Baseball: The World's Game

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Defending Eastern League champ Douala and Libreville lapped the EL field as they battled for the Coastal Division title and a guaranteed spot in the ELCS. The Lakers’ 65-31 record at the all-star break allowed them to maintain the advantage, finishing 110-52 to the Dingos’ 102-60. Libreville’s +321 run differential was nearly double Douala’s +161.

The Lakers earned their fourth straight playoff berth and third division title of that run, while the Dingos picked up their fifth berth in six years. Libreville’s offense scored 1024 runs with a .365 team on-base percentage; both were the second-best single seasons in West African Baseball history. They also allowed the fewest runs in WAB at 703.

No one stood out in the Interior Division, but an 8-2 finish allowed Ibadan to take first at 87-75. Abuja was the inverse 2-8 down the stretch to blow the lead, but they still got the #2 spot at 85-77. Ouagadougou (82-80) and Yaounde (80-82) were both in the mix. Benin City, who had been in four of the last five ELCS, fell to 74-88 for their first losing season since 2028. The Iguanas got their third playoff trip in four years, while the Aliens earned their first since joining in the 2030 expansion.



Douala 2B Ram Lengani won his third Eastern League MVP, having previously done it in 2033 and 2034. The 29-year old Burkinabe righty led in the triple slash (.369/.411/.720), OPS (1.131), wRC+ (177), and WAR (9.3). Lengani had 230 hits, 128 runs, 50 doubles, 55 home runs, and 161 RBI. He was locked up long-term by the Dingos the prior spring at eight years and $374,500,000, which currently stands as the second-richest contract in all of professional baseball.

Although Libreville was known for the big offense, they also had Pitcher of the Year Ibeh Ferguson in his sixth season. The 29-year old Nigerian lefty led in wins (17-8), strikeouts (287), FIP- (64), and WAR (7.1). Ferguson had a 3.65 ERA and 129 ERA+ over 214.2 innings. He had signed a six-year, $81,460,000 extension with the Lakers in October 2035.



Abuja gave Douala a fight in the first round, but the Dingos survived the series 2-1. Douala then swept Ibadan with 6-3 and 7-3 wins in round two, setting up a showdown with Libreville in the Eastern League Championship Series. It was the Dingos’ fourth trip in six years and the third in four years for the Lakers, but it was the first time they’d met for the pennant.

Libreville opened with a 6-2 victory, scoring all of their runs in the eighth inning. Douala counted with a lopsided 8-1 road win to even it as they shifted to Cameroon. A six-run sixth inning propelled the Dingos to a 9-7 win in game three. They seemed on their way as they led game four 6-0 after five innings, but the Lakers exploded for seven runs in the sixth and another four in the seventh en route to a 11-7 win.

Game five was back in Gabon and was an all-timer, the first ELCS game five to require extra innings. Douala had a 6-0 lead after the top of the third, but Libreville chipped away at the deficit. In the bottom of the ninth, the Lakers finally tied the game at 6-6 thanks to a sacrifice fly by Kossi Wilson.

In the top of the 12^th inning, reserve Antonio Gallegos crushed a solo home run 433 feet to center field for a 7-6 Douala lead. The Lakers got a one-out single in the bottom half, but a 4-6-3 double play secured the road victory and repeat pennants for the Dingos. It was their third Eastern League title, having also done it in 2033. RF El Hadji Fofana was series MVP, leading all players with ten hits.

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The 63^rd West African Championship was the first finals rematch since Dakar and Cotonou less than a decade ago. The Dukes had defeated Douala in a seven-game thriller the prior year and many fans hoped for similar drama. Dakar rallied from an early 5-1 hole to win game one 6-5 on the road, going ahead on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. Douala evened it with a 7-0 game two win, getting 7.2 scoreless innings with six hits and 10 Ks from Abdulai Nura.

Game three in Senegal saw Dakar with an early 2-0 lead that held until Douala’s four-spot in the seventh. The Dukes got solo runs in the eighth and ninth to force extras at 4-4. In the bottom of the tenth, Youssouhpa Diop had the clinching RBI single for a 5-4 Dakar win and 2-1 series advantage. That defeat ultimately seemed to demoralize the Dingos.

Dakar won game four 6-0 as Airton Matos tossed 7.2 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts and four hits allowed. In game five, Jojo Agre gave up two hits and one run with 4 Ks over seven innings as the Dukes clinched a 4-1 win and 4-1 series. Diop had the three-run go-ahead homer in the sixth inning.

1B Daouda Adamou was series MVP going 7-16 with 1 homer and 4 RBI. With the repeat, Dakar is now six-time West African Baseball champs (2016, 25, 29, 32, 36, 37), while Douala is 0-3 in the last five years. Although his team fell, El Hadji Fofana of the Dingos set a WAB playoff record with 28 hits and 69 at-bats. Teammate Sanda Bouba Abed tied a bad playoff record with 27 strikeouts.



Other notes: Diop and Abdel Aziz Ashraf battled for WAB’s all-time lead in RBI as both breached 2500 for their careers, a mark met by only six others in all of pro baseball history. Ashraf finished ahead at 2522, putting him 4^th on the world leaderboard, while Diop was at 2518. The 40-year old Diop still had 39 homers and 102 RBI with 2.3 WAR, while Ashraf struggled to 21 homers, 53 RBI, and 0.5 WAR in 118 games.

It was the final season after 21 years with Abidjan, WAB’s all-time home run king. His 1077 dingers is 3^rd in world history behind only Majed Darsish (1271) and Harvey Coyle (1092). Ashraf also finished 17^th on the runs scored leaderboard with 2145 and had 3247 hits over 3045. On the downside, no one in baseball history had more strikeouts with 4321 with an abysmal 34.5% K rate. The Ks and weak defense gave Ashraf only 71.3 career WAR despite his absurd power numbers, even when factoring in the higher-scoring world of WAB.

Diop plans to return with Dakar for 2038 and now sits at 3180 games, 923 homers, 2518 RBI, 3773 hits, 2298 runs, 740 doubles, 1.012 OPS, and 104.3 WAR. He joined Ashraf as WAB’s only 900+ homer guys, a club now with 25 members in world history. Diop also moved up to 7^th on the runs scored world list. World hit king Fares Belaid is #2 amongst everyone and the WAB leader at 2633. Diop is now 3^rd in hits for WAB (18^th in the world) and 4^th in doubles (11^th in the world).

1B Aleksandr Parts played his third WAB season at age 43, but only made it 63 games with Libreville before suffering a broken kneecap. The Estonian had three triples, which gives him 472 for his entire pro career when adding his European numbers. Parts is now tied with Belaid for the most in world history and does plan on playing in 2038 for the Lakers.

Former MLB star Mark Johnston made his WAB debut at age 40 for Freetown with solid results with 38 homers, 200 hits, and 3.8 WAR. He passed 3500 hits and 800 home runs for his combined pro career. The Canadian 1B has 3668 hits, 825 homers, and 2171 RBI, good for 35^th, 45^th, and 32^nd on the world leaderboards for his combined career. Johnston also notably had a six-hit game on September 6 against Abidjan.

Bissau’s Mike Esau had a 36-game hitting streak, tied for the 8^th-longest in WAB history. WAB’s 600 home run club grew to 16 with the addition of Joao Sebastiao da Silva and Haji Mussa. Emmanuel Marshall was the 34^th to 500 homers. Kene Gbade and da Silva made for 31 guys with 1500 RBI. Musa, da Silva, and Kalu Adams made it 25 with 1500 runs scored. Cedric St-Pierre was the 46^th to 2500 hits.

3B Junior Jose won his 12^th Silver Slugger and CF Bertin Atouba won his 8^th. Jose and legendary SS Darwin Morris (15) as the only WAB batters with 12+ Sluggers. In pitching notables, Amadu Ibrahim and Mahamoud Sy made it 30 aces with 3000 strikeouts.

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Arguably the best two teams in the Northern League fought over the single playoff spot in the Southeast Division. After taking second last year with 91 wins, Qingdao claimed first in 2037 at 102-60, ending a five-year playoff drought. Defending NL champ Hangzhou at 96-66 ended up on the outside. The Devils had the best record and run differential (+117) in all of Chinese League Baseball, allowing the NL’s fewest runs at 519.

Shijiazhuang at 96-66 won the East Central Division for the seventh year running, the longest streak of any team in the divisional format. Beijing was a distant second at 85-77 despite the Bears leading all of China with 713 runs. Beijing’s 1522 team hits were the second-most in CLB history while the team’s .273 average ranked third and the .316 OBP was tied for fifth. Xi’an repeated in the West Division at 87-75, besting Urumqi by six games. Dalian repeated in the Northeast as well, becoming the first divisional champ in CLB with a losing record. The Gold Dragons at 80-82 finished five games ahead of Harbin.



Serpents RF Ferly Widagdo was the unanimous Northern League MVP, taking the top honor for the second time in four years. The 27-year old Indonesian lefty pulled it off despite missing the final month to plantar fasciitis. In 132 games, Widagdo led in home runs (52), slugging (.765), OPS (1.144), wRC+ (243), and WAR (10.0). He had 167 hits, 97 runs, 21 doubles, 12 triples, 119 RBI, and .347 average.

Among qualifiers (512+ plate appearances), Widagdo’s slugging was the second-best single-season in CLB history and his OPS was third. The prior winter, Shijiazhuang locked Widagdo up on an eight-year, $80,880,000 extension; a bargain value considering his production when healthy. Injuries have been a concern though, missing the second half of 2035 to a torn ACL and most of 2036 between a torn groin and strained oblique.

Pitcher of the Year also went to Shijiazhuang as Sihua Fan repeated as the top arm. He had 19 first place votes while Qingdao’s Hongjun Wang and Lanzhou’s Yue Xu each had six. Fan led with seven shutouts while posting a 1.98 ERA in 241.1 innings, 18-6 record, 229 strikeouts, 165 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR. The 28-year old lefty will get $26 million in arbitration for 2038 with the Serpents.



Shijiazhuang dominated the Triple Round Robin at 8-1, making it to the semifinal for the fifth time in six years. Top seed Qingdao also advanced at 4-5, while both Dalian and Xi’an were ousted at 3-6. The Serpents got a pair of 3-1 wins over the Devils and a 5-1 win, although they had been competitive in the regular season. The Round Robin performance gave Shijiazhuang home field advantage for the NLCS, opening with 4-3 and 5-1 wins.

Qingdao rallied on their home diamond with 6-3, 7-2, and 4-2 wins. Back at Shijiazhuang, the Serpents won game six 5-3. The trend of home winners continued to the end as Shijiazhuang took game seven 5-2, earning their third China Series trip in six years (2032, 34, 37). 3B Xiaotian Xu was series MVP, going 15-37 with 5 homers, 13 RBI, and a 1.274 OPS. He had three RBI in the finale, including a solo homer.

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Defending China Series winner Guangzhou took the top seed in the Southern League at 98-64. The Gamecocks won the Southwest Division for the third straight year and the seventh time in eight years. Kunming again gave them a challenge, but fell short at 90-72 despite having the SL’s best run differential at +139. The Muscle underperformed their expected win/loss by 11, going 27-41 in one-run games. Kunming allowed CLB’s fewest runs at 449.

Dongguan had an impressive rebound to end a four-year playoff drought. After an abysmal 64 wins in 2036, the Donkeys dominated the East Division at 93-69. Nanchang, the division champ the prior two years, fell to 75-87. Chengdu entered the season with China’s longest active playoff drought at 19 seasons, but ended it by winning the Central Division at 90-72. The Clowns had the best record in the SL at the all-star break, but a weak second half kept them from the top seed.

Lastly in a weak Southeast Division, Hong Kong at 82-80 ended Macau’s three-year reign at the top, besting the Magicians by two wins. The Champions ended a four year postseason drought. HK had a 12-6 record in extra innings, while Macau was 5-13. Xiamen (79-83) and Shenzhen (77-85) were both in the hunt as well.



Despite their miss, Macau was the SL’s top scoring team with 666 runs. Leading the offense was Southern League MVP Yongxin Li, whose .377 batting average was the second-best qualifying season in CLB history. The 26-year old second baseman also led in runs (118), hits (231), doubles (45), total bases (383), OBP (.414), OPS (1.040), wRC+ (210), and WAR (10.0). Li added 19 triples, 23 homers, 104 RBI, and 83 stolen bases.

The 231 hits were also the second-best in CLB history, matching Li’s own 2035 effort. He was just behind Aniwa Xirzat’s 235 hits and .392 batting average from 2028 for the top spot. After the 2036 season, the Magicians locked Li up on an eight-year, $96,500,000 extension.

Pitcher of the Year had a tight fight with Guangzhou’s Bucky Hein edging out Changsha’s Zhenying Chen. Hein had 17 first place votes and 169 points, while Chen saw 15 first place votes and 158 points. It was the second POTY for Hein, who also won back in 2032. Nicknamed “Black Hole, the 28-year old righty led in complete games (19), and shutouts (5).

Hein had a 2.16 ERA, 19-10 record, 250.1 innings, 317 strikeouts, 154 ERA+, 43 FIP-, and 11.3 WAR. Certainly he had an excellent effort, but being on the defending champs helped his cause. The 26-year old Chen was hurt by having only 214 innings, but he led in ERA (1.56), strikeouts (334), WHIP (0.74), FIP- (25), ERA+ (210), and WAR (11.5). Chen also had only a 15-7 record, making him runner-up in back-to-back years. Changsha was thrilled with the results, giving Chen a seven-year, $106,600,000 extension in the winter.



Guangzhou (6-3) and Dongguan (5-4) advanced out of the Triple Round Robin while Chengdu (4-5) and Hong Kong (3-6) were eliminated. The Donkeys had been to the semifinal as recently as 2032 and 2029, but their only China Series trips were back in the early 1970s. For the Gamecocks, this was their sixth semifinal appearance of the 2030s.

Dongguan opened the series with a 4-1 road win, but Guangzhou evened it up on a 5-0 win. Game three had no scoring until the ninth inning with the Donkeys getting one in the top half and the Gamecocks besting it with two. Dingmao Li’s two-run homer with two outs gave the defending champs the 2-1 win and 2-1 series lead. Guangzhou followed that with a 3-1 road win for the same advantage.

Game five was scoreless all the way until the top of the 11^th inning when the Gamecocks’ Ulam Ablikim led off with a first pitch home run. Dongguan got the tying run to second in the bottom half, but no further as the 1-0 win sealed it for Guangzhou. Braiden Pallini was series MVP with only three earned runs allowed over 27 innings with 32 strikeouts. In the clincher, he tossed ten scoreless innings with 10 Ks and five hits. The Gamecocks advanced to the China Series for the tenth time, which leads all clubs (1971, 74, 87, 99, 2000, 12, 23, 32, 36, 37).

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Since 2030, Guangzhou and/or Shijiazhuang has been in the final four each year. 2037 was their second China Series battle of this stretch, as the Serpents won the 2032 encounter. The 68^th finale opened with a 5-0 home win for the reigning CLB champ Gamecocks. Pitcher of the Year Bucky Hein tossed a one-hit shutout with five strikeouts and one walk. Guangzhou then won a back-and-forth affair 7-6 for the 2-0 series lead.

Game three back in Shijiazhuang was an all-timer. The Gamecocks were up 3-0 after six, but the Serpents evened it with one in the seventh and two in the eighth. The game stayed locked up at 3-3 until the bottom of the 14^th inning as SS Mario Zamora hit a two run homer, 346 feet over the right field wall, for the 5-3 finale. Guangzhou had two solo homers in game four, which was enough for a 2-1 road win.

Shijiazhuang stayed alive on a 4-1 win in game five, but Guangzhou locked up the series back at home with a 7-4 result in game six. The Gamecocks are the sixth franchise in Chinese League Baseball history to earn repeat titles, joining Changchun (2016-17), Changsha (2004-05), Dalian (four-peat from 1991-94), Beijing (1984-85), and Kunming (1977-78). Guangzhou are now four-time champs, having also won in 1971 and 2000.

Finals MVP was SS Tian Du, who went 7-25 with 3 homers and 7 RBI. Hein was huge as well with a 1.35 ERA over 20 innings and 18 Ks. Closer Gengji Zhou had three saves in the series and tied the world record for saves in a postseason run with ten. The 23-year old in 15.1 innings and 12 appearances had 21 Ks and a 0.59 ERA.

Shijiazhuang’s Xiaotian Xu notably had 28 RBI across the postseason, which also tied a world record. Only Beisbol Sudamerica’s Manual Marquez had hit that mark previously in 2014. Xu had 29 hits, 16 runs, 9 homers, and 1.7 WAR in 22 starts. Although a small sample size (20 plate appearances required), Xi’an’s Faisal Tang set CLB playoff records for OBP (.593) and OPS (1.633). He went 14-25 with two walks.



Other notes: CLB’s 58^th perfect game came on July 8 by Shijiazhuang’s Dong Yang with 11 strikeouts against Zhengzhou. Bucky Hein had the 13^th 20-strikeout game on April 28 against Changsha. It was his second time reaching 20 Ks.



Tianjin’s Zhaoqiang Zheng had 48 doubles, four short of the CLB single-season record set the prior year by Yongxin Li. Hong Kong’s Duyang Hu had the 5^th four-home run game in CLB history on April 3 against Chengdu. Subahan Rozali had a 28-game hitting streak, tied for the 4^th-longest in CLB history. Yang Tan became the 11^th closer to 300 career saves.

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The Taiwan-Philippine Association had intense battles for the top spot overall and for both leagues. Six teams finished within seven games of the #1 seed with four of those were fighting for the two postseason spots of the Philippine League. Quezon at 96-66 ended up first in the PL and TPA for their fifth playoff berth in six years. Last year’s top seed Zamboanga was second at 94-68 for a third straight playoff berth.

The Zebras had the TPA’s best run differential at +152 and fewest runs allowed (453), but underperformed their expected win/loss by eight games. Manila outperformed by eight, but came up a game short at 93-69. Batangas was also in the mix at 89-73, but was denied their first-ever playoff spot. Last year’s association champ Cebu was right in the soup at the all-star break, but a lousy 29-39 second half dropped them to fifth at 83-79. The Crows have had only winning seasons since 2023, but this was their weakest effort of that run.

The Taiwan League’s two playoff qualifiers were largely set by September, but it was unknown who would take first. Tainan held onto a nice lead despite losing their last five games, taking first at 95-67 over 93-69 Chiayi. The Titans won their fifth straight TL and earned a seventh consecutive playoff berth. The CityHawks, a 2029 expansion team, earned their first-ever playoff trip and winning season. Chiayi was the top scoring team at 657 runs. Taipei, last year’s TL runner-up, was a distant third at 83-79.



Quezon CF Vanne Long won Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP and broke his own Austronesia Professional Baseball record for batting average. The previous best in the ultra-scoring APB was Long’s .366 in 2035. In 2037, the 28-year old Cambodian hit .371 with 225 hits. The hits were the second-best in APB, with Long having gotten 230 in 2035. In his fifth season as a full-timer for the Zombies, Long added 90 runs, 28 doubles, 25 triples, 13 home runs, 64 RBI, 84 stolen bases, .952 OPS, 192 wRC+, and 8.7 WAR.

Zamboanga’s Kabul Sulastri was the unanimous Pitcher of the Year in his fifth season starting and seventh on roster. The 30-year old Indonesian lefty led in wins (21-9), innings (268.2), WHIP (0.79), quality starts (27), and shutouts (6). Sulastri added a 1.88 ERA, 266 strikeouts, 179 ERA+, and 5.9 WAR. Sulastri also had a no-hitter on April 28 with seven strikeouts and two walks against Tainan. It was his second no-no, as he did it the prior year facing Chiayi.



In the divisional round, Quezon swept Chiayi, although it wasn’t a cakewalk. The Zombies had the one-game advantage as the league champ, then got 5-4 and 3-2 wins. They needed a walkoff sacrifice fly in game one and an eighth inning sac fly in game two to go ahead. Quezon earned their ninth Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship trip with four coming within the last nine years.

On the other side, Tainan had the +1 and won game one 4-1 over Zamboanga. The Zebras got on the board 6-4 in game two, but the Titans had a two-run rally in game three for a 3-2 walkoff win. Tainan picked up its fifth TPA Championship appearance of the decade and seventh overall.

They had built up a playoff rivalry with Quezon in the 2030s. The Zombies beat them in the 2032 divisional series en route to a pennant. The Titans got revenge in the 2033 championship, then knocked out Quezon in the 2034 and 2035 divisional rounds. The Zombies had home field advantage by one game in 2037, having beaten Tainan 4-2 in the season series.

Tainan opened with a 7-2 road win, followed by a 3-1 Quezon win in game two. The series shifted to Taiwan with a 5-0 home win for the Titans, getting a three-hit, 12 strikeout shutout from Kuan-Yang Kang. The Zombies countered with their own 8-0 road shutout, scattering eight hits with seven shutout innings by starter Andy Chiu.

In game five, Yu-Kang Chiang’s seven shutout innings allowed Tainan to hold on to a narrow 2-1 win, going up 3-2 as the series moved back to the Philippines. Both had nine hits in game six, but the Titans made the most of them in a 5-2 win to clinch the series in six. The dynasty resumed for Tainan with their fourth pennant in five years and seventh overall (1969, 72, 79, 2033, 34, 35, 37).

LF Chun-Hsiang Lin was series MVP, going 7-20 with 3 homers and 5 RBI. After eight seasons with Taoyuan, the four-time all-star had signed for 2037 with the Titans to a six-year, $130,800,000 deal. Yu-Kang Chiang also had a big series, winning both of his starts with a 1.29 ERA and 18 Ks in 14 innings.

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The Sundaland Association’s top two teams were miles ahead of their nearest foes as they got repeat league titles. Kuala Lumpur made it four straight in the Malacca League and got the top seed at 105-57. The Leopards allowed the fewest runs in Austronesia Professional Baseball at 394 and had the best record and run differential (+165). They grew their playoff streak to five seasons, as did Java Sea League champ Semarang.

The Sliders rolled at 98-64, taking first by 16 games while KL won their league by 17. Semarang made huge news in July when they acquired 13-time MVP Binh Tang from Hsinchu. The 37-year old Vietnamese IF had stayed loyal to the Sweathogs, but they were struggling with the worst pitching in APB history. In July, Tang was traded to the Sliders straight up for rookie arm Syafiq Zanggi.

Both second place spots had a close battle. In the Malacca League, defending APB champ Johor Bahru (88-74) held off Medan (85-77), and Singapore (84-78). The Blue Wings went 8-2 in their last ten to get repeat wild cards. In the Java Sea League, Bandung (82-80) was just better over Jakarta (81-81) and Depok (80-82). This saved the Blackhawks’ playoff streak, although it was easily the worst team of the six-year run.



The Demons were the SA’s top scoring team at 580 runs, but also allowed the most at 591. Depok had the Sundaland Association MVP in 1B Adam Jeminez, narrowly taking it with 14 first place votes and 291 points. Johor Bahru’s Made Daniel was a close second with 10 first place votes and 250 points.

For Jeminez, the 28-year old Filipino led in runs (97), RBI (101), OBP (.386), OPS (.972), and wRC+ (192). He added 166 hits, 11 doubles, 47 homers, .300 average, and 8.1 WAR in his fifth season starting for Depok. As for Daniel, the 25-year old Indonesian LF led in total bases (346) and slugging (.599) while adding 6.1 WAR, 49 homers, and 90 RBI.

Bandung’s Fred Pasaya won Pitcher of the Year with 22 first place votes. Kuala Lumpur’s John Gonzalez had six and was the ERA champ at 1.44. Pasaya meanwhile led in strikeouts for the seventh time in his nine-year run as a full-time starter with the Blackhawks. The 34-year old Filipino righty had 390 Ks and an association-best 0.69 WHIP, 29 quality starts, 11 complete games, and 9.8 WAR. Pasaya had a 17-8 record and 1.81 ERA over 263.1 innings.

Also notable was Craig Chia, who became only the eighth in world history to win 6+ Reliever of the Year awards. The 31-year old Filipino lefty had career bests for saves (47) and WAR (6.3) in his third season for Kuala Lumpur, posting a 1.06 ERA over 93 innings with 163 strikeouts. Chia had also on ROTY in 2035 for the Leopards and in 2029, 31, 32, and 33 for Batangas. He also became the 18^th closer in APB with 300 career saves.



Both league champs prevailed as expected in the divisional round. Semarang swept the defending champ Johor Bahru on repeat 4-1 wins. Bandung got a 1-0 win in game two, but Kuala Lumpur claimed 2-0 and 4-3 wins around it and had the built-in advantage. The Leopards earned a fourth straight trip to the Sundaland Association Championship, while the Sliders last did it in 2033. They had split their six regular season games. KL had home field advantage and an impressive 60-21 record in the Malaysian capital.

Kuala Lumpur opened with a 2-0 win in game one, getting 8.1 shutout innings with three hits and 11 Ks by John Gonzalez. The Sliders got the better of a 2-1 pitcher’s duel in game two with their runs on solo homers. The series shifted to Indonesia and Semarang claimed game three 5-1. Yuchi Jiang tossed a complete game with two hits, one run, and 10 strikeouts.

The Sliders went up 6-1 early in game four, allowing them to hold on late to a 9-7 win. They sealed it at home in game five by a 3-2 margin, the decisive blow a two-run Van Nam homer in the fifth. Semarang won their ninth pennant and ended a 20-year drought (1975, 80, 88, 90, 2001, 02, 12, 16, 37). RF Grant Cruz was series MVP going 7-20 with four homers, five runs, and 6 RBI.

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The 73^rd Austronesia Championship was the first finals meeting between Tainan and Semarang and was to open in Indonesia. The Titans started off with a 5-4 road win, but the Sliders got one back 7-2 the next day. Game three in Taiwan needed 11 innings. Chun-Hsiang Lin started the bottom half with a leadoff trip and was singled in by Kun-Sheng Luo for a 4-3 Tainan win.

Semarang got their first road win 9-3 to even the series at two apiece. The Sliders did it again 6-3 in game five to swipe the advantage headed back home. Tainan opened game six with two runs in the first inning, but Semarang matched in the sixth inning. The score stayed at 2-2 until the bottom of the 13^th inning. On the first pitch of the frame, Grant Cruz smacked the ball 388 feet to right-center, clinching a 3-2 victory and a Sliders championship in six games.

It was Semarang’s seventh APB title (1975, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2016, 2037), tying them for the second-most along with Bandung and Taoyuan. Jakarta still leads all teams with eight rings. The midseason trade for 13-time MVP Binh Tang paid off, as he was finals MVP going 11-24 with 5 homers and 10 RBI. A championship had eluded his illustrious grasp until now with only a single appearance back in 2021 prior with Hsinchu.

Multiple playoff records were set in 2037. Grant Cruz’s series-ending run was his APB-record 14^th. In 13 playoff games, the 29-year old Filipino RF also had 16 hits, 7 homers, and 10 RBI. In defeat, Tainan’s Chun-Hsiang Lin set the playoff record of 45 total bases; the previous mark was 43 from the prior year by Roland Arias. Semarang’s Wijaya Yama also set a new RBI record at 17, besting the old high of 14.



Other notes: Because his stats were split evenly between the associations, Binh Tang was unable to claim a historic 17^th Silver Slugger. It was a weaker year by his lofty standards, although his 36 homers, .897 OPS, 174 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR would still be great for any mortals. Tang became APB’s all-time home run king by finishing the year at 771, passing Wil Tabaldo’s 766 that had held since 2024.

The 37-year old Vietnamese lefty is named “The King” for good reason, as he also is APB’s all-time leader in runs (1915), total bases (6487), doubles (568), RBI (1928), WAR (189.68), triple slash (.318/.379/.592) and OPS (.971). He sits at 3490 hits, just behind Junior Sanchez’s 3564 for the top mark.

Tang’s future is uncertain, as he was a rental with Semarang and is due free agency for the first time. He plans to play somewhere, but may leave APB for another league with little left to prove. On the all-time WAR leaderboard for all players ever, Tang is now #7 as he passed Prometheo Garcia (189.1) and Chuchuan Cao (188.7) in 2037. Wherever he goes, he’s the clear undisputed GOAT for APB batters.

Despite trading Tang, Hsinchu set a new APB team record with a .316 on-base percentage. Their .267 average and 1469 hits ranked as the 2^nd and 3^rd-best in APB ever, respectively. However, they again had atrocious pitching and finished 64-98. The Sweathogs set all-time APB pitching worsts for ERA (4.53), hits (1500), runs (797), earned runs (728), H/9 (9.33), and WHIP (1.346). Most of those were not only worsts, but worsts by a healthy margin (for example, their 722 runs allowed the prior year was the old APB worst).

Surabaya’s Sunan Gideon had 50 doubles, tying the APB single-season record set in 1973 by Ming-Yi Wang. In hitting milestones, Roland Arias was the 13^th to 2500 hits. Ashraf Zeky and Isa Amirudin grew the 400 homer club to 39 members. Zeky was also the 49^th to 1000 RBI and Shen Chang the 39^th to 1000 runs scored. RF Jeremiah Lang won his 10^th consecutive Gold Glove and is one of eight in APB history with 10+ GGs at any position.

Markandan Sofian had a no-hitter on May 11 for Pekanbaru against Penang. It was his second no-no, as he tossed a perfect game the prior year. Kuan-Yang Kang became the 7^th APB ace with 5000 strikeouts. He’s one of 46 in world history in the 5k club and now ranks 27^th among all pitchers ever at 5261.

In his 15^th year with Tainan, Kang did see full-season career lows for Ks (271) and WAR (4.8). He’ll be 37 next year and still needs two solid seasons to become APB’s strikeout leader. Dedi Dewi (5721) and Vhon Lasam (5365) are the two aces ahead of Kang. Hakimi Aziz and Hari Xi were the 25^th and 26^th in APB to 4000 strikeouts.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

At the all-star break, three-time defending Australasia League champ Hobart and Melbourne were tied for first at 52-35. Gold Coast was five back, Sydney seven back, and Brisbane eight back. The Mets had posted three straight 90+ win seasons, but had come up either second or third each year. They were on a 24-year pennant drought dating back to their epic dynasty run from 2003-12.

Hobart’s dynasty run would end as they went 39-35 in the second half, ultimately taking third at 92-70. Gold Coast made a strong push and even took the lead from Melbourne, taking two out of three on the road in mid-September. The one defeat in that series was a 23-inning, 3-2 affair that lasted nearly eight hours. In the final week, the Kangaroos were swept at Hobart and dropped two out of three hosting Perth.

Melbourne meanwhile was 7-3 in their last ten games, pushing them to first place at 95-67 ahead of 93-69 Gold Coast. Hobart was third at 92-70 and Brisbane fourth at 89-73. The Mets led in scoring (721) and run differential (+148) while GC allowed the fewest at 547. Melbourne now had 16 AL pennants, tied with Christchurch for the most and behind only Guam’s 17 for all of Oceania Professional Baseball.



Sydney was mid-tier in sixth at 80-82, but their DH Sam Erickson was the unanimous Australasia League MVP in only his second season starting. The 25-year old Australian lefty led in runs (126), hits (228), home runs (52), total bases (429), triple slash (.372/.411/.700), OPS (1.111), and wRC+ (218). Erickson added 29 doubles, 110 RBI, and 9.9 WAR. The Snakes had drafted him fourth overall in 2034 and were certainly pleased with the early returns.

Melbourne’s Wyatt Ferullo won Pitcher of the Year in a competitive race, getting 12 first place votes and 111 points. Perth’s Noah Taylor had five first place votes and 95 points, while Gold Coast’s Kevin Slade had three and 65. Slade was the leader in ERA (2.54) and wins (24-12), but had only 4.2 WAR. Taylor meanwhile had the most innings at 337.1. Ferullo meanwhile was the man for strikeouts (431), FIP- (69), and WAR (9.4). The 26-year old Australian righty was in his sixth season with the Mets and added a 22-13 record and 2.83 ERA over 315.1 innings.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

At the all-star break, Tahiti was 53-35 with a four-game Pacific League lead on defending Oceania Baseball Association champ Guadalcanal and Timor at 49-39. The Tropics had an all-time great second half at 55-19, cruising to first place at 108-54 for their second pennant in four years and 15^th overall. Tahiti had by far the fewest runs allowed in OBA at 427; the next best was 547. The Tropics also had the best run differential at +259 with a season attendance of 2,082,056; the second-best in PL history.

Guadalcanal had a rock solid second half at 49-25, but their 98-64 was still ten games back. The Green Jackets have won 89+ games in eight consecutive seasons. The Tapirs struggled on the back end and fell to a very distant third at 83-79. Honolulu was the top scoring team (699) but allowed the most (733) for a fourth place 82-80.



Six players got a first place vote for Pacific League MVP, but 8/20 went to Tahiti DH Jun Lopez-Torres, earning his fourth straight award. He also won back in 2030, becoming the ninth in OBA history with 5+ MVPs. Lopez-Torres was in his third year with the Tropics and had also won MVPs with Melbourne and Guam prior to his Tropics arrival.

The 32-year old Australian led in runs (115) while adding 181 hits, 26 doubles, 12 triples, 37 home runs, 109 RBI, .293/.325/.554 slash, 156 wRC+, and 6.5 WAR. Lopez-Torres won his seventh Silver Slugger, although it was his first as a designated hitter instead of a corner outfielder. Next highest in the MVP voting was Fiji 1B Romeo Ng, who led with 7.1 WAR. Honolulu’s Levi Cole finished third and was the leader in homers (46) and RBI (112).

The Tropics also claimed Pitcher of the Year and had the top three candidates. Clement Alu in his Tahiti debut took it with 15 first place votes and 125 points. Dirk Murray, who had won three of the last four, was second with five first place votes and 95 points.

It was Alu’s second POTY, having also won in 2029 with Fiji. He was traded mid-2033 to Christchurch and stayed there until 2037, signing a five-year, $59 million free agent deal with Tahiti. The 33-year old Papuan lefty won his first ERA title at 1.81. Alu added a 23-5 record, 268.1 innings, 250 strikeouts, 190 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 6.8 WAR.

[FuzzyRussianHat]

Tahiti and Melbourne weren’t strangers in the Oceania Championship, as both were their league’s preeminent force at the start of the 21^st Century. They met five times from 2003-08 with Mets wins in 2004, 05, and 07 and Tropics wins in 2003 and 08. They met once more in 2011 with a Tahiti win, evening the all-time series at three apiece. All-time in the finals entering 2037, the Tropics were 7-7 and the Mets were 8-7.

The 78^th Oceania Championship was another epic as it ultimately needed all seven games. Tahiti had home field advantage, but Melbourne disrupted plans with a 4-2 road win to open. The Mets did it again in game two by a 2-1 margin, scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth. As the series shifted to Australia, the Tropics returned the favor with 9-3 and 6-5 road wins of their own. Game four went 11 innings with Hyo-Il Van’s RBI triple as the go-ahead swing.

The trend of road winners continued on a 4-2 win in game five for Tahiti, getting a complete game win from Pitcher of the Year Clement Alu. That trend didn’t break though as play returned to French Polynesia. Melbourne snagged a 5-4 road win, forcing a decisive game seven. Four of the previous six finals battles between the two squads also required all seven games.

Tahiti opened game seven with two runs in the bottom of the first inning, which Melbourne promptly matched in the second. The Tropics reclaimed the lead on a solo run in the bottom of the seventh, but held it only briefly. The Mets had two solo homers in the top of the eighth inning to take a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, Patrick MacLean sent a two-run homer just over the right field fence, putting Tahiti back ahead 5-4. Closer David Sherman got a one-two-three ninth inning, sealing the game for the Tropics in the lone home victory of the series.

MacLean was the series MVP, going 11-25 with five homers and ten RBI. He had also been the finals MVP in Tahiti’s 2034 triumph over Hobart. It was a big bounce-back for the 26-year old first baseman, who had missed all of 2036 to a torn labrum. The Tropics are now eight-time OBA champs (1965, 75, 2003, 08, 11, 15, 34, 37), tied with the Mets, Adelaide, and Honolulu. Guam has the most rings with nine.



Other notes: Trey Cruz became OBA’s all-time hits king in his second year with Samoa. At age 40, the Guamanian second baseman led the league with 188 to get to 3576 OBA hits, passing Adrian Kali’s 3467 which had held since 2023. Cruz also now has 1938 OBA runs, putting him in striking distance of Roe Kaupa’s record 1963. Cruz is also the OBA leader in singles (2417), stolen bases (1640), and caught stealing (771).

When you add his two MLB seasons, Cruz now has 3806 professional hits, 2055 runs, 465 doubles, 411 triples, 345 homers, 1596 RBI, 1690 steals, 801 caught stealing, 139 wRC+, and 123.8 WAR. He’s the 35^th in world history with 2000+ runs and ranks 16^th in hits, 9^th in triples, 7^th in steals, and 26^th in caught stealing. Cruz plans to return for 2038 with Samoa and has an outside shot of becoming only the 7^th in world history with 4000 professional hits.

In other milestones, Liam Winmar was the 12^th to 600 homers. Andrew Pendlebury and Allan Clover were the 53^rd and 54^th pitchers to 3000 strikeouts. C Adain Royce won his 7^th consecutive Silver Slugger.