NORTHERN STATES LEAGUE

2016 HALL OF FAME ELIGIBLES

Class of 2015 Pitchers

Brian Bruney- He was a serviceable reliever with just 116 appearances in his 5 seasons in the league. After being drafted by Keystone in the 5^th round of the 2005 rookie draft, he was traded 7 times, went through 2 Free Agent drafts, and a waiver draft. Nice career. He had 2 years of sub 2.00 ERAs for Johnson in 2009 and 2010, but just 71 innings over those 2 years. He had a decent career ERA, especially considering his rookie year it was 7.40.

Kiko Calero- His given name is Enrique Nomar Calero. How in the heck did you get to Kiko? Maybe he was born in Hawaii- I really don’t know. He was drafted by New England in the 4^th round of the 2004 rookie draft and was traded 4 times through his career. He did have a nice final year- 2010 for Cleveland where he saved 26 and hung up a 2.55 ERA. Otherwise the career was quiet- a 1.71 in 2006 for Johnson and 11 saves in 2007 for Sparrow Lake but that was it.

Roger Clemens- This is his 3^rd ballot now- the repeat: 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 pitched 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.

Doug Davis- It’s easy just to blow guys off on this ballot, but Davis was a workhorse for some so-so teams, I guess nowadays you’d call him a “backend starter’. Over the 2005-10 time frame he really only missed 10 starts and actually led the league with 35 in 2006 and 34 in his final year, 2010. But the career ERA leaves something to be desired. As we grow and tweak our teams we always needed a guy like Davis, and Longstown was smart enough to realize that- twice receiving him in trades to fulfill a need. In 2005, that need was a 21-5 record, yet a 0-2 in the post season. In 2009 it was 11-7, yet a 16.88 ERA in the post season. Davis logged nearly 1540 innings in just 10 seasons- one of which (2003) he didn’t even appear in. He winds up with a decent W/L record, but walked a bunch and allowed more hits than innings. Yet he was a needed player, lost in the plethora of better stats and more glamorous names.

Scott Eyre- Think LH specialist. As we develop our teams, few of us can cover a left handed specialist with minimal innings, but that is the role Eyre was born for. He rarely pitched more than one frame at a time, and usually only to LH batters. He was in the top 10 in games in 2006 and 2007 for Jericho (now Kalamazoo) and although he had 17 career saves, he was never called upon to be the team closer. He had a 1.95 ERA for Jericho in 2005 when he saved 9 contests and only walked 11 in 49 innings. But the “W” was there sometimes and his career BB/K ratio is not too pleasing. He appeared in 20 post season games with an ERA over 5.00. An original Longstown selection in the 1998 rookie draft (4^th pick), he eventually was dropped and drafted by Crosstown in the 2^nd round of the 2002 FA draft, traded to Jericho for Hollandsworth, before finishing things off in Creekside.

Eddie Guardado- Everyday Eddie was far from that in the NSL- only appearing in as many as 60 games twice and chalking up only 716.2 innings over his 16 year career. He was drafted as a starter in 1995 when Si selected him in the 4^th round of the 1995 FA draft. Yes, FA drafts used to go 4 or 5 rounds. But Eddie couldn’t convince Si he wasn’t a starter and since the two butted heads, he moved to Green Mountain in a typical post card deal of York’s- you know, 6 cuts for a player (in this case Randy Myers) and a 3^rd round FA. But that worked just fine for Burnie as he kept Guardado’s innings down for the next 4 years with minimal reward, sending him to Jericho for Orlando Merced. Kevin was a big bullpen user and it was here that Eddie got as close to Everyday as he could have. He pitched in 270 games over the next 5 years and even saved 15 in 2001, yet was moved again to the Wizards, Mud Creek, and Pennsylvania in order to finish it off. I thought the numbers would be better, but there is not much there. His best ERA was 2.14 for the 2005 Wizards, and it was sub- 3.00 for 2003-07, but that was it. It’s really tough to consider a reliever without the save totals, and if you do, they have to have an incredible amount of games or innings. Eddie has none of these.

Mike Hampton- You know when you think of him, you think bulldog, scrapper, gamer, whatever. Then you look at that career ERA of 4.66 and wonder how it was possible? He had more wins than losses (119-110) and 42 CG over his career. He punched out 1271 in 2009 innings, yet walked 804 while allowing nearly a hit an inning. In these pre-WHIP days, it was ugly. Heck, it’s ugly today. After a sluggish start for the Crushers, things looked up starting in 1999 with an 18-9 season despite 36 long balls allowed and a 4.80 ERA. His career best came the following year, with a tad worse W/L record (16-10), but 178 Ks and a 3.54 ERA. But- the BB reared their ugly head as he walked 107 that year. After that, a decent 17-9 in 2001 and 16-6 in 2002 before things really went south. His numbers are very similar to Doug Davis- and I know Davis won’t be seriously considered. Hampton was a 3^rd round rookie pick for Scoop in 1995 and wound up being traded 8 times, finishing it off with a 6-11, 6.61 for the 2010 Comanches. His career post season ERA is over 8 in 34 innings.

Matt Herges- Often when I write these monographs, I have to look back and see if these guys are still active in baseball somewhere. Alas in this case, it must have just been a spring training invite. Herges finally retired in 2010 after a 9 year career, 7 trades, and one free agent draft. Originally he was selected by the East Hardwick Giants in the 2^nd round of the 2001 rookie draft and was traded quickly to Walden (now Frankfort) and pitched in 120 games over the next two seasons for the Stingers. This was an expansion team with little going for it (1999 expansion) and Herges filled a role just to get some innings on the board. But he did so in fine fashion with 184 frames worked in those two years and an ERA around 3.25. He was traded to Gulf Breeze and appeared in just 29 games as I obviously did not know how to use him correctly- for the next year with the Wizards he was in 66 games and notched a 3.47 ERA. But the candle burned out quickly and over the next 5 years he was merely mediocre and was done in 2010 for the- drum roll here- Canaan Polar Bears.

Trevor Hoffman- If we elected Lee Smith into the Hall of Fame, shouldn’t we have to vote Trevor Hoffman in? Well, that will be our decision, won’t it? So let’s talk closers for a minute, and unlike the Mariano Rivera 15 years of closing no matter what his grade is consider what goes on in the league. With the notable exception of Lee Smith, who generally was the Parker City closer for 16 years, most of us use the best grade, hopefully with a Z, as the closer for our teams. Things were no different for the glory years Hoffman spent in Creekside after a short stint with New England. Hoffman led the league in saves in 1999 (50), 2000 (51), and 2010 (46). He was in the top 10 in saves 5 other times. But, there were years where another better suited closer did the closing and Hoffman was just the setup guy. Witness 2001 when Hoffman posted a 1.67 ERA, yet took a back seat to closing. Ditto 2003 when he had just 1 save despite a 1.93 ERA, and 2006 with no saves and 1.92 ERA. So my point is that he accumulated a bunch of saves, yet the total could have blown Lee Smith out of the water. Oh, Smith was affected the same way but Hoffman’s save total and ERA rank right there with Lee. He pitched in more games, and even had a year (2004) when he did not have a card. He was a 6 time All-Star and 4 time All-League, yet all were when he was closing, never as a set up despite the fantastic ERAs. He was originally an Elite- Waller taking him with his 2^nd pick in the 1994 rookie draft, and was traded in 1996 to Creekside where he posted most of his numbers. He was traded 3 times in the 2007 off season, winding up in Vermont for 86 more saves over his final 4 seasons. In 37 post season games, he had 15 saves. His BB/K ratio is better than Smith’s. He was as dominant as you could be given the roles he played. His saves total is 4^th on the all-time career list.

Bobby Howry- Quick trivia question. Who is the only major league pitcher who has given up a HR (really) to an NSL member? Yessir- you got it. In a White Sox fantasy camp, Dan Wilburn went yard off Howry and likely did a bat flip to p.o. the reliever. Of course the next time up, Dan caught one in the ribs and so much for that fantasy. But that’s a true story. Howry had a decent NSL career and most any time I see a career ERA under 4.00 I take notice. Yet as described above, Howry was more of a set up type guy and rarely got the good press of the stud closers. Oh he did save 23 games for the 2008 Johnson Knights, but the math shows he had just 28 in his other 10 seasons of work. Interestingly, he posted his best ERA in his final season- at 2.19 for Johnson. Howry was originally selected by Al in the 2^nd round of the 1999 rookie draft, and honestly he was just okay over his first 5 seasons. He was cut, and in 2005 was drafted by- get this- Duneland where he was 2-4 with a 2.53 ERA. Yes- 4 HR allowed that year and we’re unsure if Dan’s was counted in the total. He moved on to Vermont, then Johnson to wrap things up. He pitched 14 1/3 post season frames with an ERA over 9.00. ****OOPS- just found out it was off of Thigpen- still a great story****.

Jason Jennings- Jennings was just a stop-gap end of the rotation guy who did little to let us know he was a major league pitcher. A 50-73 W/L record is awful and the BB/K follows suit. He was selected in the first round of the 2003 rookie draft by the East Hardwick Giants and proceeded to lose 40 games over his first 3 seasons for some poor clubs. His only sub 4.00 ERA was in 2010 for Creekside.

Randy D. Johnson- Why the “D”? Surely you remember Randall G. Johnson who appeared in 82 games for the 1985 Parker City Cubs. But no matter- the D is there whether we like it or not. I sort of assumed when I’d write Johnson’s monograph we’d see tons of strikeouts (we do) and tons of walks (hmmmm- not really). Sure- Randy has the 2^nd most walks on the ballot this year, and with his election would be the most in the Hall of Fame. But check this out- 3936 innings pitched in the NSL, and a record of 13-51 after his first 3 seasons! Well, 300 wins wouldn’t be attainable after that start, but things changed in 1993 for Creekside when Johnson went 15-12 in 210 innings with 214 punch outs and just 167 hits. Yes, the league leading 132 BB was a factor, but coupled with the hits allowed made it not so awful. But over the next few years he developed into an absolute dominator as witnessed by his 292 starts from 1998-2007. He led the league in strikeouts 8 times- that’s EIGHT, with more than 292 in 4 consecutive years. From 1999-2003 he won 106 games. His nearly 4000 innings doesn’t compare with Maddux, Glavine, or Clemens, but his 4108 whiffs is 2^nd only to Clemens, and 264 wins 4^th on the All-Time list. Johnson won the Nolan Ryan award 3 times- 1996 (20-3, 2.07), 2000 (27-5, 2.21) and 2005 (25-4, 2.31). He was originally drafted by New England in the 3^rd round (!!!) of the 1990 rookie draft, and seeing all those BB led Bill to move him to Creekside with Marquis Grissom for Dave Stewart. After a dozen great Creekside years, Scoop traded him one year too early to York, and 7 productive seasons later he was peddled to Kalamazoo for his final 17 career starts. He was in the top 10 in punchouts 13 times and top 10 in ERA 7 times. Sure the BBs are mind boggling, but so are the whiffs. He was only 12-12 in the post season. Johnson was a 7-time All-Star and 4 year All-League.

Braden Looper- He did things in reverse. He started out his career as a decent bullpen inning eater guy and finished up as a starting inning eater. He pitched in a whopping 70 games in both 2003 and 2005, before 97 starts over his final 3 seasons. His 57-75 career mark isn’t too good but he does have a sub-4.00 ERA. As a starter, though, he was 31-46. He saved 10 games for the 2003 Polar Bears. An original Waden Stinger (3^rd round of the 2000 rookie draft), he was traded 5 times and had his best year (6-2, 1.86) for the 2005 Prospectors.

Pedro J. Martinez- Yes, there were two Pedros- one pitched 2 years for Gulf Breeze. This is the other one. We’ve had years on top of years of nothing but offensive players get in to our Hall, but the pendulum seems to have switched slightly, and with Maddux and Glavine both getting in last year, it might be a good time to be a pitcher again. Pedro is 6^th on the all-time list with 241 wins which is great. His terrific 2.97 career ERA should be enough and is the #1 career ERA in our history. But check out the W/L record- nearly 3 times as many wins as losses! So, this should direct you to him being on plenty of very good teams- and he was. That led to 39 post season career starts and a 19-14 post season record. He won at least 20 games in 7 out of 8 seasons (1998-2005) and was in the top 10 in strikeouts 11 out of 12 seasons (1995-2006). His winning percentage is also the best ever up to this point. He is 4^th in career strikeouts (2848) but way down at 37 in career BB. He even found time to save 14 games (his rookie year- 1994 when he was mostly a reliever). Pedro J. was a 7-time All-Star and 6-time All-League. He was the 9^th overall pick in the 1994 rookie draft by Magic City, and stayed with the club until 2003, when at the winter meetings he took a walk with Si on the beach and moved him to York in a 9 player deal. He pitched 6 years in York (one lost to injury) and finished his final 2 seasons with Glenville (11 starts over the 2 years). Like Randy D. before him, Pedro J. won 3 Nolan Ryan awards- in 1998 (21-8, 2.09), 2001 (22-3, league leading 1.80), and 2003 (21-4, 2.21 for York). It will be interesting on how all these stud pitchers mesh together as far as the voting goes, as there will be plenty of possibilities on a usually short list of available pitchers. 153 games over .500. 2.97 career ERA. You decide.

Gil Meche- Meche was a viable 4^th starter for Duneland from 2007-9 when he won 40 games including his best career year- 2008 with 17 wins, 4 shutouts, and a 3.77 ERA. But it took him 4 years of spinning his wheels to even get 30 starts and even though he had a decent 5 year run, it was far too short. Gil gave up way more hits than IP, and started walking quite a few batters later in his career. A 2^nd round rookie picked by Magic City in the 2000 rookie draft, he moved to Jericho and Duneland before finishing up in Gulf Breeze.

Mike Mussina- This is his 2^nd ballot- and the facts remain close to the same- 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 in the back seat- “don’t forget about me!”

Russ Ortiz- After a sluggish rookie season, Russ was a full time starter for the Pounders from 2000 to 2005. Goody drafted him in the 3^rd round for the 1999 rookie draft, and he paid dividends in 2000 with a 17-11 record despite a 4.77 ERA. Looking deeper into the numbers, one remembers that 4 expansion teams were still feeling their ways at this time, but Pennsylvania was also a very good team. But the BB demons kept getting in to Ortiz’ head and a 741/1026 BB/K ratio just is not very good. Ortiz did put up some numbers though over that time, winning 18 in 2004 and 16 in 2002, yet the walks allowed continued, walking a league leading 134 in 2001 and 2^nd worst 116 in 2004. He moved to East York for a year and finally went to Cleveland through waivers for 2010.

Tim Redding- He only had 7 years to talk about and none of them were any good. His career ERA of 5.02 is ugly and 100+ more hits than IP hurts. Redding was the 2^nd round pick of the Vermont Woodchucks in 2002 and after 4 nondescript seasons, Dave cut him, only for him to reappear in the 2008 FA draft to Longstown (I didn’t think Denny ever had a FA pick…), was traded twice, and finished up in York. He did start 33 times for the 2009 Prospectors and went a career best 14-9.

Curt Schilling-Here’s his 3^rd 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.

John Smoltz- This is really incredible- just look at all the candidates we have this year and although there are some fine batters, it’s like all the pitchers have arrived at once. I like Smoltz almost as much as a commentator as a pitcher and he made the sacrifice of becoming a closer for the Braves when good sense told you to leave him in the rotation. But he was injured in all of 2001 and the Brave brass must have thought he’d be better suited to relieving- which he did for 4 seasons (79 saves including a league leading 45 in 2004), but got back into the rotation for his final 3+ seasons. So how does this affect his HOF credentials? To start, his win/loss mark might be less than anticipated. This could also be a function of some ratty teams though, so let’s look elsewhere. 3.90 ERA- check, but maybe not quite what was expected- yet better than Nolan Ryan who is in the Hall. 3306.1 IP is 9^th on the all-time list and 2836 whiffs is good for 5^th. Still, though, the thinking is 4 more seasons at prime Smoltz would have made him a shoe-in one would think. He led the league in ERA in 1997 (2.60) when he won the Nolan Ryan award, and punched out 273 that season. He was in the top 10 9 times in whiffs and 6 times in IP. But after 8 seasons in the league for 4 different teams, he was only 70-100 with an ERA approaching 5. Something clicked in 1997 as that Nolan Ryan award came out of almost nowhere, and the rest was solid including the 4 relief years. Maybe not Clemens solid- but solid. Eric drafted him in the 2^nd round of the 1989 rookie draft for the Wizards, and he moved to Keystone, New England, and East York in quick succession before Mick worked with him to make him the pitcher he became. He was a 3 time All-Star and 2 year All-League, finishing up his career in Glenville for 3 and Sparrow Lake for the finale. Here was really a tale of many pitchers- the potential guy who did little with poor teams, turning it on for a league juggernaut before the injury, reinventing himself as a reliever before reestablishing himself as a bona fide starter. Yes, the East York effect might have been important in his career (great offense, usually in the post season), but the multiple transformations of his career make him one of the most interesting guys on the ballot.

Justin Speier- He carved out a decent 10-year career with 2 different NSL clubs, splitting time almost evenly with Crosstown and Glenville. Cross grabbed him in the 2^nd round of the 2001 rookie draft where he pitched for 5 seasons, before moving to Glenville for the final 5. Little jumps off the pages at you but a top 10 finish in saves in 2006 for Glenville (36) and a 2.40 ERA in the post season (15 IP).

Russ Springer- One of the rarest things in the NSL- a player who entered through the Free Agent Draft rather than the rookie draft (not selected) and as a Magic City Mauler no less. We all know that Bryan hates FA picks and the fact that he had one in 1995 was a total surprise. But his 3^rd round FA pick was there- likely one he didn’t even want- and Springer was the choice. After a nearly empty 1995, he was traded twice in the off season, winding up on Pennsylvania, where he worked for 6 seasons before moving on to East Hardwick, Canaan, and Duneland to finish it off. His highest IP total was 65.2 frames and his best record was 8-0 in 2008 for Canaan. He had saved 12 games the season before for the Polar Bears. Yet his career ERA is under 4.00 and for a 3^rd round FA- well, guess we’d all take it, right?

Jeff Suppan- His 119 wins were all achieved by Crosstown (except 2) as he was Gulf Breeze’s 3^rd round rookie pick in 1998, played a year here, then left us in the 1999 Expansion Draft- grabbed in the 16^th round by the new North Carolinian. I’m not sure how to build an expansion club up, but you have to be happy with a guy who took the ball every 5^th day and just worked it out. In 1999 he was injured and only started 9 times, but from then on he started at least 29 games every season from 2000-2009. Yeah, a 5.46 ERA is pretty ugly, but a trade one has to make to get the team to respectability. He gave up way too many HR, and the BBs are up there, yet not obnoxious, and face it, 117 wins (Crosstown best ever) is something for an expansion club. Sure, he’s 20 games below .500 for his career, but Crosstown is 94 games under after a very decent last 10 years. Jeff lost 18 times in 2003, but won 16 in 2007. He was a nifty 5-0 in 5 post season starts. He was maybe not the most glamorous of SP, but a true stud on a studless club. I’m sure he’ll at least make the ‘dale Hall of Fame.

Brad Thompson- I usually know all the players I write about pretty well, but I have to admit that I’m having a hard time remembering Brad Thompson. He was drafted in the third round of the 2006 rookie draft by Duneland and moved immediately to Albany before later going to Muncie for his final 2 seasons. He notched 75.2 innings for Muncie in 2008, and posted a ghastly 7.73 that season. He was 7-2 in his rookie year for the Wildcats. You have to wonder how he got his career ERA down so well with that ugly Muncie season in the books. But the rookie year 1.36 in 53 innings helped as did his 2.22 ERA in 52.2 frames in 2007. But- see what happens when you’re traded to Muncie? 7.73 beware.

Brett Tomko- He missed 100 wins by 2, yet still put together a decent career with a better than 2/1 K/BB ratio and 1600 innings. But- there were more hits than IP and 208 bombs. Si drafted him with the 8^th overall pick in the 1998 rookie draft (ouch) and after 3 seasons and a 31-18 mark, he moved to East York for 3 more years and a 18-9 W/L. On to New England for 4 years and a 35-24 mark before finishing up in Canaan (14-13). So things stayed relatively the same through his 4 moves, and although I’d never call him a workhorse, he certainly was a serviceable pitcher. But a #8 overall pick? Si- maybe you should draft only in the 5^th round from now on. Tomko did complete 50 of his 224 starts and had 4 shutouts in 1999.

Claudio Vargas- No, this isn’t Jason. Man oh man, a 5.90 ERA doesn’t keep you in many games, and his 2-15 mark for Green Mountain took care of most of that ugly W/L mark. Drafted in the 1^st round of the 2004 rookie draft (a rare Becker swing and miss), he moved to Green Mt. for 2006-8 before winding up in Glenville for 2010 after the FA draft. There is nothing that makes me look twice at him other than a terrible ERA. He did save 20 games in 2010 for Glenville after converting to a reliever and had a 2.01 ERA in 40 frames, but all that did was get the career ERA under 6.00.

Ron Villone- Like backup catchers, LH relievers seem to hang on forever- yet for some reason are never asked to be managers or even pitching coaches. Why is that? Villone toiled for 4 different NSL teams, was traded 8 times and was cut and picked up in the same waiver draft. He started as a reliever, went to starting then returned to relieving never doing any of them very well. He did get 9 wins in 2000 for Jericho and posted a nice 3.47 ERA for the ’08 Canucks, but was cut then and finished off his career in Cleveland. He was originally a 4^th round rookie in the 1996 draft taken by TMI.

Jarrod Washburn- You can at least say he took the ball every 5^th day, and he had at least 23 starts over a 9 year segment of his career. He won more than 100, yet the BB/K ratio wasn’t too good and hits/IP is ugly. He did win 16 games in 2007 for Vermont and had his best ERA in 2003 for the same team (2.75). He pitched over 200 innings twice. In the dictionary, Washburn is pictured under “back end starter”. Yet 24 NSL franchises need 24 back end starters. Sure, a couple of us come up with all B’s in the rotation, but for those that don’t, there was Jarrod Washburn. He was originally plucked out of the rookie pool by Mick in the 2000 rookie draft’s 3^rd round, moved to Walden in the Furcal deal in 2001, then to Vermont, Canaan, and Sparrow Lake in order. His best years were for Vermont (2003-8) where he was 71-53 for some very good Woodchuck teams. He wound up 0-2in the post season.

David Weathers- Here’s another guy that you just figure is in extended spring training somewhere. He is 46 now, and I guess that’s not likely, but he did hang around for a long time, notching 14 seasons in the league. “Every Day David” doesn’t sound as cool as “Every Day Eddie”, but Weathers appeared in a whopping 613 games over 14 seasons and averaged more than 70 innings over a 12-year span. There is nothing really glamorous on his resume yet was there when called for- and he was called for often. His glory years were for Creekside (seems that every player on the ballot this year was a Crusher at some point), and he was 39-30 with 8 saves for the franchise from 2002-10. He was also 2-0 in 16 post season games. Weathers was taken in the 1994 rookie draft by Green Mountain, and moved to New England where he was cut after 2 GM seasons. In the 1997 FA draft, he was selected by Creekside, traded twice, and was cut. Cross grabbed him in the 1999 FA draft and he pitched a year there, moved to NE (again) for a year, and Vermont for a year, before finally finding a home in Creekside. Decent numbers for a back of the bullpen type guy- but not a true mop up or set up- just there when needed.

Todd Wellemeyer- He had a 7 year NSL career, 2 of which were no card years which obviously kept his numbers down. Starting as a reliever in 2004, he proved he could not do that and moved to the rotation in 2009. Proving he could not do that either, he retired after the 2010 season when he posted a lackluster 9.05 ERA, 2-12 in 18 Muncie starts. He was originally taken by Magic City in the 4^th round of the 2004 rookie draft and was traded in 2010 to Muncie where he posted that ugly 2-12 line.

Kip Wells- Can you think of another MLB player named Kip? It seems I might recall one, but the brain here just isn’t pulling it out. But, Kip helped us out in the NL as his real name is Robert, and we already had another Robert Wells in the league. Hats off to Kip! It’s easy to sort of bypass Wells as well (he-he), but he actually had some fine seasons for a dynamite Cleveland team in the early 00s. After Al drafted him in the 2^nd round of the 2000 rookie draft, he took a couple of years to get his feet on the ground, then in 2003- a Championship year for Cleveland- Wells went 17-5 with a 3.54 ERA. Since he had won just 12 times over his first 3 seasons, that sort of came out of nowhere. But the following year he would top that with a 19-9 mark and a 3.47 ERA. With seemingly everything working in his favor, he skidded to a 11-9, 5.53 in 2005 and basically faded away. He was 12-12, 4.65 for the 2008 Hit Men, but was released, reappearing for Kalamazoo in the 2010 FA draft, where as a reliever he was 0-1, 2.94. He was 4-1 for the Hit Men in the 2003 post season with an ERA around 3.00. He never pitched 200 innings, but was close in both 2003 and 2004, with 198.1 and 197.1 respectively.