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FuzzyRussianHat · 04-23-2026, 10:08 AM

Three made it into the African Association of Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2041 with the clear headliner 1B/DH Trevor Zhou with 98.1%. 3B Ibukun da Costa also had a solid first ballot nod at 82.7%. SP Vally Nzamba meanwhile made it in his tenth and final chance at 74.0%. He became the fourth AAB inductee to make it in on his tenth try. Two returning pitchers were above 50% but short of the 66% requirement. Fasika Mulatu was on his third try and Miracle Rukundo on his ninth, both getting 58.8%. No players were dropped from the ballot after ten failed attempts.

Trevor Zhou – First Base/Designated Hitter – N’Djamena Magic – 98.1% First Ballot

Trevor Zhou was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Zhou was a great contact hitter and especially mashed against right-handed pitching with a career 1.078 OPS and 170 wRC+. He was merely decent against lefties with a .786 OPS and 107 wRC+. Zhou was good at drawing walks, but did have a subpar strikeout rate.

He had reliably strong power with 43 home runs and 41 doubles per his 162 game average. Although he scored plenty of runs, Zhou was a painfully slow baserunner and quite sluggish. He made all of his defensive starts at first base and was below average, but not abysmal with his glove. About 1/3 of Zhou’s starts were as a designated hitter. His powerful bat, high work ethic, and loyalty made him a fan favorite. Zhou also had mostly good durability over an 18-year career.

Zhou left Zimbabwe for Chad in May 2015 with a developmental deal for N’Djamena. He debuted in 2018 at age 21 as a part-timer, then was a full-time starter the next year. Zhou was elite by 2020, winning his first Silver Slugger and taking third in MVP voting with a Central Conference leading 52 home runs and 1.077 OPS.

He won additional Sluggers in 2021-22, leading in OBP in 2021 and in slugging, OPS, wRC+, runs, and WAR in 2022. Zhou was second in 2022’s MVP voting and N’Djamena ended a 15-year playoff drought. The Magic won 95 in 2022 and 102 in 2023, but both years fell victim to Kampala’s dynasty in the conference finals. Zhou was great in the small sample size with a 1.443 OPS, 299 wRC+, and 0.7 WAR in six starts. They spent the next three years hovering around the .500 mark.

Zhou won Sluggers again in from 2024-26 and won his lone MVP in 2025. That year had career and conference bests for OBP (.445) and WAR (9.4), as well as career bests for hits (211), homers (57), RBI (137), average (.377), slugging (.77), OPS (1.215), and wRC+ (211). The OPS ranks as the 13^th-best qualifying season in AAB history and the triple slash ranked 6^th/18^th/20^th.

In April 2025, Zhou signed a three-year, $32,500,000 extension with N’Djamena. In 2027, he saw a shockingly poor season with .809 OPS, 105 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. Prior to that, he had posted above one OPS in seven straight seasons. Although still very popular, the Magic was worried Zhou was cooked. In May 2028, he was traded to Nairobi for two prospects.

Zhou finished for the Magic with 1455 games, 1603 hits, 937 runs, 386 doubles, 395 home runs, 1020 RBI, 732 walks, 1129 strikeouts, .310/.398/.617 slash, 163 wRC+, and 54.5 WAR. The abrupt end did spoil the relationship a bit with N’Djamena and thus his jersey was never retired. Nairobi was confident Zhou’s poor 2027 was a fluke and gave him a four-year, $56,800,000 extension only a week after the trade.

The bet paid off as Zhou was back to strong starting numbers the next few years, although he was no longer award winning. Nairobi was first in the Central Conference at 93-69 in 2028, but lost the conference final 4-3 to Addis Ababa. After back-to-back playoff misses, the Night Hawks fell in the 2031 conference final to Djibouti.

In 2032, Nairobi tied for first in the conference at 102-60 and had the tiebreaker for home field over Brazzaville. The Night Hawks beat the Blowfish 4-2 for the pennant, then won their first-ever Africa Series title 5-3 over Johannesburg. Zhou was finals MVP with 14 hits, 8 runs, 4 doubles, 6 homers, 12 RBI, 1.233 OPS, 204 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR over 13 playoff starts.

Nairobi then shocked many observers by winning the Baseball Grand Championship at 16-5. Zhou had another nice showing over 21 games with 18 hits, 14 runs, 7 homers, 12 RBI, .875 OPS, 142 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR. He had also been a reliable tournament player for his native Zimbabwe in the World Baseball Championship. From 2028-35, Zhou played 97 games with 90 hits, 46 runs, 15 doubles, 29 homers, 65 RBI, .259/.340/.553 slash and 4.3 WAR.

Fresh off the Africa Series MVP win, Nairobi gave Zhou a three-year, $59 million extension. He had two more solid seasons, although injuries limited him somewhat and he didn’t meet the criteria for third year. The Night Hawks failed to follow up immediately on their Grand Championship win with back-to-back losing seasons. Still, Zhou was a critical piece of bringing the hardware to Kenya.

For Nairobi, Zhou played 1041 games with 1079 hits, 693 runs, 250 doubles, 281 homers, 728 RBI, 556 walks, 897 strikeouts, .298/.394/.608 slash, 147 wRC+, and 29.6 WAR. Port Elizabeth gave Zhou a three-year, $21,300,000 deal but he dropped off noticeably in 2035 with .818 OPS, 109 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR over 125 games. Zhou retired that winter at age 38.

Zhou finished with 2621 games, 2783 hits, 1697 runs, 660 doubles, 27 triples, 695 home runs, 1811 RBI, 1352 walks, 2147 strikeouts, .303/.394/.607 slash, 1.001 OPS, 154 wRC+, and 85.1 WAR. He ranks 7^th in games, 8^th in runs, 7^th in hits, 5^th in total bases (5582), 3^rd in doubles, 11^th in homers, 9^th in RBI, 9^th in walks, 13^th in strikeouts, and 11^th in WAR for position players.

Among AAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Zhou’s triple slash ranks 44^th/18^th/30^th and his OPS is 15^th. Among world Hall of Famers and retired locks, Zhou is one of 57 guys to retire with an OPS above one. He’s also 44^th on the world doubles leaderboard.

Zhou almost quietly put up numbers that arguably place him as a top ten position players all-time in the African Association of Baseball. He wasn’t always thought of as an MVP candidate, but he was a remarkably solid bat and an important part of Nairobi’s Grand Championship and AAB title wins. The voters acknowledged that as Zhou received 98.1% to captain a three-man class for 2041.

04-23-2026, 10:08 AM	#2817
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,462	2041 AAB Hall of Fame (Part 1) Three made it into the African Association of Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2041 with the clear headliner 1B/DH Trevor Zhou with 98.1%. 3B Ibukun da Costa also had a solid first ballot nod at 82.7%. SP Vally Nzamba meanwhile made it in his tenth and final chance at 74.0%. He became the fourth AAB inductee to make it in on his tenth try. Two returning pitchers were above 50% but short of the 66% requirement. Fasika Mulatu was on his third try and Miracle Rukundo on his ninth, both getting 58.8%. No players were dropped from the ballot after ten failed attempts. Trevor Zhou – First Base/Designated Hitter – N’Djamena Magic – 98.1% First Ballot Trevor Zhou was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Zhou was a great contact hitter and especially mashed against right-handed pitching with a career 1.078 OPS and 170 wRC+. He was merely decent against lefties with a .786 OPS and 107 wRC+. Zhou was good at drawing walks, but did have a subpar strikeout rate. He had reliably strong power with 43 home runs and 41 doubles per his 162 game average. Although he scored plenty of runs, Zhou was a painfully slow baserunner and quite sluggish. He made all of his defensive starts at first base and was below average, but not abysmal with his glove. About 1/3 of Zhou’s starts were as a designated hitter. His powerful bat, high work ethic, and loyalty made him a fan favorite. Zhou also had mostly good durability over an 18-year career. Zhou left Zimbabwe for Chad in May 2015 with a developmental deal for N’Djamena. He debuted in 2018 at age 21 as a part-timer, then was a full-time starter the next year. Zhou was elite by 2020, winning his first Silver Slugger and taking third in MVP voting with a Central Conference leading 52 home runs and 1.077 OPS. He won additional Sluggers in 2021-22, leading in OBP in 2021 and in slugging, OPS, wRC+, runs, and WAR in 2022. Zhou was second in 2022’s MVP voting and N’Djamena ended a 15-year playoff drought. The Magic won 95 in 2022 and 102 in 2023, but both years fell victim to Kampala’s dynasty in the conference finals. Zhou was great in the small sample size with a 1.443 OPS, 299 wRC+, and 0.7 WAR in six starts. They spent the next three years hovering around the .500 mark. Zhou won Sluggers again in from 2024-26 and won his lone MVP in 2025. That year had career and conference bests for OBP (.445) and WAR (9.4), as well as career bests for hits (211), homers (57), RBI (137), average (.377), slugging (.77), OPS (1.215), and wRC+ (211). The OPS ranks as the 13^th-best qualifying season in AAB history and the triple slash ranked 6^th/18^th/20^th. In April 2025, Zhou signed a three-year, $32,500,000 extension with N’Djamena. In 2027, he saw a shockingly poor season with .809 OPS, 105 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. Prior to that, he had posted above one OPS in seven straight seasons. Although still very popular, the Magic was worried Zhou was cooked. In May 2028, he was traded to Nairobi for two prospects. Zhou finished for the Magic with 1455 games, 1603 hits, 937 runs, 386 doubles, 395 home runs, 1020 RBI, 732 walks, 1129 strikeouts, .310/.398/.617 slash, 163 wRC+, and 54.5 WAR. The abrupt end did spoil the relationship a bit with N’Djamena and thus his jersey was never retired. Nairobi was confident Zhou’s poor 2027 was a fluke and gave him a four-year, $56,800,000 extension only a week after the trade. The bet paid off as Zhou was back to strong starting numbers the next few years, although he was no longer award winning. Nairobi was first in the Central Conference at 93-69 in 2028, but lost the conference final 4-3 to Addis Ababa. After back-to-back playoff misses, the Night Hawks fell in the 2031 conference final to Djibouti. In 2032, Nairobi tied for first in the conference at 102-60 and had the tiebreaker for home field over Brazzaville. The Night Hawks beat the Blowfish 4-2 for the pennant, then won their first-ever Africa Series title 5-3 over Johannesburg. Zhou was finals MVP with 14 hits, 8 runs, 4 doubles, 6 homers, 12 RBI, 1.233 OPS, 204 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR over 13 playoff starts. Nairobi then shocked many observers by winning the Baseball Grand Championship at 16-5. Zhou had another nice showing over 21 games with 18 hits, 14 runs, 7 homers, 12 RBI, .875 OPS, 142 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR. He had also been a reliable tournament player for his native Zimbabwe in the World Baseball Championship. From 2028-35, Zhou played 97 games with 90 hits, 46 runs, 15 doubles, 29 homers, 65 RBI, .259/.340/.553 slash and 4.3 WAR. Fresh off the Africa Series MVP win, Nairobi gave Zhou a three-year, $59 million extension. He had two more solid seasons, although injuries limited him somewhat and he didn’t meet the criteria for third year. The Night Hawks failed to follow up immediately on their Grand Championship win with back-to-back losing seasons. Still, Zhou was a critical piece of bringing the hardware to Kenya. For Nairobi, Zhou played 1041 games with 1079 hits, 693 runs, 250 doubles, 281 homers, 728 RBI, 556 walks, 897 strikeouts, .298/.394/.608 slash, 147 wRC+, and 29.6 WAR. Port Elizabeth gave Zhou a three-year, $21,300,000 deal but he dropped off noticeably in 2035 with .818 OPS, 109 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR over 125 games. Zhou retired that winter at age 38. Zhou finished with 2621 games, 2783 hits, 1697 runs, 660 doubles, 27 triples, 695 home runs, 1811 RBI, 1352 walks, 2147 strikeouts, .303/.394/.607 slash, 1.001 OPS, 154 wRC+, and 85.1 WAR. He ranks 7^th in games, 8^th in runs, 7^th in hits, 5^th in total bases (5582), 3^rd in doubles, 11^th in homers, 9^th in RBI, 9^th in walks, 13^th in strikeouts, and 11^th in WAR for position players. Among AAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Zhou’s triple slash ranks 44^th/18^th/30^th and his OPS is 15^th. Among world Hall of Famers and retired locks, Zhou is one of 57 guys to retire with an OPS above one. He’s also 44^th on the world doubles leaderboard. Zhou almost quietly put up numbers that arguably place him as a top ten position players all-time in the African Association of Baseball. He wasn’t always thought of as an MVP candidate, but he was a remarkably solid bat and an important part of Nairobi’s Grand Championship and AAB title wins. The voters acknowledged that as Zhou received 98.1% to captain a three-man class for 2041. __________________ 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)