Baseball: The World's Game (OOTP 22 Fictional World)

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

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In a tight race for the Taiwan League title, Kaohsiung (98-64) outlasted Taipei (96-66) to give the Steelheads their second TL crown in three years. Kaohsiung was the top scoring team in the Taiwan-Philippine Association with 592 runs. Although they missed the playoffs, the Tigercats did end a four-year stretch of losing seasons. They had struggled in the rebuild following their 2010s dominance. Last year’s top Taiwanese Hsinchu was fourth at 82-80 with Taoyuan third at 87-75.

The Philippine League field was weak with reigning TPA champ Cebu taking first with a mere 85-77. Zamboanga was four back at 81-81 with Davao and Manila both next at 78-84. The Crows did allow the fewest runs at 437 and set new TPA records for fewest walks allowed (202) and best BB/9 (1.26).

Binh Tang was denied a seventh consecutive Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP by Taoyuan’s Wei-Yin Wang. The 26-year old first baseman led in hits (204), RBI (100), batting average (.332), and WAR (9.3). Wang added 87 runs, 36 doubles, 27 homers, .890 OPS, and 178 wRC+. Hsinchu’s Tang was still a beast though, taking third in voting with TPA bests in runs (91), OBP (.376), OPS (.917), and wRC+ (180). He had 9.3 WAR, 33 homers, and 85 RBI.

Cebu’s Sheng-Wai Tien took Pitcher of the Year in his third season, leading in WAR (8.9), quality starts (28), complete games (19), and shutouts (5). The 23-year old Taiwanese righty had a 1.98 ERA over 263 innings, 320 strikeouts, 15-12 record, and 146 ERA+.



Reigning Austronesia Professional Baseball champ Jakarta narrowly took the top seed again in the Sundaland Association at 94-68. The Jaguars won the Java Sea League for the third time in four years with Surabaya (87-75) as their nearest foe. The atmosphere was electric in Indonesia’s largest city as Jakarta set an association season attendance record at 2,248,768.

The Malaysian squads tied atop the Malacca League with Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur both 91-71. The Blue Wings won the tiebreaker game to repeat as ML champs. Further down the standings saw 74-88 Medan, who led in runs scored (517) but also allowed the most (577). Palembang at 82-80 allowed the fewest runs (386) but scored the second-fewest (423).

Both of the Sundaland Association’s top awards went to Jakarta players. 1B Shen Chang won MVP in his fifth season, leading in home runs (48) and runs scored (77). The 26-year old Taiwanese lefty added 87 RBI, .817 OPS, 193 wRC+, and 6.8 WAR.
He managed to be an effective hitter still even with an abysmal 35.4% strikeout rate.

Chow Mai won Pitcher of the Year in his fourth full season, leading with 30 quality starts. The 25-year old Singaporean lefty had a 1.62 ERA over 249.2 innings, 277 strikeouts, 18-10 record, 153 ERA+, and 7.5 WAR. The Jaguars also saw Tran Chinh Han won his third Reliever of the Year in four years, posting 50 saves over 86 games and 99.1 innings with a 1.27 ERA, 186 strikeouts, and 6.3 WAR. This was only the fourth 50+ save effort in APB history and Han was one appearance short of that record.

Despite Kaohsiung having a 13-win advantage in the regular season, Cebu rolled to a Taiwan-Philippine Association sweep. With the repeat, the Crows won their seventh pennant (1980, 1990-92, 2012, 2025-26). The Sundaland Association Championship rematch had the result reversed with Johor Bahru winning this time over Jakarta 4-2. The Blue Wings earned their third pennant, having also done it in 2017 and 2018.



The 62^nd Austronesia Championship saw Cebu victorious 4-1 over Johor Bahru, becoming three-time APB champs (1980, 1991, 2026). The parity continued for the top spot with seven different champions in as many years. There had also been 10 different champs in the last 11 seasons with only Palembang repeating. CF Chas Galindo was finals MVP in his sixth year for the Crows, starting all 9 playoff games with 10 hits, 6 runs, 3 doubles, 3 homers, and 4 RBI.



Other notes: 2026 was the final year for 10-time Pitcher of the Year winner Ching-Chen Yao, who only managed 45 innings in his 19^th season with Zamboanga because of injuries. He retired at age 39 as APB’s all-time leader in WAR (163.53), WHIP (0.66), opponent’s OBP (.186), and opponent’s OPS (.429). As of 2037, he’s 8^th in strikeouts for APB (4960) and 17^th in wins (223-91).

Yao’s 1.46 ERA is the best of all of the world’s Hall of Fame starting pitchers as of 2037. He also ranks 2^nd in ERA+ (188), 1^st in FIP- (31), and 1^st in opponent’s OPS among this group. Yao ranks 4^th among all pitchers ever in career WAR as of 2037 and ranks 21^st among all players. This is the best among Taiwanese born players and would be the top mark for APB players until eventually passed by Binh Tang. Yao won an incredible eight ERA titles and led ten times in both strikeouts and WAR, putting him in the conversation for the most dominant pitchers ever.

Zamboanga’s Faqih Saleh had APB’s 51^st Perfect Game on June 17 with 12 strikeouts against Manila. Saleh’s was notable as only the third perfect game in world history with extra innings, earning his over ten frames. The only other 10 IP perfectos were Ed Arua on 9/4/1982 in APB and Tokinari Ito on 4/18/1939 in East Asia Baseball. Palembang’s Ronaldo Sahri threw his third no-hitter in four years, becoming the 19^th APB ace with 3+ no-hitters.

Gosner Rahmawati was the 11^th pitcher to 4500 career strikeouts. Widodo Megawati became the 10^th batter to 2500 career hits and the 27^th to 1000 runs scored. Reggie Rozalez was the 37^th to 1000 RBI and the 27^th to 400 home runs. C Yi-Hsiang Chang won his 9^th consecutive Silver Slugger, extending his APB position record among catchers.

[johnstone1987]

262 pages is insane dedication. Keep it up man!

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The Australasia League saw an intense battle for the top spot between reigning Oceania Champion Sydney and Christchurch. With the AL’s fewest runs allowed at 507, the Chinooks won the race at 109-53 over the 106-56 Snakes. Christchurch earned their fourth pennant in seven years, their eighth in 14 years, and their 16^th overall. The Chinooks were behind only the Pacific League’s Guam (17) for the most pennants. The chase certainly sent fans to the ballpark as Christchurch set a new OBA attendance record at 2,169,152 fans.

For Sydney, it was only their second time in five years and fourth time in nine years outside of the top spot. The only time in OBA history that a team won more games and still only finished second was Honolulu in 1992 at 108-54, finishing four back on Guam. Canberra was third at 93-69 and had the most runs at 810. The Centurions posted a fifth straight winning season, but they’re still looking for that first title. Also of note, Melbourne fell off hard from 91 wins in 2025 down to 68 in 2026.

Australasia League MVP went to Sydney LF Lewis Sundstrom. The 26-year old Australian lefty had 51 home runs, 128 RBI, 103 runs, 54 steals, a .291/.348/.636 slash, .984 OPS, 158 wRC+, and 6.7 WAR. He didn’t lead in any stat, but was notably second in homers, RBI, and OPS. Sundstrom also hit for the cycle in June facing Hobart.

Christchurch’s Quinn Burry won Pitcher of the Year with the 17^th pitching Triple Crown in OBA history with a 25-7 record, 1.93 ERA, and 435 strikeouts over 288.2 innings. The 26-year old Australian righty also led in WHIP (0.85), quality starts (32), FIP- (46), ERA+ (200), and WAR (12.8). Sensing his elite potential, the Chinooks had wisely signed Burry to a seven-year, $90,780,000 extension after the 2024 campaign.



Three-time defending Pacific League champ Port Moresby made it a four-peat and tied the PL wins record at 119-43. The Mud Hens matched 1999 Guam’s league record and were second in OBA history to Christchurch’s 126-36 world record from 2016. Port Moresby led in fewest runs allowed (471) and second in runs scored (760). They became six-time Pacific League champs with the result.

Vanuatu and Honolulu still had great seasons even if they were miles away from the Mud Hens. The Wizards were 100-62 and the Honu went 97-65 while leading with 782 runs. Samoa notably collapsed from 90-72 in 2025 to 64-98 in 2026. Guadalcanal was 68-94, but still managed to set a new OBA team record with 284 doubles.

Unsurprisingly, Port Moresby swept the big awards, led by CF Stanley Yeo as Pacific League MVP. The hometown hero won it for the fourth time, having also won in 2021, 23, and 25. The 30-year old lefty was the WARlord (8.6) and led with 101 stolen bases. Yeo scored 100 runs with 170 hits, 33 homers, .858 OPS, and 141 wRC+.

The Mud Hens’ pitchers finished #1-#5 on the individual leaderboard for ERA. The man in the #2 spot was Daniel Laurinavicius, who earned Pitcher of the Year as the WARlord at 8.8. The 33-year old Lithuanian was a newcomer to OBA, having spent his previous 13 seasons bouncing between the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier and the European Second League with Vilnius and Reykjavik.

Port Moresby signed him to a five-year, $60 million deal for 2026 which at the time was decried by some as an overpay for an unknown name. Laurinavicius delivered with a 2.17 ERA over 265.2 innings, 23-7 record, 267 strikeouts, 62 FIP-, and 171 ERA+.



The 67^th Oceania Championship was a rematch from 2023, which saw Port Moresby defeat Christchurch to kick off their dynasty. The Mud Hens’ only other title prior to that also came at the expense of the Chinooks back in 1985. In round three, Port Moresby prevailed again, winning 4-2 for their third championship in four years. They became the fifth franchise achieve the feat, joining Melbourne (six from 2004-10), Guam (1997-2000), Honolulu (seven from 1982-90), and Adelaide (1974-77).

Finals MVP was RF Pete Maple in his first year as a full-time starter. The 25-year old Hawaiian went 9-23 with 2 runs, 1 triple, 2 homers, and 2 RBI. For Christchurch, they fell to 3-13 all-time in the finals and had lost six straight. No franchise in baseball history had finished as their league’s runner-up more times.



For Port Moresby, their 2026 crew deserves strong consideration as OBA’s best-ever champion. They matched 1999 Guam for the best record by an OBA champ at 119-43. Only 2016 Christchurch had a better record (126-36), but they lost their finale to the Golden Eagles. To that point, only eight teams in world baseball history had won 120+ games and their league’s overall championship. The other OBA champs with 110+ win seasons were 1978 Perth (111-51), 1979 Guam (112-50), 1992 Guam (112-50), 2007 Melbourne (110-52), 2010 Melbourne (113-49), and 2013 Christchurch (110-52).

Other notes: Sydney’s Trey Cruz broke the OBA single-season stolen bases record with 125, passing the previous best of 115 by George Connolly from 1991. Cruz also won his 10^th Silver Slugger at second base. Port Moresby’s Feleti Koma set the OBA record for a pitching win percentage at .952 with his 20-1 season. Honolulu’s Steven Gamboa had his second no-hitter in three years, becoming the 19^th OBA ace to throw multiple no-nos.

OBA home run, runs scored, and RBI leader Roe Kaupa became the first in OBA to cross 900 home runs and 2000 career RBI. After the 2026 season, 17 players in pro baseball history were in the 900 homer club. Kaupa also became the 5^th in OBA to reach 3000 hits. He finished the season with 3132 and intended to come back with Vanuatu in 2027 at age 40. Adrian Kali had the top hits mark in OBA with 3467. Meanwhile, Earl Pacubas became OBA’s 17^th member of the 500 home run club.

In pitching milestones, Peyton McCoy was the 13^th to 4000 strikeouts and the 9^th to 250 wins. It was his final season, finishing with 252 wins and 4212 Ks. As of 2037, those rank 7^th and 13^th, respectively. CF Pouvalu Manu won his 12^th consecutive Gold Glove, becoming the third in OBA at any position with 12+ wins. Ashton Hughes (13) still had him beat in center.

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St. Petersburg won its third consecutive North Division title and took the European League’s top seed at 98-64. Both wild cards came from the North with Nizhny Novgorod at 92-70 and Minsk at 88-74. The Ninjas picked up their fourth wild card in six years while the Miners got their fourth in seven seasons. Kazan was also in the mix at 84-78. Defending EL champ Moscow was a distant fifth in the division at 81-81.

Volgograd’s South Division title streak grew to six seasons. The Voyagers were 95-67, which extended their overall playoff streak to seven. Samara was next at 86-76, finishing two behind Minsk for the second wild card. The Steelers were the top scoring EL team at 612 runs. Tel Aviv, notably a wild card last year, fell hard to 69-93.

Leading St. Petersburg to the top seed was European League MVP Talgat Nurgaliev. He had also won MVP back in 2019 with Perm, where he spent his first nine seasons. Nurgaliev spent 2024-25 with Ulaanbaatar, then signed with the Polar Bears for 2026 at four years and $54,500,000. The 32-year old Tajik DH delivered, leading in home runs (53), RBI (117), runs (93), slugging (.592), OPS (.919), wRC+ (195), and WAR (7.9).


Gomel allowed the fewest runs in the league at 450, but finished 74-88 as they scored the fewest (424). Their ace Araz Aliev won Pitcher of the Year in his fifth season, leading in strikeouts (390), complete games (28), shutouts (6), FIP- (46), and WAR (12.3). The 27-year old Uzbek righty had a 2.22 ERA over 292 innings, 131 ERA+, and 18-13 record.

St. Petersburg beat Minsk 3-1 in the first round and Nizhny Novgorod got the 3-2 road upset over Volgograd. The Polar Bears earned repeat trips to the European League Championship Series and the Ninjas got their second in three years. St. Petersburg prevailed at home 4-2 in the ELS over Nizhny Novgorod to finally end a 48-year pennant drought. Their previous three European League titles were back in the 1970s, setting an EPB record for the longest gap between pennants.



The 2024 Eurasian Professional Baseball champ Yekaterinburg bounced back after missing the 2025 playoffs. The Yaks secured the Asian League’s top seed and the West Division at 99-63. Reigning EPB champ Krasnoyarsk rolled to their eighth straight East Division crown at 97-65 and grew their playoff streak to nine seasons. The Cossacks were the top scoring team at 676 runs and Yekaterinburg allowed the fewest at 508. The Yaks also set a new AL attendance record at 1,818,253. Krasnoyarsk notably had a .284 team batting average, the second-best in AL history behind their own .289 from 2023.

It was a steep drop to the wild card contenders with Chelyabinsk (87-75) and Ulaanbaatar (84-78) getting the spots over Ufa (81-81), and Vladivostok (80-82). The Cadets’ wild card streak grew to eight straight seasons with the Boars earning a repeat berth. Last year’s ALCS runner-up Perm dropped to 78-84.

Asian League MVP went to DH Anatoliy Dmitrenko, who has been with Chelyabinsk since 2012. The 33-year old Belarusian led in hits (209), doubles (37), total bases (339), and batting average (.337). Dmitrenko added 86 runs, 29 homers, 103 RBI, .916 OPS, 171 wRC+, and 7.2 WAR.

Krasnoyarsk’s Yevgeni Lyubimov won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also done it in 2020. In his 12^th year for the Cossacks, the 32-year old Belarusian lefty led in strikeouts (351), WHIP (0.85), WAR (9.8), and FIP- (47). Lyubimov had a 2.15 ERA over 242.1 innings, 18-5 record, and 151 ERA+. The Cossacks also had Dimo Antonov win his third Reliever of the Year in four seasons, leading with 39 saves and a 1.54 ERA in 70 innings.

Yekaterinburg swept Ulaanbaatar and Krasnoyarsk topped Chelyabinsk 3-1 in the first round, setting up a rematch of the 2023 and 2024 editions of the Asian League Championship Series. It was the fifth straight year the Cossacks were there in search of a third pennant in that stretch. The Yaks denied the repeat bid though in six games for their second title in three years. Yekaterinburg won their 13^th pennant, leading all AL teams.



In the 72^nd EPB Championship, St. Petersburg defeated Yekaterinburg 4-2 to become three-time champs (1971, 1977, 2026). The 48-year drought for the overall title was also the longest gap in EPB history between rings. The Yaks fell to 9-4 all-time in their finals trips, suffering their first loss since 2006. Yekaterinburg was the seventh different champ in as many years.

Finals MVP was 1B Gray Barrow, an American who came to EPB in 2021 after failing to make it in MLB. He was brought to Russia with Kazan, but was traded to the Polar Bears in 2025. In 16 playoff starts, Barrow had 20 hits, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 1 homer, and 5 RBI. He would go onto play another decade as a reliable starter for St. Petersburg.



Other notes: It was the final season for slugger Nikolay Kargopolcev, who just fell short of EPB’s all-time marks for home runs and RBI. A broken kneecap in March kept the 39-year old OF out most of the season, only adding 6 homers and 16 RBI to his tallies. His 730 home runs fell 10 short of Konrad Mazur’s 740 and his 1729 RBI narrowly missed Ivan Mushailov’s 1755.

Kargopolcev also scored 1600 runs, 69 away from Igor Gorbatyuk’s top mark. His 2913 hits were 5^th at retirement, but Igor Urban’s top mark of 3044 had seemed reachable prior to the injury. Gorbatyuk played his final season with only 56 games to grow his runs record to 1669. He became the 21^st to 500 home runs and retired third in walks at 1348. Gorbatyuk also was EPB’s leader in times caught stealing at 890, although he did succeed 1033 times. Gorbatyuk and Kargopolcev were expected to be an awesome one-two Hall of Fame punch when eligible for 2032’s class.

In pitching milestones, Kaysar Alkhasov was the 14^th to 4500 strikeouts, wrapping his career with 4585. Andrei Linev became the 30^th to 4000 Ks. Linev and Svyatoslav Tyahnybok were the 58^th and 59^th to reach 200 wins. LF Brandon Chunchignorov won his 11^th Gold Glove, tying the EPB position record. SS Denis Antipov won his 7^th Gold Glove. RF Timofei Averkin won his 8^th Silver Slugger.