NORTHERN STATES LEAGUE

2015 HALL OF FAME ELIGIBLES

Class of 2014 Pitchers

Brandon Backe- We start this year with a can’t miss type guy, Backe being in the top 10 twice in runs and earned runs allowed. Hey- congratulations! Vermont drafted him with their fifth round rookie pick in 2004 and after 4 trades, he was done. He did have 3 shutouts in 2009 for Canaan, but his W/L that year was 7-19, the latter being league leading. He has the highest ERA on the ballot this year.

Kris Benson- I’d rather be voting for his wife. I think his “I don’t care” attitude might have hurt him in the majors and his NSL stats are pretty ugly to boot. He was the #4 overall pick by the Wizards in 2000 and really had as much hype as any player that year- I believe he was on the U.S. National team and was certainly a #1 draft pick by Pittsburgh. He only won 55 NSL games despite the large hype and his ERA of nearly 5 ½ is ugly. He lost 19 times for the 2001 Wizards and a league leading 15 times for the 2005 Aardvarks. Three seasons out of his 10 year career were spent on rosters without a card.

Chad Bradford- I’m not sure when he changed to that sidearmed, actually under armed, delivery but he had a fine career as a reliever in the NSL. In 9 seasons he posted a 3.59 ERA in 411 games and though never a closer, notched 21 saves. Gulf Breeze drafted him in the 4^th round of the 1999 Rookie Draft and after being cut in 2000, reappeared with Crosstown in 2002. He then became one of those B relievers that continually gets moved, and 6 trades later in 2009 he was through. He had a fine 2002 for the ‘dales with a 2.21 ERA and 11 saves, then won 6 times for the same team in 2003. In 9 post season games he had an ERA over 4.00 in 15 1/3 IP. I’m really surprised that more washed up guys don’t try the delivery- you don’t see it very often, do you?

Doug Brocail- His career 4.11 ERA won’t draw you to his monograph, but there was a 5 year segment where he posted all sub 3.00 ERAs and was an All-Star in 2000 for the Imperials. In that season he posted a 2.33 ERA and saved 29 games for an expansion (1999) club and won 5 more games. The interesting part of his career was that he was not selected in the 1994 Rookie Draft, then selected and cut in the 1995 FA Draft. Al Rapp grabbed him in the 1996 FA Draft and he pitched poorly for the Hit-Men from 1996-8, before being exposed to the 1999 Expansion Draft, going to Indiana in the 3^rd round. After the nice IN run, he went to the East Hardwick Giants and finally Keystone for his final year.

J. Kevin Brown- This is his 5^th and final ballot- We can’t call him Kevin since there was a one year catcher named Kevin Brown. This Brown had a very nice career, falling just 3 wins short of 200 and notching a “best on the ballot” 2358 strikeouts over his 16 year career. He started out as the 6^th overall pick of the Hardwick A-Team in the 1990 Rookie Draft. This club soon became Creekside, and the club surely owed some of their success to Brown, as he posted a 20-8 mark in 1993 and a 17-10 in 1994. In 1996, he became an All-Star for the first time and helped the Crushers to their first NSL Championship, going 14-7, 3.63 (strike shortened). But then began a workhorse segment of 4 incredible years with 136 starts, 975 IP, and 918 whiffs. He won 74 times in that 4 year span and was elected an All-Star for the 2^nd and final time in 2001 (23-6, 2.47). He finished out 14 years with the Crushers in 2003 then moved to York where he was a stalwart on another Championship team- the 2004 First Caps, where he posted a 16-7, 4.06 mark with 193 Ks. But lots of innings finished him and after 2005 he was through. I didn’t realize his IP- exactly 3000. You couldn’t have planned that any better. He finishes 14^th on the career wins list and 12^th on the career IP list. He became an All-League player in 2001. In the post season, he was an incredible 18-6, with 187 whiffs in 208 IP and 15 CG in 26 career starts. A true gamer but he lacked the All-Star and All-League elections that you might have expected.

Paul Byrd- If nothing else, Byrd was an inning eater for some poor offensive clubs through the 2000s and losing 101 games is proof of that. But he did pitch nearly 1500 NSL innings which shows he had something, yet just not enough to be a factor in the league. Drafted originally by New England, he went to Jericho and TMI before being released and reappearing in 2002 with the Wizards. His “best” season was 2003 with a 3.83 ERA and 227 2/3 IP, and he won 15 times against 10 losses, one of his two + .500 seasons. He lost 17 games twice- in 2000 for TMI and 2006 for the Wizards. He gave up 221 HR over his career.

Daniel Cabrera- I can’t believe he’s not still on an NSL roster. An overhyped Oriole, he just never was effective enough to have a role in the NSL more than a few spot starts for East York. Glenville drafted him in the 2^nd round of the 2005 Rookie Draft and he was quickly shipped to East York in a deal which included Clemens going the other way. But the high BB total was a major reason for a career ERA over 5.00. He was in a rotation just once- in 2009 for the 66ers and went 7-14 with a 5.00 ERA in 27 starts. He just never could harness his control.

Vinnie Chulk- His real name is Charles, middle Vincent. Heck, I’d have stayed with Chuck or Chaz or anything besides Vinnie. Oh no matter- Chulk was a 11^th or 12^th man in bullpens and didn’t do anything to stand out. He was the final pick of the 2005 Rookie Draft (York 5^th round) which should count for something but does not, then was traded 4 times, winding up his last 3 seasons in Green Mountain. He was traded to East York then for Glavine so the latter could retire as a Canuck.

Roger Clemens- His 2^nd ballot now- I knew that someday I’d have to write this one. What should we do? I guess we all have the belief that he was ‘roiding for lack of a better word, and as mentioned in the batters- I think our stance is starting to soften as time marches on. The fact of the monograph is this- Roger was absolutely dominant in the NSL and his 337 wins may not be approached in most of our lifetimes. To what extent did the (apparent) drug use help him or hinder him? Well, it got him on national TV for a few days and we heard how a guy injected Clemens’ wife in their bedroom with no one else around. Hmmmm. Hey- I’m licensed to do that! But back on subject, Roger was simply incredible. 24 seasons and he didn’t even appear his rookie year. Originally selected by Al Rapp with the 9^th overall pick in 1985, he stuck there for 4 years before a trade with Gulf Breeze (see, I do trade) for future Hall of Famer Robin Yount, Fisk, and Bryn Smith. I also got Danny Cox in the deal. Hello Gulf Breeze and watch the career take off. He then cashed in 9 seasons with the ‘varks, moved to New England for a year, then 6 in East York and 5 in Glenville. There are 2 Dick Silar awards, 9 All Star teams, and 8 All League teams on his mantle. Look at these numbers- led the league in Ks 5 times, top 3 in wins 7 times, IP 4 times, and ERA 4 times. I just cannot pick out a “best” season rather I see 17-6, 1.75 for 1993 GB and 22-7, 2.42 for 1998 NE. Forty shutouts are awesome and although the career ERA seems a little inflated, He was 23-13 in 40 post season starts. He leads the NSL in almost every pitching category. His numbers have him getting in easily, now it is just up to us to forgive or “just say no”. It’s all up to us.

Matt Clement- Alphabetically, he’s the next pitcher after Clemens. What a coincidence! 64-79 with a 5.92 ERA- see Byrd, Paul. Bob C drafted him in the 1^st round of the 2000 Rookie Draft and he proceeded to reward him with a 4-13, 7.74 rookie campaign. Yet he did start 30 games or more for 5 of the next 6 seasons and had a decent 14-8, 3.93 with 181 punch outs in 2003. He moved with the club to Sparrow Lake and eventually was traded to Cleveland, not appearing in any games, as a no card over his final 3 seasons.

Jesus Colome- Another one of those arms in the pen who get into games when they’ve been decided, he was a 2^nd round rookie pick of the Canucks in 2002, and toiled there for 5 years before moving to Jericho after the 2008 Free Agent draft. Colome was one of those work visa guys- with the wrong date of birth originally in the States- and grew up by 6 months after being drafted. He did have a positive W/L but that is about all we can say.

Brandon Duckworth- He had a 5 year NSL career, but 3 of those years he was owned and did not appear in a game. Crossie grabbed him in the 2^nd round of the 2002 Rookie Draft and after 38 starts over the next two years he was traded to New England, then on to East York. After being cut in 2004, he went through 3 FA drafts and a Waiver Draft yet never stuck on a roster until 2009, when Indiana got him in the 3^rd round of the Free Agent Draft. Six starts later he was out of the league.

Adam Eaton- He actually started out as if he were to have a decent career, but then he threw his first pitch. He had a winning record just twice, 7-6 for Glenville in 2006 and 7-3 the following year. But he lost a dozen or more games in 4 of the 8 seasons he actually pitched. He was Kerr’s 1^st round rookie pick in 2001and actually went to the post season for the Greys in 2005 with a fine 5-1 mark and a sub 2.50 ERA. But every game is not a post season game and for whatever reason he couldn’t string much together. He was traded to TMI then on to Crosstown where he hung ‘em up after the 2009 season.

Alan Embree- Ah the situational lefty. If you’re “going for it”- you need him. If you’re not, you’re just going to get a RH with twice as many IP. So in his 13 year career, given the fact that just competitive teams would need him, he was traded eleven (count ‘em, 11) times with Waller being involved in 7 of them. He really did have a decent career and I thought his ERA would be much lower than it actually was because after all, wasn’t he always a BZ? He did get into 509 games in his career and his 522 IP tells you pretty much how he was used. Though never a true closer, he did save 17 games for Lyndon in 1998 and posted a terrific 2.21 ERA in 2005 for the Elite. But with all this being said, he appeared in one (count ‘em, 1) post season game and pitched 1/3 of an inning in it. Maybe I need to review this LH to a contender thing. Mick drafted him in the 2^nd round of the 1996 Rookie Draft and he finished it off in 2009 with his 2^nd pitching stint in New England.

Kelvim Escobar- I think I read he was throwing for teams to watch this winter. Doesn’t he know he’s on our Hall of Fame ballot? Well a 69-88 career mark won’t do much for him and although a 4.67 is nice for us, his limited production was set back by many shoulder injuries. There’s not much good on his table with the exception of a 3.04, 13-10 season in 2007 for East York, but then followed that with an ugly 9-16 for 2008 Crosstown, was sent to Duneland where he sat out 2009, and was gone. Burnie was the first to go for Kelvim in the 2^nd round of the 1998 Rookie Draft and he pitched 8 years in the frozen tundra, wearing thin on the elder Burnham with a 8-15, 5.44 mark in 2005. He went to East York for 2 years, posted his best season, and was traded- a Mick trait for sure. He has a few longevity numbers and a nice strikeout total, but that’s all we see.

Josh Fogg- Think mini-Kelvim Escobar. He never had a winning season until 2009 (5-3), and was in the top 10 in losses twice (15 in 2005 and 16 in 2008). His ERA is a run worse than Escobar’s, though, and he pitched 5 less years and gave up almost as many HR. Glenville’s 1^st round rookie pick in 2003, he toiled there for 3 years, moved to New England for 3, and finished at the same time as Escobar in 2009. His best year was…. Well….. there was none. 8-10 with a 5.35 doesn’t show much value, does it?

Tom Glavine- His 22 year career is worth something regardless of anything else. Glavine started at least 24 games for 19 straight years including 15 straight of 30 or more. He won 18 or more games 9 times and was in the top 10 in ERA 8 times. He was a 6 time All-Star and on 7 All-League teams. Wow! Career wise, he’s 3^rd all-time in wins with 288, 8^th in ERA (3.59) and 8^th in strikeouts with 2486. He’s third in IP with 4169 and 3^rd in starts. He was drafted in the third round (!!!!) of the 1988 Rookie Draft by Burnie and pitched for the Canucks 19 years before moving to East York for the final 3. It would be worthless to try and pinpoint a best season, but 1992 stands out with a 1.92 ERA and an 18-8 record. But great numbers are all over his table and his shutout total of 52 easily tops Clemens and Maddux. His first two years he only pitched 7 games and surely he would have got to 300 wins had he been used in the rotation. Don’t forget that pitchers are often held out of the action when they are Ds, despite being able to contribute. This really didn’t affect Glavine at all except for those first two years when he was earning Burnie’s trust. In 17 post season games he was 7-5 with an ERA under .350. I liked him as a player- quiet and professional, not needing to toot his own horn. I loved him in the NSL- career shutout leader an

d right up there with Clemens and Maddux in everything else. Compare him to Ryan and there is no comparison.

Jimmy Gobble- Nice name, huh? Man he should have just gotten married and taken her name. Six year Imperial pitcher after Chad grabbed him in the 2^nd round of the 2004 Rookie Draft. There isn’t much left to look at unless your name is Chad Davis.

Todd Jones- It’s pretty easy just to blow by Jones as this is truly the year of the middle reliever. But in his 16 years of hanging around our league is good and he did spend a couple of seasons as a closer- 2001 with the Elite (16 saves) and 2006 with TMI (32 saves). But he was never an All-Star and never went to the post season. His 4.78 ERA is rather alarming considering he has 5 career years of sub 4.00 ERAs, and he pitched in a bunch of games- third on the ballot this year. The walk total is pretty high for a reliever as well. The astute Gulf Breeze front office drafted him with their 5^th rookie pick in 1994, and after 3 years he was traded 11 times before finishing with Creekside. Interesting- just like Chad Bradford he was moved quite a bit, but never smelled the post season.

Wilfredo Ledzema- About all he had going for him was potential and he really just never took the final step. Drafted by Nathaniel in the 5^th round of the 2004 Rookie Draft, he was cut the following year and reappeared in the 2007 Free Agent Draft. After 3 trades, he was done, finishing in Longstown with his career best IP count (51).

Jon Lieber- With his 128 career wins, he should draw some attention, but with the strength of this year’s pitcher ballot, he should hope he gets enough votes to hang on for next year. He did pitch 15 seasons, but unlike Maddox and Glavine, he pitched for some weaker teams- spending his career in Parker City with the Cubs, then moving with the franchise as it became the Johnson Knights. He has an 18-8 W/L in 2000 which was that category high water mark, and a solid 2.97, 193 K performance in 2006. He was never an All-Star but was an All-League in 2000. In 12 post season innings, he had a 0.00 ERA. Coupled with the good were a bad season or two- 2001 when he was 10-16 with an incredible 300 hits allowed, and 9-11, 5.27 for the Knights of 2007. He was originally taken in the 2^nd round of the 1995 Rookie Draft.

Mike Lincoln- I can usually remember players and who drafted them, their relative value, if involved in trades, etc. But my mind is not what it used to be and sometimes a player or two get by me. Take Lincoln- I really don’t recall him very well. A sixth round Indiana rookie in 2000, he did most of his work for TMI on 2 separate Free Agent drafts. He did have a nice 2.01 in 2002 in 40 IP and later had a 3.47 for the 2004 Tigers in 36.1 IP. After 5 years off (and eligible for the 2009 HOF ballot), he reappeared in 2009 for the Tigers and solidified his place in the league with a 6.68 ERA in 62 frames.

Noah Lowry- He posted a 16 game under .500 W/L and a 4.79 ERA in his career- not much to look at. Despite a nice 3.68 ERA in 2006, he was 10-16, yet completed 8 of his 33 starts. There’s not much else to look at. John took him with his 2^nd pick in the 2005 Rookie Draft and after 3 seasons in West Stewartstown, he was traded to TMI for a 6-9, 4.96 and he was done.

Greg Maddux- It is absolutely a no-brainer. Here is our career leader in wins (342) and losses (227) and sports the third best ERA (3.38) in our history. He is 3^rd in strikeouts (3584), 1^st in innings (4809.1) and first in starts (710). It is nearly impossible to believe, but with the exception of 1996 (28 starts) and 1995 (25 starts), he started 33 or more games every single year of his career with the exception of 1988- his rookie year. He was in the top ten in wins 9 times including leading the league 3 times, and led the league in IP 4 different times. From 1991-2003 he was in the top 10 in ERA 9 times including 3 ERA titles. In 1998, he was 21-8 with a 1.59 ERA. Wow! In 1993 when he was 22-9 with a 2.12 ERA he won the Nolan Ryan award (Cy Young). What a fantastic career! He was a 6 time All-Star and 6 time All-League. In 27 post season starts, he was just 10-10 with a sub-4.00 ERA. If you can believe it, Maddux was taken in the 4^th round of the 1988 Rookie Draft. That’s fourth as in 4^th round! Marc Delaricheliere took him that year and after the one season of the learning curve, his career took off in 1989, and didn’t stop.

Damaso Marte- It seems as if Chad has had a hand in almost every pitcher I’ve been talking about- with the exception of the good ones, I guess. Marte was actually drafted by Albany in the 3^rd round of the 2003 Rookie Draft (acquired in a trade with Indiana) and after a ho-hum year he was traded to Indiana. Immediately he paid dividends for Chad with a fine 1.86 in 77.1 IP for the 2004 Imps, but then after a couple of lack luster seasons, he rebounded a bit but was done after 2009. He played the role of closer for Albany in 2003 (22) and Indiana in 2004 (31) but saved just 2 more games the rest of his career.

Mike Mussina- It’s going to be tough for Mike, and not because of his career numbers which are really solid. The problem is that this is clearly the ballot of the pitcher and where he fits in to the pecking order is up to you. His 241-165 career W/L record is excellent and a sub 4.00 ERA is fantastic in this league. Much like Maddux, Moose was always there to hand the ball to and he started 22 or more games in every one of his 17 seasons. He was the first guy on this ballot who was a #1 rookie pick- and he went to Magic City with it. Remember this was pre-rookie draft pick trading and soon after the draft was over, Bryan traded him to the Williamsport Millionaires for Sam Militello, Chad Cordero, and a #1 FA pick. That same day he was traded to Longstown and for 13 seasons he was the Prospectors #1 starter. He posted an eye-popping 21-4, 3.13 in 2003, and won 17 twice and 18 twice, including a 17-8, 3.83 in his final season. But he got out a year early instead of a year late and left us with our 6^th highest win total career wise (241) and 7^th all-time in whiffs (2808) and IP (3433). He was only 3-11 in 15 post season starts with an ERA approaching 7. So just like the kid I the back seat- “don’t forget about me!”

Troy Percival- He was pretty solid for the Pounders in 2003 and for York in 2005, but the rest of his career was pretty dull. He did save 116 games, 2^nd most of the ballot this year, and his ERA is nice (3.32). He did pitch in 19 playoff games, saving 3, but never had a shot at the title. Goody picked him with the #9 overall pick of the 1996 Rookie Draft and he stayed put for 9 seasons before moving to York for one year and on to the Comanches for a couple. For York in 2005 he had 29 saves in 43 games with a 0.83 ERA. In 2003 for the Pounders he had 33 saves and a 1.21 ERA. So the ability was obviously there. But throw in a 4.79 in 2004 and a 5.12 in the finale and you can see how his numbers flattened a bit. He also saves 23 games for the 1997 Pounders despite a 7-10 mark and pitched in 59 tilts in 2000.

Odalis Perez- A career Creekside Crusher, Perez couldn’t even get on the field for his first 3 seasons as Scoop went with other hired hands. When he finally walked to the hill in 2003, he posted a 15-12, 3.90 ERA but did allow 38 long balls. He then had a pair of nice seasons (15-9, 4.82- then 11-13, 3.90) before fading and becoming basically a 5^th starter. He was Scoop’s 3^rd round pick in 2000 and I’d wager that a little more was expected of him then was received.

Sidney Ponson- With all the Oriole fans we have in the league it was a surprise to see Sidney become a Mauler with Wil’s 2^nd selection in the 1999 Rookie Draft. Bryan gave him every chance to help- but he continued to disappoint with a whopping 39 HR allowed in 2000 and a 5.93 ERA in 2002. Tired of the performance, he was dealt to Duneland where Dan coaxed him to a 14-14, 4.11 mark and it was thought he had turned the corner. So he was traded to East York and after an 11-11 2005 season, he was basically done, going to New England and finally TMI to complete the circuit. To me it seemed like he was a little bit of an over-hype, sort of like Yankee prospects. Plus his physique didn’t help him much. Guess our physiques don’t help us much, either.

Mark Prior- I’m not sure how many surgeries he endured but it’s safe to say it was a half dozen or more. What a talent and prospect he was and Burnie grabbed him with the #2 overall pick of the 2003 Rookie Draft. Right away he helped with a 10-5 mark, and in 2004 he was 17-9 with a 2^nd best in the league 2.49 ERA. But he had 8 CG and 4 shutouts that year, and Burnie didn’t listen to the arm fatigue complaints as he regressed to a 6-11, 6.48 in 2005. It was clear something was very wrong and after a decent 2006 (11-9, 4.12) he was traded to Magic City. Bryan pitched him 3 times for an 8.20, and once more the MC/Dun shuttle was in swing as he went to Duneland, yet got no card in 2008 and 2009 and then was out of the league. I half expect to see him making another comeback, but my other half says stay retired.

Horacio Ramirez- He had a .500 record over 6 seasons, mostly for the Jericho Roscoes who selected him in the first round (oh-oh) of the 2004 Rookie Draft. He did have a 3.28 ERA in 9 starts in 2005 and was 11-9, 5.59 in 2006 in 29 starts, but he would have just 31 starts over the next 3 seasons. In 2007 he was traded to New England, then peddled on to Muncie where he tossed just over 200 innings over the next 3 years.

Juan Rincon- Rincon was pressed into a closing role in 2005 for Longstown (29 saves) and appeared in 139 games in 06-07. He was originally going to be a starter and Becker drafted him in the 5^th round of the 2003 Rookie Draft and gave him 2 starts that year. But he was ineffective and found his niche in 2004 (1.70), 2005 (1.55), and 2006 (1.09). But his ERA jumped by more than 3 runs the next year and 3 more runs the next year. For those of you keeping track- that put him at 7.36 in 2008. Cross took a chance on him in the 2009 Waiver Draft, and a 4.88 later he was done. Wasn’t he the guy they were dealing in “Moneyball”?

David Riske- I guess you pronounce it like a suggestive dance. Riske rode one stellar year on to the HOF ballot saving 36 games for the 2006 Prospectors the year after Rincon did 29. I listed them back to back on the ballot so you could compare. Also they are close alphabetically. Riske was an All-Star that year and posted a nifty 1.88 ER. But it would be his only year closing games and the following year he got into 68 games as a set up guy with a high ERA. 2006 was fine (2.24 in 72.1) and 2008 was good (1.67 ERA in 70). With that, he was traded to TMI and after a 9.32 ERA in 2009 was done. So he had 7 decent, if not great, seasons- 5 with Longstown and the first 2 with Glenville after Coach Kerr took him in the 2002 Rookie Draft in the 4^th round. Nothing was accomplished in Glenville and the trade set him up for the one good season in Longstown. He appeared in 17 post season games- all for Longstown- and in 28 innings had a plus 5.00 ERA.

Kenny Rogers- You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em…. Egad it’s another Geico commercial! But I mentioned how Mussina might be overlooked this year- and perhaps Kevin Brown again, but where does that leave Rogers? Well his numbers aren’t as dominating as say Maddux and Glavine, or even Clemens, Schilling, and Mussina. But in a blander year, Kenny might get some HOF love. His win/loss record is not that impressive, but he did win 184 times and is 229^th on the all-time punch out list with 1864. He did lose two years to injury, so his 20 year career was only really 18, and he was never a huge winner- having his best season in 1996 for the Derby Wolverines when he was 19-8, 3.32. He was an All-Star that year and was 7-3 in 11 post season starts. I don’t want to label him an innings eater, yet he started 30 games or more 11 times in his career and his 2937 IP count for his career is 15^th best ever. The Woodchucks nabbed him in the 2^nd round of the 1990 Rookie Draft and he wound up being traded 8 times- pitching for 9 different teams including New England twice- almost like a situational reliever. He did have some ugly seasons along the way with a 5.65 ERA in 2005 for York and a 6.23 for the 1995 Aardvarks. He even led the league in walks in 2003 with 93 for York- Si’s teachings paying off. Once again, he’ll probably be looking just to stay on the ballot while the bigger names get their due.

Glendon Rusch- He amassed a 10 year career as a starter yet only started as many games as 30 twice. His 2002 season was his best by far when he was 15-8, 4.27 for Glenville. He was selected in the 2^nd round of the 1998 Rookie Draft by the Wizards and wound up pitching for 7 different teams during his career. Two of his 10 seasons were marred by injury where he didn’t play at all.

B.J.Ryan- His real name is Robert Victor, so how in the heck did they get to B.J? Ah, no matter, but I always thought it was comical that year the Orioles had a few players in their commercials trying to get you to come to the park for a game. B.J., of course, looked as if he’d shoot you and your mom on sight. Wasn’t there anyone else to choose? Ryan started out sluggish in the league- drafted by Erik Burnham and the Derby Wolverines in the 4^th round of the 2001 Rookie Draft. He followed the club to Duneland and had a couple of decent years (2.37 in 87.1 IP in 2005) before being dealt to Gulf Breeze for Doumit even up. In that final year of his Duneland contract, he saved 27 games as a pseudo-closer. So the Breeze figured they’d give him the full time gig and he saved 33 in 2006 and 34 in 2007 for the ‘varks. But 2008 was a washout with an injury and “come out to the ballpark” commercials and after a dismal 2009 he was done. In 7.1 post season IP he gave up 15 earned runs. Ouch. So he has the most saves on the ballot this year and they were basically all earned in a 3 year segment. But just keep your mom away from him.

Duaner Sanchez- He spent his entire career in TMI and one of them he was injured, so it was a pretty small portion of NSL life to be considered. 2007 was the best with a 2.80 ERA in 54.2 IP and he did have 2 nice years as a bullpen inning eater, but his career was far too short for any longevity numbers.

Curt Schilling-Here’s his 2^nd ballot- I’m not really sure what to think about the Bloody Sock. I mean, if it was blood, wouldn’t it have gotten darker through the game as it dried? Why didn’t he change his sock in between innings and put on a fresh gauze pad or something? Nah- I’m with Gary Thorne on this one. It’s a nice story, but… But let’s not dwell on that. What is a nice story is Schilling’s career. If Clemens were not on the ballot this year, you’d be all over Curt. He was a 6-time All-Star, but somehow was never an All-League. He won 20 once (20-5 2005) and led the league in punch outs (282 in 1999). He won nearly 100 times more than he lost, and 17 of his 18 years were with middle of the road Pennsylvania teams. Goody took him with the 3^rd round pick in the 1991 Rookie Draft, and particularly the middle of his career was fantastic- 156-71 from 1996-2005. I had forgotten that he began his career as a reliever (5-10, 9 saves in 1991-2 in the NSL) and dabbled with it a little more later in the 2006 season. He was traded to Crosstown for his final season- 13-5, 3.28 in 2008 then went to Bryan’s back yard. We saw him at the World Series, and have heard his cancer and money issues. I will believe what I wish to, but we all have to believe that his NSL career was downright fantastic, worthy of a bloody sock at least.

Jason Schmidt- I’m not sure I ever thought he’d fit in with the Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine trio but after a few years I thought he could have a pretty decent career. In the NSL he started out just fine- Eric getting him for the Wizards in the 2^nd round of the 1996 Rookie Draft and after 2 years, he was a stalwart of the rotation, starting 33 times in both 1999 and 2000 with 30 wins between the two seasons. Yet in 2000, he walked a league high 177 and the red flags went up. Limited to just 10 starts in 2001, he returned for 2 more mediocre seasons before a solid 2004 with a 16-8 mark and 2.60 ERA. In 2005 he was an All-Star and despite just a 12-11 mark, he did have a nice 3.25 ERA in 224 IP. But the writing was on the wall as he blew up to 5.66 in 2006 and was traded to Vermont where despite 23 wins in 2006-7, had thrown his arm out and his final 2 seasons were spent on the ‘chuck bench collecting unemployment.

Scott Schoeneweis- He has too many letters in his last name. Imagine him pitching to Saltalamacchia!!! Yucko. Schoeneweis did the starter to reliever change mid-career after starting as a reliever. Make sense? Drafted by the Parker City Cubs in 2000, he was a reliever then started for the next 3 years with minimal (24-30) success. Swapping back to reliever, he stumbled a bit from 2003-6 and was traded to Gulf Breeze, where as a situational lefty he did all right. He appeared in a league high 78 games in 2006 and notched 66 his final season of 2009. In that 78 game year, he posted a career best 2.87 ERA and even saved a game. His decent career as a reliever is tarnished by his not so decent career as a starter.

Rudy Seanez- They did a movie after him, didn’t they? You know, all the Notre Dame guys (Lexi Sterling- pay attention here) all chanting Rudy, Rudy as…what? Oh- that was another Rudy. But notice how I played in to this as he had his best years with Crosstown and his 5-1, 0.81 in 2002 made him trade bait to none other than Gulf Breeze where he tossed 3 so-so campaigns. Magic City and Canaan followed it up and ended the career. The Keystone Comanches of 1995 drafted him in the 4^th round, and J.B. got 23.2 innings of 6.39 ERA out of him. Ugh! So ugh in fact that he was cut, and resurfaced 4 years later in the 2^nd round of the 1999 FA Draft by Crosstown. Despite a decent 3.94 career ERA, there wasn’t much to sink your teeth into.

Brian Shouse- Man, it seems he was pitching just last year, doesn’t it? I believe he was left handed and the thing that sticks out in this monograph is that he pitched in 20 post season games- going to the post season 5 times in his 6 year career. Guess he was a good luck charm, don’t you think? He had one stinker of a year in 2006 (6.32) but the rest of his years were all sub-3.00 ERAs and he played the role given by Crossie. Drafted by New England with their 4^th round rookie pick acquired from (yeah- you guessed it) Crosstown, he was traded to Crosstown in a deal for another 2015 ballot guy- Bradford. But it was a quiet career with a nice dash of the post season. His post-season ERA was nearly double his regular season one, though.

Julian Tavarez- He was a weird looking dude, wasn’t he? He’s only 42- should be pitching in the Mexican League or something. He actually had a very long (14 year) career in the NSL and his numbers show a career 5.13 ERA. In his last 200 or so innings, his ERA was over 7.80 so that might be a reason why. He seemed to find his best success as a reliever but rarely got the save chances with the exception of his rookie year when he got 8 for Jericho. In 1998 he appeared in 62 games and had a 2.72 ERA. Far from a 12^th man, he was relegated to that several times in his career and pitched in the post season just once, for the 2006 Woodchucks. Drafted by Jericho in the 1^st round of the 1996 Rookie Draft, he joined the club being traded 8 times over his final 10 seasons.

Salomon Torres- He was a “can’t miss” prospect that missed. Gulf Breeze got him with their 2^nd pick in the 1994 Rookie Draft, and he struggled right away, going 8-11 over his first 3 seasons and leading to his release. He was “who knows where” for the next 7 years before resurfacing with TMI in 2003. Yet it was more of the same- a 6-8 record over a couple of years. He took up residence in the bullpen and the light flickered briefly with a 1.96 ERA in 2005 and a 2.44 in 2006 for Sparrow Lake. But after a couple more years as a nondescript back of the bullpen guy he was done. He had so much potential.

Luis Vizcaino- The third guy on this ballot nabbed by immigration he turned out to be almost 3 years older than the day he was drafted by Goody in 2002. He was the Pounder closer in 2006 with 22 saves and a not so great 5.61 ERA, but he did better in the less stressful setup/longer relief roles. No telling if Goody threw 3 birthday parties for him back in 2003. Maybe it wasn’t in the budget.

David Wells- His 2^nd ballot this year- Traded 7 times makes you think about Bobo Newsom again. Yeah- we all remember the Babe Ruth hat and the excitement that brought about. It’s easy just to put Wells aside, after all he only won 20 games once (sort of like Schilling), won 214 games (sort of like Schilling), had a 3.86 career ERA (sort of like Schilling), and whiffed 2081 (well….). But you should put his numbers besides Schilling’s. Bloody Sock vs. Babe Ruth hat- the numbers are really close. I’ll take Schilling’s winning pct and whiffs over Wells but the numbers aren’t very far off, are they? Wells was originally a TMI Tiger then spent 7 years in Magic City, 3 in VT, 3 in EY, 3 with the Wizards, and a final season with TMI. He rarely missed a start and he does have more IP than Schilling. In 2000-1 for the Woodchucks, combined he was 36-10 with a sub-4.00 ERA. After his first 5 seasons, he was basically a .500 pitcher (36-37), and then things took off for the 97 Maulers (16-7) soon before the trade to Vermont. His ERA was in the top 10 just once in 20 seasons and his strike out total (183 in 2001) was also in the top ten just once. Yet he didn’t walk as many as Schilling. He was 3-2 in 55.1 career post-season innings with an ERA under 3.00. He was a 2 time All Star and one time All League.

There you have the 2015 Hall of Fame ballot for the Class of 2014. I hope you enjoyed it.

Rich