12 playoff starts, the Tanzanian RF had 19 hits, 11 runs, 4 doubles, 2 homers, 11 RBI, 6 steals, 1.195 OPS, and 0.9 WAR. Other notes: In the regular season, Jamal stole 150 bases, which was only the 6^th time in world history that a player had 150+ swipes. He was three behind the AAB record by Destin Mpika in 2028 and nine behind Hassan Shanshol’s world record 159 from 2030 in the Arab League. There have been only 43 seasons in world history of 130+ steals; six of which were by Jamal. He turned 30 on August 31 and finished the season already at 1094 career steals in AAB, potentially on a world record pace. SS Djibrilla Ousseini became AAB’s new steals leader at 1610, passing Jose Santarem’s record 1602 which had held since 2020. Ousseini is one of only 13 in all of world history with 1600+ career swipes. He also won his 15^th Silver Slugger at shortstop, one of 13 in world history with 15+ Sluggers. This ties CF Mwarami Tale for the most by an AAB player. The 37-year old Ousseini was already AAB’s leader in hits, singles, doubles, and triples. In 2035, he became only the third in all of world history with 800+ doubles. Ousseini finished the year at 829, passing SAB’s Manju Abbas for the #2 spot (816). World hits leader Fares Belaid from WAB holds the top mark at 939. Ousseini also became the first AAB batter with 3500+ hits. Port Elizabeth’s Jeremiah Adderley had 68 doubles, the third-highest in AAB history and three behind Stefan Cejka’s 71 from 1996. This was one of only 12 seasons in all of world baseball history that a player had 68+ doubles in a season. Kampala’s Leonard Kette had a 29-game hitting streak, tied for the 6^th-longest in AAB. Johannesburg’s Ibukun da Costa had AAB’s 17^th four home run game on May 16 against Comoros. He made history as he had done it before for Nairobi back in 2031. This made da Costa the fifth player in world history with multiple four home run games. He also became AAB’s 15^th slugger with 1500+ career RBI. In other milestones, Dagne Mersha was the 17^th to 1500 runs scored. Lane Maloba was only the 4^th pitcher to 200 wins and Sipho Zuke was the 2^nd to 400 saves. CF Noel Malama won his 9^th Silver Slugger, LF Asa Ngoie won his 8^th, and DH Dagne Mersha grabbed his 7^th. Promotion/Relegation: Bukavu was relegated out of the Central Conference and Bulawayo was booted from the Southern Conference. Gaborone moved up into the Buzz’s slot from the African Second League and Bahir Dar replaced the Bluefins. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)