NORTHERN STATES LEAGUE

2014 HALL OF FAME ELIGIBLES

Class of 2013 Batters

 

 

Roberto Alomar- It’s possible that his recent election into the “real” Hall of Fame may influence us now- here’s his repeat monograph, 5th and final year on the ballot- It seems that most years we start off with a backup catcher or a pinch hitter type with no interest.  Not so here in 2010- as Robbie Alomar pops up first.  Alomar has a fine career, batting .286 through 16 years and being elected to 6 All League teams and 6 All Star teams.  Most of us can remember 1987 when Eric Wolfgang selected Alomar with the #2 pick in the draft, who would soon welcome in brother Sandy in 1991 with the #1 pick.  Yes- pre-lottery.  Robbie’s runs total is the best on the ballot this year and 62 triples is tied for the top.  His 393 career SB are much better than the 2nd best on the ballot as well.  Things didn’t go that well for Alomar’s first 3 years in the league with a poor team, though he kept his batting average in good shape.  In 1992 things started to go forward and that was his first All Star year when he posted 49 doubles and 52 stolen bases.  The career continued with solid if not extravagant performances through 2001 with the Wizards, when he was suddenly dumped to New England along with a rookie pick for Mesa and Bere.  Nice.  Then, of course, Robbie would have his career year, batting a gaudy .343 (2nd best in the league) with a career high 130 runs and 14 triples.  In 2003 he was traded to Creekside and polished off his career with 2 nondescript seasons.  He reached the post season just twice, batting under .200 in 1999-2000.  The numbers might pale against big stud outfielders already in the Hall, but as a 2B before many of us had good 2B, he put up very nice numbers.  His lack of post season success should not hurt him, but those major media markets didn’t get a lot of good looks at him.

 

Moises Alou- I guess we’ll always link him to Bartman.  That’s pretty sad because he did put up a nice NSL career with a .290 BA and 313 bombs. He spent most of his career up north with first Jericho, then Vermont and New England, before settling in TMI and Glenville to finish it out.  He was a 5 time All Star and on 3 All League teams.  Originally selected with the #10 overall pick in 1993 by the Roscoes, he was traded to the Woodchucks where he put up his best numbers from 1996-2004.  In that time frame he appeared in 42 post season games, but never got to the Championship Series.  His best season was 2005 for the Elite when he posted a .333 BA with 41 long balls and 124 rbi.  His best batting average year was his final one when he notched a .361 in 81 games for Glenville.  He just barely missed out on 2000 hits (1988) and 1200 rbi (1199).  Compare his numbers to some who are already in the Hall of Fame.  He compares fairly well, doesn’t he?

 

Gary Bennett- It’s time to revert to the career back-up catcher category.  He was traded 4 times and went through 5 drafts in his career.  If there was a best year- it was 2004 for Creekside with a .235 BA and 32 rbi in 74 games. 

 

Craig Biggio- Along with Julio Franco, Biggio has the 2nd most games on the ballot this year.  Plus we need to remember he was a catcher and second baseman- with our Hall showing limited amounts of both as members.  Biggio was a rock- playing 10 years in Keystone before six in Magic City and a few late bounce around years.  Craig was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1989 Rookie Draft and after a couple of “getting to know you” seasons, his career took off in 1953m when he played all 162 games for the Comanches batting .276.  He continued to play most every day and in the period 1997-2000 missed just 14 games.  He backed it up with offensive numbers as well.  Sure, some of his numbers may be longevity numbers, but he carved out 274 HR from a traditionally power-challenged position.  1363 rbi is great and he closed in on 3000 hits- missing by just 149.  His stolen base total was much higher than I remembered (424).  He was a 10 time All-Star including 9 of the 10 seasons from 1991-2000.  He was on 5 All-League teams.  In his career he appeared in 92 post season contests with 13 HR and 47 rbi.  I think he should be considered overall against the rest of the ballot, and if you look at him compared to other 2B or catchers, he’s a shoo-in.  Let’s see what happens.

 

Barry Bonds- As time goes by, I think we’re all softening our stance slightly on the steroid boys.  Maybe you turn your head to the others, but it’s time for a big decision here.  Yes, we all hate Barry and all think he was doping, but this is a fact- he leads the league in career HR (704), career rbi (2022), career doubles (648), and career BB (2082).  Not only that, but he’s one of the very few players who have a positive BB/K ratio, he swiped 414 bases, and batted 284.  He led the league in HR just once- 2002 with 71 and led in BB 6 times, including 2002-5.  He was the #1 overall pick in the 1987 Rookie Draft by the Expansion East York 66ers, and through his career was able to hoist 7 Championships.  He was a 11 time All Star and 9 time All League.  He was the 2002 MVP with those 71 HR, an incredible 195 BB, 172 runs, and 174 rbi.  His 32.5 automatic points are the most I’ve ever seen on the ballot.  So, the new voting rules may affect things, and we’ll find out more about the league opinion on players such as Bonds.  What I do know is that he was by far the best hitter in baseball and the best hitter in the NSL for at least 12 years.  How does that equate to the NSL Hall of Fame?  His career was pedestrian from 1987-92, and Mick thought he had just a run of the mill type player.  But the career turned around in 1992- his first year of a positive BB/K ratio and the first year of the new hat size.  From then, of course, he was the best player in the league until 2005, his final huge campaign with 46 long balls and 89 rbi.  He appeared in 118 post season games with 35 long balls and 96 rbi.  I don’t think it’s a question of being deserving as far as the numbers go. 

 

Aaron Boone-With the Red Sox winning a few championships, I’ve learned not to hate him quite as much.  He was a career First Cap as Si took him in the 2nd round of the 1999 rookie draft.  He filled the 3B hole on the club admirably but never hit more than .265 after his first 2 years and drove in 100 just once- 104 in his best season, 2003 with 31 HR and 111 runs. He was injured in all of 2005 and returned to his career worst season in 2006 before fading away.  He appeared in 45 post season games with 7 HR and 18 rbi.    

 

Ben Broussard- Ben actually had a few good years in the NSL with the Canaan Polar Bears of 2004-6 where he smote 57 HR over the 3 seasons and drove in 212.  Originally a Wildcat in 2003 he went to Canaan for Eric Milton and some draft picks swapping hands.  Given a chance in Canaan he did fine, even posting a .322 BA in his final season of 2008 in New Hampshire.  Yet the career numbers are lacking from poor longevity.

 

Raul Casanova- He had a nice year in 2002 for the TMI Tigers- batting .266 with 19 HR and 40 rbi in 61 games, but everything else is ugly.  He was the first guy I remember who was out of baseball for 5 years, only to return for his 5th season just to get on the HOF ballot (batted .138 for the 2008 Polar Bears).  Looks as if something might be fishy here- maybe he paid off the head Polar Bear? 

 

Alex Cintron- He spent 5 years in Jericho and one in Vermont.  Actually, he had 20 long balls in 2004 when he hit ,299 and drove in 74, but the next year his HR total was halved despite plating 38 more games, and although he had glimpses of being functional, there wasn’t much to hang a hat on. 

 

Tony Clark- Clark turned in 13 seasons in the NSL with varying amounts of success.  In 2000 for the Pounders, he was part of the Holy Trilogy (3 first basemen on Goody’s roster- all with like 160 games.  He couldn’t use them all!) and in 127 games poled a career best 34 HR with 108 rbi.  But only 3 years later for East York he batted .097 in 39 games.   In 2006 for Jericho he batted ,325 with 19 HR, the next year .191 with 8.  Clark was an incredibly frustrating player who looked at time if he’d put everything together and at other times was a non-factor.  He had some decent power numbers but the bad outweighed the good.  Goody took him in the 4th round of the 1996 Rookie Draft and after 5 seasons went to the 66ers, then to Jericho, before his final stop at New England.  He barely batted .200 in 47 post season games.

 

Royce Clayton- Did you realize he was in the league for 16 seasons?  Neither did I.  Actually, despite the low career batting average, Clayton was an everyday starting SS in 9 NSL campaigns.  His offensive numbers will pale against a corner OF, but he did play a skill position quite well and didn’t kill you at the plate.  Si took him in the first round of the 1993 Rookie Draft- a very unusual Si 1st round pick- and after 4 years he was peddled to Magic City in one of the infamous “Crown Deals”.  He did have his best career year there in MC for Wil

 in 1998 when he batted .275 with 11 HR, 70 rbi, and 22 SB and was named a backup All Star.  But the rest of the way was merely pedestrian as he batted over .240 just once until the end.  He spent time in Keystone and Glenville then moved to White River, Sparrow Lake, and Cleveland where it ended.  Good longevity.  He was a decent player at a skill position.  Was he HOF worthy?

 

Morgan Ensberg- After a 27 HR campaign in 2004 for the Wizards, most of us thought Ensberg’s career might actually take off.  But sadly that would be the high water mark as Eric dealt him to Jericho (hey- is this the Jericho Roscoe ballot or what?  I’ve mentioned the team like 100 times…) and after a couple of decent seasons he was spent.  He drove in a career high 85 in 2006 with 26 HR and walked 88 times in 2007, but batted just .205 that season and the writing was on the wall when after 2008 he couldn’t get another contract. 

 

Johnny Estrada- One thing about Dave Burnham- he seems to always have players when they’re on their career years.  Dave took a chance on him in 2004 in a big deal for Tim Hudson with the Wizards, and after a lost season, he rebounded to hit .292 with 10 HR in an already potent VT offense.  He then helped the ‘chucks to 3 straight playoff appearances where he hit better than .300.  But after 120 games in 2008 with a .258 average and 59 rbi, he simply disappeared from the radar screen and was done in the NSL.  His 7 year NSL career gave us just a decent batting average with little else, but he was simply a very large part in turning the ‘chucks of the mid-00s into the constant contender that they are today.

 

Julio Franco- His 2nd ballot- now the repeat.  Well, he finally retired.  Or did he?  What we’ll remember him for is his age and dh/ph type appearances late in his career.  What we’ll forget is the incredible start he had.  Early on after being selected by the Brookside Bombers with the 2nd overall pick in 1984, he was as dominant a SS and later a 2B as we had.  Remember this was pre-ARod and pre-Kinsler, when 2B or SS weren’t expected to be big bats.  But Julio was and his overall career numbers are a factor of 20 seasons in the league, yes, but also a factor of being a pretty darned good player.  He led the league in batting with a .343 BA for the 1992 First Caps and finished 4th in 1987 (.332).  The high water mark in HR was 18 in 1990, and rbi was 79 in 1992, so it’s clear he wasn’t a huge XBH man, and his errors are way, way up there (led the league with 46 in 1986 and 32 in 1992).  One of the true FTF (not face to face) guys, obviously he was on Si’s roster for quite a while able to kick 120 in his 6 years there.  He was a 5 time All Star and 2 time All Legaue player in 2 different positions.  His career batting average of .285 is good for 31st overall and 2202 hits is good for 35th.  He stole a quarter of a thousand bases and was able to manage 153 long balls.  Like Finley, a pretty nice career that we may have overlooked.  After 4 years in Brookside, he moved to Gulf Breeze for a year before his best years in York, followed by stints in NE, Lon, IN, and finally Kesytone.  So how old was he really?  The questions might overshadow his excellent career.

 

Andres Galarraga- 5th and final ballot- here is the repeat- Not last year, but certainly in recent years we’ve talked about things you need to do before you die and one is to visit 750 ˝ N. Belvedere in York, Pa on Wednesday night APBA Busch League night.  There will be a host of characters there and we’ve just signed up another of them- The Mayor of North York, Ken Staab.  But there’s a guy there named Terry Kottmeyer.  What a guy.  Kott has an opinion on everything and surely his use of the English language is one of his fortes.  But pronunciation of names has him baffled.  Oh, Smith and Jones go okay, but you should hear his Galarraga call.  It takes about a minute, but he says something like, “Anderaaaaaas Galarrraggggas”.  I have to assume he owned him in the face to face league at one time, but it is a treat to hear.  Anyway, hopefully you’ve settled in on this monograph after breezing through the 25 backup catchers.  Galarraga was an absolute stud- and Burnie will tell you all about him.  He was drafted in the 2nd round (yes- 2nd!) of the 1986 Rookie Draft by the northern most franchise in the league.  What did he accomplish?  How about 2 MVPs (1989 and 1997), 5 All Star teams and 2 All League teams?  In his 19 year career, he led the league in hitting once (.343 in 1997) and rbi once (154 in 1989) while toiling for some not so great teams.  1992, 93, and 2000 were all basically lost to injury, which makes his numbers pop out just a little more.  He did have 50 HR in 1997 and 39 in 1998, but I don’t think any of us considered him a HR hitter.  He was only in the top 10 in rbi twice (149 in 1997 in addition to that 154 in 1989), and his OBP was never that great.  His 1807 whiffs are 2nd most on the ballot this year.  In 18 Championship Series games in his career he was 11 for 68.  But this was “the franchise” for the Canucks for so many years.  Imagine if Andres had had some more offense around him- yet on the offensively starved Canucks of the 90s he was still able to win 2 MVPs!  Only Don Mattingly has more.  Lots and lots of longevity numbers- some really nice years- what do you think?

 

Marcus Giles- We were all Braves fans at one time or another.  Come on- TBS, Dale Murphy, Skip Caray, Pat Rockett?  Oh well- we all liked them- likely not as much as Chad- but somewhat.  That probably overinflated Marcus Giles some as well.  He was never as good as his brother and although he covered 2B (see Biggio), he was a regular just twice in the NSL and has relatively few games and atbats to make a dent in the Hall of Fame door.  This was another Pounder and Goody as usual made him a career Pounder.  He had a nice 2004 campaign when he hung up a .294 BA, 22 HR, and 75 rbi, but that was about it.  He scored 99 times in 2006 and 98 times in 2004- a function of batting lead off for some powerful Pounder clubs.  But he didn’t steal much and his walk totals don’t mirror a lead off type guy.  After a .158 mark in 2008 he was through.  He was the Pounders’ #1 rookie pick in 2002. 

 

Juan Gonzalez- His 4th ballot. Old Juan gone- like gone fishing as he worked out another injury.  But his career wasn’t always like that, and Gonzo was pretty dominant over the first 10 years of his career.  Let’s look a little closer, shall we?  We expanded in 1986 by adding 4 franchises- one being the Hollywood Knights.  We knew we were in trouble when the owner, Buddy Hay, didn’t participate much in his drafts and he was expelled before the season began.  At that time, Tim Whitney took over and renamed the club the Hardwick A-Team and had a decent 5 year run for us, but after winning 95 games in the 2nd year of the team’s existence, you sort of knew something was up.  Tim played 3 more years then I remember the conversation we had before he left which wasn’t very pleasant.  Regardless, you’re more or less up to date as Dave “Scoop” Mann joined us in 1991 and the club was renamed the Creekside Crushers.  Now Scoop had a few players- I know McGwire was already on board, but back to the subject of the monograph saw Scoop take Juan with the 2nd overall pick of the 1992 Rookie Draft.  Bagwell went first, Si was able to nab Plantier 4th.  But Gonzalez came out hot and had 133 HR after his first 3 seasons with 366 rbi.  That will help lend credibility to your team!  The injury bug crept in a little in 1995-6, but then three more robust years with 59 HR in 1998 and 56 doubles combined with 147 rbi in 1999.  He was a six time All-Star including 6 of his first 8 seasons, and a 5 time All-League player.  He was named the rookie of the year in 1992 with 41 HR and 120 rbi.  Compare his numbers on the stat sheet to Galarraga- not too shabby.  He also had 15 HR in 55 post season games.  His 48 HR in 1993 led the league as did the 56 doubles in 1999.  He has really nice longevity numbers and his 441 HR are good for 13th in our league history.  Scoop has 3 championships on the wall, and 2 of them (1996 and 2000) can be at least partly credited to Juan.  We’ll always remember him for pulled hamstrings, but the numbers show us different- especially early in his career.

 

Tony Graffanino- Utility players never really retire, do they?  Surely, Tony is in camp with someone despite being 42 years old.  His NSL career was very utility IF like.  Drafted by Pennsylvania in the 2nd round of the 1998 Rookie Draft, he was exposed to the 1999 Expansion Draft and was snapped up by Warwick (now Glenville) in the 21st round of that draft.  Graffanino was a pseudo-starter in 2007 for the Greys, but most everything else in the career was a save an at bat for the real guys type player.  In 2007, he played a career best 121 games with a .287 batting mark and 68 runs.  The year before, he batted .284 in 104 games, so it appeared that things were breaking lose, but 2008 spelled bye-bye after a .205 average and he was through.  He probably had more worth to Coach than any of us, but we all have to have that type player- a gamer if you would- not afraid to just mop-up.

 

Shawn Green- I’ve written many a monograph on guys who simply disappeared, and Shawn Green is one of them.  I remember distinctly writing about Pedro Munoz of Magic City years ago.  A decent player, played in like 130 games, then simply vanished.  With Green- he played 124 games in 2008 with a .282 batting average and 11 HR, then vanished.  Hey- wait a minute.  That was with Magic City also!  Is there a link to Magic City and disappearing decent ball players?  Tune in tomorrow…. It is sort of funny though- Green was doing just fine in the NSL- a 4 time All Star and on 2 All League teams.  He has some more than middle of the road numbers, and hit more than 20 HR 7 seasons in a row.  He cracked the century mark in rbi 6 times.  All this after being selected #10 overall by the York First Capitols in 1995, and after the 2002 season he moved to Magic City in another Crown Deal.  If you’re a number comparer, match him up with Galarraga.  Lots of doubles, stole some bases, scored some runs- it was a pretty nice career for Green. He missed just 93 games over a 9 year run.  Now- exactly where in Wil’s back yard is he buried?

 

Scott Hatteberg- He was a man on the move in the NSL which can be reflected by his 6 teams in 11 seasons career.  It was a decent career- made decent by the catcher eligibility he had especially early in the career.  His best HR mark was 14, best rbi was 80, and best average was .315, yet none of them were at the same time.  He was able to hang on for 11 campaigns and played in 265 games for the Polar Bear sin 2006 and 2007.  But winners tended to grab him as he played in 8 post seasons in his 11 years.  He played many games out of position as the catcher rating helped immensely, but overall he was a middle of the road Moneyball made player.  His BB/K ratio is nice and later in his career he did post some numbers, but that was about it.

 

D.Angelo Jimenez- He played for 4 teams in 6 seasons, starting for 2 seasons (2004 and 2005) and posting a surprisingly good BB/K ratio.  The average isn’t there and 24 HR won’t get ‘er done. 

 

Jacque Jones- He sounds as if he should be playing hockey.  But he did play more than 100 games 8 straight years for the Roscoes, Duneland, and Crosstown and although his numbers aren’t eye-popping, he did fulfill a need for the clubs he was on.  I thought his SB numbers would be better (just 73 in 9 seasons) and I was surprised at how good his power numbers were (152 bombs, including 7 straight double digit marks).  He was the third round pick of the Roscoes in the 2000 Rookie Draft and had 81 HR there, before moving to the Crusaders.  He had 34 doubles in 2003 and stole a career best 15 in 2006. 

 

Ryan Klesko- In 1994, Goody drafted his rookies by list.  We all remember that list. Klesko would surely be a 1st round pick, and Goody’s instructions were, “if Klesko is available in the 3rd round, then draft him”.  Well, we all had a good hee-haw about that one and Klesko did put together a decent NSL career.  Scoop got him in the 94 Rookie Draft with his 1st round pick and he spun his wheels for a while then gradually became a feared cog to the Crusher attack.  He was on a power surge in 1996 and 1997 (29 and 36 HR), but then as I recall a shoulder injury sapped his power, and 4-5 years were lost to mediocre numbers as he struggled with it.  But things came back in 2002 and after a 26 HR season there, he batted .343 with 33 HR and a career best 105 rbi in 2003.  That got him a trade to New England and then to the Breeze for his final 4 seasons. He surely had decent if not gaudy numbers and the loss of those middle 4 seasons to the shoulder will hurt his chances. 

 

Barry Larkin- 4th time ballot- the repeat: Whoa, Nellie!  Lots to look at here, let’s see what I mean.  It has not always been that there were offensive SS on every roster.  Larkin might have been 5 years ahead of time, or maybe ARod, Jeter, Tulowitzki were 5 years too late.  Regardless, Larkin brought offense to a defensive position and as such transposed the game a bit as most others have not.  His numbers don’t scare you, but you have to remember he manned a “skill” position and was only in the top 10 in errors 1 time.  Mick’s 2nd rookie draft with us was in 1987 after his woeful 1986 expansion club took the field.  Larkin was his 2nd round pick and part of the transformation from perennial 100 loss teams to the 7 time league champion that he is.  It wasn’t instant, in fact took 5 years or so to get over .500, but Larkin was part of it and if the 66ers had ever had a captain, Barry would have been it.  The 7 time All-Star and 4 time All-League player posted a career .277 batting average with nearly 1000 rbi.  He batted over .300 just 4 times in his career and drove in more than 82 just once (123 in 1997), but was a needed piece of the 66er offense.  He stole 53 bases in 1996 for his high water mark, and played in 158 games in 1991.  His numbers won’t compare to the big boppers, but tell me a SS with more impact through the 1990s.  As a function of the teams he played for, Larkin appeared in 80 post season games with 86 hits in in 327 at bats with 31 rbi.  Late in his career he moved to Canaan for one season before winding up in Magic City for his final 2 campaigns.

 

Kenny Lofton- So which was he?  A Vince Coleman steal any time kind of guy or a Rickey Henderson ultimate lead-off hitter type of guy?  When he was playing, I thought the latter.  Now looking at the stats, I’ll go with the former.  Bill Waller took him with the 4th overall pick in the 1993 Rookie Draft, and he stayed on NE for 2 seasons- a rarity in itself.  But it was a career of 2 halves.  For openers, he played 5 seasons with NE and GM, stealing 454 bags and being elected to all 5 All Star and All League teams.  Nothing could stop him!  A return to NE for 1998 showed the speed wasn’t there anymore, as he grabbed just 34 SB and was caught 25 times.  He did bat .328 that year, and perhaps he was being molded into a true hitter.  But 1999 for the Farmland Chieftones showed 55 SB (his last +28 mark) and a .253 BA.  What happened?  None of us will ever know, of course, and he did get two more All Star berths with TMI in 2006 and 2008.  But after 120 games in 2008, he vanished (likely in to Wil’s back yard).  His batting average for the career was a little better than I thought it would be and the SB a little less- especially when posted against the caught stealings.  But he batted more than .300 seven different times and despite a putrid .198 for Albany in 2002 and .217 in 2003, he was .253 or over every season.  He was the Rookie of the Year (now Burnham award) in 1993.  He was traded 5 times in his career and played for 5 different teams, yet appeared in just 20 post season games.  His start was as good as any player in the NSL ever, but the SB fall off took away the best part of his game.

 

Rob Mackowaik- Why do I have this song in my head…”in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight”.  Oh yeah- Back ground vocals chime in, “Mackowiak, Mackowiak, Mackowaiak, Mackowiak, etc”.  That is what they’re saying, isn’t it?  He was originally a Vermont Woodchuck after being selected in the 2003 Free Agent Draft, went to Jericho for a year, then spent 4 with the Wizards before ending things.  Not much to see here.  But, there is a catchy little song.

 

Edgar Martinez- 4th time around- the repeat: So much is said about him being one dimensional and a dh type.  Hard to remember that he played almost a dozen years at third and was at least adequate doing so.  That OBP is no misprint- Edgar was in the top 10 in walks in the league for 5 straight years, 1996-2000.  His power was fine- not fantastic- but fine, and his rbi compares to Belle pretty well.  In addition, Martinez was a doubles machine, leading the league with 56 in 1993 and was 2nd in 1996 with 53.  He hit more than 40 HR just once in 2001, but had more than 20 7 other times.  Originally a 4th round rookie pick by Si (see- I told you I want him for my scouting department), he was moved to Gulf Breeze where he did most of his work, from 1991-1997, then after a 3 year stint in New England, returned to Gulf Breeze for 2, NE for one, and finally Crosstown for 2.  He was an 8 time All-Star including 5 of the 6 seasons 1996-2001, and was on two All-League teams.  He struck out more than 100 times just once, and that was just 104 times, the same season he walked 98 times.  The term “professional hitter” has always been used to describe him, and surely the numbers show you why.

 

Fred McGriff- 5th ballot- last shot- here’s the repeat- We’ve talked a little about some first basemen in this ballot and generally speaking it was to talk about their lack of pop in a steroid era.  I would bet that Fred McGriff stops that talk.  McGriff was an All Star 7 times and All League 3 times in a wonderful 17 year career.  His power numbers are tops on the ballot and his 501 career long balls ranks 7th on our all time list.  Not only the power, but McGriff carried a nice OBP throughout his career and batted .275.  He was originally selected by South Amherst (now Sparrow Lake) in the first round of the 1988 Rookie Draft.  He worked 11 seasons for that franchise before being exposed in the Expansion Draft of 1999 and selected by Indiana with their first pick.  Three years and 80 HR later he was traded to Magic City and finished in Duneland after the 2004 season.  He hit more than 50 HR twice- 52 in 1989 and 50 in 1991.  He was in the top 10 in rbi 5 times in his career including 1993 with 106, then 10 years later 120 for Magic City.  Although he struck out some (160 in 1990), he also walked a lot (100 in the same year), and even raked 41 career 3 baggers.  He played in more than 80% of his teams’ games from 1989-2003.  Lots of his numbers are big on the ballot including HR and XBH (988).  Is 500 dongs equivalent to MLB enshrinement for all 500 HR hitters?  You are the ones who will determine that.  He played in 68 post season games batting 59 for 243 with 10 HR and 48 rbi. 

 

Adam Melhuse- Are you kidding me?  I think even his mom knows he’s not worthy.  He was a career Canuck, home of the worthless catchers.  He played in a max of 54 games in 2005 and smoked 11 HR in his rookie year of 2004.  He belted 7 the rest of his career.

 

Damian Miller- Or is it Don Cross?  Many of you are too young to remember that in the early 00s, some players did not join the player’s union and as such, could not be named in sport simulation games.  Miller was Don Cross for 5 years in fact, and was drafted as Cross (not Crossie) in 1999 by the Pounders.  He played for 10 years in the league including the first 7 for the Pounders, and appeared in a career best 113 games in 2002 with 15 HR.  But there’s not much else to glance at on the career sheet and after a trade to TMI in 2006 and later to Lon in 2008 he was done.  He was an All-Star in that career best year (2002) and he posted a .330 BA in 2001 for the Pounders.  He was a ghastly 5 for 51 in 14 post season games.  I wonder which name he prefers.

 

Craig Monroe- He had a once promising career in the majors, and was taken in the 3rd round of the 2004 Rookie Draft by the East Hardwick Giants- a team which was outfielder-challenged for sure.  And Monroe came out of the box hot.  In 2004 he smacked 30 long balls and drove in 73 while batting a respectable .264.  The power was off a bit in 2005, but the average was up to .297.  42 more long balls over the next two years gave promise, but in 2008 he was dealt to Canaan and fell flat with a .216 BA and just 6 HR. So it started pretty nice, but ended with a thud.

 

Trot Nixon- He’s from Raleigh and went to high school here in Wilmington.  He lives sort of right by the hotel Chuck stayed in this past weekend at the meetings.  I’ve seen him around a few times and he gets his medicines from me.  His wife is an absolute knock out.  Hey- vote him in, maybe his wife will come to the ceremony!  But despite a fairly heralded major league career with the Red Sox and all, his NSL career was downright ugly as a career .235 BA will attest.  111 HR was nice, but it was also over 9 seasons, so maybe not that nice.  The BB/K ratio was okay, so what happened?  JB was sharp in picking Trot in the third round of the 2000 Rookie Draft.  He did bat .276 in 2004, but the rest of the batting averages were low- very low.  He had HR totals in the 20s from 02-04, and a career best 83 rbi in 2003.  But after 2004 he was essentially done and hit just 23 bombs over the final 4 seasons.  Hey- sort of like what he did in real life!  But it would be cool to introduce you to his wife!

 

Abraham O Nunez- Some things are simply impossible.  Being in 2 places at one time.  Leaving a swig of Yuengling in a bottle.  Stopping a Chad nap.  But how in the world did we get 2 Abraham Nunez’ at the same time in the league?  Not only that, but this one on the ballot has a middle name, the other one did not.  So, this one is Abraham O. Nunez.  Bryan and Cross both actually got some mileage out of him and he played in 240 games for the ‘dales of 2006-7.  Notice I didn’t say played well. But he was a Waiver Draft pick by Crosstown in 2005 and lasted 4 years on the ‘dale roster.  Not too many can claim that with their Waiver Draft picks. 

 

John Olerud- his 3rd ballot- Dave Burnham has been around forever.  He revived the old Chagrin Valley franchise in 1982 and has appeared in 12 post seasons including a league title in 1991.  Remember that the Crusaders (the original ones- sorry, Dan) were 68-94 in our first year and even worse (67-93) in 1981 before Dave purchased the club.  The Crusaders you may recall drafted a little differently than most- grabbing 16 B or better relievers in the stocking draft then holding on to all of them when we were all given an opportunity to supplement our drafts.  Well, the pen was good but not surprisingly the offense was not and we were certainly blessed (as we have been many times) by Dave coming on board and making it one of the most successful franchises ever.  I link this to Olerud simply because he was a Woodchuck 3 different times, helping the team coming out of their 1991 title to competitiveness the rest of the way to date.  Now looking at Olerud, he played on 10 teams (2 multiple times) and was traded 11 times in his career.  Why?  Well- this one is a little tough to figure, but I’m guessing that a little bit like Mueller and a lot like Mark Grace, he covered a position that you’d expect a lot of power from, and Ole just didn’t have enough- especially in the steroid era- to take teams deep into the playoffs.  His career high in HR was 26, but that was his high and he averaged less than 20 per season.  Ditto the rbi- a whopping 124 in 1994, but next best was 98 (twice).  Sure- great glove and a wonderful career BA of .300.  More walks than whiffs- lots of doubles, but Chicks dig the long ball- and 11 others on this year’s ballots have more.  His career best was 1994- the first of 3 All Star years- when he batted .352 (2nd best in the league), had 54 2B, 91 BB, and those 124 rbi.  Note I didn’t mention HR (23).  He had two nice stints for the Elite batting .334, .328, .330 in 1998-9 and 2003 respectively- and played in 90 games or more 15 of his 16 seasons.  But you sneered at Mark Grace and you probably will Lyle Overbay when his time comes.  You sure could have done worse than Olerud though.  He was originally the 9th overall pick in the 1991 rookie drfat by Jericho and was traded the very next year for Andy Benes of the Northeast Kingdom RatPack.  Except for 1 year in 2000 with East York, he played his entire career in the Vermont region.

 

Pablo Ozuna- I wonder what it would be like to have a February 29th birthday.  You know- a birthday every 4 years?  Those of us who are 40 are now 10.  60, now 15.  Hey- that sounds pretty good!  Ozuna was one of those guys caught after 9/11 with doctored passports, and aged 4 years in a minute thanks to a pen stroke.  Drafted by Mick as a 23 year old IF in 2001, in 2003 he did the reverse Feb 29th and was suddenly 29.  He hung on the EY roster for 3 years and after being cut in 2003 resurfaced 3 years later (not sure how many years older later) for the Stallions where he played 3 seasons.  He had a large 2007, hitting .376 in 189 AB, and the career BA is nice, but his 501 career atbats are puny.  How old do you think he is now- I mean if you aged 4 years for every year… hmmmm…. Heck, the way I see it Pablo is 164!

 

Rafael Palmeiro- his 4th ballot- I actually took a day off on the ballot to decide what to do with Raffy.  It was easy to think we could just blow him off like McGwire.  I mean after all, weren’t they the same type guy?  Didn’t they both use the steroids whether they admit to it or not?  Ah, guilty until proven innocent.  But wait just a second- Palmeiro’s numbers are so much better than McGwire’s.  They’re both right there on the stat sheet- take a second and compare them.  Wow!  Raffy is 3rd on our All-Time list in rbi, 8th in doubles, 5th in HR, and 11th in BB.  That’s very impressive.  He was a 4 time All-Star and 2 time All-League.  So what’s the beef?  I guess the, “Senator- I didn’t use steroids, period” line has me hedging.  Maybe it was the Viagra stuff.  Who knows, but all I’m going to say is how great his numbers are- the steroid stuff is for us to judge- it’s our league and we’ll vote in who we want.  But Palmeiro’s numbers are more than enough to get in; what do we think about his questionable past?  Maybe if he and McGwire both stood up and said, “yes, I used”, we’d forgive?  It’s a tough subject, but Raffy did test positive at one point.  We’ll go back into the archives of my brain and come up with all the guys who used speed in the 80s, and other things in the early 1900s.  I mean- it’s always been there, hasn’t it?  What was in the Babe’s hot dogs?  Did Dock Ellis really throw a no hitter “high as a kite”?  Did Bernie Carbo come to the ball park high every day?  I’m not siding with Raffy or McGwire.  I have a bottle of vitamins here from the 1920s which had Dextroamphetamine in it.  Yeah- regular multivitamins, and that was before anyone knew what ADD was.  If Ellis was on LSD- he sure didn’t get tested after the game for it.  What are we going to hold against a player, and what are we not?  Raffy originally was the 9th overall pick of the original James Gang in the 1988 Rookie Draft.  After the team moved to Tod Delaricheliere, he was traded to New England in 1993 and on to York the next year for the rest of his career.  It’s tough to pick out his best year, but 1996 showed a .316 average, 51 HR, and 131 rbi.  He had 14 straight years of more than 20 HR and drove in more than 100 8 times in 10 seasons.  His career best rbi mark was 152 in 2000.  Unlike most players, he finished with a 154 game season in 2005 still poking 36 long balls and driving in 97.  There would be no swan song 30 at-bats in 2006, and he rested on his numbers after 2005.  He had 20 HR in 72 career post season games along with 21 doubles and 56 rbi.  You have the information you need to make your choice.

 

Timo Perez- Hey, another passport changer!  Timo aged 3 years in 2003. It was a tough accomplishment.  He had a decent PH type card one year and batted .430 for the Maulers in 2008. 

 

Josh Phelps- He was the key to a huge NE/Alb deal (and yes, there have been many) in 2003when he moved to Albany with a #1 rookie for a pair of #1 rookies.  This was after a rookie year in NE where he had 16 bombs in 62 games.  But Nathaniel could coax just 23 out of him the next 3 years, and frankly, you’re looking for bombs from Phelps, not SB.  Scoop gave him a final shot in 2008, but it just didn’t happen and the career was over.  273 whiffs for 59 BB.  Yikes!

 

Mike Piazza- Stop speed reading my ballot!  Here’s someone to pay attention to.  He’s young enough that we all remember him and perhaps I don’t have to write a monograph to tell you how things were 30 years ago.  Check this out- Piazza was drafted #1 overall by the Williamsport Millionaires in 1994, and proceeded to be an All-Star for 9 consecutive seasons.  Likewise, he was on 5 All League teams.  The career just started with such a bang- and not a Kenny Lofton kind of bang- but a huge start to the career. He caught 140 games for Williamsport in 1004 and smoked 30 HR with a .289 average, earning him the 1994 Burnham Award (rookie of the year).  Then it just got better.  .362 in 1996, ,339 in 97, then he led the league in both 98 and 99 with .372 and .360 marks.  All that and power, too!  43 HR in 1998, 42 in 2000, and 39 in 1996.  Yes- this was Josh Gibson all over again.  After 32 HR and a .282 mark in 2002 for Albany (which was still the same franchise- drafted by Williamsport which became Farmland and then Albany), he left for the greener pastures of Dunkirk and smacked 27 HR for Chad, yet watched his average tumble to .251.  The down turn had begun and despite a couple of nice power years, his average was falling off until in 2008 he batted just .211 with 3 HR in 58 games. 

Take nothing away from Piazza, though, he was a dominant, and I mean dominant catcher of the not so distant era.  Check out the career- 424 long balls (did he do ‘rhoids?  No one is asking), a .300 average which is fantastic be him a catcher or not, and 1231 rbi in his 15 seasons.  It looks pretty good from this angle.  I would say we got what we expected from him and more.  Of course additionally, he was an every day catcher.

 

Richie Sexson- Man, when he fell off, he really did.  Things looked awesome for this guy after Jim Charles took him in the 2nd round of the 1999 Rookie Draft (that being the Warwick Vipers team, which became Glenville).  He put a solid rookie season on the table (18 HR in 53 G) and had 25 in 00 and 27 in 01.  But something was missing.  He was walking a bit (including 103 in 2004) and grabbing 2 baggers all over the place (43 in 03) as well as watching prestigious HR shots (57 in 2004 and 43 in 2002).  But the batting average and strike outs.  Oh brother…. To see he finished with a .242 batting average is only a surprise since it’s higher than I expected.  1259 punch out sin 10 season sis sort of large, isn’t it?  He was on two All Star teams (2002 and 2004) and in 18 playoff games batted 12 for 61 with 2 HR.  He was in the top 10 in whiffs 5 of his 10 seasons.

 

Sammy Sosa- Bonds, Palmeiro, now Sosa- all on the same ballot.  Man oh man, what do we do?  Well, you can be like Devin Wilburn who had a poster of Sammy over his bed as a kid and ripped it down.  You can watch the old Pepsi commercials and laugh at his looks.  Or you can do all those stupid hand gestures he did after he did his stupid little hop as he hit another long one.  Yes- owners looked the other way as guys grew 4 hat sizes in one off season and were “in the best shape of their careers”.  But my opinion is that the ball was also juiced after the strike- helping to develop long ball wars and put the fannies in the seats.  But no matter now- it’s all history.  If we look at Sosa without the juice, 520 HR and 1526 rbi would get him in.  A .259 batting average is sort of average- nothing special.  2170 whiffs?  Are you kidding me?  He was in the top ten in whiffs 9 out of 10 seasons and led the league 3 times.  Rapp original selected Sammy in the 1st round of the 1990 Rookie Draft, and it was a work in progress.  After an ugly .192, 7 HR campaign in 1992, he left for the wilds of Vermont and the Jericho Roscoes.  In 2001 he went to Magic City where Bryan could instruct Devin how to throw darts at his likeness, and he finished his final 4 seasons with 3 teams.  After totaling just 71 HR in his first 6 seasons, the hat size changed and he hung up 43 in 1996, swatting more than 40 for 7 of the next 8 years.  But for what price long balls?  Do yourself a favor right now- and match Sammy’s numbers against Palmeiro.  See what I mean?  With the possible exception of Sammy’s long ball percentage and SB, Rafael takes the cake.  Back to Sosa now- he was a 7 time All Star and was on 5 All League teams.  He had 20 HR in just 288 post season at bats.  I had no idea he would have +200 SB, but he does.    I think you have time to make a decision here- but just look at the big picture and remember where his poster is now.

 

Scott Spiezio- It took me like 10 years to stop calling him Ed.  Strictly a role player on a 10 year career for 6 different teams.  Interestingly, he was traded for Trot Nixon in 2008 (also on this ballot) and both were then cut.  He did hit 20 HR in his rookie season and batted .288 in 114 games for the 2002 Elite, but there are not too many highlights here.

 

Shannon Stewart- Stewart was a Kenny Lofton wannabee without the same amount of speed.  Perhaps miscast as a lead off hitter, he had some pop (143 HR in 11 seasons) as well as some speed (177 SB in his career).  He batted for average with a .331 mark his final year and .328 in 2004, so what’s the problem?  Well, although he had some power and some speed and some average, most of his numbers were just that- good, but not great.  His 275 doubles were nice and the BB/K ratio is oaky.  He was originally drafted by the Woodchucks in the 2nd round of the 1998 Rookie Draft, being peddled off to Green Mountain in 2000 where he played 9 fairly good seasons.  Another one of those where are they guys- he played 140 games and his .331 for the 2008 Canucks- then was gone.  I guess we should ask Burnie what’s in his back yard?

 

Mark Sweeney- Don’t confuse him with Mike Sweeney- this is the career PH type guy who never appeared in 100 games and never hit more than 15 HR.  He drove in 49 for the Prospectors of 2006 and batted ,335 in his 99 game campaign, but showed little else in his career.

 

Jason Tyner- They let anyone on this ballot don’t they?

 

Jose Valentin- One of the joys of APBA is that the cards are directly derived from the player stats for the year in question.  Or not.  Valentin was one of those rare players who seemed to be overcarded each year.  We all would marvel as to why Jose would get a 7 at 44 despite hitting just .240.  Stuff like that.  Now that I’m sitting back and looking at his career numbers, I don’t see it.  Lots of .250s and .240s on the record, a high of .286 and a low of .138.  But what is seen is the errors.  And I don’t mean we made errors with his numbers, rather he made errors with his glove.  We keep errors in the league, but total errors is in another report that most of you have likely never seen.  Valentin’s 310 miscues in the field is 6 better than Steve Sax’ and is a league high water mark.  From 2001-4 he had 147 boots, leading the league in 2001.  Now that would earn most players a trip to the d.h. slot, but aside from his final year in the league, and perhaps 2005 for York, he was an everyday SS.  There are a few numbers to the positive, but overall it was a lackluster career.  He did drive in 97 for the 2004 Caps and was able to poke 243 career HR- so it’s not like he killed you when he was out there.  Scoop took him in the first round of the 1995 Rookie Draft and he was in Creekside for 9 years, moving to York for 4 and finishing it off as a Stallion.

 

Jose Vidro- One of Becker’s boys, Jose did quite well for his 7 years at Longstown, finishing up with 4 years as an Imp.  I was really surprised by his high BA total- and looking at his career you see constant .290s and .300s, so it’s legit.  He even showed a little power from a power-starved 2B position with 121 long balls and 256 doubles.  He was a 4 time All Star and was on one All League team.  He scored 105 runs and drove in 98 in 2001 for the Ps, batting .289 in what has to be his career year.  Becker stole him from us all with an astute 5th round Rookie pick in 1998.  There are some decent numbers here.

 

Larry Walker- His 3rd ballot- Now would probably be a good time to stop walking the dog and look at a player’s record.  We can start with a career (6822 ab) batting average of .299- third to Bagwell and Olerud on the ballot.  Larry batted a career best in 2000 for the Cleveland Hit Men (.387) and as with most players, the power peaked in the middle (58 HR, 146 rbi in 1998), then numbers were pretty solid on either end as well.  Marc Delarichelierre and the East Hardwick Hurricanes took him in the 1991 rookie draft in the first round, but he was quickly moved to the James Gang and then to Green Mountain before the season even began.  It was a sluggish beginning (.246-.261-.293) over his first three years though he was an All Star for the Canucks in 1993.  After another GM year, it was on to New England and “hello nice NSL Career!”.  He batted .360 that year with 22 bombs, then moved to Cleveland for his final 11 seasons- six of which were All Star.  You know about the career bests in 1998, but a .348 50D, 9HR season in 1999 was great and further his 123 rbi 2000 season.  Interestingly, in 2002 suddenly his OBP was way up as 95 BB that year can attest.  Another +.300 mark (.326) carried the club into the post season one more time.  In fact- he has as many post season at bats (326) as most players I’ve looked at.  He fell 1 HR short of 400 for surely someone you don’t consider a HR hitter- even in the steroids era.  The BB/K ratio is pretty nice and 1372 BB is 3rd on the ballot- remember many (347) coming over his final 5 years.  I always got a kick out of him being announced in Montreal as they switched from French to English over the P.A.  He’s only 45 years old- shouldn’t he still be dh-ing somewhere?  Nice numbers- do some thinking.

Daryle Ward- It is a proven fact that I fall in love with my players.  Heck, we all do.  The Crosstown Clydesdales were a 1999 Expansion team, and in 2000, Crossie selected Daryle Ward with his 2nd round rookie pick.  Most of us not named J. Michael Cross know that Ward was simply a bench player and PH type with a little pop and usually decent cards, despite not having many limits.  The ‘dales got 8 seasons out of Ward and he fulfilled that need of a 4th-5th OF and overall 25th man type player.  But try and talk deal with Crossie?  He was a 45 HR 120 rbi type guy who could catch and play SS at the same time.  He stayed on the roster for 8 years and was probably traded to all of us 10 times in Crossie’s mind at least.  But he got his 3 auto points by staying on the roster and giving him a real chance to make it!