NORTHERN STATES LEAGUE

2017 HALL OF FAME ELIGIBLES

Class of 2016 Pitchers

Jeremy Accardo- Remember back in elementary school when you had to line up by last name? Wouldn’t you have loved to be Accardo? I mean who besides Joe Aardvark would be ahead of you? Accardo spent 6 years in the league, 2 of which he had no card. He did have a 0.00 ERA in 9 post season games, but that’s about as much plugging as I can do for him. He was originally selected by Johnson in the 5^th round of the 2006 Rookie Draft and was traded 4 times in his 6 year career. Guess he should move to the end of the line- his real name might have been Zaccardo.

Danys Baez- Funny first name- wonder what the parents were thinking? But don’t just blow Danys off- he had some NSL moments to consider. Taken by Bob C and the Sharks in the 1^st round of the 2002 Rookie Draft, he was soon peddled to Albany and had 3 straight nice seasons- saving 32 with a 3.45 ERA in 2004 and another 30 in 2005. He had his best ERA season the year after (2.28) but his save total dropped to 15 and he was pretty much done thereafter, with a decent 2010 season for Keystone. Not surprisingly, his career worst ERA came for the Aardvarks of 2007.

Jeremy Bonderman- Big guy- big arm, should have done much better, right? But we tend to forget the guys that faded away not-so-gracefully and Bonderman certainly fills that bill. His last 3 seasons combined netted an 8-16 record with an ERA well north of 5. But there was another side to his career- 4 decent years for Vermont as a # 3 or #4 starter who ate some innings for what was becoming a solid NSL franchise in the late 00’s and early 10’s. Dave Burnham wasn’t mentioned with those managers that helped us so much in the late 80s and early 90s because he was already on board, taking over the absolutely awful Chagrin Valley Crusaders in the very early 80s. You’ve likely heard the story before, but the Valley took B relievers in the original stocking draft. Plenty of them. With 15 of his top 23 picks being relievers, there was no way they could all play, and the roster spots of decent players were burned up with these 1-2 year flashes. It was Rose & Revering and Pray for rain. It was something like that. But enter one Dave Burnham and the rest is history- Vermont paying his dues for years thanks to the lousy stocking draft to become what will likely be the 4^th NSL manager with 3000 wins later this year. Speaking of paying your dues in the league…and I’m not talking $30.00 either. Full cycle back to Bonderman now and in 2004 the ‘chucks were on an upward spiral. Dave took Bonderman in the first round that year and after a train wreck 2004, he developed in to a mid-rotation inning eater, chucking 3 shutouts in 2006 and 5 in 2007 when he was 15-11 with 207 whiffs. Dave traded him a year early and he was 13-5 for the Comanches in 2008, but that was close to it until the disappointing finish. He was in the 2014 FA Draft and was actually selected by Marietta, by not making the MudDogs roster he saved his status to allow us to vote for him today. Or not.

D.J. Carrasco- Well- here we go again. His first name is Daniel. As far as I know, he has no middle name. Just look at Baseball Encyclopedia- go ahead, I’ll wait. Back already, eh? Yup- the “J” stands for what, James? John? Jablonski? Fill in the gap anyway you like. His career 4.04 ERA isn’t that awful. He was originally taken by Dan in the 5^th round of the 2004 Rookie Draft, was traded twice, went through 2 FA drafts, and a Waiver Draft. Not much to see here, though. What does that J stand for, anyway?

Roger Clemens- This is his 4th 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.

Jose Contreras- A sub-.500 record and an ERA over 5.00 doesn’t speak volumes about your NSL career. He did amass 35 CG in his 143 starts, but his stat sheet is littered with ugly numbers. New England selected him in the 2004 Rookie Draft on a pick he received from Crosstown, and he wound up being traded 4 times in his 8 year career. He was (and probably is) a big guy, can throw hard, but like so many he had trouble controlling things. He moved to Albany and was a low level starter for a few years, then went to East York (2-12, 8.23... Ouch!) for 2010 and polished off the career with a 8.29 in a relief role for Coach K. Yucko.

Lance Cormier- Viva la France, right? Ah- guess not, he was born down in the bayou of Louisiana, not in France after all. Why do I have this vision suddenly of Dan Akroyd and the coneheads? No matter. Rheal was the better of the two Cormiers in the league, and situational lefties just don’t bring a lot of attention to themselves unless they’re on a pennant winner. Two years in New England and 3 in Glenville led to zero post season appearances. His best ERA was 3.23 in 2009 and he notched a career best 76 IP in 2010 for Glenville.

Manny Delcarmen- The ballot this year is littered with 5 year guys- and you really can’t build much in that short of a time span, especially when you’re up against the likes of some of these other studs (noun taken from Becker- sorry for the plagiarism). But I would think Manny could be in the top 5 in one category in the NSL- best improvement from a season to the next. Taken by Longstown in the 2007 Rookie Draft, Manny had a 6.04 ERA in 50.2 innings. In 2008, Becker enticed him to post a 1.64 in 44 relief innings. Now Becker has never shared with us his pitching coach (shameless plug here for you to look at your history and tell me the first page guys- coaching staffs, stadium, team hotels- nah, just kiddin’ on the hotels) but whoever it is should get an award- and I’m not talking about a participation award. Delcarmen had another nice year in 2009, then was traded as everyone is eventually to New England (1.86 ERA in 2010) and on to Canaan where all arms went to pasture- John retiring more players than the rest of us combined.

Elmer Dessens- You can just never get mad at a guy named Elmer, can you? You can’t be mad at the Elmer’s glue bottle. Elmer Fudd? How can you get mad at him, you skwuey rabbit? I know you’re all trying to think of other Elmers you know and not having much success. Dessens was one of those rare guys who can boast about losing 20 games in a season- for the 2005 Comanches. His 7-20, 6.76 ERA might be tough to top, but surely we’ve had worse seasons. Jack Chalfant selected Dessens in the 5^th round of the 1999 Rookie Draft, and he was cut quickly, reappearing in the league in the first round of the 2001 FA Draft- taken by Jack’s son, Derek, and the Farmland Chieftones. He actually had his best year in his final one, 2.27 for Creekside in 2011. Then talking about swings in careers, he was 13-9 3.69 for East York in 2003, before that ugly 7-20, 6.76 for Keystone in 2004.

Brendan Donnelly- After his 1^st 3 years in the league, one would equate “awesome” with Donnelly. First 3 ERAs were: 1.15 (39 IP), 1.98 (72.2 IP), and 0.98 (27.2 IP). Eye popping! In fact, 3 of his other 4 seasons provided ERAs under 4. Stuck in the middle was a stinker of a 2007- 5.57 in 63 IP. So his career ERA is 5^th best on the ballot. He saved 32 games in 2004 for the Wizards, but only 2 the rest of his career. His record is on the plus side of .500. He was originally taken by Chad in the 3^rd round of the 2003 Rookie Draft and went to the Wizards the following year in the Griffey Jr deal. He wound up his career- stop me if you’ve heard this before- for Canaan in 2011.

Justin Duchsherer- For a while, Jim Gillen and I made our draft lists up together and sort of developed a plan. It usually worked okay, and we were able to bounce ideas off one another. In 2005 at the meetings, Jim surprised me by taking Duchsherer in the 2^nd round for a team that needed everything. But, he was a B reliever and Jimbo got 37 saves out of him the following year. But his career of 7 seasons was marred by 3 no cards. After relieving for 3 seasons, then missing a campaign, he tried to reestablish himself as a starter with great success (13-5, 2.22 in 22 starts), yet that was it, and after 2 more no cards it was done. It was the elbow, and I’ve always wondered what became of guys like Justin who left the game and had whatever elbow issues they had. Is he able to lift his kids up? The groceries? Or is he in constant pain? My best guess is that he only has pain “sometimes” when he moves awkwardly or tried to lift something heavy. But what I’d like to do is ask him if it was worth the sacrifice? That is- can you sell your future health for a $3 million contract? I guess so- a lot of guys are doing it and Dr. James Andrews is living the high life.

Pedro Feliciano- Drafted in the 5^th round of the 2004 Rookie Draft by Duneland, Dan got nothing out of him and cut him. In 2007, Ash selected him in the Free Agent Draft and actually got some production over his final 5 years in the league. In 2007 he posted a nice 2.64 in 58 frames and his final year (2011) showed a 2.83 in 60.1 IP. He saved 3 games that final year, but he was never a true closer, just one of those guys to get you into the latter innings without giving up a bunch or leads.

Ryan Franklin- If you had told me he pitched 10 years in the NSL I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But here it is on paper- the Wizards 2^nd pick in the 2002 Rookie Draft. He was a reliever at first (2.64 in 2002), then a starter for 4 years for 94 starts, before again returning to the pen in 2007. The starting years were pretty ugly for the Wizards before moving to Canaan. Indeed his 2-21, 8.39 in 2005 for the Polar Bears might be one of the worst seasons ever. He followed that with a much better season, 3-13, 8.14, before being traded to Longstown. Once again, Denny’s pitching coach turned things around and Franklin was marginally successful in a mid-inning relief role, though he did save 16 games in 2010- at that time for New England. He ended things after the 2011 season (5.05) for Green Mountain.

Aaron Heilman- A can’t miss Mets prospect (there were so many…) and I was lucky enough to get him in the 5^th round of the 2004 Rookie Draft. After his ugly 2004, I cut my losses and cut him, only to pick him up again in the 2006 Free Agent Draft. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I never got it, as he moved to the bullpen and was a nice inning eater at least. He did have a 1.88 in 72 innings in 2010 and saved 9 in 2008 with a 2.83, ending up with a nice career 3.60 mark. But middle relievers don’t raise many eyebrows on Hall of Fame ballots. Still, we all need this type of guy to make the stars look like stars.

Mark Hendrickson-With a 5.06 career ERA, it’s easy to see how he was traded 5 times in his 8 year career. Starting out with Canaan, he toiled for the Wizards, East York, Canaan again, and Longstown before hanging them up in 2011. For the two years as a Polar Bear he was 5-23.

Trevor Hoffman- This is his 2^nd ballot- 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 Jenks- He came in as a dominant flame thrower and after 5 years had to revert to a junk baller, finally calling it a career in 2011. It was all too short a career as he managed just 6 seasons and 322.1 innings, and it’s reasonable to say we expected more from him. Dave took him with his 2^nd pick in the 2006 Rookie Draft and he was traded very quickly (after 2006) to Duneland for Trevor Hoffman (see above). What are the chances of back to back guys on the ballot being traded for one another? Yeah- figure it out on your own time. Jenks struck out more than one an inning for Duneland in 2007, then things began to fade- all too quickly. He did save at least one game in each of the 6 seasons he pitched, and was certainly a true “set-up” type reliever. He pitched 21 innings in the post-season with an ERA under 3.

Ron Mahay- Speaking of LH specialists as we have a bit this year, here is one of the true examples. Yet also note that as usual in the NSL, a lefty specialist is rarely used that way. Need, Mahay pitched 410 innings in just 287 appearances, and became more of a RH setup guy vs a LH specialist. Face it, there is very little need for a lefty specialist and as mentioned above, only for a playoff club- Mahay had no playoff experience. He did save 18 games for Gulf Breeze in 2005 and notched a 2.30 for Johnson in 2008, but his role was never clearly defined. A 4^th round Rookie pick by Jericho in 1998, he was cut and sat out a whopping 6 seasons before resurfacing with Johnson in 2004.

John Maine- Another guy who I thought was in a camp last spring. Maine went 34-29 over 5 seasons (last year was a no card) and had a nice 2007 with Duneland (6-4, 3.10). He had a career ERA of 4.28 and whiffed just 390 in 534 frames. Drafted by Albany in the 5^th round of the 2006 Rookie Draft, he moved to Duneland before throwing a pitch, and followed with moves to Duneland, New England, and East York.

Pedro J. Martinez- His 2^nd ballot- 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.

Trever Miler- I always mixed him up with Travis Miller. Not a surprise I guess. Trever became much more of a set up reliever and had some decent seasons during his career (1.78 in 50.2 for Keystone in 2007, 1.83 in 2010, 39.1 IP) but never really got a closing gig to brighten up his resume. He was an original Wizard pick (1999 round 3) and was “done” after 2 years in 2000 for Green Mountain. He resurfaced in the 2004 Free Agent Draft and his 8 years with Keystone were clearly his best.

Sergio Mitre- In 71 games he had a 5.10 ERA. Drafted as a starter in 2005 by Duneland, he was 5-1, 3.10 in his rookie year, then pitched just 37 frames over the next two years before 108.2 in 2008 for Glenville (3-11, 5.55). It didn’t get much better (6.00 in 48 innings in 2011) and it was over as quickly as it started. He pitched two different stints for Duneland at the beginning and end of his career. He did eat some innings, but they were ugly innings and his 8-15, 7.61 disaster for the 2010 Crushers sealed his fate.

Brian Moehler- He was just 77-100 over his career with a 5.34 ERA. So let’s see if there is anything to focus on looking at his seasonal record. It started out okay, 36-36 over his first 3 seasons with an ERA in the low 4s, but a trade from New England to the East Hardwick Giants and things quickly unraveled.

Jamie Moyer- I am absolutely positive he could get batters out today. His career is highlighted by longevity- 23 seasons is 2^nd on the ballot just to Clemens, and a 242-169 career Win/Loss is currently 25^th all time, and is not necessarily a reflection of the teams he played on- many were just not that good. But he’s 5^th in career wins, yet not winning his 100^th game until his 12^th season. 88 career CG for that slightly built lefty and a whopping 40 shutouts! He was unspectacular, but solid to start. Burnie took him in the 1987 Rookie Draft- but not until the 4^th round. This was an astute pick by the elder Burnham brother. In 1988 he was 12-11, but 7.17 and things looked sad- but he got started on the right foot in 1989 with an 18-6, 2.92 season, and his first of two All-Star selections. He then sat out 2 years- likely to marry Digger’s daughter, and upon his return everything was not rosy. He was AWOL for 1992-4, then was the #2 pick of the 1994 Free Agent Draft by South Amherst and the return to form basically began in 1995 (8-9, 4.01). He went to New England for a year, then back to the Canucks. After a 17-9, 3.12 with the 1999 Canucks, he moved to Gulf Breeze (see Burnie- we have made deals) and over 4 seasons won 53 games, his final year with the ‘varks being his 2^nd All-Star selection. On to the Wizards, then Canaan, then Longstown, then Canaan again, then finally Sparrow Lake. Do you think we have a trading problem? But no matter all that as Moyer’s numbers are fantastic. He was in the top ten in ERA 3 times in his career, and top 10 in shutouts 7 times. He pitched in as many as 234 innings (1999) and won 20 in 2009 for the Prospectors. He quietly put up big numbers, and his 5 missed years would have made things look even better.

Mike Mussina- This is his 3rd 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!”

Scott Olsen- With a career 5.13 ERA, it’s tough to see how he was 12 games over .500 for his career. In 2008 for Johnson, he posted a 6.97 ERA in 23 starts, yet still had a winning (12-10) record. The following year he pitched much better at 4.34 and a 17-10 mark, but then sat out 2010 and was ineffective for Burnie in 2011. Jim Gillen drafted him in the 1^st round of the 2007 Rookie Draft.

Chan Ho Park- He certainly wasn’t the first Japanese import to play in the NSL, but he was one of the early better ones for sure. Despite a sub .500 record, Park was a major player early in his career for the East Hardwick Giants, Vermont, and East York. In 2002 for the 66ers, he was 20-6 with a 3.15 ERA and 205 whiffs in 234 innings looking to have a stellar career. But, that injury bug jumped up and after basically 2 lost seasons, he was never really the same, going 25-40 first as a starter, then finishing things in the bullpen. His dominant 2002 earned him his only All-Star selection and that same year he was an All League player. He was 2-7 in 16 post season appearances. He was the 10^th overall pick in the 1997 Rookie Draft by East Hardwick and moved to Vermont in 2001 in a huge deal which included Dave’s #1 pick (turned out to be Santiago Perez), Radke, and much more going to East Hardwick for Park and D. Lowe. So the legend of Vermont trading began- and Dave turned Park around quickly to East York in a deal which netted Chris Carpenter and Todd Walker among others. But it was during that 2002 campaign that he got hurt, and the rest is as they say, history. Who are “they” anyway?

Brad Penny- It’s a Hall of Fame ballot this year that just sings out, “big strong guy with a heavy sinker”. Penny was another one of this type and was deservedly the #9 overall pick in the 2001 Rookie Draft by the Roscoes (Jericho). His career best was his sophomore year when he chalked up a 20-7, 3.65 season and was named an All-Star. Jericho was rarely in the post season, but was in 2002, yet Brad could not win a game in his 3 starts that year. Fast forward to 2006 and another Jericho post season appearance, and Penny checked in at 5-1, 1.89 for his 39.1 frames of 2006 post-season play. Nice adjustment I’d say. I’m not surprised that he’s well over .500 for his career (117-94) and his other numbers are above average, yet hardly breathtaking. After 8 seasons with Jericho, he was traded 5 times over his last 3 seasons.

Anthony Reyes- This was the Cardinal starter who was going to be something special. Dave listened to the hype and drafted him in the 2^nd round of the 2007 Rookie Draft. He started okay that year (3-3, 4.60), but things never developed and after his 2010 season (1-3, 6.31), he sat out a year and then retired after 2011.

Arthur Rhodes- Here was a lefty reliever who was never used as a lefty reliever. Rhodes was simply a fine pitcher, and was treated that way by NSL managers with total disregard of his LH specialist label. Scoop grabbed him with the #6 overall pick in the 1993 Rookie Draft, and his career was solid for 17 years, including All-Star appearances in 2002 and 2006. He was the Sparrow Lake closer in 2006 (40 saves) and did the same for Jericho in 2002 (36 saves); both his All Star years. No, set up men never get the credit they deserve. Rhodes was traded 8 times, cut 3 times, went through an Expansion Draft, 2 Free Agent drafts, and one Waiver Draft. He must have been a clubhouse cancer or something, but after his first 3 years in Creekside, he never played for a team for more than 2 consecutive years the rest of his career. All that aside- he did okay, didn’t he?

Nate Robertson- Do you think he has any comebacks left? He actually had a marvelous season for Longstown in 2007, when he went 18-8, 3.01 with 5 shutouts. But the rest of his career was a bit of a mystery as his next career “best” ERA was 4.72 in 2005 for TMI. Drafted by Ash in the 5^th round of the 2004 Rookie Draft, he wound up being traded 6 times over his 8 year career. His 11.97 ERA in his rookie season (0-4) for TMI didn’t draw any attention.

Chris Sampson- Well, he made the ballot at least. Tough to find anything good to say about him, but he was traded 5 times in his 5 year career so you trading buffs should be happy with him. Can you imagine Chris Sampson being the piece that brought a deal to being consummated?

Curt Schilling- Here is now his 4^th 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.

Ben Sheets- Big guy and hard sinker- you’ve heard that all ballot long. Sheets was a stalwart for Albany, playing his entire career for the Wildcats and rising with the team in to the upper echelons of the league after some awful early years. Nathaniel took over the floundering franchise in 2002 (think Iron City, Northeast Kingdom, Williamsport, and Farmland- yeah, you know what I mean), and despite some rugged early patches, brought the club up to respectability. Nathaniel’s 1^st ever Rookie Pick was #8 overall- Sheets in the 2002 rookie draft. He struggled for a while, posting a 25-48 record over his first 3 seasons, but things then fell in to place with a 16-12 3.39 in 2005 and his one All-Star selection. His 236.1 IP that season might have cost him though, as after a couple partial and decent seasons he started to fade. A 12-12 in 2009 was his last meaningful contribution, and after 5 starts in 2011 he was done. If I’m not mistaken, the shoulder got Ben. I have to admit that I’ve seen several others this year that look a lot like Ben - Penney comes to mind instantly, but Sheets was a career ‘cat, and I’m pretty sure there won’t be many of those.

Scot Shields- Where is the other ”t”? It’s pretty easy to blow him off as just another reliever, but his career ERA of 2.86 is pretty nice. He appeared in 147 games over the 2006-7 seasons for Longstown and was 5-1 in 13 post season games. He was traded 4 times and finished up in Canaan after being selected in the 2011 Waiver Draft. He had 528 whiffs in 616.1 IP which is nice, yet he was never really a dominant force. He began his career as a starter for Johnson (4^th round of the 2003 Rookie Draft) but quickly worked out of that role and settled in to late relief where he found his true calling. I sort of wish Vanna would sell consonants, don’t you? Then we could photo-shop that other “t” in there.

John Smoltz- Here is his 2^nd ballot- 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.

Brian Tallet- Here is another 5 year guy- lots of them this year. Another guy with a career ERA in the 5s- lots of them this year.

Robinson Tejeda- Do you think his name used to be Tejada at some point? I know I messed his name up sometime, had to even update the database because of that. I just figure that sometime in his life, someone wrote his name down wrong and he just accepted it. What we can say positively about his career is that he was better than Tallet. End of story.

Billy Wagner- Whoa Nellie! Let’s talk closers for a while, shall we? Lee Smith (371 saves, 2.93 ERA, 16 years) is in our Hall of Fame. Trevor Hoffman (341 saves, 2.82 ERA, 17 seasons) was not elected last year. Billy Wagner (347 saves, 2.71 ERA, 15 years) joins Hoffman on the ballot this year. I guess if the last two don’t get in, we need to get Smith out, right? I hope everyone thinks about this closely, do we want all relievers with similar numbers to get in, or was Lee just that much better than them all? Wagner was the 1^st pick of the Vermont Woodchuck in the 1997 Rookie Draft and pitched there for 3 seasons with one total save. Oh he was still good (2.01 in 1998, 3.49 in 1999) but there were others ahead of him in the pecking order. Enter here the Farmland Chieftones and Billy became the closer there in 2000 (35 saves). He was boxed around in 2001 then he saved 26 for a weak Albany team in 2002. Crossie then gave up 3 rookie picks and E. Diaz for Wagner in 2003. It paid off big time for the ‘dales as Wagner saved 230 games for Crosstown over the next 6 seasons including 2 All Star and one All League appearances. He rode with Crosstown in to the Championship Series of 2004 and 2005 saving 8 games in those 2 post seasons. He went to Mud Creek in 2009, then East York, and finally Glenville, where in his last year (2011), he saved 35 games for the Greys. That’s leaving your career on a high note. But whatever you do, be sure to look closely at Billy, compare him to Smith and Hoffman, and decide how we want to deal with relievers. Wagner’s career ERA is best on the ballot.

Tyler Walker- He appears for five years in the league, and a career ERA under 4.00. Hey- that’s not too bad! He probably earned 10 million to pitch his 221.1 innings as well. Drafted by Albany in the 5^th round of the 2005 Rookie Draft, he pitched there for 2 years, was cut, and resurfaced with York (2^nd round of the 2009 FA draft). His best year was 2011 when he pitched 35 frames and chalking up a 2.06 ERA.

Jeff Weaver- Most of us are young enough to remember Weaver coming up through the ranks and the hard knocks he dealt with. But I’m telling you, New York did him in. Everyone isn’t good enough mentally to play there and I think Jeff was one of those on the wrong side. He was an adequate, borderline good pitcher and moving to Gotham just wasn’t the right thing for him (see Randy Johnson). His career NSL numbers are honestly pretty lousy and he did toil for some awful teams. But he did hang around long enough to notch more than 1700 innings and win 88 times. He started 34 games in back to back seasons for the Maulers (2005-6) and pitched in 200 innings 5 times in his career. He was 14-10 in 2005 and 15-11 in 2006, but was only over .500 one other time- his rookie year for Farmland. Farmland took him in the 1^st round of the 2000 Rookie Draft and he wound up being traded 4 times as well as going through one Free Agent Draft. He bottomed out his final year for Longstown, in mop-up relief posting a 5.05 ERA. Unlike his brother, I don’t think he ever lost his fastball. I just think he lost heart going to New York. Yes, we all know what opinions are like.

Brandon Webb- Sometimes I tell stories, but this one is true. I know that because I was there. The 2004 Rookie Draft was beginning, and we were at JB’s house in York. For some reason, Gillen was in Myrtle Beach and on the phone selected Teixiera to start things. Crossie was sitting next to me and had the 3^rd pick overall, and knew what he would get. The 2^nd pick belonged to Waller after a trade from Albany (trading- don’t get me started…) and Bill took a surprise to us all, Brandon Webb. Well, Crossie got pretty quiet and after a while finally blurted out, “Baldelli”, but you could tell something didn’t work out right for him, and Webb was gone. Oh not for long though as he pitched for the Elite in 2004, was an All Star and went 12-7, 4.41 but the best was still to come. Somehow- despite dealing that pick, Nathaniel got Webb back the following year and things took off. Webb stumbled to a 10-14 in 2005, but then started 134 games over the next 4 seasons and won 59 ball games while losing just 31, finishing in the top 10 in ERA from 2007-9. After 2007 with Albany, he was an All-League selection, and moved to Magic City where he posted the last 2 great years, but then finished on the shelf for the final 2. It appears that 920 innings over a 4 year span was just too much, and Webb was done. He also pitched a whopping 117 post season innings but mustered just a 7-7 mark with 90 punch outs. So if we did a quick rewind, would Baldelli be the choice? Trade up for Webb? Or opt for another choice such as Miguel Cabrera (who went #5). Ah drafting- nothing like it.

Michael Wuertz- I don’t really think he fits the “journeyman” label and he did have some nice years- particularly towards the end. Wuertz was drafted by Duneland in the 5th round of the 2005 Rookie Draft and after 3 average seasons, spent 2008 in Magic City. Traded to Kalamazoo in 2009, Chuck got the most out of him including a 1.61 in 2009 and 1.91 in 2010. But 2011 was a disaster (8.59) and he was done. He did save 8 contests for the 2009 ‘zoo and whiffed more than his innings total. Not too bad- yet nothing jumps out at you.

Joel Zumaya- He was a true puzzle as he appeared dominant at times, and purely awful others. I’m not sure that modern day players care that much about their stats and are looking for the big payday. Well, it never came for Joel, despite a couple of meaningful seasons. JB drafted him in the 2^nd round of the 2007 Rookie Draft, and what better way to close out the ballot this year than a 5 year non-wonder. He pitched a career high 82.1 innings in that rookie season and was 10-9 with 6 saves. After a 3.00 in 2008, he went to Magic City and was 0-7 with 15 saves over the last 3 years of his career. I sort of feel like singing, “kumbaya” right now, don’t you?