[MrNFL_FanIQ]

---

The Arab League’s Western Conference saw a shakeup with three new division champs than the prior two seasons. The top record went to Alexandria at 97-65 atop the Nile Division. The Astronauts finished six games ahead of Cairo for the top spot, ending a seven-year playoff drought. Tripoli took the Mediterranean Division at 96-66, edging Algiers by two games. The Privateers ended the four-year division title streak of Casablanca, who took third in the division at 89-73. Amman dominated the Levant Division at 91-71, ending a two-year playoff drought. Jerusalem, the division winner in the prior two seasons, fell off hard to 73-89.

Western Conference MVP went to Casablanca 3B Abderrazak Zouari for the second time in three years. The 28-year old Moroccan righty bounced back after missing half of 2001 to injury, leading in runs (131), home runs (55), RBI (147), total bases (401), OBP (.409), slugging (.706), OPS (1.115), wRC+ (206), and WAR (12.0).

Cairo’s Mahmoud Al-Fandi won Pitcher of the Year and became the first-ever Triple Crown pitcher in Arab League Baseball history. The 26-year old Syrian lefty had a 24-8 record, 2.71 ERA, and 319 strikeouts over 259 innings. Al-Fandi also led in WHIP (0.95), quality starts (31), FIP- (69), and WAR (7.7).

Tripoli swept Amman in the first round of the playoffs, earning their third Western Conference Finals appearance (1991, 1997). For top seed Alexandria, their only prior playoff berth saw a WCF defeat in 1994. The Astronauts would sweep the Privateers 3-0 to win their first-ever pennant.



The battle for the top record in the Eastern Conference was centered in the Saudi Division as Riyadh and Medina both finished at 96-66. The Rats defeated the Mastodons in the one-game tiebreaker for their second division title in three years. Jeddah, last year’s conference finalist, dropped to .500. Dubai repeated as Gulf Division champ at 95-67, fending off Kuwait by two games. Reigning ALB champ Mosul had their worst record since 1994, but still firmly took the Iraq Division at 89-73. The Muskies extended their postseason streak to eight years, the longest in ALB history to date.

Riyadh first baseman Samer Al-Mousa won Eastern Conference MVP and posted the fourth ALB Triple Crown season for a hitter. The 26-year old Syrian lefty smacked 62 home runs with 141 RBI and a .348 average. Al-Mousa also led in runs (124), doubles (48), total bases (440), OBP (.433), slugging (.773), OPS (1.206), and wRC+ (226) while adding 11.0 WAR. Riyadh was delighted with their investment, as they had given Al-Mousa an eight-year, $8,990,000 extension the prior winter. The Rats also had the Pitcher of the Year with eighth-year lefty Ali Sabet. The 28-year old Egyptian led in wins (20-6), ERA (2.50), WHIP (0.88), and WAR (7.1). Sabet added 282 strikeouts over 255.2 innings.

Dubai edged Mosul 2-1 in the first round, keeping the Muskies out of the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1994. This would be the official end of their dynasty run, as Mosul would fall below .500 the next year. Despite it being their eighth time in the playoffs, this was only the second time the Diamonds had been in the ECF (1991). For Riyadh, this was their first conference final. Dubai would upset the Rats 3-2 to win their first pennant.



The 13^th Arab League Championship was guaranteed to have a first-time winner and the ninth different franchise with a title. Dubai downed Alexandria 4-2, led by veteran LF Junoon Asghar. The 32-year old Palestinian was finals MVP in his second year with the Diamonds, making 14 playoff starts with 17 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 8 home runs, and 18 RBI. Asghar set ALB playoff records for both homers and RBI. The HR mark still hasn’t been topped as of 2037, while the RBI mark held until 2025.



Other notes: Basra’s Sami Al-Malki had a 17 strikeout no-hitter on August 2 against Baghdad, setting the ALB record for most Ks in a no-no. Dubai’s Salem Aldani had a 27-game hit streak, a new ALB top mark. 1B Bilal Hamdan won his ninth Gold Glove and SS Mohammed Mohamed won his eighth. Mohamed also won his ninth Silver Slugger, the first ALB player to do so.