Baseball: The World's Game

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Alexandria and Jerusalem battled for the Western Conference’s top seed with the Astronauts (102-60) taking it over the Jets (100-62). For Alexandria, they allowed the fewest runs in Arab League Baseball at 646 to win the Nile Division. The Astronauts earned their fifth playoff berth and fourth division title in seven years. Jerusalem led the conference in runs with 872 for a sixth straight Levant Division crown and eighth straight playoff trip. The Jets also earned a fourth consecutive 100+ win season.

Last year’s Western Conference final saw Cairo defeat Khartoum. Neither were a factor in 2031 with the Pharaohs at 75-87 and the Cottonmouths at 73-89. This was Cairo’s first losing season since 2015 and only the second time they’ve missed the playoffs since 2017. Algiers kept their playoff streak going to eight years as the only Mediterranean Division team above .500 at 90-72. It was the seventh division title of that streak for the Arsenal.

The wild card race was focused in the Levant with Damascus taking the first spot at 86-76. Both Amman and Beirut were one back at 85-77 with the Aviators winning the tiebreaker game to advance. Giza and Oran were the next closest teams both at 81-81. The Dusters secured a fourth straight wild card and Amman ended a five-year postseason drought.

Tunis at 77-85 was largely irrelevant, but they had the Western Conference’s MVP in 1B Abdullah Al-Hafith. The 26-year old Iraqi righty led in hits (213), RBI (149), total bases (467), triple slash (.366/.403/.740), OPS (1.143), wRC+ (193), and WAR (8.7). Al-Hafith also had 116 runs, 52 doubles, and 58 home runs; falling eight homers short of Wissam Magdy to get a Triple Crown.

Veteran ace Diyar Abbas won his third Pitcher of the Year at age 36, having previously done it with Riyadh in 2020 and 2026. The Iraqi righty was traded to Alexandria in 2030. In 2031, Abbas won his second ERA title with a career best 2.55. He also led in wins (20-5), K/BB (14.3), complete games (9), and WAR (8.1). Abbas had 271 strikeouts over 243.1 innings and a 65 FIP-. He became the third ALB pitcher to 250 career wins and the sixth to 4000 career strikeouts.

Jerusalem closer Aaron Buber also made history, becoming one of only seven in world history to win the Reliever of the Year award six or more times. He’s the only one to do it in ALB, posting 35 saves, 2.19 ERA, 149 strikeouts, and 4.0 WAR in 98.2 innings in 2031. Buber also became the second in ALB history to 400 career saves. The Israeli righty returned to the Jets after pitching there from 2019-26, where he won ROTY four times. Buber earned his fifth in 2025 for Casablanca.

Damascus defeated Amman 2-0 in the wild card round, then pulled off the surprise 2-1 upset over top seed Alexandria. On the other side, Algiers ousted Jerusalem 2-1 on the road. Both the Astronauts and Jets continued recent playoff disappointment trends. It was the fourth straight year Jerusalem won 100+ games and missed the conference final, while Alexandria remained pennant-less despite five playoff trips since 2025. In the Western Conference Final, the Arsenal outlasted the Dusters 3-2 for their third pennant, all coming recently (2026, 2028, 2031).



Reigning ALB champ and three-time defending Eastern Conference champ Muscat took the #1 seed for the fourth consecutive season. The Threshers finished 99-63 for a fifth straight Gulf Division title and sixth in seven years. Doha was a solid second in the division at 90-72 to earn repeat wild cards. The Dash allowed the conference’s fewest runs with 663, closely followed by Muscat at 676.

Medina was the top scoring team with 880 runs and used that power to win the Arabia Division at 92-70. The Mastodons earned a third division crown in a row and their sixth playoff trip in seven years. Riyadh was second at 87-75, which just barely got them the second wild card. The Rats secured their fourth playoff trip since 2025.

Three teams battled for the Mesopotamia Division with Mosul (87-75) squeaking it out for their fourth straight division title. Baghdad (86-76) and Basra (85-77) both fell just short of the Muskies and of Riyadh in the wild card race. Sulaymaniyah notably dropped to 79-83, ending their four year playoff streak.

Doha LF Abdullah Nazerudeen repeated as Eastern Conference MVP. The 27-year old Yemeni righty led in total bases (428), batting average (.365), slugging (.713), OPS (1.122), wRC+ (190), and WAR (8.7). Nazerudeen added 219 hits, 112 runs, 47 doubles, 46 homers, and 121 RBI. The Dash would sign him to a four-year, $68,100,000 extension after the 2032 campaign.

Pitcher of the Year went to Baghdad righty Mohammed Ibrahim. The 27-year old Iraqi was in his sixth year with the Brown Bears and led in WHIP with 1.00. Ibrahim had a 3.01 ERA and 17-9 record over 233 innings with 250 strikeouts and 7.5 WAR. This earned him a big extension in the offseason from Baghdad at $188,800,000 over six years. Sadly, Ibrahim would be plagued by major injuries after this with a torn flexor tendon in 2032, fractured elbow in 2023, and another ligament tear in 2034.

Riyadh got the 2-1 road win over Doha in the wild card round, but promptly was swept by Muscat in round two. Medina swept Mosul to set up a rematch in the Eastern Conference Final. The Threshers kept their dynasty rolling, defeating the Mastodons 3-1 for a fourth consecutive pennant. That feat had only previously been achieved in ALB by Medina from 1992-95. It was a remarkable haul for Muscat, having only joined up with the 2016 expansion.



The 42^nd Arab League Championship was a rematch from 2027, which saw a 111-win Algiers defeat a 105-win Muscat. Since then, the Threshers won 114 games and lost in the 2029 final to Damascus, then took the title at 102-60 in 2030 over Cairo. In 2031, Muscat prevailed 4-1 over the Arsenal, becoming the seventh repeat champ in ALB history and the first since Amman in 2023-24. It was Algiers’ first-ever finals loss, having also won in 2026.

1B Abdul Jalil Dahir had a dominant postseason, winning MVP of the Eastern Conference Final and the ALB Championship. In his eighth year with Muscat, the 32-year old Lebanese lefty made 11 playoff starts with 18 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 5 homers, 13 RBI, 1.206 OPS, 198 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR.



Other notes: Damascus’s Kerlos Sharaf hit 70 doubles, three short of his ALB record from 2028. It was the 8^th 70+ double season in all of world baseball history with Sharaf as the only player to do it twice. Jerusalem’s Hassan Shanshol stole 133 bases, joining AAB’s Tsegaye Alemu as the only players in world history to steal 130+ bags in four different seasons. Through 2031, there have been only 37 total seasons in world history of 130+ steals.

Oran’s Alaa Khalil had a four home run game against Damascus, the 17^th such game in ALB history. Mosul’s Uday Easho had a 34-game hitting streak, falling three short of the ALB record set by Dahir in 2028. Wissam Magdy and Walid Bennani became the 9^th and 10^th ALB sluggers to join the 700 home run club. Sami Sayed was the 19^th to 600 homers and the 14^th to 1500 runs scored. Osama Ahmed was the 25^th to 2500 hits and Kadda Hadj Lamri was the 36^th to 500 homers.

In pitching milestones, ALB wins and strikeouts king Ahmed Hussain became the first in league history with 300 career wins. He struggled to 5-9 in 2031 with Casablanca, joining the Bruins after a 19-year run with Basra. As of 2037, Hussain is one of only 46 pitchers in world history to achieve the feat. Muhammad Nour was the 16^th to win 200 games in ALB. RF Nathan Nasreddine won his 9^th consecutive Gold Glove while Ahmed Yasser Basha also won his 9^th in right field. 3B Malik Zouaoui won his 11^th Silver Slugger.

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For the fifth consecutive season, Hyderabad earned the East League’s top seed as the Pakistan Division champ. The Horned Frogs finished 103-59 to grow their playoff streak to eight seasons. Rawalpindi was second in the division at 94-68, earning the first wild card. The Red Wings used impressive power, setting an EL record for team home runs at 295. It was an impressive turnaround for Rawalpindi, whose last playoff trip was 2017 and last winning season was 2023.

Tashkent ended an even longer playoff drought going back to 2013 and posted their first winning campaign since 2020. At 92-70, the Tomcats were one win ahead of Almaty for the North Division title. 91-71 was enough to get the second wild card for the Assassins over defending EL champ Lahore (90-72), Bishkek (87-75), and Peshawar (85-77). Almaty earned its 11^th playoff trip in the last 12 years.

The Longhorns had their postseason streak ended at three seasons and the Predators had theirs snapped at four years. Peshawar had been in the ELCS all four of those years. The EL’s top scoring team was the Predators with 752 runs, while the Black Sox allowed the fewest at 529; both missed the playoffs. Faisalabad at 82-80 notably improved after five straight sub-70 win seasons. Namangan, who debuted in 2030 at 86-76, fell back to earth at 69-93.

Almaty LF Youssouf Raza won East League MVP for the fourth time in five years, becoming the fourth four-time MVP in Asian Baseball Federation history The 30-year old Pakistani righty led in WAR (9.4), slugging (.698), and RBI (137). Raza smacked 55 home runs with 182 hits, 120 runs, 30 doubles, 1.106 OPS, and 219 wRC+.

Rookie of the Year Dzhurakon Asadullayev notably was third in MVP voting in his debut for Osh, who picked him second in the 2030 ABF Draft. The Kazakh first baseman led in OPS (1.108), doubles (49), walks (100), total bases (387), OBP (.423), and wRC+ (221). Asadullayev also had 101 runs, 182 hits, 50 homers, 126 RBI, and 9.3 WAR.

Tashkent righty Ashat Ryskulov secured Pitcher of the Year, leading in ERA (2.28), wins (18-10), WHIP (0.83), quality starts (27), and WAR (7.6). The 28-year old Uzbek struck out 281 over 248.1 innings with 160 ERA+ and 67 FIP-. The Tomcats would be unable to extend Ryskulov after the 2032 season, as he left for a six-year, $124,800,000 deal with Dushanbe.

Hyderabad survived 2-1 against Almaty in the opening round and Rawalpindi topped Tashkent 2-1. The Red Wings then swept the Horned Frogs in round two 2-0, earning their first East League Championship trip since their 2010 title. The Tomcats survived 2-1 in the loser’s bracket over the Assassins. Hyderabad then rolled Tashkent 2-0 to earn a second shot at Rawalpindi in the double-elimination bracket.

The rematch was lopsided in favor of the top seed as the Horned Frogs got revenge 4-1 against Rawalpindi. Hyderabad earned its fourth pennant in six years and tenth overall, leading all ABF teams (1986, 1987, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2013, 2026, 2027, 2027, 2031). The Horned Frogs joined Isfahan (1997-2002) as the only other ABF franchise with four finals trips in a six year stretch.



Baku looked to keep the historic dynasty going. The two-time defending ABF champs bested their 113-win effort of the prior year with a 114-48 mark in 2031. This was the third-best win total in ABF history behind only Tehran’s 116 wins in 2016 and their 115 in 2015. The Blackbirds led in scoring with 821 runs and set new ABF power records with 312 homers and a team .510 slugging percentage. They also allowed the fewest runs (518), earning a fourth West Division title in five years and an eighth playoff trip in a decade.

Mashhad’s ABF-record playoff streak grew to 11 seasons, returning to the Central Division perch at 98-64. Last year’s WLCS runner-up Tabriz was one back at 97-65 to get the first wild card, while the reigning division champ Isfahan fell to 79-83. The West Division’s Adana took the second wild card at 96-66, holding off 90-72 finishes by Ankara and Istanbul along with 89-73 Gaziantep. The Axemen ended a three-year playoff drought.

Leading Baku’s historic power output was 1B Artyom Masharipov, who repeated as West League MVP. The 27-year old Azeri slugger led in home runs (64), RBI (152), runs (139), total bases (458), slugging (.751), OPS (1.165), wRC+ (206), and WAR (10.9). Masharipov added 207 hits, 51 doubles, a .339 average, and .414 OBP. The Blackbirds wisely locked up their home country hero to a league-record eight-year, $227,200,000 extension in February.

Masharipov joined Gokhan Karatas as the only ABF sluggers with multiple 150 RBI seasons. There have only been 12 such seasons in ABF history with Adana’s Abed Kapani also hitting the mark in 2031. He also had to fend Mashhad’s Artem Abdrakhmanov for MVP, as the Mercury LF became ABF’s first-ever .400+ hitter with a .407 average. Abdrakhmanov’s mark ranks as the 15^th-best qualifying average in world baseball history. He also had 9.1 WAR, 1.083 OPS, 224 hits, 97 runs, 49 doubles, 20 triples, 14 homers, and 81 steals.

Baku’s Agshin Jumayev became the third in ABF history with five Pitcher of the Year award wins, joining Hall of Famers Oskar Tamm and Yazeed Anwari. It was a three-peat for Jumayev, who also won in 2025 and 2027. The 30-year old Tajik lefty led in wins (22-6), ERA (2.21), and FIP- (60). Jumayev struck out 398 over 248 innings with 8.6 WAR.

Jumayev also threw his second career no-hitter on April 5 in an 18 strikeout, two walk effort against Istanbul. He missed out on a third straight Triple Crown as Ankara’s Hasan Yousefi fanned 417, the fifth-best single season in ABF history. Yousefi also had him beat in WHIP (0.83), K/BB (17.4), and WAR (9.20), but had a weaker ERA at 2.98. Still, the Alouettes gave the 31-year old Iranian lefty a six-year, $145,200,000 extension before the season.

Adana shocked Baku 2-0 in the first round while Mashhad outlasted Tabriz 2-1. The Axemen kept rolling with a 2-0 win over the Mercury in round two, securing their second West League Championship Series trip in five years. Adana hasn’t had any luck getting over the hump recently, dropping five straight WLCS trips.

The double-elimination format kept the defending champ Blackbirds alive, as they topped Tabriz 2-0 and bested Mashhad 2-1 to secure a rematch with the Axemen. The seven-game WLCS saw Baku earn revenge 4-2 over Adana for a third consecutive pennant. The Blackbirds earned their eighth West League title (2010, 12, 13, 22, 24, 29, 30, 31) since joining ABF in the 2000 exodus from Eurasian Professional Baseball

Baku joined Hyderabad as the only ABF franchises to earn three consecutive finals trips. The Horned Frogs did it in 1997-99 and in 2026-28, but had been unable to pull off the championship three-peat. Each of the finals since 2026 featured one of the two, but they hadn’t met recently until now. They had met with Hyderabad defeating Baku back in the 2013 final.



The 47^th Asian Baseball Federation Championship had Baku make history, completing the three-peat with a 4-2 win over Hyderabad. The Blackbirds became five-time ABF champs (2012, 2024, 2029, 2030, 2031) and their 114 wins were the second-most ever by an ABF champ behind only 2017 Tehran’s 116-46. The three-peat certainly gave Baku a claim for ABF’s best dynasty ever, averaging 109 wins per season over the run.

Blackbirds manager Jeb Leiter had become a legend with three rings in only three seasons as the skipper. He’s the second manager in all of baseball history to win three titles in his first three seasons as the top coach, as Kirk Scott did it from 2020-22 with Kampala in the African Association of Baseball. The only other ABF manager with three rings was Erick Kent, who won in 1985, 88, and 89 with Istanbul.

League MVP Artyom Masharipov had a dominant postseason as both WLCS and finals MVP. In 19 playoff starts, he had 22 hits, 16 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 8 homers, 15 RBI, 1.066 OPS, 187 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. Teammate Agshin Jumayev also was impressive, breaking his own ABF playoff strikeouts record with 71. He also broke the playoff innings record (51.2) and was the fifth to record five wins in a postseason run. Jumayev had a 1.92 ERA with two complete games and a five-hit, 11 strikeout shutout in the game six finale.



Other notes: Veteran slugger Hakan Mocuk became ABF’s new career home run king in his fifth season with Baku. The 37-year old Turk hit 38 to finish the year at 692, leaping over Habib Saquib (686), Ali Sungu (683), and Fakhri Rajavi (678) in the rankings. Mocuk was already the RBI leader and now had 1927, in striking distance of the 2K club.

Mocuk also won his 12^th Silver Slugger and 11^th at third base. He joined the legendary Nizami Aghazade as the only 12+ Slugger winners at any spot in ABF Mocuk and Ismayil Kostenko also became the 17^th and 18^th ABF batters to 2500 career hits. Kostenko and Ismail Akbar became the 8^th and 9^th to reach 1500 RBI. Two-way player Safdar Kahlwan won his 9^th Silver Slugger and 8^th as a pitcher. LF Youssouf Raza won his 8^th Silver Slugger and 3B Mahtab Malik won his 7^th.

While Baku set the league home run record, they also set an all-time West League worst with 70 stolen bases. Mashhad’s Ishtaq Shahzad set a single-season record with 31 triples. Gaziantep’s Svan Arnason struck out 21 on March 24 against Izmir, which was the 14^th game in ABF history of 21+ Ks.

Elnur Hasanov became the 6^th ABF ace to 4500 career strikeouts, wrapping up his career with 4640. Hasan Yousefi became the 22^nd to 3500 Ks. C Ali Mahdian won his 11^th Gold Glove and CF Anatoly Memmendov won his 10th, both hold their position record.

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Visakhapatnam earned the Indian League’s top seed for the seventh time in eight years, this time at 100-62 atop the South Division. Since 2023, the Volts have averaged an impressive 105.8 wins per season, although they haven’t won the pennant since the 2023-25 three-peat. Visakhapatnam had a .478 team slugging percentage, which was the third-best in IL history.

Defending South Asia Baseball champ Ahmedabad won the West Division for the sixth consecutive season at 98-64, taking first by 15 games over Pune and Vadodara. The Animals led the league in scoring with 833 runs. A tight Central Division saw Jaipur (93-69) edge out Delhi (92-70). The Jokers earned their fourth playoff trip in five years, while the Drillers made it three straight berths as the first wild card. Jaipur notably had 374 doubles as a team, the second-best in Indian League history.

Hyderabad at 91-71 got the second wild card, ending a five-year playoff drought for the Hippos. Bengaluru was the only other team really in striking distance at 87-75. The Blazers’ postseason drought grew to 26 seasons despite allowing the fewest runs at 584. Last year’s Central Division champ Kanpur fell to 79-83, while Indore went from a 92-win wild card down to 78-84.

Chennai struggled to 71-91 despite having Indian League MVP Davinder Abhik. The 23-year old Indian right fielder was in only his second full season and posted 60 doubles, tying the SAB single-season record set in 2022 by Gotam Bhagwan. Abhik also led in hits (233), triples (21), stolen bases (111), batting average (.373), and WAR (9.2). He had 120 runs, 15 home runs, 96 RBI, 1.009 OPS, and 182 wRC+. Abhik’s 233 hits ranked as tied for the 8^th-most hits in an SAB season through 2031.

Oleg Karmenok won Pitcher of the Year in a split effort. The 6’7’’ Russian lefty debuted in 2026 with Surat with decent results, then put it all together in 2031. The struggling Silver Sox traded Karmenok at the deadline to Visakhapatnam. Combined, the 27-year old led in ERA (2.54), wins (19-7), complete games (10), shutouts (4), and WAR (7.1). Karmenok struck out 254 over 237 innings with 160 ERA+ and 67 FIP-. He was a rental for the Volts and left in the offseason for a six-year, $105,600,000 free agent deal with Ahmedabad.

Delhi edged Hyderabad 2-1 in the wild card round, but was dispatched 3-1 by Visakhapatnam in the divisional series. Ahmedabad outlasted Jaipur 3-2 on the other side, setting up a rematch in the Indian League Championship Series. They developed a fierce playoff rivalry especially recently, although they had battled during the Animals’ dynasty era also. Ahmedabad had won over the Volts in the 2030 ILCS, but Visakhapatnam had won in 2024.

Going further back, Ahmedabad beat Visakhapatnam in the 1990, 91, and 98 ILCS. The Volts’ first-ever pennant notably came over the Animals in 2012. In the 2031 encounter, home field advantage held with a 4-2 Visakhapatnam win over Ahmedabad. The Volts became six-time Indian League champs (2012, 13, 23, 24, 25, 31).



Dhaka’s playoff streak grew to 11 seasons, although they won the division and earned the Southeast Asia League’s top seed for only the third time of the run. The Dobermans won the West Division at 108-54 with a historic offense, setting new SAB records for batting average (.303), on-base percentage (.353), hits (1780), and doubles (401). Their 988 runs were the third-best in SAB history behind only 2008 Hanoi (1006) and 2030 Ho Chi Minh City (994).

The Hedgehogs won a third consecutive division title atop the South at 102-60. Reigning SEAL champ Yangon dominated the Central at 98-64 for their sixth playoff berth in seven years. Since 1995, the Green Dragons have only missed the playoffs twice. Yangon led SEAL with only 696 runs allowed. They also notably scored 911, while HCMC had 936 runs.

In the wild card race, Bangkok (92-70) and Mandalay (91-71) advanced with Hanoi (86-76), Colombo (85-77), and Da Nang (84-78) as the first teams out. The Mammoths extended their playoff streak to six seasons, hoping to make it to the SEAL Championship for six straight years. The Bobcats ended a three year playoff drought

Dhaka’s record-setting offense was spearheaded by a record-breaking season by Southeast Asia League MVP Kap Mitanu. The 27-year old Indian set the new SAB single-season record for hits at 256, obliterating the previous best of 241 by Arnav Sumedh. Interestingly, Bangkok’s Arav Walif also broke that record in 2031, although his 244 was still well short of Mitanu. To that point, this was the 18^th-most hits in any season in all of pro baseball history.

Mitanu also led in runs (136), RBI (161), total bases (447), average (.399), OBP (.432), OPS (1.129), wRC+ (188), and WAR (10.8). He just missed a .400 average, which had only been reached thrice in SAB previously by a qualifying hitter. The 161 RBI also ranked as the 7^th-most in SAB history. Mitanu also had 45 doubles, 44 home runs, and 42 stolen bases. After the season, the Dobermans locked him up on an eight-year, $191,800,000 extension.

Da Nang’s Ricky Geraghty was a surprise Pitcher of the Year winner, leading in ERA (2.92), FIP- (71), and WAR (5.7). The 31-year old American was in his fourth season in Vietnam after starting his career with Major League Baseball’s Wichita Wasps. Geraghty tossed 209.1 innings in 2031 with 273 strikeouts, a 14-8 record, and 157 ERA+. This ended his Da Nang run, as he’d be traded in the offseason to Visakhapatnam.

Bangkok swept Mandalay 2-0 in the wild card round, but was promptly swept 3-0 by Dhaka in the divisional series. Despite their 11-year playoff streak, this was the first time since their 2023 pennant that the Dobermans advanced to the Southeast Asia League Championship. The Mammoths also notably missed the SEAL final for the first time since 2025.

Defending champ Yangon edged Ho Chi Minh City in a 3-2 divisional series classic. The Green Dragons then won on the road in a seven-game thriller against top-seed Dhaka. With the repeat, Yangon became 14-time Southeast Asia League champs (1980, 82, 83, 96, 2001, 06, 12, 14, 15, 17, 20, 22, 30, 31). This was behind only Ho Chi Minh City’s 15 pennants. Combined with Mandalay, the SEAL title has gone to a team from Myanmar in six straight seasons.



Despite the relative successes of both teams, the 52^nd SAB Championship was only the second finals meeting between Yangon and Visakhapatnam. The Green Dragons won back in their 2012 encounter, spoiling the Volts’ first finals trip. Yangon prevailed in 2031 by a 4-2 margin to become six-time South Asian Baseball champs (2001, 12, 15, 17, 22, 31).

The Green Dragons were tied with Ho Chi Minh City for the most SAB rings by a SEAL team at six, although both were far behind Ahmedabad’s 13. LF Hemi Sita won finals MVP in his sixth year with Yangon and 13^th in SAB. In 18 playoff starts, Sita had 29 hits, 12 runs, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 13 RBI, 1.221 OPS, 209 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. The 29 hits were tied for the third-most in a SAB playoff run.



Other notes: The high hit totals in 2031 produced SAB’s longest-ever hitting streak, a 38-game run in the late summer by Colombo’s Chanratana Try. The previous best was 35 by Abhiji Srivas in 2019. Mandalay’s Jay Prasad notably had the third-longest in SAB with a 33-game run in 2031.

Can Tho had SEAL’s second-worst record at 62-100, but they had an all-time poor pitching staff. The Typhoon set all-time SAB team worsts for ERA (5.58), hits (1783), and H/9 (11.28). They also had the second-most runs allowed (940) and earned runs (882), both behind only 2009 Vientiane’s 955 and 888. Can Tho’s 1.521 team WHIP was the third-worst in SAB history.

Rajshahi also had poor pitching in 2031, setting an all-time worst for strikeouts (1143) and K/9 (7.11) along with the third-fewest saves (14). Also poor was Vientiane, who allowed the third-most runs (929), hits (1696), and had the third-worst H/9 (10.62). The Vampires’ Henry Goh allowed 296 hits, setting a new SAB individual worst.

In other pitching notables, 2031 was SAB’s first since without a single no-hitter since a three year run from 2018-20. Quang Thinh Phan became the 15^th ace to reach 200 career wins. Dusit Kyo and Amir Kapur became the 20^th and 21^st to reach 3500 strikeouts. Raj Bhaskar was the 19^th closer to 300 saves.

In hitting milestones, Binh Su Bac became the 5^th member of SAB’s 3000 hit club. Shivansh Mahapatra and Sokha Khhem became the 33^rd and 34^th to 2500 hits. Vij Kumaragupta and Gunavati Candrajita were the 17^th and 18^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Abhiji Srivas was the 21^st to 1500 RBI. Arav Walif and Cao An Ngo were the 30^th and 31^st members of the 500 home run club.

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Freetown had West African Baseball’s best record in 2031 at a franchise-best 111-51, earning the Western League’s top seed for the third time in four years. The Foresters also guaranteed their seventh trip to the WLCS in eight years. Freetown led WAB with 564 runs scored and set all-time league pitching records for strikeouts (1896), and K/9 (11.80). It was a hot ticket in Sierra Leone with the Foresters posting a 2,202,335 season attendance; second-best in WAB history behind Cotonou’s 2,248,829 from the prior season.

The South Division wasn’t a guarantee either for the Foresters with Abidjan as WAB’s other 100+ win team in 2031 at 101-61. The Athletes earned a wild card, making the playoffs for the 11^th time in 14 years. Abidjan led WAB with 932 runs scored.

Nouakchott won the North Division at 98-64 for back-to-back playoff berths. It was their first time leading the standings since 2004. Two-time defending WL champ Dakar was second in the North at 93-69, firmly taking the second wild card ahead of 87-75 Conakry. The Dukes grew their playoff streak to eight seasons. Monrovia, a 90-win wild card last year, dropped to 80-82.

Veteran slugger Abdel Aziz Ashraf won his first Western League MVP in his 16^th season for Abidjan. The 36-year old Egyptian lefty crushed 70 home runs for the 7^th season in WAB history of 70+ homers. Ashraf had done it before with 71 back in 2023, which held as the WAB record for one year before Desmond Jaiyeola crushed 78. They are among 16 players in all of pro baseball history with multiple 70 home run seasons.

Both also made WAB history in 2031 by joining Darwin Morris in the 800 home run club. Jaiyeola became the new WAB home run king in his final season, finishing with 829. Ashraf finished the season with 806, tying Morris’ top mark which had held since 2014. Jaiyeola also wrapped up with 2512 hits, 1617 runs, 361 doubles, 1858 RBI, and 62.7 WAR across his run as a top flight DH.

Ashraf had a career-best 168 RBI in 2031, which ranked as the 5^th-highest in WAB. He also led in total bases (431), slugging (.693), OPS (1.037), and wRC+ (166). Ashraf posted 6.2 WAR with a .302 average, 188 hits, 122 runs, and 27 doubles. On the downside, he struck out 235 times, leading the league for the sixth time.
Ashraf finished the season with 3121, passing Aliassou Lankoande’s 3007 to become WAB’s biggest whiffer. As of 2037, he’s one of only 29 in world history with 3000+ strikeouts. Ashraf signed a three-year, $34,800,000 extension with the Athletes before the season.

Dakar ace Chidozie Iyakson also made history as the first six-time Pitcher of the Year winner in WAB. The 30-year old Nigerian lefty also won from 2024-27 and in 2029. In 2031, Iyakson led in WAR (7.5) and FIP- (59). He had a 2.55 ERA over 208.1 innings with 291 strikeouts and 174 ERA+. This was Iyakson’s final full WAB season, as he’d miss most of 2032 to a torn meniscus in his knee. He would opt out of his deal and bolt for MLB in 2033 on a five-year, $102 million deal with New York. Iyakson’s nine year reign with the Dukes would go down though as the best such stretch in league history.

Abidjan topped Dakar 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs, then got ousted 2-1 in round two by Nouakchott. The Night Riders earned their first trip to the Western League Championship Series since 2020 and they hadn’t won a pennant in the 21^st Century. Freetown extended that drought for them, taking the WLCS 3-1 for their third pennant in eight years. The Foresters became five-time Western League champs (1977, 2011, 2024, 2028, 2031).



A very competitive Eastern League had only six wins separating the four playoff teams. Both division champs finished 97-65 with Ouagadougou atop the Interior and reigning WAB kings Cotonou atop the Coastal. The tiebreaker gave the top seed to the Copperheads, boosting their hopes for a sixth consecutive EL pennant. The Osprey picked up their second playoff trip in four years.

Right behind Ouagadougou in the Interior was Kano (95-67) and Benin City (94-68). It was the second year of since the realignment to divisions, where both division’s second place team advanced as a wild card. This meant the Condors continued on and the Blue Devils were denied, despite Benin City having the fourth best overall record. Lagos was second in the Coastal at 91-71 and held off 86-78 Port Harcourt for the remaining playoff slot.

The Condors earned repeat playoff trips and the Lizards ended a three-year drought. Both Benin City and Port Harcourt were denied a third straight berth. The Blue Devils had led the EL with 927 runs, while Cotonou allowed the fewest at 675. Also of note was Niamey falling to 72-90, their first losing season since 2020.

Benin City third baseman Joao Sebastiao da Silva repeated as Eastern League MVP, leading in runs (127), homers (60), total bases (467), slugging (.746), OPS (1.153), wRC+ (177), and WAR (9.5). The 28-year old Angolan added 217 hits, 42 doubles, 14 triples, 130 RBI, and a .347 average. In the offseason, da Silva opted out of his current deal to ink a new historic seven-year, $274,500,000 extension with the Blue Devils. This made da Silva the first WAB player with an annual salary above $40 million.

Ibadan was mid at 78-84, but their ace Yakubu Babawo won Pitcher of the Year in only his second season. The 23-year old Nigerian lefty led with 20 quality starts and posted a 2.88 ERA over 206 innings, 16-6 record, 281 strikeouts, 165 ERA+, and 4.9 WAR. Babawo bounced back swimmingly after a fractured elbow ended his rookie campaign prematurely.

Kano edged Lagos 2-1 in the first round and gave Ouagadougou a spirited fight in round two before falling 2-1. This set up a rematch of the 2027 Eastern League Championship Series, which was the second of Cotonou’s five consecutive pennants. Many thought they’d complete the six-peat, but the Osprey earned the impressive 3-1 road win. This was Ouagadougou’s first-ever pennant, having gone 0-6 in their previous ELCS tries. This left Benin City and Doaula as the only original WAB teams yet to make the final.



In the 57^th West African Championship, Freetown capped off their 111-win campaign with a 4-1 finals win over Ouagadougou. The Foresters staked their claim as one of WAB’s all-time best teams, becoming only the eighth to win the title and win 110+ games. Freetown became three-time champs, having won in 1977 and 2028. 1B Youssoupha Diop won finals MVP in his 14^th season starting for the Foresters. The 34-year old Senegalais lefty in nine playoff games had 10 hits, 7 runs, 3 doubles, 3 homers, and 9 RBI.



Other notes: WAB hits king Fares Belaid became the world’s hit king in 2031, reaching a mark most figured was impossible. The 42-year old Tunisian had a respectable full season with Abidjan, recording 198 hits, 106 runs, 35 doubles, 16 triples, 20 homers, and 2.4 WAR. With that, he finished the season with an incredible 5041 career hits.

The legendary Prometheo Garcia had held the world record since the 1960s with a staggering 4917 hits combined between CABA and MLB. The #2 mark had been Stan Provost’s 4133 until EBF’s Jiri Lebr made a run and finished at 4651. Belaid had entered the season as world doubles king and further added to that distinction, becoming the first to reach 900 for a career. He also became the world triples king in 2031 at 467, passing Carsten Dal’s 457 from EBF.

Belaid was the WAB record holder in games, at-bats, runs, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, triples and stolen bases. In 2031, he became the second in world history with 2500+ runs scored. With 2599 runs, Belaid still had a shot to catch world home run king Majed Darwish of SAB for the most runs at 2664. Belaid had signed a three-year, $35,300,000 extension with Abidjan after getting traded to the Athletes in July 2030. He intended to return for the 2032 campaign, his 25^th year in WAB.

Despite a lackluster 73-89 record, Jos’s offense posted 408 doubles, one short of the WAB record. Leading that effort was Madi Dicko with 68, falling two short of the WAB individual mark reached by Isah Saka in 2026 and Adrian Kollie in 2021. 70+ doubles has only been reached eight times in world history through the 2031 season.

Port Harcourt’s Ngalle Eto’o set a single-season record among pitchers with 162+ innings with a 0.43 BB/9. He had an absurd 30.0 K/BB, striking out 240 with only eight walks over 169.1 innings. Shaiu Hassan became the 4^th to reach 2000 RBI and Jonah Moiseiwitsch became the 4^th to 2000 runs scored.

Donatien Nda was the 10^th to 600 home runs. Nda and Rasaq Kadir became the 23^rd and 24^th to 1500 RBI. Kadir won his 8^th Silver Slugger in CF. Abdel Aziz Ashraf was the 17^th to 1500 runs scored. Tamsir Camara, Ali Zakaryaou, and Desmond Jaiyeola all reached 2500 hits, making that a 38-player club for WAB. SS Saturday Solomon won his 9^th consecutive Gold Glove.

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Harbin had Chinese League Baseball’s top record at 109-53, dominating the Northeast Division. For the third consecutive season, the Hellcats had the Northern League’s best record. They did it in 2031 with record-breaking offense, setting the new CLB record for runs scored at 758 and team slugging at .448. Harbin also allowed the fewest in the NL for the season at 507 runs. They also had 1495 hits, the third-best in CLB history. Harbin posted a 2,067,520 season attendance, just short of the league record 2,090,696 they set the prior year.

Qingdao was an impressive #2 seed in the NL at 101-61, dominating the Southeast Division for their second playoff berth in four years. The East Central had the tightest battle at Shijiazhuang (91-71) narrowly dethroned reigning CLB champ Jinan (90-72). The Serpents ended a nine-year playoff drought with impressive power, setting a new CLB team record with 235 home runs.

The West Division was also a tight fight as Urumqi (86-78) advanced over Lanzhou (84-78). The Unicorns got their second playoff trip in four years. For the Lava, it was an impressive accomplishment to post a winning campaign in only their second-ever season. Zhengzhou was 79-83 for only their second playoff miss in six years.

Jinan 1B Syamsul Azzahari won his second Northern League MVP, having previously done it in 2027. In 2031, the 29-year old Malaysian lefty led in hits (213), runs (124), average (.353), and OBP (.416). Azzahari added 54 home runs, 135 RBI, 1.071 OPS, 202 wRC+, and 10.3 WAR. Prior to the season, the Jumbos gave their long-time star one of China’s richest contracts yet at eight years and $281,800,000.

Although not an MVP finalist for 69-93 Xi’an, there was great excitement following 1B Liren Poh’s home run chase. The 30-year old righty socked 70 dingers, tying the CLB record set by Peng Wang in 2011. Poh also led with 140 RBI, the third-best in CLB history. Poh had 402 total bases, which was only the 11^th time in the ultra-low scoring CLB that a player posted 400+ bags.

Pitcher of the Year went to Harbin’s Lei Jiang in his fifth season. The 26-year old righty had missed big chunks of the prior three years to torn back muscles. Jiang was healthy for 2031 and led in ERA (1.78), wins (24-4), and quality starts (27). He struck out 269 over 222.2 innings with a 188 ERA+ and 7.2 WAR. After the season, the Hellcats gave Jiang a four-year, $27,680,000 extension.

Harbin was the top team in the Triple Round Robin at 6-3, earning repeat semifinal trips. Urumqi and Shijiazhuang were both 5-4 and Qingdao went 2-7. The Unicorns advanced over the Serpents on the tiebreaker for a third semifinal trip, having previously won the Northern League crown in 2022 and 2024.

Few expected the Unicorns to win a third pennant, looking very mismatched on paper at 86-76 versus the 109-53 Hellcats. However, Urumqi did it emphatically 4-1, leaving Harbin without a China Series trip despite three consecutive years as the top seed with 100+ wins. The Hellcats’ have now gone 28 seasons since their last finals berth.



Chongqing was again the Southern League’s top seed, winning the Central Division by 14 games at 98-64. The Cavaliers earned their sixth playoff trip in seven years. Next best was Guangzhou at 92-70, who beat Foshan by eight to repeat in the Southwest Division. The Gamecocks led in scoring with 721 runs and set a new CLB record with a team .318 OBP. Guangzhou’s 116 triples were also the second-most in CLB history.

Dongguan earned their third playoff trip in four years, winning the East Division at 88-74 and allowing the fewest runs at 480. The Donkeys were three games better than defending SL champ Wenzhou, who was the only team from the 2030 SL playoff field to miss in 2031. Hong Kong at 84-78 barely repeated in the Southeast Division ahead of Macau (83-79) and Xiamen (79-83).

Second-year RF Yan Bashi won Southern League MVP for Guangzhou, leading in OPS (.955) and wRC+ (197). The #6 overall pick from the 2028 CLB Draft added 8.9 WAR, 193 hits, 93 runs, 17 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers, 101 RBI, and a .329/.376/.579 slash.

Xiamen’s Jingbo Gao got Pitcher of the Year, leading in quality starts with 27. The 27-year old righty had a 214 ERA over 269.2 innings, 16-11 record, 286 strikeouts, 143 ERA+, and 6.4 WAR. This earned Gao a five-year, $48,500,000 extension with the Mutts.

The Triple Round Robin had Guangzhou (7-2) and Hong Kong (6-3), while top-seed Chongqing (3-6) and Dongguan (2-7) were ousted. This gave the Gamecocks back-to-back semifinal trips, but they’d be denied again. The Champions won in a seven-game thriller, securing their ninth trip to the China Series (1978, 82, 97, 2007, 18, 19, 21, 22, 31). This tied HK with Beijing for the most finals berths



By win total, the 62^nd China Series was one of the weakest finals you’d find with 86-win Urumqi and 84-win Hong Kong. It was a rematch of the 2022 final, which was HK’s last title in a 2-1 result. The Unicorns got revenge in a seven-game classic, the first China Series to go the distance since Urumqi’s first title over Shantou in 2024.

Finals MVP went to rookie Pengqing Gao, the 14^th overall pick by the Unicorns in the 2030 CLB Draft. In 21 playoff starts, the switch-hitting left fielder had 18 hits, 13 runs, 11 homers, 17 RBI, 1.135 OPS, and 1.5 WAR. He notably had a three-home run game during the series, going 5-5 with 6 RBI.

The 11 homers tied the former CLB playoff record, which HK’s Binghui Wen shattered with 14. The 26-year old Wen also set a CLB playoff record for total bases with 72 and fell two short of the RBI record with 22. Wen and teammate Faxien Rao both scored 18 runs, tying Kenny Sang’s playoff record from 2025.



Other notes: Tao Cai became the 4^th member of the 500 home run club. He finished the year at 526, still just behind the other three members. However, Cai is within striking distance of the top slot of 552 by Cheng Kang. The 35-year old Changsha LF finished 2031 with 1268 RBI, barely behind Kang’s 1272 for the top spot. Cai did pass Zhen Zhang’s 4468 to become CLB’s total bases leader with 4586.

Changsha’s Ponziano Gonzalez had 381 strikeouts in 2031, the 11^th-best by a CLB pitcher and the most in 30 years. Harvey Chong had a 28-game hitting streak carrying over from the prior year, the 2^nd-longeest in CLB behind Feng Smith’s 32 from 2028. 3B Luis Alvarado and CF Xiaotian Shu both won their 7^th Gold Gloves. It was Shu’s first in CF, having won six in LF.

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Austronesia Professional Baseball had generally been the lowest scoring of the world baseball leagues. In the 2020s, the Taiwan-Philippine Association had an ERA of 2.83 and the Sundaland Association was at 2.53; both the lowest in the world. Chinese League Baseball had long seen similar numbers, but CLB made rule changes for 2028 to boost their scoring output somewhat.

Following their neighbor’s lead, APB made similar changes for 2031 designed to increase offensive output overall. The TPA would go from a 2.77 ERA and .222 batting average in 2030 to a 3.25 ERA and .241 average. The SA went from 2.39 and .213 in 2030 up to 2.90 and .232. APB remained the lowest scoring of the world leagues, but they were at least now in the “low” to “very low” scoring territory on the historical scale and no longer “extremely low.”



Cebu’s reign atop the Philippine League extended to seven seasons, setting a franchise record at 109-53. The Crows allowed the fewest runs in the Taiwan-Philippine Association at 480 and had the second-most runs at 701. Cagayan de Oro was a very distant second at 87-75, but that earned them their second-ever playoff berth (2021). The Critters held off Quezon (84-78) for the #2 spot. Last year’s association finalist Manila plummeted to the bottom at 66-96.

Four teams finished within four games of the Taiwan League’s top spot. Tainan narrowly took it at 91-71, advancing to the playoffs along with 90-72 Hsinchu. Reigning APB champ Taipei and last year’s TL winner Taichung both missed the cut at 87-75. The Titans earned their second playoff trip in four years, while the Sweathogs ended a three-year drought.

Hsinchu took advantage of the new offensive rules and set several APB team records. The Sweathogs set new high marks for team batting average (.263), slugging percentage (.435), runs (713), hits (1459), and doubles (260). “The King” Binh Tang led the efforts again with a historic 11^th Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. He joined OBA/MLB legend Jimmy Caliw (12) and WAB legend Darwin Morris (11) as the only 11+ MVP winners in all of world baseball history. Tang earned his 11^th Silver Slugger as well and his 8^th at first base.

The 31-year old Vietnamese first baseman led in runs (115), hits (205), RBI (116), triple slash (.348/.415/.615), OPS (1.029), wRC+ (193), and WAR (11.1). Tang also had 32 doubles and 39 home runs. In APB, there have been only 22 qualifying seasons with an OPS above one to this point; Tang has four. This was also his eighth season above 10 WAR. He hit for the cycle for the first time in his career in June against Kaohsiung. In July, the Sweathogs extended their megastar on a six-year, $234,500,000 deal.

Tainan’s Yu-Kang Chiang won Pitcher of the Year in his fifth season. The 26-year old Taiwanese lefty led in wins (23-3), ERA (1.17), WHIP (0.73), quality starts (29), ERA+ (278), FIP- (30), and WAR (12.1). Chaing tossed 230.1 innings with 343 strikeouts, finishing third with teammate Kuan-Yang Kang leading at 384. Back in April, the Titans extended Chiang at $99,800,000 over six years; a quite reasonable deal for a POTY winner.

The top seeds prevailed in the divisional round with Tainan sweeping Cagayan de Oro and Cebu surviving 3-2 against Hsinchu. This set up a rematch of the 2028 Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship, which was the final pennant of a four-peat for the Crows. Cebu returned to the perch by winning 4-2 for their tenth pennant (1980, 90, 91, 92, 2012, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31). This is the most among TPA teams. For the Titans, their pennant drought grows to 52 years.



Kuala Lumpur earned the Sundaland Association’s top seed at 98-64 atop the Malacca League; earning their first playoff trip in a decade. Medan at 88-74 took the #2 slot for back-to-back years, holding off Batam (86-76) and Pekanbaru (84-78).

Reigning SA champ Jakarta narrowly repeated atop the Java Sea League at 90-72, growing their playoff streak to seven seasons. Surabaya and Semarang tied for second at 88-74 with the Sunbirds advancing by winning the tiebreaker game. This ended a 19-year playoff drought for Surabaya, which was the second-longest active drought in APB behind Depok’s 31-year skid. The Demons led the SA with 583 runs in 2031, but finished a mere 79-83. The Sliders allowed the fewest runs at 430.

Sundaland Association MVP went to 1B Ashraf Zeky in his seventh year starting for Surabaya. The 30-year old Malaysian righty led in walks (78), OBP (.390), and OPS (.937). Zeky had 179 hits, 82 runs, 26 doubles, 36 homers, 93 RBI, 193 wRC+, and 7.9 WAR.

Medan’s Pao-Huang Lin won his third consecutive Pitcher of the Year and again won the ERA title, this time at 1.09. This ranked as the 14^th-best qualifying ERA in APB as of 2037. The 24-year old Taiwanese lefty had a 16-4 record over 182 innings with 293 strikeouts. He was also the leader in WHIP (0.81), shutouts (5), ERA+ (269), FIP- (33), and WAR (9.0). Lin also had an incredible 22 strikeout game over 11 innings against Palembang on May 25, missing the single-game record by one. Lin’s season was shorted with a damaged elbow ligament in mid-August, putting him out ten months.

Kuala Lumpur swept Surabaya in the divisional round and Jakarta topped Medan 3-1. This sent the Jaguars to the Sundaland Association final for the sixth time in seven years, while the Leopards last made it in 2021. KL still was pennant-less since leaving South Asia Baseball and joining APB in 2008. Kuala Lumpur finally ended that drought with a 4-2 series win over Jakarta.



The 67^th Austronesia Championship saw Kuala Lumpur victorious 4-2 against Cebu, making the Leopards the 19^th different franchise to win APB’s top prize. Finals MVP went to pitcher Hari Xi in his eighth year in the Leopards rotation. The 28-year old Indonesian had a 13-strikout no-hitter in game six, the first ever no-hitter in a championship clincher in all of pro baseball history. This was the third no-hitter in APB finals history. Xi tossed 30.2 playoff innings with a 0.88 ERA, 3-0 record, 1 save, 50 strikeouts, 7 hits allowed, and 1.6 WAR.

He was only the sixth pitcher in APB playoff history to strikeout 50+ batters in a run. Two others achieved the feat, aided by the expanded postseason. KL teammate Thipanraj Shahdan tied the playoff record with 59 Ks while Cebu’s Hakimi Aziz fanned 51.



Other notes: Hakimi Aziz also notably had a no-hitter against Tainan in May, giving him three for his career Aziz had tossed two perfect games the prior year. Cebu’s Chia-Jen Han had the 57^th APB perfecto on August 3, fanning 14 against Batangas.
Semarang’s pitching staff allowed 202 walks with a 1.24 BB/9, both of which were the second-lowest in APB history. Taryono Putra became the 17^th closer to 300 career saves.

Cebu’s Francis Zavalas posted only the third-ever four home run game by an APB slugger on July 10 against Zamboanga. Taoyuan’s Wei-Yin Yang had the 20^th six-hit game in APB and became the first to do it twice, having also done it in 2025. Pete Gipit and Wei-Yin Wang became the 62^nd and 63^rd to 2000 hits. 1B Robert Corrado won his 10^th Gold Glove and P Kuan-Yang Kang won his 8^th.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Since 2011, the Oceania Baseball Association had required only five years of minimum service for players to reach free agency; the lowest of the world leagues. In an effort to keep players from leaving the region so quickly, OBA bumped that back up to the original six years starting in 2031. OBA still was among the lower of the world leagues, leaving CABA, SAB, and EAB with the five year standard. Those leagues had only recently made their switches down to five.



For the first time in 34 years, Perth finished atop the Australasia League standings. The Penguins had been close recently, taking third at 90-72 in 2030 and second in 2029 at 93-69. Perth pulled off a 105-57 mark in 2031 and led the Oceania Baseball Association with 779 runs scored. The Penguins became nine-time league champs (1960, 61, 78, 79, 86, 93, 94, 97, 2031).

Sydney was second at 97-65, followed by reigning OBA champ Brisbane at 92-70 and Melbourne at 90-72. The Snakes notably posted a 17^th consecutive winning season, one season short of Honolulu’s OBA record. The Black Bears allowed OBA’s fewest runs at 520.

Leading the way for Perth was Australasia League MVP Jody Riley in his fourth season. The 25-year old Australian first baseman led with 56 home runs and 122 RBI. Riley added 168 hits, 110 runs, 21 doubles, 1.036 OPS, 178 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR. The Penguins had picked Riley fifth overall in the 2027 OBA Draft.

Brisbane’s Jayden Rhode won Pitcher of the Year in his in his seventh season. The 28-year old Australian righty won the ERA title at 2.31 and led in FIP- (67), and WAR (8.0). Rhode won his fourth Gold Glove and had 319 strikeouts over 260.2 innings with a 17-10 record and 165 ERA+. The Black Bears would commit to Rhode the following March with a six year, $180,900,000 extension.



The Pacific League saw a major shakeup at the top of the standings. Defending champ New Caledonia plummeted to 66-96 after their surprise 2030 title. Port Moresby, who won six pennants in the 2020s, finished 72-90 for their first losing season in a decade. This opened up the chance for some to end a significant title drought.

Guadalcanal and Fiji took advantage, tying for the top spot at 96-66 to require a tiebreaker game for the first time since 2003. The Green Jackets prevailed and ended their 17-year title drought, becoming eight-time PL champs (1961, 64, 66, 68, 77, 2010, 12, 13, 31). Honolulu was also a competitive third at 91-71. Guadalcanal led the PL with 762 runs scored while the Freedom allowed the fewest at 603.

Fiji LF Pierce Meecham was Pacific League MVP in his fifth season. The 28-year old Australian lefty led in runs (112), hits (224), doubles (38), RBI (122), total bases (418), triple slash (.360/.384/.671), OPS (1.055), wRC+ (206), and WAR (9.6). Meecham’s 42 home runs were second to Honolulu’s Liam Winmar at 48, missing the Triple Crown by six. The Freedom extended Meecham after the season for five years and $77,900,000.

Tahiti was mid at 82-80, but they saw the Pitcher of the Year Steven Gamboa. The 34-year old Timorese lefty had a 19-10 record, 2.45 ERA, 290.1 innings, 301 strikeouts, 147 ERA+, and 4.8 WAR. He led in shutouts (5) and also walks (88). It was Gamboa’s one season with the Tropics. He had been with Honolulu from 2022-30 and returned to the Honu for 2032.



The 72^nd Oceania Championship was a rematch of the second, which saw Guadalcanal victorious over Perth back in 1961. The Penguins got the long-waited revenge with an emphatic sweep, becoming five-time OBA champs (1960, 1978, 1993, 1994, 2031). Journeyman 2B Brodie Hazlett was finals MVP, going 9-16 with 5 runs, 3 triples, 2 RBI, and 4 steals.



Other notes: Quinn Burry became the 50^th pitcher to 3000 career strikeouts. Jordy Vincent and Evan Yoshida were the 68^th and 69^th to 1000 runs scored, while Pat Nicholson and Sumeet Singh were the 73^rd and 74^th to 1000 RBI. 3B Natam Chrostek and 1B David Odom won their 8^th Gold Gloves and C Kristian Duenas won his 7^th.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Only three wins separated the four playoff teams in Eurasian Professional Baseball’s European League. The top two records were both in the North Division, led by reigning EL champ Moscow at 95-67. The Mules were one game better than 94-68 Kazan, who ended a three-year playoff berth. It was Moscow’s third straight playoff trip, but they hadn’t won a division crown since 2021. The Mules allowed the EL’s fewest runs (575) and the Crusaders scored the most (745).

Over in the South Division, Krasnodar was first at 93-69 with Samara one back at 92-70. The Steamers earned their first playoff trip since their back-to-back pennants in 2017-18. The Steelers meanwhile grew their postseason streak to five years. Tel Aviv was also in the mix and the first team out at 88-74, tying a franchise-best for wins by the 2020 expansion Aeros.

Volgograd notably fell hard after their franchise-best 113 wins the prior year, finishing 76-86. This was only the second time since 2020 that the Voyagers missed the playoffs or had a losing season. Gomel notably fell off after taking three straight North Division titles, dropping to 73-89 in 2031.

Nizhny Novgorod was a lackluster 73-89 despite an outstanding third season by European League MVP Maksim Krutov. The 25-year old Russian left fielder won a Gold Glove and led in runs (112), home runs (51), RBI (131), OBP (.419), slugging (.710), OPS (1.129), wRC+ (214), and WAR (11.3). Krutov had 191 hits, 24 doubles, 13 triples, 59 stolen bases, and a .344 average; missing the Triple Crown by .022. Krutov had been the #1 overall pick in the 2028 EPB Draft by the Ninjas and was living up to the hype.

Kazan’s Oleh Kravets won Pitcher of the Year, posting the top WAR (8.4) and FIP- (64). The 28-year old Russian righty had an 18-9 record, 2.59 ERA, 138 ERA+, 260.2 innings, and 316 strikeouts. Also of note, Volgograd’s Aleksei Kotyukh became the eighth closer in EPB history to win Reliever of the Year four times. He led with 32 saves in 2031 and had a 1.75 ERA over 77.1 innings with 113 Ks and 4.3 WAR.

Moscow outlasted Samara 3-2 in the first round while Krasnodar downed Kazan 3-1, pitting the division champs against each other in the European League Championship Series. The Mules’ repeat bid was successful with a 4-1 victory over the Steamers. The Russian capital earned its 12^th pennant of the 21^st Century and 15^th overall.



The top four records in the Asian League were all in the East Division. Novosibirsk narrowly repeated as the top seed at 95-67, finishing one game better than the three-time defending AL champ and reigning EPB champ Vladivostok. The Nitros led all of EPB with 781 runs, while the Shibas had the fewest runs allowed at 522. Novosibirsk’s playoff streak grew to three seasons and Vladivostok’s to four.

Khabarovsk (89-73) held off Ulaanbaatar (87-75) for the second wild card, giving the Rockets their second wild card in three years. Over in the West Division, Ufa (85-77) took first over Omsk (83-79), and four-time defending division champ Nur-Sultan (80-82). The Fiends ended a 12 year postseason drought.

Novosibirsk RF Jabir Abdul won Asian League MVP in his fourth season and third as a starter. The 23-year old Israeli led in runs (113), RBI (111), and total bases (375). Abdul added 203 hits, 34 doubles, 12 triples, 38 homers, .974 OPS, 174 wRC+, and 7.2 WAR.

Vladivostok’s Airat Mamedov won Pitcher of the Year in his tenth year in the Shibas rotation, posting a 16-6 record, 2.22 ERA, 207 innings, 257 strikeouts, 163 ERA+, and 6.5 WAR. The 31-year old Uzbek signed a seven-year, $111,600,000 extension to remain with Vladivostok for the long haul. His teammate Kazybek Orazow notably won his third consecutive Reliever of the Year, posting 36 saves, 1.35 ERA, 106.2 innings, 173 Ks, and 6.0 WAR.

Both first round matchups needed all five games. Novosibirsk survived against Khabarovsk, while Ufa used its home field advantage to dethrone the reigning champ Vladivostok. The Nitros earned a repeat trip to the Asian League Championship Series, while the Fiends hadn’t made it that far since 2018. Novosibirsk was denied again despite the #1 seed, falling to Ufa in a seven-game classic. It was only the third pennant for the Fiends, who won in 2015 and 2016.



Incidentally, both of Ufa’s prior finals trips saw faceoffs with Moscow that needed all seven games. The Fiends won their lone title in the 2015 encounter, while the Mules won in 2016 for their most recent EPB ring. Round three in the 77^th EPB Championship also needed all seven games with Ufa coming out on top over Moscow. The Mules are now 5-10 all-time in their finals trips.

LF Daniel Correia was a surprise finals MVP for Ufa. The 30-year old from Portugal had joined the Fiends in 2025, but had only been an occasional starter. Correia started all 19 playoff games and got 24 hits, 12 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers, and 6 RBI. Moscow’s Yakov Starenkyi also notably set new EPB playoff records for hits (30) and singles (21).



Other notes: Moscow’s Georgi Mezin tossed EPB’s 34^th perfect game and the first since 2022, fanning eight on May 23 against Tel Aviv. For only the 11^th time in EPB, there was a four home run game as Yacub Hristov of Krasnodar did it on August 23 against Samara. The feat hadn’t happened since 2017. Anatoliy Dmitrenko became EPB’s 34^th member of the 2500 hit club. CF Robert Albrecht won his 10^th consecutive Gold Glove, tying the position record. RF Dmitri Khodakovsky won his 7^th Silver Slugger

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Both divisions in the European Baseball Federation’s Northern Conference had very clear #1 teams. Hanover led the way at any impressive 119-43 in the East Division, which was the fourth-highest win total in EBF history. The three seasons with more were within EBF’s first four years in the early 1950s. The Hitmen grew their playoff streak to nine seasons and allowed the fewest runs in the conference at 544. Hanover also had a team .524 slugging percentage; the second-highest in EBF history behind their own .529 from two years prior.

Despite that, West Division champ Rotterdam was EBF’s highest-scoring team at 883. Hanover was third at 849 with reigning EBF champ and Baseball Grand Champion Berlin second at 864. The Ravens rolled their division at 110-54, returning to the layoffs after seeing their nine-year streak thwarted last year. Since 2022, Rotterdam has finished with 100+ wins each year but 2030.

Taking the four wild card slots were Manchester (99-63), Berlin (97-65), Warsaw (97-65), and Kharkiv (95-67). The Killer Bees notably extended their playoff streak to eight seasons and the Crushers’ to four seasons. The Barons earned back-to-back berths, while the Wildcats ended a nine-year drought. The first teams out were Cologne (92-70), Tallinn (88-74), and Antwerp (86-76). It was the Twisters’ first-ever winning season in the EBF Elite Tier, having just gotten promoted back up.

Suffering relegation to the European Second League was Leipzig at 57-105 in the East and Brussels at 61-101 in the West. Dublin barely escaped demotion at 63-99, which would’ve been a stunning drop for EBF’s best team in the 21^st Century. It was their first sub-70 win season since 1990. The Beavers suffered their second relegation, having lasted only four seasons in their EBF Elite return. The Lumberjacks had been in the top tier since winning the 2009 E2L title, although they had been aggressively mid with only one playoff trip and 75.9 wins per season across 22 years.

Hanover’s Felix Timm won his second Northern Conference MVP, having previously done it in 2024. The 31-year old Austrian left fielder led in home runs (64), RBI (139), total bases (458), slugging (.768), OPS (1.150), and wRC+ (212). Timm added 10.5 WAR, 136 runs, 206 hits, and a .346 average. He was in the Triple Crown mix, but finished fifth with Rotterdam’s Henri L’Ecuyer first at .365. Timm had inked an eight-year, $200 million extension with the Hitmen in March 2027.

While Timm just missed the Triple Crown, Pitcher of the Year Danila Filinov got it for Manchester. He was the first pitcher since 2019 to do it and it was the 16^th pitching Triple Crown in EBF history. The 27-year old Latvian’s breakout season saw a 22-4 record, 2.14 ERA, and 330 strikeouts with a conference-best 0.76 WHIP. Filinov had 7.3 WAR, 183 ERA+, and 67 FIP- over 239.1 innings. The Crushers gave him a six-year, $139,200,000 extension in the winter off this effort. However, Filinov struggled to a 4.35 ERA in 2032 and was traded by Manchester to Zurich for a prospect haul.

Berlin edged Warsaw 2-1 and Kharkiv topped Manchester 2-0 in the first round. Both winners fell to the top seeds in second round sweeps with Rotterdam ousting the Baseball Grand Champion Barons and Hanover over the Killer Bees. Despite both teams’ recent playoff successes, this was the first time Rotterdam and Hanover had met in the Northern Conference Championship. Despite seven years of overlap, they hadn’t faced off in any round of the playoffs ever before until now.

119 wins versus 110 wins made for a highly anticipated showdown. It lived up to the hype as Hanover outlasted Rotterdam in a seven game classic, becoming two-time conference champs (2028, 2031). The Hitmen became the first of the original E2L teams that debuted in 2005 to win multiple pennants in the EBF Elite tier. Hanover’s 119-43 record was the second-best ever by a team to win a conference title, behind only Madrid’s 124-38 from 1953 The 1951 Conquistadors at 125-37 and 1951 Paris at 124-38 both suffered first round upsets.



The Southern Conference had an undisputed top team with Ljubljana at 113-49 atop the East Division. It was the fourth straight playoff berth for the Juggernauts, but notably their first-ever division title or 100+ win season; a real breakout campaign for the capital of Slovenia. Ljubljana allowed the fewest runs in EBF at 517. Defending conference champ Cluj-Napoca was second in the division at 102-60 to take the first wild card.

Three teams were separated by one win atop the West Division, battling both for the bye and a wild card. Munich and Barcelona finished tied at 98-64, while Zurich was one back at 97-65. In the one-game tiebreaker, the Mavericks prevailed for an 11^th consecutive division title. Munich’s playoff streak grew to 12 seasons, while the Bengals’ streak moved to five as the second wild card.

Zurich at 97-65 ended up as the third wild card, giving them 15 playoff appearances since 2010. Odesa and Sarajevo finished even for the final spot one back at 96-66, requiring a tiebreaker game won by the Drifters. Odesa earned its third berth in four years, while the defending E2L champ Salukis were denied their first-ever playoff trip despite leading the conference with 787 runs. It was a steep drop to the next competitors in Lyon (87-75) and Nantes (85-77), ending a four-year playoff streak by the Trappers. Zagreb notably fell to 78-84, their first losing season since 2017.

Bratislava was one of the worst teams in EBF history at 44-118, relegated from the East Division. Palermo at 66-96 got the boot from the West Division, finishing just behind 69-93 efforts by fellow Italian squads Rome and Turin. The Blue Falcons had made the playoffs in their EBF return in 2028, but fell off a cliff shortly after. The Priests had gotten promoted for the first time for 2017 and had a nice showing with six playoff berths and one conference finals trip. After a 15-year run, they finally dropped far enough to get the axe.

Sarajevo’s Jan Bozie adjusted swimmingly in his first EBF Elite season, winning Southern Conference MVP. The 28-year old Croatian led in runs (122), hits (210), total bases (432), and batting average (.352). Bozic added 29 doubles, 23 triples, 49 homers, 115 RBI, 1.112 OPS, 214 wRC+, and 9.9 WAR. Unfortunately for the Salukis, the outfielder was in a contract year and opted to leave for free agency and a big payday. Bozic signed a seven-year, $231 million deal with Edinburgh, leaving Bosnia for Scotland.

Barcelona’s J.R. Pando repeated as Pitcher of the Year and won for the third time, having also done it in 2027. The 26-year old Spanish lefty led in ERA (1.88), wins (22-5), quality starts (26), and FIP- (59). Pando struck out 240 over 225.1 innings with 199 ERA+ and 8.0 WAR. He was also in a contract year and cashed in big in the winter, leaving for Warsaw and a seven-year, $196 million deal. Pando would suffer a torn rotator cuff in 2032, keeping him from his previous peaks with the Bengals in his Wildcats run.

Cluj-Napoca edged Odesa 2-1 and Zurich swept Barcelona 2-0 in the first round. The Mountaineers then shocked 114-win Ljubljana 3-2 in the second round, sending them to the Southern Conference Championship for the first time since 2025. Munich took care of business 3-1 over the Paladins, giving the Mavericks their seventh straight conference finals trip, their 11^th in 12 years, and 12^th in 14 years. Each of those was EBF records and was among the most impressive such streaks in world history.

No teams had been to the conference finals in EBF more than Zurich and Munich, meeting for surprisingly only the fourth time with the pennant on the line. The Mountaineers last pennant came over the Mavericks in 2025. Meanwhile, Munich won the 1988 and 2020 encounters.

In a seven-game classic, the Mavericks defeated Zurich for their seventh pennant in the last 14 years. Munich now had 13 pennants (1951, 52, 71, 88, 91, 2001, 18, 20, 21, 23, 26, 28, 31), leading all EBF teams. Both are incidentally .500 in the conference finals now with the Mavericks 13-13 and Mountaineers 12-12.

The 79^th European Championship was a rematch of the 2028 final, which Hanover won 4-3 over Munich to claim their first-ever title. It was the third all-Germany final along with the Mavericks’ 2021 triumph over Hamburg. That had been their most recent championship, having taken runner-up honors in 2023, 2026, and 2028



Munich got their revenge and returned to the perch, defeating Hanover 4-1 to become five-time EBF champs (1952, 1988, 2020, 2021, 2031). The defeat for the 119-win Hitmen meant that 1954 Amsterdam at 118-44 remained the winningest champion in EBF history.

2028 conference MVP Freddie Iwan was finals MVP in his debut for Munich. The Welsh left fielder had signed with the Mavericks in 2031 on a five-year, $142,800,000 deal after spending his first eight seasons with Nantes. In 16 playoff starts, Iwan had 21 hits, 5 runs, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, and 10 RBI.



Other notes: 2031 saw two perfect games thrown, making 44 in EBF history. The first was March 28 by Odesa’s Aslan Opoitsev with six Ks versus Seville. On April 17, Birmingham’s Harvey Bolton did it with 11 strikeouts facing Berlin. Rotterdam’s Henri L’Ecuyer had a 35-game hitting streak, the ninth-best in EBF history. He was the first to reach 35+ since 2007. Brno’s offense drew only 198 walks all season, a new EBF all-time worst. Berlin’s Heinz Hackenberg had the 19^th four home run game in EBF history and the third of those with nine RBI.

Stefanos Emmanoulidis became the 16^th member of EBF’s 3000 hit club. Daniel Dumoulin became the 47^th to reach 2500 hits. Grigol Dzneladze became the 30^th pitcher with 3500 strikeouts and the 42^nd to reach 200 career wins. SS Andrea Tonetti won his 10^th Gold Glove and 1B Aleksandr Parts earned his 9^th. SS Ernst Scheuermann and CF Nicolo Sogliano both won their 7^th Gold Glove.

Promotion/Relegation: Brussels, Leipzig, Palermo, and Bratislava were the four relegated teams to the European Second League, while Oslo, Cardiff, Thessaloniki, and Helsinki were promoted to the Elite Tier. The Tritons took over the Southern Conference’s East Division slot and the Crew joined the Northern Conference’s West Division.

Both the Honkers and Octopi were added to the NC East, requiring one team to switch for balance. Prague would be that team, leaving the NC East and taking the vacant slot in the SC West. In E2L, the Lumberjacks and Blue Falcons moved to the Eastern Conference and the Priests and Beavers both were sent to the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Gdansk and Dresden were relegated to European Tier Three, while Toulouse and Bordeaux moved up to E2L.

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The battle for the top seed in the Bolivar League came in the Peru-Bolivia Division. Lima at 101-61 just outraced last year’s top seed Arequipa at 100-62 to take it, leading in scoring with 871 runs. The Lobos’ playoff streak grew to five seasons with their fourth division crown of the stretch. The Arrows’ playoff streak grew to three years as they took the first wild card. La Paz was also right in the mix, ending the regular season at 93-69.

In the Colombia-Ecuador Division, Cali (97-65) held off Barranquilla (93-69) to end a six-year playoff drought. The Cyclones hadn’t won a division title since 1988, that 42-year gap was by far the longest active stretch without a division crown in all of Beisbol Sudamerica. Notably, reigning Copa Sudamerica winner Bogota was a non-factor in the division at 81-81. The Bats had ended their own 22-year playoff drought in 2030 with their surprise Cup run.

The Blues and Pump Jacks ended up even for the second wild card. Barranquilla was victorious over La Paz in the tiebreaker game to advance to the postseason for the ninth time in a decade. Meanwhile in the Venezuela Division, Barquisimeto (91-71) squeaked by 90-72 efforts by both Caracas and Maracaibo. The Black Cats ended their own 14-year postseason drought and 16-year division title drought. Both the Colts and Mariners fell three games short in the wild card race. Caracas notably posted a 16^th winning season in a row, although it was their second playoff miss in three years.

Arequipa 1B Paco Amorim became a three-time Bolivar League MVP, having previously won back in 2025 and 2027. In his 13^th season with the Archers, the 31-year old Brazilian lefty led in runs (137), OBP (.460), OPS (1.130), wRC+ (190), and WAR (10.6). Amorim had 211 hits, 38 doubles, 43 homers, 119 RBI, and a .368 average. It was his ninth season leading in OBP and his sixth time with the best OPS. He also earned his seventh Silver Slugger.

Maracay was 78-84 in its third season post-expansion, but allowed a league-fewest 629 runs in 2031. Third-year pitcher Orlando Cepeda led that effort, winning Pitcher of the Year honors. The 25-year old Venezuelan led in ERA (2.42) and quality starts (26). Cepeda had a 14-13 record, 249.2 innings, 303 strikeouts, 168 ERA+, and 6.8 WAR. He was the first amateur draft pick by the Misfits, going third overall in the 2028 BSA Draft. Also worth a quick mention, Barranquilla’s Ivan Marin won his third Reliever of the Year.

Barranquilla bested Barquisimeto 2-0 in the first round, then gave Lima a spirited effort before falling 3-2 in the divisional series. The Lobos earned their fourth trip to the Bolivar League Championship Series in five years. Their divisional foe Arequipa joined them with a 3-1 victory over Cali. The Arrows had a shot at their second pennant in three years.

Arequipa had ousted Lima in the 2029 divisional series en route to their first-ever title. The Lobos earned the 2028 pennant, but had lost in the 2027 BLCS to Barranquilla and in 2030 to Bogota. In the 2031 showdown, Lima earned a 4-2 victory to become ten-time Bolivar League kings (1935, 68, 90, 91, 93, 97, 98, 2001, 28, 31).



The Southern Cone League’s five playoff teams ended up separated by only three wins, showing remarkably parity for the top spot. Three of those teams had an intense battle for the North Division crown and ultimately the #1 seed. After 162 games, Recife and Brasilia sat tied at 98-64, followed by Manaus at 97-65 and Belo Horizonte at 94-68. In the one-game tiebreaker, the Retrievers defeated the Bearcats to grab the #1 spot.

For Recife, they ended a nine-year playoff drought. The Bearcats were denied a fourth straight division title, but maintained their playoff streak. The defending league champ Magpies got the second wild card, while the 94-win Hogs ended up on the outside despite a fine campaign. The other two divisions weren’t as competitive, although the top teams both were rock solid.

In the Southeast, this was 97-65 Sao Paulo, who led the league with 749 runs scored. The Padres earned their eighth playoff trip in a decade and were 15 games ahead of second place Montevideo. Last year’s division champ Buenos Aires struggled to 74-88.

In the South Central Division, Santiago again reigned supreme at 96-66, allowing BSA’s fewest runs at 536. Salta was a respectable 89-73, seven games out of first. The Saints grew their postseason streak to 12 seasons, the second-longest in BSA history behind only Lima’s 14-year run from 1988-2001. Santiago has also made the playoffs all but once since 2015, although they disappointingly have a lone pennant to show for it.

Two-way star Will Arocha won his fourth Southern Cone MVP for Santiago, having also done it in 2025, 2027, and 2028. The 30-yeear old Chilean was second in Pitcher of the Year voting. On the mound, Arocha led in wins (22-9), innings (276), and complete games (19). He had a 2.54 ERA, 281 strikeouts, 141 ERA+, and 7.6 WAR. Playing second base, Arocha had 120 games and 106 starts offensively with 5.7 WAR, a .331/.352/.592 slash, 169 wRC+, 147 hits, 84 runs, 25 doubles, 17 triples, 19 homers, 61 RBI, and 56 stolen bases.

Arocha earned the incredibly rare feat of winning two Silver Sluggers in the same season, getting his seventh as a pitcher and his first at second base. Even rarer, Arocha also hit for the cycle in September against Curitiba, making him possibly the only player to have hit for a cycle and won Pitcher of the Year in his career.

Beating Arocha for Pitcher of the Year was Rosario’s Freddie Reynoso in his seventh season. The 29-year old Argentine lefty led in ERA (1.94), strikeouts (315), WHIP (0.88), quality starts (27), shutouts (6), FIP- (65), and WAR (8.6). Reynoso tossed 273.2 innings with a 21-8 record, one win short of the Triple Crown.

Santiago edged Sao Paulo 2-1 in the first round, but fell to Recife 3-1 in the divisional series to continue the Saints’ postseason woes. Manaus topped Brasilia 3-1 to keep the repeat bid alive. For the Retrievers, this was their first trip to the Southern Cone Championship since their 2019 cup win. Despite how close the playoff teams were in wins, Recife routed the Magpies with an LCS sweep. The Retrievers became eight-time league champs (1984, 95, 96, 2010, 11, 15, 19, 31).



The 101^st Copa Sudamerica was the first finals meeting between Recife and Lima despite those teams being in the final seven times between them in the 1990s. It was an all-timer as the Lobos won a seven game classic over the Retrievers to end their 32-year cup drought.

Lima became four-time BSA champs (1968, 1997, 1998, 2031) and were the first Peruvian champ since Callao in 2016. Finals MVP went to 2B Joseph Ramirez in his second season starting for his hometown squad. The 35^th pick from the 2027 BSA Draft, Ramirez had 23 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 4 triples, 2 homers, and 14 RBI over 18 playoff starts.



Other notes: Rio de Janeiro’s Simon Veronese notably smacked 69 home runs, tied for the sixth-most in BSA history. The record remains 76, reached by Valor Melo in both 1977 and 1979. Meanwhile, Porto Alegre as a team had only 58 homers all season. This was the second worst in BSA history with only Asuncion’s 56 in 1969 faring worse. SS Eddy Corunha won his 10^th Silver Slugger and his 9^th straight at shortstop (his first win was at 1B).

The 52^nd perfect game in BSA came from Salvador’s Kaique Moura with 10 strikeouts against Concepcion on August 2. In other pitching notables, Bartolo Flores became the 30^th to reach 4000 career strikeouts and Otavio Furtado was the 54^th to 3500 Ks. Alfonso Gomez and Toni Gonzalez were the 42^nd and 43^rd closers to 300 saves.

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Niigata took the Japan League’s top seed at 107-55, earning a fourth consecutive North Division crown and their fifth straight playoff berth. The #2 seed went to Tokyo at 99-63, grabbing a third consecutive Capital Division crown. The Tides had to hold off a strong charge from Kawasaki at 96-66. The Killer Whales easily snagged the first wild card for their first postseason berth and winning season in a decade.

Hiroshima secured their fifth West Division crown in six years at 97-65, growing their playoff streak to six. Kobe claimed the Central Division at 95-67, extending their postseason streak to nine years. This was the longest playoff streak in Japan League history and it was their seventh division crown of the run. The Blaze and Green Dragons were tied for the fewest runs allowed in the JL at 509. Kobe also had 1832 strikeouts as a pitching staff, the second-highest total in all of EAB history. Their 11.02 K/9 ranked as the third best.

It was a crowded mess for the final card spot. Sendai at 87-75 emerged ahead of Kitakyushu (86-76), defending East Asia Baseball champ Nagoya (85-77), Osaka (84-78), Kyoto (82-80), Chiba (81-81), and Saitama (81-81). The Samurai snapped a 14-year playoff drought. The Nightowls had their streak ended at three years, although they managed a tenth straight winning season. The Comets were the top scoring team in the league at 744 runs.

Masanori Fukuoka’s dominance continued for Niigata with his fourth Japan League MVP (2026, 28, 29, 31). The 29-year old left fielder led in runs (126), home runs (69), RBI (140), total bases (472), slugging (.781), OPS (1.164), wRC+ (241), and WAR (12.0). Fukuoka added 205 hits, 24 doubles, 18 triples, and a .339 average.

He was second in batting average, but Chiba’s Kentaro Takagi had a big lead at .374 to deny a Triple Crown. Most of those marks were the second-best in Fukuoka’s career, behind only his bonkers 2028 campaign that had the record-setting 1.364 OPS and 16.5 WAR. Fukuoka also notably had a four home run came on June 18 against Sapporo, the 16^th such game in EAB history.

The Green Dragons also saw another Pitcher of the Year win for Takehiro Nakajima, who also won in 2028 and 2029. The 32-year old lefty led in wins at 22-7 and shutouts with eight. Nakajima had a 1.70 ERA, 227.1 innings, 240 strikeouts, 208 ERA+, and 7.1 WAR. Niigata gave him a five-year, $137 million extension the following July, rewarding a guy they took seventh overall way back in the 2020 EAB Draft.

The wild card round saw Kobe over Kawasaki 3-0 and a 3-1 upset for Sendai against Hiroshima. The Samurai then shocked Tokyo 3-2 in the divisional round. Sendai hadn’t gotten to the Japan League Championship Series since their lone EAB title back in 1978. The Samurai had only won the pennant twice before, having also done it in 1953.

Maybe even more shocking was top seed Niigata getting swept 3-0 by Kobe. The Blaze got revenge for two years prior, when they were the top seed at 109-53 and got bounced by the Green Dragons in the JLCS. Sendai continued their Cinderella run, defeating Kobe 4-2 for the Japan League crown. Despite their nine-year playoff streak, the Blaze have zero pennants to show for it.



Busan continued the longest playoff streak in all of EAB history to 12 seasons, taking the Korea League’s top seed at 106-56. The Blue Jays were Southeast Division champ and won their eighth straight division crown. They have averaged an impressive 102.4 wins per season across the streak. Even still, the top seed wasn’t a guarantee for Busan, especially with a top-heavy North Division.

Defending KL champ Goyang and Pyongyang again had a fierce fight at the top. Last year, the Green Sox won it with 112 wins to the Pythons’ 109. This time, both ended the regular season even at 101-61. In the one-game playoff, Pyongyang prevailed to prevent Goyang from extending their division title streak to five years. Seoul was also right in the mix at 96-66, tying with the Southeast’s Ulsan for the second wild card. The Seahawks won that tiebreaker game to earn repeat wild card trips.

Suwon claimed the Central Division at 99-63, four games ahead of 95-67 Seongnam. The Snappers repeated and earned their third straight division title, while the Spiders fell one game short in the wild card race. In the Southwest, Jeonju repeated at 96-66, besting Gwangju by seven games. This meant the 2031 playoff field was the same as the 2030 one in the KL, although the seeding switched around. Seoul was the top scoring team with 813 runs and Ulsan allowed the fewest at 493.

Korea League MVP went to Suwon DH Su-Yeon Han in his second year starting. The 22-year old lefty led in runs (131), home runs (66), total bases (456), slugging (.711), OPS (1.095), wRC+ (199), and WAR (9.7). Han added 218 hits, 36 doubles, 140 RBI, and a .340 average. His was one of only 15 seasons in EAB history with 66+ dingers. The Snappers didn’t need any more proof points for Han, inking him to an eight-year, $332,500,000 extension the following April to become one of baseball’s richest players.

Suwon also had the Pitcher of the Year Mitsumasa Suzuki, who was the WARlord at 8.8. The 25-year old righty had an 18-6 record, 1.99 ERA, 267 innings, 339 strikeouts, and 189 ERA+. The Snappers couldn’t afford to keep both him and Han though with Suzuki leaving that winter for free agency. He would earn a six-year, $201,300,000 deal with Kawasaki.

Goyang survived 3-2 over Jeonju in the first round and Suwon swept Seoul. The Snappers were promptly swept by Pyongyang in the divisional round, giving the Pythons their first trip to the Korea League Championship Series since 2013. The reigning champion Green Sox kept going with an intense 3-2 upset of top seed Busan, giving them a shot at a third pennant in four years.

The KLCS was an all-timer that went the distance and needed extra innings in game seven. In the 11^th inning, Takeshi Hoshino had a walk-off RBI single to win it 5-4 for Pyongyang over Goyang. The series had also started off with a walkoff winner by Hoshino, a three-run homer back in a 6-3 game one. The Pythons had acquired the former Gold Glove 2B from Bucheon in a summer trade, moving him to shortstop for the second half. It was Pyongyang’s 14^th pennant and first since way back in 1977.



Regardless of who won the 111^th East Asian Championship, it would end a title drought dating back to the 1970s for the winner. Pyongyang defeated Sendai 4-2 to end their 53-year skid, becoming the first North Korean team to win it all since 1977. 2030 Rookie of the Year RF Dong-Uk Seung was finals MVP, getting 18 hits, 8 runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 4 homers, and 16 RBI over 16 playoff starts.



The Pythons had been a powerhouse in EAB’s earlier years, having won the title in 1921, 24, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, and 77. Pyongyang became the first EAB team with ten championship wins; Sapporo is the next closest at eight. They also made world history, joining MLB’s San Diego (11); CABA’s Mexico City (11), EPB’s Minsk (14), WAB’s Kano (12), SAB’s Ahmedabad (13), and Kyiv (10: 8 in EPB, 2 in EBF) as the only franchises with 10+ overall titles.

Other notes: 2031 had EAB’s 44^th and 45^th perfect games. On April 2, Jeju’s Sung Chung did it with six strikeouts facing Ulsan. Then on August 27, Kobe’s Torazo Fuchizawa was perfect with nine Ks facing Osaka. There have notably been seven EAB perfect games since 2027.

In other pitching milestones, Nobuyoshi Yamauchi became the 5^th EAB ace to 300 career wins and the first since 2005. He played one final poor partial season with Nagoya with a 4.67 ERA over 81 innings. Before that, Yamauchi was dominant with Osaka from 2012-24 and largely strong from 2025-30 with Kobe.

Yamauchi finished with a 302-145 record, 2.42 ERA, 4252.2 innings, 5107 strikeouts, and 111.1 WAR. As of 2037, Yamauchi is tied for 5^th in wins, 2^nd in strikeouts, and 8^th in pitching WAR in EAB history. On the world stage, he’s one of only 46 guys to breach 300 wins, one of 44 to 5000+ strikeouts, and one of only 22 to achieve both feats.

In hitting milestones, I-Sol Chang became the 76^th member of the 500 home run club. Natsuo Suyama became the 50^th to reach 1500 RBI and Min-Jae Lim was the 100^th to reach 2500 hits. SS Jae-Won Park won his 12^th consecutive Gold Glove. He is one of only five in EAB history with 12+ Gold Gloves at any spot and is one away from tying Han-Gyeol Bu’s 13 for the most by a shortstop.

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Last year, Tijuana won the Central American Baseball Association Championship from the #3 seed at 93-69. The Toros looked far more dominant in 2031 at 115-47, tying a franchise record from way back in 1917. Tijuana earned a third consecutive North Division title and allowed the fewest runs at 483; only two others teams were below 600. The Toros also set a new Mexican League attendance record with 2,779,345 tickets sold, besting Juarez’s 2,770,865 from 2018. This was the second-most tickets in all of CABA history behind Santo Domingo’s 2,868,844 from 2028.

The division wasn’t a pushover either with Torreon at 103-59, easily earning the first wild card. The Tomahawks got their second playoff trip in four years and their first 100+ win season since their 2014 pennant. Torreon also set a new ML all-time team record with 449 stolen bases. Ecatepec previously had the high of 445 from 2000.

Leon snagged the #2 seed at 101-61 atop the Central Division. The Lions had their fifth consecutive division crown, fifth straight 100+ win season, and seventh playoff trip in a row. The 2031 Explosion won a competitive South Division at 98-64 over 95-67 Puebla, although the Pumas still got the second wild card. It was the third straight playoff trip and back-to-back division crowns for Ecatepec, who led the league at 799 runs scored. Puebla picked up a second wild card in three years.

The third wild card went to Central Division runner up Culiacan at 90-72, fending off last year’s MLCS runner-up San Luis Potosi (89-73) and Mexicali (84-78). The Cocks got their second wild card in three years, an impressive start for the 2025 expansion club. Fellow expansion club Toluca, a wild card in 2030, plummeted to 62-100 in 2031. Also fully showing the good times were over in Juarez, the Jesters were an abysmal 61-101. They hadn’t lost 100+ games since 1992.

Mexico City was a middling 78-84, but their star 1B Franklin Madrid beat out a competitive field for his fourth Mexican League MVP. The 31-year old Cuban had previously won the top honor from 2024-26 and won his seventh Silver Slugger. Madrid’s numbers had dipped somewhat since 2029 saw torn ankle ligaments, but he returned to form in 2031.

Madrid led in total bases (440) and RBI (156) while smacking 62 home runs, 221 hits, 115 runs, 31 doubles, a .358/.398/.713 slash, 1.111 OPS, 223 wRC+, and 10.1 WAR. It was his fifth 10+ WAR season and fifth 60+ homer season. Madrid missed the homer’s lead to Tijuana’s Alton Reinoso, who socked 65. The defending MVP Castulo Castro was also in the mix despite missing six weeks to a strained ACL.

In only 120 games, the 27-year old Guatemalan led in WAR (11.0), wRC+ (257), triple slash (.390/.454/.806), and OPS (1.260) while adding 45 homers, 117 RBI, 171 hits, 116 runs, and 65 stolen bases. Castro set new CABA single-season records for slugging and OPS, becoming the first-ever qualifying CABA slugger with a SLG above .800. The previous best OPS was Loyd Wayne’s 1.245 in 2023. As of 2037 in world history, Castro’s OPS ranks 23^rd and his slugging is 30^th.

Perennial Pitcher of the Year Richard Wright with Tijuana also deserved MVP looks with a staggering 11^th POTY win and his eighth consecutive. He joined Matvey Ivanov of Eurasian Professional Baseball as the only 11-time Pitcher of the Year winners in all of pro baseball history. The 33-year old Jamaican lefty won his 11^th ERA title and third Triple Crown, while leading in strikeouts and WAR both for the ninth time.

Wright had a 23-6 record, 1.89 ERA, 414 strikeouts, and 12.2 WAR; while also leading in innings (271.1), WHIP (0.78), complete games (13), shutouts (6), and FIP- (46). The Ks and innings were both career bests and his was only the tenth season in CABA history of 400+ strikeouts. His effort ranks sixth, tied with contemporary Israel Montague’s 2025. Both are the only guys to achieve the feat in CABA in the 21^st Century. Wright had signed a six-year, $148,200,000 extension the following spring to stick with the Toros.

Torreon swept Puebla 2-0 and Ecatepec swept Culiacan 2-0 in the first round. Both winners pulled off shocking 3-1 upsets in round two with the Tomahawks over top-seed Tijuana and the Explosion over Leon. It was an all-time disappointment for the defending champ Toros, going one-and-done despite the 115-win season.

Ecatepec had a chance for their second pennant in three years. For Torreon, their last Mexican League Championship Series appearances were their back-to-back pennants in 2013-14. The Explosion had home field advantage as a division champ, helping them to a 4-2 victory over the Tomahawks. Ecatepec became 16-time Mexican champs (1929, 31, 32, 43, 44, 75, 99, 2000, 01, 02, 03, 04, 10, 29, 31). third only to Monterrey and Juarez’s 18 apiece. Interestingly, this was the second time that the Explosion had won the pennant 100 years after a previous win.



Three teams were in the mix for the Caribbean League’s top seed. Defending league champ Haiti snagged it at 104-58 in the West Division, finishing second in both runs scored (836) and fewest allowed (620). The Herons’ playoff streak grew to five seasons with their third division title in a row. Haiti was helped by the other two contenders for the top seed cannibalizing each other in a loaded Central Division.

Honduras (101-61) edged out Nicaragua (100-62) in the Central while Salvador was right in the mix too at 94-68. The Horsemen grew their playoff streak to nine seasons. The Navigators were the top scoring team at 891 runs and got the first wild card, snapping a 16-year playoff drought. The Stallions got the second wild card, their second berth in three years. Guatemala was a distant fourth at 84-78, ending a ten-year playoff streak by the Ghosts.

Trinidad allowed the fewest runs at 615, finishing 88-74 for their second division crown in three years. Guyana was second at 84-78, while last year’s division winner and CLCS runner-up Curacao plummeted to 65-97. Many teams were in the mix for the third wild card with Santo Domingo (89-73) getting it over Jamaica (88-74), Bahamas (86-76), Guatemala (84-78), and Guyana (84-78). The Dolphins earned back-to-back berths and their eighth playoff trip in a decade. The Buccaneers notably saw their playoff streak end at six seasons.

Barbados was 80-82, the best effort yet for the 2025 expansion squad. This was largely thanks to the impressive record-setting power of Caribbean League MVP Jose Angel Esqueda in his third season. The 24-year old Dominican 1B tied CABA’s single-season home run record of 72, which had been reached previously by Darion Gaudi (2006) and Yohnny Galaz (1988). Esqueda also shattered the previous RBI record of 164, plating 180 runners. His was only the ninth season in all of pro baseball history of 180+ RBI.

Esqueda also led with 143 runs, which ranked as CABA’s sixth-best and was eight shy of Donald Gonzalez’s record from 2005. Nicknamed “Dump Truck,” Esqueda also led in total bases (469), slugging (.766), OPS (1.183), and wRC+ (199). He had 9.6 WAR, 215 hits, 30 doubles, a .351 average, and .417 OBP. The total bases were the fifth-best in CABA history and 12 from Franklin Madrid’s record 481 from 2024. Esqueda had been picked third by the Baycats in the 2028 CABA Draft.

Haiti’s Raimundo Zuniga won Pitcher of the Year in his second season for the Herons. The 33-year old Mexican righty had signed a six-year, $192 million deal in 2030 for Haiti after spending nine years with Mexicali. Zuniga led in wins (23-5), ERA (1.74), complete games (17), shutouts (7), FIP- (46), and WAR (11.2). He struck out 299 over 248.2 innings, falling 19 short of a Triple Crown behind Guatemala’s Israel Montague.

Nicaragua edged Salvador 2-1 in the first round and Trinidad swept Santo Domingo. The top seeds held in round two with Honduras sweeping the Trail Blazers 3-0 and an intense 3-2 win by Haiti over the Navigators. The Herons were the 2030 Caribbean League Championship Series winner, while the Horsemen won it in 2029 and 2028. Despite both team’s successes recently, they hadn’t met in the CLCS since 2015.

The 2031 series was an all-timer that went all seven games and saw a dramatic comeback. Haiti entered the bottom of the ninth inning down 6-1 in game seven, but pulled off a remarkable six-run rally for a 7-6 walkoff win. Series MVP J.J. Alou had the decisive RBI single to clinch back-to-back pennants for the Herons. Haiti became 12-time Caribbean kings (1937, 38, 73, 2000, 01, 02, 06, 07, 10, 15, 30, 31).

The 121^st CABA Championship reignited a finals rivalry between Haiti and Ecatepec. They had fierce battles to start the new millennium the Explosion winning 4-2 in 2000 for repeat titles. They met again in 2001 (4-2) and 2002 (4-0), this time with the Herons winning both for their own repeat. Round four came in 2010 as the Explosion took it 4-1 to even up the series.



In the rubber match, Haiti prevailed 4-2 over Ecatepec to end a 15-year CABA title drought. It continued the parity for the very top spot with nine different champs in as many years. The Herons became seven-time champs (1938, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2015, 2031).

Former Mexican League MVP Leonardo Martinez was finals MVP in his second season with Haiti. He was also a big 2030 free agent signing at seven years and $219,600,000 after an impressive run in Mexico City. The 31-year old was mostly a DH for the Herons, posting 23 hits, 13 runs, 6 doubles, 6 homers, and 17 RBI over 18 playoff starts.



Other notes: CABA triples leader Jarek Wilson-Smith became only the 11^th in all of baseball history with 400+ career triples. He played one more year and finished at 434, which ranks 6^th on the world list as of 2037. Both leagues had teams setting new single-season records for triples. Nicaragua set the all-time CABA and Caribbean League mark at 136, while Mexicali set the new Mexican League high at 124. The previous overall best was 135 by Havana from 1998.

Jonas Pimentel became only the 16^th member of CABA’s 3000 hit club. 3B Jamel Forsyth won his 8^th Silver Slugger. Richard Wright, Angel Brea, and Israel Montague each reached 4000 career strikeouts in 2031; a mark met by 16 pitchers in CABA. All three still have plenty of work to catch Ulices Montero, the only CABA ace above 5000 Ks at 5849. Adding his later MLB tenure, Montero had a staggering 6796 strikeouts for third on the world’s all-time list.

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No one team dominated the National Association with no one above 100 wins. The top two records both came out of the Lower Midwest Division with Cincinnati surprising many at 99-63. The Reds had finished only 69-93 the prior year and ended a three-year playoff drought following their early 2020s successes. Indianapolis was a competitive second at 95-67, getting the first wild card for their fourth berth in five years. Last year’s division champ and NACS runner-up Kansas City struggled to 75-87. Tulsa also fell to 80-82 after earning a wild card from the Lower Midwest in 2030.

Ottawa’s playoff streak grew to five seasons, taking the #2 seed at 94-68 atop the Northeast Division. Toronto was close behind at 92-70 to end a five-year playoff drought as the second wild card. Buffalo fell to seventh in the division at 82-80, continuing the disappointment for Blue Sox fans. They had posted a shocking 109-win 2030 campaign and outraced the 108-win Elks for first, but promptly were upset in the playoffs.

Defending NA champ Washington earned a third straight East Division title and picked up their ninth playoff trip in 11 years. The 90-72 Admirals had to hold off Baltimore at 87-75. In the Upper Midwest, Milwaukee (90-72) survived by one game over Grand Rapids and two over Chicago. The Mustangs ended a 21 season playoff drought.

At 89-73, the Growlers got the final wild card; the first playoff trip for the 2021 expansion squad. GR hung on over a tight field that included Chicago (88-74), Montreal (87-75), Baltimore (87-75), Boston (86-76), Hartford (85-77), Cleveland (85-77), and Columbus (84-78) among others. The Cubs notably had their 13^th straight winning season, although it was only their third playoff miss of that run. The Maples were the top scoring team at 853 and the Timberwolves allowed the fewest at 592.

Leading Grand Rapids to the playoffs was National Association MVP Jake Young, who they took 10^th overall way back in 2021 MLB Draft. The 30-year old first baseman from Avondale, Arizona had 46 home runs, 124 RBI, 208 hits, 120 runs, 32 doubles, a .343/.408/.637 slash, 196 wRC+, and 8.7 WAR. Young had been the first superstar for the Growlers, although this was his first major award. He had been arguably better the prior season at 9.2 WAR and 50 homers.

Cincinnati’s Yoichiro Minami was Pitcher of the Year in his first full season in the rotation. Nicknamed “Dude,” the 22-year old Japanese lefty led in wins (23-5), innings (275.2), complete games (18), and WAR (9.2). Minami added a 2.35 ERA, 268 strikeouts, and 171 ERA+. He was only nine points behind Toronto’s Mason Pechart for the ERA title.

He was far away from the strikeout title thanks to the 365 by Columbus’s Fabien Muller. This was the third-most Ks in MLB history behind only Jamaal Coleman (1996) and Jeremiah Rutledge (366 in 1962). The 28-year old Frenchman was pure chaos though with a 4.34 ERA and league-worst 62 home runs allowed; the fourth-most ever in an MLB season.

Toronto upset Washington 3-2 in the first round to dethrone the reigning champ. Ottawa defeated Grand Rapids 3-1 and Milwaukee outlasted Indianapolis 3-2. The Timberwolves proceeded to oust the top seed Cincinnati 3-2 in round two, while Elks rolled to a sweep of the Mustangs. For the first time since 2020, two teams from the same division were to meet in the National Association Championship Series. It last happened in the Northeast back in 1987.

For Ottawa, they had a shot at their third pennant in four years. Toronto hadn’t been to the NACS since 2016 and were on a 32-year pennant drought. Not only did the Timberwolves get the road upset of the Elks, they did it emphatically with a 4-0 sweep. Toronto became eight-time National Association champs (1903, 1926, 1954, 1970, 1985, 1993, 1998, 2031).



Last year’s American Association runner-up Charlotte set a new franchise record at 104-58 to earn the top seed. The Canaries grew their playoff streak to four seasons with their third Southeast Division title of the run. The next division winners were both 99-63 with Las Vegas atop the Southwest and Houston in the South Central. The Vipers were the #2 seed by tiebreaker, ending a five year playoff drought. The Hornets meanwhile made it a five-year streak and got their seventh playoff berth in a decade.

The closest division was the Northwest with defending World Series champ Seattle (97-65) defeating Anchorage (92-70) by five games. The Grizzlies grew their playoff and division title streak to nine seasons and led Major League Baseball with 971 runs scored. Seattle had a team .301 batting average; the second-best in all of MLB history behind only San Francisco’s .308 from 1920. The Avalanche allowed the fewest runs at 597 and earned their fourth wild card in five years.

It was a crowded fight for the remaining two wild card spots. Oklahoma City advanced outright at 90-72 to end a three-year playoff drought. Behind them, Nashville, Dallas, and Oakland each finished even at 89-73, requiring multiple tiebreaker games. Next and the first teams out were Sacramento at 88-74, San Diego at 87-75, Memphis at 85-77, and an 83-79 from Calgary, Vancouver, and Sacramento.

The Dalmatians defeated the Owls in the first tiebreaker game, but they lost to the Knights, sending Nashville forward. Since 2016, Nashville has been in the playoffs nine times. It was perhaps a changing of the guard with the Seals missing the cut, albeit by only two games. It was only the second playoff miss for San Diego since 2023; earning five pennants and four World Series rings since.

Miami was 80-82, extending their MLB-record playoff drought to 59 seasons. Despite that, there was finally reason to get excited for baseball in South Florida thanks to American Association MVP Simon Trejo. The 25-year old Colombian first baseman was in his sixth season on roster, but had a stunning breakout year. Trejo became MLB’s new single-season home run king with 74 dingers. The top mark had just been reset three years prior when Jackson Brafford smacked a nice 69.

Trejo also led in runs (127), RBI (166), total bases (454), and WAR (9.2). He added 208 hits, 22 doubles, a .339/.377/.741 slash, and 184 wRC+. Trejo’s 166 RBI were the third-most in MLB history to that point (Aitor Cerda had the record at 175 from 1913) and his total bases were second only to Sebastian Lunde’s 476 from 1949. Prior to the season, the Mallards gave him an eight-year, $165 million extension.

Unfortunately for Miami, Trejo’s 2031 would be one of the greatest anomalies in baseball history. He looked merely decent in 2032 before suffering a fractured cheekbone that ended his season. Trejo was never the same after that, getting a grand total of 40 homers and -0.8 WAR over the following four seasons. Speculation abounded over the abrupt decline, but he does at least forever hold the distinction as MLB’s first-ever 70+ home run man.

Repeating as Pitcher of the Year was Houston’s Vladyslav Zaporoshchenko. The 30-year old Ukrainian lefty now had three awards, having also won in 2027 in Europe with Cologne. In his second season with the Hornets in MLB, Zaporoshchenko led in wins (22-5) and complete games (19). He had a 2.71 ERA over 265.1 innings, 233 strikeouts, 163 ERA+, and 9.7 WAR. Close behind him was Las Vegas’ Bo Jackson, who just beat Zaporoshchenko in ERA (2.64) and WAR (10.2).

All three division winners won their first round matchups in sweeps: Seattle over Anchorage, Houston over Oklahoma City, and Las Vegas over Nashville. In the second round. top seed Charlotte held on to dethrone Seattle 3-2 in a rematch of last year’s American Association Championship Series. It was only the second time in the Grizzlies’ nine-year playoff streak that they didn’t get to the AACS.

On the other side, Houston looked to redeem getting upset despite the top seed and 111 wins in 2030. The Hornets defeated Las Vegas 3-1 in round two for their first AACS trip since their 2024 pennant. Houston proceeded to sting the Canaries with an emphatic AACS sweep, giving the Hornets their 12^th American Association title (1905, 06, 08, 10, 11, 12, 20, 22, 52, 2019, 24, 31). Only San Diego has more with 14.

Both Houston and Toronto had their share of World Series trips, but they had seen vastly different results. The Hornets were the first dynasty ever in the early 1900s and were 8-3 in the Fall Classic entering the 2031 season. The Timberwolves were the third-ever MLB champ in 1903, but had gone 0-6 since then. It had been 128 years since that lone title with no one still alive from that original Toronto win.



Unfortunately for Toronto, the wait would continue as Houston rolled to a sweep in the 131th World Series for their ninth ring (1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1920, 1922, 1952, 2019, 2031). This tied the Hornets with Denver for the second-most MLB titles, while San Diego held the top spot with 11. It was the first time in MLB history that the World Series, NACS, and AACS all ended in sweeps.

World Series MVP was a rare win by a closer with four-time Reliever of the Year Vic McCallister in his second year for the Hornets. The 33-year old tossed 11.2 scoreless innings in the postseason with four wins and three saves over eight appearances. He struck out 20 with only five hits and zero walks allowed.



It was an all-time dominant playoff run for Houston, who went 14-1 with their lone defeat coming versus Las Vegas in the second round. 2014 Phoenix was the only other MLB team to get sweeps in both the ACS and World Series. The American Association won it all for the sixth straight year and the drought for Canadian teams grew to 32 years, despite four of the last five runners up being Canadian.

Other notes: Dallas recorded 48 saves, the second-most in American Association history. The Dalmatians weren’t the first MLB team to play 164 games because of needing a double tiebreaker, but their DH Hasan Mohammed became the first player in MLB history to compete in 164 regular season games in one season. Four players previously had played in 163 in MLB and three others in world history had also played 164.

In pitching milestones, Devon Ormsby became only the 11^th MLB pitcher to 300 career wins. He pitched from 2027-29 in West African Baseball and had one more year split between WAB/MLB in 2032. He finished with a combined 357 wins, ranking 4^th among all pitchers in world history as of 2037. Ormsby also had 260 losses, which ranks 10^th.

Ormsby tossed a combined 5847.2 pro innings, 2^nd in world history behind only the legendary Ulices Montero’s 5953.2. In MLB, he finished with a 310-221 record, 3.25 ERA, 5074.1 innings, 3475 strikeouts, 1083 walks, 120 ERA+, 296 complete games, 49 shutouts, and 104.9 WAR. Orsmby ranks 10^th in wins, 12^th in innings, 36^th in strikeouts, and 17^th in pitching WAR just among MLB pitchers as of 2037. In other pitching notables, Austin Bradley became the 51^st pitcher to 250 wins. Flaco Villanueva, Pete Hansen, and Riley Morales each reached 3000 strikeouts, met by 103 MLB arms.

Hartford’s Austin Grace had a four home run game on April 21 against Pittsburgh, then Tulsa’s Sebastian Magureanu did it on August 8 against Quebec City. There have been 43 games in MLB history with four homers by a player. Mike Rojas became the 13^th in MLB to 700 career home runs. Mathis Vezina and Jeff Bonner became the 43^rd and 44^th members of the 600 home run club.

Bonner, Fred Hynes, and Jan Rychtr each made it to 1500 runs scored. Bonner and Rychtr also both crossed 1500 career RBI. 124 guys have achieved the former and 132 the latter. Rychtr also grabbed his 10^th Gold Glove at first base. 2B Eka Melgiansyan, 2B Kieran de La Cruz, and RF Edhar Baranov each won their 7^th Gold Gloves. 2B Jude Hoffer won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

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The 2031 Baseball Grand Championship was the 22^nd edition of the event and was hosted in Casablanca, Morocco. The autobids for the event were MLB’s Houston and Toronto, CABA’s Haiti and Ecatepec, EAB’s Pyongyang and Sendai, BSA’s Lima and Recife, EBF’s Hanover and Munich, EPB’s Ufa, OBA’s Perth, APB’s Kuala Lumpur, CLB’s Urumqi, WAB’s Freetown, SAB’s Yangon, ABF’s Baku, ALB’s Muscat, and AAB’s Djibouti. Earning the three at-large spots were ABF’s Hyderabad, AAB’s Port Elizabeth, and APB’s Cebu.

The event ended up being hypercompetitive with six teams within one game of first place and 11 teams within only two wins. Ultimately Houston and Hyderabad were even for the top spot at 14-7. Little did they know that their November 10 matchup would serve as the tiebreaker for the championship. In a 13-inning battle, the Horned Frogs were victorious over the Hornets 6-4. Hyderabad was the first Pakistani team to win the Grand Championship and the second from the Asian Baseball Federation, joining Tabriz (2019).



Despite taking second, Houston allowed the fewest runs by a decent margin at 63 and had the best plus/minus at +38. Hyderabad was at +18, but got the close wins where it counted. 2B Ammar Sanjrani was the top performer for the Horned Frogs with 12 homers, 15 RBI, 24 this, 20 runs, 1.161 OPS, and 1.7 WAR. Tsagaanbaatar Davaanyam led their pitching staff, winning his four starts with a 1.87 ERA and 37 strikeouts over 33.2 innings.



Four teams were next at 13-8 and based on the tiebreaker formula, Djibouti was third, Baku fourth, Port Elizabeth fifth, and Lima sixth. This put both ABF teams in the top four, as the Blackbirds had beaten Hyderabad to win a third consecutive ABF title. It was a remarkable climb for the Berserkers, who had been in the African Second League only five years prior.

Haiti, Freetown, Hanover, Munich, and Perth were all even at 12-9. Cebu, Muscat, and Pyongyang rounded off the teams above .500 at 11-10. Hanover was the top scoring team with 111 runs. Next at 9-12 were Recife, Toronto, and Yangon. The Timberwolves pitching staff notably set a new event record for strikeouts with 265.

Finishing 7-14 were Ecatepec, Sendai, and Urumqi. Ufa had the penultimate spot at 6-15, while Kuala Lumpur was last place alone at 4-17. The Leopards joined 2025 Visakhapatnam as the only teams to lose 17 games in the BGC, although the Volts were worse at 2-17.

Named Tournament MVP was Hanover 1B Jacinto Calvillo, who was the EBF’s Northern Conference MVP in 2029. The 28-year old Spaniard had 28 hits, 21 runs, 4 doubles, 8 homers, 13 RBI, 1.136 OPS, 215 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR. Notable was Perth’s Jody Riley, whose 2.35 WAR was the second-best ever by a position player in the event. Riley tied the RBI record with 32 and fell one short of the runs record with 21. The 25-year old Australian also had 24 hits, 13 homers, and 1.443. OPS. Another notable hitter was Djibouti’s Bernard Kenei, whose 30 hits were one shy of the event record.

The Best Pitcher award was Port Elizaberth’s Rodolph Mwenelupembe. He won all four of his starts with three complete games, one shutout, 35.1 innings, 43 strikeouts, 3 walks, 6 hits, and 2.74 WAR. Mwenelupembe’s WAR was the third-best in event history.

Other notes: Houston’s Tesfaye Mehari had the 12^th no-hitter in BGC history with 18 strikeouts and one walk facing Freetown on November 18.

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Major League Baseball had two players inducted on their first ballot for the 2032 Hall of Fame class. 2B Americo Leal led the way at 84.6% and was joined by RP Deion Whitter at 77.1%. Fellow closer Etzel Urban was the best returner with 64.8% on his fifth ballot, barely missing the 66% requirement. LF Lorenzen Campbell was also close at 62.3% for his fourth go. Also cracking 50% was CL Stevie Ray Thornton at 53.6% for his third ballot, SP Luke Harrison at 51.2% on his second try, and CL Sebastian Gomez at 50.6% on the ninth attempt. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots for 2032.



Americo “Chunky” Leal – Second Base – Tampa Thunderbirds – 84.6% First Ballot

Americo Leal was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed second baseman from Cali, Colombia’s third-most populous city. He had the nickname “Chunky” for his love of chunky soups and not because of weight. Leal was a big guy, especially for a second baseman, but he wasn’t overweight. Some did criticize his work ethic, but he was a smart and adaptable player over an 18-year professional career.

Leal was very much the traditional leadoff man as a great contact hitter with impressive speed. He was a master at putting the ball in play and avoiding strikeouts with a 4.8% K rate for his career. Leal did rarely draw walks though, limiting his on-base percentage despite a regularly high average. His hitting was generally even against both left-handed and right-handed pitching.

His gap power was respectable, but he’d rarely go deep. Leal’s 162 game average got you 27 doubles, 12 triples, and 8 home runs. He made the most of his many singles, leading the association nine times in stolen bases. Steals were far less common in MLB compared to the other world leagues, but Leal was still viewed as one of the best baserunners in the world during his prime.

Defensively, the vast majority of Leal’s starts came at second base. He graded as a reliably solid defender, providing positive value with his glove. It wasn’t often easy to find guys who could give you both positive hitting and defensive value at second base, but Leal delivered. Leal’s durability was great much of his run as well with 140+ games each year from 2010-23.

Most Colombians ended up in Beisbol Sudamerica, but Leal’s potential as an amateur drew some attention from MLB scouts. He would be only the fourth South American born player to make MLB’s HOF; there had previously been two Brazilians and one Peruvian. Leal ended up making his name in Florida, inking a developmental deal in September 2003 with Tampa. He spent three full years in their academy before debuting for minor league Cape Coral in 2007.

Leal’s minor league stats were uninspiring, but he honed his skills. He debuted in 2008 at age 21 and saw 50 games and 37 starts between 2008-09 in the bigs. Tampa promoted him to a full-time starter in 2010 and he held that spot firmly for 11 years with the Thunderbirds. Leal’s second year was his first of seven seasons leading the American Association in stolen bases.

Tampa ended a 14-year playoff drought in 2010 and started a six-year playoff streak, although five of those six years ended in either a first or second round playoff exit. 2011 was the exception, going on a stunning run as a 96-66 wild card. The Thunderbirds took it all the way, upsetting Denver in the AACS and Brooklyn in the World Series. Tampa hadn’t won it all since the inaugural 1901 World Series, ending a 109-year championship drought.

Leal earned his spot in the hearts of Thunderbirds fans from this run, winning World Series MVP. Over 18 playoff starts, he had 32 hits, 13 runs, 2 doubles, 6 triples, 8 RBI, 9 steals, 1.041 OPS, 185 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. The 32 hits ranked as the fourth-most ever in an MLB playoff run. Tampa’s run rolled into the second Baseball Grand Championship, taking first place at 15-4. Leal was less impressive in this event with a .642 OPS and -0.2 WAR. Still, in only his second season, Leal had helped bring the Thunderbolts to the pinnacle of pro baseball.

He was rarely up for awards consideration due to the lack of power stats. Leal led in hits in 2013, 2014, and 2019 for Tampa and led in steals from 2013-18. In October 2012, he signed an eight-year, $111,100,000 extension to cement his role as the Thunderbirds’ leadoff man. While in Florida, Leal did still return home to Colombia as a regular in the World Baseball Championship. From 2011-26, Leal had 128 games, 130 hits, 73 runs, 22 doubles, 7 triples, 6 homers, 28 RBI, 91 steals, .310/.359/.459 slash, and 3.8 WAR.

After their run as a playoff regular in the early 2010s, Tampa fell towards the bottom of the standings to close the decade and stayed there for most of the 2020s. Leal’s playoff stats were lackluster in their other runs, but the 2011 effort carried him to nice stats overall. In 42 playoff starts for the Thunderbirds, Leal had 57 hits, 25 runs, 8 doubles, 7 triples, 1 homer, 14 RBI, 13 steals, .826 OPS, 126 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR.

After more than a decade of steady consistent production, Leal’s deal expired after the 2020 season, sending him to free agency heading into his age 34 campaign. For Tampa, he had 1724 games, 2107 hits, 1045 runs, 286 doubles, 117 triples, 79 home runs, 549 RBI, 611 steals, .303/.337/.412 slash, 106 wRC+, and 43.6 WAR. Leal remained popular with Thunderbirds fans for his role in their World Series win and would see his #5 uniform eventually retired.

Leal signed a four-year, $74,400,000 deal with Chicago and debuted with the strongest effort of his career. He led the National Association with career highs in hits (216), triples (20), and steals (79). Leal also had his career best in OBP (.376), slugging (.473), OPS (.849), wRC+ (154), and WAR (8.1). In 2022, he led again in hits with 211 and had his best runs total at 112, winning his lone Silver Slugger. Leal saw another 6+ WAR effort in 2023, reaching the mark thrice with the Cubs after never posting a WAR that high in Tampa.

Chicago made the playoffs all four years he was there, but couldn’t get over the hump. Their deepest run was a NACS defeat in 2022 against Cincinnati. In 25 playoff starts, Leal had 34 hits, 20 runs, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 10 RBI, 10 steals, .788 OPS, 141 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR. Leal’s production did start to wane in his final year with the Cubs, partly due to an oblique strain that kept him out much of the spring.

For Chicago, Leal finished with 565 games, 747 hits, 385 runs, 87 doubles, 51 triples, 28 homers, 175 RBI, 251 steals, .328/.363/.448 slash, 141 wRC+, and 23.8 WAR. Coming off his strongest production though, Leal had several suitors coming up on age 38. Atlanta inked him to a three-year, $54,800,000 deal. Leal’s debut season though was plagued by knee sprains, playing 111 games with 1.7 WAR and .773 OPS.

In the first week of 2026, Leal became only the 66^th batter in MLB’s 3000 hit club. He only played four games all season though with a torn PCL suffered in late March. Leal didn’t meet the criteria for the third year of his Atlanta deal, finishing that run with only 115 games, 151 hits, 77 runs, 23 doubles, 9 triples, 8 homers, 49 RBI, .776 OPS, and 1.8 WAR. He wanted to play in 2027, but went unsigned all year, finally retiring in the winter at age 40.

Leal finished with 2404 games, 3005 hits, 1507 runs, 396 doubles, 177 triples, 115 home runs, 774 RBI, 467 walks, 511 strikeouts, 878 steals, .309/.343/.422 slash, 114 wRC+, and 69.3 WAR. As of 2037, Leal ranks 72^nd in hits, 24^th in singles (2317), 50^th in triples, and 8^th in steals. At second base, he ranked 24^th in WAR, although the lack of power and walks tanked Leal’s value looking at Sabermetrics.

High average and steals tend to earn little value with the advanced stats and 3000+ hits hadn’t been a guarantee for induction in the past. Although Leal wasn’t a big award winner, the World Series MVP in 2011 for Tampa clinched even for many voters who shun guys that lack power stats. At 84.6%, Leal earned a first ballot induction to headline the 2032 Hall of Fame class for Major League Baseball.



Deion Whitter – Closer – Columbus Chargers – 77.1% First Ballot

Deion Whitter was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Marshall, Illinois; a small city of around 4,000 people in the east-central part of the state. Whitter had fantastic stuff, excellent movement, and rock solid control. His 97-99 mph fastball was quite good, but it was his stellar curveball that made Whitter elite.

Whitter had good stamina for a reliever and mostly avoided major injuries. He graded as below average at holding runners and defense. Whitter was a very smart pitcher and was quite flexible handling the various scenarios a reliever can encounter. Some thought his loyalty was lacking, but the mercenary attitude wasn’t uncommon for closers.

He attended North Carolina State and was a solid starter in his first two seasons, even throwing a no-hitter in 2008 against Virginia. Whitter took the closer role with excellent results, posting a 0.63 ERA and 16 saves in 28.2 innings with 49 strikeouts. Overall in college, Whitter had a 17-5 record, 1.54 ERA, 210.2 innings, 250 strikeouts, 49 walks, 208 ERA+, 47 FIP-, and 9.5 WAR.

Expected relievers rarely had first round grades, but Whitter was an exception. He went 53^rd overall in the 2009 MLB Draft to Columbis, who put him in mid relief with okay results as a rookie. Whitter was the closer in year two and held that role fully for seven seasons. In 2013, he won his lone Reliever of the Year award with career bests in ERA (0.82), innings (88), and ERA+ (412). Whitter had another sub-one ERA season in 2014, although he wasn’t an awards finalist.

Whitter took second in 2015’s voting and third in both 2016 and 2017. He led in saves in 2015 with 40 and games with 74, posting his career high for strikeouts with 135. Whitter again led in saves in 2016 with a career best 42. From 6/28/16 to 6/12/17, he had a 38 save streak.

2017 was his best WAR total at 5.9, reaching 5+ WAR thrice with Columbus. Whitter also tossed 30 consecutive scoreless innings from 6/28/17 to 9/5/17. The Chargers were usually above .500 in his tenure, but stuck in the middle tier. Their lone playoff berth was a wild card and second round exit in 2012. Whitter allowed two earned runs over 7.1 innings and five games.

He also saw some use in the World Baseball Championship from 2011-13 for the United States team. Whitter then didn’t play in the WBC for a few years before making the roster from 2021-25. He had excellent stats over 30 games and two starts with a 1.81 ERA in 54.2 innings, 16 saves, 4-1 record, 106 strikeouts, 9 walks, and 2.3 WAR. Whitter earned a world title as part of the 2011 American squad.

Whitter was due free agency after the 2018 season and despite continued production, Columbus wasn’t keen on giving a long-term deal. He was traded on May 31 to New Orleans for three prospects, ending the Chargers run after 8+ seasons. For Columbus, Whitter had 250 saves and 295 shutdowns, 1.84 ERA, 616.1 innings, 961 strikeouts, 139 walks, 187 ERA+, 37 FIP-, and 33.5 WAR. The Chargers would later retire his #50 uniform for his efforts.

The Mudcats weren’t looking for a rental, giving Whitter a three-year, $42,600,000 extension a week after the trade. He didn’t reach his elite form with the Mudcats, but was still a respectable closer. New Orleans had two division titles with Whitter, but didn’t get out of the second round. He gave up four runs over his 8.1 playoff innings. Overall in the Bayou, Whitter had a 2.57 ERA in 185.1 innings, 63 saves, 232 strikeouts, 150 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR. While there, he did join the 300 save club.

Whitter missed out on New Orleans’ 2021 championship run, opting out of his deal following the 2020 campaign at age 31. Kansas City gave him a three-year, $26,100,000 deal. Whitter was mid relief in 2021, although very productive. He was back in the closer role for 2022, but missed most of the summer to a strained hamstring. The Cougars were middling over his two years there, although Whitter was still productive with a 1.48 ERA, 91.1 innings, 20 saves, 117 strikeouts, and 4.6 WAR.

In March 2023, Kansas City sent Whitter to Atlanta in a three-player deal. The Aces gave him a two-year, $16,800,000 extension two weeks later. Whitter had two solid years as Atlanta’s closer and had three scoreless playoff innings in 2023, although they fell in the second round. His limited playoff tries saw a career 2.89 ERA over 18.2 innings with 24 strikeouts and 5 saves.

Whitter fell off hard in 2025 with a 6.41 ERA over 26.2 innings and was plagued that year by elbow tendinitis. Overall with Atlanta, he had 2.80 ERA in 148 innings, 65 saves, 168 strikeouts, and 6.0 WAR. Whitter was only two away from 400 career saves, which had only been done four times in MLB to that point. He hoped to get there and signed in 2026 with Las Vegas. He only saw eight appearances and 16.1 innings for the Vipers with a 4.96 ERA and no saves, also missing time to a strained hamstring. Whitter retired that winter at age 37.

In total, Whitter had a 95-74 record, 398 saves, 470 shutdowns, 2.12 ERA, 1057.1 innings, 902 games, 1489 strikeouts, 279 walks, 173 ERA+, 43 FIP-, and 52.7 WAR. As of 2037, Whitter is 7^th in saves in MLB and 17^th in games pitched. Among pitchers with 1000+ career innings, he ranks 8^th in ERA, 10^th in WHIP (0.98), 4^th in K/9 (12.67), 7^th in H/9 (6.46), and 7^th in opponent’s OPS (.559). Whitter’s .201/.261/.298 slash ranks 7^th/14^th/8^th.

Whitter ranks 2^nd in WAR among MLB Hall of Fame closers behind only saves leader Carson Hanford and ranks 3^rd in strikeouts. Among all relievers in world history, Whitter ranks 33^rd in WAR and 35^th in FIP-. Statistically, you could definitely place him as a top five closer in Major League Baseball history, although he’s sometimes overlooked since he was stuck on mostly mid-grade teams. Still, Whitter’s 2032 ballot debut got him for induction at 77.1%.

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The 2032 Hall of Fame class for the Central American Baseball Association was an impressive one with four first ballot inductees. Three were complete slam dunks with SP Ponciano Reyes at 98.1%, OF Herve Mickler at 96.2%, and RF Loyd Wayne at 93.5%. 2B Timmy Asher also made it firmly at 82.1%. The best returner was 1B Hasan Alvizo at 58.2% on his eighth try, within striking distance of the 66% requirement. No one else was above 50%.



SP Montell Donald fell off the ballot after ten failed tries, ending at 43.7% and peaking at 53.2% in 2029. The Curacaoan righty was never below 40% and was known for his three straight ERA titles from 2010-12 with Nicaragua, winning Pitcher of the Year twice. Donald suffered a torn rotator cuff in 2014 and was never quite the same, retiring after the 2017 campaign at only age 35.

In 13 seasons, Donald had a 165-141 record, 3.22 ERA, 2901.2 innings, 2794 strikeouts, 521 walks, 231/382 quality starts, 45 complete games, 5 shutouts, 124 ERA+, 83 FIP-, and 62.1 WAR. His rate stats were certainly comparable to many other HOFers and arguably weaker resumes made the cut before him. Many voters felt Donald’s longevity and accumulations weren’t quite there, banishing him to the Hall of Pretty Good. He would see his #39 uniform notably retired by the Navigators for his efforts.

LF Hugo Garcia also fell off after ten tries, having debuted at 52.3% in 2023. Shockingly, he only had 5.7% by the end. Garcia was a nine-time All-Star in 16 seasons between Haiti and Queretaro with 2280 hits, 1213 runs, 367 doubles, 77 triples, 529 home runs, 1391 RBI, .281/.320/.540 slash, 137 wRC+ and 67.3 WAR.

The totals were respectable, but he was rarely a league leader and never won a Silver Slugger. Although he won a ring with Haiti in 2014, his playoff stats were subpar with a .682 OPS and 84 wRC+ in 50 starts. Garcia was a popular player, but wasn’t considered dominant enough to stand out amongst the other greats of his era.



Ponciano Reyes – Starting Pitcher – Juarez Jesters – 98.1% First Ballot

Ponciano Reyes was a 5’10’’, 185 pound right-handed pitcher from the capital of Cuba, Havana. Reyes was a well-rounded pitcher with good-to-great stuff, movement, and control. Despite a smaller frame, he regularly hit the 97-99 mph range with his fastball. Reyes also had a curveball, changeup, and splitter in the arsenal with all four offerings considered equally potent. He was generally viewed as having an extreme groundball tendency.

Reyes had excellent stamina and durability, tossing 229+ innings each year from 2014-26. He was a good defensive pitcher, but his pickoff move graded as average. Reyes was appreciated as a loyal clubhouse guy, but he wasn’t one to take a vocal leadership role. His steady and consistent production made him a popular pitcher throughout a 14-year career.

He quickly emerged as one of the top prospects out of Cuba in some time ahead of CABA’s 2011 Draft. Reyes was picked eighth overall by Trinidad, although he was far from an immediate success. He only saw 42.2 innings in his first two seasons with -0.9 WAR, making some fear that he was a bust. Reyes put those concerns to rest in 2024 with his first of 12 consecutive seasons worth 5+ WAR with 200+ strikeouts. He also led the Caribbean League with five shutouts and led the next year with four.

Reyes finished third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2014 and 2015 for Trinidad and took second in 2016. Despite his efforts, the Trail Blazers were generally mediocre at this point, averaging 72.2 wins per season during his tenure. In 2017, they were 64-98, missing the playoffs for the 24^th consecutive season. Trinidad didn’t seem to have any upward mobility at this point and Reyes was due free agency after the 2018 season.

In February 2018, the Trail Blazers sent Reyes to Juarez for prospects SP Rafael Ortiz and CF Mariano Soto. With Trinidad, Reyes finished with a 59-44 record, 2.76 ERA, 1073.1 innings, 977 strikeouts, 202 walks, 58 complete games, 14 shutouts, 138 ERA+, 85 FIP-, and 21.8 WAR. The rest of his pro career would be in Mexico, although Reyes did still represent his native Cuba in the World Baseball Championship. From 2014-26, Reyes pitched 143.2 WBC innings with a 3.07 ERA, 4-8 record, 168 strikeouts, and 3.1 WAR.

He would become well known with the Jesters, who were amidst a dynasty run. Juarez was the reigning Baseball Grand Champion, the two-time defending CABA champ, and three-time defending Mexican League champ. Reyes delivered his consistent production right away, earning a four-year, $56,300,000 extension after the 2018 season.

The Jesters continued their playoff streak through 2026. They had a shocking first round upset in 2018 despite going 110-52, but they’d be back in the Mexican League Championship Series each year through 2025. Juarez took home the pennant in 2020, 2022, and 2025. Reyes earned a new six-year, $93,600,000 extension in March 2022.

Juarez won the 2020 CABA Championship, incidentally beating Reyes’ former team Trinidad who had a one-off pennant run. They dropped the 2022 final against Guatemala, but got revenge against the Ghosts in 2025. Reyes’ playoff stats were a mixed bag overall, but he was notably excellent in 2022 with a 1.74 ERA over 31 innings and with a 2.08 ERA over 39 innings in 2025. The final playoff stats saw an 8-10 record, 3.45 ERA, 182.2 innings, 177 strikeouts, 33 walks, 110 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 4.5 WAR.

Reyes also had mixed results in the Baseball Grand Championship. He struggled to a 5.59 ERA over 29 innings in 2020, but was rock solid in 2022 with a 2.23 ERA over 32.1 innings. He was mid in 2025 at a 4.23 ERA over 27.2 innings. Overall, Reyes had a 3.94 ERA over 89 innings, 2-3 record, 95 strikeouts, and 1.5 WAR. Juarez finished 9-10 in 2020, 11-8 in 2022, and 10-9 in 2025.

He ultimately never won Pitcher of the Year, but he came close a few times with Juarez. Reyes was third in 2021’s voting, second in 2024, and third in 2025. He was remarkably consistent, but rarely overwhelmingly dominant. Reyes led twice in innings, once in wins, and once in shutouts for the Jesters. 2019 had his career best WAR (6.8), while 2024 had his highs for wins (22-8), ERA (2.45), and strikeouts (258).

In 2026, Reyes’ velocity dropped sharply, going from a usual 97-99 mph peak down to only 91-93 mph. He still put up decent production with a 3.49 ERA, 166 strikeouts, and 3.6 WAR; but it was down from the reliable 5-6 WAR and 200+ Ks you usually got. It was the 13^th year of Juarez’s playoff streak, but their weakest outing as a 88-74 wild card that lost in the second round. This was ultimately the final year of the streak and marked the end of a historic dynasty run.

It was also the final year for Reyes. He was still healthy and could probably eat some innings, but he wasn’t interested in hanging around with subpar production. Reyes retired that winter at age 36 and the Jesters retired his #37 uniform for his role in the dynasty. Over nine seasons, Reyes had a 162-84 record, 3.03 ERA, 2250.2 innings, 2128 strikeouts, 356 walks, 83 complete games, 17 shutouts, 126 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 54.2 WAR.

Reyes finished with a 221-128 record, 2.94 ERA, 3324 innings, 3105 strikeouts, 558 walks, 274/400 quality starts, 141 complete games, 31 shutouts, 130 ERA+, 80 FIP- and 76.1 WAR. As of 2037, Reyes ranks 36^th in wins, 55^th in innings, 32^nd in complete games, 27^th in shutouts, 73^rd in strikeouts, and 45^th in pitching WAR.

He was never considered THE best pitcher in the game in his career and probably falls outside the inner-circle. However, Reyes was reliably a top ten to top five level ace for more than a decade, playing a big role in Juarez’s historic dynasty run. This earned him a surefire Hall of Fame induction even with a top-heavy group for the Central American Baseball Association, leading the four inductees at 98.1%.




Herve Mickler – Outfield – Jamaica Jazz – 96.2% First Ballot

Herve Mickler was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting outfielder from Noord, Aruba; a town of about 24,000 people. He was the third Aruban to join CABA’s HOF. Mickler was best known for a very strong bat, giving you 44 home runs, 22 doubles, and 16 triples per his 162 game average. He had nine seasons of 40+ homers and four with 50.

Mickler had above average to good contact ability and was respectable at drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was subpar. He was good against both sides with a slight edge facing right-handed pitching (.962 career OPS, 160 wRC+) compared to lefties (.897 OPS, 148 wRC+). Unlike many power hitters, Mickler was a fantastic baserunner with good speed. Some scouts thought he was a five-tool player.

Defensively, Mickler bounced around the outfield with around 38% of his starts in center, around 36% in right, and 23% in left. He had serviceable but below average metrics in center, as his range wasn’t quite strong enough to thrive there. Mickler did grade as a rock solid defender in the corners. He generally avoided major injuries, playing 125+ games in all but the last season of a 17-year career. Mickler was a leader in the clubhouse and became extremely popular amongst Caribbean baseball fans.

Even coming from tiny Aruba, Mickler quickly soared up the prospect boards ahead of the 2009 CABA Draft. He was the #1 overall pick by Jamaica and would be a starter for them for the next 11 years. Mickler was 2010 Rookie of the Year with 2.7 WAR and .909 OPS over 125 games. He was far better after that, posting 6+ WAR each year for the rest of the original run with the Jazz.

Mickler finished third in 2011’s MVP voting. He was third again in 2012 and won his first Silver Slugger (in CF). Mickler also hit for the cycle in 2012 facing Bahamas. He again was third in MVP voting in 2013 and won his second Slugger. Jamaica wisely locked him up long-term that winter on an eight-year, $113,300,000 extension.

2014 was another Slugger and his first MVP win despite missing a month to a hip strain. It was the best pace of his career with a career-best .325/.382/.783 triple slash, 1.165 OPS, and 209 wRC+. The slugging, OPS, and wRC+ would each be Caribbean League bests. Mickler was the WARlord for the first time in 2015 at 9.6 and had a 1.071 OPS, repeating as MVP and as a Slugger winner.

2016 saw some regression down to a mere 6.0 WAR and .964 OPS, but Mickler still won a Slugger and was second in MVP voting. He was back to the top dog in 2017 with his third MVP and his sixth and final Silver Slugger. This year saw league bests in runs (124), homers (55), RBI (135), total bases (425), and WAR (10.1); all career bests. His 191 hits and 29 doubles were also career bests and he led the Caribbean League in slugging (.713), OPS (1.095), and wRC+ (181).

Prior to Mickler’s arrival, Jamaica had been on a long stretch of mediocrity. From 1983-2010, they had no playoff appearances and averaged 70.9 wins per season. Mickler’s rookie year of 2010 saw an 82-80 finish, their first winning season since 2002. The Jazz got a wild card and first round exit in 2011, then just missed the playoffs in 2012 and 2013.

From 2014-19, Jamaica posted a six-year playoff streak with three division titles. They had the top seed in 2014 at 100-62, but lost the CLCS to Nicaragua. The Jazz didn’t get beyond the first round the next five years. One knock on Mickler is that his playoff stats were very underwhelming. In 24 starts, he had 22 hits, 9 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 12 RBI, .234/.273/.468 slash, 104 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR.

That didn’t stop him from being beloved in Kingston, as Jamaica fans were simply happy to be competitive again. Still, there was a tinge of disappointment for Mickler that they couldn’t get over the hump and he willingly shouldered some blame. He was still an excellent starter in his final three years, but was out of the awards conversation by this point. Mickler also spent less time in center after playing primarily there in his peak years.

Jamaica fell just below .500 in 2020 and Mickler declined the contract option, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 33. His popularity and success was certainly noticed over in Major League Baseball and Mickler made the move to the United States, inking a four-year, $77,600,00 deal with Brooklyn. He had an impressive debut in 2021 for the Dodgers with 7.7 WAR, 45 homers, .943 OPS, and 191 wRC+, although they only finished 80-82.

Mickler didn’t match that production again, but he was still a quality starter the next two years. Brooklyn’s lone playoff trip was a second round defeat in 2023, hovering around average otherwise. Mickler dropped off a bit in 2024 thanks to a fractured foot, only starting 99 of 127 games. Overall, he had a productive four years with the Dodgers, playing 582 games with 483 hits, 282 runs, 45 doubles, 22 triples, 123 home runs, 298 RBI, .245/.311/.478 slash, 138 wRC+, and 17.3 WAR.

He was set to turn 38 for 2025 and eyed a CABA return, signing for a two years and $13,200,000 with Culiacan. The Cocks were a Mexican League expansion team set to debut that year and Mickler’s star-power could still sell tickets. He had a nice effort with 129 games, 27 homers, 75 RBI, .898 OPS, and 4.7 WAR. Mickler didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the second year of the deal and returned to free agency.

Mickler made his return to Jamaica on a two-year, $13,400,000 deal. He received a hero’s welcome, but the 2026 return was plagued by a strained oblique and fractured rib. Mickler only played 70 games with .718 OPS and 0.7 WAR. Realizing he was washed, Mickler retired that winter at age 39 and immediately saw his #4 uniform retired by the Jazz. Between the stints, he had 1728 games, 1893 hits, 121 runs, 257 doubles, 202 triples, 501 home runs, 1153 RBI, 558 walks, 1695 strikeouts, 552 steals, .300/.356/.642 slash, 162 wRC+, and 84.6 WAR.

In CABA, Mickler finished with 1857 games, 2018 hits, 1284 runs, 277 doubles, 214 triples, 528 home runs, 1228 RBI, 607 walks, 1815 strikeouts, 583 steals, .298/.356/.636 slash, 162 wRC+, and 89.3 WAR. The four years in MLB did lower his CABA totals a bit, but he still ranked as of 2037 at 82^nd in runs, 57^th in homers, 89^th in total bases (4307), and 55^th in WAR among position players. Among CABA batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Mickler’s .991 OPS ranks 25^th and his slugging is 16^th.

Combined with his MLB stats, Mickler had 2439 games, 2501 hits, 1566 runs, 322 doubles, 236 triples, 651 home runs, 1526 RBI, 786 walks, 2334 strikeouts, 659 steals, .286/.346/.600 slash, 157 wRC+, and 106.6 WAR. The brief MLB departure and weak playoff stats keeps Mickler outside of the inner-circle level for some Hall of Fame voters. His candidacy was a no-doubter though, joining the Central American Baseball Association’s four-player 2032 class with 96.2%.

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Loyd Wayne – Right Field – Juarez Jesters – 93.5% First Ballot

Loyd Wayne was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Black River, Jamaica; a parish capital with about 4,000 people. Wayne was renowned for having one of the best-ever eyes for the strike zone, leading his league eight times in walks and seven times in on-base percentage. On a scale from 1/10, some scouts gave his eye a scale-breaking 12 at his peak. Wayne also was an excellent contact hitter against both sides and was solid at avoiding strikeouts.

Wayne’s home run power was also impressive with 41 dingers per his 162 game average and two 50+ seasons. His gap power got you 20 doubles and 9 triples per 162 games. On top of getting on base a ton, Wayne was a highly skilled and crafty baserunner with above average-to-good speed.

About ¾ of his starts came in right field, where he reliably graded as a rock solid defender. Wayne was decent in brief stints in left field and first base and struggled in very limited time in center. Seemingly the only downfall for Wayne was durability issues, as he missed sizeable chunks in around half of his 16 seasons. Some argued that a weak work ethic exasperated the injuries. But at his peak, Wayne was one of the most efficient offensive weapons CABA had ever seen.

Wayne was spotted and signed a developmental deal with Juarez in April 2011. He spent just under five full seasons in their academy before debuting in 2016 as a part-timer with 74 games and 6 starts. Playing time wasn’t easy to come by as the Jesters had begun their epic dynasty run. Wayne didn’t play in the postseason, but Juarez repeated as Mexican League champ and won the CABA title. They finished 11-8 in the Baseball Grand Championship with Wayne going 1-14 in his limited appearances.

In 2017, Wayne became a part-time starter and thrived with an impressive 4.7 WAR and 1.078 OPS in only 81 games, while also posting a 24-game hitting streak. Juarez defeated Salvador to repeat as CABA champs with Wayne posting .877 OPS in 14 playoff starts. The Jesters finished 12-7 in a tight BGC, holding the tiebreaker over Concepcion and Bamako to earn Grand Champion honors. Wayne had .932 OPS and 0.9 WAR across the 19 games, beginning his notoriety as a big-game hitter.

From 2018-21, Wayne led Mexico each year in OPS, OBP, and walks. He thrice led in runs scored and WAR, twice led in wRC+ and slugging, won a batting title in 2019, and twice socked 50+ homers. Wayne took third in 2018’s MVP voting, then signed an eight-year, $108,500,000 extension with the Jesters. He would three-peat as Mexican League MVP from 2019-21 with two Silver Sluggers.

Wayne’s 126 walks in 2018 set the new CABA single-season record, while his 118 the next year ranked as second-best. As of 2037, CABA has only had 24 seasons of 100+ walks; Wayne has five of them. In 2019, his .490 on-base percentage was a new world record, beating the previous best of .489 by Mwarami Tale in the 2009 African Association of Baseball season. Wayne’s 1.245 OPS was also a new CABA single-season record. That year had his career best WAR (12.6), hit total (208), and home runs (53) along with a .381 average, 139 runs, and 126 RBI. Wayne was five homers and 15 RBI short of a Triple Crown.

2020 had his best runs mark at 141, one of only 14 seasons in CABA as of 2037 of 140+ runs scored. Wayne matched his homer best at 53 and had a career-best 146 RBI along with league bests in total bases (404) and WAR (12.2). 2021 was down from that huge peak in part due to a high ankle sprain in September, but Wayne was still good for his fourth straight OPS title (1.154) and third consecutive WARlord (9.2).

Juarez had a shocking first round exit in 2018 despite a 110-52 record, then went 109-53 and lost in the 2019 MLCS in an upset to Puebla. The Jesters returned to the throne with their highest win mark of the streak at 112-50, beating Trinidad for the CABA Championship. 2020 was Wayne’s strongest postseason with a 1.279 OPS, 241 wRC+, 1.8 WAR, 26 hits, 19 runs, 6 doubles, 3 triples, 7 homers, and 13 RBI. He set a CABA playoff record with 59 total bases that still stands as of 2037. The 19 runs were a new CABA playoff record as well, although it would be passed once by 2037.

Juarez finished 9-10 in the Baseball Grand Championship, but Wayne kept rolling with a 1.075 OPS, 1.2 WAR, 20 hits, 18 runs, 7 homers, and 13 RBI over 19 games. The next year, Wayne started playing for Jamaica in the World Baseball Championship. Although the small island nation never won a division, Wayne was a beast from 2021-31. In 117 games, he had 115 hits, 87 runs, 19 doubles, 41 home runs, 77 RBI, .303/.453/.692 slash, and 9.4 WAR. Among batters with 250+ plate appearances in the BGC, Wayne’s 1.145 OPS is 14^th and his triple slash ranks 79^th/5^th/48^th.

Juarez lost in the 2021 MLCS to Tijuana with Wayne missing the playoffs to injury. 2022 saw only 57 games between a fractured finger, fractured thumb, strained oblique, and shoulder inflammation. Wayne had seven playoff games, helping the Jesters win the Mexican League title before falling to Guatemala in the CABA final. He was a beast in the BGC with a 1.458 OPS and 1.9 WAR over 16 games, finishing second in MVP voting. Juarez finished 11-8, in a five-way tie for fourth.

In 2023, Wayne was back on pace comparable to his best-ever seasons, although he went down with shoulder inflammation in September that kept him out of the postseason. He was second in MVP voting and won a Silver Slugger over 128 games, breaking his own world record with a .505 OBP. As of 2037, this is the only qualifying season in all of pro baseball history of an on-base percentage above .500.

Wayne narrowly broke his own CABA OPS record at 1.2453. Castulo Castro beat him in 2031 at 1.259, but Wayne still holds the #2 and #3 spots as of 2037. Wayne also had his career best batting average at .387, his second-batting title; and led in WAR for the fourth time. He also hit for the cycle for the first time in July against San Luis Potosi. Juarez went 108-54, but lost to 117-win Mexico City in the MLCS as Wayne watched on injured.

His pace was even better somehow in 2024, but a strained abdominal and back tightness put him out more than two months. Wayne still won a Silver Slugger over 102 games and led in walks while posting 8.1 WAR. 502 plate appearances are required to qualify for rate stats and he had only 424, but Wayne’s .512 OBP, .757 slugging, 1.269 OPS, and 260 wRC+ all would’ve been career bests had they counted. Wayne was healthy and productive in the playoffs, but Juarez lost the MLCS to Tijuana.

That was the end of the record-breaking pace, but Wayne still had two more seasons leading in OBP and with 8+ WAR for Juarez. He was healthy both years and won a Silver Slugger in 2025. The Jesters won their final CABA title of the dynasty in 2025, getting revenge on Guatemala in the finale. It was Wayne’s only mediocre playoff effort with Juarez on a .679 OPS. He was back to a strong .977 OPS in 2025’s Baseball Grand Championship with the Jesters going 10-9.

2026 was the final year of the 13-season postseason streak for Juarez, going 88-74 with a second round exit as a wild card. Wayne was great in the playoffs again regardless with his 1.200 slugging and 1.756 OPS being CABA playoff records (minimum 20 plate appearances.). Wayne ended with 82 CABA playoff starts, 103 hits, 55 runs, 17 doubles, 4 triples, 23 homers, 49 RBI, 45 walks, 25 steals, .343/.431/.657 slash, 206 wRC+, and 5.6 WAR. As of 2037, Wayne is 11^th in runs, 14^th in hits, 8^th in homers, and 2^nd in walks.

Wayne was third in MVP voting for 2026 and still had his stock very high at age 32. Many thought that could be Juarez’s last huzzah, including Wayne as he declined his contract option. This ended his career in CABA with 1351 games, 1559 hits, 1052 runs, 179 doubles, 89 triples, 362 home runs, 967 RBI, 899 walks, 395 steals, .352/.461/.678 slash, 213 wRC+, and 86.1 WAR. Unsurprisingly, Wayne’s #9 uniform would later be retired by the Jesters.

Because his CABA run was only 11 years and had missed time, Wayne’s accumulations don’t breach the top 100 as of 2037 except for being 31^st in walks and 64^th in WAR among position players. However, his OBP and his 1.139 OPS are both #1 among batters with 3000 plate appearances. Wayne’s slugging also ranks 2^nd and his batting average is 5^th.

Wayne’s remarkable efficiency and playoff dominance with Juarez’s dynasty made him an easy Hall of Fame pick even without the big totals. His prime run stacks up against the best ever and he still holds the world’s top two seasons by OBP. A few voters knocked him down for lower accumulations, thus only 93.5% for Wayne; the third-highest of the four inductees into the Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 2032.

He wasn’t done yet though playing in the big games. The soon-to-be 33-year old went just across the border and to the west on a five-year, $160 million deal for 2027 with Major League Baseball’s San Diego Seals. The Seals were both the reigning World Series champ and the defending Baseball Grand Champion. Wayne would soon play a role in another all-time dynasty run.

San Diego had a historic 119-43 campaign in 2027, tied for the second-most wins ever by an MLB team. Wayne had an impressive debut with 1.023 OPS, 40 homers, 112 runs, and 6.8 WAR. His postseason saw a .901 OPS and 0.4 WAR as the Seals repeated as MLB champs, beating Montreal in the final. San Diego then became the first-ever repeat Grand Champion, finishing 14-5 and one game better than the Maples, Sydney, and Rotterdam.

Wayne now had a Grand Champion ring from two different teams, a feat shared by very few others. In the run, he had a .963 OPS, 150 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. In 2028, Wayne was even better with 7.9 WAR, .997 OPS, 42 homers, 122 runs, and an American Association-best 99 walks. San Diego went 108-54 and three-peated as World Series champs, defeating Ottawa in the final. Wayne was merely decent in the playoff run with a .791 OPS. The Seals were denied the BGC three-peat, finishing sixth at 12-7. Wayne’s stats weren’t incredible, but were still solid at a .838 OPS and 0.7 WAR.

2029 was frustrating for Wayne as strains with his hamstring, abdominals, and PCL limited him to 75 games. San Diego finished 99-63 and completed the second-ever MLB four-peat, winning a World Series rematch with Ottawa. Wayne was surprisingly poor in the playoff run with a .605 OPS over 10 starts. However, he had one last stellar Baseball Grand Championship performance left in him.

Wayne had 2.0 WAR, 1.220 OPS, 259 wRC+, 20 hits, 14 runs, 4 doubles, 8 homers, and 16 RBI in the 2029 BGC at age 35. San Diego finished 12-9, one of three tied for seventh. He had played in a staggering eight editions of the Baseball Grand Championship and put up elite numbers against the best teams in the world.

Across 143 BGC games, Wayne had 115 hits, 99 runs, 12 doubles, 49 home runs, 91 RBI, .258/.405/.628 slash, and 7.9 WAR. Wayne is the event’s all-time leader as of 2037 in WAR among position players, walks (106), runs, and OBP. Wayne’s OPS (1.033) is 2^nd among those with 400+ plate appearances. He also ranks 2^nd in hits, total bases (280), and RBI and is 3^rd in homers.

Being second in games played helps, but Wayne undoubtedly was excellent facing off against the best of the best. Former teammate Matias Esquilin is the only guy with more games at 146. Only Artyom Masharipov has him beat in total bases and RBI across his appearances with Baku’s ABF dynasty. You could certainly argue that Wayne is the top batter in the BGC’s history. Only two pitchers have him beat in WAR, Nejc Novak at 10.16 and CABA foe Richard Wright at 7.96.

Wayne played most of 2030, but was down to 2.2 WAR and .821 OPS over 120 games. San Diego’s playoff streak continued at 99-63, but they had a second round playoff exit. Wayne struggled in 2031 and was benched after posting -0.6 WAR and .623 OPS over 77 games. The Seals finished 87-75 to end their playoff streak at five seasons. Wayne retired that winter at age 37.

Overall for San Diego in five seasons, Wayne had 575 games, 545 hits, 392 runs, 60 doubles, 14 triples, 130 home runs, 357 RBI, 326 walks, .280/.385/.525 slash, 133 wRC+, and 18.6 WAR. In 45 playoff starts, he had 39 hits, 33 runs, 4 doubles, 4 triples, 7 homers, 30 RBI, .234/.361/.431 slash, 109 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. For his combined playoff career though, Wayne had 127 starts, 142 hits, 88 runs, 21 doubles, 8 triples, 30 home runs, 79 RBI, .304/.405/.576 slash, 171 wRC+, and 6.9 WAR.

Wayne’s combined pro career had 1926 games, 2104 hits, 1444 runs, 239 doubles, 103 triples, 492 home runs, 1324 RBI, 1225 walks, 868 strikeouts, 452 steals, .330/.438/.631 slash, 1.069 OPS, 189 wRC+, and 104.7 WAR. Among all world Hall of Famers as of 2037, Wayne has the best on-base percentage. He is also tied for second in OPS, just behind EBF legend Jacob Ronnberg’s 1.070. Wayne is also 36^th in slugging and 26^th in wRC+ among the world’s Hall of Famers.

He’s a tough one to rank when considering the absolute best of the best since his accumulations aren’t at all gaudy. By rate stats, Wayne certainly fits into the inner-circle level of Hall of Famers. He managed to maintain those remarkable rates even in the playoffs, Baseball Grand Championship, and World Baseball Championship.

Wayne was a huge part of two Grand Championship wins, three World Series rings, four CABA Championships, and five Mexican League titles. When discussing the most “clutch” hitters in baseball history, Wayne certainly has to be near the top of the list. Even without the massive tallies, most agree that Wayne deserves a spot among the true immortals of the game.



Timmy Asher – Second Base – Torreon Tomahawks – 82.1% First Ballot

Timmy Asher was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting second baseman from Norwich, England; a city of around 144,000 inhabitants in the country’s east. Asher was a stellar contact hitter and was excellent at avoiding strikeouts. He was also better than most in CABA at drawing walks. Asher was especially strong facing right-handed pitching with a career 1.061 OPS and 196 wRC+. He wasn’t bad against lefties though with a .835 OPS and 135 wRC+.

Asher’s power was definitely more skewed towards RHP. He had a 162 game average of 21 doubles, 11 triples, and 23 home runs; still providing a decent slate of extra-base hits. Asher’s speed was also quite good, although his baserunning skills were merely okay. He played second base exclusively and was a terrible defender, but his bat was light years ahead of what you could usually find at 2B. Asher’s durability was generally strong, avoiding big injuries over a 17-year career.

He ended up a controversial figure at points due to a very outspoken personality. Asher wasn’t one to take a leadership role and felt compelled to air his grievances. Despite that, his entire pro career came with one team. Asher ended up very popular with Torreon fans and both his teammates and the organization came to tolerate and sometimes even appreciate his brazenness.

That brazenness though led to a very unexpected opening to Asher’s career, becoming the only European-born inductee into CABA’s Hall of Fame. Like most English prospects, Asher came up through the local amateur and college ranks. He thrived at the University of Cambridge and declared for the European Baseball Federation’s 2008 draft. With the 29^th pick, Asher was selected by Manchester. But after strong personality clashes with management, Asher didn’t sign with the Crushers and returned to college for 2009.

Manchester tried again and picked Asher 30^th in the 2009 EBF Draft, but Asher made it fairly clear he wanted no part of them. He refused to sign again and officially earned free agent status for 2010. It isn’t fair to say Asher was blacklisted from EBF, but most franchises were leery and felt he wasn’t worth the headache after the very public Manchester debacle.

Asher opened his search worldwide and had some interested parties, although many squads didn’t want to give the higher free agent money to an unproven rookie. Eventually, Torreon took a liking and brought Asher in to Mexico. His outspokenness was somewhat tempered by only having a basic grasp of the Spanish language, although Asher would eventually become fluent. He was mostly a pinch hitter and occasional platoon starter in his first three seasons.

In 2012, Asher played 138 games and started only 74, but still posted an impressive 1.152 OPS, .403/.462/.690 slash, and 5.6 WAR in the small sample size. Despite not being a full-time starter, he won his first of ten consecutive Silver Sluggers. That earned him the full-time gig, which he held from 2013-2020. After the 2013 season, Torreon gave Asher an eight-year, $107 million extension.

The Tomahawks were regularly competitive at this point, having only posted winning seasons in the 21^st Century. They hadn’t turned those into pennants though. Torreon was the Mexican League runner up in 2001, 03, and 04. They had been a wild card in 2005, 08, and 10 with first round exits. As Asher entered the full-time lineup, the Tomahawks were able to get over that hump.

In 2013, Torreon beat Monterrey for the Mexican League crown, then won their first-ever CABA Championship over the defending champ Santo Domingo. Asher led that year in batting average (.358), OBP (.434), and walks (76) while adding 31 homers, 104 runs, and 7.6 WAR. This earned a second place in MVP voting. He also hit for the cycle in June facing Ecatepec. Asher would go onto be finals MVP, posting .957 OPS, 17 hits, and 7 runs over 13 playoff starts.

In the Baseball Grand Championship, Torreon was one of three teams at 12-7, officially taking third after tiebreakers. Asher fared quite well on the big stage with 21 hits, 11 runs, 6 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 10 walks, .990 OPS, and 1.0 WAR. He had already established himself as a big-game player before that in the 2011 World Baseball Championship for England. They were the runner-up that year to the United States with Asher posting 28 hits, 16 runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 6 homers, 17 RBI, 1.077 OPS, and 1.5 WAR over 24 starts.

Through his family heritage, Asher had dual citizenship between England and the Republic of Ireland. He would be a WBC regular in his career, although he alternated between playing for the English and Irish teams. Overall from 2011-26, Asher played 155 games with 133 hits, 81 runs, 26 doubles, 5 triples, 31 home runs, 94 RBI, .261/.358/.515 slash, and 4.7 WAR.

Asher again was second in MVP voting in 2014, leading once more in batting average (.370) and OBP (.430). He also posted 8.5 WAR, 1.084 OPS, and hit for the cycle again. Torreon went 107-55 and repeated as ML champs, but lost the CABA Championship to Nicaragua. Asher had a .905 OPS, 21 hits, and 14 runs over the playoff run. In the BGC, Torreon was 12-7 in a three-way tie for fourth. Asher was merely okay with .744 OPS, 0.3 WAR, and 106 wRC+ for the event.

Torreon would earn a wild card from 2015-17, but wouldn’t get out of the first round. From this point onward, Juarez’s dynasty took firm control of the North Division. The Tomahawks kept their streak of winning seasons intact through 2024, but their only additional playoff trips were one-and-dones in 2022 and 2024. For his playoff career, Asher had 39 games, 51 hits, 24 runs, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 6 homers, 18 RBI, .364/.414/.557 slash, 166 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR.

2018 was Asher’s strongest year by some metrics, again taking second in MVP voting. He led in wRC+ at 197 and had his career highs for homers (39), runs (121), RBI (109), OPS (1.091), and WAR (8.6). Although his Silver Slugger streak continued, Asher never won the MVP. He won a third batting title in 2020 at .366 and had an OPS above one in six of his full seasons.

Asher officially became a free agent after the 2021 season at age 34. After a few weeks on the market, he returned to Torreon with a four-year, $58 million deal. Asher became an occasional platoon starter and regular pinch hitter for the remainder of his career. His bat was still plenty strong, especially against RHP, to be worth a roster spot. However, his poor defense and less impactful bat against lefties limited his later use.

He had become accustomed to the area and comfortable, even in a reduced role. Asher signed qualifying offers in 2025 and 2026 to stick around with Torreon. He was finally let go after the 2026 campaign, although he still hoped to play somewhere. Asher was unsigned all of 2027 and retired that winter shortly after turning 40. The Tomahawks were quick to retire his #50 uniform for his 17 seasons of steady service.

Asher finished with 2325 games, 1509 starts, 2315 hits, 1167 runs, 304 doubles, 156 triples, 332 home runs, 1120 RBI, 683 walks, 487 strikeouts, 569 stolen bases, .352/.414/.598 slash, 183 wRC+, and 81.1 WAR. As of 2037, Asher ranks 77^th in WAR among position players, although he’s outside of the top 100 in all of the other main counting stats. Still, that goes to show how effective he was even without as many plate appearances as some of the other greats.

Among those with 3000+ PAs, Asher ranks 4^th in batting average, 3^rd in OBP, and 47^th in slugging. His 1.012 OPS ranks him 16^th. Among all of the world’s Hall of Famers as of 2037, Asher is one only ten guys with a batting average above .350 and ranks 9^th in OBP and 30^th in OPS. Even without overwhelming power, Asher was one of the most efficient bats of his era.

Asher has the 4^th-most WAR among second basemen in Central American Baseball Association history and leads that group in OPS. You could argue he’s the best hitting 2B ever in CABA, although the poor defense probably keeps from the #1 spot outright. Still, that strong bat helped Torreon to its first CABA crown and two Mexican League titles. Asher earned 82.1% for a first ballot Hall of Fame induction, capping off an impressive four-player class for 2032.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two got into the East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame in 2032, headlined by SP Hyun-Min Hu as a no-doubter with 96.0%. Closer Sadaharu Chiba joined him at 71.5% on his third try, narrowly breaching the 66% requirement. Three other returners were above 50% with LF Jae-A Choi at 55.4% on his second try, 1B Kyu-Seong Lee with 54.4% on his seventh go, and C Ha-Jun Au with 53.0% for his sixth ballot. No one was removed from the ballot after ten failed attempts in 2032.



Worth a mention was SP Chang-Hyun Pak, who fell below 5% on his eighth try. He peaked at 30.4% in his debut and had a Pitcher of the Year in 2007 with Yongin and was a big part of their 2010 championship run. A torn labrum in 2014 at age 30 ultimately slowed him down and kept him from the accumulations needed. Pak had a 184-130 record, 3.18 ERA, 2770.2 innings, 2790 strikeouts, 636 walks, 120 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 68.0 WAR. Since he wasn’t overwhelmingly dominant, Pak needed a few more years of steady production to get across the line.



Hyun-Min Hu – Starting Pitcher – Busan Blue Jays – 96.0% First Ballot

Hyun-Min Hu was a 6’8’’, 205 pound left-handed starting pitcher from Gwangyang, South Korea; a city of 154,000 people in the country’s south. Hu had solid stuff and great control, although his overall movement was below average. He had a strong 96-98 mph fastball and an excellent curveball as the one-two punch. Hu’s third pitch was a weak changeup, which did limit him on days that the curve wasn’t biting.

Compared to most great EAB aces, Hu’s stamina was subpar. However, his excellent durability still pushed him to 200+ innings in all but his first and final seasons. Hu’s pickoff move was world class with few able to hold runners more effectively. He also graded as a good defensive pitcher on the whole. Hu’s biggest flaw was an iffy work ethic, but his natural talent and gifts made up for that over a 16-year run.

Few things excite a scout more than a tall lefty that can throw hard. Hu fit that bill and quickly earned attention from across South Korea. Bucheon eventually signed him to a developmental deal in May 2005. Hu spent around six years in their academy, debuting in 2011 at age 22 with 18 relief innings. The Bolts promoted him to the rotation in 2012 and he remained there for the rest of his career .

Hu led the Korea League in wins at 18-9 for his full-time debut and led in WHIP for 2014 at 0.92. 2014 also had his career best for strikeouts with 290. Hu wasn’t in the awards conversations though since he lacked jaw-dropping dominance. Bucheon was also generally mid-tier during his run, although they did get to the KLCS in 2012 where they fell to Goyang. Hu held up his end with a 2.66 ERA over 20.1 innings in three playoff starts.

Bucheon fell apart in 2017 with a 64-98 record and started a fire sale. Hu was due free agency that winter and the Bolts weren’t expecting to be able to match his asking price. In July 2017, Hu was traded to Kawasaki for three prospects. For Bucheon, Hu finished with an 84-54 record, 3.12 ERA, 1227.2 innings, 1395 strikeouts, 213 walks, 122 ERA+, 76 FIP-, and 30.3 WAR.

For the Killer Whales, Hu was 7-2 over 91.2 innings with 2.85 ERA, 104 Ks, and 0.8 WAR. Despite their late push, Kawasaki’s 91-71 finish kept them two wins short of the playoffs behind Tokyo in the Capital Division. Now a free agent heading towards age 29, Hu started his signature run and signed a four-year, $27,300,000 deal with Busan. The Blue Jays had a playoff drought from 2011-19, but Hu helped them start a decade-plus playoff streak.

2021 was Hu’s lone season as a Pitcher of the Year finalist, taking third with his lone ERA title at 2.53 and a league-best 0.91 WHIP. He led in wins at 21-8 in 2020 and had his career-best WAR in 2018 at 7.1. In May 2021, the Blue Jays gave Hu a five year, $49,500,000 extension for more steady production. Busan was the KL’s top seed in 2020 and 2021, but suffered a first round loss in 2020 and a KLCS defeat in 2021. The Blue Jays then were a one-and-done wild card in 2022.

Busan broke through with back-to-back Korea League pennants in 2023-24. They were denied the EAB Championship in 2023 by Fukuoka and by Sapporo in 2024. The Blue Jays finished 10-9 in the 2023 Baseball Grand Championship and 6-13 in 2024. For his BGC efforts, Hu had a 3-3 record and 2.75 ERA over 55.2 innings with 60 strikeouts and 0.2 WAR.

Much like his regular season metrics, Hu was never incredible in the playoffs, but was reliably solid. Over 99 innings for the Blue Jays, he had a 3.09 ERA, 5-5 record, 96 strikeouts, 9 walks, 121 ERA+, 89 FIP-, and 1.9 WAR. Busan again had the top seed in 2025 and 2026, but lost both years in the divisional series. The 2026 failure was especially depressing, as they had finished the regular season at an impressive 119-43.

In 2026, Hu was split between a starting and relief role, posting a 20-6 record, 16 saves, and 167 strikeouts over 185.1 innings. This did give him a career-best 2.33 ERA. Hu seemed like he could hang around a bit longer, but opted to retire that winter at age 37. Busan quickly retired his #16 uniform for his role in two Korea League titles. With the Blue Jays, Hu had a 153-73 record, 3.04 ERA, 2030.2 innings, 2123 strikeouts, 240 walks, 124 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 47.7 WAR.

Hu finished with a 244-129 record, 3.06 ERA, 3350 innings, 3622 strikeouts, 467 walks, 283/438 quality starts, 43 complete games, 13 shutouts, 123 ERA+, 78 FIP, and 78.7 WAR. As of 2037, Hu ranks 20^th in wins, 71^st in innings, 38^th in strikeouts, and 52^nd in pitching WAR.

He was never viewed as the best pitcher in the league during his career, but Hu was as steady and reliable as you could get. Hu played a big role in Busan’s success and hit more than enough milestones that East Asia Baseball’s Hall of Fame voters looked for from starting pitchers. At 96.0%, Hu headlined the 2032 class for EAB.



Sadaharu Chiba – Relief Pitcher – Sendai Samurai – 71.5% Third Ballot

Sadaharu Chiba was a 6’4’’, 190 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Kawasaki, Japan’s eighth-largest city with over 1.5 million people. Chiba had very good stuff and control along with excellent movement. His one-two punch was a 98-100 mph cutter along with a curveball. Chiba’s stellar durability made him one of the longest tenured relievers you’d find.

His stamina was fairly weak even by relief standards, meaning he didn’t go beyond an inning too often. Chiba was a good defensive pitcher, but he struggled at holding runners. He wasn’t a troublemaker by any means, but you didn’t look to him for leadership.

Chiba attended Waseda University in Tokyo and was picked 48^th overall in the 2009 EAB Draft by Sendai. This was the 13^th pick in round two. Chiba saw middle relief with mixed results in his first two years, then moved into the closer slot from 2012 onward for the Samurai.

He thrived as Sendai’s closer, winning Reliever of the Year in 2014 and 2015. Chiba was also second in 2013’s voting and third in both 2016 and 2017. 2015 had his career best ERA at 1.23 and his best WAR at 4.3. 2013 saw Chiba’s best saves total at 42 and his most strikeouts (135) and innings (97.1). Sendai had been mostly terrible for the last 30 years, but found some success during Chiba’s tenure.

2013 ended a 19-year playoff drought and started a four-year streak as North Division champ, although the Samurai never won a playoff series. In eight playoff appearances, Chiba had a 1.98 ERA over 13.2 innings with four saves and 16 strikeouts. Sendai was happy with Chiba’s results and gave him a three year, $20,700,000 extension in March 2017.

The Samurai struggled that year to a losing record and were sellers by the summer, trading Chiba in early July to Hiroshima for two prospects. For Sendai, Chiba finished with 218 saves and 271 shutdowns, a 2.05 ERA, 587.2 innings, 737 strikeouts, 127 walks, 162 ERA+, and 21.5 WAR. He was liked enough by the organization to eventually get his #23 uniform retired.

Chiba continued on as a strong closer for the Hammerheads, taking second in 2018’s Reliever of the Year voting and third in 2019. He won the award for the third time in 2020, leading the Japan League in games with 82 that year. Hiroshima was the JLCS runner-up in 2017 and had a first round exit in 2018 despite the top seed. His 7.2 playoff innings for them saw a 3.52 ERA and 5 Ks.s The Hammerheads fell towards the middle of the standings for the rest of his run.

In total with Hiroshima, Chiba had a 25-24 record, 134 saves, 1.90 ERA, 313.1 innings, 387 strikeouts, 62 walks, 172 ERA+, and 11.5 WAR. By this point, Chiba was also a regular for Japan in the World Baseball Championship, splitting time as a reliever and starter. From 2013-27, Chiba had 28 games and 11 starts with a 10-4 record, 3.07 ERA, 99.2 innings, 121 strikeouts, 25 walks, 117 ERA+, and 2.6 WAR. Japan’s deepest run was a third place in 2019.

Next up was a two-year, $10,400,000 deal with Sapporo, where he was used in mid relief and a setup role. Chiba posted a 3.07 ERA and 7 saves in 120.1 innings with 139 strikeouts and 2.0 WAR. Now 34-years old, he joined Kyoto for a similar job for 2023. Chiba had a year and change with the Kamikaze, getting 13 saves over 99 innings with a 1.55 ERA, 128 Ks, and 3.2 WAR. In July 2024, Kyoto traded Chiba to Seongnam for three prospects. One of which was RF Mi-Chin Chun, who would go onto be a strong starter and Silver Slugger winner for the Kamikaze in the 2030s.

Chiba had a 1.91 ERA and 1 save over 28.1 innings with 0.8 WAR and 28 Ks for the Spiders, who went one-and-done in the playoffs. He tossed 1.2 no-hit innings in his one appearance, ending his playoff career with a 2.35 ERA over 23 innings, 6 saves, 22 strikeouts, 142 ERA+, and 0.5 WAR. This also marked the end of Chiba’s EAB career at age 35, although his pro career wasn’t done yet.

For the next four years, Chiba bounced around as a back-end reliever in Major League Baseball. He tossed 34.2 innings for Quebec City in 2025, who signed him to a two-year, $14,400,000 deal. The Nordiques sent him to Raleigh in an offseason trade, but he was cut in April despite 5.1 scoreless innings for the Raptors. Chiba finished the season with Louisville, but struggled to a 5.77 ERA over 34.1 innings.

Chiba tossed 52 good innings for Ottawa with a 2.42 ERA in 2027 and spent some time in an opener role. He had a respectable 3.11 ERA in 46.1 innings with Columbus in 2028. For 2029, Chiba tossed 10.2 innings with Charlotte before getting cut in July. Washington grabbed him later that month, but he never reached the big leagues for them. Chiba retired that winter at age 40, finishing his MLB tenure with a 3.58 ERA, 9-7 record, 183.1 innings, 134 strikeouts, 37 walks, 113 ERA+, and 3.3 WAR.

In EAB, Chiba finished with a 90-79 record, 373 saves, 509 shutdowns, 2.07 ERA, 1148.2 innings, 1419 strikeouts, 240 walks, 161 ERA+, 59 FIP- and 39.1 WAR. As of 2037, Chiba ranks 12^th in saves and 9^th in games pitched. He’s 8^th in strikeouts and 7^th in WAR among the Hall of Fame closers in East Asia Baseball history. Chiba didn’t stand out amongst that group, but he also wasn’t the weakest.

Three Reliever of the Year awards went a long way, as did 373 saves. That hadn’t been a magic number though, as Geon Byung had missed the cut even with 404 saves. Chiba did some credit for his MLB tenure, finishing his full pro career with a 99-86 record, 373 saves, 535 shutdowns, 2.28 ERA, 1092 games, 1332 innings, 1553 strikeouts, 277 walks, 152 ERA+, 61 FIP-, and 42.3 WAR.

On the world leaderboards as of 2037, Chiba is 38^th in shutdowns and 12^th in appearances. There’s certainly something to be said for longevity, but detractors dismissed Chiba as a compiler. Still, he was regularly in the ROTY conversation during his peak Sendai and Hiroshima campaigns. Chiba just missed the 66% requirement with 64.4% and 62.5% in his first two ballots. On his third try for 2032, Chiba won over enough voters to get across the line at 71.5% for a third ballot induction.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

After more than 100 seasons, Beisbol Sudamerica finally inducted its first catcher into the Hall of Fame. The voters were so stubborn that it took arguably the greatest catcher in baseball history to do it with Cierco Lugo at 94.1%. SS Tajo Rios joined him in the 2032 class on the first ballot at 85.0%. The best returners were LF Sam Rubio at 57.3% on his second ballot and 2B Franklin Chapman with 52.6% on his fourth go; both short of the 66% requirement. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots in 2032.



Cicero Lugo – Catcher – Santiago Saints – 94.1% First Ballot

Cicero Lugo was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting catcher from Cochabamba, the fourth-largest city in Bolivia with about 630,000 inhabitants. He had a well-rounded bat for any position, but especially stood out as a catcher. Lugo was a rock solid contact hitter with a reliably impressive pop in his bat. His 162 game average got you 31 home runs, 32 doubles, and 5 triples. Lugo had an above average eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts.

Lugo was especially strong facing right-handed pitching with a career .987 OPS and 172 wRC+. He wasn’t a scrub facing lefties though with a .790 OPS and 122 wRC+. As expected though as a catcher, Lugo was a very slow and clunky baserunner. If a team found a catcher that could bat, that usually meant sacrificing defense. But that wasn’t the case for Lugo, who graded as a reliably above average to good defensive catcher.

His impressive durability really put him over the top, playing 126 games each year from 2007-25. Lugo is one of a select few catchers in baseball history to play 20+ seasons and to still be productive into his 40s. He had a tireless work ethic and unwavering loyalty. Lugo was a bit simple when it comes to non-baseball affairs, but he was a truly endearing fan favorite. He became one of South America’s most universally beloved players and was recognized worldwide as potentially the best ever behind the plate.

In January 2001, Lugo moved from Bolivia to Chile on a developmental deal with Santiago. Little did he know that all 23 of his pro seasons would be with the Saints. Lugo very much became a Chilean icon and idol in the capital, but he was also beloved back home in his native Bolivia. He was also very vocal in supporting an expansion team for his home city Cochabamba, who earned a franchise in 2029. From 2004-26, Lugo regularly returned to Bolivia for the World Baseball Championship. He played 172 games with 142 hits, 76 runs, 33 doubles, 31 home runs, 87 RBI, .239/.322/.465 slash, and 4.5 WAR.

After three years and change in Santiago’s academy, Lugo was a rare 19-year old debut in 2004. He held a backup role in his first three seasons with 86 starts and 211 games. This was a rebuilding era for the historically strong Saints, who only made the playoffs once in the 2000s. Lugo had an increased role in 2007 with 126 games, 64 starts, and 4.0 WAR. He secured the full-time starting gig in 2008 and was good for 120+ starts each year through 2025.

Lugo had near permanent residency as the Southern Cone League’s Silver Slugger winner at catcher. He won the honor 14 consecutive seasons from 2008-21, then took it again in 2023 and 2024. As of 2037, Lugo is one of only five players in all of world history with 16+ Sluggers. He’s the only catcher and the only guy in Beisbol Sudamerica to do it. Lugo also knew to regularly book a flight to the All-Star game, earning that honor 17 times.

In 2011, Lugo was second in MVP voting and led the league in OBP (.413), slugging (.722), OPS (1.135), wRC+ (211), and WAR (10.4). Those were all career bests, as was his .366 average, 44 home runs, 107 runs, and 183 hits. Lugo holds the BSA single-season record for WAR, total bases (361), runs, slugging, and OPS by a catcher. Due to the fewer at-bats that come with the position, it was especially rare for a catcher to be a league leader.

Lugo also hit for the cycle twice in 2011 and is one of only four in BSA history to do it twice in one year. He’s also one of six in BSA to have 3+ cycles, also achieving the feat in 2014. Lugo wasn’t an MVP finalist after 2011, but he in total had 11 seasons worth 7+ WAR, five seasons with an OPS above one, ten seasons with 30+ homers, and 18 seasons with a .300+ average.

Amidst his near MVP season, Santiago signed Lugo to an eight-year, $82,400,000 extension. He made more history on August 21, 2014 in a four home run game against Cordoba. As of 2037, that is one of only 11 games in BSA history with four homers. Santiago returned to contention and kept re-signing Lugo as he kept performing. He inked a three-year, $42 million extension after the 2019 season and another three years at $63,400,000 after the 2022 campaign.

From 2009 through the end of Lugo’s career, the Saints posted only winning seasons. However, they had trouble converting that into titles. Santiago earned playoff trips in 2011-12 and 2015-18, but never got beyond the divisional series. After a miss in 2019, the Saints finally put things together in 2020. At 92-70, Santiago won the Southern Cone Championship over Porto Alegre, then defeated Santa Cruz in Copa Sudamerica.

2020 was Lugo’s best playoff run with 18 hits, 9 runs, 7 doubles, 4 home rusn, 14 RBI, 1.079 OPS, and 0.7 WAR. He was merely decent in the Baseball Grand Championship with a .778 OPS, 113 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR. Santiago finished 8-11 for the event.

Lugo wasn’t overwhelming dominant in his playoff career, but he was reliably good. In 89 games and 86 starts, he had 98 hits, 46 runs, 19 doubles, 4 triples, 13 home runs, 45 RBI, .295/.343/.494 slash, 130 wRC+, and 2.6 WAR. As if he couldn’t be more beloved though, he helped deliver the Saints their first Copa Sudamerica win since 1971.

Santiago eventually had a decade-plus playoff streak after 2020, but couldn’t win another pennant with Lugo. They lost in the 2021 and 2022 LCS both to Fortaleza. Santiago earned the top seed in 2023 and 2024 with 104 and 103 wins respectively, but lost in the divisional series both times. They had another divisional series loss in 2025 and first round exit in 2026.

Lugo continued to roll through it all, showing no signs of decline even through his 30s. In 2025, he became only the 15^th member of BSA’s 3000 hit club and the first in world history to get 3000 hits as a catcher. The year prior, Lugo was the first catcher to reach 1500 runs scored. After the 2025 season, Santiago gave him a three-year, $51,400,000 extension.

2025 had been a relative down year, but he was still good for 4.1 WAR and .800 OPS. Lugo finally looked more mortal in 2026 and was moved to a part-time role, getting 1.8 WAR and .736 OPS over 99 games. He retired that winter at age 42 and immediately had his #25 uniform retired by Santiago for his incredible 23-year career.

Lugo finished with 3061 games, 3139 hits, 1617 runs, 612 doubles, 91 triples, 578 home runs, 1697 RBI, 835 walks, 1647 strikeouts, .316/.368/.571 slash, 160 wRC+, and 137.4 WAR. As of 2037, Lugo ranks 9^th in games played, 15^th in runs, 14^th in hits, 14^th in total bases (5667), 3^rd in doubles, 35^th in home runs, 13^th in RBI, 49^th in walks, and 8^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Lugo’s .939 OPS is 83^rd and he ranks 95^th in OBP and 92^nd in slugging.

That resume at any position makes you an inner-circle Hall of Famer, but doing it as a catcher was absolutely unheard of. As of 2037, Lugo leads all catchers in world history in hits, runs, total bases, doubles, home runs, RBI, OPS, and WAR. The only other catcher in world history with more games played was EAB’s ****aro Onishi at 3161. Lugo was so good to even rank 90^th in world history in WAR among all players ever; the only catcher in the top 100.

It isn’t surprising that when you ask scholars who the best catcher in baseball history was, Lugo’s name is rarely not the first answer. Mason Wilkinson is the only other with 100+ WAR accrued at catcher, finishing with 116.2 between MLB and EBF. Wilkinson was a marginally better defender, but most agree that Lugo’s bat and longevity were more impressive. Some would favor Wilkinson for playing primarily in MLB and for winning both a World Series and European Championship, but that group is a minority view.

Amazingly, Beisbol Sudamerica hadn’t elected a single catcher into the Hall of Fame through 100 seasons. The anti-catcher bias still somehow held Lugo to only 94.1%, although it was still plenty for the first ballot induction atop the 2032 class. On top of widely being viewed as the best-ever catcher, some place him as Bolivia’s best-ever position player (although Antonio Arceo has a very solid case). Both are behind world strikeout king Mohamed Ramos though as the country’s top baseball product.



Tajo “Bugs” Rios – Shortstop – Trujillo Thoroughbreds – 85.0% First Ballot

Tajo Rios was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed shortstop from Ica, Peru; a city of about 282,000 people in the country’s south. The nickname “Bugs” came from his impeccable voice impressions of Bugs Bunny. Rios was a stellar contact hitter against both sides while still providing a solid punch, posting 33 home runs, 24 doubles, and 8 triples per his 162 game average. He was also considered average-to-above average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts.

Rios was a bit better facing left-handed pitching (1.020 OPS, 165 wRC+) compared to righties (.908 OPS, 141 wRC+). Rios was also a highly skilled and crafty baserunner, although his speed was merely good in his prime. He was a career shortstop and graded as a reliably average glove. Often times though, teams had to put up with subpar bats to get average or better defense, but Rios gave you an excellent bat. He would have his career limited by some major ankle injuries, but still managed a 14-year odyssey. Rios was generally considered a likeable teammate in his time with Trujillo.

His entire pro career came with the Thoroughbreds, who were still a newer franchise at that point having entered BSA in the 2009 expansion. Rios certainly stood out among Peru’s best prospects and was picked fifth overall by Trujillo in the 2012 BSA Draft. He was a full-time starter right away with good results, taking second in Rookie of the Year voting for 2013. Rios would win Silver Sluggers from 2014-16, then again from 2018-20 and 2022-23.

In his third season in 2015, Rios led the Bolivar League in slugging (.701), OPS (1.132), wRC+ (194), and WAR (10.8). That would be his career best slugging and OPS, as well as his best for OBP (.431), homers (44), and RBI (121). Rios took second in MVP voting and Trujillo finished 84-78 for their first-ever winning season. Rios was also a regular by then for Peru in the World Baseball Championship from 2013-26. In 133 games, he had 114 hits, 67 runs, 17 doubles, 25 homers, 61 RBI, .239/.321/.449 slash, and 3.4 WAR.

Rios had his first major setback in June 2017 with a fractured ankle. He had an impressive bounce back in 2018, taking third in MVP voting with 1.027 OPS and 9.6 WAR. Trujillo earned its first-ever playoff berth, missing the division title to Callao by one game despite a 101-61 record. They suffered a first round upset loss to 87-win Maturin, who went onto be the first 2009 expansion team to win the pennant. That winter, the Thoroughbreds locked Rios up to an eight-year, $86,740,000 to continue as the face of the franchise.

2019 was Rios’ finest effort and cemented his spot in franchise history. He won MVP and led the league in WAR (12.0), wRC+ (185), batting average (.392), slugging (.666), OPS (1.092), total bases (394), hits (232), and runs (120). The runs, hits, total bases, average, and WAR were career bests as was his 33 doubles. The season also featured a 31-game hitting streak that carried over from the very end of the prior year.

Trujillo won the division at 102-60 and won their first-ever Bolivar League pennant, upsetting 117-win Caracas. They ultimately dropped Copa Sudamerica to Recife in five games. Rios had a strong playoff run with 25 hits, 13 runs, 4 doubles, 5 homers, 13 RBI, 1.190 OPS, and 1.2 WAR. He would be merely okay in the Baseball Grand Championship with 19 hits, 14 runs, 4 homers, 11 RBI, .723 OPS, and 0.3 WAR in 19 games. The Thoroughbreds finished in the middle of the standings at 9-10.

2020 and 2021 also saw division titles for Trujillo, but they couldn’t get beyond the divisional series. They narrowly missed the playoffs in 2022, then plummeted to the bottom of the standings for the rest of the decade. Rios remained a rock solid starter for a few years into his 30s, but his time contending for MVP honors was finished.

In May 2024, Rios suffered torn ankle ligaments that put him out four months. That destroyed his defensive range and he largely was a designated hitter in his final two seasons. It also tanked his bat with only 0.7 WAR in 2025 and -0.5 WAR in 115 games for 2026. Rios retired that winter at age 36 and Trujillo quickly honored him by retiring his #19 uniform.

Rios finished with 1877 games, 2285 hits, 1126 runs, 281 doubles, 96 triples, 377 home runs, 1199 RBI, 485 walks, 1225 strikeouts, 537 stolen bases, .328/.371/.557 slash, 145 wRC+, and 79.4 WAR. As of 2037, Rios ranks 96^th in WAR among position players. He’s second among shortstops, although a long way away from Diego Pena’s 153.6 at the position.

Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Rios is 81^st in batting average and 82^nd in OBP. His .923 OPS is 98^th among all batters and leads all shortstops. While Rios’ grand totals don’t put him into the inner-circle level, you could easily argue that he’s Beisbol Sudamerca’s best-hitting shortstop aside from Pena. That earned him 85.0% for a firm first ballot induction into the two-player 2032 Hall of Fame class.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The 2032 European Baseball Federation Hall of Fame class was a big one with four players, led by world WARlord Harvey Coyle at a near unanimous 99.3%. 3B Ludevit Dano and LF Nico Tofani joined him as rock solid first ballot guys at 88.8% and 85.9%, respectively. SP Lorenzo Rotella also made it just across the 66% requirement at 66.3% on his sixth ballot.



1B Sisto Contreras narrowly missed with 61.6% for his second go. Also above 50% was 2B Oliver Bjerkli debuting at 55.1%, LF Emilson Patino at 52.5% on his sixth ballot, and CF Joris Kostic at 52.2% with his ninth attempt. No players were removed from the ballot after ten failed tries in 2032.



Harvey “Slug” Coyle – Shortstop – Oslo Octopi – 99.3% First Ballot

Harvey Coyle was a 6’1’’, 200 pound switch-hitting shortstop from Sittingbourne, England; a town of around 54,000 people in the country’s southeast. Nicknamed “Slug” for reasons never clarified, Coyle posted a remarkable career that places him at the top of the conversation for the greatest player in all of pro baseball history. His game combined generational power, strong durability, and one-of-a-kind defense.

At the plate, he had outstanding home run power along with good-to-great contact skills. Coyle’s 162 game average got you 52 home runs, 23 doubles, and 10 triples. He had ten seasons with 50+ home runs and five with 60+, and usually got you at least 40+ in the relative down years. Coyle was especially dominant facing right-handed pitching with a career 1.036 OPS and 183 wRC+. He wasn’t bad against lefties, but had a merely good .817 OPS and 128 wRC+.

Despite his power, Coyle was merely average-to-above average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He graded as a reliably average baserunner as well. Although he didn’t have blinding speed, Coyle’s range at shortstop was world class. On top of being one of the greatest home run hitters ever, Coyle is considered by many to be the greatest defensive shortstop in the history of the game.

His D was almost impossibly perfect and remained top flight even into his 40s. Coyle won 14 Gold Gloves and finished with a 1.132 career EFF. His 609.5 cumulative zone rating is the world record by a huge margin and he had nine seasons with a +30 ZR. Despite the physical demands of the spot, Coyle also held up physically remarkably well. Although he did have some injuries in his 30s and 40s, Coyle’s career spanned 26 seasons across four separate decades.

If there was one thing folks could hold against Coyle, it was his personality. He was never disruptive, but he considered very self-centered aloof. Some argued the lack of leadership played a role in Coyle’s lack of playoff success despite his remarkable talent. Still, when it was all said and done, Coyle was the world baseball WARlord and arguably the most valuable player in the history of the game.

Coyle played well beyond his years even as a teenage amateur, which caught the eye of numerous scouts. One of them was from Oslo and convinced Coyle to move to Norway on a developmental deal in March 2004. The vast majority of his career came with Oslo, but he became extremely popular throughout all of Europe and worldwide. Coyle spent only two years in their academy before debuting in 2006 at age 19.

In 2006, Coyle only played 82 games with 34 starts with decent results. He earned the full-time gig in 2007 and held it for the next 19 seasons in the Norwegian capital. It was his first of eight consecutive Silver Sluggers from 2007-14. Coyle won again in 2016-17, 19, and 22-23 for the Octopi. He was one of three in EBF history to win the award 13+ times at any position, joining Jacob Ronnberg and Theofilos Psarras.

2008 marked the first of 12 consecutive Gold Gloves for Coyle from 2008-19. He won again in 2021, becoming EBF’s only 13-time Gold Glover at any position. 2008 also marked the start of a remarkable seven-year streak as the Northern Conference’s WARlord, posting 12+ each time. From 2008-14, Coyle also led the conference five times in home runs, thrice in RBI, once in hits, five times in total bases, four times in slugging, thrice in OPS, thrice in wRC+, and once in OBP.

Coyle was second in 2008’s MVP voting, then won the top honor six straight years from 2009-14. At the end of the 2013 season, Oslo ponied up an eight-year, $142,200,000 extension to lock Coyle in as the franchise icon for the long haul. In 2010, Coyle set EBF’s single-season WAR record at 15.7 and had his career bests for hits (210), doubles (36), batting average (.366), and OBP (.424).

In 2011, Coyle was even stronger with 16.6 WAR, which holds as the all-time single-season world record by a position player as of 2037. When including two-way players and pitchers, this ranks as the 17^th-best season by WAR. Coyle had his career bests in homers (62), RBI (142), runs (122), total bases (44), stolen bases (45), slugging (.779), OPS (1.190), and wRC+ (234). The OPS ranks as EBF’s 11^th-best season and ranks 17^th in total bases and 7^th in slugging.

Coyle’s bat and insane defense gave him 13+ WAR again the next two seasons. As of 2037, he has the #1, #2, #7, #7, #11, #12, and #14 seasons for WAR by EBF position players. Coyle’s five 13+ WAR seasons ranks third-best in world history among position players with only WAB legend Darwin Morris (6) and ABF legend Nizami Aghazade (7) doing it more.

Prior to Coyle’s arrival, Oslo had generally been a lower-to-mid level franchise. He helped change that with six consecutive division titles from 2009-14 and another in 2016. However, all but 2013 saw first round exits and the Octopi only got to the second round that year. Coyle’s career playoff stats for Oslo were shockingly mid considering his normal output. In 26 starts, he had a .260/.306/.430 slash, 117 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR. This was the main thing detractors pointed at who felt Coyle was over-rated.

Coyle’s 2015 was weak by his standard, but was still good for 7.5 WAR with a .841 OPS. He was back to 12+ WAR and 60+ homers for repeat MVPs in 2016-17. Coyle’s 2017 had a career best 37.5 zone rating defensively. In 2016, he also was the conference leader in runs, homers, RBI, total bases, and slugging. On 8/1/17, Coyle hit for the cycle for the first time against Krakow. He also joined the 600 home run club later that month.

2018 saw Coyle’s first major injury setback as a separated shoulder cost him around two months. In 2020, shoulder inflammation and a fractured foot limited him to only 103 games. Still, Oslo gave Coyle a four-year, $65,100,000 extension after the 2021 season. That year, they had a wild card and a first round playoff exit. It was Coyle’s final playoff appearance with Oslo, who generally hovered around .500 to end the 2010s and start the 2020s.

Coyle led in home runs for the eighth time in 2023 and the ninth time in 2023. The 2023 effort was yet another 12+ WAR season along with conference bests in RBI (133), slugging (.737), OPS (1.112), and wRC+ (198). At age 36, Coyle won his EBF-record ninth MVP. As of 2037, he is one of only nine in baseball history with 9+ MVP wins. Coyle also hit for the cycle for the second time that year.

Even if Oslo wasn’t going anywhere, Coyle was soaring up the leaderboards. In 2022, Coyle became the third to reach 800 career home runs. He finished 2023 with 878 homers, passing Jack Kennedy’s 875 to become EBF’s career home run king. In 2024, he became the 6^th EBF batter with 2000 career RBI and the first with 900 homers. He also became the 12^th to reach 3000 career hits.

In the 2022 season, Coyle got to 169.0 career WAR, just behind Jacob Ronnberg’s 169.2 which had held as EBF’s best since 1996. Coyle passed it easily the next year and made his way up towards 200 WAR, which had only been reached twice in all of pro baseball history to that point. Jimmy Caliw, a fellow stellar SS who played from 1967-90 in OBA and MLB, was the leader at 214.0. Next was Mohamed Ramos at 205.1, the world’s strikeout king with an absurd 7747 Ks from 1931-48. By the end of the 2025 campaign, Coyle had just passed Ramos at 205.4 for the #2 spot.

Coyle had become more vocal about frustrations over Oslo’s increasing mediocrity, as the team fell to 71-91 in 2024 and 69-93 in 2025. While he was out of the MVP races by this point, Coyle was still reliably getting 7+ WAR. With one year left on his contract, the Octopi shocked many by trading Coyle in February 2026 to Birmingham for four prospects. Three of them did eventually start some games with Oslo, but didn’t end up as elite.

It was a stunning end to a 20-year run and left some bad blood between Coyle and Oslo ownership, leading to his #49 uniform never getting retired. Coyle finished with 2881 games, 3134 hits, 1844 runs, 409 doubles, 191 triples, 951 home runs, 2152 RBI, 780 walks, 2119 strikeouts, 473 steals, .298/.350/.644 slash, 173 wRC+, and 205.4 WAR. Although Coyle had taken a great liking to Norway, he did appreciate getting to return home to England.

Through it all, Coyle had been a regular for England in the World Baseball Championship. He silenced many haters who called him a playoff choker by winning Tournament MVP during England’s 2013 World Championship win over Ukraine. In that run, Coyle had 33 hits, 20 runs, 4 doubles, 14 home runs, 30 RBI, 79 total bases, 1.181 OPS, and 2.0 WAR.

Coyle’s stats were generally strong on the WBC stage, helping the English to a runner-up in 2011 and a fourth place in 2022. He took a break from 2017-20, missing the 2019 championship season. From 2007-16 and 21-30, Coyle played 205 games with 183 hits, 125 runs, 38 doubles, 67 home runs, 142 RBI, .261/.333/.607 slash, and 8.8 WAR.

Birmingham had just missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker game at 93-70 in 2025 and hoped Coyle could help them end a seven-year playoff drought. They were a respectable 87-75, but still on the outside in 2026. Elbow inflammation and other injuries limited Coyle to 95 games, but he was still excellent when healthy with 6.8 WAR, .993 OPS, and 169 wRC+. That ended his time in Europe, heading to free agency for the first time heading towards his 40s.

Coyle’s final EBF stats saw 2976 games, 3235 hits, 1914 runs, 425 doubles, 201 triples, 979 home runs, 2213 RBI, 805 walks, 2184 strikeouts, 487 steals, .298/.350/.644 slash, .994 OPS, 173 wRC+, and 212.3 WAR. As of 2037, Coyle is still EBF’s all-time WARlord and home run king. He also ranks 6^th in games, 6^th in runs, 12^th in hits, 3^rd in total bases (6999), 39^th in doubles, 2^nd in RBI, 61^st in walks, and 11^th in strikeouts. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Coyle’s OPS is 27^th and his slugging is 10^th.

That resume alone puts him in the conversation for being the best-ever in Europe, if not the world. Coyle’s closest competitor in the EBF debates is usually Jacob Ronnberg, who had more efficient hitting metrics and won multiple championships with great playoff stats. Coyle had him beat in raw tallies and while Ronnberg was an excellent defensive right fielder, it was impossible to match Coyle’s glovework. He finished with 554.1 zone rating in EBF, only one other EBF SS even made it above 300.

Coyle wasn’t done and wanted to solidify his spot as the GOAT with an MLB run (and the paycheck that came with it). He ended up signing a two-year, $55,600,000 deal with Ottawa for 2027. Strained hamstrings keep him out most of the summer and into the playoffs, but he still managed .968 OPS and 4.8 WAR in only 83 games. The Elks ended a four-year playoff drought at 94-68, but were one-and-done in the playoffs.

That year, Coyle hit 25 home runs, pushing him past the 1000 mark for his entire career, one of only six to do it ever to that point. He also passed Jimmy Caliw’s 214.0 WAR to become the world’s all-time WARlord. Caliw’s mark had held as the #1 spot since 1990. Coyle didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the second year of his Ottawa deal, but the Elks gave him a new two-year, $50,400,000 extension to keep him around.

In 2028, Coyle was healthy and looked like his prime self even at age 41. He stunningly led the National Association in WAR at 10.1 and hit 47 home runs, 105 RBI, and .947 OPS. Coyle earned a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove, but was third in MVP voting. This gave him 14 of both awards for his career and went down as one of the best-ever 40+ seasons in baseball history.

With Coyle’s resurgence, Ottawa finished 105-57 and defeated Indianapolis for their first NA pennant since 2003. The Elks couldn’t dethrone San Diego despite a seven-game World Series thriller, the reigning Baseball Grand Champion Seals eared the three-peat. Coyle was rock solid in the playoff run with 1.045 OPS, 1.1 WAR, 22 hits, 17 runs, 4 doubles, 7 homers, and 11 RBI over 17 starts.

Ottawa had the last laugh as they helped prevent San Diego from the first-ever three-peat as Grand Champion. The Elks took the world’s top honor at 15-4 with a fine performance from Coyle. He had 15 hits, 11 runs, 11 homers, 24 RBI, 1.062 OPS, and 1.2 OPS for the event. For many skeptics, this run cemented Coyle’s spot as the greatest player in baseball history.

Coyle was less dominant in 2029, but still managed 32 homers, .878 OPS, and 6.4 WAR at age 42. The Elks finished 104-58 and won another pennant, but again were denied in the World Series by San Diego. Coyle had a horrible postseason with -0.4 WAR and a .150/.203/.250 slash. He bounced back with a decent Baseball Grand Championship with .756 OPS, 125 wRC+, and 0.6 WAR. Ottawa very nearly successfully defended their title at 14-7, finishing in a three-way tie with Cape Town and Kharkiv. However, the head-to-head tiebreakers placed the Elks third, Killer Bees second, and Cowboys first.

Still at a high level, Ottawa gave Coyle another two years and $79 million. He finally looked mortal though in 2030 as he battled more hamstring troubles. Coyle hit only .706 with 96 wRC+ over 89 games. Before then, he had also still been an excellent defensive shortstop, but Coyle graded as actively below average in 2030. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria and was a free agent again for 2031.

With Ottawa, Coyle played 450 games with 455 hits, 253 runs, 61 doubles, 17 triples, 113 home runs, 286 RBI, 114 walks, .282/.336/.550 slash, 144 wRC+, and 22.5 WAR. That’s an impressive four years for anyone, but is especially remarkable when it was almost exclusively in your 40s. Coyle showed he could hang in the biggest league and finally got some postseason hardware with two National Association pennants and a Grand Champion ring.

Coyle still felt like he had something to offer and his name still carried some currency. He ended up finding a home in the Oceania Baseball Association with Port Moresby at three years and $23,700,000. Sadly, he suffered a torn PCL in his fourth game with the Mud Hens that ended his season. Coyle was 5-11 there and got one RBI, putting him at an even 2500 for his combined pro career as the fifth-ever to reach that threshold. He retired that winter at age 44 after an incredible 26 seasons.

The grand totals for his pro career: 3430 games, 3695 hits, 2167 runs, 487 doubles, 218 triples, 1092 home runs, 2500 RBI, 919 walks, 2561 strikeouts, 504 steals, .296/.349/.632 slash, 169 wRC+, and 234.9 WAR. As of 2037, Coyle is the world’s WARlord and ranks 2^nd in homers only behind Majed Darwish’s 1271. Coyle is also 5^th in RBI, 14^th in games, 15^th in runs scored, and 27^th in hits. Among world Hall of famers, Coyle’s slugging ranks 34^th.

Those incredible batting tallies alone put him in the conversation for best ever, but you have to remember Coyle also was arguably the greatest defensive shortstop ever. The few who might have been better in short bursts didn’t have the insane longevity.

Coyle started all but five of his 3150 starts at SS, with the other five at DH. He had a career 609.5 zone rating, 1.132 EFF, 15,104 total chances, 4612 putouts, 10,205 assists, 1364 double plays, 287 errors, and a .981 fielding percentage. Coyle is the world leader for assists and zone rating, notably the only player at any position with a ZR above 500.

When you add that all up, is Harvey Coyle the greatest player in pro baseball history? Wins above replacement says yes and is a stat that tries to quantify all skills across eras and positions. But of course, there’s no shortage of arguments about how that is weighted and its relative use as a stat.

The next closest guys on the WAR list offensively were also shortstops; Caliw, Aghazade, and Morris. Coyle has them on raw totals and defense, although the latter two had more efficient bats. Coyle’s playoff woes with Oslo could also be a black mark, since those three were multiple time league champs, but Coyle’s Ottawa run helps damper that.

Prometheo Garcia also comes up in the conversation, especially since his remarkable batting stats came in a far lower-scoring time in CABA/MLB history. If raw power is your thing and you don’t think defense is that important, you might pick the homer king Darwish. His WAR took a big hit despite his gaudy offensive stats thanks to playing DH much of his career. APB’s Binh Tang is also on pace to join the conversation if he keeps it up.

Of course, some might favor a pitcher as their GOAT such as Mohamed Ramos or Ulices Montero. Others love to site China’s two-way legend Chuchuan Cao, who seemed on his way to the 200 WAR club prior to his career-ending injury at age 36. Most agree that Coyle is the best-ever European player with only Ronnberg and Russian two-way star Igor Bury generally as the main challengers in that debate.

It is a debate that’ll never end and is a favorite of the biggest stat nerds and scholars. It is impossible to ever perfectly quantify thousands of players at different positions playing in different leagues across different eras against varied competition. Doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to argue though, right?

In any case, Harvey Coyle is professional baseball’s all-time WARlord and may never be dethroned. Understandably, some think he’s the best in baseball history. Naturally, that still meant he wasn’t a unanimous Hall of Famer at 99.3%, but Coyle headlined the 2032 class for the European Baseball Federation.



Ludevit “Hotwire” Dano – Third Base – Zurich Mountaineers – 88.8% First Ballot

Ludevit Dano was a 6’0’’, 200 pound switch-hitting third baseman from Sturovo, Slovakia; a town of about 9,000 people on the Danube and the border with Hungary. He earned the nickname “Hotwire” for his high energy and work ethic, becoming very popular in each of his stops. Dano was best known for having a reliable pop his bat, posting 37 home runs, 23 doubles, and 9 triples per his 162 game average.

Dano graded as a good contact hitter generally, but he was probably just below average in terms of walks and strikeouts. His stats were noticeably stronger facing right-handed pitching (.921 OPS, 153 wRC+) compared to against lefties (.758 OPS, 108 wRC+). Despite reliable home run power, Dano was quite quick and was one of the most dangerous baserunners and stealers in the game.

Defensively, Dano spent basically his entire career at third base, but he did grade as a mediocre glove man. While he did run into sporadic back and elbow issues, Dano powered through for a 20-year career. He became the third Slovak inducted into EBF’s Hall of Fame, joining hit king Jiri Lebr plus Branislav Mukusiak. Dano’s most famous tenure was in Switzerland, but many don’t realize his pro career started in Luxembourg. The Lancers signed him to a developmental deal in February 2005.

Dano debuted in 2009 at age 20 and had three years as a backup with Luxembourg, playing 195 games but starting only 11. He had a .800 OPS and 1.6 WAR over the limited sample size. Dano did notably go 4-11 as a pinch hitter in the 2009 playoffs with 4 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 homer, and 2 RBI; helping the Lancers to a surprise Northern Conference title. They ultimately dropped the European Championship to Marseille. Luxembourg just missed the playoffs in 2010, then lost in the 2011 first round.

Luxembourg couldn’t find a spot in the lineup for Dano and traded him in December 2011 to Zurich in a three-player deal. Dano again saw a limited role with only 73 games and 21 starts for the Mountaineers in 2012. However, he exceled in 2013 with 1.018 OPS, 7.7 WAR, and 40 home runs over 135 games and 117 starts. Dano won his first Silver Slugger and secured the starting job with Zurich for a decade. After the 2015 season, he would sign an eight-year, $107,400,000 extension.

Dano earned Silver Sluggers in 2014, 16, and 17 for Zurich. He was second in 2014’s MVP voting with a career-best 8.6 WAR. Dano was second again in 2016 and third in 2017, posting 40+ homers and 7+ WAR each of those seasons. Zurich was generally in the playoff mix even in the years they missed the cut. The Mountaineers lost in the Southern Conference final in 2012 to Vienna, then had a second round exit in 2013. They missed the playoffs in 2014-15, then started a six-year streak in 2016.

2016 was Dano’s finest moment in the minds of most Zurich fans and secured his spot in Mountaineers lore. They won the division at 93-69 and went all the way to the European Championship, defeating Amsterdam for their third-ever title. Dano was finals MVP and in 19 playoff starts had 29 hits, 15 runs, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers, 14 RBI, 11 steals, 1.166 OPS, and 1.6 WAR.

He was even more dominant in the Baseball Grand Championship, which saw Zurich finish 12-7, one game off the top spot. They officially placed fourth, tying at 12-7 with Kansas City and Hanoi. Dano had 23 hits, 21 runs, 17 home runs, 23 RBI, 1.388 OPS, and 2.1 WAR. He set the BGC record for home runs, which would only be matched once in the following two decades. Dano’s 75 total bases was also an event record which held until 2030.

That run alone cemented Dano being considered a top-tier playoff performer. However, he was actually mostly mediocre most other years. Despite the 2016 stats, Dano’s career playoff stats with Zurich saw a .737 OPS, 98 wRC+, and 1.1 WAR over 74 games with 69 hits, 35 runs, 11 doubles, 7 triples, 10 homers, 35 RBI, and 27 steals.

The Mountaineers had first round exits in 2017 and 2018 with Dano missing much of 2018 to biceps tendinitis. Zurich then went 105-57 in 2019 and won another conference pennant, falling to Hamburg in the European Championship. Dano led the conference with 127 RBI that year, but struggled in the playoff run with a .625 OPS over 18 starts. However, he did play well in that year’s BGC with 18 hits, 12 runs, 8 homers, 13 RBI, .938 OPS, and 1.0 WAR. The Mountaineers finished 11-8 in a tie for fifth place.

Dano was also a regular for his native Slovakia in the World Baseball Championship from 2012-30, helping them to a national-beset third place finish in 2017. Over 174 games, Dano had 143 hits, 86 runs, 35 doubles, 35 home runs, 84 RBI, .233/.297/.465 slash, and 5.1 WAR.

After the 2019 season, Dano opted out of his Zurich deal to test free agency at age 31. He spent a month on the market before ultimately returning to the Mountaineers for $70,100,000 over five years. Zurich went 103-59 in 2020, but was upset in the conference finals by Munich. The Mountaineers had a first round exit in 2021, a near playoff miss in 2022, and a second round exit in 2023.

Dano remained a very strong starter in his early 30s, but was now getting around 5-6 WAR instead of the 7-8 WAR during his MVP candidate prime. To his surprise, Zurich voided the team option in his contract, sending Dano to free agency after the 2023 season at age 35. He maintained a strong bond with the Swiss fans and the organization would later retire his #83 uniform for his efforts. With Zurich, Dano had 1687 games, 1907 hits, 1148 runs, 271 doubles, 100 triples, 426 home runs, 1048 RBI, 716 steals, .303/.340/.581 slash, 152 wRC+, and 73.4 WAR.

Zagreb gave him a three-year, $55,800,000 deal to come to Croatia. The Gulls were on a four-year playoff streak, but had suffered disappointing conference finals defeats in 2021 and 2023 despite 108 and 113 win seasons, respectively. Dano came in with his expected solid production in 2024, but was subpar in the playoffs with a .617 OPS. Zagreb went 104-58, but was ousted again in the conference finals this time by Chisinau.

Dano had a shocking resurgence in 2025 at age 36, posting conference and career bests in homers (55) and runs (124). He also led in WAR at 8.5 and had a career-best 129 RBI. To that point, Dano’s only time as a league leader was for RBI in 2019. This earned him his lone MVP and his fifth Silver Slugger. Zagreb took the top seed at 108-54, but had a shocking one-and-done in the second round to Dano’s former team Zurich.

The fountain of youth didn’t last as 2026 was Dano’s worst full season in EB, posting .743 OPS and 1.2 WAR in 139 games. Zagreb did get back to the conference final as a 94-win wild card, but were denied by Munich. Overall, Dano had a .739 OPS, 101 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR over 26 playoff games with the Gulls. It was a solid run on the whole though with 451 games, 458 hits, 267 runs, 55 doubles, 32 triples, 109 home runs, 306 RBI, .276/.308/.545 slash, 137 wRC+, and 15.0 WAR. Zagreb fans couldn’t help but still love the fan favorite Dano for his efforts.

European teams felt he was washed, but Dano hoped to still play somewhere. He ended up in Australia on a two-year, $12,200,000 deal for Gold Coast of the Oceania Baseball Association. Dano was worth 2.0 WAR over 139 games in 2027 for the Kangaroos with 30 homers, .710 OPS, and 94 wRC+. He was traded in the offseason to Honolulu for two prospects.

Injuries kept him out chunks of 2028, posting 1.5 WAR and .710 OPS over 108 games. The Honu took the top spot in the Pacific League at 110-52, but fell in the finale to Sydney. Dano went 4-15 for the series with one double and one run. He then spent 2029 with Brisbane with 1.7 WAR, .761 OPS, and 114 wRC+ over 112 games and 74 starts.

He hoped to still play in 2030, but didn’t see the field apart from one final WBC with Slovakia. After going unsigned, Dano retired in the winter of 2030 at age 42. In his three OBA seasons, Dano had 359 games, 292 hits, 182 runs, 51 doubles, 65 home runs, 177 RBI, 97 steals, .232/.279/.444 slash, 102 wRC+, and 5.1 WAR. His combined pro totals had 2692 games, 2719 hits, 1630 runs, 385 doubles, 144 triples, 607 home runs, 1557 RBI, 981 steals, .289/.326/.554 slash, 142 wRC+, and 95.1 WAR.

Just in EBF, Dano ended with 2333 games, 2427 hits, 1448 runs, 334 doubles, 134 triples, 542 homers, 1380 RBI, 433 walks, 1672 strikeouts, 884 steals, .297/.333/.570 slash, 148 wRC+, and 90.0 WAR. As of 2037, Dano ranks 61^st in hits, 37^th in runs, 35^th in homers, 61^st in RBI, 34^th in steals, 49^th in total bases (4655), 76^th in strikeouts, and 53^rd in WAR among position players.

Dano isn’t in the inner-circle level of Hall of Famers, but he was remarkably steady and was arguably the best third baseman in Europe during his peak. Even with iffy career playoff stats on the whole, his role in Zurich’s 2016 championship and his tear in that year’s Baseball Grand Championship really cemented Dano’s spot in history. At 88.8%, he was the second of four inductees for the European Baseball Federation’s 2032 class.