Baseball: The World's Game

[FuzzyRussianHat]

East Asia Baseball had one Hall of Fame inductee in 2031, but LF Hitoshi Kubota certainly was worthy to stand alone. The seven-time MVP was a near unanimous 98.4%. LF Jae-A Choi was the next closest, missed the 66% cut with a debut of 62.8%. CL Sadaharu Chiba was the best returner at 62.5% for his second ballot. 1B Kyu-Seong Lee was the only other guy above 50%, posting 53.4% on his sixth attempt.



The one player to fall off the ballot after ten failed tries was OF Bit-Garam Jung, who peaked at 47.6% on his debut and ended with 26.1%. He won MVP honors for Hiroshima in 2001, but otherwise was out of awards chat. Jung had a 22-year run between four teams with 2818 games, 2627 hits, 1458 runs, 386 doubles, 150 triples, 574 home runs, 1554 RBI, 851 stolen bases, .277/.312/.531 slash, 141 wRC+, and 80.6 WAR.

Jung hit a lot of statistical bench marks for his longevity, but many voters dismissed him as a compiler. His postseason numbers on the whole were decent at best, which also helped condemn Jung to the Hall of Pretty Good. Jung has the second-most home runs by an EAB player that fell off the ballot without an induction.



Hitoshi “Virus” Kubota – Left Field – Hiroshima Hammerheads – 98.4% First Ballot

Hitoshi Kubota was a 6’6’’, 200 pound switch-hitting left fielder from Nagoya, Japan. Kubota was one of the most efficient hitters to ever grace East Asia Baseball and arguably a top 10 hitter in all of baseball history specifically facing right-handed pitching. Against RHP, Kubota had an absurd career OPS of 1.058 and wRC+ over 213. He was by no means bad facing lefties with a .816 OPS and 145 wRC+. Pitchers gave him the nickname “Virus” for how they often felt after having faced Kubota.

Kubota was a stellar contact hitter and could both avoid strikeouts and draw walks quite effectively. He also was a premiere home run hitter, socking 40+ homers in 14 seasons and 50+ in seven campaigns. Kubota’s gap power got you 21 doubles and 7 triples per his 162 game average along with 44 dingers. Unlike many big boppers, Kubota also had above average to good speed and baserunning chops.

His one real flaw was his defense, which graded as mediocre as a career left fielder. Kubota’s arm was pretty good, but his poor range tanked his metrics. You’d certainly put up with it for a generational bat over a 24-year career. Kubota had some occasional injuries from his mid 30s onward, but rarely missed time prior. He was also intelligent and adaptable to his situation. It should be no surprise Kubota became a beloved megastar and arguably the best-ever player to come out of Japan.

Kubota’s potential was obvious even as a teenager with numerous clubs clamoring for his services. Hiroshima won the day with a developmental contract signed in July 1998, one week after his 16^th birthday. Kubota was one of a small group in baseball history to debut at age 18, although he saw very limited use as a teenager. Kubota played eight games in 2001 and 33 in 2002 with weak results. The Hammerheads had him on roster most of 2003 and 2004 with 221 games played, although he only started 12.

By 2004, it was clear Kubota was becoming ready, posting a 1.026 OPS and 2.5 WAR over a small sample size. It wasn’t easy to crack the roster as Hiroshima was amidst a playoff streak that started in 1999. They hadn’t been able to get over the hump, suffering first round exits from 1999-2002. Hiroshima made the Japan League Championship Series in 2003-04, but lost both years to Niigata. 2004 was especially heartbreaking with a franchise-best 110-52 record.

Hiroshima had additional 100+ win seasons in 2005, 06, and 08; but lost in the first round each year. In 2005, Kubota had arrived as a full-time starter, leading the Japan League with 188 hits for his first Silver Slugger and a third place in MVP voting. It was his first of 15 straight years of 6.5+ WAR and his first of 12 seasons with an OPS above one, That winter, Hiroshima secured Kubota to a team-friendly extension at $49,780,000 over eight years.

From 2006-09, Kubota led the league each year in home runs, peaking with 54 in both 2007 and 2009. In 2008, he posted only the seventh hitting Triple Crown in EAB history with 51 homers, 127 RBI, and his lone batting title at .325. Kubota was the WARlord in 2007 and 2009 and led in slugging and OPS for both 2008-09. Kubota won Silver Sluggers each year and won three straight MVPs from 2007-09.

Kubota had quickly become a nationwide superstar after his performance for Japan in their World Baseball Championship run, defeating Germany in the final for their second world title. Kubota finished second in tournament MVP voting starting 24 games with 30 hits, 18 runs, 6 doubles, 2 triples, 8 home runs, 16 RBI, 1.111 OPS, and 1.9 WAR. He remained a regular force for the Japanese team through 2022 with the squad taking third place in both 2012 and 2019.
He shined on the world stage from 2005-22 with 175 games, 168 hits, 106 runs, 25 doubles, 5 triples, 45 home runs, 105 RBI, 41 stolen bases, .290/.386/.583 slash, and 9.1 WAR. As of 2037, Kubota ranks 3^rd in WAR among Japanese position players in the WBC. He also ranks 3^rd in hits, 3^rd in games, 3^rd in runs, 6^th in home runs, and 4^th in RBI.

Hiroshima had a downswing from 2009-11, missing the playoffs each year. Kubota remained excellent, but was just outside of the awards conversations these years. The Hammerheads returned to prominence in 2012, starting a seven-year streak atop the West Division. In 2012-13, Kubota led both years in homers, total bases, slugging, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. He won MVPs and Silver Sluggers both year, giving him five MVPs on his shelf.

By many metrics, 2012 was Kubota’s finest season with career highs in total bases (408), OBP (.413), slugging (.716), OPS (1.129), wRC+ (246), and WAR (11.0). Kubota had good playoff stats both years as Hiroshima won back-to-back Japan League titles. The Hammerheads were unable to claim the EAB crown, falling to Goyang in 2012 and Daegu in 2013.

In the Baseball Grand Championship, Hiroshima finished 9-10 in 2012 and 6-13 in 2013. Kubota shined against the world’s best though, winning Tournament MVP in 2012. Between the two runs, Kubota started 38 games with 48 hits, 32 runs, 19 home runs, 30 RBI, .345/.404/.791 slash, and 3.0 WAR. Between EAB, WBC, and BGC, Kubota had certainly established himself as a world class player.

In July 2013, Hiroshima locked Kubota up to a hefty six-year, $128,200,000 extension. Many figured he and the Hammerheads would soon be back to the top spot, but it wasn’t to be. Hiroshima had four straight JLCS exits from 2014-17, then had a first round loss in 2018 despite the top seed. Unfortunately for Hammerheads fans, that restarted the long-term historical trend of playoff disappointments.

You certainly couldn’t blame Kubota for any of the failings, as his career playoff stats were excellent as expected. Over 99 games and 80 starts, Kubota had 100 hits, 47 runs, 11 doubles, 22 home runs, 58 RBI, .318/.387/.576 slash, 186 wRC+, and 4.3 WAR. As of 2037, Kubota ranks 8^th in playoff homers, 7^th in RBI, 9^th in hits, and 16^th in runs scored.

Kubota was again MVP and Slugger winner in 2014-15, leading both years in OPS and wRC+. He became the first-ever seven-time MVP in EAB history and only the second to win four consecutively. Kubota wasn’t an MVP finalist after that, but he’d win one more Silver Slugger in his original Hiroshima run in 2016. In 2018, he ran into his first major injury setback with a torn meniscus in late August. This was also the final season of the Hammerheads’ playoff streak.

Hiroshima voided the team option year for the now 36-year old Kubota, but wanted to keep the superstar around. He officially tested free agency, but ultimately signed a new two-year, $29,800,000 deal with the Hammerheads. In 2019, he missed two months to injury, but still managed 5.9 WAR over 128 games. That year, Kubota became the 13^th EAB slugger to 700 career home runs and the 32^nd to score 1500 runs.

Kubota didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the second year and was back to free agency at age 37. For the first time, he would be playing somewhere other than Hiroshima for 2020. Kubota returned to his home city Nagoya on a two-year, $27,700,000 deal with the Nightowls. He won his 11^th Silver Slugger and led the league with 112 runs for Nagoya, posting 7.2 WAR and 1.013 OPS. Kubota couldn’t reverse the losing trend though for the Nightowls, who finished 74-88.

Nagoya traded Kubota in the offseason to Chiba for two prospects. A strained abdominal among other injuries kept him out for a chunk of 2021, but he still had 4.6 WAR and .902 OPS over 120 games for the 70-92 Comets. Kubota was back to free agency for 2022 at age 39 and to the delight of many, he made a triumphant return to Hiroshima. The Hammerheads gave him a two-year, $26,600,000 deal to once again don the blue and gold and return to his famous #11 uniform.

Kubota won his 12^th Silver Slugger in 2022, becoming one of six in EAB history to do so and the second as a left fielder. He led in OPS for the seventh and final time and led in slugging for the sixth time. That year, he also became the fifth member of the 800 home run club and the 23^rd to reach 3000 hits. April 24 also saw the lone cycle of his career against Fukuoka. Hiroshima had a nice 94-68 record, but couldn’t compete in the division with the eventual champion Frogs at 110-52. The Hammerheads gave him a new two-year, $41,600,000 deal to keep him around a bit longer.

In 2023 at age 40, Kubota was still rock solid with 6.5 WAR and .926 OPS, although Hiroshima was back below .500. Unfortunately in mid-September, Kubota suffered a torn PCL that knocked him out ten months. He made it back for 2024 and became the fifth to 2000 career RBI. In 119 games, Kubota still managed 5.0 WAR, 37 home runs, and .954 OPS.

That was ultimately his final season of a remarkable run with Hiroshima that saw 2960 games, 3066 hits, 1751 runs, 378 doubles, 128 triples, 827 home runs, 1905 RBI, 1027 walks, 1186 strikeouts, 508 stolen bases, .312/.378/.629 slash, 199 wRC+, and 141.6 WAR. Kubota obviously remained a franchise and Japanese cultural icon for many years to come with his #11 uniform retired by the Hammerheads.

He seemed ageless and many thought he’d take the top spots on the all-time leaderboards. After 2024, Kubota was at 895 home runs, 2074 RBI, 3359 hits, 1934 runs, and 153.5 WAR. Soo-Geun Yim had retired as the home run king in 2018 with 921, passing Lei Ming’s 897 that had stood since 1971. Kubota was second only to Yim in RBI (2279) and second to Byung-Oh Tan for runs scored (2010). Kubota was also just behind Sosuke Hoshizawa for the all-time WARlord title (156.87).

Kyoto signed Kubota to a one-year, $11 million deal for 2025. However, the decline came suddenly, made worse by recurring back spasms. Kubota only played 75 games and struggled to a .211/.263/.405 slash and -0.2 WAR. His 10 home runs did get him past Meng and into the elusive 900 club, but he’d fall short of the prestigious #1 spots. He did get to first in games played at 3304, passing Tan’s 3274. Kubota retired after the 2025 season at age 43.

The final tallies for Kubota: 3304 games, 3408 hits, 1956 runs, 435 doubles, 147 triples, 905 home runs, 2098 RBI, 1136 walks, 1398 strikeouts, 571 stolen bases, .309/.375/.621 slash, .996 OPS, 196 wRC+, and 153.3 WAR. As of 2037, Kubota ranks 2^nd in WAR among all EAB players, 2^nd in games, 6^th in hits, 3^rd in runs, 4^th in total bases (6852), 68^th in doubles, 3^rd in home runs, 3^rd in RBI, and 13^th in walks. Among EAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Kubota’s OPS is 14^th while ranking 43^rd in OBP and 13^th in slugging.

On the world leaderboards as of 2037, Kubota is 22^nd in home runs, 40^th in RBI, 48^th in runs scored, 24^th in games played, and 31^st in WAR among position players. Among all players ever, he ranks 43^rd in WAR and has the second-most of any Japanese born player behind only Hoshizawa. Among world Hall of Famers, Kubota’s 196 wRC+ is 13^th best, which leads all EAB players. He also barely misses the top 50 for both OPS and slugging percentage.

Is Hitoshi Kubota the greatest player in EAB history? You could certainly make a compelling case considering his spots on the leaderboards. He’s just short of the WARlord title and everyone agrees he was a better batter than Hoshizawa, although the latter’s defensive value at center field gave him the bump. Kubota is the only guy with seven MVPs

In the Hall of Fame metrics as of 2037, Kubota ranks 3^rd in JAWS, 16^th in black ink, 2^nd in grey ink, 5^th in standards, and 4^th in HOF monitor. It is certainly a fierce debate with so many stellar players over more than a century of history for East Asia Baseball. When discussing the all-timers, Kubota makes almost every top ten list and the lion’s share of the top five lists. Many who saw him play, especially in Hiroshima, would call him the GOAT. Somehow, Kubota only got 98.4% of the vote, but he fittingly stood alone for Hall of Fame induction in 2031.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two relief pitchers were added into Beisbol Sudamerica’s Hall of Fame for 2031. Luis Bustos led the way as a no-doubter with a 94.4% debut. Bobby Santos just barely scraped by the 66% requirement with 66.3% on his second ballot. LF Sam Rubio was the closest miss with a 60.4% debut.

Five other returners were above 50% with CL Luciano Lozano at 59.2% on his second try, CL Samuel Andrade with 55.7% for his fourth go, 2B Franklin Chapman at 54.0% on his third attempt, SP Rodrigo Quiroz at 51.9% on his fourth ballot, and 3B Pedro Gutierrez at 51.6% with his fifth attempt. No players were removed from the ballot after ten failed tries in 2031.



Luis Bustos – Closer – Asuncion Archers – 94.4% First Ballot

Luis Bustos was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed relief pitcher from Yumbo, Colombia; a municipality with about 110,000 people just north of Cali. Bustos was known for having outstanding stuff, great control, and above average movement. He had a solid 98-100 mph fastball, but his almost equally fast slider was his signature pitch.

Compared to most relievers, Bustos had excellent stamina and could go a few innings into an outing if needed. He also maintained good durability generally across a 19-year career. Bustos had a strong pickoff move and was a good defensive pitcher. He worked hard and was selfless, earning plenty of respect amongst his peers.

His most famous years came in Paraguay, moving there on a developmental deal with Asuncion in October 1998. Bustos spent most of six years in their academy, debuting with nine appearances in 2004 at age 22. He was an effective setup man in 2005 and earned the closer job in 2006, leading the Southern Cone League that year with 44 saves. Bustos finished second in Reliever of the Year voting.

Most importantly, he had a big role in Asuncion’s second-ever Copa Sudamerica win. The Archers had struggled most of the 20^th Century, but had put together a dynasty run in the late 1990s and early 2000s. After a terrible 2005 at 64-98, Asuncion went on a surprise title run in 2006 at 87-75, defeating Caracas for the Cup. In 16.1 playoff innings over nine appearances, Bustos had seven saves and one win with a 1.10 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and 1 walk.

Bustos was back to a setup role in 2006, but was back in the closer spot for the rest of his Archers tenure. Asuncion made the playoffs each year from 2007-10, but only once got to the LCS with a defeat in 2007. For the Archers, Bustos had a 1.56 ERA and 10 saves over 34.2 playoff innings with 50 strikeouts.

From 2008-10, he led each year in saves and games pitched, peaking with career highs of 47 and 82 in 2009. Despite this, Bustos was second in Reliever of the Year voting each season. From July 9 to August 4, 2010, Bustos tossed 31 consecutive scoreless innings as part of a 27-game scoreless streak.

In 2011, Bustos struggled to a 4.10 ERA and Asuncion had a playoff drought for the rest of his run. He returned to form in 2012, again taking second in ROTY voting. In June 2013, Bustos became the 28^th BSA closer to 300 career saves. By 2013, Asuncion was stuck in the middle tier and opted to trade Bustos near the deadline to Guayaquil for prospects.

For Asuncion, Bustos had a 52-62 record, 304 saves, 329 shutdowns, 578 games, 649.1 innings, 946 strikeouts, 148 walks, 163 ERA+, and 24.9 WAR. Especially for his role in the 2006 Copa Sudamerica win, Bustos had his #12 uniform eventually retired by the Archers. Now he was with the Golds, who were trying to get over a playoff hump.

Guayaquil finished 103-59 in 2013, but were a wild card thanks to a 105-win Medellin in the Colombia-Ecuador Division. The Golds were upset in the divisional series and Bustos was shockingly bad in the playoffs, giving up ten runs in four innings. This one run greatly dented his career playoff stats despite generally good-to-great showings for the rest of his career.

2014 was arguably Bustos’ best year and his lone Reliever of the Year win, posting career highs in innings (103.2), strikeouts (171), and WAR (5.6). He gave up one run in eight playoff innings, but Guayaquil again lost in the divisional round. They just missed the playoffs in 2015, but Bustos was again impressive. He was second in ROTY voting for the sixth time in his career.

With the Golds, Bustos had a 24-17 record, 84 saves, 104 shutdowns, 2.03 ERA 167 games, 235 innings, 379 strikeouts, 42 walks, 196 ERA+, and 12.7 WAR. He was finally free agency eligible after the 2015 season at age 34 and had interested teams from across the globe. Bustos had gotten international attention with strong performances for his native Colombia in the World Baseball Championship.

Bustos saw some use as a starter as well in the WBC with 65 games and 12 starts from 2006-22. He had a 13-10 record, 18 saves, 2.45 ERA, 176.2 innings, 294 strikeouts, 49 walks, 2 shutouts, 149 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 4.8 WAR. Bustos had a 2.52 ERA and 47 Ks over 25 innings in 2010 as the Colombians finished second to the United States. Colombia also notably had a third place finish in 2006 and a division title in 2015.

In 2016, Bustos embarked on a Major League Baseball career on a two-year, $18,600,000 deal with Nashville. He had an impressive debut with a 2.24 ERA and 3.9 WAR in 68.1 innings, taking second yet again in Reliever of the Year voting. Bustos tossed 11 scoreless playoff innings for the Knights, although they were stopped in the American Association Championship Series by Charlotte.

Bustos was less effective with a 3.82 ERA over 37.2 innings in 2017, finishing his Nashville tenure with 50 saves, a 2.80 ERA, 106 innings, 116 strikeouts, and 4.6 WAR. Now 35-years old, Bustos stayed in MLB with a two-year, $14,400,000 deal with Baltimore. He was okay in middle relief in 2018 for the Orioles, but suffered his first major injury setback with a fractured elbow in July.

He made six appearances in April for Baltimore in 2019 before being released. Quebec City grabbed him for the rest of the season with a 3.27 ERA and 46 Ks in 44 innings. For his MLB career, Bustos had 50 saves, 66 shutdowns, 215.2 innings, 167 games, a 3.09 ERA, 119 ERA+, and 5.5 WAR. Coming up on age 38, Bustos decided to try again in South America. Quito gave him a shot on a two-year, $7,440,000 deal.

In May 2020, Bustos became the 8^th in BSA history with 400 career saves, putting up nice results for the Thunderbolts with a 1.69 ERA and 24 saves in 37.1 innings. Despite being healthy in 2021, Bustos surprisingly wasn’t used all year despite remaining under contract in Quito. For 2022, he signed with Trujillo with 50.1 innings and a 3.04 ERA in long relief.

Bustos’ last time as a closer was 2023 with Salta, posting 24 saves and a 3.38 ERA over 74.2 innings with 73 strikeouts. The Silver Hawks had signed him for two-years and $11,400,000, but traded Bustos in the offseason to Belo Horizonte. He had a 2.38 ERA over 56.2 innings for the Hogs. Bustos finished with Manaus in 2025, which also used him some as a starting pitcher with a 3.44 ERA over 99.1 innings. Bustos even posted a five-hit shutout in July facing Buenos Aires. He retired that winter at age 43.

In BSA, Bustos finished with 439 saves and 510 shutdowns, a 97-97 record, 948 games, 5 starts, 1202.2 innings, 1625 strikeouts, 273 walks, 157 ERA+, 61 FIP-, and 42.7 WAR. As of 2037, Bustos ranks 5^th in saves and 60^th in ERA among pitchers with 1000+ career innings. He also ranks 14^th in K/9 (12.16), 78^th in H/9 (7.00), and 69^th in opponent’s OPS (.593).

Combined with his MLB numbers, Bustos had a 114-113 record, 489 saves, 576 shutdowns, 2.50 ERA, 1115 games, 1418.1 innings, 1849 strikeouts, 149 ERA+, and 48.3 WAR. On the world leaderboards as of 2037, Bustos ranks 9^th in games pitched, 18^th in saves and 14^th in shutdowns. Among relievers, he also is 49^th in WAR and 31^st in strikeouts.

Bustos won’t factor into BSA GOAT reliever conversations especially thanks to guys like Chano Angel and Jonathan Iglesias. Even though he only won the top award once, Bustos was clearly an elite closer in his prime and showed remarkable tenure for a relief pitcher. His role in Asuncion’s 2006 title run also can’t be overlooked as a clincher for induction. At 94.4%, Bustos headlined Beisbol Sudamerica’s 2031 Hall of Fame class.



Bobby Santos – Closer – Maturin Makos – 66.3% Second Ballot

Bobby Santos was a 6’0’’, 190 pound left-handed relief pitcher from Lages, Brazil; a city of about 165,000 people in the South region. Santos was known for impressive stuff in his prime along with good movement and average control. He had a 96-98 mph fastball and a curveball as a dangerous one-two punch. Santos also had a rarely used changeup for a third pitch, but his ability to change speeds with the curveball was usually sufficient.

Santos had very good stamina and most of his career showed solid durability. He graded highly in terms of holding runners and defense. Santos was also considered one of the more cerebral pitchers in the game, often times fooling opposing hitters with his mind more so than his arm.

Although he had the rarely used third pitch, most scouts projected Santos as a reliever ahead of the 2007 BSA Draft. He entered as a high school prospect with limited fanfare, but still went early in the third round to Brasilia with the 65^th overall pick. Santos never took to the mound for the Bearcats, as he was part of a five-player and $10,070,000 trade in July 2009 with Maturin. 2009 was the debut season for the Makos, who entered the Bolivar League as part of a six-team BSA expansion.

Santos debuted in 2010 at age 21 for Maturin and saw mixed use in his first two seasons. With mostly promising results, he took over the closer role in 2012 and held it for nine years. Santos was second in Reliever of the Year voting in 2012, third in 2013, and second again in 2014. In 2015, he won the top honor with a 1.41 ERA over 94 innings, 29 saves, 129 strikeouts, and 3.7 WAR. Big save totals were hard to come by as the Makos mostly struggled in their initial seasons.

Certainly Santos held up his end, taking third again in Reliever of the Year voting for 2017 and second in 2018. 2018 would be his lone season leading in saves (38), and games (74), both career highs along with his 105.1 innings and 142 strikeouts. That year saw Maturin earn their first-ever playoff berth as an 87-75 wild card. The Makos shocked the field though with an improbable run to the Bolivar League title, defeating 102-win Caracas for the pennant.

Maturin couldn’t claim Copa Sudamerica, falling to Concepcion. In 15.2 playoff innings and 12 appearances, Santos had a 3-2 record, 5 saves, 2.87 ERA, and 27 strikeouts. He had a solid showing in the Baseball Grand Championship with a 1.72 ERA over 15.2 innings, 31 strikeouts, and four saves. Maturin finished 8-11 for the event. Prior to that, Santos had held his own for his native Brazil in the World Baseball Championship.

Brazil mixed his WBC use from 2013-22 between starting and relief, including a one-hit, 19 strikeout shutout in 2013 against Afghanistan. He tossed 120.2 innings with a 9-4 record, 2.24 ERA, 199 strikeouts, 40 walks, and 5.9 WAR. In 2021, Santos made his mark in national lore by helping Brazil defeat Pakistan 4-2 to claim the world title. Santos earned Best Pitcher honors in the 2021 run, allowing one run over 33 innings with nine saves over 14 appearances, 9 walks, 54 strikeouts, and 1.8 WAR. He also helped Brazil to a third place finish in 2016.

2019 was his finest pro season, winning his second Reliever of the Year with career bests in ERA (0.89), and WAR (4.8). Maturin again was a wild card, but this time went one-and-done. Santos had one more year with the Makos, finishing with 310 saves and 352 shutdowns, 671 games, 878 innings, 84-67 record, 2.16 ERA, 1217 strikeouts, 189 ERA+, and 35.6 WAR. His #15 uniform would be the first retired by the franchise.

Santos became a free agent for the first time at age 32 and had worldwide offers, eventually signing for two years and $16,100,000 with Major League Baseball’s Phoenix Firebirds. Especially coming off the 2021 WBC performance, hopes were high. However, Santos struggled in spring training and had trouble acclimating to the United States. He had one appearance with the Firebirds, allowing one runs over 4.2 innings. Phoenix cut him on March 31, abruptly ending his MLB experience.

By mid-April, Santos was back in his home country Brazil on a two-year, $14,600,000 deal with Sao Paulo. The closer role was filled, but Santos was stellar with only one run allowed over 38 innings in mid relief. He was less dominant but still good in 2022 with a 2.47 ERA over 47.1 innings. Santos tossed 5.2 scoreless innings in the playoffs for the Padres, although they were ousted in the divisional series.

Next was a two-year, $11,800,000 deal with Guayaquil. Santos’ 2023 went poorly with a 4.87 ERA over 57.1 innings, as well as a torn meniscus in August. The Golds traded him in the offseason to Medellin, where he tossed only 15 innings with a 6.00 ERA in 2024. Santos’ greatness had abruptly run out, retiring that winter at age 35.

In BSA, Santos finished with 314 saves over 783 games with 386 shutdowns, a 97-77 record, 2.31 ERA, 1035.2 innings, 1430 strikeouts, 278 walks, 177 ERA+, and 39.0 WAR. As of 2037, Santos ranks 33^rd in saves and 43^rd in ERA among pitchers with 1000+ innings. Santos also is 12^th in K/9 (12.43). But his accumulations are a bit borderline when compared to the many great relievers that had come before him in BSA, including his Hall of Fame classmate Luis Bustos.

Supporters pointed to his two ROTY wins and regular top three finishes with Maturin. He helped an expansion team to its first pennant and had proven himself a big-game pitcher between the Makos Cup run and his World Baseball Championship outings with Brazil. Detractors though felt he was just short on save tallies, even though he tossed more innings than you’d expect from a 14-year reliever. Supporters also countered that his save tally was only lower due to being on an expansion team during their early years for his prime.

Debuting on the 2030 ballot, Santos missed the 66% requirement with a respectable 58.6% showing. Apart from Bustos, 2031’s Hall of Fame ballot lacked no-doubters. Some noticed that Santos compared better than you’d expect over the short-term, although certainly Bustos had him on longevity. Santos only won over a few new voters, but that got him just across the line at 66.3%. With that, Santos earned the second ballot induction to cap off the all-closer class in 2031 for Beisbol Sudamerica.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The 2031 Hall of Fame class for the European Baseball Federation was a massive five player group, which had only been done previously in 2012 and 2000. The 2031 crew was arguably the best of them all with five on the first ballot and four above 90%. EBF hits king Jiri Lebr led the way at 99.1% with SP A.J. Magee just behind at 98.2%. SP Forest Campbell got 94.0% and 3B/1B Johan Almgren had 90.4%. SP Horst Jahne was the weakest of the five, but his 77.8% was still well across the 66% requirement line.

1B Sisto Contreras also had a nice debut, but fell short at 58.4% against the loaded field. The best returner was LF Emilson Patino with 53.6% on his fifth ballot. Closer Stefan Sedlak on his tenth and final opportunity had 50.3%. No one else was above 50%, although multiple guys ended up cut after ten failed attempts.



For Sedlak, he was a two-time Reliever of the Year winner over a 14-year career with five teams. Sedlak had 345 saves and 413 shutdowns, a 86-79 record, 2.88 ERA, 985.2 innings, 964 strikeouts, 161 walks, 129 ERA+, and 14.6 WAR. Many of his counting stats weren’t far off previous inducted Hall of Fame closers, but his strikeout and WAR tallies were well below what was usually desired. Still, Sedlak came close with a peak of 56.6% in 2029 after debuting at only 34.9%.

SP Massimo Beduschi also lasted ten ballots, peaking at 44.9% in 2027 and ending with 35.6%. He had a 16-year career with three teams with his longest run with Malta, posting a 194-153 record, 3.62 ERA, 3152 innings, 3176 strikeouts, 888 walks, 106 ERA+, 81 FIP-, and 69.3 WAR. Beduschi might have gotten more attention if he was on better teams, especially when you compare his ERA+ to his FIP-. His totals weren’t big enough to overcome that, getting banished to the Hall of Pretty Good.

Another SP, Beat Gisler, made it ten ballots with a peak at 29.9% in 2023 and finish at 5.4% in 2031. He was plagued by multiple UCL tears, but did help Paris win a European Championship in 2014. Gisler had his prime years with Yerevan and finished overall with a 146-97 record, 2.99 ERA, 2320 innings, 2378 strikeouts, 410 walks, 128 ERA+, and 75 FIP-, and 60.2 WAR. The pace was comparable to some other HOFers, but he unfortunately didn’t get enough innings for the pre-requisite accumulations.



Jiri Lebr – First Base – Budapest Bombers – 99.1% First Ballot

Jiri Lebr was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Senica, Slovakia; a town of around 19,000 people. Lebr was renowned as one of the greatest ironmen in all of baseball history, essentially never missing time to injury. From 2003-25, he played 133+ games each season and only twice played fewer than 153 games. Lebr is also one of the only guys to be a full-time starter at age 44, showing remarkably longevity and consistency.

Lebr was an excellent contact hitter, batting above .300 in 20 consecutive seasons. He had an impressive 8.4% strikeout rate and regularly put the ball in play, although he was subpar at drawing walks. Lebr was also generally equally effective facing righties or lefties. He didn’t have prolific power, but he was far from a singles slap hitter. Lebr’s 162 game average got you 29 doubles, 4 triples, and 28 home runs.

You couldn’t expect Lebr to leg out many extra bases, as he had lousy baserunning skills and speed. Despite that, he graded as a reliably good defensive first baseman, where he made all but one of his career starts. Lebr became a popular figure for his longevity, but his outspoken nature made him controversial at times. He was always willing to tell you how he felt about any topic, despite often lacking the intelligence needed to grasp more nuanced topics. Still, Lebr became the third Slovak inductee into EBF’s Hall of Fame and is often viewed as the country’s most notable baseball star.

Lebr would spend the vast majority of his career and attain most of his notoriety playing in Hungary. After a fine amateur tenure, Lebr was picked 37^th in the 2001 EBF Draft by Budapest. The Bombers had only just joined EBF in 2000 along with the other eastern European teams that left Eurasian Professional Baseball in the great exodus. Prior to the 21^st Century, players from the former Czechoslovakia had generally competed in the EPB ranks.

After spending essentially all of 2002 in developmental (apart from one at-bat, a strikeout), Lebr debuted in 2003 with 133 games and 130 starts. For the following 16 years, Lebr was starting 147+ games consistently for the Bombers. In his rookie year, he hit for his only cycle against Tbilisi. Budapest had been generally a weak team in EPB, but they hit the ground running in EBF with playoff berths from 2001-03. Each year ended with a first round exit, including in 2003 despite a franchise record 107-55 mark.

One mark against Lebr was unremarkable playoff tallies in his limited chances with Budapest, playing 18 games with a .288/.307/.356 slash, 83 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR. He did fare better for Slovakia in the World Baseball Championship, as the country became a regular qualifier from 2010 onward. Lebr played from 2010-25 in the WBC with 124 games, 128 hits, 51 runs, 23 doubles, 20 home runs, 66 RBI, 35 walks, .303/.356/.499 slash, 141 wRC+, and 4.0 WAR.

Budapest was middle-tier for the rest of the 2000s with only one playoff berth in 2008 and a second round exit. Lebr started to look elite though, winning a Silver Slugger in 2006 with career and conference bests in hits (246), batting average (.387), OBP (.421), and WAR (9.0). Lebr was second in MVP voting, the closest he ever got to the top award. His 246 hits were the third-most in an EBF single season and his lone batting title ranks as the 11^th-best qualifying season as of 2037.

After the 2007 season, Budapest gave Lebr a five-year, $36,960,000 extension. He led the Southern Conference again in hits in 2007, 2010, and 2011 and was consistently around 5-6 WAR per season. Lebr wasn’t in the awards conversations though, especially with the many big sluggers at first base. The consistency was appreciated though and Lebr earned a four-year, $50,400,000 extension with the Bombers in May 2012.

Budapest was rarely outright bad in the 2010s, averaging 83.3 wins over the decade. They were usually aggressively mid, peaking with a second round playoff exit in 2012 and first round exit in 2014. Lebr kept chugging along, although some thought he was on the downslope after posting .804 OPS and 3.9 WAR in 2015, his weakest tallies since his rookie campaign.

However, Lebr had a resurgence in 2016 at age 35, leading the conference in hits for the fifth time at 215 and earning the WARlord title at 8.6. He also had his career bests in home runs (40), slugging (.620), OPS (1.011), and wRC+ (186), earning his second Silver Slugger. Lebr also finished third in MVP voting and won the lone Gold Glove of his career. This big performance in a contract year secured him another three year and $45 million extension from Budapest.

Lebr had three more fine seasons with Budapest and started to climb up the all-time leaderboards. In 2017, he became the tenth EBF player with 3000 career hits. In 2019, Lebr became only the fourth to earn 3500 hits and the 17^th to score 1500 runs. He finished 2019 at 3603 hits, passing the one-time record holder Jacob Ronnberg’s 3520 hits. Lebr was behind only contemporaries Francisco Cruz, who retired in 2019 with 3720 hits; and Carsten Dal, who finished up in 2015 at 3633 hits. He had passed Dal’s 2540 singles to hold that top mark for EBF.

Considering his impressive longevity and continued high production in his late 30s, many observers expected Lebr to become the hit king and make a run at other records. No records were to be broken in Budapest though, as his 17-year run ended with the 2019 campaign. Fans were hopeful to see records fall with the Bombers, but Lebr and the organization couldn’t come to terms on a new deal, sending him to free agency for the first time at age 39.

With Budapest, Lebr finished with 2669 games, 3603 hits, 1500 runs, 518 doubles, 62 triples, 456 home runs, 1879 RBI, 459 walks, 915 strikeouts, .344/.371/.535 slash, 152 wRC+, and 99.9 WAR. His #9 uniform would be retired at the end of his career, only the second number to be retired by the Bombers. Lebr remained very popular with Budapest fans despite the team never achieving any major successes during his tenure.

Lebr signed a two-year, $24,800,000 deal with Warsaw and maintained the same reliable production in both seasons with the Wildcats. He finished the first year with 3791 hits, becoming EBF’s new all-time hits leader. In 2021, he became the eighth player to earn 2000 career RBI with Ronnberg’s top mark of 2184 looking achievable.

The Wildcats had been the Northern Conference runner-up in 2019 and hoped Lebr could get them over the top. They earned wild cards in both of his seasons, but couldn’t get beyond the first round. Lebr’s playoff numbers were good in the small sample size, going 9-23 with a 1.069 OPS. In total in Poland, Lebr played 311 games with 371 hits, 174 runs, 43 doubles, 75 home runs, 227 RBI, .327/.356/.576 slash, 159 wRC+, and 11.6 WAR.

Lebr was now 41-years old and a free agent again, seemingly showing no signs of decline. He joined Manchester on a one-year, $11,100,000 deal and again had the same reliable production, playing 157 games with a .362/.396/.556 slash, 6.4 WAR, and 213 hits. Lebr became only the fourth player in all of professional baseball history to that point with 4000 career hits. At 4187, he moved into second in all of world history behind only the legendary Prometheo Garcia, who racked up an absurd 4917 this from 1943-68 between CABA and MLB. In 2022, Lebr also passed Ronnberg for the most RBI in EBF with 2210.

For 2023, the now 42-year old Lebr became likely the oldest-ever player to debut for a Major League Baseball team, signing a one-year, $16,400,000 deal with Washington. His numbers were down, but much of that can be attributed to the higher talent of MLB. Lebr was still a solid starter over 153 games with 3.0 WAR and .741 OPS. The Admirals had a first round playoff exit with Lebr struggling to 1-17 in the series.

Lebr returned to Europe for 2024 on a one-year, $9 million deal with Rotterdam. He wasn’t used as a full-time starter, but still played at a high level with 4.6 WAR and .894 OPS over 133 games and 105 starts. The Ravens went 101-61, falling in the Northern Conference Championship to Dublin’s dynasty. Lebr went 0-5 as a pinch hitter in the playoffs, finishing his EBF playoff career with an unremarkable .730 OPS, 0.5 WAR, and 102 wRC+ over 31 games.

In 2025, Lebr joined Thessaloniki and was back to a full-time starting role. However, he finally had regressed notably, posting career worsts in OPS (.677), wRC+ (94), and WAR (0.6) over 156 games. Still, simply starting a full season at age 44 was an incredibly rare feat for any player. Adding his MLB season, Lebr also became only the seventh in baseball history with 3500+ games played. Shortly after his 45^th birthday, Lebr officially retired from the game.

In EBF, Lebr finished with 3426 games, 4494 hits, 1899 runs, 625 doubles, 78 triples, 593 home runs, 2346 RBI, 580 walks, 1186 strikeouts, .339/.367/.533 slash, 150 wRC+, and 123.2 WAR. As of 2037, Lebr is the EBF career leader in games, at-bats (13,238), hits, singles (3198), and RBI. He also ranks 7^th in runs, 2^nd in total bases (7054), 2^nd in doubles, 26^th in home runs, and 15^th in WAR among position players. Lebr also is 28^th in batting average among all EBF hitters with 3000+ plate appearances

Adding his one season in Washington, Lebr had 3579 games, 4651 hits, 1980 runs, 3309 singles, 644 doubles, 81 triples, 617 home runs, 2419 RBI, 621 walks, 1241 strikeouts, .336/.365/.528, 149 wRC+, and 126.2 WAR. Lebr was the second-ever to reach 3000 career singles and passed Prometheo Garcia’s 3247 to become the all-time world leader. Lebr remains the world leader, although eventual world hit king Fares Belaid came close with 3266.

As of 2037, Lebr also on the world leaderboards is 6^th in games played, 3^rd in at-bats (13,833), 3^rd in hits, 39^th in runs, and 9^th in RBI. He’s also one of 43 world Hall of Famers with a career batting average at or above .336. Lebr managed to make his mark on the world rankings as a function of incredible durability and consistency. Despite those numbers, Lebr was very rarely considered a top five or sometimes even top ten player in the league during his career.

The weak playoff stats and lack of raw dominance keeps him lower than you’d expect on many all-time lists than having 4651 pro hits would suggest. For many scholars, Lebr misses the top ten when discussing the European Baseball Federation’s best-ever position players. Those who greatly value explosive peaks and lots of hardware could find themselves underwhelmed by Lebr’s resume.

If longevity and consistency are important to you, very few players ever in baseball history match up to Jiri Lebr. Regardless of where he falls in one’s rankings, no one sane argued against him being an inner-circle Hall of Famer. At a near unanimous 99.1%, Lebr had the top billing for an absolutely loaded five-player 2031 class for the EBF.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

A.J. Magee – Starting Pitcher - Zagreb Gulls – 98.2% First Ballot

A.J. Magee was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Maghera, Northern Ireland; a small town with about 4,000 people. Magee was the first Northern Irish Hall of Famer and is generally considered the top baseball player to ever come from the area. He was best known for having remarkable movement on his pitches, although his stuff and control were both solid as well.

Magee’s fastball peaked in the 96-98 mph and was part of a three-pitch arsenal along with a slider and changeup. All three were potent, but his changeup especially frustrated foes. Magee’s stamina was excellent, leading the Southern Conference twice in innings pitched and thrice in complete games. He also had strong durability and avoided the major injuries that often ruin pitchers.

On top of that, Magee was viewed as one of the great defensive pitchers with a strong pickoff move. He won Gold Gloves from 2022-24 with his glove work. The main downside is that Magee wasn’t going to take a leadership role and he wasn’t the brightest guy. He certainly wasn’t a trouble maker though and became a very popular figure with fans in Zagreb, where he spent his entire 14-year pro career.

Magee wasn’t a highly touted prospect though with Northern Ireland often getting ignored by scouts. He also entered the 2009 EBF Draft out of high school, which lowered his potential stock versus the many great collegiate prospects. Zagreb took a flier on him in the middle of the fourth round. Magee was the 21^st pick of the round and the 275^th overall. He’d be by far the latest-ever pick to make EBF’s Hall of Fame, with the mark previously held by Class of 2004 2B Rodrigo Badillo at 158^th overall.

After two years in Croatia in the academy, Magee greatly passed expectations held both by Zagreb and by scouts generally. He debuted in 2012 at age 22 with passable results for a rookie. Magee had a good sophomore campaign, then emerged as a no-doubt ace by winning 2014 Pitcher of the Year. He led in wins at 20-9, posting his first of six seasons leading in wins and his first of seven with 20+. It was also Magee’s first of five seasons with an ERA below 2.50 and first of five seasons above 7+.

Magee regressed in 2015, but mostly corrected his issues for 2016. That winter, the Gulls inked him to a five-year, $49,900,000 extension. Magee won his second Pitcher of the Year in 2017 with arguably his best effort, earning his lone ERA title at 1.70. This ranks as the 33^rd-best qualifying season as of 2037, but is one of only four seasons at 1.70 or better in the 21^st Century. It would also be Magee’s career bests for strikeouts (277) and WAR (8.4). 2017 also saw his first no-hitter with 11 strikeouts and two walks on July 6 facing Barcelona.

He repeated as Pitcher of the Year in 2018 with a 1.94 ERA and career best 16 complete games. Magee surprisingly fell to a 3.41 ERA in 2019, although advanced stats suggested some bad luck since he still had 6.5 WAR and 75 FIP-. Zagreb hadn’t earned a playoff berth since 1997, but they started to show some life with winning seasons in 2018 and 2019. The Gulls finally became a contender in 2020, beginning an eight-year playoff streak.

Magee returned to ace status to begin this run, winning Pitcher of the Year again in 2020, 2021, and 2023 with a third place finish in 2022. He became the third in EBF history to win the award six times along with pitching WAR leader Jean-Luc Roch and strikeouts leader Lindsey Brampton. Magee led in wins thrice with a career-best 25-5 mark in 2020. He also led in WAR for the only time in 2023 at 7.5, although he had four other seasons with a higher tally. Magee committed in March 2021 at age 31 to a hefty six-year, $106,800,000 extension with the Gulls.

Despite their streak, Zagreb couldn’t seem to get over the hump early in the decade. They had the top seed in 2021 at 108-54, but fell in the conference finals to Munich. After a wild card and second round exit in 2022, the Gulls again had the top seed in 2023 at 113-49. Again, they couldn’t get any further because of the Mavericks. Zagreb had another conference finals loss in 2024, this time to Chisinau. 2025 had another top seed at 108-54, but Zurich upset them in round two.

Magee’s playoff stats were a mixed bag. He was excellent in both 2021 and 2024, but was lackluster in his 2022 and 2023 outings. In total, Magee had a 3.11 ERA over 84 playoff innings with a 4-3 record, 68 strikeouts, 19 walks, 124 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR. Still, he was a huge reason the Gulls were now regularly in the playoff conversation.

Perhaps the finest day of Magee’s career was May 16, 2024. Facing Madrid, he tossed EBF’s 39^th perfect game with 10 strikeouts. In 2025, Magee saw a notable regression and saw fewer outings with career worsts for innings (175.1), ERA (3.59), and strikeouts (155). Magee had never been overpowering, but his velocity had dipped slightly and his movement had flattened somewhat. Instead of hanging around and possibly overstaying his welcome, Magee retired that winter at age 36. Zagreb immediately retired his #13 uniform for his 14 years of steady service.

Magee finished with a 249-117 record, 2.68 ERA, 3403 innings, 3155 strikeouts, 716 walks, 294/406 quality starts, 128 complete games, 35 shutouts, 142 ERA+, 76 FIP-, and 86.1 WAR. As of 2037, Magee ranks 10^th in wins, 34^th in innings, 53^rd in strikeouts, 32^nd in complete games, 18^th in shutouts, and 21^st in pitching WAR. Among all EBF pitchers with 1000+ innings, Magee is 58^th in ERA and his opponent’s OPS of .623 ranks 89^th.

Despite his six Pitcher of the Year wins, Magee was far less overpowering and dominant than many of the European Baseball Federation’s all-time aces. Traditionalists value his wins and .680 winning percentage (ranked 20^th) more in their analysis. Magee rarely made big mistakes and often could pitch out of jams. The record is especially impressive considering Zagreb lost more often than they won in his early years.

Stats like ERA+ and FIP- definitely show Magee was excellent, although the lack of big strikeout tallies keep him outside the top 20 for WAR. Still, most place Magee in the top 20 pitcher lists and some vault him into the top 10. His Hall of Fame status wasn’t in doubt, even with the loaded 2031 class that produced five inductees. At 98.2%, Magee made his mark as the first-ever inductee from Northern Ireland.



Forest Campbell – Starting Pitcher – Hamburg Hammers – 94.0% First Ballot

Forest Campbell was a 6’2’’ 190 pound right-handed pitcher from Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. He was the fifth Scot to earn induction. Campbell was often known as being “effectively wild” and he certainly wasn’t boring to watch. At his peak, Campbell’s stuff was rated by many scouts as a 10/10, a rarity for a starting pitcher. Unfortunately, his movement and control were both below average, leading to inconsistent results.

Campbell had a six-pitch arsenal with 99-101 mph max velocity, tossing a cutter, forkball, splitter, slider, changeup, and circle change. His stamina was good and durability was outstanding, although the control issues kept him from going the distance more often. Campbell had an excellent pickoff move, but was considered otherwise poor with his glove. He wasn’t a leader, but he was a perfectly fine teammate to have.

In March 2007, a teenaged Campbell moved from Scotland to Germany on a developmental deal with Hamburg. His entire European career came with the Hammers, debuting in 2012 at age 22 after five years in their academy. Campbell was a full-timer right away and tossed 200+ innings in each of his first 11 seasons. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, drawing attention right away. From 2014-21, he’d be good for 270+ strikeouts each year.

In 2014, Campbell led the Northern Conference for the first time in strikeouts with 296. Unfortunately, he also allowed the most home runs (38) and only had 3.0 WAR, proving frustrating for management. After starting the decade as a losing team, Hamburg took the top seed in 2015 at 109-53. Campbell led the conference with 19 wins, but was iffy in three playoff starts with a 4.41 ERA over 16.1 innings. The Hammers suffered an upset conference finals loss to Antwerp.

Hamburg just missed the playoffs in 2016, but then started a seven-year streak in 2017. The year saw Campbell’s lone Pitcher of the Year win and career bests in ERA (2.66), strikeouts (327), and WAR (7.3); missing the Triple Crown by only 0.25. The Hammers repeated as division champs in 2017-18, but fell both years in the first round of the playoffs. Campbell struggled in 2018 to a 4.32 ERA, the worst of his career to that point.

Campbell bounced back nicely in 2019 and Hamburg gave him a six-year, $75,600,000 extension in the summer. 99-63 earned the Hammers the top seed in a competitive field and they ultimately won it all, defeating Zurich for their first European Championship. In the playoffs, Campbell went 2-1 in five starts with a 3.82 ERA over 30.2 innings, 40 strikeouts, and 0.9 WAR. However, he fared horribly in the Baseball Grand Championship with an 8.84 ERA over 18.1 innings. Hamburg finished 9-10 for the event. From 2014-27, Campbell also pitched on the World Baseball Championship stage for his native Scotland. He had a 4.22 ERA and 5-10 record over 132.1 innings with 198 strikeouts, 62 walks, and 0.3 WAR.

In 2020, Campbell was second in Pitcher of the Year voting with a conference-best 22-3 record along with a 2.69 ERA and 299 strikeouts. Hamburg had dynasty dreams with a franchise-best 115-47 season, but they suffered a second round upset to Amsterdam. The Hammers again were the top seed in 2021 at 108-54 and this time knocked off Dublin to win their second pennant. A second EBF title was ultimately denied by Munich in an all-German final.

2021 was Campbell’s finest postseason performance, going 4-1 over 38 innings with a 2.84 ERA and 47 strikeouts. He carried that into the Baseball Grand Championship as Hamburg finished 11-8, part of a five-way tie for fourth. In four starts, Campbell had a 3-0 record, 1.95 ERA, 32.1 innings, and 35 strikeouts.

Campbell’s overall numbers weakened in the next three seasons. Hamburg had a conference finals loss in 2022 to 116-wn Dublin, then lost in the second round in 2023. The playoff streak snapped in 2024, although they stayed above .500 for the rest of Campbell’s time. His career postseason stats were a mixed bag with a 4.06 ERA in 137.1 innings, 8-7 record, 176 strikeouts, 39 walks, 95 ERA+, 91 FIP-, and 2.5 WAR.

In 2025, Campbell had one last gasp as a top pitcher, leading in strikeouts for the third time with 303. It was his fourth 300+ K season and his fourth year below a 3.00 ERA. It was also his last year with Hamburg, who opted to let the 35-year old Campbell leave for free agency. The Hammers would eventually retire his #25 uniform for his 14-year run with the squad.

Campbell was surprised to find limited interest from European clubs and ultimately took his talents to the African Association of Baseball on a three-year, $32,100,000 deal with Harare. It was a rough two years in Zimbabwe though for Campbell, who struggled to a 5.34 ERA over 390.2 innings, 16-20 record, 344 strikeouts, 131 walks, 89 ERA+, 112 FIP-, and 2.1 WAR. He was a free agent for all of 2028, eventually retiring that winter at age 38.

In EBF with Hamburg, Campbell finished with a 205-118 record, 3.39 ERA, 3142.2 innings, 3839 strikeouts, 785 walks, 243/393 quality starts, 59 complete games, 21 shutouts, 113 ERA+, 88 FIP-, and 56.6 WAR. As of 2037, Campbell ranks 40^th in wins, 19^th in strikeouts, and 64^th in innings. Among all pitchers with 1000+ innings, his 10.99 K/9 ranks 23^rd.

On the bad side, Campbell misses the top 100 for pitching WAR while ranking 8^th in home runs allowed (421) and 27^th in walks. Those who favor Sabermetrics would argue he misses the cut or is borderline. Campbell’s WAR is definitely among the lowest for a starting pitcher in the European Baseball Federation Hall of Fame. Most of the other guys who got in with similar tallies had the benefit of getting there in far fewer innings.

However, retiring as a top 20 pitcher in strikeouts and having 200+ wins checks the boxes for most voters. Adding his two AAB years, Campbell had 4183 career Ks, an impressive tally in any context. He was also an important player in a run of success for Hamburg that saw two pennants and their first EBF title. Even for the biggest skeptic, those facts outweighed the negatives. Plus, the guy was just fun to watch when he was on and a compelling spectacle when struggling. Campbell received 94.0% for the first ballot induction as part of the loaded five-player 2031 class.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Johan Almgren – Third/First Base – Birmingham Bees – 90.4% First Ballot

Johan Almgren was a 6’0’’, 205 pound right-handed corner infielder from Tibro, Sweden; a town of 8,000 people. Almgren was a rock solid contact hitter with reliable home run power against both sides. He was better than most at avoiding strikeouts, but weaker than you’d expect at drawing walks. Almgren’s power was mostly focused on home runs with a 162 game average of 37 dingers, 23 doubles, and 4 triples.

Almgren was a highly skilled baserunner and a deceptive thief despite having subpar speed. He made about 2/3 of his career starts at third base, primarily early in his career. Most of the remaining starts came at first base, especially later in his career. Almgren graded as a lousy defender at third, while merely being below average at first.

Coaches were willing to sacrifice defense though for Almgren’s reliably strong bat. Part of his issue was coasting on his natural batting talent, while not caring enough to work on his glove. Almgren was criticized by coaches for a poor work ethic, weak adaptability, and lacking intelligence. His bat couldn’t be denied though and his durability was good enough to push Almgren to a 22-year career.

In February 2000, a teenaged Almgren left Sweden for England on a developmental deal with Birmingham. He spent four full years in their academy before debuting in 2004 at age 20. Almgren saw use primarily as a pinch hitter in his first five seasons though with 450 games and only 80 starts. His 42 home runs and 5.5 WAR over that small sample size though made the Bees want to find a spot for Almgren somewhere in the lineup full-time. The coaches lamented EBF’s lack of a designated hitter.

Almgren still earned a starting gig in 2009 and held it largely uninterrupted through 2018. 2009 was his first of seven seasons with 40+ home runs and his first of ten with 100+ RBI. Almgren won his first Silver Slugger in 2010, helping Birmingham end a 12-year playoff drought and start a four-year streak, although they fell in the second round as a wild card.

In 2011, Almgren won his second Slugger and was second in MVP voting, leading the Northern Conference with 134 runs. He also had career highs in hits (207), home runs (58), RBI (141), wRC+ (202), and WAR (9.9). Birmingham finished 102-60 and beat Dublin for the division title, although the Dinos got their revenge in the Northern Conference Championship. Although defeated, Almgren was a beast in the playoff run with a 1.253 OPS and 1.1 WAR over 11 starts. With that, the Bees inked him to an eight-year, $92,800,000 extension the following March.

Almgren was merely good in 2012 with closer to his 2010 production. In 2013, he was again second in MVP voting and won a Slugger thanks to a 48 home run, 9.8 WAR, 1.052 campaign. Birmingham had a first round exit in 2012 and second round defeat in 2013, both as wild cards thanks to Dublin’s continued dominance. Almgren was out of the awards conversations although still solid the next few years. The Bees were stuck in the mid-tier from 2014-17 with only a first round playoff exit in 2016.

In 2018, Birmingham finished 91-71 and beat out Dublin by one game for the division title. The Bees went on a surprise run, ousting Frankfurt for the Northern Conference crown and upsetting Munich for the European Championship. It was the third title for Birmingham, who also did it in 1991 and 1994. Almgren’s playoff numbers were merely decent with a .785 OPS and 0.4 WAR over 17 starts. On the whole, he was a great playoff performer for the Bees over 45 starts with a .346/.360/.637 slash, 188 wRC+, 2.7 WAR, 14 home runs, 39 RBI, 63 hits, and 29 runs.

Fans remember Almgren’s tear in the 2018 Baseball Grand Championship though, taking third in Tournament MVP voting with a .306/.354/.639 slash, 182 wRC+, 1.2 WAR, 22 hits, 17 runs, 7 home runs, and 11 RBI. Despite that, Birmingham finished in the middle at 9-10. Almgren had been established though as a solid hitter on the world state, having been a regular for his native Sweden in the World Baseball Championship.

From 2007-23, Almgren played 161 games for the Swedish team with 162 hits, 83 runs, 35 doubles, 36 home runs, 86 RBI, .276/.330/.527 slash, and 6.3 WAR. He was especially potent in 2021, taking third in Tournament MVP voting as the Swedes finished fourth; their best effort since 1961. Almgren also helped Sweden earn division titles in both 2009 and 2018.

Birmingham’s 2018 title was a one-and-done, as the Bees began a decade-plus playoff drought after that. In 2019, Almgren missed almost the entire second half to knee sprains. He was now in his mid 30s with one year left on his deal and a likely rebuild imminent. In the offseason, Birmingham traded Almgren surprisingly to their fierce rival Dublin for two prospects.

In total with the Bees, Almgren played 2078 games with 2171 hits, 1125 runs, 282 doubles, 469 home runs, 1343 RBI, 363 walks, 947 strikeouts, 114 stolen bases, .321/.356/.587 slash, 165 wRC+, and 79.0 WAR. For his efforts and role in a championship, Almgren’s #3 uniform would later get retired. He would go onto consider Birmingham and England his second home, spending his retirement days alternating between there and his native Sweden.

Almgren was healthy in 2020 and had an impressive debut for the Dinos with a 1.013 OPS and 6.9 WAR. Dublin had been the dynasty of the early 2010s, but had fallen into the middle tier to end the decade. The Irish capital started a new dynasty run with the 2020s, taking the Northern Conference pennant in 2022 at 109-53. They’d be denied the European Championship by Zurich with Almgren faring surprisingly poorly in the playoffs with a .485 OPS and -0.3 WAR in 15 starts.

He didn’t fare much better in the Baseball Grand Championship with a .595 OPS, 85 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR as Dublin finished 8-11. Almgren’s regular season though had been impressive enough for the 37-year old to secure a two-year, $28,400,000 extension in the offseason. Almgren won his fourth Silver Slugger (and lone at first base) in 2021, leading the conference for the first time with 133 RBI. He also had his second 50+ dinger season, smacking 52.

The Dinos barely made the playoffs at 87-75, but still got to the conference final where they fell to 108-win Hamburg. In 2022, Dublin set a new franchise record at 116-46, avenging their conference finals loss in a rematch with the Hammers. The Dinos defeated Naples for an EBF record sixth European Championship ring. Almgren was mostly good in those playoff runs, although he stunk in the 2022 BGC to a .581 OPS. Still, Dublin placed third in the event at 12-7, one win behind both Kampala and Caracas.

In three years for Dublin, Almgren played 454 games with 514 hits, 272 runs, 80 doubles, 130 home runs, 351 RBI, .318/.346/.618 slash, 167 wRC+, and 19.6 WAR. At age 39, Almgren still was a highly touted free agent and signed a three-year, $53,400,000 deal with Manchester. His debut season was fraught with knee troubles though, only playing 83 games.

Almgren was healthy in 2024, but put up unremarkable numbers for the subpar Crushers with a .692 OPS and 0.4 WAR. He was actively bad in 2025 and quickly benched with only 35 games and a putrid -0.9 WAR. Overall for Manchester, Almgren played 268 games with a .267/.300/.411 slash, 94 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. He fell just short of 3000 career hits, but became the 19^th member of the 600 home run club and the 21^st to 1500 runs scored while with the Crushers. Almgren retired after the 2025 season at age 42.

In total, Almgren had 2800 games, 2935 hits, 1508 runs, 391 doubles, 61 triples, 633 home runs, 1830 RBI, 480 walks, 1313 strikeouts, 147 stolen bases, .315/.349/.575 slash, 158 wRC+, and 99.4 WAR. As of 2037, Almgren is 13^th in games played, 19^th in hits, 27^th in runs, 19^th in total bases (5347), 61^st in doubles, 17^th in home runs, 15^th in RBI, and 31^st in WAR among position players.

Almgren was one of the most consistent power bats of his era and depending on your definition probably straddles the borderline of the Hall of Fame’s inner circle. Not many guys have a European Championship ring with two different teams with Almgren playing an important role for both Birmingham and Dublin’s successes. He earned a first ballot nod at 90.4%, the fourth of five in the impressive 2031 class for the European Baseball Federation.



Horst Jahne – Starting Pitcher – Munich Mavericks – 77.8% First Ballot

Horst Jahne was a 6’4’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher Uslar, Germany; a town of around 14,000 in the center of the nation. Jahne had absolutely filthy stuff that some scouts graded as a 10/10 at his peak. He also had outstanding movement on his pitches with above average control. Jahne’s arsenal led to an extreme groundball tendency and a lot of strikeouts.

His fastball peaked in the 98-100 mph range, but Jahne’s most dangerous offerings were a similarly fast sinker and forkball. He also had a curveball and a changeup as options. The incredible effort needed for Jahne’s pitching meant he used up a lot of energy and didn’t go the distance nearly as often as most great aces. Despite that, he generally avoided major injuries despite having a relatively abrupt career. Jahne was also known for an impressive pickoff move and very good defense.

Jahne quickly dominated the amateur ranks in Germany, drawing plenty of attention ahead of the 2012 EBF Draft. He was picked 17^th overall by Munich, who gave him the rare long-term big money right off the bat with a six-year, $37,980,000 contract. Jahne spent all of 2013 in the developmental system, then only saw 44.1 innings in 2014 as he honed his stuff. The Mavericks made him a full-time starter from 2015 onward.

He became an instant success, posting his first of seven consecutive seasons with 250+ strikeouts and 5.5+ WAR. Jahne led the Southern Conference in strikeouts from 2016-18 with 303, 300, and 314. He was also the WARlord in 2017 (8.6) and in 2018 (11.1), taking second in 2018’s Pitcher of the Year voting. 2018 was Jahne’s career bests for WAR, wins (19-5), strikeouts, and FIP- (42).

Munich ended a seven-year playoff drought in 2018, taking the top seed at 104-58. The Mavericks won the pennant, falling in the European Championship to Birmingham. Unfortunately for Jahne, he missed the entire postseason due to rotator cuff inflammation in late September. After four straight years with a sub-three ERA, Jahne was above three in 2019 and 2020, leading some to worry that his 2018 was a one-off.

Jahne earned his Munich lore starting in 2020, helping start off a decade-long dynasty run. After missing the 2019 playoffs, the Mavericks won the pennant in 2020 as a 99-63 wild card. Munich defeated Dublin for their first European Championship since 1988 with Jahne posting a 2.43 ERA, 3-1 record, 37 strikeouts, and 1.7 WAR over 29.2 playoff innings.

In the 2020 Baseball Grand Championship, Jahne had one of the best-ever performances in event history, although he shockingly wasn’t a Best Pitcher finalist. Perhaps he was hurt by Munich finishing 11-8 in a three-way tie for fourth. However, Jahne set the BGC record for WAR at 3.02 and as of 2037 is the only player to reach 3+ WAR. He won his four starts with two runs allowed over 35.1 innings for a 0.51 ERA with 55 strikeouts, nine hits, four walks, and two shutouts. Jahne also holds the BGC record for WHIP (0.37) among anyone with 21+ innings.

That effort earned him a three-year, $40,200,000 extension with Munich. The Mavericks repeated as European Champion with a 101-61 record, defeating Hamburg in the final. In the playoff run, Jahne had a 1.80 ERA and 3-0 record over 30 innings with 43 strikeouts and four walks. That season had his career best ERA at 2.01 and a career and conference best 0.86 WHIP. Jahne was also the WARlord for the third time (9.8), taking second again in Pitcher of the Year voting.

Jahne wasn’t as crazy dominant in the 2021 Baseball Grand Championship, but he was still excellent over 30 innings with a 2.40 ERA, 52 strikeouts, and 1.7 WAR. Munich again finished 11-8, this time part of a five-way tie for fourth. The Mavericks improved their record to 107-55 in 2022, but were upset in the Southern Conference Championship by Naples. Jahne led in strikeouts for the fourth time that year with 295, although his playoff stats were merely solid with a 3.27 ERA and 28 Ks in 22 innings.

Now 31-years old, Jahne inked a six-year, $133,200,000 extension with Munich. Unfortunately, his velocity started to drop significantly even without a big injury. Jahne still had a solid 2023 with a 2.86 ERA, but his strikeouts fell noticeably to a career low 209. Jahne also got rocked in the playoffs, allowing 25 runs (22 earned) with a putrid 9.14 ERA over 21.2 innings. Munich won another conference title regardless, but lost to Dublin’s dynasty in the European Championship.

Jahne did still manage one last solid BGC performance in 2023 with a 2.54 ERA over 28.1 innings, although he only struck out 27 and walked 15. The Mavericks remained consistent, again going 11-8 in a three-way tie for fifth. Jahne’s career BGC stats had a 1.73 ERA and 7-4 record in 13 appearances with 134 strikeouts over 93.2 innings, 224 ERA+, 33 FIP-, and 5.4 WAR. As of 2037, Jahne ranks sixth in WAR among all pitchers in BGC history.

In 2023 though, Jahne had gone from a guy regularly hitting triple-digits to someone peaking in the 95-97 mph range. By 2024, his velocity had plummeted down to a 90-92 mph peak. His movement also fell off significantly, greatly limiting both his strikeouts and ground ball outs. In 2024, Jahne was relegated to a part-time role, struggling to a 4.68 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 134.2 innings.

In one relief appearance in the playoffs, he gave up three runs and got only one out. Munich finished 106-56, but was upset in the second round. That and Jahne’s abysmal 2023 postseason really tanked his career playoff numbers despite his great efforts early on. He finished with a 10-5 record, but a 4.08 ERA over 103.2 innings with 130 strikeouts, 24 walks, 95 ERA+, 65 FIP-, and 3.6 WAR.

Jahne looked no better in 2025 and was unable to reinvent himself at age 33, posting a 5.44 ERA over 43 innings of mostly relief. He wasn’t used in the playoffs as Munich fell in the conference final to Zurich. Jahne was still under that big contract in 2026, but never saw the field as he couldn’t even reach 90 mph anymore. He retired that winter just after his 35^th birthday with the Mavericks quickly honoring him and retiring his #10 uniform.

In total, Jahne had a 150-87 record, 2.86 ERA, 2268.2 innings, 2666 strikeouts, 497 walks, 205/286 quality starts, 24 complete games, 7 shutouts, 133 ERA+, 65 FIP-, and 70.4 WAR. His brief run keeps him out of the top 100 in most counting stats, although he’s still good for 49^th in pitching WAR as of 2037. Among pitchers with 1000+ innings, he ranks 45^th in K/9 at 10.58 and 84^th in opponent’s OPS at .621.

A few voters felt Jahne simply didn’t stick around long enough to deserve the Hall of Fame nod, but most felt his brief brilliance was plenty. The great playoff and BGC runs easily made up for the lack of an ERA title or Pitcher of the Year win. Jahne was a big reason Munich emerged as THE Southern Conference powerhouse of the 2020s. He earned 77.8% and was a fine capper for the loaded five-player 2031 class for the European Baseball Federation.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Eurasian Professional Baseball had two rock solid first ballot inductees for their 2031 Hall of Fame class. OF Evgeny Kiselev led the way with a nearly unanimous 99.4% and was joined by SP Dzimtry Poldnikov at 83.3%. 1B Sergei Stoev and 3B Tayyar Abdualiyev both had nice debuts at 59.6% and 54.9% respectively, but fell short of the 66% requirement. Three returners were above 50% with 1B Roman Stanchinsky at 54.3% on his fourth ballot, 3B Vladyslav Chychykov at 52.5% for his fourth try, and SP Yuri Sabitov with 51.9% for his sixth attempt.



Dropped after ten failed ballots was 2B Elemer Papp, who peaked at 47.8% in 2030 and finished at a low of 30.9%. He was hurt by playing most of the second half of his career in either MLB or WAB, but his prime run with Volgograd was excellent. In a decade, Papp won six Silver Sluggers and one MVP. In EPB, Papp had 1535 games, 1588 hits, 829 runs, 248 doubles, 340 home runs, 800 RBI, .275/.337/.502 slash, 161 wRC+, and 53.7 WAR.

Papp certainly seemed to be on pace and played until age 42, but his MLB excursion was largely subpar mostly as a backup. He had a solid return to EPB in 2016 with Omsk, then had two good years in West Africa before finishing in MLB. Papp’s grand totals across pro baseball was 2465 games, 2366 hits, 1275 runs, 390 doubles, 516 home runs, 1265 RBI, .270/.333/.497 slash, 147 wRC+, and 67.6 WAR. That could have been enough if all in one league, but the split second half confined Papp to the Hall of Pretty Good.



Evgeny Kiselev – Left/Right Field – Kazan Crusaders – 99.4% First Ballot

Evgeny Kiselev was a 6’3’’, 195 pound right-handed outfielder from the capital of Russia, Moscow. Kiselev was a well-rounded bat with good-to-great talents across the board against both sides. He was an especially solid contact hitter with a reliable pop in his bat, posting 30 doubles, 4 triples, and 32 home runs per his 162 game average. Kiselev was above average at drawing walks and at avoiding strikeouts relative to his peers.

Although he got a good number of extra base hits, Kiselev wouldn’t get many with his legs due to poor speed and baserunning instincts. He played right field some in his early years before moving to left for the rest of his run. The range issues meant Kiselev graded as a lackluster defender overall, but you could definitely do worse. He made around 60% of his starts in LF and had close to 25% of his starts as a designated hitter.

His durability was mostly good over a 20-year run. Perhaps most importantly, Kiselev had a very high character and was known for strong leadership, loyalty, and an impressive work ethic. With that, he emerged as one of the most universally beloved Russian players of his era. When you’re a high level amateur in a city like Moscow, you’ll get plenty of suitors. Kazan ultimately won the day, inking Kiselev in October 2002 to a developmental contract.

Little did anyone know that he’d eventually play all 2693 games of his professional career with the Crusaders. Kiselev spent almost all of four years in Kazan’s academy, apart from two pinch-hit at-bats in 2006 at age 21. Kiselev debuted with 135 games and 117 starts in 2007, earning Rookie of the Year honors and leading the European League in doubles (44), batting average (.331), OBP (.348), OPS (.886), and wRC+ (178).

Kiselev started every game in 2008 at DH and won a Silver Slugger while taking third in MVP voting, leading in hits (219), average (.354), and OBP (.399). In 2010, Kiselev won MVP and his lone Slugger in RF with his third batting title. He led the triple slash (.344/.400/.615) and OPS (1.015), along with his first WARlord title (9.0) and his second time leading in hits (201).

Kazan had been just above .500 for a few years, but earned a wild card in 2010 at 99-63 before ultimately falling to Moscow in the European League Championship Series. Kiselev was on a similar pace in 2011, but lost some tallies with a forearm strain in the spring. The Crusaders fell one game short of the playoffs to eventual EPB champ Minsk. Still, Kazan felt compelled to lock up Kiselev and gave him an eight-year, $54,700,000 extension the following spring.

They were rewarded immediately as he won 2012 MVP honors and a Silver Slugger as a DH. Kiselev led in homers for the only time in his career with 44 and posted both league and career bests in runs (109), hits (221), and WAR (10.9). He also had his career best triple slash of .358/.407/.650 and a 1.057 OPS, but was denied a triple crown thanks to a league record season by Yuriy Isakov of .410/.476/.697. Kazan led the EL standings at 100-62, but was upset by Rostov in the ELCS.

The Crusaders took second in 2013, but again were ousted by Rostov in the ELCS. Kiselev’s career playoff numbers were merely decent over 18 starts with 13 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 5 home runs, 11 RBI, .200/.293/.477 slash, 125 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. He’d never play in the postseason after 2013. Kazan was rarely outright awful for the rest of Kiselev’s career, but wouldn’t get beyond the mid-tier again.

Kiselev did play on the world stage at points for Russia in the World Baseball Championship. His results were decent from 2008-19 with 80 games, 68 starts, 60 hits, 28 runs, 10 doubles, 17 home runs, 37 RBI, .233/.307/.471 slash, 119 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR. Still, Kiselev emerged as one of the most universally respected and appreciated figures in Russian baseball over the rest of his career.

In 2014, Kiselev was third in MVP voting on an 8.1 WAR, .940 OPS campaign. In 2015, he managed to win a Gold Glove in left field despite generally grading as a weaker defender in his career. Kiselev opted out of his contract after the 2017 season, but signed a new five-year, $61,500,000 deal to remain with Kazan. 2018 was his final awards season, winning a Silver Slugger with a second place in MVP voting. Kiselev led in runs, RBI, total bases, and slugging that year.

Kiselev was never outstanding again after that, but he remained a consistently solid starter and presence through his late 30s for Kazan. He signed another three year, $18,400,000 extension after the 2021 campaign. In 2023, Kiselev became the 9^th in EPB history to reach 1500 career RBI. In 2024, he became the 20^th member of the 500 home run club.

With his consistency, it looked like Kiselev had a shot to become EPB’s all-time hits king as well. Igor Urban had been the only EPB player to crack the 3000 club to that point, retiring with 3044 in 2002. Kiselev’s production had dipped in his later years, but he entered 2025 with 2994 hits. Unfortunately, his bat weakened further and Kiselev only saw 30 games and 21 starts. He did crack the 3000 mark, but fell 31 hits short of Urban. Kiselev retired that winter shortly after his 41^st birthday and immediately had his #2 uniform retired by the Crusaders.

Kiselev finished with 2693 games, 3013 hits, 1368 runs, 505 doubles, 71 triples, 530 home runs, 1584 RBI, 760 walks, 1527 strikeouts, .300/.351/.524 slash, 162 wRC+, and 105.1 WAR. As of 2037, Kiselev is 21^st in games, 3^rd in hits, 12^th in runs, 7^th in total bases (5250), 7^th in singles (1907), 4^th in doubles, 21^st in homers, 8^th in RBI, 53^rd in walks, and 10^th in WAR among position players.

Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances in EPB, Kiselev is one of only 39 to maintain a batting average above .300. He also ranks 43^rd in OBP, 38^th in slugging, and his .875 OPS ranks 28^th. Kiselev was one of the most consistently reliable bats in EPB history, although Kazan’s lack of big team success often lowers his spot in the all-time rankings. Still, Kiselev is generally considered an inner-circle Hall of Famer and earned a near unanimous 99.4% to captain the 2031 class for Eurasian Professional Baseball.



Dzmitry Poldnikov – Starting Pitcher – Rostov Rhinos – 83.3% First Ballot

Dzmitry Poldnikov was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Kirzhach, Russia; a town of around 30,000 people in the Vladimir Oblast. Poldnikov wasn’t amazing at any one skill, but was considered consistently above average to good in terms of stuff, movement, and control. His velocity peaked in the 96-98 mph range with an arsenal of fastball, slider, knuckle curve, and changeup.

Poldnikov’s stamina was consistently strong and his durability was outstanding, tossing 235+ innings in all 14 years in the rotation. Perhaps his biggest flaw was struggling to hold runners, although he was a decent defensive pitcher otherwise. Although he grew up in a smaller town, Poldnikov’s brief college career earned him attention ahead of the 2009 EPB Draft. He was picked 10^th overall by Rostov, although he’d spend most of two years in their academy honing his craft.

After three poor relief outings in 2011, Poldnikov earned a full-time rotation spot in 2012 at age 22. He was a staple for the Rhinos for seven seasons, leading the European League twice in wins and once in innings, quality starts, and complete games. Although he didn’t have the overwhelming strikeout dominance of some other aces, Poldnikov earned second in 2013’s Pitcher of the Year voting and third in 2014.

Poldnikov played a big role in Rostov’s first-ever team success and a dynasty run. The Rhinos were a 2000 expansion team, but didn’t post a winning season in 2011. From 2012-14, they won three straight European League titles. Rostov was denied by Yekaterinburg in the 2012 EPB Championship. Then in 2013, they became the first expansion team to win it all with the 103-59 Rhinos defeating Ulaanbaatar in the final. In 2014, Rostov at 102-60 was ousted in the finale by Omsk.

Rostov made it back to the ELCS in 2015-16, but lost both years to Moscow. Poldnikov was an impressive playoff pitcher for the Rhinos over 97.2 innings with a 1.94 ERA, 8-3 record, 84 strikeouts, 9 walks, 167 ERA+, 80 FIP-, and 2.4 WAR. He had a respectable outing in the 2013 Baseball Grand Championship with a 3.41 ERA over 34.1 innings, 2-3 record, 33 strikeouts, and 110 ERA+. Rostov finished 8-11 in the event.

With the Rhinos, Poldnikov had a 115-73 record, 3.11 ERA, 1803.2 innings, 1612 strikeouts, 305 walks, 91 complete games, 104 ERA+, 84 FIP-, and 36.9 WAR. Although the run was brief, Poldnikov was a key ace in Rostov’s only pennant wins as of 2037. The Rhinos would later retire his #1 uniform and he’d be the first Hall of Fame inductee in Rostov red and black. The team’s success was fleeting, falling to 76-86 in 2017. They hovered around .500 the next two seasons before ending up a consistent loser for the 2020s.

Poldnikov still had a few years left under team control, but Rostov was in full sell mode after the 2018 season. They traded Poldnikov to Moscow in the offseason for two prospects, neither of which ever made the Show. Poldnikov maintained his consistent steady production with the Mules four seasons, although he wasn’t in awards conversations. With Moscow, Poldnikov had a 58-48 record, 2.66 ERA, 1011.2 innings, 993 strikeouts, 164 walks, 123 ERA+, 77 FIP-, and 24.5 WAR.

The Mules earned playoff berths from 2019-21 and won the EL pennant in 2019 and 2021. Moscow would be denied the EPB Championship by Chelyabinsk in 2019 and Perm in 2021. Poldnikov’s playoff stats were underwhelming while in the capital with a 3.86 ERA over 35 innings, 36 strikeouts, 6 walks, 86 ERA+, and 0.6 WAR. Still, it was definitely a positive acquisition that bolstered the rotation for Moscow.

Poldnikov finally reached free agency for the 2023 season at age 33 and signed a five-year, $54,100,000 deal with Omsk. The Otters were the defending EPB champ, having made a surprise run to the title as a 86-76 wild card. Poldnikov was his usual self in 2023 with a 2.79 ERA, 257.2 innings, 239 strikeouts, and 5.1 WAR. However, the Otters struggled to 70-92 as their offseason spending didn’t pay off. After one year, Omsk traded Poldnikov to St. Petersburg straight up for OF Vadims Pastaris. He would start seven seasons for the Otters, although he was most notable for leading the league in strikeouts thrice.

The Polar Bears were in a position to contend and Poldnikov had a fine debut season in 2024 with a 2.89 ERA over 277.1 innings, 252 strikeouts, and 5.7 WAR. St. Petersburg won a division title, but was upset in the first round by Nizhny Novgorod with Poldnikov allowing four runs over 7.1 innings in his lone playoff start.

2025 was Poldnikov’s weakest season by WAR at 2.2, although he still ate 271 innings with a 3.09 ERA and 210 strikeouts. He had two quality playoff starts with a 1.65 ERA in 16.1 innings as St. Petersburg lost to Moscow in the ELCS. On the whole, Poldnikov was a rock solid playoff pitcher with a 12-6 record over 156.1 innings, 2.48 ERA, 141 strikeouts, 21 walks, 130 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 3.8 WAR.

In two seasons for St. Petersburg, Poldnikov had a 29-29 record, 2.99 ERA, 548.1 innings, 462 strikeouts, 84 walks, 101 ERA+, 97 FIP-, and 7.9 WAR. He had been close to league average in 2025 and didn’t wish to overstay his welcome, although Poldnikov was still in solid physical health. He opted to retire after the 2025 season, making the announcement shortly after his 36^th birthday.

Poldnikov ended with a 212-166 record, 2.95 ERA, 3621.1 innings, 3306 strikeouts, 592 walks, 298/430 quality starts, 192 complete games, 29 shutouts, 109 ERA+, 84 FIP-, and 74.4 WAR. As of 2037, Poldnikov ranks 50^th in wins, 65^th in losses, 40^th in innings, 82^nd in strikeouts, 37^th in complete games, and 73^rd in WAR among pitchers.

He didn’t have the raw dominance to be considered THE guy in his prime or an inner-circle level inductee. However, Poldnikov remarkable consistency won over many voters. His role in Rostov’s first sustained success and five pennants between there and Moscow put him over the top for most other doubters. At 83.3%, Poldnikov was a first ballot selection as part of a two-player 2031 class for Eurasian Professional Baseball.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two guys barely crossed the 66% requirement for induction into the Oceania Baseball Association Hall of Fame for 2031. Both notably still got in on their debuts with 1B Isaac Endo at 73.4% and SP Alamoana Nembil with 68.3%. 3B Dale Harper was the best returner, barely missing the cut at 63.3% on his third ballot. Also above 50% was 1B R.W. Putnam at 59.5% for his second try and SP George Hudson with 54.4% on his seventh attempt. No players were dropped after ten failed attempts.



Isaac Endo – First Base – Melbourne Mets – 73.4% First Ballot

Isaac Endo was a 6’2’’, 195 pound right-handed first baseman born on the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, built in the latter stages of World War II. Endo was best known for consistent home run power and a solid eye for drawing walks. He was considered above average at best in terms of contact ability and did struggle with strikeouts. The 37 home runs per his 162 game average often made up for his hitting deficiencies.

Endo’s gap power was respectable with 28 doubles and 3 triples per 162. He was a smart and adept baserunner, but his usefulness was limited by terrible speed. Despite the slowness, his glove work and positioning were quite good as a career first baseman, winning four Gold Gloves. Endo still made about ¼ of his starts as a designated hitter, mostly in his late 30s. While he did deal with some injuries, his adaptability and bat kept him employed across 18 seasons.

As a military brat, Endo wasn’t stationary for much of his youth, although he typically wasn’t too far from Guam or a neighboring Pacific island. His family’s connections did allow for ample baseball training amidst the chaos, getting on the radar of some OBA clubs. Melbourne took an interest in the then 17-year old Endo and gave him a developmental deal in February 2002. He spent much of the next seven years in their training academy in Australia.

Endo did see limited usage in his early 20s with 72 games and 55 starts between 2006-08. Even if he was ready, Melbourne was amidst a historic dynasty run with prominent spots hard to come by. Endo earned Oceania Championship rings with the 2006 and 2007 squads, although he saw merely one playoff appearance in 2007. Endo did start in the 2008 finals, but was a terrible 2-27 with 12 strikeouts. The 114-win Mets would be denied an historic fifth straight title in a seven-game thriller against Tahiti.

In 2009, Endo was a part-time starter and had promising results with 3.9 WAR and .908 OPS in 108 games. Melbourne won its seventh straight Australasia League pennant and returned to the top perch in a seven game Oceania Championship win over Guam. Endo redeemed his prior playoff failing and won finals MVP, going 11-27 with 6 runs, 2 homers, 2 RBI, and 0.7 WAR.

Endo earned the full-time gig in 2010 and led the AL in runs scored (113) and OBP (.393). Both marks would be career bests, as was his .325 batting average and 200 hits. Endo earned his first Silver Slugger and was second in MVP voting. Melbourne dominated the AL again at 113-49 and won their sixth OBA title in seven years, defeating Guadalcanal in the finale. Endo repeated as finals MVP with a 1.502 OPS, 0.8 WAR, 11 hits, 4 runs, 3 doubles, 4 homers, and 11 RBI in six games. His OPS was the fifth-best qualifying OPS in OBA finals history and his 11 RBI was tied for the most.

2010 was also the debut of the Baseball Grand Championship and was the only edition using a two-division format. Melbourne was 5-4 with Endo posting .892 OPS and 0.4 WAR. He matched the 113 runs in 2011 to again take second in MVP voting as the Mets made it nine straight pennants. Endo had a decent postseason, but they were denied the top prize by Tahiti. In April 2012, Melbourne gave Endo a four-year, $24,460,000 extension.

Endo won another Slugger and was third in 2012’s MVP voting. This season had his career bests for homers (49), RBI (130), slugging (.625), OPS (1.012), wRC+ (171), and WAR (9.0). Melbourne became the only team in all of pro baseball history to earn ten consecutive pennants, although Guadalcanal denied them their seventh OBA title of the dynasty. Endo had another solid playoff showing with a 1.143 OPS and 0.6 WAR over seven starts.

For his Melbourne playoff career, Endo had 35 games, 43 hits, 18 runs, 7 doubles, 12 home runs, 31 RBI, .314/.356/.628 slash, 177 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. The Mets finished 11-8 in the 2012 BGC as the at-large team, one game away from first but in a four-way tie for sixth. Endo had a strong showing with 17 hits, 15 runs, 6 doubles, 7 home runs, 20 RBI, .250/.414/.627 slash, 196 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. He had firmly cemented himself as a big game player.

Endo’s time as an MVP candidate was done after this, although he was still a quality starter for another decade-plus. This also marked the end of Melbourne’s time on top. The Mets won 94, 99, and 84 games from 2013-15, but ceded the top spot to a new Christchurch dynasty. With a possible rebuild looming, Endo declined his contact option after the 2015 season, becoming a free agent at age 30.

With Melbourne, Endo played 1133 games with 1229 hits, 704 runs, 216 doubles, 268 home runs, 718 RBI, .290/.366/.540 slash, 149 wRC+, and 42.0 WAR. He was an important and popular player in the back end of one of the all-time dynasties in baseball history, which earned the retirement of his #17 uniform when it was all said and done. Endo’s time as a big game player wasn’t done though as he signed a five-year, $50,800,000 deal with Sydney.

To that point, the Snakes were the only OBA original team that had never won a pennant since the association’s 1960 founding. Sydney had started to look competitive in the 2010s and set a new franchise record in Endo’s debut season in 2016 at 105-57. Unfortunately, they shared a league with the Chinooks, who tied the world record with an absurd 126-36 campaign. Sydney finished six games out of first in 2017 and Endo won his first of four consecutive Gold Gloves.

In 2018, Sydney finally made it to the top of the Australasia League at 100-62, winning the Oceania Championship over Samoa. Endo was merely okay in the series going 3-18, but he still had 2 homers and 4 runs. He now had five OBA championship rings to his name. Endo had a strong BGC showing with a 1.115 OPS, 8 homers, 22 hits, 12 runs, and 18 RBI;; although the Snakes finished 8-11.

Endo remained steady as Sydney repeated as OBA champs in 2019, this time over Honolulu in the final. He went 9-25 in the seven game series, earning his sixth OBA ring and ninth AL pennant. The Snakes again were 8-11 in the Baseball Grand Championship, which saw a lackluster .651 OPS from Endo. Over 66 BGC games, Endo finished with 58 hits, 42 runs, 11 doubles, 23 home runs, 55 RBI, .244/.361/.580 slash, 162 wRC+, and 3.1 WAR.

For his OBA playoff career over 48 games, Endo had 55 this, 24 runs, 8 doubles, 16 home runs, 39 RBI, 20 walks, .306/.376/.617 slash, 171 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR. As of 2037, Endo is tied for 1^st in OBA playoff RBI and ranks 7^th in games, 4^th in hits, 5^th in runs, 3^rd in homers, 3^rd in walks, and 3^rd in strikeouts. He’s also 4^th in total bases (111) and 23^rd in OPS (.993) among those with 40+ plate appearances.

Sydney was a second place 96-66 in 2020, Endo’s fifth and final year with the Snakes. In 721 games, he had 718 hits, 426 runs, 116 doubles, 156 home runs, 480 RBI, 284 walks, .269/.340/.498 slash, 127 wRC+, and 19.9 WAR. A free agent again at age 35, Endo next joined Brisbane on a three-year, $28,800,000 deal. For the first time, Endo was now with a loser as the Black Bears were near the bottom of the standings for his time there.

Endo lost some of 2021 to plantar fasciitis, but was still respectable overall over two seasons with 251 games, 239 hits, 135 runs, 42 doubles, 49 home runs, 146 RBI, .264/.344/.487 slash, 126 wRC+, and 5.3 WAR. He was traded in the third year of his deal to New Caledonia for three prospects. Endo ultimately decided to ink a three-year, $26,500,000 extension with the Colonels, where he finished out his career. They’d be just below .500 across his tenure.

2023 was a surprise resurgence for Endo as a DH, winning a Silver Slugger with a league and career best 92 walks. He also smacked 46 home runs with 119 RBI and 5.5 WAR, power numbers not seen since the Melbourne days. Endo had a nice effort in 2024, but lost a chunk of the season to plantar fasciitis. He struggled in only 19 games in 2025, missing almost the entire season to a broken bone in his elbow.

For New Caledonia, Endo had 287 games, 271 hits, 151 runs, 35 doubles, 76 home runs, 193 RBI, .256/.349/.513 slash, 139 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR. He fell just short of the 550 home run and 2500 hit thresholds, but did cross 1500 RBI and 1000 walks. Endo retired from the game after the 2025 season at age 40.

The final tallies had 2392 games, 2457 hits, 1416 runs, 409 doubles, 44 triples, 549 home runs, 1537 RBI, 1009 walks, 2350 strikeouts, 126 stolen bases, .277/.354/.519 slash, 139 wRC+, and 74.7 WAR. As of 2037, Endo is 32^nd in games played, 30^th in hits, 13^th in runs, 23^rd in total bases (4601), 31^st in doubles, 19^th in home runs, 14^th in RBI, 10^th in walks, 14^th in strikeouts, and 35^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Endo’s .873 OPS ranks 52^nd and he ranks 34^th in OBP and 76^th in slugging.

Despite his tallies, Endo rarely had overwhelming tallies and rarely was a league leader. The lack of black ink led more voters than you’d expect to vote against him. If Endo had the exact same stats but played entirely on bad teams, the case could more credibly be made that his resume is on the border line.

However, Endo’s playoff excellence can’t be overlooked, posting better rate stats in the playoffs (.993 OPS, 171 wRC+) compared to the regular season (.873 OPS, 139 wRC+). Endo stepped up when it counted and was a big piece on the back-end of Melbourne’s dynasty and for Sydney’s first-ever titles. The 73.4% seems surprisingly low, but Endo is a first ballot Hall of Famer in any case. This was the top mark for the two-player 2031 class for the Oceania Baseball Association. He also became the first inductee that was born in Guam.



Alamoana Nembil – Starting Pitcher – Christchurch Chinooks – 68.3% First Ballot

Alamoana Nembil was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Bairiki, a town of 3,500 people within Kiribati’s Gilbert Islands. Nembil became the first I-Kiribati to earn Hall of Fame induction. The man was all stuff and no brakes, certainly making for interesting outings. Nembil’s stuff was excellent, but his control and movement were both mediocre at best, leading to wildly inconsistent results. Nembil’s fastball regularly hit 99-101 mph, although his most deadly pitch was his forkball. He also had a very good slider and a decent changeup in the arsenal and was great at changing speeds.

Nembil’s stamina was merely decent and his boom-or-bust skillset meant he didn’t go deep in games as often as most OBA aces. His durability was good for most of his run though. Nembil had a nice pickoff move, but weak defense otherwise. His work ethic also was lacking at times and many felt he over-relied on his raw stuff instead of working on his fundamentals.

Even with the raw talent, it was especially hard to get noticed in tiny Kiribati. At just under 100,000 people, it is among the smallest countries to ever produce a HOF inductee and has only seen a handful of tenured pros. Nembil’s deficiencies also scared some of the teams that were aware of him. Port Moresby was willing to take a flyer though late in the third round of the 2010 OBA Draft, selecting Nembil 60^th overall.

Nembil spent three full years in the Mud Hens academy, then had some issues in his 2014 debut at age 23 with a 4.13 ERA over 65.1 innings. He earned a mostly full-time roster spot in 2014 with very mixed results. Then in 2016, Nembil led the Pacific League in wins at 24-8, posting a rock solid 2.62 ERA, 339 strikeouts, and 6.4 WAR. Port Moresby finished 87-75, one of their better years during a playoff drought dating back to 1985.

In 2017, Nembil had only 1.7 WAR over 231 innings as walks and home runs popped up as issues again. The Mud Hens fell off and were worried that Nembil’s 2016 was a fluke. He was traded in a four-player deal in the offseason to Hobart, ending the Port Moresby run with only four seasons. Nembil had a 45-43 record, 3.21 ERA, 798.1 innings, 890 strikeouts, 256 walks, 108 ERA+, 102 FIP-, and 9.3 WAR.

The Tasmaniacs were hovering around .500 at this point, hoping for their first successes since joining in the 2006 expansion. Nembil was a mixed bag in two seasons for Hobart, striking out 300+ in both years but with a 3.79 ERA, 103 ERA+, and 101 FIP-. He had a 38-26 record over 573 innings, 640 strikeouts, and 7.0 WAR. Nembil now became a free agent for the first time heading towards age 29 and no one wanted to commit to a long-term deal.

For 2020, Sydney gave him a one year, $3,280,000 deal which saw a 3.54 ERA, 17-7 record, 211 innings, 267 strikeouts, 115 ERA+, 100 FIP-, and 2.5 WAR. It was enough to prompt Christchurch to sign Nembil for three years and $11,360,000; starting his most famous tenure. The Chinooks had returned to the Australasia League perch in 2020 at 106-56, falling to Guam in the Oceania Championship.

While they would’ve been happy with decent pitching depth, Nembil won Pitcher of the Year honors in 2021 with a league-best 28-6 record. He also had his career highs for strikeouts (369), innings (306.2), ERA (2.79), and WAR (7.7). Christchurch finished 101-61 to repeat as AL champ, but lost to Vanuatu in the OBA finale. In his only playoff starts, Nembil was excellent with 19 strikeouts and three runs allowed over 16 innings.

Nembil led the league in strikeouts in 2022 with 367 and had 7.0 WAR, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. However, the Chinooks fell to 85-77 and decided to “sell high” on Nembil. He was traded in the offseason to Melbourne for three prospects and a draft pick. Nembil was wildly inconsistent and in-and-out of the rotation for the Mets, who finished fifth at 89-73. In 181 innings, he had a 3.63ERA with 216 strikeouts and 0.9 WAR.

Now a free agent again heading towards age 33, Christchurch brought him back on a surprisingly big five year, $50,500,000 deal. Nembil had a good return season with 321 strikeouts and 5.8 WAR over 224.1 innings with a 2.81 ERA. The Chinooks finished one game out of first place, but felt they were will still in position to contend in the next few years.

Nembil had a similar pace for much of 2025, but the season was hampered by a rotator cuff strain and hamstring strain. His velocity was weakened by the injury and in spring training 2026, he was now peaking in the 95-97 mph range. Nembil’s already poor control got worse and he ultimately didn’t pitch a single game in 2026 despite being under contract, retiring that winter at age 35. Between Christchurch stints, Nembil had a 72-29 record, 3.00 ERA, 952.2 innings, 1232 strikeouts, 259 walks, 133 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 23.2 WAR.

In total, Nembil had a 183-116 record, 3.31 ERA, 2716 innings, 3245 strikeouts, 832 walks, 217/344 quality starts, 343 home runs allowed, 115 ERA+, 94 FIP-, and 42.9 WAR. As of 2037, Nembil is 39^th in strikeouts, 50^th in wins, 70^th in innings, and 94^th in pitching WAR. His 10.75 K/9 is 24^th among pitchers with 1000+ career innings, but he’s also 11^th in walks allowed and 23^rd in homers allowed.

His resume is a tough one to suss out with advanced stats not looking favorably due to the homers and walks surrendered. Many who favored Sabermetrics thought Nembil was a pass. But getting 3000+ strikeouts was often enough historically when looking at the Oceania Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame. OBA voters were often viewed as more pro-pitcher compared to the other world leagues.

His best years and his Pitcher of the Year came in his later seasons, perhaps providing some recency bias. Plus, strikeouts are fun and helped folks remember Nembil as perhaps more dominant than he actually was. He only barely crossed the 66% requirement, but a quieter ballot helped Nembil reach 68.3% to earn induction for 2031.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Austronesia Professional Baseball’s 2031 Hall of Fame ballot didn’t have any impactful debuts with the best newcomer getting 33.8%. Two returners managed to just make it across the 66% threshold with the opening field. On his tenth and final try, SP Bagus Ranga made it in at 73.3%. 3B Nicky Abizar joined him on his fifth ballot at 68.7%. Two others were above 50% with CL Kyle Oliveira at 58.4% on his eighth try and SP Anto Astuti at 52.7% for his third go.



No players were dropped after ten ballots, but SS Chi-Chao Shih was worth a mention after falling off at 5% on his seventh try. He had an impressive trophy case with six Gold Gloves and ten Silver Sluggers, as well as APB titles with Kaohsiung and Surabaya. By many measures, he was the best shortstop of his era. However, it was difficult for hitters generally for APB’s HOF and even tougher for a leadoff guy.

Shih also had three seasons in MLB to dent his tallies. In APB, he played 2210 games with 2207 hits, 826 runs, 290 doubles, 174 triples, 36 home runs, 531 RBI, 211 walks, 1026 stolen bases, .268/.290/.359 slash, 115 wRC+, and 85.7 WAR. The lack of power stats and a very low walk rate tanked his advanced metrics, banishing Chih to the Hall of Pretty Good with a ballot peak of 26.1%. Still, he was worth a mention as one of only ten APB players with 10+ Silver Sluggers as of 2037 and one of two shortstops.



Bagus “Wild Man” Ranga – Starting Pitcher – Batam Blue Raiders – 73.3% Tenth Ballot

Bagus Ranga was a 6’3’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Cepu, Indonesia; a district of around 76,000 within Central Java. Ranga had the nickname “Wild Man” for zany off the field shenanigans, although he was never a troublemaker in the clubhouse. He was known for an outstanding work ethic, although he was also considered a bit dumb and couldn’t be expected to take a leadership role.

On the mound, Ranga was generally graded as above average to good across the board. His fastball peaked in the 96-98 mph range and was part of a five pitch arsenal with a slider, curveball, changeup, and splitter. No one pitch was exceptional, but all five were respectable. Ranga’s stamina was also graded as above average relative to his peers, although his excellent durability meant you’d generally get plenty of innings. His glovework was solid, but Ranga was terrible at holding runners.

Ranga had an impressive amateur career and was one of the highest ranked pitchers entered into the 2000 APB Draft. He was picked fifth overall by Palembang, but couldn’t come to terms with the Panthers and returned for a final year in college. In the 2001 APB Draft, Batam bagged him ninth overall. Ranga was a full-time starter right away for the Blue Raiders, taking third in 2002 Rookie of the Year voting with a 6.4 WAR effort; ultimately the highest single-season WAR of his career.

He spent six years in this initial run with Batam, a team firmly stuck in the lower-to-mid tier by this point. Ranga never had jaw dropping stats, but was consistently above average. He did post his highest strikeout total (301) and highest inning count (281) in 2005. Although Ranga held up his end, the Blue Raiders were generally going nowhere at this point. After the 2007 season, they traded him to Davao for three prospects.

Ranga’s one year with the Devil Rays had a 15-8 record, 2.89 ERA, 209 innings, 204 strikeouts, and 3.8 WAR. Davao was amidst a run of dominance in the Philippine League and had APB’s best record that year at 105-57. They fell in the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship in an upset to Taoyuan with Ranga struggling in his one start, allowing seven runs (six earned) over four innings. With that, he entered free agency for the first time at age 31.

He managed to earn attention with Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers, signing a three-year, $23,700,000 deal. Ranga had a mixed bag in the Motor City with a 7-2 record and 3.50 ERA, but still -0.2 WAR over 97.2 innings with 59 strikeouts. Detroit was underwhelmed and released Ranga in mid June. He returned to Batam soon after on a three-year, $15,900,000 deal signed on July 6. However, Ranga struggled to a 3.64 ERA over 123.2 innings in his return.

Ranga looked better in 2010 and led the Sundaland Association with 265.1 innings, striking out 286 with 4.3 WAR and a 2.54 ERA. For the second time, Batam traded Ranga in the offseason, this time shipping him to Depok for three prospects. Between runs with the Blue Raiders, Ranga had a 97-99 record, 2.66 ERA, 1974.2 innings, 2007 strikeouts, 455 walks, 96 ERA+, 92 FIP-, and 33.1 WAR. He was appreciated enough though in Batam to eventually see his #14 uniform retired.

His one year with the lackluster Demons was solid with a 16-9 record, 1.90 ERA, 260.1 innings, 280 strikeouts, 131 ERA+, and 4.9 WAR. Ranga also posted eight shutouts, a league and career best. Now 34-years old, Ranga again flashed some potential that made teams interested. Semarang was especially impressed, inking Ranga to a five-year, $31,500,000 deal. Although his longest stint was with Batam, Ranga’s most impactful tenure was with the Sliders.

In 2012, Ranga led the SA with a career-best 0.76 WHIP, posting an 18-8 record, 1.89 ERA, 257.1 innings, 271 strikeouts, and 6.0 WAR. He was a Pitcher of the Year finalist for the first time, taking third. Semarang won the Java Sea League and beat Medan for the Sundaland Association title. The Sliders then knocked off Cebu to claim the Austronesia Championship.

Ranga had a masterful postseason over three starts with 24 innings, 0.75 ERA, 25 strikeouts, two walks, and 0.8 WAR. He was less successful in the Baseball Grand Championship, which Semarang finished 7-12 in. Ranga saw a 7.62 ERA over 28.1 innings with 23 strikeouts. The Sliders would be competitive the next three years, but ceded the Java Sea League crown to Bandung.

In 2014, Ranga was third again in POTY voting, posting a career best 1.59 ERA with a league-best seven shutouts. Over four seasons with Semarang, Ranga had a 66-43 record, 1.97 ERA, 1049.2 innings, 1015 strikeouts, 176 walks, 123 ERA+, 94 FIP-, and 16.7 WAR. He had one year left on his deal, but was traded in January 2016 to Manila for two prospects.

Ranga’s one year with the Manatees was poor, posting a 3-11 record, 3.72 ERA, 75 ERA+, 133 innings, 99 strikeouts, and 0.3 WAR. In mid-July, he suffered a partially torn labrum that ended his season. Ranga hoped to return and found an unexpected home in Mexico on a one-year, $6,200,000 deal with Juarez. He never made the active roster for the Jesters in 2017, finally retiring that winter at age 39.

In APB, Ranga finished with a 197-170 record, 2.46 ERA, 3626.2 innings, 3605 strikeouts, 746 walks, 331/451 quality starts, 146 complete games, 46 shutouts, 104 ERA+, 93 FIP-, and 58.8 WAR. As of 2037, Ranga ranks 34^th in wins, 20^th in innings, 40^th in complete games, 24^th in shutouts, 38^th in strikeouts, but only 86^th in WAR among pitchers.

The advanced and rate stats are a bit underwhelming, suggesting sustained above averageness moreso than truly elite production. Almost all of the previous Hall of Famers in the incredibly low scoring world of Austronesia Professional Baseball had a better ERA and WAR. Even for the very pitcher-friendly voters of APB, Ranga felt pretty borderline.

Ranga’s longevity though got him to some key accumulations. To that point, any APB pitcher with 3500+ strikeouts had eventually made it in. He just missed 200 wins, which most (but not all) making it in if they hit that milestone. Ranga didn’t have the big awards or black ink, but his impressive playoff run in Semarang’s 2012 championship season scored him big points.

He debuted with 57.0% on the 2022 ballot and got to 63.6% the next year, leading most to figure he’d cross the 66% requirement sooner than later. However, Ranga hovered around the upper 40% to mid 50% range for the next few ballots. He got back to 61.1% in 2029, then fell down to 46.2% in 2030. 2031 was Ranga’s tenth and final chance with the benefit of no impressive debutants on the ballot. He received an impressive bump up to 73.3%, becoming the first-ever tenth ballot inductee for APB’s HOF.



Nicky Abizar – Third Base – Pekanbaru Palms – 68.7% Fifth Ballot

Nicky Abizar was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Sukabumi, Indonesia; a city with roughly 365,000 in the West Java province. Abizar was viewed as a very well balanced batter, considered generally good across the board but not incredible at any one thing. His ability to avoid strikeouts was probably his biggest strength, ranking among the lowest whiffers in APB’s Hall of Fame.

For APB’s extremely low scoring environment, Abizar graded as a very efficient batter with a career 175 wRC+. His numbers were especially strong against left-handed pitching (204 wRC+), although he was plenty capable against righties (162 wRC+). His 162 game average got you 28 home runs and 17 doubles. Abizar’s main flaw offensively was abysmal speed and baserunning.

Abizar made the vast majority of his starts at third base, although he graded as a mediocre defender. His durability was generally quite good over an 18-year career, making him a reliable force in the lineup. Abizar didn’t have renowned leadership skills or an incredible work ethic, but he was typically considered a good teammate and became a popular player in his time.

Out of college, Abizar had huge hype and ended up the first pick in the 2003 APB Draft by Pekanbaru. He wasn’t immediately ready though, starting only 55 games in his first two seasons with unremarkable results. The Palms made him a full-time starter in 2006, his first of ten consecutive seasons worth 5+ WAR. 2007 started a nine-year streak of Silver Sluggers as Abizar became the premiere third baseman of the Sundaland Association. After the 2008 season, Pekanbaru gave him an eight-year, $65,100,000 extension.

Still, he wasn’t one to lead the league too often in any stat. 2009 saw Abizar lead in OBP (.377) along with career bests in hits (184), average (.319), and WAR (9.5), placing third in MVP voting. He led with 170 hits in 2011 as well and had 6+ WAR each year from 2009-15 with Pekanbaru. In 2011, Abizar was second in MVP voting and he placed third in 2014. Even if the tallies weren’t incredible, few batters were more efficient in APB as Abizar in his prime.

Pekanbaru had been historically one of APB’s weaker teams, posting only one winning season from 1993-2010. Abizar helped them turn the corner in 2011 with a Malacca League title at 96-66. They upset Surabaya to win their first Sundaland Association pennant since the inaugural 1965 season. The Palms then won their first-ever Austronesia Championship, denying Davao’s three-peat bid.

In the 2011 playoff run, Abizar was surprisingly mediocre with a .535 OPS, 77 wRC+, and -0.1 WAR. He fared much better in the second Baseball Grand Championship with 191 wRC+, .999 OPS, and 1.2 WAR. Pekanbaru finished 11-8, tied for sixth with Chihuahua.

Abizar had posted good big game numbers previously and would again later. He played off and on for his native Indonesia in the World Baseball Championship, most notably helping them to third place in 2008. He was also part of the 2014 runner-up squad as a reserve. From 2007-19, Abizar played 96 games in the WBC with 81 hits, 46 runs, 11 doubles, 20 home runs, 50 RBI, .297/.370/.557 slash, and 3.2 WAR.

Pekanbaru was just above .500 in 2012-13, then returned to the top spot in 2014 with wins over Bandung and Zamboanga en route to the APB Championship. Abizar was finals MVP with a big playoff run over 13 games with .946 OPS, 244 wRC+, 1.0 WAR, 12 hits, 10 runs, 5 homers, and 10 RBI. He posted a .830 OPS, 146 wRC+, and 0.7 WAR in the BGC as the Palms were again competitive, finishing 12-7 in a three-way tie for fourth.

Abizar had cemented his legacy in Pekanbaru by this point in his mid 30s, giving the team its most sustained success. Injuries would limit him in 2015 and they fell just below .500. The Palms were little better in 2016 with Abizar in the final year of his contract at age 35. To the surprise of many, they traded their longtime star in July to Taipei for three prospects, none of which ultimately amounted to much.

With Pekanbaru, Abizar played 1756 games with 1671 hits, 696 runs, 194 doubles, 307 home runs, 889 RBI, 477 walks, .277/.329/.467 slash, 180 wRC+, and 78.1 WAR. The Palms eventually retired his #22 uniform as one of the franchise’s most enduring icons. Meanwhile for Taipei, they hoped Abizar could help them finally get over the hump. The Tigercats had earned six playoff berths and five 100+ win seasons from 2009-15, but had zero pennants to show for it.

The gamble paid off as Abizar had a .913 OPS, 186 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR over 77 games. Taipei finished 103-59 and beat Davao to finally claim the Taiwan-Philippine Association title, although they fell to Semarang in the APB Championship. In the playoff run, Abizar started all 14 games with a .689 OPS, 126 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR.

Abizar was now a free agent for the first time at age 36 and joined the defending champion Sliders on a three-year, $40,500,000 deal. He had his standard solid production in his first two years for Semarang and took MVP honors in the 2017 Sundaland Association Championship in a losing effort against Johor Bahru. Abizar had a 1.006 OPS and 0.5 WAR in six games. The Sliders narrowly missed the playoffs in the next two seasons.

In 2019, a 38-year old Abizar won his tenth and final Silver Slugger with one of the finest years of his career. He led the SA in OBP (.358), OPS (.858), and wRC+ (208). Abizar had 9.3 WAR, the second-highest of his career. He joined Gede Mamuaya as the only 10+ Slugger winners at third base in APB history. The effort made Abizar a hot property for free agency despite his age, leading to a two-year, $26,400,000 deal with Surabaya.

Abizar couldn’t replicate that in 2020 for the Sunbirds and missed a month to a strained hamstring. He was still quite solid with 172 wRC+ and 4.1 WAR in 127 games for Surabaya. In 2021, Semarang brought him back in on a two-year, $17,400,000 deal. Unfortunately, regression finally caught up with Abizar, who struggled to -0.2 WAR and .483 OPS over 114 games and 33 starts.

Between the Semarang stints, Abizar played 577 games with 436 hits, 198 runs, 45 doubles, 87 home runs, 234 RBI, .246/.315/.423 slash, 157 wRC+, and 21.0 WAR. He was let go in 2022 and couldn’t find a new home despite hoping to still play somewhere. Abizar officially retired in the winter of 2022 shortly after his 42^nd birthday.

Abizar finished with 2537 games, 2313 hits, 992 runs, 259 doubles, 22 triples, 438 home runs, 1224 RBI, 707 walks, 1077 strikeouts, .271/.327/.461 slash, 175 wRC+, and 107.7 WAR. As of 2037, Abizar ranks 28^th in games, 43^rd in runs, 28^th in hits, 26^th in total bases (3930), 25^th in homers, 18^th in RBI, 51^st in walks, and 14^th in WAR among position players. Abizar’s .788 OPS is 77^th among batters with 3000+ plate appearances while his triple slash ranks 81^st/60^th/89^th.

That resume seems pretty slam dunk to most observers, but the Hall of Fame voters for Austronesia Professional Baseball are notoriously stingy towards position players. The incredibly low scoring environment leads to naturally lower tallies compared to other leagues, with some voters holding APB batters to accumulation standards better suited for higher-scoring leagues.

Abizar debuted on the 2027 ballot at 51.3%, slowly climbing to 57.7% and 61.7% in the following two years. However, he fell down to 49.7% in 2030, making some wonder if he was on his way to getting snubbed. The 2031 ballot had no slam dunks, allowing Abizar’s resume to stand out more. He just crossed the 66% requirement at 68.7%, earning his deserved spot on the fifth ballot.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Chinese League Baseball nearly saw back-to-back blank Hall of Fame ballots, as the best debut in 2031 was CF Zhenfeng Liu at 44.3%. SP Rouzi Dilyar narrowly found his way in with 67.0% on his third ballot, barely crossing the 66% requirement. 1B Xugang Zheng came close to joining him with a 63.7% fourth ballot. 1B Bozhao Zhu was the only other guy above 50%, receiving 55.7% for his second attempt.



SP Changwei Yang was dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking at 23.0% in 2023 and ending at 9.7%. He won Pitcher of the Year and an ERA title in 2012 for Xi’an, helping the Attack win the 2015 China Series. His totals were hurt by leaving for CABA in 2017 at age 32 and later major injuries.

In 11 years for Xi’an, Yang had a 111-66 record, 1.83 ERA, 1783.1 innings, 2022 strikeouts, 361 walks, 133 ERA+, 62 FIP-, and 53.0 WAR. The pace was certainly there, but Yang fell short of the tenure required to cross the line. His tenure was actually comparable to 2031’s inductee Dilyar, but the latter’s higher strikeout and inning totals won the day.



Rouzi Dilyar – Pitcher – Urumqi Unicorns – 67.0% Third Ballot

Rouzi Dilyar was a 6’6’’, 190 pound left-handed pitcher from Shenyang, the largest city in Northeast China by urban population with just over nine million inhabitants. At his peak, Dilyar had solid stuff with very good movement and reliable control. His fastball peaked in the 97-99 mph range, although his similarly fast cutter was his strongest pitch. Dilyar’s cutter led to an extreme groundball tendency. He also had a nice splitter and okay slider as options.

Dilyar’s stamina was good for most of his career, although injuries limited him at points, especially in his 30s. His pickoff move was considered top tier and he was one of the better defensive pitchers of his era. Dilyar also had an impressive work ethic that helped him push through injuries and setbacks over his career.

Coming out of college, Dilyar was widely viewed as the top pitching prospect in China. Urumqi picked him first overall in the 2012 CLB Draft and he’d spend his entire Chinese career there. The Unicorns were still a newer franchise at that point, one of six teams that joined in the 2009 expansion. Dilyar was a full-time starter right away and held that role for 11 seasons for Urumqi.

Dilyar was considered elite by his third year, which had his career gests for ERA (1.44), and WAR (8.6); finishing second in Pitcher of the Year voting. He was second again in 2016 with a 1.57 ERA and career best 295 strikeouts. Dilyar won his lone ERA title with 1.46 in 2018, again finishing second in POTY voting. He never won the top award and wasn’t a league leader apart from the ERA title. Still, he got noticed as a great pitcher despite being with a new franchise that was geographically isolated from the rest of the league.

Urumqi earned its first playoff berth in 2017 as a wild card, but fell in the round robin. Dilyar’s playoff debut was excellent, allowing one run over 17 innings with 28 strikeouts. That winter, they signed Dilyar to a six-year, $56,500,000 extension. He also had strong numbers pitching for China from 2017-23 in the World Baseball Championship with a 1.50 ERA over 48 innings, 68 strikeouts, 241 ERA+, and 1.7 WAR.

The Unicorns missed the cut narrowly in 2018, then had 80, 65, and 80 wins the next three years. They got the final wild card in 2022 at 88-74 and went on a surprise run all the way to the China Series, falling to Hong Kong in the finale. Dilyar was again excellent in the playoffs with a 0.99 ERA over 27.1 innings with 31 strikeouts and five walks. Urumqi would fall four wins short of the playoffs the next year.

Disaster struck at the end of the 2023 season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament suffered on September 17. This marked an abrupt end to Dilyar’s CLB career and some feared the end of his pro baseball career. He was set to leave for free agency that winter at age 34. There was some thought that Dilyar might eventually come to terms with Urumqi, but any thoughts of a long-term deal ended with the injury.

Dilyar rehabbed hard, but was expected to miss all of the 2024 season. Major League Baseball’s San Diego Seals gave him a look in June 2024 on a two-year, $18,200,000 deal. Dilyar was unable to make it back by the end of the season and the Seals voided the team option second year, meaning he never pitched for them. MLB teams still had some cautious interest and Dilyar signed that winter with Ottawa for one year and $8,200,000.

With the Elks, Dilyar saw 35 innings of mostly relief and looked respectable, but he was let go in early June to make roster room. He spent the rest of the year off-and-on with Los Angeles, who cut and signed him multiple times with some minor league stints. Dilyar ultimately struggled in four starts for the Angels in 2025 with a 5.81 ERA over 26.1 innings.

Dilyar wasn’t done in MLB yet as Denver gave him a look in 2026, but he had a lousy 5.35 ERA over 37 innings and was released in May. He found a new home in Algeria by the end of the month with the Arab League’s Algiers Arsenal. Dilyar just wasn’t the same following the UCL tear and stunk in 47 relief innings for Algiers with a 6.32 ERA. To make things worse, he suffered another UCL tear in August 2026 with a 16 month recovery time.

Because of his intense work ethic, Dilyar was determined to make it back to professional baseball. He very briefly was signed with AAB’s Kinshasa in late 2027 and MLB’s Raleigh in early 2028, but never pitched for either. Dilyar did make it back to MLB in 2028 with Jacksonville with a 5.68 ERA over 12.2 innings. He finally retired that winter at age 39, having a 4.70 ERA over 111 innings with 83 strikeouts and 1.6 WAR over his MLB stints.

Dilyar was still well known and appreciated in Urumqi. His #28 uniform was the first number retired by the franchise and he was the first Hall of Famer to wear Unicorns blue and white. In CLB, Dilyar finished with a 132-108 record, 1.93 ERA, 2439.2 innings, 2718 strikeouts, 447 walks, 230/288 quality starts, 115 complete games, 38 shutouts, 135 ERA+ 69 FIP-, and 65.7 WAR.
As of 2037, Dilyar ranks 77^th in wins, 45^th in innings, 37^th in complete games, 19^th in shutouts, 36^th in strikeouts, and 32^nd in WAR among pitchers. His .535 opponent’s OPS is 66^th among pitchers with 1000+ innings and his ERA ranks 40^th. By the rate stats, Dilyar certainly fits in nicely with other pitchers inducted into Chinese League Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

However, the relatively short career led to lower accumulations than some voters wanted. Dilyar also had limited black ink and no Pitcher of the Year win (although he came very close). Thus, he missed the cut at 57.8% and 59.6% in his first two ballots.

Supporters noted his excellent playoff stats and role in Urumqi’s first pennant. Being the first superstar for a new franchise certainly helps if the raw totals are a bit light. A weak 2031 ballot also made Dilyar’s resume stand out a bit more than some other years. At 67.0%, he squeaked past the 66% requirement as CLB’s lone 2031 inductee on his third ballot.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

West African Baseball barely avoided having a blank Hall of Fame ballot for 2031 with the best debut getting a mere 34.7%. 3B/DH Joey Agboola managed to just barely cross the 66% requirement on his third ballot with 67.2%. Only one other player was above 50%; SP Isaac Appiah with 58.2% on his seventh try.



Two fell off the ballot after ten failed tries, including RF Oumar Samake, who ended at 8.2% and peaked at 40.1%. He won three Silver Sluggers and a WAB title with Port Harcourt, finishing with 1640 games, 1842 hits, 969 runs, 441 doubles, 382 home runs, 1125 RBI, 447 walks, .317/.366/.597 slash, 155 wRC+, and 51.5 WAR. Samake was on a nice pace, but dramatically fell off in his early 30s, keeping him from the accumulations needed to make it across the line.

Fellow RF Morrison Udobong fell off after ten tries also, peaking at 40.4% in his debut and ending with only 4.9%. He won three Silver Sluggers and had championship rings with Abidjan in 2009 and Lome in 2014. Udobong was never a league leader, but finished with 2543 games, 2810 hits, 1401 runs, 543 doubles, 248 triples, 399 home runs, 1487 RBI, 524 walks, 790 steals, .286/.324/.514 slash, 127 wRC+, and 71.2 WAR.

He notably ranks 24^th in WAR among position players as of 2037 and ranks 22^nd in hits, 32^nd in doubles, 11^th in triples, and 35^th in runs. Despite that, Udobong never really got much ballot traction with many WAB voters hyper-focused on big peaks and accolades. Udobong ended up dismissed by many as a compiler and was banished to the Hall of Pretty Good despite reaching several impressive milestones.



Joey “Hacksaw” Agboola – Third Base/Designated Hitter – Kano Condors – 67.2% Third Ballot

Joey Agboola was a 6’3’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Dankalwa, Nigeria; a village of about 6,000 people in the northeastern Yobe State. He had the nickname “Hacksaw” from his unusual childhood fascination with professional wrestler Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Rock solid contact skills and gap power pushed Agboola to his successes.

Although his home run power was limited, Agboola still got you plenty of extra base hits with a 162 game average of 29 doubles, 18 triples, and 14 home runs. His strikeout rate was decent, but he drew fewer walks than most. Agboola was a quick and skilled baserunner when he got aboard. He fared better facing left-handed pitching (.946 OPS, 148 wRC+) compared to righties (.866 OPS, 125 wRC+).

Agboola had a very strong arm, but his glove work was mediocre. He made a bit over half of his career starts at third base with generally subpar metrics. Agboola started around 1/3 of games as a designated hitter and saw brief stints at second base, although he was especially putrid there. His durability was mostly good over a 16-year career and he became a generally well liked player across the region.

He left Nigeria for Ghana as a teenager with a developmental deal for Accra signed in March 2002. Agboola spent almost five full years in their academy, debuting for the Alligators in 2006 with five at-bats at age 20. He saw 80 games and 13 starts the next year, but struggled to -1.2 WAR. Accra kept him back in the developmental system for all of 2008.

Agboola returned to the big time as a part-timer in 2009 and 2010 with good results, managing 5.8 WAR over 221 games and 89 starts. He was a full-time starter the next two years for Accra and led the Western League with 23 triples in 2011, winning his lone Silver Slugger. He notably hit for the cycle against Bouake in 2010 and against Ibadan in 2011. Despite his efforts, the Alligators couldn’t find their way out of the lower-mid tier of teams.

With one year left under team control, Accra traded Agboola in March 2013 to Nouakchott for three prospects. With the Alligators, Agboola finished with 585 games, 526 hits, 244 runs, 70 doubles, 63 triples 48 home runs, 229 RBI, 159 steals, .310/.346/.511 slash, 135 wRC+, and 13.5 WAR.

As a DH in 2013 for the Night Riders, Agboola had 231 hits, 109 runs, 37 doubles, .872 OPS, and 3.0 WAR. Nouakchott had WAB’s worst record at 60-102 and Agboola left for free agency at age 28. He returned to his native Nigeria and got a sizeable seven-year, $62,800,000 deal with Kano. The Condors had posted a dynasty run from the mid 1990s through the 2000s, but they had been mediocre in the 2010s.

Although he was now back home in Nigeria, Agboola had participated in the World Baseball Championship for his country. He was usually a backup and posted subpar numbers from 2011-23 in 53 games with 31 hits, 18 runs, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 10 homers, .214/.263/.283 slash, and -0.2 WAR. Still, Agboola was on roster for Nigeria’s 2022 World Championship win.

Agboola spent six years with Kano with relatively consistent production. He hit for the cycle again in 2018 facing Conakry and versus Port Harcourt in 2019. Agboola was the first WAB player to achieve the feat four times, although eventual hit king Fares Belaid would go onto do it five times. The Condors completed their rebuild and return to contention in 2016, starting a six-year playoff streak.

Kano fell to Libreville in the 2016 Eastern League Championship Series. The Condors took the top seed in 2017 at 101-61 and won it all, beating Cotonou in the ELCS and Bamako in the West African Championship. Agboola was finals MVP in 2017 with 16 hits, 11 runs, 5 homers, 1 double, 2 triples, 11 RBI, and 0.9 WAR over eight games. In the Baseball Grand Championship, he had a .843 OPS and 0.4 WAR over 12 games as the Condors finished 10-9.

In 2018, Kano fell to Yaounde in the ELCS. The Condors then finished 106-56 en route to another WAB title, defeating Bamako in a finals rematch. Across 31 playoff games for the Condors, Agboola had 44 hits, 27 runs, 4 doubles, 5 triples, 8 homers, 29 RBI, 13 steals, .344/.382/.641 slash, 164 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR. In the 2019 BGC, Agboola had a .645 OPS and 0.3 WAR in 18 starts as Kano finished 8-11.

Following the 2019 title, Agboola declined the final year contract option, leaving for free agency at age 34. With Kano in six seasons, Agboola played 901 games with 1271 hits, 543 runs, 176 doubles, 94 triples, 89 home runs, 453 RBI, 385 steals, .344/.380/.514 slash, 130 wRC+, and 21.5 WAR. He remains a popular figure with Condors fans as one of the guys who helped return the franchise to prominence.

Agboola inked a four-year, $36,400,000 deal with Bouake. He led in triples in 2020 and 2021 and was on the best pace of his career in the latter. He lost a month to injury in 2021, but still had his career bests for WAR (6.2), triple slash (.385/.414/.617), and OPS (1.031). The lone playoff appearance for Bouake was a first round exit in 2020. The Blood Hawks were just above .500 the next two years, then just below in 2023.

Nagging injuries kept Agboola out for a bit of 2022-23 with noticeable dips in overall production, including a career worst 1.3 WAR and 115 wRC+ in 2023. Over four years with Bouake, Agboola had 538 games, 758 hits, 384 runs, 105 doubles, 77 triples, 48 home runs, 278 RBI, 206 steals, .347/.382/.532 slash, 136 wRC+, and 14.9 WAR. He hoped to still play in 2024, but went unsigned all season and retired that winter just after his 39^th birthday.

Agboola ended with 2183 games, 2786 hits, 1380 runs, 388 doubles, 249 triples, 195 home runs, 1041 RBI, 461 walks, 1416 strikeouts, 814 stolen bases, .338/.373/.517 slash, 132 wRC+, and 52.9 WAR. As of 2037, Agboola ranks 56^th in games, 39^th in runs, 23^rd in hits, 52^nd in total bases (4257), 9^th in singles (1954), 10^th in triples, and 81^st in WAR among position players. His batting average is 30^th among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances and his OBP is a nice 69^th.

The longevity got Agboola to some nice tallies, but he was lacking in awards and black ink. The advanced metrics were also underwhelmed between his lack of home run power, walks, and defensive value. Agboola’s resume was definitely a borderline one and he just missed the cut on his first two ballots with 58.0% and 59.6%.

Not having one long run with any one team hurt him too, but supporters pointed to Agboola’s role in Kano’s resurgence as a big plus. Strong playoff numbers that helped bring in two rings will often outweigh any other deficiencies. With a weaker 2031 Hall of Fame ballot, Agboola received a slight boost to 67.2% to just cross the 66% threshold. With that, he was a third ballot inductee and the lone addition for West African Baseball’s HOF in 2031.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

World home run king Majed Darwish led the way for South Asia Baseball’s 2031 Hall of Fame class, somehow getting only 98.9%. 1B Duc Son joined him with his own first ballot induction at 76.2%. Two returners were above 50%, but below the 66% requirement. CF Chris Saandeep had 55.9% on his sixth ballot and SP Siddhant Shakya saw 50.6% on his fourth go. No players were dropped from the ballot after ten failed tries in 2031.



Majed “Lumberjack” Darwish – Designated Hitter/First Base – Hanoi Hounds – 98.9% First Ballot

Majed Darwish was a 6’3’’, 200 pound switch-hitting slugger from Madinat Hamad, a commuter city in Bahrain of around 133,500 people. He had the nickname “Lumberjack” from his common flannel attire when away from the ballpark. By sheer accumulations, Darwish finished his career as the greatest power hitter in baseball history by a healthy margin. Some supporters would go as far to call him the greatest pure hitter ever. Regardless of how you’d rank him, Darwish became one of the seminal megastars in the sport’s history.

For most of his career, scouts rated Darwish as a 10/10 in terms of home run power overall and he broke the scale facing right-handed pitching. Facing RHP, he had a 1.134 career OPS, .731 slugging percentage, and 196 wRC+. Darwish was by no means bad facing lefties, but he looked human with a .858 OPS, .532 slugging, and 132 wRC+.

It wasn’t just home run power though, as Darwish was an excellent contact hitter with a solid eye for drawing walks. Unsurprisingly, he also drew plenty of intentional walks purely based on the power potential. Darwish was below average at avoiding strikeouts, but any contact for the spray hitter would be hard. He had a bonkers 61 home runs per his 162 game average and had ten seasons with 60+ dingers.

Darwish also knew how to find the gap with 34 doubles per 162. He was an incredibly skilled and slick baserunner despite having poor speed, ultimately scoring more runs than anyone ever. Strong durability and consistency also pushed Darwish to his wild tallies, playing at a high level into his early 40s. He played 128+ games in all but two of his 23 professional seasons.

The biggest flaw in Darwish’s game was poor defense, leading to just over half of his career starts as a designated hitter. His most prominent spot with his glove was first base, posting weak metrics over 1/3 of his career starts. Darwish also had some time in left field with even worse results and had some absolutely disastrous starts at shortstop early in his career. You’d certainly find a spot for him in the lineup though and put up with poor defense if you had to considering his legendary bat.

Certainly Darwish’s power was going to make him a global superstar, but he was also one of the true role models of the game. He was a team captain, renowned for his leadership, loyalty, work ethic, and selflessness. Darwish was beloved across all of Southeast Asia, even by fans of teams he terrorized with his bat. Playing in the age of the internet, Darwish’s towering homers and video game-like stats made him a viral hit worldwide.

He easily became the most famous Bahraini citizen ever. The small island country in the Persian Gulf had a very limited baseball scene when Darwish was growing up. Arab League Baseball only came into existence during his childhood and Bahrain wouldn’t have a pro team until a 2016 expansion. Darwish absolutely obliterated what little amateur competition he had as a youth. Still, it wasn’t an area that got much attention from scouts and most of the ALB franchises had comparatively limited resources.

Darwish’s dominance did catch the attention of some scouts over in Southeast Asia. Hanoi in particular realized his potential was incredible and signed Darwish to a developmental deal in June 1999. He spent around four years in their academy in Vietnam, debuting with 93 games and 14 starts in 2003 at age 20. Darwish earned a full-time spot in 2004 and spent the next 19 years as a fixture of the Hounds lineup.

Hanoi had been a consistent wild card team in the 1990s and early 2000s, but couldn’t overcome the dynasty runs of Ho Chi Minh City and Yangon. Darwish helped them turn that tide with the Hounds posting a 13-year playoff streak from 2005-17. 2005 was his second full season and his first of 14 consecutive seasons with 50+ homers and 100+ RBI. Darwish had 12 seasons with an OPS above one during that stretch and was worth 7.5+ WAR each year sans 2018.

Darwish also led in runs scored for the first time in 2005 with 131, starting a 13-year streak leading the Southeast Asia League. Hanoi got him to sign a fairly generous extension after the 2005 season at eight years and only $19,360,000. Darwish was second in 2006’s MVP voting with his first 60+ home run season. The Hounds finished 104-58 in both seasons, but lost in the LCS in HCMC in 2005 and had a first round exit in 2006 against Yangon.

2007 was Darwish’s first MVP and Silver Slugger (in LF), setting a then-SAB record for runs scored at 141. He also led the league for the first of many times in homers (67), RBI (150), total bases (435), slugging (.785), OPS (1.222), wRC+ (205), and WAR (10.4). Hanoi finally won the division and took SEAL’s top seed at 111-51, winning their second-ever pennant by beating Yangon in the LCS. The Hounds then won their first SAB Championship, defeating Kanpur in the finale. In the playoffs over 18 starts, Darwish had a .987 OPS, 157 wRC+, 6 home runs, 13 RBI, 19 hits, and 12 runs.

To that point, Darwish’s stats were outstanding, but still seemingly in the realm of reality. The numbers he’d put up from 2008-10 though would absolutely obliterate world records. Even accounting for a hitter-friendly ballpark in Hanoi and a higher homer environment than most in SAB, Darwish’s tallies were unfathomable. It started with 2008, where he repeated as MVP and won another Silver Slugger, his first as a DH.

In 2008, Darwish set world records for home runs (85), RBI (220), runs scored (167), and total bases (528). The 220 RBI was especially insane, considering the previous world record was 186 by West African Baseball’s Mo Reda in 2003. No one had ever hit 80+ homers either to that point, the previous best being 77 by the African Association of Baseball’s Mwarami Tale. Darwish also bested the previous runs high of 152 (Darwin Morris in the 2001 WAB season) by a healthy margin. Only twice before had anyone posted 500+ total bases, edging the previous record of 522 by the European Baseball Federation’s Sean Houston in 1984.

The 220 RBI remains the world single-season record as of 2037 with no one else coming particularly close since. Darwish also led SEAL in slugging (.856), OPS (1.312), and WAR (13.2), the latter two being SAB single-season records to that point. He just missed the then-world record for OPS (1.314 by EBF’s Richard Rautenstrauch) and slugging (.874 by Rautenstrauch). Amazingly, this was arguably the weakest of Darwish’s three bonkers seasons.

Unsurprisingly, Hanoi thrived for to set a franchise record 120-42. They held off a 114-win Yangon for the division and in the LCS, then defeated Mumbai to repeat as SAB Champion. Darwish’s excellent continued through the postseason with 10 homers, 20 RBI, 22 hits, 17 runs, 1.226 OPS, and 1.4 WAR over 16 starts. The 17 runs set an SAB playoff record that only finally was passed in 2027.

Darwish’s insane numbers caught the attention of fans and baseball media worldwide. Some were reluctant to call it the best-ever power season, arguing that SAB’s top-heavy competition level and high homer atmosphere caused inflation. Even diehard supporters figured such a season had to be a one-off and that Darwish would fall back to more realistic stats. But he showed it was no fluke in 2009.

If hitting more than 80 home runs seemed insane, smacking 90+ had to be impossible. But Darwish did it with 91 in 2009, which remains the world record as of 2037. He broke his own total bases mark with 534 and matched his runs record with 167. Darwish had 209 RBI and won his first Triple Crown with a .360 average, earning a third straight MVP and Silver Slugger.

He also led again in hits (224), slugging (.859), OPS (1.293), wRC+ (219), and WAR (13.3). Darwish’s slugging bested his previous year’s SAB record, but still was short of Rautenstrauch and a new record of .886 by AAB’s Tale in 2009. Hanoi broke their own wins record at 122-40, but suffered a shocking first round loss to the rival Green Dragons.

By many metrics, 2010 was actually Darwish’s best season for his fourth straight MVP and Silver Slugger. He had another Triple Crown and his career bests for triple slash (.381/.451/.869), OPS (1.321), wRC+ (241), and WAR (14.5). Darwish broke the runs record again with 172 and the total bases record with 546. The OPS was second in world history to that point behind the 1.375 by Mwarami Tale in 2009. Darwish’s 239 hits fell two short of the SAB record.

Yet again, Darwish also hit 85 home runs with 200 RBI while also leading the league with a career high 50 doubles. The WAR mark was just behind Basava Sanjahay’s 14.74 in 2006 for the SAB record and ranks 18^th-best among position players as of 2037 worldwide. Darwish pulled it off by starting all 162 with only one in the field, a remarkable accomplishment considering the penalty for a DH in WAR total. His WAR mark is the single-season world record for a DH.

Hanoi went 121-41, becoming the only franchise in world history with three consecutive 120+ win seasons. Even the other excellent dynasties in the top-heavy SAB hadn’t managed that before. The Hounds returned to the top spot in SEAL, but fell to Kolkata in the SAB Championship. Darwish had a .927 OPS and 0.7 WAR in 15 playoff starts.

Those who thought Darwish’s tallies were inflated got some ammo in a small sample size. Hanoi qualified as an at-large for the inaugural Baseball Grand Championship in 2010, finishing 3-6 with Darwish posting a .773 OPS and 100 wRC+.

Still, from 2008-10 Darwish had a stretch that will almost certainly never be matched with 506 runs, 692 hits, 119 doubles, 261 home runs, 329 RBI, 629 total bases, and 41.0 WAR. Power stats would broadly increase worldwide from the 2020s onward, but even then Darwish’s stats stand out. As of 2037, no one else has posted a 200+ RBI season; Darwish did it thrice. There would be only ten 80+ homer seasons and five with 85+; Darwish did it thrice. His homers mark would face close challenges though with Wissam Madgy smacking 89 in the 2027 ALB season and Dagne Mersha with 90 in the 2028 AAB campaign.

Darwish’s 172, 167, and 167 runs scored are still the top three seasons in world history with 160+ only getting reached twice in later years. He holds the #1, #2, and #4 seasons in total bases; the #3, #5, and #8 seasons in OPS, and the #3, #4, and #5 seasons ever for slugging percentage. It is a three-year run that even if you saw it live, you’d have a hard time believing it was real.

He’d never reach those kinds of levels again, but Darwish was by no means done as SAB’s top hitter. From 2011-17, he led SEAL each year in runs scored and RBI while leading in homers five times, total bases six times, hits once, slugging five times, OPS thrice, wRC+ thrice, and WAR four times.

Darwish won MVP again in 2011, 2015, 2016, and 2017, while placing third in 2012and second in 2014. He won Silver Sluggers all seven years at DH and signed a new eight-year, $81,300,000 extension with Hanoi in March 2013. From August 24, 2014 to May 15, 2015; Darwish also posted an impressive 55-game on base streak.

Hanoi’s win tallies also weren’t as gaudy, but their playoff streak continued with five division titles and five 100+ win seasons. The Hounds lost in the LCS in both 2011 (to Dhaka) and 2012 (to Yangon). Hanoi returned to the top spot in 2013, besting Vientiane in the LCS and Visakhapatnam in the SAB Championship. The Hounds had LCS defeats to the Green Dragons in 2014, 15, and 17. Hanoi beat Yangon though in 2016 en route to their fourth SAB Championship, this time beating Mumbai.

Darwish remained a strong playoff performer and won LCS MVP in 2013. In 139 playoff games for Hanoi, Darwish had 150 hits, 109 runs, 29 doubles, 53 home runs, 110 RBI, .280/.343/.639 slash, 159 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR. The stats aren’t otherworldly like some of his regular seasons, but was quite excellent.

He fared better in his second crack at the Baseball Grand Championship in 2013 with a .899 OPS, 155 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. Darwish was subpar though in the 2016 BGC with a .629 OPS, 87 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR. Hanoi was tied for eighth in 2013 at 10-9. Despite Darwish’s woes in 2016, the Hounds were one win from the top spot at 12-7, finishing third officially after tiebreakers. Darwish had done well in his one World Baseball Championship in 2003 for Bahrain with a 1.072 OPS, although that would be the only time the tiny nation qualified for the event.

Hanoi’s reign at the top ended with the 2018 season. They’d be generally stuck around .500 for the next decade with only one wild card and 90+ win season in 2023. Darwish led in homers again in 2018 with 55 and still won a Silver Slugger, his first as a first baseman. While still strong by normal people standards, it was his weakest season since his rookie year.

The wild tallies of years past had already gotten Darwish to several milestones by this point despite being only in his mid 30s. He reached 2000 RBI and 2500 hits in 2016, becoming SAB’s RBI king in 2018. Darwish reached 900 home runs in 2017, battling with contemporaries Tirtha Upadhyaya, Devavesman Toppo, and Ratan Canduri for the top spot. He joined Canduri in reaching and passing Manju Abbas as SAB’s only players with 2000+ runs scored in 2019.

2019 was Darwish’s first year with a significant injury as a strained groin kept him out most of September, ending his Silver Slugger streak. However, he passed his rivals to become SAB’s home run king and the first in SAB with 1000 dingers. Only Canduri would join him in that club with 1049. Darwish was only the second in all of pro baseball history to that point in the 1k club, as ALB legend Nordine Soule finished with 1073.

Darwish dealt with another strained groin and torn ankle ligaments in 2020, playing only 70 games all season. He had a concussion and lost a month in 2021, but looked closer to form with 42 homers, 90 RBI, 1.024 OPS, and 6.4 WAR over 132 games. This got him to 1078 home runs, passing Soule as the world’s home run king. Darwish became the fifth in world history with 2500+ RBI. That winter, Hanoi inked their long-time superstar to a new three-year, $24,200,000 extension.

In 2022, Darwish became the first (and to this point, only) player to cross 1100 home runs. At age 39, he still managed a 45 homer, 106 RBI, .945 OPS, 5.4 WAR season in 141 games. Darwish became the new world RBI king, passing the 2618 by CABA/MLB legend Prometheo Garcia that had held since 1968. Darwish was also now only eight runs from Garcia’s world record 2374.

Darwish had served Hanoi dutifully for two decades as a true icon, but the Hounds finished 70-92 for their worst season since 1990. Looking to rebuild, Darwish was one of the few pieces they could offer and to the shock of SAB fans, he was traded in the offseason. Hanoi sent him to Da Nang for five prospects, although no one them ultimately amounted to much.

For Hanoi, Darwish had 2914 games, 3317 hits, 2366 runs, 632 doubles, 45 triples, 1123 home runs, 2655 RBI, 1329 walks, 2214 strikeouts, 259 stolen bases, .311/.389/.694 slash, 1.083 OPS, 186 wRC+, and 159.7 WAR; truly staggering numbers. For his new team Da Nang, they were in “win now” mode. The 2004 expansion Nailers had won division titles in 2020-21 and just missed the playoffs in 2022, hoping they could earn their first pennant.

They ultimately missed that goal, suffering an LCS loss in 2023 to Dhaka and a wild card defeat in 2024. Darwish though returned to the top spot in homers and RBI both seasons, giving him 12 years as SEAL’s top home run hitter and 13 years as the RBI leader. He passed Garcia to become the world runs leader and became SAB’s third batter with 3500 hits. Darwish also passed Canduri’s 169.1 to become SAB’s all-time WARlord and passed him for the most total bases in SAB history. In 2023, Darwish also had a 31-game hitting streak, one of only eight 30+ streaks in SAB history.

In 16 playoff games for Da Nang, Darwish was unremarkable with a .789 OPS, 103 wRC+, and 0.3 WAR. Still, he won two more Silver Sluggers at first base, giving him 14 total for his career. Darwish is the only SAB player to win the award 14+ times and is one of only 21 in all of baseball history to do so as of 2037. For the Nailers, Darwish played 306 games with 328 hits, 220 runs, 61 doubles, 102 home runs, 292 RBI, .292/.379/.627 slash,, 158 wRC+, and 12.4 WAR.

Darwish was a free agent for the first time at age 42 and seemed to have plenty left in the tank. Dhaka had been a competitor in the 2020s, winning the SEAL pennant in 2021 and 2023. The Dobermans gave Darwish a three-year, $46,900,000 deal, bringing him outside of Vietnam for the first time. Age finally did catch up a bit to Darwish, who had a league and career worst 201 strikeouts.

Still, he managed 46 home runs, 114 RBI, .803 OPS, and 2.1 WAR, becoming the only player ever with 3000+ RBI. Darwish passed Canduri (3770) for second in SAB’s hits list, but was still behind Abbas’ 3897. Dhaka finished 101-61 and got the top seed, but was upset by Khulna in the first round. Darwish had a nice series, going 5-20 with 3 homers and 5 RBI.

For his playoff career, Darwish had 160 games, 171 hits, 122 runs, 31 doubles, 59 homers, 128 RBI, 61 walks, 159 strikeouts, .279/.343/.624 slash, 154 wRC+, and 8.0 WAR. Darwish is the world playoff record holder for career homers and RBI. In SAB, he also ranks 3^rd in games, 3^rd in hits, 2^nd in runs, 2^nd in total bases (383), 5^th in doubles, and 2^nd in walks. After one year with Dhaka and career lows for OPS and WAR, Darwish retired from the game at age 42.

The staggering final stats for Darwish: 3364 games, 3782 hits, 2664 runs, 712 doubles, 49 triples, 1271 home runs, 3061 RBI, 8405 total bases, 1506 walks, 2721 strikeouts, .306/.383/.680 slash, 1.063 OPS, 181 wRC+, and 174.1 WAR. Within SAB as of 2037, Darwish is the all-time leader in runs, total bases, home runs, RBI, and WAR. He also ranks 3^rd in games, 2^nd in hits, 2^nd in doubles, 4^th in walks, and 7^th in strikeouts. For batters in SAB with 3000+ plate appearances, Darwish is the all-time leader in slugging percentage while ranking 2^nd in OPS, 20^th in OBP, and 77^th in batting average.

On the leaderboard for all of pro baseball history as of 2037, Darwish is the leader in home runs, RBI, and runs scored. Among Hall of Famers, he is 2^nd in slugging behind only EBF legend Jacob Ronnberg’s .686 and 6^th in OPS. Darwish is also 17^th in games played, 16^th in hits, 15^th in doubles, 41^st in walks, and 7^th in WAR among position players. On the WAR list of all players ever, Darwish ranks 12^th. Only Prometheo Garcia has him beat in total bases (8515 to 8405).

Darwish also had 15 seasons of 50+ home runs, tied for the world record with Nordine Soule. He also holds the world record for three home run games with 23, including four in both the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Surprisingly, Darwish never had a four homer game. With these tallies, he was an obvious Hall of Fame headliner and somehow only got 98.9% for South Asia Baseball’s 2031 class.

But the question remains; is Majed Darwish the greatest power hitter in baseball history? By raw numbers, the answer is yes by a healthy margin. It becomes very difficult though when you’re measuring different players across different eras and leagues. The stat wRC+ tries to account for eras and ballparks with Darwish finishing at 181; excellent but outside of the top 50 in world history. But many of the guys higher on the chart also had shorter careers, as anyone who plays 20+ years will see rate stats decline a bit by the end.

The accumulations are absolutely staggering though and can’t be ignored even if you’re someone who thinks that Darwish was inflated by SAB’s environment and era. Prometheo Garcia often still gets cited as the best pure hitter considering his ownwild tallies came in a far lower-scoring era for CABA/MLB. Just about everyone with comparable power numbers to Garcia, like Darwish, played most or all of their careers in the 21^st Century. Darwish and Garcia both had remarkable longevity as two of only 25 players with 3300+ games played.

Most of the other position players ahead of Darwish in WAR notably paired strong hitter with good or great defensive value. The three batters above 200+ WAR (Harvey Coyle, Jimmy Caliw, Nizami Aghazade) all notably were Gold Glove-winning middle infielders. That Darwish is in the top 10 with half of his career as a DH is a testament to his remarkable hitting. Keep in mind it wasn’t only the gaudy homer/RBI/runs tallies, since he’s also among the best ever in doubles, hits, and walks.

Many stake their case for Darwish as not only the best power hitter ever, but the best pure bat ever. Even with his negative defensive value, he makes a lot of top ten and top five lists for the greatest ever position players. In any case, Majed Darwish is a true icon and immortal of the game with many world records that may never be broken.



Duc Son – First Base – Lucknow Larks – 76.2% First Ballot

Duc Son was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Phan Rang, a city of about 208,000 people in southeastern Vietnam. It is certainly hard to stand out as a great home run hitter when sharing a Hall of Fame class with the GOAT, but Son was an impressive slugger in his own right. He had a 162 game average with 48 homers, 37 doubles, and 115 RBI.

Son graded as an above average to good contact hitter against both sides. He was respectable at drawing walks, but had a lousy strikeout rate especially early in his career. Son’s baserunning ability and speed were both mediocre as well, although he got plenty of bags on his bat alone.

All of Son’s defensive starts came at first base, although about ¼ of his career starts came as a designated hitter. He was a perfectly passable 1B with average to below average glove work. Son’s durability was mostly good throughout his 20s, although he had an abrupt decline in his mid 30s. He wasn’t one to take on a leadership role, but Son was well liked in the clubhouse and considered fiercely loyal to his friends.

Son was impressive as a teenage amateur and earned attention from scouts throughout the region. One of them with Lucknow lured him to India on a developmental deal signed in May 2007. The Larks were still a new franchise at this point, having debuted in the 2004 expansion. Son spent about five years in their academy, debuting with 52 games and 10 starts in 2011 at age 20.

From 2012-19, Son held a full-time starting role for Lucknow. He had some growing pains, leading the Indian League with 257 strikeouts in 2012. After that, he was good for 4.5+ WAR, 35+ home runs, and an OPS above .850 each year. The Larks quickly saw Son as their first franchise star, signing him to an eight-year, $55,900,000 extension in July 2014.

Son led with 364 total bases in 2014, but otherwise was never an award winner or league leader with Lucknow. By the mid 2010s, Lucknow was hovering around the .500 mark consistently. In 2019, they earned their first-ever playoff berth and division title at 89-73. The Larks made it to the ILCS, but fell to Pune. Son’s playoff run was lackluster with 0.1 WAR, 89 wRC+, and .682 OPS in 10 starts.

Still, 2019 was his best year with Lucknow by WAR at 7.6 and his first 50 home run season. It would be his last year though, as he shocked the Larks by opting out of his deal and entering free agency at age 29. The team had hoped to become a consistent competitor, but they quickly fell towards the bottom of the standings throughout the 2020s.

With Lucknow, Son had 1284 games, 1303 hits, 722 runs, 301 doubles, 334 home runs, 833 RBI, 414 walks, 1543 strikeouts, .282/.341/.575 slash, 166 wRC+, and 46.1 WAR. There were hard feelings initially between Son and the Larks, but time eventually healed the wounds. As an important player for the early franchise, his #7 uniform would get retired and he’d be the second inductee in Lucknow colors after closer Viaan Ramakrishna from 2027.

Son got a nice payday with Yangon at $80,500,000 over seven years. The Green Dragons were 25 years into an eventual world record 29-year playoff streak, but they had been upset the last two years despite the top seed. Playing DH, Son delivered in a huge way right away. In 2020, he debuted by leading the Southeast Asia League in runs (123), homers (62), RBI (141), total bases (429), slugging (.658), OPS (1.011), and wRC+ (170). That effort earned Son his first MVP and a Silver Slugger with the runs and total bases ultimately being his career bests.

Yangon only barely made the playoffs as a 92-win wild card, but won their eighth SEAL pennant of the playoff streak. The Green Dragons ultimately lost the SAB Championship against Nagpur. Son had an impressive postseason over 14 starts with 21 hits, 13 runs, 10 homers, 22 RBI, 1.265 OPS, and 1.1 WAR. It was only the fifth time in SAB postseason history that a player hit 10+ homers.

Son again won MVP and a Silver Slugger in 2031, leading again and posting career bests for homers (63), RBI (149), slugging (.707), OPS (1.069), and wRC+ (184). This year was his career best WAR (7.9) and triple slash (.328/.362/.707). Yangon lost in the wild card round, although Son went 7-16 in the series with 3 homers and 2 doubles.

In 2022, Son again led the league in homers (56) and slugging (.641); taking third in MVP voting. Yangon went 99-63 and won it all, defeating Hai Phong for the SEAL pennant and Mumbai for the SAB Championship. Son was LCS MVP and in 11 playoff starts had 14 hits, 8 runs, 4 homers, 10 RBI, and 0.6 WAR. He had excellent playoff stats in the small sample size of his career with 39 starts, 49 hits, 28 runs, 10 doubles, 18 homers, 42 RBI, .320/.356/.739, 1.094 OPS, 191 wRC+, and 2.3 WAR.

In the 2022 Baseball Grand Championship, Son was underwhelming with a .183/.275/.394 slash, 95 wRC+, and 0.3 WAR. Yangon finished at 11-8, one of five teams tied for fourth. Son had also played for his native Vietnam from 2013-23 in the World Baseball Championship, albeit with forgettable stats over 102 games with 75 hits, 45 runs, 9 doubles, 25 homers, 46 RBI, .196/.252/.426 slash, and 1.5 WAR.

Son again surprisingly used his contract option to leave Yangon after the 2022 season. In only three seasons, he had an impactful 467 games with 584 hits, 346 runs, 113 doubles, 181 home runs, 423 RBI, 130 walks, 481 strikeouts, .312/.355/.668 slash, 170 wRC+, and 21.4 WAR. Son ended up signing a five-year, $91 million deal with Ahmedabad at age 32.

In his Animals debut, Son was again excellent with an Indian League best 403 total bases along with 61 home runs, 127 RBI, 1.035 OPS, and 7.4 WAR. The Animals, once the ultimately IL powerhouse, were stuck in the middle tier and finished 79-83. Son won his third Silver Slugger (his only one at 1B) and they had reason to hope they could climb back to prominence.

What happened next is one of the great baseball mysteries. On March 21, 2024; Son was marked as out with an undisclosed injury. Wild speculation lingered for years after as to what this off the field aliment could be with everything to the salacious to the mundane posited. To the credit of those around him, the true nature of the injury or illness never was publicly revealed. It was generally understood to be a life threatening incident though and Son missed the entirety of the 2024 season as a result.

Whatever it was, Son was also never the same player when he tried to return in 2025 for Ahmedabad. In 65 games and 22 starts, he struggled to a .616 OPS and -0.1 WAR. Clearly a shell of his former self, Son retired that winter at age 35. He played 224 games for the Animals with 7.3 WAR and a .966 OPS.

In total, Son had 1975 games, 2094 hits, 1195 runs, 450 doubles, 32 triples, 581 home runs, 1399 RBI, 593 walks, 2234 strikeouts, .291/.344/.604 slash, 168 wRC+, and 74.8 WAR. As of 2037, Son ranks 66^th in runs, 49^th in total bases (4351), 68^th in doubles, 24^th in home runs, 44^th in RBI, 31^st in strikeouts, and 68^th in WAR among position players. His slugging ranks 22^nd among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances and his .949 OPS is 38^th.

There were a few voters who felt Son didn’t quite have the longevity needed for the Hall of Fame, but most felt his big power stats and playoff accolades made up for that. Son also had two MVPs and led in homers thrice, both rare and major accomplishments. He does remain a “what if?” player considering the mystery injury and his immediate decline. Son was still solid enough though to receive 76.2% for a first ballot induction as part of the 2031 class for South Asia Baseball.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two earned induction for the Asian Baseball Federation Hall of Fame in 2031, captained by a near unanimous 97.3% for 1B/RF Rafkat Kudaybergenov. Closer Ananthakrishnan Khan joined him by a very slim margin at 66.8%, just crossing the 66% requirement on his third try. SP Ahour Sabbari barely missed out with a 64.5% debut. Also above 50% was 3B Eser Haspolatli at 56.9% in his second ballot and CL Raghid Yazdani debuting at 53.1%.



No one was dropped after ten failed ballots, although 1B Mark Mkrtchyan deserves a brief mention after falling below 5% in his eighth try. He peaked at 35.7% and retired as ABF’s leader in walks drawn at 1214, although he ranks fourth as of 2037. Mkrtchyan played 17 years with 2529 games, 2108 hits, 1299 runs, 349 doubles, 97 triples, 457 home runs, 1128 RBI, .237/.341/.452 slash, 153 wRC+, and 84.6 WAR. Mkrtchyan is also 34^th in WAR among position players, but only had one Silver Slugger and wasn’t dominant enough in his peak to earn more traction.



Rafkat Kudaybergenov – First Base/Right Field – Faisalabad Fire – 97.3% First Ballot

Rafkat Kudaybergenov was a 5’11’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman and right fielder from Tashkent, the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. Kudaybergenov was known as an excellent contact hitter, especially facing right-handed pitching. He had strong gap power and respectable home run power with 40 doubles and 27 home runs per his 162 game average. Kudaybergenov was above average at drawing walks and average at avoiding strikeouts.

Facing RHP, Kudaybergenov had an outstanding career 193 wRC+ and .948 OPS. He was still plenty capable against lefties with a .772 OPS and 141 wRC+. Kudaybergenov was an incredibly skilled and crafty baserunner, proving a capable threat despite mediocre top speed. He split his career almost evenly between first base and right field, playing RF mostly in the front end of his career and 1B in the back end.

Kudaybergenov’s speed and range were too poor to succeed in the outfield, grading as a poor defender in RF. Despite height usually being valued at first base, the stocky lefty graded as rock solid there, winning Gold Gloves in 2020, 22, and 23. Kudaybergenov did run into various injuries, but still persevered for a two decade career thanks to a fantastic work ethic. Kudaybergenov became extremely popular in the region and is considered by many to be the best player to ever come out of Uzbekistan.

Prior to the 21^st Century, Uzbek players were typically in the domain of Eurasian Professional Baseball. Tashkent was among the teams that left EPB for ABF in 2000, which was around when a teenaged Kudaybergenov was dominating Central Asia’s amateur ranks. The expansion led to the Pakistani teams more extensively scouting the region with Faisalabad taking notice of Kudaybergenov specifically. Shortly after his 16^th birthday, Kudaybergenov inked a developmental deal with the Fire in June 2002.

Although his whole career would be in Pakistan, Kudaybergenov was still an excellent regular for his native Uzbekistan in the World Baseball Championship. From 2007-26, he played 201 games with 229 hits, 110 runs, 44 doubles, 45 home runs, 121 RBI, .315/.376/.565 slash, and 10.0 WAR. Kudaybergenov is one of only 41 position players in WBC history with 10+ WAR as of 2037 and ranks 17^th in hits and 9^th in doubles.

Kudaybergenov also helped the Uzbek team punch well above its weight with a division title in 2010 and a shocking runner-up finish to England in 2019. He leads all Uzbeks in the WBC in games, starts, runs, hits, doubles, RBI, and WAR and ranks 4^th in homers. This helped Kudaybergenov become a huge baseball star back home even as his made his way in ABF for Faisalabad.

In 2004, Kudaybergenov was a rare 18-year old debut, although he went hitless in ten at-bats. He struggled over 116 games and 42 starts in 2005, leading to him being sent back to the academy for all of 2006. Kudaybergenov was back in 2007 and ready to start full-time, a role he held for most of the next 19 years with Faisalabad.

2008 saw Kudaybergenov win the batting title at .317, but 2009 had a setback due to a sprained thumb and strained back keeping him out two months. He was mostly healthy and excellent in 2010, taking second in MVP voting with league bests in average (.357), OBP (.402), OPS (1.017), and wRC+ (220). The average, OPS, and wRC+ would be career highs. This ended a 12-year stretch of losing seasons for Faisalabad, who lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Fire finally had reason to think they could compete, signing Kudaybergenov to a four-year, $20,760,000 extension in June 2010.

Kudaybergenov’s best year was 2011, winning his lone MVP along with his first Silver Slugger in RF. He led the East League in runs (107), hits (204), doubles (52), total bases (352), OBP (.407), slugging (.602), OPS (1.009), wRC+ (215), and WAR (10.3). The runs, hits, doubles, OBP, and WAR were all career bests. Faisalabad finished 96-66, earning the top seed for the first time in franchise history. They carried that to their first-ever ABF Championship win, defeating Tehran in the final.

In the ELCS against Almaty, Kudaybergenov earned series MVP honors. Across 14 playoff starts, he posted 14 hits, 9 runs, 6 homers, 11 RBI, 1.080 OPS, 223 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR. Kudaybergenov had a respectable showing in the 2011 Baseball Grand Championship with 23 hits, 11 runs, 6 doubles, 3 homers, 8 RBI, .984 OPS, 128 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. Faisalabad finished 8-11 in the event, but it was clear they had a shot to compete regularly for the next few years.

2012 was a setback for Kudaybergenov, who suffered bone chips in his elbow in spring training and missed more than half the season. Faisalabad narrowly got the final wild card, but lost in the first round to Almaty. The Fire bounced back for the top seed again in 2013 at 100-62, but was stunned in a first round upset loss against Dushanbe.

Despite the disappointing finish, Kudaybergenov was a beast again with a Silver Slugger and second place in MVP voting. He led in the triple slash (.340/.402/.576), OPS (.978), wRC+ (212), and hits (194). Faisalabad was yet again the top seed in 2014 at 99-63, this time prevailing for their second pennant. The Fire won their second ABF Championship as well, topping Mashhad in the finale.

Kudaybergenov was finals MVP with an impressive playoff run with 20 hits, 13 runs, 4 doubles, 6 home runs, 14 RBI, 1.031 OPS, 228 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. He again was merely decent in the BGC with a .830 OPS, 122 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR as the Fire again finished 8-11. That summer, the Fire extended the now 28-year old Kudaybergenov for the long haul on a hefty eight-year, $97,100,000 deal.

Faisalabad had one more first round exit in 2015 before beginning a rebuild with back-to-back losing seasons. Kudaybergenov still held up his end, leading in doubles in 2016 and winning a Silver Slugger in 2017 in RF. The Fire had geared back up by 2018, falling one win short of the playoffs and a division title at 89-73. They did that despite Kudaybergenov missing most of the season to a torn hamstring.

Kudaybergenov lost some time in 2019 to a fractured rib, but still managed a third place in MVP voting with an EL-best .914 OPS and 189 wRC+ over 127 games. Faisalabad started a six-year playoff streak, although they were ousted in the 2019 ELCS by Dushanbe. Kudaybergenov got his first Silver Slugger at first base and a Gold Glove in 2020, but the Fire fell in the first round of the playoffs.

Faisalabad returned to the top spot in 2021 with a franchise-best 106-56 season en route to an ABF Championship win over Izmir. Kudaybergenov was finals MVP for the second time and earned his third ring, posting a .957 OPS, 196 wRC+, and 1.1 WAR in 16 starts. He led the EL with 52 doubles in the regular season, earning third in MVP voting.

2021 would be his most impressive showing in the Baseball Grand Championship with 24 hits, 16 runs, 4 doubles, 7 home runs, 14 RBI, 1.045 OPS, 185 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. Despite that, it was Faisalabad’s worst showing at 6-13. That winter, Kudaybergenov inked a new three-year, $36,800,000 extension. The Fire remained a contender for the next three years with three more division titles and a 105-win 2022, but they suffered three straight ELCS defeats from 2022-24.

Kudaybergenov still performed well, taking third in 2022’s MVP voting with his fifth and final Silver Slugger. His playoff stats were weak in 2022 and 2024, but were quite solid over the entirety of his career. In 108 starts, Kudaybergenov had 106 hits, 54 runs, 24 doubles, 20 home runs, 65 RBI, 13 steals, .262/.313/.469 slash, 136 wRC+, and 3.9 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 11^th in ABF playoff hits, 10^th in runs, and 4^th in RBI.

In 2024, Kudaybergenov hit for the cycle against his hometown Tashkent in an important milestone. In 2025, he became only the second member of ABF’s 3000 hit club, a feat first achieved by Mehmet Fatih Canaydin the prior year. Age finally caught up though and Kudaybergenov struggled in 2025 with only 101 games, 71 starts, .722 OPS, 116 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR.

He hoped to still play in 2026, but went unsigned and didn’t see the field apart from two plate appearances in the World Baseball Championship for Uzbekistan. Kudaybergenov retired that winter at age 40 and Faisalabad immediately honored their longtime superstar by retiring his #15 uniform.

Kudaybergenov finished with 2719 games, 3065 hits, 1477 runs, 667 doubles, 34 triples, 458 home runs, 1497 RBI, 821 walks, 1668 strikeouts, 324 stolen bases, .315/.368/.531 slash, 179 wRC+, and 117.4 WAR. As of 2037, Kudaybergenov ranks 8^th in games, 4^th in hits, 7^th in runs, 5^th in total bases (5174), 3^rd in doubles, 32^nd in home runs, 12^th in RBI, 21^st in walks, and 2^nd in WAR among all players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Kudaybergenov’s .899 OPS ranks 44^th and his triple slash is 29^th/30^th/68^th.

Nizami Aghazade is the undisputed ABF GOAT with nine MVPs and 183.1 career WAR, but the #2 spot is very much up for grabs with a number of guys in the 100-110 WAR range. You could make a fair case for Kudaybergenov, although his lower home run tallies are often cited to favor other players. Longevity definitely helped his tallies over raw dominance.

However, Kudaybergenov’s playoff successes can’t be overstated, leading Faisalabad to their first successes. Very few guys in ABF’s competitive field can claim three rings with one team. He usually makes most top 10 and several top 5 lists when discussing the Asian Baseball Federation’s best-ever position players. Kudaybergenov was a clear inner-circle Hall of Famer in any case, headlining the 2031 class at 97.3%.



Ananthakrishnan Khan – Closer – Peshawar Predators – 66.8% Third Ballot

Ananthakrishnan Khan was a 6’3’’, 205 pound left-handed relief pitcher from Kochi, India; a metropolis with over two million in its greater area on the country’s southwestern coast. Khan had absolutely filthy overpowering stuff in his prime, although his movement and control both graded as above average at best. He had a 99-101 mph fastball along with an excellent curveball and was a master at changing speeds.

Khan’s stamina was excellent, especially for a reliever. He also showed very good durability on the whole as one of the few closers to boast a 20+ year career. Khan was good at holding runners, but weaker defensively otherwise. His work ethic was also top notch and played a big role in his longevity. Khan would be the first Indian added into ABF’s Hall of Fame.

Indian players rarely entered ABF’s sphere, generally because of the political tensions with neighboring Pakistan. ABF scouts rarely even bothered despite India’s massive population, but Peshawar made an exception for Khan. They convinced him to come west on a developmental deal signed in September 1997. He spent five years in the Predators’ academy, debuting in 2003 at age 21 with 37.1 respectable innings. Khan earned the closer role the next year and held it five seasons for Peshawar.

Khan had remarkable dominance for Peshawar, who was firmly a mid-to-lower rung team during his tenure. He won four consecutive Reliever of the Year awards from 2005-08, leading the East League with 39 saves in 2005. This year also had his highs in games (77), innings (104), strikeouts (199), and WAR (7.3). It ranks as one of only 49 seasons in world history where the ROTY winner posted 7+ WAR. Nearly getting 200 strikeouts as a closer was also unheard of.

From June 30, 2005 to June 2, 2007; Khan had an incredible 74 save streak. Editor’s note: there’s no easy way to search if this is a world record, but it probably is. During that streak were 42 consecutive scoreless innings from 8/2/06 to 5/29/07. Khan also tossed 16.2 straight hitless innings from 4/23/07 to 5/29/07. You’d be hard pressed in all of baseball history to find a better nearly two year stretch by a closer.

His best ERA and highest save total were both 2006 at 40 saves and a 0.71 ERA. For Peshawar, Khan had 182 saves and 227 shutdowns, 1.33 ERA, 486 innings, 923 strikeouts, 113 walks, 234 ERA+, and 28.4 WAR. The franchise was going nowhere though, finishing 64-98 in 2008. With Khan entering his last season under team control, the Predators traded him in the offseason to Istanbul for two prospects.

Khan’s dominance continued in Turkey with his fifth consecutive Reliever of the Year, becoming the only five-time winner in ABF history. He had a 1.10 ERA, 34 saves, 145 strikeouts, 73.2 innings, and 4.6 WAR. He also in July struck out 11 consecutive batters across a few appearances. The Ironmen had won back-to-back ABF titles in 2007-08 before Khan arrived. They fell off in 2009, narrowly claiming the second wild card at 87-75. Istanbul fell in the first round and Khan didn’t get a chance to make an appearance.

Now 28-years old, Khan was a free agent and had plenty of worldwide attention. He had also been successful for India in the World Baseball Championship, where he split time between starting and relief. From 2005-19, Khan had a 13-7 record and 9 saves in 169 innings with a 2.66 ERA, 342 strikeouts, 75 walks, and 6.2 WAR. His 18.21 K/9 ranks 22^nd among all WBC pitchers with 80+ innings. In 2009, Khan had helped India to its first World Championship, upsetting the United States in the final.

American teams liked what they saw and Tampa ultimately brought Khan to Major League Baseball on a two-year, $19,900,000 deal. Despite being healthy, Khan was used only for seven appearances in all of 2010, although he allowed only one unearned run and struck out 12 in 7.1 innings. In 2011, Khan took over the closer role and finished third in Reliever of the Year voting with a 1.35 ERA over 73.1 innings, 25 saves, 112 strikeouts, and 4.9 WAR.

Tampa had won the first World Series back in 1901, but hadn’t made it back since. The Thunderbirds ended that long drought in 2011 with an upset run and finals win over Brooklyn. Khan had a stellar postseason with 10 games, 18 innings, 5 saves, and 3-1 record, 0.50 ERA, 22 strikeouts, four walks, and 1.2 WAR. Amazingly, he was arguably more impressive in the second-ever Baseball Grand Championship.

Khan had 12 scoreless innings in nine appearances in the BGC with four saves, two wins, 27 strikeouts, five walks, and four hits. Tampa finished 15-4 to become the second-ever Grand Champion. Although the time with the Thunderbirds was brief, Khan certainly was quite impactful to get them to the top spot in the world. He was back to free agency after that and signed for one year and $9,500,000 with Hartford.

He had some trouble for the Huskies with a 4.18 ERA over 32.1 innings, leading to a July trade with Ottawa. Khan fared better with a 2.56 ERA over 31.2 innings for the Elks, and gave up a solo homer in his one playoff inning. He joined Detroit in 2013, but had his first major injury setback in spring training with a torn rotator cuff. Khan did look good in the two appearances he made in late September with the Tigers with three scoreless innings.

Khan’s longest MLB tenure came with Montreal, who signed him for 2014 at $15,600,000 over two years. They gave him a two-year, $14,800,000 extension in June 2015. While Khan wasn’t in the awards conversations, he had a very solid run with the Maples with 88 saves and 102 shutdowns over 235.2 innings, a 2.18 ERA, 393 strikeouts, 79 walks 158 ERA+, and 10.6 WAR. Khan also had two shutout playoff innings in 2014, although Montreal couldn’t get out of the first round.

After the 2016 season, Khan was traded to Brooklyn for prospects and gave the Dodgers a solid 2017 with 34 saves, 1.90 ERA, 80.1 innings, 103 strikeouts, and 1.9 WAR. Khan gave up one run over eight playoff innings with 11 strikeouts as Brooklyn fell in the National Association Championship Series to Boston. This ultimately was the end of his MLB tenure, returning to free agency and ABF at age 36.

Between the MLB stints, Khan had a 46-39 record, 2.12 ERA, 171 saves, 197 shutdowns, 463.2 innings, 733 strikeouts, 145 walks, 162 ERA+, 48 FIP-, and 20.7 WAR. It was a very impressive brief tenure and he managed to even get 6.0% in 2024 and 3.7% in 2025 for MLB’s Hall of Fame voting. Khan’s ABF return came on a two-year, $10,800,000 deal with Kabul. The Black Knights had been largely unsuccessful since joining in the 2009 expansion.

With Kabul in 2018, Khan had a 2.54 ERA, 27 saves, 92 innings, 144 strikeouts, and 2.8 WAR. They traded him in the winter to Tabriz, who had lost in that year’s West League Championship Series. The Tiger Sharks got over the hump in 2019 with a 107-55 record, earning their first-ever ABF Championship win over Dushanbe.

Khan again proved to be a beast in the postseason. He tossed 16.1 scoreless innings over nine appearances with seven saves, one win, and 25 strikeouts. He allowed only three hits and three walks. Khan’s scoreless innings run continued through the Baseball Grand Championship with 9.1 no-hit innings over nine appearances, seven saves, 16 strikeouts, and three walks. Tabriz shocked the world with a 15-4 finish, becoming the first ABF team to win the Grand Championship. Khan also became one of the very few to have two BGC rings to his name.

Tabriz extended Khan for two years and $5,520,000 that winter and he ultimately stayed through 2023 with the Tiger Sharks. His regular season stats were less incredible than his Peshawar days, but he was still quite solid and took third in Reliever of the Year voting. Tabriz remained a playoff contender with three more 100+ win seasons and #1 seeds. They couldn’t get back over the hump with ELCS losses in 2020 and 2022, along with a first round exit in 2021.

Khan remained steady when called upon in the playoffs, finishing with a 0.29 ERA, 10 saves, 31.1 innings, 20 games, and 38 strikeouts for Tabriz. Adding his MLB totals, Khan had a 0.60 ERA over 60.1 playoff innings with 17 saves, a 6-3 record, 79 strikeouts, 10 walks, 604 ERA+, and 2.9 WAR. When you add in 21.1 scoreless innings in the BGC with 43 strikeouts and 11 saves, it is clear that Khan is among the best postseason closers in baseball history.

His velocity started to dip with age and he missed much of 2023 to a strained oblique, only pitching 12 innings with a 4.50 ERA. However, he had 1.1 scoreless playoff innings as Tabriz won another ABF Championship. Khan retired after that at age 42, electing to skip the 2023 BGC. Overall for Tabriz, Khan had 79 saves, a 1.87 ERA, 269 innings, 381 strikeouts, 43 walks, 208 ERA+, and 8.4 WAR.

In ABF, Khan finished with 322 saves and 409 shutdowns, 73-53 record, 1.59 ERA, 695 games, 920.2 innings, 1593 strikeouts, 205 walks, 212 ERA+, 40 FIP-, and 44.2 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 71^st in WAR among all pitchers, 5^th in saves, and 8^th in games. Khan doesn’t quite qualify for rate stats (1000 innings needed), but his ERA, 15.58 K/9, and .469 opponent’s OPS would each be ABF records if he was included.

The voters for the Asian Baseball Federation were less forgiving to closers compared to other Halls of Fame. There were only two previous inductees and Khan had them both beat in innings, ERA, strikeouts, and WAR. Still, some voters felt Khan just wasn’t around long enough and others were just generally anti-closer. He barely missed the 66% requirement in his first two ballots with 65.0% and 62.9%.

Khan only slightly bumped up in 2031 to 66.8%, but that got him across the line as a third ballot inductee. His five Reliever of the Year awards and playoff exploits certainly earned him a spot among ABF’s greats. But Khan’s combined stats with MLB ranks him among the best-ever closers in all of world history. He finished with 493 saves and 606 shutdowns, a 119-92 record, 1.77 ERA, 1084 games, 1384.1 innings, 2326 strikeouts, 350 walks, 193 ERA+, 43 FIP-, and 64.9 WAR.

As of 2037 among all closers in world history, Khan is 16^th in saves, 6^th in strikeouts, 11^th in WAR, 14^th in games, and 7^th in shutdowns. Among Hall of Fame relievers, Khan is 33^rd in ERA, 29^th in ERA+, 29^th in FIP-, and 24^th in opponent’s OPS. He’s easily on the shortlist for all-time great closers and has to be strongly considered when discussing the best-ever postseason closers.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Arab League Baseball had a four player Hall of Fame class in 2031, matching 2028 and 2025 for its largest groups. All four guys were first ballot picks, co-headlined by 1B Yahya bin Hakam (98.2%) and RF Khaled Mohamed (94.7%). SP Atef Abdelhaikm was a strong third at 87.0%, while CL Nasser Al-Jarrah narrowly crossed the 66% requirement at 70.4%. No one else was over 50% with the best returner being 1B Faqi Al-Thakur at 44.4% on his third ballot.



SP El Mamy Ely was dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking at 30.7% in 2023 and ending with 6.5%. Over 15 ALB seasons between Giza and Sulaymanyiah, Ely had a 159-136 record, 3.24 ERA, 2658.1 innings, 3436 strikeouts, 700 walks, 118 ERA+, and 59.0 WAR. Ely does notably rank 17^th in strikeouts as of 2037, but didn’t have the black ink or awards to get more voting traction. He would notably become a manager in Europe, winning a championship as Warsaw’s skipper in 2036.

SS Chucka Debekeme also fell off after ten tries, never getting higher than 11.6% but managing to stay above 5% until his 3.0% final ballot. Debekeme won three Silver Sluggers and won three ALB titles for Basra along with 2008 finals MVP honors. He had 2171 games, 2118 hits, 955 runs, 441 doubles, 216 triples, 297 home runs, 1094 RBI, .265/.290/.486 slash, 111 wRC+, and 48.2 WAR. Debekeme was a solid “Hall of Pretty Good” guy, but didn’t have the dominance needed to have a chance.



Yahya bin Hakam – First Base/Designated Hitter – Mecca Marksmen – 98.2% First Ballot

Yahya bin Hakam was a 6’5’’, 200 pound right-handed hitting first baseman from Sharjah, the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates with around 1.8 million people. Bin Hakam was renowned for excellent home run power and an outstanding eye against both sides. He led his conference in walks 13 times, on-base percentage 11 times, and home runs five times. Bin Hakam was also a rock solid contact hitter, although his strikeout rate was merely decent.

Per his 162 game average, bin Hakam got you 51 home runs and 32 doubles with nearly half of his career hits going for extra bases. His biggest offensive flaw was weak speed and baserunning, although you could certainly find worse. In addition, bin Hakam was one of the great ironmen in baseball history, starting 146+ games in all 18 seasons of his career. About 2/3 of the starts came at first base with the rest as a designated hitter. Defensively, bin Hakam was consistently mediocre, but again you could do worse. It was his incredible bat that made him a superstar throughout the Arab world despite a fairly basic personality.

Initially, bin Hakam focused on other interests despite success as an amateur. He spent time considering a basketball career as well and ultimately was never drafted by a baseball team. At age 24, bin Hakam was an eligible free agent and Mecca convinced him to commit to baseball, signing him to a five-year, $4,000,000 deal. The small investment paid off, as bin Hakam won 2008 Rookie of the Year honors, his first Silver Slugger (as a DH), and led in walks for the first of six consecutive seasons.

In 2009, bin Hakam started a streak of ten straight seasons leading the Eastern Conference in OBP. During that run, he led four times in home runs, twice in RBI, once in runs, once in total bases, thrice in slugging, five times in OPS, four times in wRC+, and once in WAR. Bin Hakam won a Silver Slugger in 2009 as a DH, then won at first base in 2011, 13, 15, 17, and 18 for Mecca. The Marksmen quickly realized they had a star and extended him at a modest $27,720,000 over eight years after the 2011 season.

Unsurprisingly, bin Hakam was a regular in the MVP conversation with a second place in 2009, third in 2010, second in 2011, second in 2012, third in 2013, and second in 2017. He faced tough competition and lost some votes due to the lack of team success. Mecca was firmly stuck in the middle-tier for much of his run with their lone playoff appearance being a first round loss in 2009. The Marksmen had three terrible seasons from 2014-16, but were otherwise had win totals consistently in the 80s.

Seven times with Mecca, bin Hakam had an OPS above 1.100. He was above 8 WAR in eight campaigns, above 50 homers eight times, above 60 homers thrice, above 100 runs scored 11 times, and above 125 RBI four times. His lone MVP win came in 2015 when he set the ALB single-season home run record with 75, which held until 2020. It still ranks as the 7^th best season as of 2037 in ALB.

Bin Hakam’s 1.255 OPS also set an ALB single-season record which would only be passed once in 2027. As of 2037, this ranks as the 27^th-best qualifying OPS in any season for any world league. The 1.216 OPS from 2011 sits as ALB’s 11^th best. The 2015 effort also saw one of only six qualifying seasons in ALB history with a slugging percentage above .800 at .807. As of 2037, an .800+ slugging has only been reached 41 times in world history.

2019 was Mecca’s best record with bin Hakam at 91-71, but they were still third in a loaded Saudi Division which had seen a Jeddah dynasty for most of his run. While still a strong starter, this was bin Hakam’s worst season to that point in WAR (5.1) and OPS (.950). Ultimately, bin Hakam and Mecca couldn’t come to terms on a new deal, sending the long-time superstar to free agency at age 36.

For the holy city, bin Hakam had 1923 games, 2127 hits, 1356 runs, 392 doubles, 640 home runs, 1443 RBI, 1095 walks, .316/.420/.666 slash, 186 wRC+, and 98.4 WAR. His #16 uniform would eventually be retired and bin Hakam remained beloved in Mecca for years to come. Up next was a three-year, $36,500,000 deal with Casablanca. Bin Hakam hoped he might finally see the big stage with the Bruins, who had been a historical contender to that point. More recently, Casablanca was the ALB champ in 2015 and 2017. However, they had missed the playoffs in the last two seasons as Tripoli took over the division.

Bin Hakam’s production remained consistent with his later Mecca years, but he did see a power resurgence and a conference-best 60 home runs in 2021. He also had a career high 141 runs in 2022, one of only 12 seasons of 140+ runs in ALB history. Bin Hakam won Silver Sluggers in 2021 and 2022 at first base and was third in 2021’s MVP voting. This gave him nine Sluggers for his career.

Casablanca won 96 and 95 games in 2020-21, but took second in the division both years. They finally returned to the perch in 2022 and went all the way for a historic sixth ALB Championship win, ousting reigning champ Jeddah in the finale. Bin Hakam made the most of a rare playoff chance, earning MVP in the Western Conference Final win over Amman. In 13 playoff starts, bin Hakam had 13 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 5 home runs, 10 RBI, 1.158 OPS, and 0.7 WAR.

He also had an impressive showing in his lone Baseball Grand Championship appearance, posting 20 hits, 14 runs, 3 doubles, 10 home runs, 20 RBI, 11 walks,1.240 OPS, 256 wRC+, and 1.88 WAR. As of 2037, bin Hakam’s WAR is the 39^th best by a position player in BGC history. Despite that effort, Casablanca finished at 9-10 for the event. But bin Hakam was able to prove on the grand stage that he was undoubtedly a big game player.

In three years with Casablanca, bin Hakam had 468 games, 505 hits, 383 runs, 79 doubles, 155 home runs, 365 RBI, 254 walks, .306/.405/.648 slash, 168 wRC+, and 19.9 WAR. He was still a top draw even at age 39 as he returned to free agency after the Bruins’ 2022 title. He did annoy some Casablanca fans by signing with their rival Tripoli on a three-year, $73,600,000 deal. By this point, the Privateers run at the top had ended and they hovered around .500 during bin Hakam’s tenure.

His first two seasons were respectable, leading the conference twice more in walks and becoming ALB’s all-time walks leader. In 2024, bin Hakam reached 2000 career RBI, joining Nordine Soule as the only player to do it in ALB to that point. Soule was the all-time leader in runs, hits, homers, and RBI; but some thought bin Hakam might give chase considering his durability and consistency.

Father time caught up to bin Hakam in 2005 though as he struggled to -0.4 WAR and .707 OPS over 158 games. Still, he was able to reach 900 home runs and 2000 runs scored, both marks only previously reached by Soule. Bin Hakam also got to 3000 hits, which only Soule and Farouk Adam had pulled off. Realizing he was done, bin Hakam retired that winter just after his 42^nd birthday. With Tripoli, he finished with 468 games, 429 hits, 286 runs, 93 doubles, 110 home runs, 287 RBI, 246 walks, .253/.358/.507 slash, 126 wRC+, and 8.9 WAR.

In total, bin Hakam had 2859 games, 3059 hits, 2025 runs, 564 doubles, 40 triples, 905 home runs, 2095 RBI, 1595 walks, 2258 strikeouts, 66 stolen bases, .303/.407/.637 slash, 173 wRC+, and 127.2 WAR. As of 2037, bin Hakam remains ALB’s career walks leader and ranks 26^th among all players in world history. On the ALB leaderboard, bin Hakam is 3^rd in games, 2^nd in runs, 4^th in hits, 3^rd in total bases (6418), 33^rd in doubles, 4^th in homers, 3^rd in RBI, 33^rd in strikeouts, 3^rd in WAR among position players and 5^th among everybody.

Among ALB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, bin Hakam’s OPS is 7^th, his OBP is 6^th, and slugging is 18^th. He’s 22^nd in among world Hall of Famers in OBP and one of only 38 with an OBP above .400. Bin Hakam’s slugging is 27^th among world HOFers and his OPS is 17^th. On the world charts, bin Hakam also ranks 27^th in runs, 23^rd in home runs, and 42^nd in RBI.

By any metric, bin Hakam is an inner-circle Hall of Famer and has a case as being a top five player in all of ALB history. In a weird way, he’s almost under-rated despite his remarkable tallies, getting overlooked somewhat with his prime on some aggressively mid Mecca teams. Bin Hakam is beloved though and a clear headliner at 98.2% for the loaded 2031 class for Arab League Baseball. He was the first inductee born in the United Arab Emirates and is widely viewed as the UAE’s best-ever baseball product.



Khaled “Piglet” Mohamed – Right Field – Cairo Pharaohs – 94.7% First Ballot

Khaled Mohamed was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed right fielder from Aden, Yemen; a port city with just over one million people. He had the childhood nickname “Piglet,” which oddly stuck into his 19-year professional career. Mohamed became extremely popular despite bouncing around between six teams in his career and was known as one of the most intelligent guys in the game.

Mohamed had an impressive pop in his bat with 42 home runs, 39 doubles, and 8 triples per his 162 game average. He was considered a generally good contact hitter against both sides, but Mohamed did struggle with strikeouts and very rarely drew walks. His baserunning ability and speed graded as delightfully average overall.

He had a very strong arm and spent the vast majority of his career in right field. Mohamed was a perfectly adequate defender with average to above average metrics. He did make around 20% of his starts as a designated hitter, mostly in his later seasons. Mohamed ran into recurring back issues at points, but mostly avoided missing major chunks across his career.

Mohamed left Yemen for Jordan as a teenager, signing a developmental deal with Amman in May 2002. He officially debuted in 2006 at age 20, but went 2-12 in his limited appearances. Mohamed spent 2007 back on the reserve roster, then played 88 games and started 83 in 2008 with 2.4 WAR and .840 OPS. Despite only a half season, that earned him 2008 Rookie of the Year honors. The Aviators won the Levant Division that year, falling to Casablanca in the Western Conference Final.

Amman built a dynasty with back-to-back Arab League titles in 2009-10; their first overall championships. Mohamed was a solid starter both years and was especially potent in the 2010 playoff run with a 1.107 OPS. The Aviators went 99-63 and beat Kuwait in the 2009 final, then had an all-time team in 2010 at 116-46 which defeated Basra in the final.

2010 was the inaugural Baseball Grand Championship with Amman struggling to 2-7 in the inaugural divisional format. Mohamed held up his end with a 1.025 OPS and 0.6 WAR over nine starts. The Aviators seemed hopeful to continue their dynasty run and Mohamed was looking to be a young star of the future. That made it more shocking that he was traded in February 2011 to Cairo for veterans C Abdel Mohammed and RP Hamdi Hussein along with prospect SP Sidig al-Zawahiri.

For Amman in 393 games, Mohamed had 396 hits, 201 runs, 92 doubles, 94 home runs, 255 RBI, .269/.300/.543 slash, 137 wRC+, and 10.9 WAR. Cairo had just been outside the playoffs the last two years and would be stuck just below .500 for the early part of the 2010s. But Mohamed would become a star during his time in Egypt. The Pharaohs gave him a five-year, $37,900,000 extension after the 2012 season.

Mohamed was third in MVP voting in 2012, 2013, and 2017 and won Silver Sluggers in 2013, 15, and 17. He led the Western Conference in hits with 194 in 2013, RBI with 129 in 2015, and in WAR with a career best 7.8 in 2017. In 2017, Cairo ended a 13-year playoff drought, falling to Casablanca in the WCF. Mohamed was surprisingly poor with a .463 OPS and -0.2 WAR in the playoffs. They’d become a playoff regular for the next decade, although that marked the end of Mohamed’s run.

In seven seasons for the Pharaohs, Mohamed had 1005 games, 1191 hits, 610 runs, 260 doubles, 58 triples, 251 home runs, 719 RBI, 153 walks, 118 steals, .313/.342/.609 slash, 162 wRC+, and 38.9 WAR. Mohamed was excited to test out free agency at age 32 and found a hefty pay bump on a four-year, $54,800,000 deal with Jeddah. The Jackals were in the midst of their own seven-year playoff streak, having won the ALB title in 2013 and 2014.

The playoff run continued with Mohamed and Jeddah started a second dynasty run. Mohamed won a Silver Slugger in 2019 and was on his best pace of his career, although he lost a month to a PCL injury. The Jackals at 105-57 defeated Tripoli for the 2018 ALB Championship, then at 104-58 lost to the Privateers in a 2019 finals rematch. Jeddah won 104 games again in 2020 but fell to Basra in the Eastern Conference Final.

Despite his overall value in the regular season, Mohamed underperformed in the playoffs with a .176/.211/.456 slash and 69 wRC+ in 17 starts. He wasn’t much better in the 2018 Baseball Grand Championship with a .205/.227/.384 slash and 76 wRC+. However, the Jackals earned Grand Champion honors in 2018 at 14-5, the first Arab League team to achieve baseball’s highest team feat.

You could criticize Mohamed for iffy numbers in big games, apart from a strong run in 2010 for Amman. In 55 ALB playoff games, he had 50 hits, 33 runs, 7 doubles, 16 home runs, 33 RBI, .223/.249/.487 slash, 95 wRC+, and 0.7 WAR. Mohamed had similar results for Yemen in the World Baseball Championship from 2009-25 over 105 games with 77 hits, 38 runs, 15 doubles, 23 home runs, 57 RBI, .211/.258/.458 slash, and 1.0 WAR.

The deal was certainly a winner though for Jeddah considering what they got out of three years for Mohamed. He played 420 games with 508 hits, 291 runs, 98 doubles, 27 triples, 116 home runs, 290 RBI, .316/.356/.627 slash, 168 wRC+, and 16.8 WAR. Still, they voided the team option fourth year, sending Mohamed back to free agency at age 35. He quickly found a three-year, $32,700,000 deal with Dubai.

Mohamed maintained his regular pace in 2021 for the Diamonds, but he saw career lows in the next two years as Dubai fell towards the bottom of the standings. He still put up nice power numbers, but his strikeouts went up and average dropped. Mohamed played 455 games with 493 hits, 264 runs, 94 doubles, 133 home runs, 350 RBI, .278/.307/.577 slash, 124 wRC+, and 7.9 WAR for the Diamonds.

In 2024, Mohamed joined Beirut and became the 12^th member of the 600 home run club. He posted a .888 OPS, 131 wRC+, and 2.5 WAR over 129 games for the Bluebirds, who lost in the second round of the playoffs. Mohamed then spent a final season with Baghdad in 2025 with a .890 OPS, 130 wRC+, and 2.6 WAR in 157 games. He may have been able to hang around a few more years, but he instead retired that winter at age 40.

Mohamed finished with 2559 games, 2885 hits, 1526 runs, 614 doubles, 127 triples, 667 home runs, 1796 RBI, 390 walks, 2662 strikeouts, 248 steals, .297/.329/.592 slash, 149 wRC+, and 79.7 WAR. As of 2037, Mohamed ranks 19^th in games, 19^th in runs, 14^th in hits, 8^th in total bases (5754), 20^th in doubles, 14^th in home runs, 11^th in RBI, 7^th in strikeouts, and 21^st in WAR among position players. His .921 OPS is 82^nd among batters with 3000+ plate appearances and his slugging is 51^st.

He was never considered “THE guy” during his run and rarely was a conference leader. However, Mohamed had remarkable consistency and put up impressive tallies. Having 650+ homers, 1500+ RBI, 1500+ runs, 600+ doubles, and 2500+ hits pretty much locks you into any league’s Hall of Fame. Mohamed was no exception, earning the first ballot nod at 94.7% as part of a strong four-player group for Arab League Baseball.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Atef Abdelhakim – Starting Pitcher – Jeddah Jackals – 87.0% First Ballot

Atef Abdelhakim was a 5’10’’, 170 pound right-handed pitcher from the capital of Egypt, Cairo. Abdelhakim’s raw stuff was considered above average at best, but he persevered with pinpoint control and very good movement. His arsenal had a decent 93-95 mph fastball, a dangerous knuckle curve, and a rarely used changeup. Abdelhakim wasn’t going to overpower you, but he was great at coaxing ground balls and got many strikeouts from a perfectly placed knuckle curve.

Abdelhakim’s stamina was merely decent relative to other ALB aces, but he had ironman durability with 30+ starts in all of his 16 full seasons. His pickoff move and ability to hold runners was outstanding, although his overall defense was weak. Abdelhakim wasn’t disruptive in the clubhouse, but he was considered to be a selfish loner who mostly cared about his own results. Despite that, he was a big part of extended playoff runs for two franchises.

He quickly emerged as an impressive prospect coming out of Egypt, gaining attention across the region. Basra ultimately locked Abdelhakim up to a developmental contract in October 2005. He spent around four years in their academy in Iraq, debuting with 21 respectable innings in 2009 at age 20. The Bulldogs were a regular contender at this point, falling in that year’s Eastern Conference Final to Kuwait. Abdelhakim’s first playoff start had three runs allowed in a 6.1 no decision.

Abdelhakim was a reliable full-time starter for the next six years in Basra. He won 2010 Rookie of the Year honors and was third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2010 and 2013 for the Bulldogs. Abdelhakim wasn’t one to lead the conference, but his production was reliable and steady. Basra continued their playoff streak through the 2012 season.

The Bulldogs won the 2010 pennant, falling to 116-win Amman in the ALB Championship. Abdelhakim had an excellent playoff run, winning his three starts with a 1.44 ERA over 25 innings and 27 strikeouts. Basra fell to 86-76, but still made the playoffs and had a surprise run to an ALB Championship win over Alexandria. They won 101 games in 2012, but got upset in the ECF by Abu Dhabi.

Over 10 playoff starts for Basra, Abdelhakim had a 2.85 ERA, 6-2 record, 72.2 innings, 77 strikeouts, 9 walks, 142 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR. He went 4-1 in the 2011 Baseball Grand Championship with a 3.27 ERA over 33 innings, 29 strikeouts, but only 0.2 WAR. The Bulldogs finished 10-9 in the event in a four-way tie for eighth.

In 2012, Abdelhakim became a regular for his native Egypt in the World Baseball Championship. His results were mixed from 2012-25 with a 3.33 ERA over 121.2 innings, 9-9 record, 145 strikeouts, 21 walks, and 2.7 WAR. In 2014, Abdelhakim helped the Egyptians to their best-ever finish in fourth place.

After a decade-long playoff streak, three ALB titles, and five conference pennants, Basra’s reign ended with three straight losing seasons from 2013-15. The Bulldogs would reload and contend again by the end of the decade. Part of the rebuilding process included trading Abdelhakim in February 2016 to Jeddah for a pitching prospect and a third round draft pick.

With the Bulldogs, Abdelhakim had a 92-60 record, 3.30 ERA, 1386 innings, 1569 strikeouts, 186 walks, 120 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 34.0 WAR. He would become more famous for his time with the Jackals, who were also five seasons and two championships into their own playoff run. Abdelhakim was in a contract year, but Jeddah traded for him with the intent of signing him long-term.

He was third in Pitcher of the Year voting in his Jeddah debut, posting his career bests for wins (21-6), ERA (2.51), and WAR (7.8). The Jackals gave Abdelhakim a five-year, $64,900,000 extension before the season ended. Jeddah finished with a franchise-best 117-45 record, but lost to 114-48 Abu Dhabi in the ECF. Although disappointed, the Jackals bounced back with four consecutive 100+ win seasons.

Abdelhakim put up comparable numbers in 2017, although he was never a Pitcher of the Year finalist again. His ERA wasn’t below three after the 2017 campaign, but he was still a very reliable and consistent starter. Jeddah lost in the first round in 2017, but won it all in 2018 at 105-57, defeating Tripoli in the ALB Championship. The Jackals then stunned the world with a 14-5 finish in the Baseball Grand Championship, becoming the first ALB team to win the top honor.

The 2018 BGC was perhaps Abdelhakim’s finest moment, posting a 1.08 ERA over 33.1 innings, 3-0 record, 29 strikeouts, 6 walks, and 1.3 WAR. He was generally a good playoff pitcher as Jeddah’s postseason streak continued, tossing 92.2 playoff innings for them with a 2.82 ERA, 5-3 record, 82 strikeouts,1 3 walks, 154 ERA+, and 2.3 WAR.

Jeddah won the Eastern Conference again in 2019 at 104-58, but lost the ALB title in a rematch with Tripoli. The Jackals again won 104 games in 2020, but lost to Basra in the conference. They became a playoff underdog with division titles in 2021 and 2022 at 92-70 and 97-65, but they emerged with the pennant both years. Jeddah defeated Cairo for their 4^th ALB title in 2021, but lost the 2022 final to Casablanca.

Abdelhakim had a respectable showing in the 2021 BGC with a 3.16 ERA over 31.1 innings, 1-2 record, 26 strikeouts, 128 ERA+, and 0.5 WAR. Jeddah ultimately was 6-13, tied for the bottom spot. Satisfied with the consistency, Abdelhakim got a five-year, $76,800 extension from the Jackals in May 2021. His ERA did go above four for the first time in 2022 and 2023, but Abdelhakim bounced back to 3.54 in 2024.

Jeddah fell short of the conference finals in 2023 and 2024 with the playoff streak ending in 2025 at 14 seasons. For his overall playoff career, Abdelhakim had an 11-5 record, 2.83 ERA, 165.1 innings, 159 strikeouts, 22 walks, 148 ERA+, 77 FIP-, and 4.3 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 2^nd in ALB playoff wins, 2^nd in innings, 5^th in strikeouts, and 3^rd in pitching WAR. Abdelhakim certainly earned the reputation as a top playoff performer, playing a big role in both Jeddah and Basra’s sustained streaks.

As Jeddah’s streak ended in 2025, Abdelhakim struggled to his worst season with a 5.14 ERA and 1.5 WAR over 177 innings. He could still locate his pitches, but his fastball was now down to 90-92 mph. Abdelhakim retired that winter at age 36 and Jeddah immediately honored him by retiring his #30 for his decade of steady service. With the Jackals, Abdelhakim had a 148-71 record, 3.59 ERA, 1932.2 innings, 1954 strikeouts, 254 walks, 173/322 quality starts, 10 complete games, 6 shutouts, 117 ERA+, 77 FIP-, and 49.6 WAR.

Overall, Abdelhakim had a 240-131 record, 3.47 ERA, 3318.2 innings, 3523 strikeouts, 440 walks, 296/518 quality starts, 26 complete games, 11 shutouts, 119 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 83.6 WAR. As of 2037, Abdelhakim ranks 6^th in wins, 10^th in innings, 15^th in strikeouts, and 14^th in pitching WAR. He also had a 1.19 BB/9, which ranks 15^th among all ALB pitchers with 1000+ career innings.

Abdelhakim was never overwhelmingly dominant, but he was remarkably consistent and steady. That got him to accumulations good enough to get the nod from most voters. Most of the remaining doubters were swayed by the playoff results, since Abdelhakim had better rate stats in the playoffs than the regular season. He was certainly critical to dynasty runs for both Jeddah and Basra, earning the first ballot nod at 87.0% as part of the four-player 2031 Hall of Fame class for Arab League Baseball.



Nasser Al-Jarrah – Relief Pitcher – Giza Goats – 70.4% First Ballot

Nasser Al-Jarrah was a 6’4’’, 195 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Wadi as-Sir, Jordan; part of the greater Amman area with around 242,000 inhabitants. Al-Jarrah known for having excellent stuff with strong movement, although his control was above average at best. His velocity peaked in the 97-99 mph range with a sinker/cutter combo, leading to an extreme groundball tendency.

Al-Jarrah’s stamina was good by reliever standards and he had excellent durability, avoiding major injuries across a 16-year career. He was subpar at holding runners and fielding the position. As a teenager, Al-Jarrah moved from Jordan to Egypt on a developmental deal with Giza in December 2006. He spent most of six years in their academy, debuting with 8.1 innings in 2012 at age 22.

The Goats made Al-Jarrah the closer in 2013 and he held that role strongly through 2018. He led the Western Conference four times in saves and twice in games pitched. Al-Jarrah had career highs of 45 saves and 77 games in 2013. 2018 saw his top ERA with 1.11. He was second in both Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year voting in 2013. Al-Jarrah took third in Reliever of the Year in 2015, then won the award for the first time in 2016. He took it again in 2018 and was third in that year’s Pitcher of the Year voting.

Giza was generally above .500 in Al-Jarrah’s tenure, but usually fell short of the Nile Division title to either Alexandria or Cairo. The Goats broke through in 2016 at 101-61 for the top seed, but fell to Damascus in the Western Conference Final. Al-Jarrah’s three playoff appearances were a mixed bag with one win, one save, and one loss; allowing three runs in 3.2 innings.

Overall for Giza, Al-Jarrah had 232 saves and 264 shutdowns, a 47-42 record, 2.28 ERA, 568 innings, 808 strikeouts, 127 walks, 167 ERA+, and 20.8 WAR. 2019 was his last year under team control and the Goats opted to trade him in the offseason to Basra for two prospects.

Al-Jarrah delivered for the Bulldogs, winning his third Reliever of the Year with career bests for WAR (5.1), and strikeouts (154). He finished with 38 saves, 1.28 ERA, and an 11-2 record in 72 games and 91.1 innings. Basra made it to the Eastern Conference Final, but fell to Jeddah. Al-Jarrah had three saves and one loss in four appearances, allowing one run in 7.1 innings.

He was now a free agent heading towards age 30 with international offers floating in. Al-Jarrah moved to America on a two-year, $16,400,000 deal with Major League Baseball’s Oakland Owls. In 2020, he had 49 innings of mid relief with a 3.31 ERA. Oakland cut him after 2021’s spring training. Al-Jarrah stayed in MLB and spent 2021 with expansion Birmingham, posting a 5.21 ERA in 19 innings.

Ottawa gave him a look next on a two-year deal worth $16,600,000. He only saw 14 innings in 2022 but looked respectable. Ottawa was upset in the first round of the playoffs despite the #2 seed, but Al-Jarrah did throw three scoreless innings in his one playoff appearance. He earned a greater role in 2023 with a 3.58 ERA over 73 innings and 45 games.

Now 34-years old, Al-Jarrah returned to ALB on a two-year, $7,840,000 deal with Sanaa. The Shockers were a new expansion team for 2024 and made Al-Jarrah the closer, getting 31 saves in 79.2 innings with a 3.05 ERA. He was traded in the offseason to Riyadh for three prospects and a draft pick.

Al-Jarrah had a resurgence in 2025 with a 2.26 ERA in 79.2 innings, 38 saves, and 84 strikeouts. He earned Reliever of the Year, becoming the third in ALB history to win the award four times. Al-Jarrah gave up one run in 1.2 playoff innings as the Rats had a first round exit. This marked the end of his ALB career, as he’d spend his final three seasons back in MLB.

In 2026, Al-Jarrah had a 3.80 ERA in 45 innings for San Diego. The Seals went onto win the World Series and the Baseball Grand Championship, giving Al-Jarrah two shiny rings. He only had one inning (albeit scoreless) in the MLB postseason and didn’t pitch in the BGC. Al-Jarrah joined Anchorage in 2027, but was cut in late August after posting a 5.58 ERA over 30.2 innings. He finished the year with minor league Greensboro.

Al-Jarrah spent the first half of 2028 with Dallas, getting a 4.06 ERA over 44.1 innings. The Dalmatians cut him at the end of July and he finished the year with minor league Columbia. Al-Jarrah retired after the season at age 38, finishing his assorted MLB stints with a 3.92 ERA in 285 innings, 11-15 record, 5 saves, 33 shutdowns, 246 strikeouts, 81 walks, 101 ERA+, 81 FIP-, and 4.0 WAR.

In ALB, Al-Jarrah ended with 339 saves and 378 shutdowns, 75-62 record, 2.24 ERA, 818.2 innings, 1133 strikeouts, 193 walks, 177 ERA+, 61 FIP-, and 29.2 WAR. As of 2037, Al-Jarrah ranks 4^th in saves. Among the other ALB Hall of Fame relievers, he is fifth out of six in strikeouts and WAR. Supporters note that his tallies would’ve been higher without the MLB interludes.

Detractors felt he wasn’t around long enough to get the nod, but having four Reliever of the Year awards and comparable metrics to the other Arab League Baseball HOF closers got Al-Jarrah across the line for most. 70.4% just passed the 66% threshold to make Al-Jarrah a first ballot inductee to cap off a very impressive four-player 2031 class for ALB.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The African Association of Baseball welcomed three into the Hall of Fame for 2031, all on their first ballot. Former Kampala teammates 1B Relebogile Matima and 1B Ermias Tadele were both absolute slam dunks at 99.3% and 98.5%, respectively. RF Ange Ndikuriyo earned his own firm induction at 77.3%. RF Anthony Chongo was the closest returner to the 66% requirement, getting 57.5% on his ninth attempt. Also above 50% was 1B Lifa Moyo with 52.0% for his fifth ballot, SP Valentine Hategekimana at 50.9% in his seventh go, and CL Deon Westerveld with 50.5% for his sixth try. No one was dropped after ten failed ballots.



Relebogile “Duck” Matima – First Base – Kampala Peacocks – 99.3% First Ballot

Relebogile Matima was a 6’2’’, 195 pound left-handed first baseman from Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa with just under three million people. Nicknamed “Duck,” Matima was known for excellent home run power along with above average to good contact hitting against right-handed pitching. For his career, he had an excellent 1.070 OPS and 179 wRC+ facing RHP. The downside was subpar hitting against lefties with a .713 OPS and 93 wRC+.

Matima was above average at drawing walks, but struggled with strikeouts against both sides. He had an impressive 51 home runs per his 162 game average, but could find the gap too with 35 doubles and 3 triples per 162. Matima’s speed was average, but his baserunning ability was mediocre. He never took his glove anywhere but first base with below average but serviceable defense. Matima occasionally was a designated hitter, but he had more than 90% of his starts at first.

Few players became more universally beloved across the continent. Matima was considered one of the game’s great ironmen, starting 140+ games in all but the final season of a 17-year career. He was a fan favorite with an outstanding work ethic and always went out of his way to greet fans. Matima was especially adored in his home country South Africa and in Uganda, where he’d spend his entire pro career.

After dominating the South African amateur ranks, Matima was picked third overall by Kampala in the 2008 AAB Draft. He was a full-time starter right away and an immediate success, winning 2009 Rookie of the Year and a Silver Slugger with a 53 home run, 1.031 OPS, 5.6 WAR campaign. Matima also regularly returned home to South Africa from 2009-25 in the World Baseball Championship. Over 151 WBC games, Matima had 109 hits, 81 runs, 15 doubles, 42 home runs, 88 RBI, .231/.349/.535 slash, 5.6 WAR.

Matima’s second season was his finest by many metrics, although he was second to Mwarami Tale in the MVP race. Matima won another Slugger and led the Central Conference and posted career bests in runs (127), home runs (65), total bases (440), slugging (.730), OPS (1.136), wRC+ (197), and WAR (8.9). It was easy to get overlooked playing for Kampala, who had been a consistent loser to that point. The Peacocks had finished 83-79 in Matima’s first two seasons, but fell back below .500 for the next three years.

Despite team woes, Matima thrived with additional Silver Sluggers in 2012 (his only one as a DH) and 2014, leading both years in total bases. His 2014 effort also earned a second place in MVP voting, leading the conference in runs (116), homers (61), and RBI (136). The Duck stayed loyal to his original team with a charitable $28,520,000 over seven years signed in October 2014.

Matima wanted to see Kampala become a winner and they started making progress. The Peacocks went 86-76 in 2014, but fell to 75-89 in 2015. Then Kampala had its best seasons to date at 94-68 in 2016 and 92-70 in 2017, although they missed the playoffs both years. In 2017, Matima won his lone MVP and another Silver Slugger, leading for the final time in homers (54), RBI (120), and total bases (366).

In 2018, Matima’s Hall of Fame classmate Ermias Tadele signed as a free agent to become the staff ace. That was the final piece as Kampala finally made the playoffs after 24 years, dominating the Central Conference at 111-51. Matima was MVP of the conference finals victory over Brazzavile, then helped as the Peacocks defeated Johannesburg for their first Africa Series title. In 12 playoff starts, Matima had 14 hits, 6 runs, 4 doubles, 5 homers, 11 RBI, 1.195 OPS, and 0.7 WAR.

Kampala then had a solid showing at 10-9 in the Baseball Grand Championship, one of five teams tied for seventh. Matima had a strong showing on the world stage with a 1.410 OPS, 311 wRC+, 1.9 WAR, 11 homers, 15 RBI, 18 hits, and 13 runs. In 2019, Matima was still a quality tarter, but posted his career lows in OPS and WAR to that point. The Peacocks finished 96-66, missing the playoffs in third place.

Matima’s play hovered around the 3.5 WAR mark for the next few years, but did notably win his lone Gold Glove in 2020. Kampala didn’t need him to dominate as they put together a dynasty run. The Peacocks won three straight Africa Series titles from 2020-22, beating the Jackalopes in 2020, Lilongwe in 2021, and Antananarivo in 2022. Matima’s playoff stats were surprisingly mediocre with a sub-.700 OPS and negative WAR over 38 games.

In the 2020 Baseball Grand Championship, Matima looked more like his old self. He had a 1.006 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR in 16 starts as Kampala again was 10-9. Now 36-years old, Matima signed a three-year, $22,200,000 extension with the Peacocks. He had a lackluster showing in the 2021 BGC with a .619 OPS, 71 wRC+, and 0.0 WAR. However, Kampala surprised many with a 14-5 finish, second only to 15-4 New Orleans.

Matima was better in the 2022 BGC with a .772 OPS, 0.6 WAR, and 130 wRC+. Kampala and Caracas finished tied for the top spot at 13-6, but the Colts’ 4-1 win in their head-to-head matchup again kept the Peacocks in second place. Still, three straight AAB titles and repeat second place outings in the Grand Championship cemented Kampala’s 2020s run as one of the all-time dynasties.

Kampala had a shot at a four-peat, but lost in a 2023 rematch with the Eagles. Matima had an impressive career resurgence with a conference-best 1.030 OPS, winning his seventh Silver Slugger with a second place in MVP voting. That year, Matima also crossed the 700 home run and 1500 runs scored career milestones. Hoping for a late stage renaissance, the Peacocks gave him another two years and $41,200,000.

He wasn’t able to match that production in 2024, although he did still hit 49 home runs with 100 runs. Matima had 2.7 WAR and 118 wRC+ with the Peacocks dropping to 84-78, ending their dynasty run. Kampala fell below .500 in 2025 and Matima was relegated to a bench role with 43 games and 14 starts. He retired after the season at age 40 and immediately had his #25 uniform retired for his role as a franchise record. The Peacocks were a perennial loser before Matima arrived and by the time his 17-year career was done, they had won four Africa Series rings in a five year stretch.

Matima ended with 2517 games, 2490 hits, 1670 runs, 539 doubles, 41 triples, 785 home runs, 1843 RBI, 1165 walks, 2613 strikeouts, 110 stolen bases, .277/.365/.609 slash, .974 OPS, 157 wRC+, and 83.7 WAR. As of 2037, Matima ranks 9^th in games, 6^th in runs, 16^th in hits, 5^th in total bases (5466), 16^th in doubles, 8^th in home runs, 6^th in RBI, 15^th in walks, 2^nd in strikeouts, and 11^th in WAR among position players. Among AAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Matima ranks 68^th in OBP, 22^nd in slugging, and 26^th in OPS.

By any measure, Matima qualifies as an inner-circle Hall of Famer. However, he does fall short of the very top tier of guys like Mwarami Tale and Felix Chaula, who both overshadowed Matima in his best years. Like those two, Matima is a beloved and cherished figure in African baseball, earning a near unanimous 99.3% with the African Association of Baseball’s 2031 class.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Ermias Tadele – Starting Pitcher – Kampala Peacocks – 98.5% First Ballot

Ermias Tadele was a 6’2’’, 195 pound left-handed pitcher from Debre Markos, Ethiopia; a city of around 134,000 in the country’s Amhara Region. Tadele was renowned for having incredible movement on his pitches along with excellent control. His raw stuff graded as merely above average, but Tadele didn’t need to overpower you thanks to well-placed pitches that fooled hitters with zany movement.

Tadele’s fastball peaked in the 93-95 mph range and was part of a four pitch arsenal along with a changeup, screwball, and changeup. Each were considered potent, but the changeup was probably his strongest offering. Tadele’s stamina was good relative to other AAB aces and he had fantastic durability, tossing 220+ innings each year from 2011-24. He had a strong pickoff move, but graded as below average defensively otherwise.

With his incredible talents, Tadele stands as AAB’s best pitcher to date for many fans and observers. However, you could argue he still underperformed his gifts. Tadele rubbed many coaches and teammates the wrong way due to perceived selfishness and laziness. Even if he was a knucklehead, Tadele’s ability and results were undeniable.

Tadele left Ethiopia as a teenager and moved to Somalia on a developmental deal with Mogadishu in August 2004. He spent most of six years in their academy before debuting in 2010 with a 4.69 ERA over 63.1 innings at age 22. Tadele earned a full-time rotation slot the next year and delivered his good result, starting a 14-year streak of 5+ WAR seasons.

In 2014, he led the Central Conference in WAR (8.1), wins (17-15), FIP- (65), and shutouts (4), taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. Despite his efforts, the Mighty Mice were generally in the upper-middle tier during his time. Despite good results, Tadele’s attitude and personality grated on Mogadishu’s staff. He made it clear that he was excited to cash in big in free agency, due after the 2017 season.

With that, Tadele was traded in July 2016 to Maputo for prospects. With Mogadishu, Tadele finished with a 77-70 record, 3.56 ERA, 1412.0 innings, 1223 strikeouts, 322 walks, 114 ERA+, 74 FIP, 48 complete games, 8 shutouts, and 38.1 WAR. Meanwhile the Piranhas were on the cusp and narrowly made the playoffs in 2016, although they fell to Johannesburg in the Southern Conference Championship. Tadele got destroyed in his one playoff start, allowing seven runs in 4.1 innings.

Tadele led in WAR at 8.8 in his lone full year with Maputo, who took first at 101-61. The Piranhas Luanda to win the pennant, then fell to Tadele’s former squad Mogadishu in the Africa Series. Tadele had a far better postseason in 2017 with a 1.71 ERA over 26.1 innings with 25 strikeouts. It was the perfect way to end a contract year as he approached free agency set to turn 30 in April. For Maputo, Tadele had a 22-16 record, 3.14 ERA, 321 innings, 377 strikeouts, 76 walks, 125 ERA+, 52 FIP-, and 12.8 WAR.

Kampala felt they were close to finally earning their first playoff berth and went all in, signing Tadele to a seven-year, $77,300,000 deal. It was certainly a winner, as he also gave them his best seasons, leading the Central Conference in WAR each year from 2018-23. Tadele won his first Pitcher of the Year in 2018 with a 21-6 record, 2.41 ERA, and 259 strikeouts.

The Peacocks finished 111-51 in 2018 and won their first Africa Series, defeating Johannesburg in the finale. Tadele posted a 3.32 ERA over 19 playoff innings in the series. He had a strong 2.25 ERA over 32 innings with 32 strikeouts in the Baseball Grand Championship as Kampala finished 10-9. This wasn’t Tadele’s first time on the global stage though, as he had pitched for his native Ethiopia in the World Baseball Championship.

From 2012-25, Tadele tossed 160.1 innings in the WBC with a 2.58 ERA, 14-7 record, 179 strikeouts, 45 walks, and 4.8 WAR. He notably tossed back-to-back shutouts in the 2019 edition. Ethiopia’s deepest runs with Tadele were a third place finish in 2013 and a fourth in 2024.

Tadele was second in 2019’s POTY voting despite his first ERA title (2.52) and a new best WAR to that point of 9.0. Kampala just missed the playoffs at 96-66, but bounced back for one of AAB’s all-time dynasties. The Peacocks won 109, 102, and 104 games from 2020-22 en route to three consecutive Africa Series titles. Kampala beat Johannesburg in the 2020 final, Lilongwe in 2021, and Antananarivo in 2022.

2021 saw Tadele’s second ERA title and Pitcher of the Year, posting career bests in ERA (2.33) and strikeouts (279). He was second in 2022’s POTY voting, then won his third trophy in 2023 with career bests in WAR (10.0), WHIP (0.87), and wins (23-1). Tadele’s .958 win percentage in 2023 set a new AAB record and his WAR total was the third-best to that point. It still ranks as the eighth-best WAR by a pitcher in AAB as of 2037.

Tadele had a weak 2020 postseason showing despite the team’s title, posting a 4.94 ERA over 23.2 innings with 18 strikeouts. He fared better in the Baseball Grand Championship with a 3.07 ERA over 29.1 innings with 35 strikeouts as Kampala was 10-9. Tadele was then outstanding in his remaining postseason outings, including a 1.06 ERA over 34 innings with 21 strikeouts in 2021. Believe it or not, he was even better in the BGC.

Over 35 BGC innings in 2021, Tadele won all four starts with a 0.51 ERA, 42 strikeouts, and 2.03 WAR. As of 2037, it is one of 33 times that a pitcher recorded 2+ WAR in the BGC, pushing Kampala to a 14-5 finish; second only to 15-4 New Orleans. Tadele kept rolling with a 1.42 ERA over 25.1 innings in the 2022 AAB title run. He then posted a 1.31 ERA over 34.1 innings with 38 strikeouts and 1.4 WAR in the 2022 BGC. The Peacocks tied for first with Caracas at 13-6, but ended up in second place as the Colts had won the head-to-head battle.

In 2023, Kampala’s four-peat bid in the Africa Series was denied in a rematch with Antananarivo. Tadele was again strong in the playoffs with a 1.52 ERA over 23.2 innings. With the Peacocks, he had a 10-3 record and 2.29 ERA over 125.2 playoff innings with 107 strikeouts, 23 walks, 180 ERA+, and 4.6 WAR. For his entire AAB career, Tadele had a 2.53 playoff ERA, 12-4 record, 156.1 innings, 135 strikeouts, 32 walks, 161 ERA+, 57 FIP-, and 5.9 WAR.

As of 2037, Tadele is AAB’s all-time leader in playoff pitching WAR, wins, and shutouts (3). He also ranks third in strikeouts. Tadele’s stats across his BGC appearances are even more tremendous with a 1.72 ERA in 130.2 innings, 11-3 record, 147 strikeouts, 15 walks, and 5.9 WAR. He ranks fifth in BGC pitching WAR and is one of only three pitchers to have a sub-two ERA and at least 125 innings. Among qualifiers, Tadele also has the best WHIP (0.75) and BB/9 (1.03) in tournament history. He also ranks 17^th in strikeouts, 14^th in innings, and his .509 opponent’s OPS is 3^rd.

After having arguably his best year in 2023, Tadele fell off in 2024 to a 3.91 ERA and only 200 strikeouts. While he was still worth 5.9 WAR, this was his weakest showing since his early years with Mogadishu. The Peacocks dynasty ended with a 84-78 record in Tadele‘s final of seven seasons. For the Kampala run he had a 131-51 record, 2.78 ERA, 1607.1 innings, 1759 strikeouts, 312 walks, 149 ERA+, 57 FIP-, and 59.2 WAR.

Tadele’s personality clashes meant his #11 uniform wasn’t retired, but he was very popular with many Peacocks fans. You could certainly argue he was the biggest final piece in turning Kampala into a dynasty. Tadele’s big game stats certainly placed him among the best in any league. He was now soon to be 37-years old though and felt he had something still to offer. Bujumbura agreed and signed Tadele for two years and $35,200,000.

It was a tough 2025 for Tadele with a 4.22 ERA over 190 innings, 112 strikeouts, and 2.6 WAR; all career worsts. His velocity had dropped into the low 90s at best in his later Kampala years, still surviving with stellar movement. Unfortunately, that started to fade as well as he peaked in the 85-87 mph range for the final year. Tadele retired after the 2025 campaign at age 37.

Tadele finished with a 239-150 record, 3.20 ERA, 3530.1 innings, 3471 strikeouts, 748 walks, 291/455 quality starts, 97 complete games, 22 shutouts, 128 ERA+, 66 FIP-, and 112.7 WAR. As of 2037, Tadele is AAB’s career leader in wins, starts (455), innings, and pitching WAR. The next best pitcher isn’t even particularly close in WAR with Bahujnana Kaimal’s 72.97 nearly 40 full points back. Tadele’s WAR is 4^th among all AAB players.

He also ranks 4^th in strikeouts, 7^th in complete games, and 3^rd in shutouts. On the downside, Tadele’s longevity meant he leads in hits allowed at 3182 and is 9^th in losses. Among pitchers with 1000+ innings, Tadele is 22^nd in ERA, 22^nd in WHIP (1.11), 24^th in opponent’s OPS (.660), and 22^nd in BB/9 (1.91). With those stats, it isn’t a surprise that most view Tadele as the African Association of Baseball’s greatest pitcher through its first 40+ seasons.

If the regular season stats didn’t sway you, Tadele’s playoff stats were incredibly elite. His Baseball Grand Championship numbers were even more incredible considering that was against the best of the best. Tadele was probably on pace for a Hall of Fame career before the Kampala signing, but that run made him an African baseball legend.

The franchise had never made the playoffs prior to his signing. He was there seven years, which saw the Peacocks win four Africa Series titles, five conference titles, and finish second twice in the Grand Championship. Tadele certainly cemented himself as an inner-circle legend, co-headlining AAB’s 2031 HOF class at 98.5% alongside his former teammate Relebogile Matima. Tadele also is considered by many to be the top player yet to come out of Ethiopia.



Ange “Village Idiot” Ndikuriyo – Right Field – Cape Town Cowboys – 77.3% First Ballot

Ange Ndikuriyo was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Kibuye, Rwanda; a town of about 12,000 people on the eastern shores of Lake Kivu. Ndikuriyo was an excellent home run hitter with very good contact skills against both sides. His 162 game average got you 48 home runs and 35 doubles, which made Ndikuriyo his conference’s leader in slugging percentage four times in AAB. He also had an above average eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts.

Ndikuriyo was a pretty good baserunner, but was limited by subpar speed. That also meant he had poor range as a career right fielder, posting lousy defensive metrics. Ndikuriyo also had a few starts in left field and as a designated hitter, but more than 80% of his starts came in right. His durability was quite strong, which pushed him to an 18-year career along with a stellar work ethic. Ndikuriyo was a true fan favorite and was affectionately nicknamed “Village Idiot,” for his endearing self-deprecating sense of humor.

In June 2008, a teenaged Ndikuriyo left Rwanda for South Africa on a developmental deal with Cape Town. His entire AAB career came with the Cowboys, who called him up in 2012 as a full-time starter at age 20. Ndikuriyo hit 50 home runs with 137 RBI to earn 2012 Rookie of the Year honors. He would hit at least 47 home runs in all nine of his seasons for Cape Town.

Ndikuriyo’s third season was his best by almost all metrics, earning his first MVP and Silver Slugger. His 2014 was only the third Triple Crown hitting season to that point in AAB with career and Southern Conference bests in runs (133), hits (207), doubles (60), homers (64), RBI (179), total bases (459), average (.352), slugging (.781), OPS (1.197), wRC+ (200), and WAR (9.9). He also had his best OBP at .417. The 179 RBI fell one short of the then-AAB record and still ranks as the 13^th-best in any league as of 2037. Ndikuriyo’s OPS also is the 14^th-best qualifying in AAB with the total bases ranking 10^th.

He went onto win MVP again in 2016 and 2018 with a second place finish in 2020. Ndikuriyo earned Silver Sluggers from 2016-20, a stretch where he led in RBI, OPS, and slugging thrice; wRC+ twice and total bases, and once in runs, homers, and WAR. Despite Ndikuriyo’s efforts, Cape Town was generally mediocre and averaged 76.3 wins per season during his tenure. They only had two winning seasons, falling one win short of the playoffs in 2017 at 93-69 and an 82-80 mark the next year.

After that 2017 campaign, Cape Town signed Ndikuriyo to an eight-year, $56,980,000 extension. They hoped contention was imminent, but the Cowboys were back below .500 by the end of the decade. Ndikuriyo was a beloved superstar, but had grown frustrated with nine years of general mediocrity. He also knew he had the talent to play on the biggest stage, thus he opted out of his contract after the 2020 season and tested free agency at age 29.

This ended his career in Africa, finishing with 1375 games, 1499 hits, 959 runs, 368 doubles, 477 home runs, 1150 RBI, 592 walks, 1065 strikeouts, 90 stolen bases, .300/.375/.665 slash, 1.040 OPS, 172 wRC+, and 58.4 WAR. Ndikuriyo was THE reason to watch baseball in Cape Town in the 2010s and the Cowboys later honored him by retiring his #3 uniform. But only staying in AAB for nine years limited his final accumulations.

As of 2037 in AAB, Ndikuriyo ranks 81^st in runs, 57^th in total bases (3330), 79^th in doubles, 30^th in home runs, 41^st in RBI, and 30^th in WAR for position players. There were some voters who felt Ndikuriyo wasn’t around long enough to deserve the Hall of Fame spot, especially since he wasn’t even top 100 in hits. Plus, the lack of team success was used against him by detractors. The rate stats show his dominance though, as among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Ndikuriyo’s OPS ranks 8^th and his triple slash ranks 50^th/44^th/6^th.

The majority of voters agreed that Ndikuriyo’s nine year run was remarkable enough to get the nod and many gave him at least some credit for his later run in Major League Baseball. Some wonder if he could’ve ended up alongside guys like Mwarami Tale and Felix Chaula in final totals had he stuck around. In any event, Ndikuriyo received 77.3% to secure a first ballot induction, bookending an impressive three-player 2031 class for the African Association of Baseball.

Ndikuriyo still had the second half of his career to go, beginning in 2021 on a four-year, $81,400,000 deal with MLB’s New Orleans. The Mudcats had earned three playoff berths in the prior five years, but hadn’t made it out of the second round of the playoffs. In 2021, New Orleans stunned many with an incredible 112-50 season. The Mudcats went all the way and won the World Series over Detroit, staking their claim as one of MLB’s best-ever teams.

The 2021 debut was Ndikuriyo’s best MLB season with 46 home runs, .945 OPS, and 5.7 WAR. Most importantly, he was World Series MVP, posting 19 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 6 homers, 17 RBI, .946 OPS, and 0.8 WAR over 18 playoff starts. New Orleans then earned the Baseball Grand Championship crown with a 15-4 finish. Ndikuriyo’s BGC stats were solid with 16 hits, 15 runs, 5 doubles, 7 home runs, 14 RBI, 10 walks, .991 OPS, 163 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR. He absolutely solidified his spot as a world class player with that run.

Ndikuriyo regressed to a .752 OPS, 106 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR in 2022. He bounced back the next two years, finishing his New Orleans run with 607 games, 598 hits, 336 runs, 100 doubles, 161 home runs, 384 RBI, .267/.324/.532 slash, 133 wRC+, and 16.4 WAR. The Mudcats had a second round exit in 2023, but missed the playoffs his other two seasons both at 86-76. Ndikuriyo did have a 1.125 OPS in his six playoff games in 2023, ultimately the final playoff games of his career.

Now 33-years old, Ndikuriyo surprisingly couldn’t find a long-term deal. He signed for one year and $7,800,000 in 2025 with Halifax, posting .809 OPS, 129 wRC+, 2.5 WAR, 35 home runs, and 85 RBI. He went to Salt Lake City in 2026, but missed more than half of the season to injury. Ndikuriyo was on a strong pace with 2.7 WAR and .988 OPS over 72 games.

Ndikuriyo joined Sacramento in 2027, but stunk with -0.5 WAR and .678 OPS over 110 games and 78 starts. Atlanta gave him a look in 2028 with respectable tallies in 121 games and 94 starts, posting 2.5 WAR, .887 OPS, and 2.5 WAR. Ndikuriyo wrapped with Hartford in 2029 with .945 OPS and 1.7 WAR in 78 games and 43 starts. He went unsigned in 2030 and retired that winter at age 30.

For his MLB tenure, Ndikuriyo had a very solid career with 1143 games, 1107 hits, 597 runs, 177 doubles, 274 home runs, 705 RBI, 283 walks, 655 strikeouts, .274/.325/.526 slash, 130 wRC+, and 25.3 WAR. He wasn’t generally in awards conversations, but that was a quite respectable run for a guy who joined a new league at age 29.

Ndikuriyo’s grand totals for his pro career had 2518 games, 2606 hits, 1556 runs, 545 doubles, 27 triples, 781 home runs, 1855 RBI, 875 walks, 1720 strikeouts, 119 stolen bases, .288/.353/.603 slash, .956 OPS, 154 wRC+, and 83.6 WAR. Ndikuriyo falls short of being a true “inner-circle” type guy, but his Cape Town run especially made him a worthy choice for a Hall of Fame slot in AAB.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The 2031 World Baseball Championship was the 85^th edition of the event and was hosted in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. It also featured the first format change since 2021 and had the largest change since the 1950s. Baseball had continued to grow in popularity exponentially through the 2020s, leading to another expansion of teams in the WBC. For the prior decade, 96 teams participated spread out across eight divisions.

For 2031, this grew to 112 teams, meaning each division would have 14 teams. The divisional round continued to be a round robin, but the expansion meant each team now would play 13 games instead of the previous 11. Since 1956, only the division champion advanced to the next round. The expansion doubled the playoff field to 16, allowing for both the first and second place divisional finishers to advance.

The next phase remained four-team double round robins, although now split into four groups. The top two teams from each group advanced to a best-of-three quarterfinal, followed by a best-of-five semifinal and the best-of-seven World Championship. Overall though, many smaller nations were excited at the chance to participate more regularly and more games generally meant more money as well.



Division 1 had an intense three-way tie for first at 11-2 between Canada, Ecuador, and Moldova. By the tiebreakers, the Canadians finished first and the Moldovans second, leaving the Ecuadorans out of the group stage. Canada advanced for the 42^nd time in WBC history, although they hadn’t done it since their 2023 world title. Moldova became the 87^th unique nation to earn a playoff spot. The small Eastern European nation hadn’t been a regular participant until the 2021 expansion. England was a competitive fourth in D1 at 9-4. Algeria, last year’s surprise world champ, was a non-factor at 6-7.

Last year’s runner-up the United States rolled the Division 2 field at 12-1. The Americans have moved forward in 63 of the 85 WBCs thus far. There was a three-way tie for second at 9-4 with Panama advancing on a tiebreaker over both France and Belgium. It was only the fifth time the Panamanians had advanced, last doing it back in 2009.

The Czech Republic and China both advanced out of Division 3 at 10-3 with the Czechs taking first on the head-to-head. Wales was a close third at 9-4 with Scotland, Bangladesh, and Burkina Faso each in the mix at 8-5. The Chinese ended an eight-year drought and advanced for the 28^th time. The Czechs earned repeat trips for the first time, picking up their seventh division crown overall.

Division 4 was very competitive with Poland and Japan prevailing at 9-4. Kenya, Malaysia, and Spain each were 8-5 while Myanmar, Nigeria, and Portugal all went 7-6. The Poles took first on the tiebreaker for their 11^th playoff trip and first since the 2028 runner-up finish. The Japanese secured their third playoff trip in five years and their 23^rd overall.

A top-heavy Division 5 had India and Vietnam dominate the field both at 12-1. Honduras was a distant third place at 9-4. The Indians took first on the tiebreaker for their 12^th division title. India remained strong with their third playoff trip in four years, having finished third overall in 2030 and fourth in 2028. It was the fifth playoff trip for the Vietnamese and their third in six years.

D6 had a three-way tie with Haiti, the Netherlands, and Germany each at 9-4. The Haitians took first on the tiebreakers with the Dutch second, leaving last year’s fourth place finisher Germany on the outside. Somalia and Venezuela were also close behind at 8-5 while Mexico and Turkey were 7-6. It was Haiti’s fifth division title, ending a drought all the way back to 1988. The Dutch moved forward for the ninth time and ended their own sizeable drought dating back to 2012.

South Korea and Romania took top honors in Division 7 at 10-3 with first place going to the Koreans. Bolivia and Russia were the next closest competitors at 8-5. South Korea earned its 20^th division title, but surprisingly hadn’t done it since 2004. The Romanians advanced for the second time in three years and seventh time overall.

Lastly in Division 8, Indonesia led the way at 11-2 for a 28^th division title and their third in four years. Brazil and Peru both went 9-4 with the Brazilians advancing on the tiebreaker, while Iraq was next at 8-5. The Brazilians ended a rare five-year drought, moving forward for the 36^th time. That is the third most behind the US (63) and Canada (42). Brazil was tied with Mexico entering the 2031 event.

Group A had a three-way tie at the top with Brazil, Canada, and Poland each at 4-2, while Panama was ousted at 0-6. The tiebreakers sent the Brazilians and Canadians forward to the new quarterfinal round. In Group B, India and Romania prevailed at 4-2 over the Netherlands at 3-3 and Czechia at 1-5.

In Group C, China took top billing at 5-1. South Korea and Vietnam were both 3-3 with the tiebreaker favoring the Koreans, while Haiti was 1-5. And in Group D, the United States rolled at 5-1 and advanced with 3-3 Japan. Both Indonesia and Moldova were 2-4.

The quarterfinals saw two sweeps with Japan over China and the US over South Korea. The other two matchups needed all three games with India edging Canada 2-1 and Brazil over Romania 2-1. The Indians earned their third trip to the final four in four years, while it was the second in three years for the Japanese. The Koreans hadn’t been a semifinalist since their fourth place finish in 2004, although it was their 12^th time making it that far. The Americans grabbed their 55^th semifinal trip, Japan its 13^th, and India its 7^th.

The United States swept Japan 3-0 in the semifinal to earn repeat finals trips and a 51^st shot at the world title. Brazil edged India 3-2 in a classic on the other side, sending them to their 10^th finale and first since the 2025 runner-up finish. The Indians officially were third for back-to-back seasons and Japan was fourth for the third time.



The 85^th World Championship was not the first time the Americans and Brazilians had met for the title. The US was victorious in their 1966, 1976, and 1984 encounters. 2031 had the same end result as the United States swept Brazil, making the US 42-9 all-time in the final. Despite having won nearly half of the world titles, the Americans hadn’t taken the top spot in a decade. Prior to that, the US hadn’t gone longer than three years without a championship.

It did also continue the general parity for the top spot, as there have been 11 different world champs since the Americans’ 2020 title. With the defeat, Brazil was now 4-6 in their finals appearances. With the expanded field and more games, the US did set new event records for hits (272) and home runs (105). Their 202 runs scored fell just short of the top mark of 204 by the Americans way back in 1952.



Records were also shattered by Tournament MVP Thomas Rich, the reigning National Association MVP with Indianapolis. The 32-year old first baseman set new WBC records for runs (39), total bases (126), home runs (26), and WAR by a position player (4.42); marks that all still hold as of 2037.

Rich beat the previous records by large margins also with the previous highs being 35 runs (Morgan Short, 2008), 108 total bases (Connor Neumeyer, 1972), 20 home runs (Neumeyer), and 3.49 WAR (Ezekiel Thomas, 2008). It was the second-best WAR mark by any player, still behind Nick Hedrick’s incredible 4.66 on the mound back in 1957.

In 26 games, Rich also had 42 RBI, 4 doubles, 15 walks, a .407/.492/1.167 slash, 1.659 OPS, and 349 wRC+. His RBI mark was the second-best behind Thomas’s 46 in 2008. Rich remarkably had three different games with three homers. Prior to that, only Russia’s Grigori Ovsianikov had posted three such games in a WBC career.

Best Pitcher went to Zimbabwe’s John Ziocha, the two-time defending National Association Pitcher of the Year for Wichita. In 20 innings, the 24-year old lefty had a 0.45 ERA with 8 hits, 3 runs (one earned), 28 strikeouts, 5 walks, 1-1 record, and 1.2 WAR. It was one of the last hurrahs for the young phenom, as Ziocha would be plagued by severe shoulder inflammation in the next few years.

Other notes: In part due to the extra games, Brazil’s Octavio Furtado set a new event record with 50 hits allowed. 2031 had two no-hitters, the first coming from Cameroon’s Vinny Nga against Chile on January 11 with 18 strikeouts and one walk. Three days later, Russia’s Oleh Kravets did it with 15 Ks and one walk facing Mauritania.

Brazil’s Alonzo Porfirio hit for the cycle on January 29 against Romania, becoming the 21^st player to do so. Canada’s Mark Johnston smacked four home runs on 1/23 against Panama, the 14^th such game in WBC history. Carrying over from the prior year, Chile’s Will Arocha had a 20-game hitting streak. It was only the 11^th hitting streak of 20+ games in WBC history.

Below are the updated all-time event stats. Brazil passed Mexico outright for the third-most points after entering the year tied.

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Luanda finished first in the African Second League’s Southern Conference at 100-62, earning their first playoff trip since getting relegated to A2L for 2026. Lubango was a close second at 97-65, followed by a steep gap to the next teams Nampula (88-74) and Lilongwe (87-75). The Browns earned their second conference finals appearance in three years.



Asmara crushed the Central Conference competition at 112-50, setting a new A2L wins record. The Anteaters’ only previous playoff trip was their 2020 title, but that was in the trial years prior to promotion/relegation being instituted. Bangui repeated as the second place finish at 99-63, holding off Lubumbashi for the spot.

Top seed Luanda prevailed 4-1 over Lubango for the Southern Conference Championship, guaranteeing a spot in the African Association of Baseball’s First League for the Landsharks for the first time since 2025. The Central Conference final had a shocking 4-3 upset by Bangui over 112-win Asmara. The Badgers earned their third promotion, although they had gotten relegated right back one year later in their prior AAB stints. In the 14^th Second League Championship, Luanda defeated Bangui 5-3.





Other notes: Zanzibar’s Beadoum Djimet set a new A2L single-season record with 23 triples. Maputo’s Lawrence Kanku set the saves record with 42. Bangui’s Mark Fetene set a playoff record with nine doubles. At 54-108, Bloemfontein posted the worst record in Southern Conference history and the second-worst in A2L history. Kisangani had gone 53-109 the prior year and was only marginally better in 2031 at 58-104. Lubango’s Abbas Mohamedi had a seven hit game against Blantyre, the third-such game in A2L history. Yunus Omari became the second to hit 400 homers in A2L.

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In their second season back in the European Second League, Zaragoza dominated the Western Conference standings at 107-55. It was a 13 game drop to second place with four teams intensely fighting for the remaining three playoff spots. Oslo (94-68) and Cardiff (93-69) both advanced outright. The Octopi earned their second playoff trip since returning to E2L in 2028, while this was the first playoff trip since 2023 for the Crew.

Gothenberg and Liverpool tied for the final spot at 91-71. The Gales won a tiebreaker game to advance for their first postseason appearance in nine years. It was the sixth straight winning season for the Phantoms, but they and Stuttgart (82-80) remained the only original E2L teams yet to get promote at least once. Lisbon was the next closest team in the playoff race at 85-77.

Dresden’s E2L debut failed miserably at 44-118, sending them right back down to European Tier Three. It showed that the brand new ET3 teams were still a long way from reaching E2L levels. Dresden posted the worst record in E2L history and had all-time conference worsts in runs (391), hits (962), and triple slash (.180/.253/.279).

In the double round robin, Cardiff clobbered the field at 5-1 to earn their second-ever promotion, having won the E2L title in 2014. Oslo also advanced by going 3-3, ending their lone E2L run at four seasons. Top seed Zaragoza was denied as they and Gothenberg both finished 2-4. In the Western Conference Championship, the Crew won a seven game classic over the Octopi.



The Eastern Conference was top heavy with Helsinki (111-51) and Thessaloniki (107-55) lapping the field. The Honkers were only the third team in E2L history to win 110+ games and their 769 runs scored was the second-most in E2L history behind their own 771 from 2028. The Finnish capital had gotten promoted that year, but dropped back after one season. The Tritons earned their second playoff trip in three years.

Belgrade was a firm third at 99-63, giving the Bruisers three straight playoff trips since their first relegation for 2028. Vienna grabbed the final spot at 93-69, finishing seven games better than their next closest foes Bucharest and Lviv. Tue Vultures were in the second year of their current E2L run after a brief 2027-29 return to the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier.

E2L newcomer Gdansk also was relegated right back to ET3 after one year, although their 58-104 wasn’t nearly as bad as Dresden’s efforts in the WC. Varna (63-99), Yerevan (65-97), and Dnipro (66-96) each were in danger, but escaped demotion. Riga at 68-94 also notably only had 951 hits with a .181 average and .259 OBP; each ranking as the second-worst in conference history.

The top two prevailed in the double round robin with both Helsinki and Thessaloniki at 4-2, while Belgrade and Vienna were each 2-4. The Honkers picked up their third promotion back to the big time, hoping to fare better. The Tritons ended their current E2L stint at six seasons. In the Eastern Conference Championship, Thessaloniki upset Helsinki 4-1 to secure their third appearance in the finale.



Thessaloniki became two-time Second League Championship winners, defeating Cardiff in a seven game classic. The Tritons joined Seville and Valencia as the teams to win the E2L title twice.



Other notes: Zaragoza’s Marc David had the 6th hitting Triple Crown in E2L history with 59 homers, 134 RBI, and a .316 average. Stuttgart’s Alexander Hamann won his sixth Pitcher of the Year; only one other pitcher had even won thrice. Cardiff’s Fritz Gocke set a playoff record drawing 20 walks.



In the third season for European Tier Three, Toulouse quickly made its escape after its 2030 demotion, crushing the field at 116-46. Bordeaux earned the other promotion at 96-66, holding off Florence (91-71), Geneva (90-72), and The Hague (89-73). The Blue Angels notably had finished 74-88 in their first two seasons. Athens was 81-81 in its first ET3 season. In the championship series, the Toads topped Bordeaux 4-2.

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Cape Town’s dynasty run was snapped in the African Association of Baseball’s Southern Conference. The Cowboys were the reigning AAB champ and had won the conference title four times in their five-year playoff streak. They had also been the Baseball Grand Champion in 2029 and the BGC runner-up in 2030. Still competitive at 88-74, Cape Town ended up tied with Harare in fourth. Last year’s second place team Port Elizabeth took first for the first time at 103-59.

Johannesburg was second at 98-64 to end their five-year playoff drought. The Jackalopes had been third place in the prior two seasons. Bulawayo was third at 90-72, an impressive AAB debut for the 2030 African Second League champs. The Buzz allowed the conference’s fewest runs at 672, while Johannesburg was AAB’s top scoring team at 890 runs. The Elephants were only five runs away from both conference bests with 890 scored and 677 allowed. The 2029 A2L champ Mauritius would be relegated right back after a last place 58-104, ten games worse than their nearest rival Dar es Salaam.

Leading Port Elizabeth’s efforts was Southern Conference MVP Charlie Senkumba in right field. The 28-year old Ugandan lefty led in OPS (1.062), wRC+ (168), and WAR (7.0). Senkumba had 202 hits, 119 runs, 54 doubles, 39 home runs, and 115 RBI. He held off Johannesburg’s Louie Mnguni, who was the leader in homers (66) and RBI (152).

It was a contract year for Senkumba, who left for free agency and inked a huge seven-year, $265,400,000 deal with Dar es Salaam. He’d only be with the Sabercats one season, opting out of his deal after their 2032 relegation. Senkumba then signed at six years and $211 million with Kinshasa.

Gaborone was unremarkable at 74-88, but they had Pitcher of the Year Mert Seyoum. In his fourth season, the Ethiopian lefty led in ERA (3.04), strikeouts (285), WHIP (0.94), K/BB (7.5), and shutouts (3). Seyoum had a 14-9 record, 8 saves, and 149 ERA+ over 224.2 innings.

Also notable was Cape Town closer Sipho Zuke with his sixth Reliever of the Year win and fifth consecutive. Zuke was the seventh in all of pro baseball history to win the award 6+ times. The 31-year old South African in 2031 had 35 saves, a 1.45 ERA< 74.1 innings, 130 strikeouts, and 4.9 WAR.



Djibouti was the top dog in the Central Conference at 108-534, leading in both runs scored (892) and fewest allowed (662). The Berserkers were in their fourth season in the top tier and earned their first-ever playoff berth. Djibouti and Port Elizabeth were the first of the teams that debuted with the African Second League in 2018 to finish atop the standings in the AAB’s first league.

It was a tight fight for second with Nairobi and Addis Ababa even at 96-66, while Brazzaville just missed at 92-70. The Night Hawks won the tiebreaker game to secure their third playoff berth in six years. Reigning conference champ Mogadishu, winners of 111 games in 2030, fell to 83-79 in 2031.

Four teams were in immediate danger of relegation with the unfortunate distinction going to Ndjamena at 62-100. Mombasa (63-99), Bujumbura (65-97), and Bukavu (66-96) each narrowly escaped demotion. This was the first relegation for the Magic, who hadn’t posted a winning season since 2023.

Addis Ababa DH Dagne Mersha won his third Central Conference MVP, having previously done it in 2027 and 2028. The 32-year old Ethiopian lefty led in homers (74), RBI (158), runs (138), total bases (435), slugging (.726), OPS (1.132), wRC+ (186), and WAR (8.3). In April, he signed a four-year, $100,800,000 extension to stay with the Brahmas.

It was Mersha’s fifth time leading the conference in home runs and fifth 70+ homer season, a world record. He also became the third in world history with five 150+ RBI seasons, joining world home run king Majed Darwish and Nordine Soule. Mersha reached the 500 home run and 1000 runs scored milestones in 2031 He was the 17^th in AAB to reach the former and the 46^th to reach the latter.

Kinshasa was middling at 80-82, but they had Pitcher of the Year Lawal Deffallah in his fourth full season. The 24-year old Chadian led in strikeouts for the third consecutive year with 329 and led in WAR (8.9). FIP- (58), and quality starts (22). Deffallah had a 16-11 record, 3.20 ERA, and 140 ERA+ in 241.2 innings.

Port Elizabeth defeated Johannesburg 4-1 for the Southern Conference Championship, while Djibouti rolled to a 4-0 sweep of Nairobi in the Central Conference Championship. The Elephants and Berserkers became the first teams to debut in A2L in 2018 to earn a pennant in AAB; an impressive accomplishment after only 14 years as franchises. This also guaranteed AAB’s 16^th different franchise to win it all.



The 37^th Africa Series went to Djibouti 5-3 over Port Elizabeth. LF Bernard Kenei was finals MVP in his fifth season for the Berserkers. In 11 playoff starts, the 26-year old Kenyan had 17 hits, 9 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 1 homer, 4 RBI, 10 stolen bases, .974 OPS, and 0.7 WAR.



Other notes: Harare’s Namir Jamal stole 142 bases, which was the 4^th-best in AAB history to that point and one of only 14 seasons in all of world history of 140+ steals. Jamal’s 141 runs scored was also a top ten season in AAB. Mauritius’ pitching staff had only 12 saves all season, a new AAB worst. Mbuji-Mayi’s Lelo da Rocha became the 11^th in AAB history with a six-hit game.

Nairobi’s Ibukun da Costa had AAB’s 14^th four home run game and had the second 10 RBI game. He also became the 17^th member of AAB’s 500 home run club. Maninho Magaia became the 6^th in AAB with 800 career home runs. He played one more year and ended with 843, 5^th on AAB’s all-time list. Magaia also won his 7^th Silver Slugger at 1B and CF Noel Malama won his 7^th. Salum Khosa became the 12^th to 1500 runs scored and Menzi Maketa became the 12^th to 1500 RBI.

Promotion/Relegation: Luanda was promoted into the Southern Conference, while Mauritius was relegated to the African Second League. In the Central Conference, Bangui moved up and Ndjamena moved down.