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2B/LF Matheus Mabanza stood alone for induction into the African Association of Baseball’s Hall of Fame at 91.5% in 2040. Two returners were above 50%, but short of the 66% induction threshold. SP Fasika Mulatu saw 58.0% on his second try and SP Vally Nzamba was at 55.4% on his ninth attempt.



DH/2B Tsegaye Alemu was the lone man dropped after ten failed tries in 2040, ending at 23.8% and peaking at 41.2% in 2034. He was a leadoff man who led thrice in hits, five times in steals, and once in batting average and WAR; winning 2016 MVP with Bujumbura. Alemu had two Silver Sluggers, but he didn’t have the power or advanced stats to make a real run at the Hall.

Alemu ended with 1747 games, 1917 hits, 1028 runs, 366 doubles, 125 triples, 50 homers, 481 RBI, 527 walks, 418 strikeouts, 1156 steals, .315/.376/.441 slash, 118 wRC+, and 37.5 WAR. He ranks 9^th in triples and 6^th in stolen bases, but Sabermetrics weren’t kind to him and he played on mostly weak teams. It didn’t help Alemu that he was a putrid defender and made more than half of his starts as a DH.



Matheus Mabanza – Second Base/Left Field – Nairobi Night Hawks – 91.5% First Ballot

Matheus Mabanza was a 6’1’’, 190 pound left-handed hitting second baseman and utility man from Beni, a city of around 232,000 in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mabanza was an excellent contact hitter who regularly put the ball in play and avoided strikeouts, although he was merely okay at drawing walks. His batting results were basically even whether facing right-handed or left-handed pitching.

Mabanza’s gap power was impressive and he wasn’t devoid of home run power, posting 43 doubles, 5 triples, and 24 homers per his 162 game average. His baserunning and stealing ability both graded as quite good, although his speed was merely above average. That also limited him defensively, as he had lousy glove work at any spot he tried. Just over half of his starts came at second base, but Mabanza did see some use in left field and shortstop.

Even with his defensive deficiencies, Mabanza was always going to give his all with a sparkplug work ethic and adaptability. Surprisingly though, some criticized him for a perceived lack of loyalty and leadership. Back injuries were a recurring issue for Mabanza in an 18-year career, but he generally avoided big season-ending type injuries.

Mabanza was one of the top college prospects ahead of the 2016 AAB Draft and went third overall to Kigali. He had growing pains initially and struggled to -0.5 WAR in his first two seasons as a part-timer. Mabanza put it together in 2019 and won the batting title at .353, getting his first Silver Slugger at 2B. He won again in 2020 with the lead in doubles, average, OBP, and wRC+. The .635 slugging, 1.047 OPS, and 178 wRC+ that year were career bests. In 2021, Mabanza hit for the cycle against Kampala.

He had two more years as a solid starter, but Kigali continued to struggle. 2021 saw an 84-78 finish, their first winning season since 2012, but they were back below .500 the next year. It didn’t seem likely that Mabanza would stay long-term with the Guardians, so they traded him in March 2023 to Nairobi for prospects. He played 705 games with 832 hits, 436 runs, 186 doubles, 17 triples, 106 home runs, 360 RBI, 158 steals, .326/.388/.536 slash, 151 wRC+, and 23.9 WAR.

Mabanza became famous with the Night Hawks, who were competitive in the early 2020s but just outside of the playoffs. He won Silver Sluggers from 2024-26 and 28-29. Mabanza signed a three-year, $28,500,000 extension in April 2024 and two days later, had a six-hit game facing Ndjamena. 2024 saw his third batting title and a 65 double season, one of only 24 such seasons in any world league.

2026 was Mabanza’s only season as an MVP finalist, taking second with conference bests in doubles (58) and average (.361). This also had his career best 8.1 WAR, 119 runs, and 216 hits. Nairobi finished 103-59, their third-ever playoff trip and first time atop the Central Conference standings. They fell 4-2 in the conference finals to Bujumbura with Mabanza missing the series to a herniated disc. Still, his overall season earned a five-year, $121 million extension the following spring.

Mabanza never again reached that level of production, but he remained a capable starter for the next few years. Nairobi was first in the standings again in 2028 at 93-69, but lost 4-3 in the conference championship to Addis Ababa. In his first playoff series, Mabanza struggled to a .509 OPS and -0.2 WAR.

He had played in the World Baseball Championship previously for the DR Congo, albeit with unremarkable stats. In 123 games, Mabanza had 111 hits, 63 runs, 19 doubles, 15 homers, 42 RBI, .253/.319/.403 slash, and 2.4 WAR. His best effort was 2026 with a .897 OPS and 1.0 WAR, helping the Congolese to a third place finish; the only semifinal trip in national history.

In 2031, Mabanza earned his second cycle against Ndjamena, making him one of seven in AAB history to achieve the feat twice. Nairobi got back to the playoffs as a wild card in 2031, but lost to Djibouti in the conference final. Mabanza was out from September onward from a strained lat. In 2032, the Night Hawks took first in the standings for the third time, tying their franchise best at 102-60. Nairobi had finished tied with Brazzaville, but had the tiebreaker for home field advantage.

This time, the Night Hawks bested the Blowfish 4-2 for the Central Conference pennant. Nairobi then won its first-ever Africa Series title 5-3 over Johannesburg. Mabanza notably struggled to a .613 OPS, 59 wRC+, and -0.1 WAR in the playoffs. He fared much more respectably in the Baseball Grand Championship with 17 hits, 14 runs, 3 doubles, 8 homers, 15 RBI, .865 OPS, 132 wRC+, and 0.7 WAR. The Night Hawks stunned the world with a 16-5 finish to claim the Grand Championship.

It was a one-off ultimately with back-to-back losing seasons to follow for Nairobi. Mabanza signed a two-year, $21 million extension after the 2032 season, but posted middling stats for those final two seasons. He suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in summer 2033. Mabanza was healthy mostly in 2034, but his .777 OPS and 0.2 WAR were full season career worsts.

In total for Nairobi, Mabanza played 1614 games with 2013 hits, 1087 runs, 435 doubles, 52 triples, 223 homers, 886 RBI, 508 walks, 501 steals, .326/.384/.526 slash, 133 wRC+, and 45.4 WAR. Mabanza was a free agent for the first time in 2035, but no teams were interested. After going unsigned, he finally retired that winter at age 41. Shortly after that, the Night Hawks announced the retirement of Mabanza’s #18 uniform for his 12 years of solid service in the Kenyan capital.

Mabanza finished with 2319 games, 2845 hits, 1523 runs, 621 doubles, 69 triples, 339 home runs, 1246 RBI, 741 walks, 770 strikeouts, 659 steals, .326/.385/.529 slash, 138 wRC+, and 69.3 WAR. He ranks 22^nd in games, 18^th in runs, 3^rd in hits, 20^th in total bases (4621), 7^th in doubles, 91^st in homers, 38^th in RBI, 63^rd in walks, 45^th in steals, and 21^st in WAR for position players. Among AAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Mabanza ranks 13^th in batting average and 27^th in OBP.

While he wasn’t quite well-rounded or powerful enough to be an inner-circle level Hall of Famer, Mabanza’s credentials were rock solid. He especially stood out with a relatively quiet ballot for his 2040 debut. Mabanza earned 91.5% to become the lone inductee for the African Association of Baseball in 2040.