MVP
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2002 SAB Hall of Fame
South Asia Baseball had two inner-circle level Hall of Famers for the 2002 class. SP Zainal bin Aziz earned the very rare distinction of being unanimous. As of 2037, he’s one of only five in all of the world leagues with such an honor. 2B VJ Williams was close behind with 97.7%. Closer Harini Shreenath just missed out on also being a first ballot pick, getting 64.1%. C Krish Balvinder also had a nice showing with 59.5% on his fourth try.
Zainal bin Aziz – Starting Pitcher – Vientiane Vampires – 100% First Ballot
Zainal bin Aziz was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Johor Bahru, Malaysia’s second-largest city. He was known for having tremendous stuff, excellent movement, and very good control. Zainal was a rare player with six pitches, led by a 96-98 mph sinker. He also had an incredibly potent curveball, changeup, splitter, and knuckle curve, plus a circle change. Bin Aziz was an absolute master at changing speeds and mixing pitches.
Defensively, bin Aziz was good and he was great at holding runners. His stamina was good, but not outstanding. Zainal had great durability though until his career-ending injury, tossing 230+ innings in all but his first and final seasons. He wasn’t a big personality, but he became extremely popular as the Southeast Asia League’s first megastar pitcher.
Entering the 1982 SAB Draft, bin Aziz was viewed by many to be the top prospect available. He’d get selected second overall by Vientiane, sending him to Laos. His rookie year was split between the bullpen and starting, but he looked decent in limited action. Year two saw bin Aziz as a full-time starter and by year three, he was arguably the best pitcher in SAB.
In 1984, bin Aziz was third in Pitcher of the Year voting, then second in 1985. 1985 began a streak of six straight seasons leading SEAL in both WAR and FIP. With the Vampires, he’d lead the league five times in strikeouts, five times in WHIP, thrice in ERA, twice in wins, once in innings, and four times in K/BB. In 1989, bin Aziz became SAB’s second-ever Triple Crown winning pitcher with a 22-6 record, 2.02 ERA, and 367 strikeouts. Zainal did it again in 1990 with a 21-5 record, 1.48 ERA, and 360 strikeouts.
With Vientiane, bin Aziz won Pitcher of the Year in 1986, 87, 89, and 90; while taking third in 1988. On May 21, 1987, bin Aziz tossed a no-hitter with five strikeouts and one walk against Yangon. He had five seasons worth 9+ WAR and three above triple digits, peaking with 12.1 in 1987; which set the SAB record for a pitcher at the time. The 381 strikeouts in 1987 was also briefly the SAB record.
Despite bin Aziz’s dominance, Vientiane was a mid-level team in SEAL. They would get wild cards in 1986 and 1987, but fall in the first round both years. His three playoff starts with the Vampires saw a 2.16 ERA over 25 innings and 31 strikeouts. Zainal also pitched for his native Malaysia from 1984-96 in the World Baseball Championship. In 197 WBC innings, he had a 13-11 record, 3.15 ERA, 280 strikeouts, 115 ERA+, 61 FIP-, and 7.1 WAR.
Vientiane would extend bin Aziz after the 1987 on a four-year, $3,030,000 deal. While he thrived, the Vampires seemed stuck in the mid-tier. His contract expired after the 1991 season with the soon to be 32-year old bin Aziz looking at his next step. Vientiane was disappointed, but knew they couldn’t match the big money bin Aziz would certainly command. At that point, SAB had largely turned into a bidding war for the top talent between Ho Chi Minh City and Ahmedabad, as both were a few years into their respective dynasties.
With Vientiane, bin Aziz had a 151-80 record, 2.27 ERA, 2057.2 innings, 2791 strikeouts, 500 walks, 206/259 quality starts, 163 ERA+, 56 FIP-, and 76.3 WAR. The Vampires would retire his #53 uniform and he’d remain a beloved franchise icon for years to come. Although he went into the Hall of Fame in the Vientiane hat, he managed to somehow get even better in his second run.
Ho Chi Minh City signed bin Aziz to a five-year, $4,250,000 deal. Entering 1992, the Hedgehogs had made five straight LCS appearances and won three SEAL titles, but they couldn’t get around Ahmedabad in the SAB Championship. The hope was adding the best pitcher in the game might get them over that hump. Zainal immediately delivered with his third Triple Crown season at 22-6, 1.93 ERA, and 396 strikeouts. The Ks mark was a new single-season best that still holds as of 2037 and he broke his own WAR record with 12.4, earning his fifth Pitcher of the Year and a third place in MVP voting.
HCMC won another SEAL title in 1992, but again lost to the Animals in the final. Zainal won his sixth POTY in 1993 as the Hedgehogs had an incredible 126-36, setting a new world record for wins in a season. The season ended in tremendous disappointment as they lost to Johor Bahru in the first round. HCMC bounced back with pennants in 1994 and 1995, but again couldn’t be Ahmedabad. 1995 was the historic showdown between the two with both squads at 124-38.
With Ho Chi Minh City, bin Aziz led in ERA thrice, WAR four times, FIP- four times, K/BB four times, strikeouts four times, and WHIP three times. Zainal broke his WAR record again with 13.1 in 1994, then broke it once more with 13.4 the next year. That gave him eight Pitcher of the Year awards, something very few pitchers in any world league can claim. As of 2037, the most any other SAB pitcher has is five.
Of the top seven WAR seasons by a SAB pitcher, bin Aziz has six of them, including the top four. His 1.48 ERA in 1990 is the third-best in SAB history. He holds the fist, fifth, and tenth most strikeouts in a season. 1995 saw 26 wins for bin Aziz, a mark no other SAB pitchers have reached. On April 8, 1994, bin Aziz made history again with SAB’s second-ever perfect game. He struck out 14 in the perfect effort against Mandalay.
Zainal was also great in the playoffs as expected. He had 16 starts with Ho Chi Minh City with a 1.45 ERA, 9-3 record, 163 strikeouts, 19 walks, 244 ERA+, 38 FIP-, and 5.8 WAR. His 2.0 WAR in the 1994 playoffs is a SAB record and his56 Ks from that run is the third most in SAB history. Adding the Vientiane starts, bin Aziz’s playoff career is 10-5 in 19 starts, 1.57 ERA over 143 innings, 194 strikeouts, 228 ERA+, and 6.6 WAR. As of 2037, he’s the playoff leader in complete games (6), second in WAR, and seventh in both wins and strikeouts.
In 1996, bin Aziz became the first SAB pitcher to 250 career wins. He had already become the first to 4000 strikeouts the other year. Things were looking as impressive as ever for the now 36-year old lefty with a 1.81 ERA and 5.5 WAR through 124 innings. But then, disaster struck.
On June 12, 1996, bin Aziz suffered a torn flexor tendon in his elbow. The prognosis was 14 months, meaning the rest of the 1996 season and probably most to all of 1997. Zainal’s contract was set to expire with the 1996 season and Ho Chi Minh City didn’t re-sign him. In his five seasons as a Hedgehog, bin Aziz had a 104-21 record, 1.84 ERA, 1124 innings, 1692 strikeouts, 171 walks, 193 ERA+, 37 FIP-, and 55.7 WAR. He’d be beloved by Hedgehogs fans for decades to come as well.
Zainal didn’t retire right away and he hoped to make it back. He spent the rest of 1996 and 1997 rehabbing. Unfortunately once he could get back to throwing, bin Aziz’s previous 96-98 mph velocity was down to the 91-93 mph range. His stuff went from rated a 9/10 in his prime to 3/10. Dejected, bin Aziz retired in the winter of 1997 at age 38, never making it back on the field after the injury.
For his career, bin Aziz had a 255-101 record, 2.12 ERA, 3181.2 innings, 4483 strikeouts, 671 walks, 324/402 quality starts, 82 complete games, a 173 ERA+, 49 FIP-, and 132.0 WAR. The accolades are eight Pitcher of the Year awards, six ERA titles, eight seasons as the strikeout leader, four as the wins leader, ten as the WARlord, and seven double-digit WAR seasons.
Even with the early end to his career, bin Aziz still is the all-time pitching leader in WAR by nearly 30 points as of 2037. He’s also the leader in shutouts (36) while sitting third in wins and fourth in strikeouts. No other Hall of Fame starting pitcher has a lower ERA. Had his elbow not exploded, bin Aziz’s tallies would’ve been even more bonkers. Even still, few would argue against him being South Asia Baseball’s GOAT pitcher, fittingly giving him a unanimous induction in 2002.
V.J. Williams – Second/First Base – Ahmedabad Animals – 97.7% First Ballot
V.J. Williams was a 6’3’’, 190 pound left-handed hitting infielder from Baraut, India; a city with around 100,000 inhabitants in the northern Uttar Pradesh state. Williams was a great contact hitter with excellent power and a solid eye. He was excellent at earning extra base hits, averaging 41 home runs, 37 doubles, and 8 triples per 162 game average. Williams was quite quick and was a very intelligent and crafty baserunner as well.
Defensively, Williams made about 2/3s of his starts at second base and the rest at first. Although a tremendous bat for a 2B, Williams was a lousy defender there, lacking the range and glovesmanship needed. However, he graded out as very good defensively at first, even winning a Gold Glove in 1983. Williams was an absolute ironman, playing 156+ games in every season but his rookie year. He was scrappy and a hard worker, helping him become one of the most endearing and beloved players of his era.
Williams timed out as being eligible in SAB’s first-ever rookie draft in 1980. He was picked third overall by Delhi, where he’d spend the first seven years of his career. Williams was mostly a backup as a rookie, but a full-time starter after that. He soon would absolutely light up the leaderboards, posting six straight seasons worth 9+ WAR.
From 1982-87, Williams led the Indian League in WAR four times, runs five times, hits five times doubles twice, RBI twice, total bases six times, batting average four times, OBP five times, slugging six times, OPS six times, and wRC+ six times. He won four straight MVPs from 1984-87, while taking third in 1982 and second in 1983. Williams also won Silver Sluggers in all six seasons. His 138 runs scored in 1984 stood as SAB’s single-season best until 2007. Williams also smacked 40+ homers in all six years with Delhi.
Despite all of that, the Drillers stunk. They averaged 79 wins per season and didn’t make the playoffs once during his tenure. Williams was still beloved by Delhi fans and he had his most efficient seasons there, although most fans don’t remember him in Drillers brown. For his seven seasons, Williams had 1264 hits, 746 runs, 252 doubles, 294 home runs, 229 stolen bases, a .334/.408/.608 slash, 220 wRC+, and 71.1 WAR.
Williams was a megastar throughout India and also a regular for them in the World Baseball Championship. From 1983-96, he had 141 games and 133 starts with 151 hits, 106 runs, 37 doubles, 46 home runs, 108 RBI, 37 stolen bases, a .296/.384/.663 slash, 193 wRC+, and 9.0 WAR. As of 2037, he’s second all-time in WAR among all Indian players in the WBC and first in OPS.
Williams also won tournament MVP in 1993 as he led India to its first-ever finals appearance, falling in the championship to China. In 23 starts, Williams had 29 runs, 30 hits, 10 doubles, 13 home runs, 23 RBI, a .345/.426/.908 slash, 269 wRC+, and 2.5 WAR. At the time, that was the fifth-most runs scored in a single WBC. From all of this, Williams was an absolute megastar throughout India.
That afforded Williams opportunities in and outside of baseball. When his Delhi deal ran out after the 1987 season, Williams was 28 years old. The bidding wars between Ahmedabad and Ho Chi Minh City for all of the top free agents limited his options generally between the two. Williams didn’t want to leave India, but he also couldn’t reach a satisfactory arrangement with the Animals or anyone else. Thus, apart from the WBC, Williams didn’t play baseball in 1988, instead pursuing other interests.
Williams got the itch to come back soon after and was able to figure out compensation with Ahmedabad. The Animals gave him a one year return deal for 1989 at $424,000. The dynasty was underway at this point with SAB titles in 1986 and 1987, but the level of dominance to come after was still unknown at that point. After returning at MVP form, Ahmedabad gave Williams a seven-year, $5,490,000 extension.
During Williams’ run from 1989-96, Ahmedabad won seven championships (89-92, 93-95) and won 107+ games each season. They set the Indian League record in 1995 at 124-38, defeating fellow 124-win Ho Chi Minh City in one of the most epic title showdowns in baseball history. Williams would be a massive reason that the Animals dynasty went from merely great to perhaps the greatest in baseball history.
Williams had 7.5 WAR in seven straight seasons, debuting with 12.1 WAR and 12.5 WAR efforts. Clearly, rust wasn’t an issue. In those first two years, Williams led in hits, average, slugging, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. He also led with a career best 146 RBI in 1990. Williams topped the IL in total bases in 1990 and 1991. He also was the WARlord in 1995 at 10.9, his seventh time leading in WAR and his eighth season hitting double-digits.
Naturally, these efforts got Williams more hardware. He won his fifth MVP in 1990 and took second in 1989’s voting and third in 1995. Williams won seven straight Silver Sluggers, giving him 13 for his career. His greatness carried into the postseason, winning ILCS MVP in 1990, 92, and 94. In 118 playoff starts, Williams had 123 hits, 74 runs, 23 doubles, 29 home runs, 66 RBI, a .275/.345/.542 slash, 176 wRC+, and 6.2 WAR.
After posting 7+ WAR in all but his rookie year, Williams regressed to a mere 3.0 WAR in 1996. This was the final year of his deal and Ahmedabad didn’t sign him to a new contract. Williams shopped around in 1997, but didn’t find a home, retiring that winter at age 38. The Animals quickly retired Williams’ uniform #8. In his run, he had 1392 hits, 848 runs, 289 doubles, 302 home runs, 895 RBI, 393 stolen bases, a .301/.367/.588 slash, 200 wRC+, and 71.5 WAR.
Williams’ final stats were 2656 hits, 1594 runs, 541 doubles, 115 triples, 596 home runs, 1638 RBI, 938 walks, 622 stolen bases, a .316/.386/.620 slash, 209 wRC+, and 142.6 WAR. He was the first in SAB history to 2500 hits, 1500 runs scored, and 1500 RBI, as well as the second to 500 home runs. The later high-offense eras of SAB would knock him down leaderboards, falling out of the top ten in the counting stats. However, his career WAR still ranks sixth-best in SAB history. Williams was one of India’s first-ever major baseball stars and a no-doubt Hall of Famer, getting 97.7%. He and Zainal bin Aziz make up the 2002 class, perhaps as the best one-two in the SAB Hall’s history.
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