Baseball: The World's Game

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China entered the 2041 World Championship at 6-6 all-time in the finals, although they had a two-decade cold streak since their last title in 2016 over Venezuela. Their other wins were 1970 (vs. Russia), 1979 (vs. Nigeria), 1993 (vs. India), 1994 (vs. the United States), and 2002 (vs. the USA). France was 1-2 in the finals with their run of success in the 2020s. The French won their lone title over the Americans in 2024, then lost in 2026 to Austria and 2027 to Bulgaria.

The Chinese opened with a 12-4 win, getting a two home run, five RBI day from Yi Zhao. France countered 6-1 in game two with 7.1 strong innings from Joris Cousin. In game three, Bucky Hein narrowly outdueled Justin Douchez for a 2-1 pitcher’s duel win for China. The French fought back with big bats 9-5 in game four.

Game five went 11 innings with a 4-3 walkoff win for France on a sacrifice fly by Diongolo Ganame, a dual Ivorian-French national. China answered with a combined three-hitter for a 3-1 result in game six, sending the championship to game seven for back-to-back years.

Pitching won the day for China in game seven with Bucky Hein tossing seven innings with one run, three hits, and eight strikeouts. Renjie Zhang pitched the final two innings perfect with four strikeouts as the Chinese held on 5-1. China’s seven world titles places them third behind the US (49) and Canada (8).



China’s top performer offensively by WAR was C Te Liu with 2.3 WAR, a 1.107 OPS, 35 hits, 24 runs, 10 homers, and 28 RBI. He only narrowly missed out on MVP honors. 3B Peng Zhang had 1.9 WAR, .993 OPS, 32 hits, 27 runs, 11 homers, and 29 RBI. LF Yi Zhao led the power output with 19 homers, 1.8 WAR, 1.002 OPS, 33 hits, 28 runs, and 33 RBI. Chinas 220 runs scored were the second-most in WBC history and their 318 hits the third-best. Their pitching staff also posted the third-most strikeouts (522) and tied the record for saves (17).

Bucky Hein became only the second pitcher in World Baseball Championship history to record eight wins, joining Abdullahi Ali from 2039. He was 8-0 over 57.2 innings with 1.09 ERA, 79 strikeouts, 329 ERA+, 29 FIP-, and 3.1 WAR. The 32-year old’s WAR was the sixth-best by a pitcher in WBC history. Hein was a four-time Pitcher of the Year with Guangzhou, but left Chinese League Baseball for Africa in 2041 on a six-year, $172,800,000 deal with Cape Town.

It was not Hein who won Best Pitcher for the event, but closer Zuqing Wei with 16 saves, tying the event record set the prior year by Zane Ogden. Wei had 20 games, one short of Ogden’s record, posting a 0.59 ERA over 30.1 innings, 72 strikeouts, 606 ERA+, and 2.4 WAR. The 27-year old lefty was entering his sixth season for Dongguan.



Tournament MVP ended up going to Austria’s Michael Weiner, who was an MVP in the European Second League the prior year to help Lyon earn a promotion. The 25-year old lefty in 26 games had 39 hits, 24 runs, 8 doubles, 14 home runs, 29 RBI, .394/.451/.899 slash, 283 wRC+, and 2.6 WAR.





Other notes: There were 12 no-hitters in the 2041 WBC, but notably three perfect games, bringing the overall total to 18 perfectos in WBC history. Two happened on January 5 with Iraq’s Abdul Muhaimin Akbar striking out 18 against Hong Kong and Ivory Coast’s Sylvain Zinsou fanning 14 against Croatia. The third was January 18 by Madagascar’s Victor Fydelis with 14 Ks over South Sudan.



The expanded field and more games certainly creates far more possibilities for such milestones. Also notable was the 18^th-ever four-home run game on January 8 by South Korea’s Sun-Jae Cho facing Libya. Only the 28^th cycle came on January 18 by Kazakhstan’s Arif Abenov facing Switzerland.

On the all-time leaderboard, American Alair White (125) and Vietnam’s Binh Tang (123) now are the top two for homers in the WBC. Filipino legend Jimmy Caliw’s 121 had held as the standard since 1989. White now has 258 RBI, approaching fellow American Connor Neumeyer’s record 265. Tang is now #2 all-time in WAR at 22.08 behind only the US’s Morgan Short (22.94). Tang has the most games played in WBC history at 335, passing Jude Hoffer’s 327. Elsewhere, Iraqi Jamil Naima became the first reliever to top 50+ WBC saves, now sitting at 53.

Below are the updated all-time tournament stats. The world title pushed China into the #4 spot, passing Mexico.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

The biggest free agent contract of the 2040-41 offseason went to 25-year old 2B Noel Goulet, the reigning Caribbean League MVP with Santo Domingo. He stayed in the Caribbean on an eight-year, $357,500,000 deal with Salvador. This briefly made him the highest-paid player in Central American Baseball Association history. Later on, Puerto Rico re-signed CF Tulio Arias at $358 million over eight years to just beat him out.

Below are the top free agent signings from the offseason. PROGRAMMING NOTE: I accidentally forgot to take the snapshot prior to the season, so the info reflects these players from AFTER the 2041 campaign. I also forgot to take the snapshot of the top ranked players in the world entering the season; my bad.



MILESTONE WATCH

On the world leaderboard entering 2041, veteran players Binh Tang (3977) and Jamel Forsyth (3955) are both primed to reach 4000 hits for their combined pro careers; a mark only met by eight in world history. Tang enters his fourth MLB season at age 41 and his second with Houston. He’s also chasing the 900 home run milestone and approaching the top 10 all-time for runs scored and top 20 for RBI. Forsyth at age 44 moved to West African Baseball for the first time and Bamako after struggling in his fifth and final MLB campaign.

Entering his 20^th season with Orlando, Jackson Brafford has 922 home runs and 2309 RBI. He’s just behind Isaac Cox’s 929 homers and 2333 RBI to become MLB’s all-time leader. 39-year old Neil Hollinger meanwhile has 883 homers and 2130 RBI. After three seasons in Toronto, Hollinger joined Washington on a three-year, $117,500,000 deal. Both are close to 2000 runs scored, which only four MLB players have breached. Pat Eichelberger (802) and Will Desbiens (800) are both also climbing MLB’s homer chart.

ALB hit king Ahmed Yasser Basha (3825) could join the 4000 hit club as well. He missed all of 2040 to a broken kneecap, ending a magnificent 20-year run for Muscat. Basha was a free agent at age 40 and signed a one-year, $16,400,000 deal with Alexandria. He has 746 doubles, giving him a shot at passing Abdul Rahman Abu Hamal’s ALB record of 773. Basha is at 2011 runs scored, likely to move to #2 in ALB, but he’s still two good years from catching Nordine Soule’s 2162.

ABF home run king Sultan Han at age 41 has a shot at becoming the eighth pro with 1000 career homers, sitting at 975. He’s also likely to be the first in ABF with 2000 runs scored. Han has 3205 hits with a good shot to move into ABF’s #2 spot, although the top spot of Mehmet Fatih Canaydin (3696) is still likely three good seasons away.

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European Tier Three didn’t have any dominant teams in 2041, but you had a good chunk of teams in the mix for the four promotion slots into the European Second League. At the all-star break, it was Kosovo with the best record narrowly at 54-40. The Slayers collapsed late, going 1-9 in their final ten to finish seventh at 84-78. Nuremburg was another in the mix midway through the season, but ended up one of three teams at 81-81.

There ended up a three-way tie for first place between Florence, Turin, and Newcastle at 93-69 with the tiebreaker for the top spot going to the Fireflies. The Tanks notably ended the season on a six-game winning streak. It was the first-ever promotion for the Fireflies and Night Train. Turin had just gotten demoted to ET3 this year and made a quick escape. The Tanks had been in the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier as recently as 2037.

The #4 spot went to Montenegro at 90-72, just ahead of Sheffield (89-73) and Kyiv (86-76). The Mountain Goats held on after a good first half, while the Steelhounds had been .500 early and the Kings sub-.500. This was Montenegro’s second bump up to E2L (2032).



In the semifinals, Turin swept Newcastle 3-0 and Montenegro swept Florence. The championship went to the Tanks 4-2 over the Mountain Goats.

Other notes: Newcastle’s Hunor Csank won MVP with the new ET3 home run record of 54. Sheffield’s Duncan Kavanagh set records for OBP (.411) and OPS (1.024) while Gdansk’s Lukas Lesko set the doubles high-mark of 50. Kyiv’s Harley Lopes was Pitcher of the Year with new ET3 records for ERA (1.27), H/9 (4.81), WHIP (0.71), opponent’s triple slash (.157/.207/.227) and OPS (.436). Nottingham’s Joseph MacDuff had a new record for K/9 at 13.31.

[progen]

Glad you've been keeping this going. Great read! And like you, I still play OOTP25, having not made the jump to 26 or 27. Maybe with the next version, but I still enjoy 25 and it keeps me still interested in playing solo.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Originally Posted by progen

Glad you've been keeping this going. Great read! And like you, I still play OOTP25, having not made the jump to 26 or 27. Maybe with the next version, but I still enjoy 25 and it keeps me still interested in playing solo.

Actually believe it or not, this particular game is still on OOTP 22! I don't think the Dynasty Reports page used to be separated by game and they migrated a bunch others over. I'm glad you're enjoying this wild world!

The African Second League in its history had employed some unusual gimmick rules, leading to cartoonishly high-scoring and almost no strikeouts. Officials decided to finally scrap that and adopt the standard style of the parent African Association of Baseball. This still was a higher-scoring league on the global scale, but gone were league ERAs in the high fives/low sixes and batting averages above .300.



Bulawayo’s impressive 47-24 record after the all-star break allowed them to emphatically take first in the Southern Conference at 105-57. It was their first playoff trip since getting relegated back for 2036. Several teams were in the mix for the final playoff spot. Comoros had been right with the Buzz early on and used that cushion to finish 92-70, holding off Maseru (91-71), Mauritius (90-72), Bloemfontein (89-73), and Gqeberha (87-75).

For the Chimps, it was their first postseason trip since coming back to A2L two years prior. Although they fell short, it was an impressive rebound for the Monsoon after a last place 63-99 the prior year. In 2040, Nampula took first in the standings but failed to win the conference title to earn promotion. The Pheasants fell off in 2041 to 71-91.



Kigali obliterated the Central Conference field at 110-52, their first playoff trip since getting relegated for 2038. Bahir Dar at 94-68 took the #2 spot ahead of Brazzaville (91-71), Mwanza (88-74), and Zanzibar (85-77). The Baboons earned repeat playoff trips. The White Tigers notably collapsed as they were the firm #2 early in the season, but went 30-41 after the all-star break.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Bulawayo had the one-game bonus for the Southern Conference Championship against Comoros. The Buzz bested the Chimps 8-3 in game one, but dropped the next two by 6-4 and 10-7 margins. Game two notably saw all six of the Comoros runs in the top of the ninth inning and a four-run rally in the ninth in game three. Bulawayo countered though with 13-2 and 9-1 wins to advance, earning their second-ever promotion. The Buzz were in the African Association of Baseball’s First League from 2031-35.

Bahir Dar upset Kigali in game one of the Central Conference Championship 6-4. However, the heavily-favored Guardians took the next three (9-8, 8-4, 4-3) and had the one-game bonus to advance. Kigali returns to the top tier after a four-year stay in A2L.



Kigali opened the Second League Championship on 8-6, 11-0, and 9-6 wins. Bulawayo impressively rallied with five straight wins (8-3, 2-1, 8-3, 2-1, 9-4) to take the crown. The Buzz won it all with their previous promotion back in 2030.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

At the all-star break in the European Second League’s Western Conference, Luxembourg was first at 61-38 with both Rome and Toulouse at 60-39. It was a six game gap to the next team London, who ended up struggling on the back end for an eighth place 81-81. The Red Wolves fared the best of the top three, taking first place at 97-65. It was Rome’s third playoff trip in six years as they hoped to end a nine-year run in E2L.

Zurich had the strongest second half in the conference at 42-21, vaulting into the #2 spot at 93-69. The Mountaineers, one of the most successful European Baseball Federation franchises, had stunningly gotten relegated from the Elite Tier the prior year. The Lancers and Toads both finished third at 92-70 for the other playoff spots with Hanover (85-77) and Munich (83-79) the next closest. Luxembourg earned repeat wild cards, while Toulouse picked up its first berth since 2029.

Four teams were in a tight race trying to avoid the two relegation slots. Belfast had the worst start at 38-61 and couldn’t climb out, taking last at 67-95. Leeds at 68-94 was the other relegated squad, while both Bordeaux and Geneva narrowly escaped at 69-93. The Lagers lasted only one year before getting second back to European Tier Three. It was a sharp plummet for the Brewers, who were in the Elite Tier from 2037-40 and now will be in the bottom group for the first time.



Odesa went on a 44-19 tear after the all-star break to finish atop the Eastern Conference standings at 96-66. The Drifters had just returned to E2L after spending the prior 16 seasons in the EBF Elite. It was an eight game drop to second place Palermo at 88-74, who went 8-2 in their final ten games. It was the Priests’ first E2L playoff berth since escaping ET3 in 2038.

Dnipro led at the break at 58-41 and struggled to 28-35 on the back-end. However, the Defenders at 86-76 still made the playoffs in third, their third berth in four years. Bucharest also had a losing record after the break, but a 7-3 finish just barely got them to the final playoff spot at 85-77. Lviv and Donetsk both were 84-78, the former ending on a four-game losing streak. The Broncos earned their second berth in five years. The Dozers notably became the first ET3 original to post a winning record in E2L, as those squads have largely fared poorly upon making the jump.

Just as there weren’t any super dominant teams in the EC, there weren’t any completely terrible squads either. Vilnius (71-91) and Cyprus (74-88) ended up the worst two and relegated, while Tirana (75-87), Athens (76-86), and Riga (77-85) narrowly survived. The Trojans notably went 8-2 in their final ten games to avoid relegation. The Victory had just gotten back to E2L after spending the prior year in ET3. The Crush also lasted only one season in their second shot at E2L.

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In the Western Conference Round Robin, Toulouse took top honors at 5-1 to earn their second-ever promotion to the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier, having played there from 2021-24. Zurich and Luxembourg both were 3-3 while top seed Rome struggled to 1-5. They split their games with a 5-3 Mountaineers win and 3-1 Lancers win for an even differential. The Mountaineers were +6 against the other two while the Lancers were only +3, thus Zurich advanced via tiebreaker.

With that, Zurich’s stay in the European Second League lasted only one year, sending one of EBF’s most decorated franchises back to the top level. Toulouse opened the Western Conference Championship with a 4-2 win, but the Mountaineers grabbed the next four by 14-2, 4-2, 9-4, and 5-2 margins.

In the Eastern Conference Round Robin, Bucharest (5-1) and Palermo (4-2) prevailed while top seed Odesa (2-4) and Dnipro (1-5) were ousted. The Broncos earned promotion back to EBF after a five-year E2L run. The Priests had a remarkable rollercoaster ride, first getting relegated back in 2032. Twice, Palermo got demoted to European Tier Three, but managed to escape both times after one year.



Bucharest earned 1-0 and 6-0 shutout wins to open the Eastern Conference Championship. Palermo got game three 2-0, followed by a 3-2 Broncos win. The Priests kept the series alive 6-2 in game five, but Bucharest clinched 2-1 in game six. The finale went 14 innings ending with a walkoff single.

They traded wins in the Second League Championship with Zurich winning 6-2 in game one, then Bucharest 4-1, Zurich 1-0, and Bucharest 5-4. The Broncos broke the trend by claiming game five 2-0. However, the Mountaineers finished strong with 1-0 and 4-1 wins. Game six notably went ten innings with a walkoff RBI double ending the deadlock.

Other notes: Luxembourg’s Marceau Moine set playoff records for slugging (1.400) and OPS (1.920), minimum 20 plate appearances. He was the Western Conference MVP and leader in WAR (11.6), homers (56), and OPS (1.066). E2L’s 18^th perfect game came May 29 by Dnipro’s Radoslav Farkas with three strikeouts facing Palermo.

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The African Association of Baseball’s Southern Conference had a very tight field as Dar es Salaam was shooting for its seventh straight pennant and first place finish. The Sabercats had the top record at the all-star break at 57-37, but Harare was only two behind, Windhoek, Lusaka, and Pretoria were also within six games at the break, but those three teams ultimately faded down the stretch.

The Hustlers went 38-30 after the break while Dar es Salaam played .500 ball, allowing Harare to move into first place at 93-69. It was repeat playoff berths for the Hustles, but only their second time finishing first (2010). Meanwhile, Gaborone went on a 46-23 tear down the stretch after a lackluster start. The Golden Bears went 14-2 to close the regular season, ultimately finishing tied with the Sabercats for the wild card at 91-71.

Gaborone was looking for its first-ever playoff berth and had home field for the one-game playoff. Two solo homers in the top of the ninth gave Dar es Salaam the cushion to survive 7-5, keeping their playoff streak alive at seven seasons. The Sabercats led the conference in run differential (+164) and fewest runs allowed (689), while the Golden Bears had the most runs at 915.



Six other teams (Windhoek, Luanda, Lusaka, Durban, Reunion, Pretoria) finished with winning records. The White Sox were the closest in the wild card hunt at 87-75. Lubango at 57-105 took last place, going 1-9 in their last ten games. Cape Town was 6-4 in their last ten to get to 64-98, avoiding relegation to the African Second League. The Browns had earned their first promotion to the First League in 2038, but were unable to post a winning campaign in four years.



Leading Harare to first place was Southern Conference MVP Karl Hardrada in only his second season and first as a full-time starter. Hardrada earned 17 first place votes, while Reunion LF Elton Lamarque had four and Dar es Salaam LF Sebastian Malema had two. Lamarque notably led in OPS (1.079), while it was Gaborone’s Patrick Nzigire who was the WARlord at 8.5.

The 20-year old South African designated hitter led in home runs (68), RBI (168), total bases (423), and slugging (.709). Hardrada had 181 hits, 124 runs, 30 doubles, a .303 average, 1.057 OPS, 166 wRC+, and 5.7 WAR. Interestingly, the 6’6’’ righty was originally a prospect of Dar es Salaam, but was traded to Harare in December 2038 for veteran 3B Felipe Mariano. Now, Hardrada will lead the Hustlers’ effort to dethrone the Sabercats.

Dar es Salaam’s Sylvestre Mbiwa earned Pitcher of the Year with 15 first place votes. New AAB arrival Bucky Hein had seven first place votes with Cape Town and Reliever of the Year Jonathan Kabwe with Johannesburg had two. Hein was a former Chinese League Baseball star and played a huge role in China’s World Baseball Championship win. He was second in ERA (2.96) and WAR (8.5).

Mbiwa earned his second POTY, having also won back in 2037. In his 11^th year for the Sabercats, the 32-year old Central African lefty won the ERA title (2.91) and led with 22 quality starts. Mbiwa had a 17-4 record, 238.1 innings, 270 strikeouts, 152 ERA+, 67 FIP-, and 7.6 WAR. He has two years left on an extension signed in May 2038 worth $91 million.

The Reliever of the Year Kabwe notably became a three-time winner, having won in 2037 and 2040 with the Sabercats. He joined Johannesburg as a free agent for 2041 at age 30 and posted a 1.09 ERA over 82.2 innings, 31 saves, 109 strikeouts, and 4.3 WAR.



The Southern Conference Championship was a rematch of the prior year, but this time Harare had home field advantage and the one-game bonus. The Hustlers won the season series 8-7, but many still expected Dar es Salaam’s streak to continue. The Sabercats opened on a 5-0 road win thanks to a four-hit shutout by Cedric Samba. The 31-year old was a surprise standout, having only pitched 94 career innings prior.

Harare took game two 7-2, giving them the 2-1 series lead thanks to their built-in bonus. Dar es Salaam countered with an 11-1 blowout in game three, but the Hustlers won game four 5-3 to get on the verge of clinching. The Sabercats playoff experience paid off with an 8-5 home win in game five, then an 8-2 road victory in game six to win the series.



Dar es Salaam earned pennant #10 (1997, 2004, 27, 35-41), tied for the second-most with Johannesburg and Addis Ababa. Only Kinshasa has more Africa Series appearances with 11. The Sabercats are the second in AAB history to win seven consecutive conference crowns, joining the Brahmas’ eight-peat from 2006-13. 1B Ferdinand Rajerison earned series MVP, going 8-25 with three homers and five RBI. It was the third conference finals MVP for the 31-year old Malagasy, who also did it last year against Harare and in 2036 facing Cape Town.

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Kampala’s dynasty showed no signs of slowing down as the three-time defending Africa Series champs set a franchise best at 115-47. This was the second-best record in African Association of Baseball history, behind only Addis Ababa’s 120-42 in 2010. The Peacocks pitching set AAB records for strikeouts (1796) and K/9 (10.93). Kampala also set a Central Conference season attendance record (2,332,806) and had the third-best team WHIP in CC history at 1.097.

The Peacocks had the fewest runs allowed in AAB at 611 and had the second-most runs in the conference (883). Amazingly, their +272 run differential was second in the conference to Djibouti’s +312. The Berserkers had their own impressive 102-60 season, but they finished 3-9 in extra-inning games while Kampala was 10-3. Djibouti was AAB’s top-scoring team with 940 runs. It was their second wild card in three years, while the Peacocks’ playoff streak grew to five seasons.

Asmara and Mombasa were distant third place finishers at 90-72. Three teams struggled to avoid relegation to the African Second League, but Mogadishu (60-102) got the boot while Lubumbashi (63-99) and N’Djamena (66-96) survived. The Mighty Mice got pennants in 2027 and 2030, but had been stuck mostly in the middle-tier since before collapsing in 2041. Mogadishu had been relegated once in 2025, but made a quick escape after two years in A2L, followed by their stunning AAB title in 2027.



Hargeisa made its debut in the First League with a respectable 83-79 showing led by Central Conference MVP RF Merven Nair. He had nine first place votes and 253 total points, getting the benefit of many voters not wanting to vote a pitcher for MVP. Kampala’s Abdullahi Ali had another bonkers season as unanimous Pitcher of the Year and had 11 first place MVP votes, but only 247 total points. Djibouti’s Martin Kulatilaka (3) and Kampala’s Freddie Chirambo (1) also had first place votes.

In his top tier debut, Nair led in triple slash (.351/.463/.819), OPS (1.281), wRC+ (212), and WAR (10.5). The 28-year old lefty from Seychelles had 184 hits, 136 runs, 35 doubles, 66 home runs, 139 RBI, and 103 walks. Nair’s OBP was the fourth-best qualifying season in AAB history (502+ plate appearances), his slugging was seventh, and OPS sixth. On the world leaderboard, his OBP was 47^th, slugging 23^rd, and OPS 17^th. He’s signed through 2046 for the Green Eagles.

As for Ali, it was his seventh consecutive Pitcher of the Year, a feat only met in world history by CABA legend Junior Vergara, EPB legend Matvey Ivanov, and APB great Ching-Chen Yao. It was his fourth Triple Crown, fifth ERA title, and eighth consecutive year leading in both strikeouts and WAR. Ali joined Vergara (5) and APB’s Kun-Sheng Lin as the only pitchers in any world league to earn four pitching Triple Crowns.

Ali obliterated Yves Munyaneza’s AAB qualifying record (162+ innings) for ERA of 1.59 by posting a staggering 1.08 over 241.1 innings. Especially in a high-scoring environment like AAB, this was an absurd number for a starter. It ranks as the 29^th-best in world history, although the vast majority of those better were in the very low-scoring CLB or APB. The 29-year old Somali lefty had a 25-1 record, 416 strikeouts, 0.66 WHIP, 7.2 K/BB, 26 quality starts, 6 shutouts, 23 FIP-, and 15.48 WAR.

The WAR was narrowly behind his own AAB-record 15.49 from 2039. Ali’s 2041 WAR is the 17^th-best single-season by a pitcher in any world league and ranks as the 38^th-best WAR by any player in any single-season. The strikeout total was the fourth-best of his career, although he notably owns the top six seasons and eight of the top nine in AAB history.

Ali’s win percentage (.962), H/9 (3.80), WHIP, opponent’s triple slash (.127/.195/.192) and OPS (.387) were each AAB single-season records. The H/9, batting average, and slugging were each the third-lowest allowed in a qualifying season ever and the OPS was 19^th. 2041 also had his first no-hitter on July 8 with 17 Ks and three walks facing Mbuji-Mayi, setting the AAB record for strikeouts in a no-hitter.

Before his 30^th birthday, Ali has 101.8 WAR, a 173-39 record, 2.19 ERA, and 3302 Ks over 1945.2 innings. He’s already up to third in AAB history for pitching WAR and could move to #1 with another strong season next year. Ali’s also conceivably two seasons from 4000 Ks, which has only happened once in AAB thus far.

Along with his playoff dominance with Kampala’s dynasty, Ali is already arguably the greatest pitcher in AAB history. Ali is signed through 2047 for the Peacocks with an opt-out option after 2045. Also of note, Asmara’s Mehari Fikadu won Reliever of the Year for the third time in four seasons. He’s one of 11 to win the award thrice or more in AAB. Fikadu led with 35 saves and had a 2.47 ERA over 73 innings, 97 strikeouts, and 3.7 WAR.



Even with a strong 102-60 win season for Djibouti, Kampala was a heavy favorite in the Central Conference Championship. They had the one-game bonus built in and dominated the regular season series 11-4. Abdullahi Ali tossed a two-hitter with 13 strikeouts for a 2-0 Peacocks win to open the series. Kampala then took game two by a 5-2 margin.

The Berserkers kept the series alive at home in a 16-inning, 5-4 win in game three. However, Kampala won 6-3 in game four to clinch the series 4-1 and secure the four-peat. They’ve won nine pennants, having also four-peat in 2020-23 and won in 2018. Series MVP went to 1B Marlon Muianga going 7-14 with two homers and five RBI. The 33-year old Mozambican had won Africa Series MVP in both 2038 and 2040.

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The 47^th Africa Series was historic as the fourth consecutive meeting between Kampala and Dar es Saalam. Only once in all of world baseball history had the same two teams met four straight years in an overall final; Ahmedabad versus Ho Chi Minh City (1997-2000) in South Asia Baseball. Those two notably battled ten times from 1987-2000). Previously in the African Association of Baseball, Kinshasa and Johannesburg met three years running from 1998-2000.

The Peacocks also had a shot at a feat rarely achieved for any dynasty; four straight titles. They have had classic battles with the Sabercats, going 5-4 in both 2038 and 2039. Last year’s meeting was the most emphatic with a 5-2 Kampala win. It was Dar es Salaam’s seventh straight Africa Series trip, having beaten Nairobi in 2035 and Kinshasa in 2037, along with a loss to Mombasa in 2036.

Kampala had home field advantage and rolled 9-1 in game one with a complete game and 14 strikeouts for Abdullahi Ali. Their offense pushed them to a 10-5 win in game two. Dar es Salaam reversed the momentum as the games moved to Tanzania. The Sabercats won the next three by 5-4, 4-3, and 8-2 margins. Game four had a dramatic three-run bottom of the ninth comeback. Dar es Salaam was also down 2-0 entering the seventh in game five, then posted back-to-back four-run innings.

In game six, Kampala earned the first road win of the series 3-1 to even it at 3-3 heading back to the Ugandan capital. The Sabercats countered with their own 5-3 road win to reclaim the advantage. However, the Peacocks claimed game eight by a 3-0 margin to force a decisive game nine for the third time in four years. Ali pitched seven shutout innings, striking out 15 with two hits allowed.

In a back-and-forth finale on a beautiful 72 degree Friday evening, Kampala held on 6-4 over Dar es Salaam to clinch the four-peat at home. The Peacocks joined Addis Ababa (six-peat from 2008-13) and Kinshasa (1997-2000) as the only four-peats in AAB history. Kampala stands alone with the most Africa Series titles at eight thanks to their prior dynasty with the 2018 and 2020-22 titles. The Sabercats are now 3-7 all-time in their finals trips.



For the third time in four years, 1B Marlon Muianga won Africa Series MVP. He went 11-34 with three homers and five RBI. The 33-year old Mozambican was also conference finals MVP and over 13 playoff starts had 18 hits, 9 runs, 6 doubles, 5 homers, 10 RBI, a 1.224 OPS, 220 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR.

Adding to his accomplishments, Ali set AAB playoff records (15 IP required) for ERA (0.34), opponent’s slugging (.115) and opponent’s OPS (.302). He was 3-0 with a save in five appearances with 47 Ks, 26.2 innings, and 1.9 WAR. Ali is AAB’s career playoff leader for wins (12), complete games (5), strikeouts (231), and WAR (7.93).

Dar es Salaam’s Cedric Samba was notably 4-0 in his four starts, joining Ali and Iggy Fellows as the AAB pitchers to record four wins in a playoff run. Remarkably, the 30-year old Congolese lefty had been a nobody journeyman with only 94 career innings prior to the playoff run. The Sabercats’ Ferdinand Rajerison also notably moved to 70 RBI for his playoff career, tying Bawaka Ngoie for the AAB record. He’s 3^rd in homers with 27.

It was also four championships for Kampala manager Alan Brzozowski, who also led them to the 2038 Baseball Grand Championship. The 56-year old Polish skipper had been a forgettable reliever in Europe as a player, but was now a legendary manager. Brzozowski was initially Kigali’s manager with forgettable results from 2029-34, but has led the Peacocks since 2037 to the dynasty run. He’s won four straight Manager of the Year awards and is one of three with 4+ Africa Series wins. Both Orville Sneddon (Addis Ababa) and Alimayu Kiros (Kinshasa) have six rings.

Other notes: Paul Lambote remains AAB’s career leader with 4093 strikeouts, but two pitchers moved closer with Mert Seyoum (3976) and Lawal Deffallah (3931). Seyoum surprised many by retiring in the winter at only age 35, having led the league ten times in strikeouts. He was a two-time Pitcher of the Year with Gaborone and finished with a 179-136 record, 3.84 ERA, 2951.1 innings, and 69.6 WAR.

Defallah joined Johannesburg as a free agent in 2041 and had a 4.14 ERA, 216 Ks, and 4.9 WAR. He’ll only be 35 next year with a prime shot at passing Lambote. Defallah also has 230 wins, second only to Ernias Tadele’s 239. Ghebrezgiabhier Alemayehu also became the 6^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts. In his final season, Alemayehu finished with 3634 Ks, 88.1 WAR, a 3.70 ERA, 3118.1 innings, and 198-139 record. Abdullahi Ali and Rodgers Kaliati became the 14^th and 15^th with 3000 Ks.

Lubumbashi’s Djeke Ahmat threw his 2^nd no-hitter on September 24 against Kinshasa, becoming the 3^rd AAB pitcher with multiple no-hitters. Jaco Bereng became the career leader for games pitched with 951 and ranks 7^th in saves at 343. Atharv Andaka became the 10^th to 300 saves. 2B Kassim Nour won his 10^th consecutive Gold Glove. The only other AAB player with 10+ GGs is Destin Kette with 11 as a catcher.

LF Namir Jamal is approaching AAB’s stolen bases record, leading for the 11^th time in 2041 at 103. It was his second year with Lusaka with 2.3 WAR and he’s set to be a free agent at age 36. Jamal has 1672 AAB swipes, just behind Djibrilla Ousseini’s 1701. Jamal is up to 8^th on the all-time world list for steals. African Second League stats don’t count for all-time world leaderboards, but Jamal has 1997 swipes if you count his first four A2L seasons.

Stewart Khumalo became only the 2^nd in AAB with 3000 hits, although he still has a long way to go to reach Ousseini’s 3728. Jose Manuel Beirao became the 20^th to 2500 hits. In other hitting milestones, Abel Teklemariam and Lebogang Ntuka both reached 600 home runs on the same day, making it a 20-man club. Ferdinand Rajerison was the 30^th to 500 homers. Martin Kulatilaka and Lazarus Abraham became the 21^st and 22^nd to 1500 RBI. Kulatilaka also won his 8^th consecutive Silver Slugger at 1B.

Promotion/Relegation: Demoted to the African Second League were Lubango from the Southern Conference and Mogadishu from the Central Conference. Moving up into the SC from A2L is Bulawayo and Kigali will take the CC spot.

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2041 served as the next round of expansion for several leagues that weren’t part of the most recent expansions a decade ago. Among them was Arab League Baseball, who had been at 30 teams since 2024 with both conferences having three divisions of five teams apiece. Officials were generally pleased with that format and opted to keep it, but looked at adding a team to each division. This brought ALB to 36 total teams.

Most of the additions added a second team within a country which had one squad. The region had seen more cities develop the infrastructure required to support a big league club, especially considering the massive summer heat throughout North Africa and West Asia.

In the Western Conference, the Nile Division added the Sudan-based Nyala Narwhals; the Mediterranean Division introduced the Morocco-based Fez Fire Ants; and the Levant Division included the Palestine-based Gaza Greyhounds. In the Eastern Conference, the Mesopotamia Division added the Iraqi Kurdistan-based Erbil Barracudas; the Gulf Division included the Oman-based Salalah Schooners; and the Arabia Division welcomed in the Yemen-based Aden Apes.



The playoff format remained unchanged with the three division champs and two wild cards advancing. The wild card round remained best-of-three with a one-game bonus for the higher seed. Round two was a true best-of-three hosted by the higher seed, followed by the best-of-five conference championship and best-of-seven Arab League Championship. The schedule had no inter-conference games, which was a change from the previous 30-team format. Division foes met 18 times with six games against the rest of the conference.

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The reigning Arab League Baseball champ Cairo improved their record by four wins from the prior year, leading the entire league at 107-55. They repeated as the top seed in the Western Conference and earned their seventh playoff trip in eight years. The Pharaohs had the top run differential (+255) and led the WC with 903 runs scored.

Cairo has 28 playoff trips all-time and 24 Nile Division titles; both the best among Western Conference squads. The Pharaohs also set a new all-time ALB season attendance record with 2,149,201 tickets sold; breaking Jerusalem’s 2028 record of 2,141,275. Alexandria was second in the Nile at 98-64 for their third consecutive wild card.

Algiers got the #2 seed as Mediterranean Division champ at 101-61. The Arsenal had the best record in ALB at the all-star break at 62-29, but Cairo passed them for the top seed. Tripoli had the best post-break record at 52-18, allowing them to make up for a below .500 start. The Privateers were second in the division at 96-66 and got the second wild card. Aligers’ playoff streak grew to seven seasons with only one miss since 2023. It was back-to-back berths for Tripoli.

In the Levant Division, Beirut (94-68) held off Amman (90-72) to advance, giving the Bluebirds their sixth consecutive division title and ninth straight berth. Beirut led ALB with 601 runs allowed. The Aviators were six games behind Tripoli for the last wild card. The rest of the conference had a losing record as 2041 had the same playoff field as the prior year.



It was a dead heat for Western Conference MVP with Beirut 1B Ahmed Namil narrowly edging out Tunis DH Khaled Alami. Namil got 19 first place votes and 419 points, while Alami had 17 first place votes and 409 points. Alami notably was the WARlord (9.8) and led in runs (140), hits (234), doubles (63), total bases (495), OPS (1.198), and wRC+ (201). He also had 62 home runs, 168 RBI, and a .366 average.

Namil had him beat for raw power with conference-bests for home runs (79), RBI (169), and slugging (.776). The 79 homers were the fifth-most in ALB history and the RBI ranked sixth. It was also one of only 18 seasons in world history of 79+ homers. The 28-year old Saudi switch hitter had 206 hits, 138 runs, .340 average, 1.165 OPS, 198 wRC+, and 9.4 WAR. The 6’8’’ Namil signed a seven-year, $259 million extension the prior winter, locking him up with the Bluebirds through 2048.

Cairo’s Mohammed Al-Saudi won his third consecutive Pitcher of the Year and did so unanimously. He missed out on the ERA title to Abdul Muhaimin Akbar (2.54 to 2.80), but had the best FIP by a healthy margin at 2.14. The 29-year old righty led in wins (21-5), FIP- (48), and WAR (10.5). Al-Saudi struck out 317 over 235 innings with a 158 ERA+. He also tossed his first no-hitter on August 7 against Beirut with 15 Ks and two walks. Al-Saudi signed a seven-year, $260 million extension with the Pharaohs in January.



In the wild card round, Alexandria had the one game bonus, then beat Tripoli 5-1 to advance. Their divisional rival Cairo opened round two with a 6-5 win, but the Astronauts earned a 3-2 road upset in game two on a three-run ninth inning rally with two homers. In game three, the Pharaohs had to rally from down 7-4. They scored thrice in the eighth to tie the game. Then in the ninth, Hussein Allah had the RBI walkoff single for the 8-7 final, keeping Cairo’s repeat bid intact.

On the other side of the bracket, Algiers swept Beirut on 3-1 and 5-2 wins; making up for going 1-5 against the Bluebirds in the regular season. Over the last 20 seasons, this was the Arsenal’s tenth trip to the Western Conference Final. They most recently got upset by Beirut in 2038. Algiers’ last pennant came at the expense of Cairo in 2035. The Pharaohs notably were in their fourth WCF in seven years and had dominated the Arsenal 5-1 in the season series.

Cairo opened with a 4-1 win, but Algiers countered with a 3-0 road win on a combined four-hit shutout. The Arsenal then won at home 7-4 and 7-3 to upset the Pharaohs in four, dethroning the reigning champs.



Algiers now has six pennants, all within the last 16 seasons (2026, 28, 31, 33, 35, 41), becoming a regular power after mostly mediocrity in the franchise’s first 30 seasons. 38-year old catcher Amine Ghodbane was series MVP, going 6-14 with four RBI and one run. This was his first season with Algiers after previous stints with four other teams.

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Arab League Baseball’s Eastern Conference had quite a bit of parity with only six wins separating the top seed from the #5 seed. The big shock at the all-star break was Aden, one of the six expansion teams starting play in 2041. The Apes stunningly went 60-32 to start the season, well ahead of everyone with the nearest foe defending conference champ Riyadh at 54-38. Aden couldn’t maintain the magic, going 28-42 after the all-star break. But the big start kept them right in the mix in the final month.

The best records post-break came from Basra (45-25) and Kuwait (43-27) who battled for the Mesopotamia Division. Baghdad had been right with them early on, but faded for an 83-79 finish. The Bulldogs ended up as the top seed at 94-68 with the Whales the first wild card at 92-70. Basra bounced back after having their seven-year division title streak snapped the prior year with a losing season. Kuwait earned its second wild card in three years. Last year’s division champ Sulaymaniyah was fourth at 80-82. The Bulldogs’ 661 runs allowed were the fewest in the EC.

Riyadh went 8-2 in their last ten games while Aden was 1-9, including the Rats winning two of three in the final series. At 92-70, Riyadh repeated as Arabia Division champs. The Apes’ impressive start though got them to 88-74, good enough for the second wild card. Aden is one of only four expansion franchises in world history to earn a playoff berth in their debut season. The Apes outperformed their expected win/loss by +9.

Medina was in the mix and ended on a five-game win streak, but fell two short of the wild card at 86-76. Jeddah was third at 81-81 and Mecca was fourth at 79-83, ending the Marksmen playoff streak at seven seasons. The Mastodons have missed the playoffs in four consecutive years, but they have a run of winning seasons dating back to 2029.

The Gulf Division had Doha on top at 91-71, extending their playoff streak to 12 seasons. It is the third-longest in ALB history behind Jeddah’s 14-year run from 2011-24 and Muscat’s’ 13-year run from 2027-39. The Dash also had the conference’s best run differential at +152 and set a new ALB team record with 323 home runs.

Both Bahrain and Muscat were 86-76, five back in the division and two away from the last wild card. The Threshers led the division at the break, but went .500 after. Muscat led ALB with 915 runs scored and has an 18-year streak of winning seasons. Only Algiers’ active 19-year run is longer in ALB history.



Big power pushed Doha 1B Tarek Yousry to the unanimous Eastern Conference Most Valuable Player. In only his second year as a full-timer, the 24-year old Egyptian switch-hitter socked 80 home runs and led with 184 RBI, 141 runs scored, 530 total bases, and .802 slugging. The RBI broke the ALB single-season record, previously held by Wissam Magdy with 183 in 2027. It ranks tied for ninth-most in any single-season in world history.

Yousry’s 530 total bases were four short of Gilon Bassman’s ALB record 534 from 2027 and were the fourth-most in any single season ever. It was one of only 15 seasons in world history of 80+ homers, although fourth in ALB history. His slugging also ranked as the seventh-best in ALB history and was one of only 49 qualified seasons in world history of a slugging percentage of .800 or better. Yousry’s 141 runs were also tied for 11^th-best in ALB history.

In addition, Yousry had 242 hits, 46 doubles, a .366 average, .399 OBP, 1.201 OPS, 204 wRC+, and 10.2 WAR. The OPS was good for the 17^th-best qualifying season in ALB. Yousry was a scouting discovery by the Dash who debuted in 2038 with 56 games and four starts. He didn’t play in 2039, then had 133 games and 80 starts last year with promising results, although even his biggest supporters didn’t expect such an explosive 2041 campaign.

Basra veteran Yaseen Al-Wajihuddin won Pitcher of the Year unanimously. He previously took the honor in 2035 with the Bulldogs. The 31-year old Saudi led in wins (21-7) quality starts (24), and WAR (8.2). The 6’8’’ lefty had a 3.15 ERA over 254.1 innings, 316 strikeouts, 138 ERA+, and 67 FIP-. It was Al-Wajihuddin’s 11^th season with the Bulldogs and he’s signed through 2045. He notably started the year with a no-hitter for Saudi Arabia in the World Baseball Championship against Finland.



In the wild card round, Kuwait had the one-game bonus and beat Aden 11-6 to advance. The Whales started hot in round two with a 7-0 road win over Basra. The Bulldogs rallied in game two as Blake Giffin’s two-run walkoff homer gave them a 7-6 win. However, Kuwait completed the upset with a 6-3 victory in game three. This sent the Whales to only their fourth-ever Eastern Conference Final and first since 2024.

Defending champ Riyadh swept Doha on the other side with 10-3 and 4-2 wins. It was also only the fourth ECF for the Rats, who won their first pennant the prior year. Kuwait was 3-0 in their previous trips and had the same record as Riyadh despite being a wild card. The Rats had won the regular season series 4-2 and opened the conference final with a 4-2 win.

The Whales countered with a 5-4 road win despite Riyadh’s comeback attempt, as they scored all of their runs in the ninth. The Rats reclaimed the advantage with their own 7-4 road win, going ahead with a three-run ninth. In game four, Kuwait went up 9-1 after the fourth inning. Riyadh got seven back in the fifth inning, but there was no further scoring and the Whales held on 9-8.

Game five was a pitcher’s duel back in Saudi Arabia. Kuwait only had three hits in the game, but two were solo homers. Whales pitcher Hisham Momouni scattered six hits in 8.1 innings as his squad completed a 2-0 shutout to dethrone and upset Riyadh. Kuwait became a four-time Eastern Conference champ (2000, 09, 24, 41). Rookie SS Andras Kertesz was series MVP going 7-20 with three homers, six RBI, and five runs.

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The 52^nd Arab League Championship was the sixth finals trip in the last 16 years for Algiers. They had wins in 2026, 28, and 33 with defeats in 31 and 35. Kuwait was making its fourth finals trip with the lone win back in 2000 and defeats in 2009 and 2024. The Arsenal had home field advantage and began with a 4-1 win, but the Whales responded the next night with a road win by the same margin.

Algiers snagged a 5-4 road win in game three, going ahead on Zakaria Badwan’s ninth inning RBI triple. Game four was a wild affair which had the Arsenal scoring eight runs in the fourth inning, while Kuwait had an eight-spot in the seventh to tie the game at 10-10. It stayed there until the 12^th inning when a leadoff homer by Abdullah Doruklu gave the Whales the 11-10 walkoff win to tie the series up.

Game five was a pitcher’s duel with Kuwait’s Sergio Zuniga tossing a complete game in a 2-1 victory, giving up seven hits with five Ks. Back in Algiers for game six, Rashed Al-Enazi and Faysel El Alami tossed a combined six-hit shutout for the Arsenal. The 2-0 win sent the finals to game seven for back-to-back years. Game seven would be a gorgeous 67 degree clear Wednesday evening in front of 48,195 fans in Algeria.

Kuwait had the opening run in the second, but Algiers got three in the fourth and one in the fifth. The Whales got two back in the seventh, but the Arsenal added more cushion on a three-run seventh. Kuwait got a solo homer in the ninth but no more as Algiers held on to win 7-4, becoming four-time Arab League champs. They’re the sixth different team to win the ALB crown in as many years.



Finals MVP went to 37-year old 1B Samih Iddaoudi, who signed as a veteran free agent after two years in Tripoli and a decade in Beirut. He went 10-28 in the series with three homers and ten RBI. In game seven, Iddaoudi was critical hitting two homers for three RBI. Arsenal closer Faysel El Alami became the fifth in ALB playoff history with a zero ERA with 15+ innings. He tossed 16 scoreless innings over nine appearances with seven saves, five hits and one walk allowed, and 32 Ks. Also of note, Kuwait’s Abdullah Doruklu set an ALB playoff record with 29 hits.

Other notes: Both Kamal Qasim and Ahmed Yasser Basha passed Abdul Rahman Abu Hamal’s career doubles record of 773. They traded the top spot with Qasim ending the year at 788 and Basha at 787. On the world leaderboards, they rank 6^th and 7^th all-time. Only three players in world history have 800+ doubles with world hit king Fares Belaid the leader at 939.

Basha, ALB’s hits king, missed all of the prior year to a broken kneecap, ending a two-decade run with Muscat. He signed with Alexandria to a one-year deal in 2041 and had 2.6 WAR and .824 OPS, his weakest numbers since his rookie year. Basha is planning to return for 2042 and has 3989 career hits, shooting for the elusive 4000 hit club. He’s also at 2015 runs scored, 57 away from passing Nordine Soule as the ALB leader.

RF Nathan Nasreddine made world history with his 18^th Gold Glove, becoming the first at any position in any league to win 18+ GGs. Two others, EAB SS Jae-Won Park and OBA/MLB SS/2B Jimmy Caliw had won 17. The 42-year old Nasreddine played with Aleppo in 2041 with 1.4 WAR and 99 wRC+. He only has a career 47.3 WAR and 113 wRC+, but did cross the 3000 hit and 1500 run milestones. Nasreddine is the 15^th to 3000 hits and the 32^nd to 1500 runs scored in ALB.

41-year old closer Guillaume Mbimbiangoye had 38 saves for Tripoli in his fourth ALB season. Combined with his lengthy West African Baseball run, Mbimbiangoye moved to 513 career saves, becoming the 14^th in world history in the 500 club. The Gabonese righty is also a free agent, but hopes to play somewhere in 2042. Mbimbiangoye has pitched in 1131 games, the 7^th-most in world history.

In a bit of bad history, Tunis catcher Gabriel Gomez struck out 342 times, the most in a single-season by any player ever. The previous worst was Patrick Friese with 331 in the 1966 MLB season. Gomez had only started seven pro games in Mexico prior to coming to the Thunder Cats in 2041, who worked him to the bone. He started 160 games and was atrocious with a .281 OPS, -28 wRC+, and -8.2 WAR; one of the worst seasons ever.

Kuwait’s Tarak Kraouche had the 21^st four-home run game in ALB history on September 5 against Doha. Abdullah Al-Hafith became the 8^th member of ALB’s 800 home run club, the 6^th to 2000 RBI, and the 16^th to reach 3000 career hits. The 600 homer club grew to 30 with the additions of Alaa Khalil, Walid Habib, and Ahmed Yasser Basha. 58 guys now have 500 homers as Hamdi Bahri, Abdel Fattah Kamal, and Alaa Tawfik reached it in 2041.

In other hitting milestones, Elnatan Gold and Kerlos Sharaf were the 48^th and 49^th to 2500 hits. Walid Habib was the 39^th to 1500 RBI. 2B Mohammed Jamil won his 9^th consecutive Silver Slugger. In pitching notables, 36 now have 3000 strikeouts as Mostafa El-Awady, Ali Ibrahim, and Pete Doca reached the mark. El-Awady and Abdul Muhaimin Akbar were the 19^th and 20^th to 200 wins and Moayad Hayel was the 10^th to 300 saves.

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Tashkent had a dominant first half in the Asian Baseball Federation’s East League at 66-36, giving them a comfortable lead over Almaty (59-41) in the North Division. The two-time defending ABF champ and four-time defending EL champ Faisalabad led the Pakistan Division at 61-39 at the break with Karachi a close second at 58-43. Those four teams remained well beyond the other EL teams, but jockeyed for positioning for division titles and the top seed.

The Assassins saw the best back end at 43-19, while the Tomcats were a merely decent 33-27 after the break. Almaty emerged as the North Division champ and top seed at 102-60. Tashkent at 99-63 had the second-best record, but had to settle for a wild card. It was back-to-back division crowns for the Assassins, whose playoff streak grew to four seasons. The Tomcats are now on a nine-year postseason streak. Almaty led the EL in runs scored (704) and had both the fewest runs allowed (489) and best differential (+215) in ABF.

It came down to the final series for Karachi and Faisalabad for the Pakistan Division crown. The Carp won their final three games over Multan, while the Fire dropped their last three at Peshawar. Karachi finished 98-64 for repeat division titles, while Faisalabad was the second wild card at 96-66. The Predators at 87-75 were the next closest team in the wild card fight. The Fire’s playoff streak grew to five seasons as the EL had the same playoff field as the prior year.



Peshawar LF Imran Siddhu won East League MVP with 19 first place votes, beating out Faisalabad LF Rasiwala Batool with eight first place votes and Namangan 1B Lkhagvasuren Boldbaatar with five. Siddhu was in his seventh season with the Predators and led in runs (116), triples (31), total bases (406), slugging (.696), OPS (1.100), wRC+ (207), and WAR (10.1). The 31 triples tied ABF’s single-season record, previously hit in 2031 by Ishtaq Shahzad. The 30-year old Pakistani added 202 hits, 40 doubles, 34 home runs, 117 RBI, and a .346 average. Siddhu is signed through 2043 for Peshawar.

Pitcher of the Year was also competitive and went to Almaty’s Munawar Suhaib with 19 first place votes and 171 points. Tashkent’s Hakeem Idan was a firm #2 with nine first place votes and 134 points. Four other pitchers split the remaining first place votes. Suhaib was in his fourth full season and led in ERA (2.10), FIP- (66), and WHIP (0.84). The 25-year old Pakistani righty had a 16-5 record, 197.1 innings, 287 strikeouts, 175 ERA+, and 6.0 WAR. The prior winter, Suhaib signed a five-year, $73,300,000 extension with the Assassins.



Round one opened with Faisalabad edging Almaty 2-1, scoring both runs in the top of the ninth. The Assassins countered with 3-0 and 3-1 wins to take the series, allowing only three runs in both games. On the other side, Tashkent took game one 7-6 against Karachi, followed by a 6-5 Carp win. The Tomcats took control 8-3 to claim the series.

Tashkent opened round two on a 1-0 win over Almaty, getting a walkoff RBI single. The Assassins got the next one 5-3, but the Tomcats held on 7-6 to advance to the East League Championship Series for back-to-back years. It is the sixth trip ELCS in eight years for the Uzbek capital, although their only pennant in that run had been 2036.

The double-elimination portion of the bracket began with Karachi defeating Faisalabad 3-2 and 4-1. Thus, the Fire’s bid for an ABF title three-peat and EL title five-peat ended with a thud. The Carp began their next series on a 4-2 win over Almaty. The Assassins took the next contest 2-1, but Karachi claimed the finale 4-2 to oust the #1 seed. This was Karachi’s first ELCS appearance since 2026 as they setup a rematch with Tashkent.

They traded wins in the series with the Tomcats taking the odd-numbered games (6-3, 3-2, 8-2) and the Carp claiming the evens (10-5, 8-3, 5-0). Game one was a ten-inning affair. The trend didn’t break in game seven as Tashkent took it 7-4, becoming four-time East League champs (2000, 02, 36, 41).



The Tomcats have seven total pennants counting their three from Eurasian Professional Baseball. ELCS MVP went to SS Mustafa Karakaya, who across their ten playoff games against Karachi hit .459 with two homers, nine RBI, and eight runs. He was 2-4 in the finale with a two-run homer.

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Three teams entered the all-star break with 62 wins in the West League; Mashhad, Baku, and Tabriz. They battled amongst each other for the top seed with Isfahan joining the fight, as the Imperials had the best record in the second half at 41-20. All except the Blackbirds were stuck together in a crowded Central Division. The Mercury narrowly secured the top spot at 101-61, ending a six-year playoff drought. Mashhad was the top scoring team in the Asian Baseball Federation with 807 runs

Isfahan had a five-game losing streak to end the season, dropping them to 98-64 along with the defending WL champ Tabriz. Since 2030, the Tiger Sharks have won 89+ games each year and only missed the playoff twice, while the Imperials picked up their fourth straight playoff berth. Tabriz had the best run differential in the WL (+216) and the fewest runs allowed (579). Notably Tehran, a wild card last year, fell off a cliff to 69-93.

Baku was just behind that group at 97-65, but easily won the West Division. The Blackbirds returned to the playoffs after their 11-year streak was snapped the prior year. Baku has a 20-year streak of winning seasons, second-longest behind Almaty’s active 22-year run. Izmir (88-74) and Istanbul (84-78) were their nearest foes. Bursa, who had a dynasty at the end of the 2030s, bottomed out hard at 59-103.



Shiraz was underwhelming at 79-83, but they had the West League MVP in CF Hamid Rahnema. He earned 25 first place votes, while the remaining seven were split between Baku’s Mubarak Ashyrow and Kerem Efendi. Rahnema was only 21 and in his third season, leading in hits (202) and WAR (10.1) The Iranian switch-hitter had 104 runs, 51 doubles, 52 home runs, 120 RBI, .330 average, 1.064 OPS, and 198 wRC+.

In his Tabriz debut, Rinat Qasimov was Pitcher of the Year. He had 18 first place votes with the remainder split between Isfahan’s Mohammed Magomadov and Muhannad Mohammed, plus Izmir’s Jarir Rashid. It is a repeat win for Qasimov, who took it last year with Karachi. The 28-year old Kyrgyz lefty spent his first five seasons with Asgabat, then was traded to the Carp for 2039-40.

Qasimov hit free agency for 2041 and signed a big seven-year, $225,100,000 deal with the Tiger Sharks. The 6’8’ Qasimov was the leader in WHIP (0.95) and FIP- (64). He added a 2.62 ERA over 226.1 innings, 18-9 record, 289 strikeouts, 154 ERA+, and 6.3 WAR.



Tabriz had lost the regular season series 4-10 against Mashhad, but upset them with 11-5 and 9-4 road wins in the first round. Baku meanwhile swept Isfahan on 4-2 and 1-0 results. In round two, the Tiger Sharks took a pair of 3-2 wins over the Blackbirds, getting go-ahead runs in the ninth inning in both contests. Tabriz kept their repeat bid intact with their fifth West League Championship Series trip in eight years.

The double-elimination bracket began with a 4-2 Mashhad win over Isfahan. The Imperials countered with 8-7 and 3-2 wins to oust the top seed Mercury. Isfahan’s momentum carried into 4-1 and 3-0 wins against Baku. The Imperials earned their second WLCS trip in four years, having won it all in 2038. Their momentum again continued, opening the series on a 6-3 win against Tabriz.

The Tiger Sharks rolled the rest of the way with 3-0, 1-0, 7-1, and 2-1 wins to take the series in five games. Game three notably was scoreless until the tenth inning with a walk-off bases loaded walk. With the repeat, Tabriz became five-time East League champs (2019, 23, 34, 40, 41). CF Zakaria Javadi was series MVP, going 6-16 with a homer, three runs, and three RBI.

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The 57^th Asian Baseball Federation Championship was the first battle between Tabriz and Tashkent. The Tiger Sharks were last year’s runner-up, but had a recent title in 2034. The Tomcats lost in 2036, which was their first appearance in nearly four decades. Tashkent has two ABF titles from just after they arrived in the federation in 2000 and 2002.

The Tomcats had home field advantage and took the opener 2-0 on a gem from Galbuddin Sarar, who tossed a three-hitter with 15 strikeouts. They held on the next night 4-3, but Tabriz got on the board 7-5 in game three as the series shifted to Iran. Tashkent claimed the first road win 3-1 in game four, but the Tiger Sharks grabbed game five 4-1 to force the series back to Uzbekistan.

Tashkent clinched in front of the home fans 8-3 in game six to conclude a 38-year title drought. SS Mustafa Karakaya was finals MVP going 7-21 with four homers and five RBI. He went on an absolute tear, winning MVP in each round of the postseason. The fourth-year righty from Turkey in 19 starts had 30 hits, 17 runs, 6 doubles, 7 homers, 17 RBI, 1.288 OPS, 269 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR. Karakaya was only one run and two hits short of ABF playoff records.



Other notes: ABF home run king Sultan Han became the 8^th in world history to join the 1000 home run club, finishing the year at 1018. At age 41, the “Rainmaker” was still good for 43 homers, 135 wRC+, and 4.1 WAR in his ninth year with Hyderabad. Han became the 1^st in ABF with 2000 runs scored and is one of 47 in world history to breach that threshold. He also impressively won his 8^th Gold Glove at 1B.

Han is ABF’s leader in runs (2061), homers (1018), RBI (2307) and total bases (7157). He moved up to #2 in hits at 3323, although he’s still two good seasons from Mehmet Fatih Canaydin’s 3696. Han is also now #2 in doubles at 696 and could catch Petri Viskari’s 728 next year with a strong showing. He’s at 145.66 career WAR, 2^nd in ABF and #65 on the world leaderboard among all players ever. Han plans to return in 2042 and has two more years on his deal with the Horned Frogs.



Spring 2041 had ABF’s 29^th and 30^th perfect games. On March 27, Samarkand’s Ahmet Temel struck out five over 93 pitches in a 1-0 win over Bishkek. That was only the second start and 17^th appearance of Temel’s career. The next one was May 6 in a 1-0 Lahore win over Faisalabad by Mahomed Alam with 11 Ks over 99 pitches. Bursa’s Afa Ajaz had his second career no-hitter, the previous one coming way back in 2031.

Faisalabad closer Rashid Jabiri tied the single-season saves record with 54, previously met by Reza Sabir in 2036. This was tied for the 8^th-most in any single season in any world league. Reliever Jan Khaleel became the new ABF leader in games pitched 771, passing Sabri Erdelhun by one. Khaleel is at 357 saves, behind only Erdelhun’s 374 for the ABF record. In a bad record, Ankara’s Behrang Khayami set a new ABF worst with 61 home runs allowed, blowing by the old high mark of 49.

In other milestones, Artyom Masharipov became ABF’s 3^rd member of the 800 home run club and is one of 70 to reach it in world history. Rabbani Ghalib was the 29^th to 500 homers. The 2500 hit club grew to 29 members with Furkan Baran, Jamal Reza, Ishtaq Shahzad, and Masharipov each getting there in 2041. Mehrdad Azghadi was the 10^th to 1500 runs scored. Sergei Sobyanin was the 49^th pitcher to 3000 strikeouts. SS Marwat Ram won his 7^th Gold Glove.

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The defending South Asia Baseball champion Mumbai was the best in the Indian League at the all-star break at 65-34, followed by both Visakhapatnam and Pune at 60-39. The Meteors kept rolling with the best post-break record of 44-19, earning the #1 seed at 109-53. Mumbai won the West Division crown for the fifth consecutive season and had their fourth straight year of 104+ wins. They had the IL’s best run differential (+235) and the fewest runs allowed in SAB (528).

Visakhapatnam held onto the South Division lead despite tough competition and a lackluster 2-8 finish to the year. The Volts were 101-61 to repeat as division champs, growing their playoff streak to seven seasons. Since 2023, Visakhapatnam has only missed the playoffs twice. Bengaluru ended on a four-game winning streak to take second in the division at 97-65, earning the first wild card. It was their second wild card in five years and their best record in 37 years.

Chennai went 2-8 in their last ten games while the West Division’s Pune was the inverse, tying them for the second wild card at 94-68. In a one-game tiebreaker, the Purple Knights won at home 4-3, led by a three-run pinch hit homer by Thu Ko. Pune earned a third straight wild card and their sixth playoff berth in seven years, while the Cows’ playoff drought extended to 24 seasons. Madurai was fourth in the South at 87-75, ending a three-year playoff streak.



The Central Division was a tight race that came down to the final week. Jaipur entered the final series at 87-72, while Delhi and Kolkata were both 86-73. The Drillers hosted the Cosmos and took the first two games by 8-2 and 3-2 scores, but Kolkata grabbed the finale 3-2. The Jokers meanwhile played at Patna with a 3-1 win, 3-2 loss (10), and 12-3 win. They also critically took two of three at both Delhi and Kolkata in their final meetings. Jaipur held onto the division at 89-73, followed by Delhi (88-74), Kolkata (87-75), and Kanpur (83-79). It was the second playoff trip in four years for the Jokers, but their first division title since 2031.



Jaipur led the IL with 798 runs scored with 3B Niamur Bhuiyan earning his second Indian League MVP in three years. He earned 19 first place votes and 403 points, while Mumbai RF Pingyu Fei had 15 first place votes and 390 points. Visakhapatnam 1B Fanmouong Try also had two first place votes. For Bhuiyan, he led in hits (233), batting average (.381) and WAR (8.3). The 27-year old Bangladeshi added 116 runs, 55 doubles, 16 triples, 15 home runs, 115 RBI, 75 stolen bases, 1.003 OPS, and 169 wRC+. Bhuiyan is under contract through 2045 on a six-year, $170,400,000 extension signed in April 2039.

Mumbai’s Tuan Thai snagged Pitcher of the Year with 23 first place votes and 212 points. Pune’s Brian Truong was a competitive second with 11 first place votes and 166 points. The Meteors’ Adrian Pham and Chennai’s Kumar Saha each had a first place vote. The runner-up Truong notably was the leader in WAR (8.3).

It was the second POTY for Thai, who also did it back in 2035. The 33-year old Vietnamese lefty was in his ninth season for Mumbai, acquired in a November 2032 trade with Da Nang. Thai led in wins (21-8) and posted a 2.69 ERA, 244.2 innings, 287 strikeouts, 153 ERA+, 76 FIP-, and 55.1 WAR. He has two more years under contract with the Meteors. Also of note, Bengaluru’s Lay Zaw Htun was both Rookie and Reliever of the Year in a rare awards combo. He posted 4.7 WAR over 99.2 innings with a 1.44 ERA, 41 saves, and 141 Ks.



The wild card round began with a 3-2 road win by Pune over Bengaluru. The Blazers battled back with 4-3 and 8-0 wins, the latter on a combined two-hitter. Mumbai started the divisional series with 10-6 and 3-0 wins over Bengaluru. The Blazers stayed alive in a 13-inning, 7-5 victory in game three. The Meteors locked it up on the road 3-2 in game four. The defending champs earned their sixth trip to the Indian League Championship Series in eight years.

On the other side, Jaipur stunned Visakhapatnam with a road sweep on 4-2, 12-1, and 4-3 results. That ended a three-year ILCS streak for the Volts. For the Jokers, their last ILCS appearance was 2028 and their only prior pennants were back in 2006 and 2009. Mumbai won 20 more games and had home field advantage, making them a heavy favorite to repeat.

Game one went ten innings, but the Meteors escaped 2-1 on a walkoff Nobin Ullah home run. A five-run eighth inning in game two pushed Jaipur to a 5-2 road win. Game three went 10 innings, ending 8-5 in a dramatic three-run walkoff bomb from Oz Sams. The Jokers then won game four by an 8-7 margin to take the 3-1 series lead. Mumbai stayed alive with their own 8-3 road win in game five. Back at home in game six, the Meteors needed a five-run ninth inning rally to force game seven. Mumbai’s 5-3 win saw two two-run homers in the ninth, the clincher from Ahsan Nadhim.

In game seven, Jaipur took a 5-2 lead into the ninth. The Meteors got one back and had the bases loaded. George Sammahung got an RBI single to score Champaka Santos. Suraj Paudel tried to score the tying run, but the throw from right field nabbed him for the final out, allowing the Jokers to escape with the 5-4 win and the series.



ILCS MVP went to Jaipur veteran 1B Thanh Thang Hoang, who had a monster series going 13-26 with six home runs, ten RBI, and ten runs. In game seven, Hoang was 3-3 with two homers, a double, three RBI, and three runs. The 32-year old Vietnamese righty was in his third year with the Jokers and led the IL in OPS at 1.082.

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Da Nang again dominated the Southeast Asia League regular season, as for the fourth straight year they had 110+ wins while no other SEAL teams reached 100+ wins. The Nailers were 110-52 atop the South Division, earning their sixth straight division title and 100+ win season. Da Nang hoped to bounce back after a disappointing one-and-done the prior year. They’ve averaged 110.8 wins per season over the last six campaigns.

The Nailers had the fewest runs allowed in SEAL (578) and the best differential in South Asia Baseball (+331). The second-best record in SEAL shared the South Division in 96-66 Colombo. It was the second wild card in five years for the Catfish, who led SAB with 946 runs scored. The other division champs both finished 92-70. Defending SEAL champ Mandalay won the season series 4-2 over Yangon, giving the Mammoths home field for the forthcoming #2 versus #3 seed divisional series matchup.

Mandalay repeated as West Division champ and extended their playoff streak to four seasons. Since 2026, the Mammoths have missed the cut only twice. It was back-to-back berths for the Green Dragons and their first division title since 2035. The runners-up in both divisions competed for the final wild card.

Dhaka (85-77) edged out Korat (84-78), Khulna (83-79), and Can Tho (82-80) for the spot. The Dobermans ended a five-year playoff drought. Hanoi at 80-82 had their first losing season since 2033. Last year’s LCS runner-up Vientiane notably struggled to 74-88.



The Renegades came close to their first-ever playoff berth as a 2030 expansion team. DH Saman Abeyaratne led the way as Southeast Asia League MVP, getting 31 of 36 first place votes. Abeyaratne made world history with an incredible 75 doubles, obliterating the old SAB record of 62. This beat the old world record of 73 set by Kerlos Sharaf in the 2028 Arab League Baseball season. It was only the tenth time in any league that a player had 70+ doubles in a season.

Abeyaratne was the #11 pick by Korat in the 2038 SAB Draft and was in his second year starting. The 24-year old Sri Lankan lefty also led in runs (142), hits (230), RBI (165), total bases (480), slugging (.743), OPS (1.130), and wRC+ (197). Abeyaratne added 55 home runs, .356 average, and 8.9 WAR. On the SAB single-season leaderboard, Abeyaratne’s RBI ranked 7^th, runs scored 9^th, and total bases 4^th. His effort had the 30^th-most total bases in any league for any single-season.

A very close Pitcher of the Year race had Khulna’s Thaklaew Kaewarporn prevail with 20 first place votes and 193 points, just ahead of Colombo’s Sankar Nara at 16 first place votes and 173 points. The runner-up Nara notably was the SEAL leader in pitching WAR (6.6) and wins (22-5).

The winner Kaewarporn was in his second season with the Claws and led in ERA (2.20), strikeouts (295), and quality starts (23). The 24-year old Thai righty had a 16-6 record, 222.1 innings, 205 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 4.3 WAR. Despite the strong traditional metrics, WAR and FIP were underwhelmed relatively. Kaewarporn was the #5 pick in the 2039 SAB Draft by Khulna.



Dhaka began the wild card round with a 12-7 road win, but Colombo bounced back with 9-3 and 10-8 wins to advance. The Catfish caught Da Nang by surprise in the divisional round with 6-5 and 11-2 road wins to open the series. Colombo nearly got the sweep with game three needing 12 innings, but the Nailers escaped with a 7-6 win on a walkoff solo homer from Chhoeun Hok.

The series shifted to Sri Lanka, but Da Nang awoke from slumber with 11-3 and 8-1 wins to survive and advance, avoiding back-to-back playoff failures. The Nailers secured their fifth trip in six years to the Southeast Asia League Championship. The Catfish have still yet to make it to the LCS in their 34 seasons as a franchise.

Mandalay had the first three games at home, but Yangon earned a road sweep anyway on the other side of the bracket with scores of 7-5, 2-1, and 8-1. The Green Dragons had a four-run rally in the ninth in game one, while game two was an 11-inning affair. Yangon has been to the LCS more than any other SEAL team with 26 trips, last making it in 2034.

Da Nang started the series on a 13-9 shootout win with both teams getting 18 hits apiece. Yangon countered with a 6-3 road win, then grabbed the next two in Myanmar by 4-3 and 1-0 margins. Game four was scoreless through regulation, ending on a tenth inning walkoff homer by Thao Vo. The Nailers got a solo homer in the top of the ninth by Chhoeun Hok in game five, escaping back to Vietnam on a 3-2 road win.

Back home, Da Nang avoided the upset with 9-4 and 5-0 wins to secure the series in seven games. The Nailers resumed their dynasty with their third Southeast Asia League title in four years. Three pitchers combined for a six-hitter in the finale. LF Kulvir Rao was series MVP, going 13-30 with three homers, nine RBI, and three runs. He was 2-4 with a double and two RBI in game seven.