[MrNFL_FanIQ]

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Only three teams in the African Association of Baseball’s Southern Conference finished above .500 in the fight for the two playoff spots. Cape Town was on top at 102-60, earning a third straight playoff berth. After taking third the prior two seasons, the inaugural AAB champ Johannesburg made it back to the playoffs. The Jackalopes were 98-64, taking the spot by four games over Luanda. Reigning conference champ Dar es Salaam was a distant fourth at 79-83. Notably, Harare set a still-standing conference record for a pitching staff by allowing only 1122 hits. Their offense was abysmal though, thus the Hustlers were at the bottom of the standings at 69-93.

Luanda had the top awards winner despite taking third. Third-year LF Marley Mubiri won Southern Conference MVP with the Ugandan switch hitter leading in runs (121), hits (178), total bases (395), triple slash (.320/.425/.710), OPS (1.135), wRC+ (220), and WAR (10.9). Mubiri also had 60 home runs and 129 RBI, becoming the third AAB hitter with a 60+ homer season. Cape Town DH Titi Kolikoli would beat him with 62 homers, setting the new single-season record. Djedoboum Sanoussi won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also taken it in the inaugural 1995 season. The 30-year old Chadian lefty led in wins (22-6), and ERA (2.39), posting 258 strikeouts in 252 innings with 7.5 WAR.



Defending Africa Series champ Kinshasa finished first in the Central Conference at 106-56, making the Sun Cats the only team in the playoffs in each of AAB’s first four seasons. Mogadishu was second at 98-64 for their first-ever playoff berth. The Mighty Mice had a 3.03 team ERA, which would be the conference record until 2013. Kinshasa’s 3.05 was close behind. Nairobi was third, eight games back. Bujumbura, last season’s first place team, fell to fifth at 85-77.

Central Conference MVP went to veteran 1B Laurent Kouakou of Brazzaville. The 36-year old Ivorian was in his fourth season with the Blowfish after a decade in West African Baseball. Kouakou set the AAB RBI record with 139 and also led with 59 home runs and 347 total bases. He added a .253/.339/.619 slash and 6.4 WAR. Kinshasa’s Michael Mukasa was Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (27-4), ERA (2.23), innings (278), quality starts (28), and WAR (8.6). The 34-year old Ugandan lefty had 231 strikeouts in his one year with the Sun Cats. The 27 wins is still the AAB single-season record, only finally matched in 2036.

In the Southern Conference Championship, Johannesburg upset Cape Town in a seven-game classic, becoming two-time pennant winners (1995). Kinshasa downed Mogadishu 4-1 to give the Sun Cats their third Central Conference pennant in four years.



Kinshasa would go onto be the first repeat AAB champion. In the fourth Africa Series, the Sun Cats defeated Johannesburg 5-3. LF Evander Solomon was finals MVP, redeeming himself after a negative WAR season. The 34-year old Australian had 21 hits, 9 runs, 4 doubles, and 10 stolen bases in 12 playoff starts.



Other notes: Johannesburg’s Chifundo Manda had 46 saves, setting the AAB record. It would be matched five more times in future seasons, but hasn’t been surpassed as of 2037. Brazzaville’s Hicham Al Khouga had an opponent’s slugging percentage of .241; this is still the AAB record as of 2037. Al Khouga also had one of the two no-hitters in the 1998 season. Harare’s Kasuri Sukhi became the first AAB batter to have a six hit game.