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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-02-2026, 06:50 AM

Three players made it into the Oceania Baseball Association Hall of Fame for 2039. SP Lekinala Desire had the highest percentage at 81.5% in his sixth time on the ballot. His fellow Tahitian LF Hama Brotherson joined him with a 81.1% debut and 1B Jordy Vincent got 78.4% on his first ballot. No other players were above 50%. Only SP Les Mansell was above 1/3 of the vote with a 43.6% debut.

OF Joey Eason was dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking at 34.7% in 2031 and ending with 11.2%. In 14 years between Hobart and Honolulu, Eason won five Silver Sluggers along with an MVP and Gold Glove. He had a shockingly abrupt decline after a torn hamstring in 2021. Eason went from the 2020 MVP to a negative WAR player from 2022-24.

Eason finished with 1754 games, 1830 hits, 996 runs, 237 doubles, 197 triples, 348 home runs, 1033 RBI, 634 steals, .293/.348/.561 slash, 150 wRC+, and 63.7 WAR. He was certainly on the HOF track, but falling off a cliff after his age 32 season kept Eason from getting the prerequisite accumulations.

Lekinala Desire – Starting Pitcher – Vanuatu Wizards – 81.5% Sixth Ballot

Lekinala Desire was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Fa’a’a, Tahiti’s most populous commune with around 30,000 people. Desire had reliably solid control with good-to-great stuff and above average movement. He had a 97-99 mph fastball along with a forkball, changeup, and slider. The forkball was probably his best offering, but the fastball and slider were plenty good.

Desire was best known for his stamina and ironman durability. He never missed a start to injury and stands as one of only 26 guys in baseball history with 5000+ professional innings. These were especially helpful traits in OBA, the only league with a four-man rotation as the primary strategy. Desire did struggle holding runners and had weak defensive metrics. He wasn’t a troublemaker, but he also wasn’t one to stay loyal or committed to any one team.

He was four years older than his Hall of Fame classmate Hama Brotherson, but they were familiar and occasionally competing against each other growing up in Tahiti. Desire dominated the limited amateur scene in the South Pacific and was the #1 overall pick by Vanuatu in the 2009 OBA Draft. The Wizards were still a struggling expansion franchise that had started up in 2006.

Desire struggled as a rookie in a split relief/starter role with -1.0 WAR over 143 innings. He was thrown into the fire after that as a full-time starter and led the Pacific League in losses at 11-25, but he also led in complete games with 19. Desire led in CGs again in 20212 and 2014, getting 24 in 2014. He was also the innings leader in 2012 at 326, although he’d peak with 334.1 innings the next year.

He was more than an innings eater though, posting 7+ WAR each year from 2013-15. He peaked with a 2.33 ERA and 8.0 WAR in 2015, while 2014 had his peak for strikeouts at 345. Desire was second in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2014, his only time as a finalist. That year was Vanuatu’s first winning season at 86-76, followed by a 94-68 campaign in 2015.

Unfortunately for the Wizards, the young franchise didn’t have the financial resources needed that a top ace could command. Desire was also getting feelers worldwide and wanted to see where that took him. He left for free agency after the 2015 season at age 29.

With Vanuatu, Desire had a 92-108 record, 2.95 ERA, 1756.2 innings, 1579 strikeouts, 313 walks, 118 ERA+, 91 FIP-, 116 complete games, 14 shutouts, and 30.0 WAR. It was his longest tenure, but he wasn’t really remembered as a franchise legend having been there only six years. Desire ended up moving to the United States and Major League Baseball on a five-year, $71,800,000 deal with Tampa.

Desire was an innings-eater mostly for the Thunderbirds with respectable, but unremarkable stats. Tampa had been on a six-year playoff streak when he arrived, but narrowly missed the cut in 2016 at 90-72. The Thunderbirds fell below .500 after that, eventually dropping into the 100+ loss range in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Over three-and-a-half seasons, Desire had a 51-58 record, 3.73 ERA, 975.2 innings, 733 strikeouts, 63 complete games, 104 ERA+, 97 FIP-, and 14.3 WAR.

Tampa was sellers and traded Desire at the 2019 deadline to San Diego for two outfielders who didn’t amount to much. Desire gave the Seals similar production as they were in the middle-tier, just a few years from beginning their dynasty run. He had a 20-17 record, 3.71 ERA, 352 innings, 291 strikeouts, 83 walks, 104 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 5.4 WAR. Now 33-years old, Desire made a return to OBA on a five-year, $57 million deal with Auckland.

Desire never reached the peak numbers with the Avengers that he had previously with Vanuatu. He still reliably ate innings with average results for Auckland, who was on the cusp of the Australasia League title. They were second in 2021 at 94-68, then lost a tiebreaker game to Sydney in 2022 to finish at 101-62.

Auckland collapsed to 67-95 in 2023. They rebounded to fourth place in 2024 at 90-72, but went completely off the cliff in 2025 at 59-103. That year, Desire led the AL with 20 losses. He was never a league leader in a “good” stat apart from innings and complete games. For the Avengers, Desire had a 69-82 record, 3.93 ERA, 1455.1 innings, 1274 strikeouts, 235 walks, 51 complete games, 99 ERA+, 100 FIP-, and 18.9 WAR.

You knew what you were getting from the now 39-year old Desire at this point. His production would be okay, but he’d stay healthy and consistent. Desire went back to MLB in 2026 with Charlotte and had a lousy 5.33 ERA over 158.2 innings, but his 93 FIP- and 2.6 WAR suggested he wasn’t as bad as the ERA suggested. Still, the Canaries traded him to Hartford at the deadline and he made 11 relief appearances to close the year with the Huskies.

El Paso gave him a one-year deal for 2027, but he got rocked in his one relief appearance and was quickly cut. Seattle grabbed Desire with a limited role with a 4.20 ERA over 70.2 innings. He got to make his postseason debut for the Grizzlies, but gave up four runs in four innings. Seattle got to the American Association Championship Series at 106-56, but ran into the juggernaut that was the 119-43 San Diego Seals.

Desire wanted to still pitch and returned to OBA for 2028 with Sydney. He had a solid season at age 41 for the Snakes with a 19-11 record, 3.28 ERA, 310 innings, 247 strikeouts, 112 ERA+, 104 FIP-, and 3.4 WAR. Sydney won the Australasia League pennant at 105-57 and swept Honolulu for the Oceania Championship. Desire’s one start in the series was a complete game win with three runs allowed and 10 strikeouts. He decided to retire with that and didn’t accompany the team to the Baseball Grand Championship.

In OBA, Desire had a 180-201 record, 3.38 ERA, 3522 innings, 3100 strikeouts, 605 walks, 260/431 quality starts, 176 complete games, 15 shutouts, 109 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 52.4 WAR. Desire ranks 55^th in wins, 4^th in losses, 9^th in complete games, 97^th in shutouts, 49^th in strikeouts, and 68^th in WAR for pitchers.

Desire’s resume was a tough sell for many Hall of Fame voters as while he had some longevity, his rate stats were on the weaker end compared to other inductees. The losing record also soured some traditionalist voters, although supporters pointed out that how well he pitched even with some truly bad Vanuatu teams.

His accumulations also weren’t exceptional, but not out of line with some of the lower-end selections. Oceania Baseball Association voters had generally been kinder towards pitchers than several other leagues. Desire’s supporters felt he deserved some credit for his MLB innings, arguing that had he stayed in OBA that he’d have easily reached all accumulation benchmarks.

In MLB, Desire had an 88-84 record, 3.91 ERA, 1578.1 innings, 1181 strikeouts, 356 walks, 99 complete games, 8 shutouts, 101 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 23.3 WAR. For his combined pro career, Desire had a 268-285 record, 3.55 ERA, 5100.1 innings, 4281 strikeouts, 961 walks, 275 complete games, 23 shutouts, 107 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 75.7 WAR.

His longevity gets him on the world leaderboards in 23^rd for innings and 28^th for complete games. However, he also is 3^rd all-time in losses for any pitcher. Of the 5000+ inning guys, Desire has easily the worst WAR with everyone else above 85 and most in triple-digits. Many felt he was a compiler who was never dominant enough to deserve the nod, especially since his accumulations were split between two leagues.

Desire debuted on the 2034 ballot at 47.0%, but made progress to 55.6% and 56.8% the next two years. In 2037, he barely missed the 66% requirement at 65.3%. Desire dropped slightly to 61.5% in 2038, but got a shockingly big bump up to 81.5% in 2039. The tenure and longevity prevailed for a sixth ballot induction for OBA’s three-man class in 2039.

01-02-2026, 06:50 AM	#2654
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,530	2039 OBA Hall of Fame (Part 1) Three players made it into the Oceania Baseball Association Hall of Fame for 2039. SP Lekinala Desire had the highest percentage at 81.5% in his sixth time on the ballot. His fellow Tahitian LF Hama Brotherson joined him with a 81.1% debut and 1B Jordy Vincent got 78.4% on his first ballot. No other players were above 50%. Only SP Les Mansell was above 1/3 of the vote with a 43.6% debut. OF Joey Eason was dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking at 34.7% in 2031 and ending with 11.2%. In 14 years between Hobart and Honolulu, Eason won five Silver Sluggers along with an MVP and Gold Glove. He had a shockingly abrupt decline after a torn hamstring in 2021. Eason went from the 2020 MVP to a negative WAR player from 2022-24. Eason finished with 1754 games, 1830 hits, 996 runs, 237 doubles, 197 triples, 348 home runs, 1033 RBI, 634 steals, .293/.348/.561 slash, 150 wRC+, and 63.7 WAR. He was certainly on the HOF track, but falling off a cliff after his age 32 season kept Eason from getting the prerequisite accumulations. Lekinala Desire – Starting Pitcher – Vanuatu Wizards – 81.5% Sixth Ballot Lekinala Desire was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Fa’a’a, Tahiti’s most populous commune with around 30,000 people. Desire had reliably solid control with good-to-great stuff and above average movement. He had a 97-99 mph fastball along with a forkball, changeup, and slider. The forkball was probably his best offering, but the fastball and slider were plenty good. Desire was best known for his stamina and ironman durability. He never missed a start to injury and stands as one of only 26 guys in baseball history with 5000+ professional innings. These were especially helpful traits in OBA, the only league with a four-man rotation as the primary strategy. Desire did struggle holding runners and had weak defensive metrics. He wasn’t a troublemaker, but he also wasn’t one to stay loyal or committed to any one team. He was four years older than his Hall of Fame classmate Hama Brotherson, but they were familiar and occasionally competing against each other growing up in Tahiti. Desire dominated the limited amateur scene in the South Pacific and was the #1 overall pick by Vanuatu in the 2009 OBA Draft. The Wizards were still a struggling expansion franchise that had started up in 2006. Desire struggled as a rookie in a split relief/starter role with -1.0 WAR over 143 innings. He was thrown into the fire after that as a full-time starter and led the Pacific League in losses at 11-25, but he also led in complete games with 19. Desire led in CGs again in 20212 and 2014, getting 24 in 2014. He was also the innings leader in 2012 at 326, although he’d peak with 334.1 innings the next year. He was more than an innings eater though, posting 7+ WAR each year from 2013-15. He peaked with a 2.33 ERA and 8.0 WAR in 2015, while 2014 had his peak for strikeouts at 345. Desire was second in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2014, his only time as a finalist. That year was Vanuatu’s first winning season at 86-76, followed by a 94-68 campaign in 2015. Unfortunately for the Wizards, the young franchise didn’t have the financial resources needed that a top ace could command. Desire was also getting feelers worldwide and wanted to see where that took him. He left for free agency after the 2015 season at age 29. With Vanuatu, Desire had a 92-108 record, 2.95 ERA, 1756.2 innings, 1579 strikeouts, 313 walks, 118 ERA+, 91 FIP-, 116 complete games, 14 shutouts, and 30.0 WAR. It was his longest tenure, but he wasn’t really remembered as a franchise legend having been there only six years. Desire ended up moving to the United States and Major League Baseball on a five-year, $71,800,000 deal with Tampa. Desire was an innings-eater mostly for the Thunderbirds with respectable, but unremarkable stats. Tampa had been on a six-year playoff streak when he arrived, but narrowly missed the cut in 2016 at 90-72. The Thunderbirds fell below .500 after that, eventually dropping into the 100+ loss range in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Over three-and-a-half seasons, Desire had a 51-58 record, 3.73 ERA, 975.2 innings, 733 strikeouts, 63 complete games, 104 ERA+, 97 FIP-, and 14.3 WAR. Tampa was sellers and traded Desire at the 2019 deadline to San Diego for two outfielders who didn’t amount to much. Desire gave the Seals similar production as they were in the middle-tier, just a few years from beginning their dynasty run. He had a 20-17 record, 3.71 ERA, 352 innings, 291 strikeouts, 83 walks, 104 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 5.4 WAR. Now 33-years old, Desire made a return to OBA on a five-year, $57 million deal with Auckland. Desire never reached the peak numbers with the Avengers that he had previously with Vanuatu. He still reliably ate innings with average results for Auckland, who was on the cusp of the Australasia League title. They were second in 2021 at 94-68, then lost a tiebreaker game to Sydney in 2022 to finish at 101-62. Auckland collapsed to 67-95 in 2023. They rebounded to fourth place in 2024 at 90-72, but went completely off the cliff in 2025 at 59-103. That year, Desire led the AL with 20 losses. He was never a league leader in a “good” stat apart from innings and complete games. For the Avengers, Desire had a 69-82 record, 3.93 ERA, 1455.1 innings, 1274 strikeouts, 235 walks, 51 complete games, 99 ERA+, 100 FIP-, and 18.9 WAR. You knew what you were getting from the now 39-year old Desire at this point. His production would be okay, but he’d stay healthy and consistent. Desire went back to MLB in 2026 with Charlotte and had a lousy 5.33 ERA over 158.2 innings, but his 93 FIP- and 2.6 WAR suggested he wasn’t as bad as the ERA suggested. Still, the Canaries traded him to Hartford at the deadline and he made 11 relief appearances to close the year with the Huskies. El Paso gave him a one-year deal for 2027, but he got rocked in his one relief appearance and was quickly cut. Seattle grabbed Desire with a limited role with a 4.20 ERA over 70.2 innings. He got to make his postseason debut for the Grizzlies, but gave up four runs in four innings. Seattle got to the American Association Championship Series at 106-56, but ran into the juggernaut that was the 119-43 San Diego Seals. Desire wanted to still pitch and returned to OBA for 2028 with Sydney. He had a solid season at age 41 for the Snakes with a 19-11 record, 3.28 ERA, 310 innings, 247 strikeouts, 112 ERA+, 104 FIP-, and 3.4 WAR. Sydney won the Australasia League pennant at 105-57 and swept Honolulu for the Oceania Championship. Desire’s one start in the series was a complete game win with three runs allowed and 10 strikeouts. He decided to retire with that and didn’t accompany the team to the Baseball Grand Championship. In OBA, Desire had a 180-201 record, 3.38 ERA, 3522 innings, 3100 strikeouts, 605 walks, 260/431 quality starts, 176 complete games, 15 shutouts, 109 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 52.4 WAR. Desire ranks 55^th in wins, 4^th in losses, 9^th in complete games, 97^th in shutouts, 49^th in strikeouts, and 68^th in WAR for pitchers. Desire’s resume was a tough sell for many Hall of Fame voters as while he had some longevity, his rate stats were on the weaker end compared to other inductees. The losing record also soured some traditionalist voters, although supporters pointed out that how well he pitched even with some truly bad Vanuatu teams. His accumulations also weren’t exceptional, but not out of line with some of the lower-end selections. Oceania Baseball Association voters had generally been kinder towards pitchers than several other leagues. Desire’s supporters felt he deserved some credit for his MLB innings, arguing that had he stayed in OBA that he’d have easily reached all accumulation benchmarks. In MLB, Desire had an 88-84 record, 3.91 ERA, 1578.1 innings, 1181 strikeouts, 356 walks, 99 complete games, 8 shutouts, 101 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 23.3 WAR. For his combined pro career, Desire had a 268-285 record, 3.55 ERA, 5100.1 innings, 4281 strikeouts, 961 walks, 275 complete games, 23 shutouts, 107 ERA+, 96 FIP-, and 75.7 WAR. His longevity gets him on the world leaderboards in 23^rd for innings and 28^th for complete games. However, he also is 3^rd all-time in losses for any pitcher. Of the 5000+ inning guys, Desire has easily the worst WAR with everyone else above 85 and most in triple-digits. Many felt he was a compiler who was never dominant enough to deserve the nod, especially since his accumulations were split between two leagues. Desire debuted on the 2034 ballot at 47.0%, but made progress to 55.6% and 56.8% the next two years. In 2037, he barely missed the 66% requirement at 65.3%. Desire dropped slightly to 61.5% in 2038, but got a shockingly big bump up to 81.5% in 2039. The tenure and longevity prevailed for a sixth ballot induction for OBA’s three-man class in 2039. __________________ 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)