NSL
HALL OF FAME MEMBERS INFO
GEORGE
BRETT
15
Year NSL Career
Elected
2000, entered as a York First Capitol
Eight
time All Star
Four
time All League
Selected
in the 1979 stocking Draft 4th Round
He
received XX votes (XX needed)
George
was the 4th round pick of the York First Capitols in the original 1979 stocking
draft, and drafted to a club which already had Mike Schmidt at is 15
years. His BB/K ratio is great- 683/749,
but perhaps more impressive is his high rbi
total of 1183. One can argue that he was
on a great
offensive club as the York First Caps were, but likewise there were lots of
other guys in the lineup who got rbi as well. Solid in every categoy and a true leader of some great Yok
clubs.
He
appeared in 8 All Star Games where he was 5 for 20 with 3 doubles. In the post season he was 35 for 120
(.292). He scored 13 post season runs
and drove in 11 in his 31 games. He had
10 doubnd a HR in those games, walking 3 times while
striking out 12. He had 5 post season
SB.
His best
year was likely 1981 when he batted a cool .352 with 34 doubles, 108 runs, and
83 rbi as well as stealing
16 bases and smacking 26 HR. His best HR
year was 1988 when he ripped 33, and he drove in more than 100 four separate
seasons. His 1980 year boasted 83 X base
hits and 215 base knocks for a .334 batting average. He left in style, batting .270 with 33
doubles in his final season of 1993.
GARY
CARTER
15 Year NSL Career
Elected 2000, entered as a Green Mountain
Canuck
Seven All Star Teams
Six All-League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft in the
10th round
He received 50 1/2 votes (50 needed)
Gary was the 10th round pick of the Green
Mountain Canucks in the 1979 Stocking Draft.
Unlike other clubs of the era, Green Mountain didn't have a host of
All-Stars, and Carter did a lot of his damage on his own. He played his full 15 year career for the
Canucks, and has his number retired by the franchise in 1994. From his non-traditional offensive position,
he smacked 266 career HR and drove in 971 runs. His best season was 1986 when he hit 36 HR
and drove in 124 for a playoff club. He
had a better year in HR in 1981 when he smoked 41, scored a career high 96 runs
and drove in 114. He batted over .300
twice, yet slipped in his final years.
But he was a true cornerstonce of the Canuck
franchise for years.
He appeared in 7 All Star Games where he
was 2 for 17 with a HR. He did have 3 All Star rbi. In the
post season, he aeared in 16 games, was 7 for 52, and
had 5 doubles and 6 rbi.
A solid, if not spectacular performer for a
club that really never had that much offense, Carter teamed with Barfield,
Dawson, and others to give the Canucks their first tastes of glory with playoff
appearances in 1983 and 1986, as well as a Championship Series appearance in
1989. His 7 All Star appearances were
consecutive, 1980-1986 as were his All League honors, 1981-1986.
CECIL
COOPER
9 Year NSL Career
Elected 1994, entered as a Cleveland
Hit-Man
Three All Star Teams
Three All-League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft 9th
round
He received 65 1/2 votes (50 needed)
Cecil was the first ever member of the NSL
Hall of Fame, being elected in 1994.
Although he had just 9 NSL campaigns, he made himself eligible with a
.303 lifetime batting average on some incredibly potent Cleveland Hit-Men
clubs. In his 9 seasons, he put up huge
numbers- 1376 base hits, 788 rbi, and 303 doubles
just to name a few. He flirted with .400
in 1981, going down to the wire before slipping to a .397 mark, the best ever
in NSL league play at the time.
Interestingly, he sole 50 bases in his career
and stroked 170 long balls. In 1981 he
was awarded the league MVP as the most valuable player in the league.
He appeared in 3 All Star games where he
was 2 for 7 with 2 BB and 2 Ks. He went
to the playoffs with the Hit-Men for 5 straight years, where he batted .266 in
35 post season games. He ripped 5 post
season HR and drove in 17, scoring 17 times as well.
His best year was that MVP season of 1981
with the run at .400. With 239 hits that
year, he also pasted 45 doubles and drove in 121. He was tops in the league in doubles the
following year with 43, and was in the top 10 in rbi for 5 straight years, 1981-1985. Of course, Cecil, thanks his friends- the
rest of the Hit-Men teams of the early 1980s, as their offense was one of the
best in the league..
DALE
MURPHY
14 Year NSL Career
Elected 1999, entered as a member of the
James Gang
Four All Star Teams
Two All-League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft 21st
round
He received 55 votes (50 needed)
Despite not even appearing in a game for 2
of his 14 career NSL years, Dale impressed enough voters to be elected in to
the Hall of Fame in 1999. Brought up as
a catcher by the James Gang, he was quickly moved to the OF and dh where he played the rest of his years. The early James Gang clubs had loads of
power, a few pitchers, and little else. Murph often found himself on the outside as better cards
took plate appearances away from him. In
1983 he put that to rest though, and appeared in at least 141 games yearly the
rest of his career. In 1984 he was named
the league MVP by batting .318 with a league high 41 HR, leading the Gang to a
playoff appearance. Despite a low career
batting average (.254), his long ball total of 345 and 1014 rbi tell you the type of player he was.
Dale was an All-Star 4 times, yet didn’t
notch a hit in 8 All-Star at bats. He
was better in post season play, batting .327 in 14 games with 2 HR and 6 rbi. Despite getting to the post season 4 times,
his team didn’t make the Championship Series once in his career.
Besides the MVP year of 1984, Dale had
several other fine seasons. In 1986 he
batted .315 with 39 HR and 124 runs scored.
He led the league in runs in 1988 with a whopping 146, a year when he
mashed 54 HR to lead the league and drove in 135. For six years in a row (1984-9) he was in the
top ten in HR, but of course the flip side of that was being in the top ten in
strikeouts for 8 years running. He was a
prototype Gang player for the first decade of his NSL career, powerful, with
lots of HR and lots of whiffs.
Interestingly, he scored 264 more runs than he drove in. When the Gang was sold to outside interests,
he was traded to the Northeast Kingdom Rat Pack where he completed his career.
JIM
RICE
11 Year NSL Career
Elected 1997, entered as a York First
Capitol
Four All Star Teams
Two All-League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft 1st
round (#3 overall)
He received 55 votes (50 needed)
Jim Ed won election in to the Hall of Fame
thanks to a stellar early career with a huge offensive club named the York
First Capitols. Jim smacked 281 HR in a 11 year career, all but one with the First Caps. He was the third player ever elected to the
NSL Hall of Fame and was the inaugural season’s first MVP (1979). Then he mashed 38 long balls, scored 103, and
drove in 111 for the league champions.
He had more than 20 HR for 9 straight seasons beginning in 1979.
Jim was a 4 time All Star and was 2 for 5
in the classic affairs. He was a member
of two All League teams and appeared in 21 post season contests. In the post season he was 20 for 84 with 6 HR
and 16 rbi. He also scored 10 post season runs.
Rice was a member of a potent offensive
club which had All Stars all up and down the lineup. Hence his offense wasn’t
incredible when looked at along, but it meshed in perfectly with this high
powered offense. After that spectacular
MVP season of 1979, he enjoyed a 121 rbi
campaign in 1984 and 116 in 1980. His 2nd
best career HR total was 1984 when he notched 37. He was the third overall pick in the original
1979 Stocking Draft and was in the top 5 in HR in five different seasons of his
career. His .278 batting average is
pretty strong for a slugger as well. He
washed his last year at Gulf Breeze where he poled just a single HR in 186 at
bats.
MIKE
SCHMIDT
11 Year NSL Career
Elected 1996, entered as a York First
Capitol
Six All Star Teams
Five All-League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft 8th
round
He received 75 votes (50 needed)
Mike as the 2nd player ever to
be enshrined in the NSL Hall of Fame with his election in 1996. He smacked 346 career
HR playing for one team only, the high powered York First Capitols. He drove in 956 runs in his 11 year
career. His walk totals are amazing,
with 813 over those 11 seasons, and that helped lead him to scoring 925 career
runs. His career started slowly with a
.194 batting average and just 5 HR in 1979, but he then blossomed and averaged
more than 36 HR over the next 9 seasons.
He fielded a tough position well with the exception of 1986 where he
kicked 19. But he meshed with fellow
Hall of Famers Rice and Brett to form as potent an offense as our early years
ever recorded.
His 6 All Star appearances led to a 4 for
19 performance with a double and HR, and just a lone rbi. In the post
season, he was 7 for 35 with 3 HR and 4 rbi,
most of the post season appearances being early on in his career before he hit
full stride. He was a 5 time All League
member also.
Mike was in the top 10 of the league in HR
for 8 of 9 seasons from 1980-8 and accomplished the same thing in BB. He drove in a league high 143 runs in 1981
while batting .292 and was first in both BB and K in 1984 with 120 and 154
respectively. Schmidt also swiped 77
bases in his 11 year career. He notched
313 doubles in those 11 seasons. His
most complete year may have been 1981, with a career best 47 HR, 143 rbi, while batting the
aforementioned .292.
DAVE
WINFIELD
17 Year NSL Career
Elected 2002, entered as a Cleveland Hit
Man
Ten All Star Teams
Four All League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft 2nd
round
He received 99 votes (50 needed)
Dave became the tenth player elected in to
the NSL Hall of Fame with his election in 2002.
His steady play over 17 seasons earned him the honor, amassing 1500 rbi and blasting 429 HR over his
career. A life-long Cleveland Hit Man,
Winfield was a 10 time All Star including 6 straight years from 1984-9. He was originally selected in the 2nd
round of the 1979 Stocking Draft and was the league MVP in 1980. In 51 post season games he had 12 HR and 49 rbi, helping the Hit Men to three
league titles over his career.
Dave’s MVP year included 161 rbi in 159 games for Cleveland,
the first NSL club to hit over .300 for an entire season. His best year in average was 1985 when he hit
.322, and he twice hit 41 HR- in 1980 and 1983.
He played his first 11 years with less than 90 rbi just once (except the 1982 strike season). With the exception of the injury year, he had
double digit HR totals for all 15 years in his career. He also stole 135 bases and made just 35
errors.
Winfield was elected to 4 All League teams
in addition to his 10 All Stars. The
thing that stands out about him is his constant numbers over time, in the top
10 n rbi 7 times, top 10 in HR 7 times, and batting
average over .290 7 times. Although his
final 2 years in the league skewed his numbers slightly (just .172 in 1994 with
14 rbi), his first 11 years
were a true model of consistency on some very good Cleveland clubs.
ROBIN
YOUNT
16 Year NSL Career
Elected 2001, entered as a Gulf Breeze
Aardvark
Six All Star Teams
Three All League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft 5th
round
He received 67.5 votes (50 needed)
Robin became the 8th member of
the NSL Hall of Fame with his election in 2001, notching 67 ½ points, with 50
being needed for enshrinement. Robin
played 2.3 of his career with the Gulf Breeze Aardvarks where he enjoyed almost
all of his success. His career batting
average of .274 is solid even when you include his final 4 seasons. He anchored SS for the Breeze before a
shoulder injury in 1984 forced him to the OF.
He had 2 seasons of 30+ SB and 92 career triples, when coupled with his
defense proved him to be a complete player.
His best year was 1983 when he batted .316 with a league leading 16
triples. He was 2nd in the
league that year with 200 hits, 119 runs, and 47 doubles. Ask Yount his
favorite year, and he’ll likely reply 1981, when he again batted .316 leading
the ‘varks to the playoffs where he batted .500 (10
for 20) with 6 runs.
Robin was elected to six All Star teams
including 1981-5 inclusive. He was a
member of 3 All League teams.
He was selected with the 5th round
pick of the Aardvarks in the original 1979 Stocking Draft. In 1989 he was traded to Cleveland in a deal
which sent Roger Clemens to the ‘varks. He later travelled to New England, Creekside, and finally the Keystone Comanches
to finish his career. He was without a
doubt the best SS in the league from 1979-1985.
NOLAN
RYAN
15 Year NSL Career
Elected 2000, entered with all 6 team
insignias which he played for on his cap.
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft 15th
round
He received 52 votes (50 needed)
Nolan toiled for six different NSL
franchises through his 15 seasons, and although he never won 20 games, he
posted some mind-boggling numbers which make you look twice. Consider that he won 194 games while losing just
146, and posting a career ERA of 3.91- incredible for the type of offensive
dominant league we had. He was the first
pitcher to be enshrined in the NSL Hall of Fame and his 2453 career strikeouts
were best ever at the time of his election.
But, he was never an All Star or All League, and never won a Cy Young award. Yet
as a postscript, the award is now named for him. Ryan got into the Hall of Fame simply by
posting numbers- every year. Numbers
that make you forget he was never a star, and numbers that make you wonder why
he wasn’t.
He pitched in a whopping 16 post season
games winning 7, completing 5, and tossing a shutout. His career 2.35 post season
ERA tells you he was there when it counted most. He likewise has 92 career strikeouts in the
post season and allowed just 4 HR in his 111 career post season IP.
From 1980-1992, Ryan notched at least 10
wins (except the strike year of 1982).
His best mark was 19-5 in 1987 for the Hardwick A-Team,
a team that came very close to winning it all.
He got 17 wins twice, once for the 1989 Vermont club- a team just coming
into its own- and once for the 1981 Hit Men, a team that would dominate with
his bats. His career hits to IP ratio is
great, and the Ks, of course, are awesome.
His career best 2.48 ERA in 1982 was 4th best in the
league. He was either 1st or
2nd in the league in strikeouts from 1989-1991.
ANDRE
DAWSON
18 Year NSL Career
Elected 2003, entered as a Green Mountain
Canuck
Seven All Star Teams
Five All-League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft 4th
round
He received 90 1/2 votes (65 needed)
Andre became the 11th player elected to the
NSL Hall of Fame with his election in 2003.
His 376 career HR were 2nd only to Dave Winfield at the time of his
election, and 1284 rbi were
4th in the Hall. Known as a money
player, Dawson was a 7 time All Star including 4 in a row from 1981-1984, and
was on 5 All League teams. He was
originally selected in the 4th round of the 1979 Stocking Draft. He batted over .300 in 20 post season games.
Andre's best year for batting average was 1984
when he amassed 203 hits and batted .321, but his best power year was in 1988
for the Mentor Motorheads when he had 54 HR and drove
in 162. He played 9 years for the
Canucks, including the beginning and the end of his career. In his first 14 years in the league, he had
double digit HR in all but one season, and drove in 100 runs 4 different
times. His 250 SB were tops in the Hall
on his election day.
Dawson was a stud player for some awful
clubs, including the early Canucks, which makes his record that much more
outstanding. Although his career was
sidetracked to 6 different clubs in the middle, he'll always be remembered as a
Green Mountain Canuck.
DON
MATTINGLY
13 Year NSL Career
Elected 2003, entered as Lamoille County
Fuzz
Six All Star Teams
Five All-League Teams
Selected in the 1984 Rookie Draft 2nd
Round
MVP 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
He received 67 votes (65 needed)
Don became the 12th player selected top the
Hall of Fame with his election in 2003.
Although he had a relatively short career, he had the incredible
distinction of winning 4 straight MVP awards from 1985-1988. He was originally selected in the 2nd round
of the 1984 Rookie Draft by the Lamoille County Fuzz. In 32 post season games he had 9 HR and 34 rbi.
Don was lucky enough to be on one of the
most potent offensive clubs in the mid-1980s, the Fuzz of Lamoille County. He led the league in rbi 3 different times including a whopping 176 in
1986, when he also led the league with 47 HR.
Although he was only in the top ten two other times in HR, he had 7
years when he was in the top 10 in rbi- a true
measure of the great offensive teams he played for. Despite just a 14 year career, he drove in
over 1000 runs (1319). His career
batting average was best in the Hall of Fame at the time of his election.
Mattingly was a 6 time All Star which
included the 4 MVP years. While he is
the 12th player enshrined in our Hall of Fame, he will always stand out with
the 4 straight MVP awards and all those rbi. One must note that he was selected in the 2nd
round of the 1984 Rookie Draft- yet put up Hall of Fame numbers despite being
totally bypassed in the first round. His
final season he was peddled to the New England Elite, but the rest of his
career (and rbi) were with
the Fuzz.
EDDIE
MURRAY
19 Year NSL Career
Elected 2004, entered as a Iron City Brewer
Seven All Star Teams
Six All-League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft 2nd
round
He received 129 votes (65 needed)
Eddie became the 12th player elected
into the NSL Hall of Fame with his election in 2004. His 485 career HR was the most of any Hall of
Fame player at the time of his election.
His 1713 career rbi
were also the highest ever at election time.
Eddie was a 7 time All Star in a 7 straight season segment, 1981-7. He was also a six time All League team
member. He was originally selected in
the 2nd round of the 1979 Stocking Draft by the Iron City Brewers.
Murray’s best years were early in his
career including 1984 when he smacked 40 HR (2nd best in the league)
and led the league with 130 rbi. He also led the league in rbi in 1982 with 84 (strike year) and was in the top
10 in rbi five other times in his career. He walked more than a thousand times in his
career, once again the highest total at the time of his election. He amassed 511 doubles and 1407 runs in his
career, and finished with 2745 hits.
Everyday Eddie was a solid player for
several NSL clubs, but his best years were with the Iron City Brewers in his
early years. The Brewers became the
Northeast Kingdom Rat Pack and he appeared for 6 seasons with both of these
teams, although they were the same franchise.
He played in 53 post season games with 37 rbi.
e of that was being in the
top ten in strikeouts for 8 years running. He was a prototype Gang player for the first
decade of his NSL career, powerful, with lots of HR and lots of whiffs. Interestingly, he scored 264 more runs than
he drove in. When the Gang was sold to
outside interests, he was traded to the Northeast Kingdom Rat Pack where he
completed his career.
PAUL
MOLITOR
21 Year NSL Career
Elected 2004, entered as a Cleveland
Hit-Man
Ten All Star Teams
Five All-League Teams
Selected in the 1979 Stocking Draft-10th
Round
He received 87 1/2 votes (65 needed)
Paul's play in 21 NSL seasons earned him a
Hall of Fame selection in 2004. He
became the 3rd Hit Man to enter the Hall, joining teammates Dave Winfield and
Cecil Cooper. Molitor enjoyed playing in 45 career
post season games thanks to the great offensive Cleveland teams he was on. He was a ten time All Star including 6 of the
7 years from 1988-1994, and a 5 time All League team member.
Paul batted higher than .300 for seven
straight years in the late 80's to early 90's including a career and league
best .335 in 1989. He led the league in rbi in 1992 with 145 and led the
league in hits 3 times, 1992, 1993, and 1994.
A serious leg injury cost him all of 1985, but soon after he began his
roughly 10 years of unparalleled production.
His career batting average stands at an even .300,
he had almost 900 extra base hits, and stole nearly 40 bases.
Molitor was a career Cleveland
Hit-Man although that almost didn't happen as he was selected in the 1999
Expansion Draft, later being traded back to Cleveland in the same off
season. He coupled with Winfield and
Cooper to lead the team to 3 titles in our early years for a team which was
unquestionably the best in our first decade.
His numbers in most every category across the board may be hard to
reach, as he displayed power, speed, and on base pct. throughout his wonderful
career.
LEE
SMITH
16 Year NSL Career
Elected 2005, entered as a Parker City Cub
Five All Star Teams
Four All League Teams
Selected in the 1982 Rookie Draft 2nd
round
He received 71 votes (65 needed)
Lee became the 2nd player in NSL
history to enter the Hall of Fame on his 2nd ballot. Originally, he fell just short of election in
2004, but gathered enough support for the 2005 election to be enshrined. He was originally selected in the 2nd
round of the 1982 Rookie Draft by the Parker City Cubs.
Lee played his entire career with the Cubs
and was remarkably free of injuries, pitching in more than 50 games in 4
different years. He was the career save
leader at the time of his election with 371.
He led the league in saves for 4 straight years, from 1984-7 and saved
more than 30 games 7 different times, including 37 in his final season.
Although occasionally relegated to s et up role in years when there might have been better grades
on the club, he was the primary closer for 12 of his 16 seasons with the
Cubs. He saved the 1992 All Star Game
and appeared in 4 other All Star games as well.
He was also on 4 All League teams.
Although he got to the playoffs 4 times, he saved just one post season
game in 11 appearances.
KIRBY
PUCKETT
12 Year NSL Career
Elected 2007, entered as a Parker
City Cub
Seven All Star Teams
Six All-League Teams
Selected in the 1985 Rookie Draft
2nd Round
He received 76 votes (65 needed)
Kirby was originally selected in
the 2nd round of the 1985 Rookie Draft by the Parker City Cubs. Although he played for just a dozen seasons,
he was a career long Cub. Puckett was
named to 7 All Star teams and 6 All League teams. He won the batting title in 1990 with a .329
average, and also led the league in hits in 1993 with 202. He finished in the top 10 in hits and batting
average 5 times in his career. His
numbers might be a little short when compared to other Hall of Famers, but
injuries cut short his career and his 12 years were filled with big
numbers. 400 doubles is impressive in
just 12 years and he was also in the top 10 in rbi twice. He
had a .303 career batting average and had 108 stolen bases.
Glaucoma cut Kirby’s career far
too short, as he retired at age 35.
There is little doubt that had he continued for 6-7 more years in the
league he would have easily amassed 3000 hits.
He was 19 for 64 in 16 career post season games with 12 rbi. Interestingly, Puckett was elected in his
final year of eligibility- the first NSL player not to go in on his 1st
or 2nd ballot. He jettisoned
from 34 votes in 2006 to 76 in 2007. He
becomes the 16th member of the NSL Hall of Fame. Not bad for an all too brief 12 year career.
WADE
BOGGS
18 Year NSL Career
Elected 2006, entered as a Green Mountain Canuck
Eleven All-Star
Four Time All-League
Selected in the 1983 Rookie Draft 1st Round (#6 pick)
He received 108 ½ votes (65 needed)
Wade was originally selected by
the Green Mountain Canucks in the 1983 Rookie Draft with the 6th
overall pick. He played for the Canucks
for seven years before being traded to New England for 3 years, St.City/Derby for 4 years, East York for 2 years, and
finally
He fell just short of 3000 hits with 2910, but posted a career batting average of .322. At the time of this writing, his average is 3rd highest in the league overall, his 2910 hits are 3rd, and his 575 doubles 2nd. His top season was 1986 when he batted .390 with 253 hits. For 5 years in a row (1985-1989) he finished in the top two in the league for batting average.
The twilight years of his career were nothing like the beginning, and he finished with the expansion Indiana Imperials. He still was able to bat .300 in his final year at the age of 42. Wade will always be best known for the 9 straight All-Star teams he made from 1984-92. His career mark of 1182 walks is 5th best on the all time list as OBP was obviously his forte. He led the league in doubles in both 1990 and 1991 with 48 and 54 respectively.
RICKEY
HENDERSON
24 Year NSL Career
Elected 2009, entered as a Lamoille County
Fuzz
Five All Star Teams
Three All-League Teams
Selected in the 1980 Rookie Draft- 2nd
round
He received 69 votes (65 needed)
In 1980 Henderson was selected by Ohio in
the 2nd round of the Rookie Draft.
You must understand in our early days we spent so much time trying to
get a complete staff of B starters and 3-4 A relievers that we often overlooked
offense. At this time, Rickey was just a
loud mouth speedster (see Vince Coleman, Gary Pettis, Juan Pierre) with one
huge exception. He’d take a walk. OBP wasn’t even a number in 1980 and
Henderson did little in his rookie year (22 BB in 81 games) to give the
impression this would be his game. But
he “got it”, and in 1981 walked 109 times- in fact leading to 11 times in the
next 15 years being in the top 10 in BB.
Of course these BB (and the 11s) allowed him to steal- and that he
did. He led the league in SB 7 years and
was 2nd in 4. He also led the
league in CS, but only 4 times. His
career marks of 1531 SB and 1891 BB will not be broken anytime soon, and the
stolen base mark might hang in there forever.
Rickey’s longevity (24 seasons) in the
league may have padded some numbers, but the walks and SB totals are more than
impressive. He was an All Star 5 times
and on three All League teams. Ohio
became Lamoille County in 1984 and Rickey spent his first 16 years with this
franchise, before one year with the Giants of East Hardwick and a final 7 years
with Gulf Breeze. He retired after the
2003 season.
His career best in SB was 121 in 1983 (CS
stats weren’t kept until 1984), and his best walk total was 1990 with 127. You can look a long way but likely never find
a better lead off hitter than Henderson. He dominated the base paths like no other and
with 2764 hits and 2162 runs, may have the top spot in a lot of categories for
a very long time.
TONY
GWYNN
20 Year NSL Career
Elected 2008, entered as a Cleveland Hit
Man
Thirteen All Star Teams
Eleven All League Teams
Selected in the 1983 Rookie Draft 3rd
round
He received 114.5 votes (65 needed)
This man has a resume you just cannot
underestimate. Thirteen All Star teams
in a 20 year career is one thing, but 11 All League teams in the same span-
simply incredible. Few knew that Gwynn
was actually selected by the Gulf Breeze Aardvarks, and after a pair of seasons
worked his way to Cleveland, where he played for 17 of his final 18
seasons. Just look at his career batting
average- .338 which is tops on the board.
3112 hits! Not only that, but he
swiped 331 bases and notched 1265 rbi. It is true that he played on some huge
offensive teams in Cleveland, but no matter how good the offense, you have to
hit the ball well to bat .338. 1475 runs
scored and 524 doubles are other numbers that jump off the page.
There were so many great career years that
it’s hard to pick out one. But he batted
.392 in 1988 for the Hit Men and .390 in 1985.
In 85, he had a whopping 234 hits- his high water mark. 1998 was also stellar with 212 base knocks
and he even whacked 21 HR that year, driving in 94. But his career best in rbi was 1987 when he had 112. His final 2 years might have dragged him down
a small amount, but the numbers are still there and strong.
Gwynn amassed the 2nd most votes
in Hall of Fame history at the time of his induction, easily surpassing the 65
he needed for enshrinement. It is
incredible to think that this hitting machine was passed over by every NSL
franchise through the first two rounds of the 1983 Rookie Draft. He even walked more than he struck out. A student of hitting for sure, and likely the
best we’ll see for a good long while.
CAL
RIPKEN, JR
20 Year NSL Career
Elected 2008, entered as a Parker City Cub
Nine All Star Teams
Seven All League Teams
Selected in the 1983 Rookie Draft- 1st
round (#1 overall)
He received 76 votes (65 needed)
The #1 overall pick in the 1983 Rookie
Draft, Cal was an immensely popular superstar who did everything right,
appearing in a whopping 2938 games over his career and blasting double digit HR
in all but 1 of his 20 seasons. Best
known for his Iron Man streak of consecutive games, his manager Jack Chalfant figured that streak as 2067. He was the Rookie of the Year in 1983 as he
struck out quite a bit that year, but did post 22 long balls with 74 rbi. But starting in 1984 an incredible run began,
and that season would turn out to be his best overall, batting .308 with 27 HR
and 106 rbi. Once again, the Cubs were not an offensive
machine as some of our early 80s and 90s clubs were, and the fact that Ripken had
more than 100 rbi 6 times
was a credit to his performance.
Ripken was on nine All Star teams as well
as seven All League teams. He was
popular, yet played a position which not many other offensive stars did- SS
then later 3B. His fielding was excellent
in managing these two positions and the fact that he contributed so much
offensively was more than a bonus. He
missed just 36 games in his first 17 years in the league- I’m not sure that
will ever be possible again.
Looking at Cal’s numbers, one sees remarkable
consistency in the HR totals and a relatively low number of strikeouts until
the latter stages of his career. He was
also the overall leader in doubles in 1984 with 56 and at bats in 1994 (630). But he was also patient as 924 BB in the 20
years shows. He appeared in 35 post
season games without much success yet he did homer 5 times and drove in 11. A
career Parker City Cub- he had a spectacular career.
JEFF
BAGWELL
15 Year NSL Career
Elected 2012, entered as a Parker City Cub
Seven All Star Teams
Four All League Teams
Selected in the 1992 Rookie Draft- 1st
round (#1 overall)
He received 69 votes (65 needed)
The #1 overall pick in the 1992 Rookie
Draft, Bagwell was on Parker City for his entire career- and moved with the franchise
when it went to Johnson in 2003. He was
the league MVP in 1995 when he had 33 HR and 106 rbi, batting .411 yet only in 105 games. He played in 162 games 4 times and 3 other
times with more than 156. 418 HR is nice
but Bagwell’s walk to strikeout ratio was excellent for a power hitter, his
best walk total in 2000 with 140. He
amassed more than 900 extra base hits and had a career batting average of
.300. He scored more than he drove in
(1443-1366) and delivered 2266 hits over his career, even stealing 106
bases.
“Bags” was a seven time All Star including
6 straight from 1998-2003. He also was
on 4 All League teams. He appeared in 15
playoff games for the franchise over the years- but the team was never able to
get out of the first round in those seasons.
He was 17 for 51 in the post season with 3 HR and 10 rbi.
The Cubs had some rough going in the time
frame that Bagwell was on the team, yet he was a solid fixture at 1st
base for the club over his time there.
He missed just 19 games in the 1998-2002 span
and was in the top 10 in walks for 7 straight years from 1997-2003. His best HR year was 1998 when he blasted 51,
yet he was never in the top ten in strikeouts.
The storybook 1995 season netted him the MVP, and the batting average
was best ever at the time of his induction (.411). The high water mark for rbi was 129 in 1998, which is more of a reflection of
the teams he played on than his production.
Tom
Glavine
22 Year NSL Career
Elected 2014, entered as a Green Mountain
Canuck
Six All Star Teams
Seven All-League Teams
Selected in the 1988 Rookie Draft 3rd round
He received 20 votes (18 needed)
Tom became the 21st player elected
into the NSL Hall of Fame with his election in 2014. His 288 career wins was the 3rd most of any
player at the time of his election. His
3.59 career ERA is good for 8th all-time at the time of his
induction. Tom was a 6 time All Star
including 4 seasons out of 7 from 1993-99.
He was also a seven time All League team member. He was originally selected in the 3rd round
of the 1988 Rookie Draft by the Green Mountain Canucks.
There were few players in the league history
that provided the production of a 3rd round pick more than
Glavine. Despite a sluggish start to his
career with just 2 wins and just under 50 innings in his first two seasons,
Glavine rebounded win 286 times over the next 20 seasons and stake his claim to
his honor in the Hall of Fame. He had
double digit wins in 19 straight seasons but never led the league in wins. He started 29 games or more 18 times. He was a solid if not spectacular addition to
the Green Mountain franchise, a team which was starved for wins for many of his
career seasons.
At the time of his induction, Tom had an
incredible 52 shutouts- best in our history.
This could be a function of the Green Mountain winters, but is much more
likely a function of a pretty good pitcher getting it done. He was 1-2 in 5 career Championship Series
starts, but 6-3 in 12 playoff games. He
was in the top ten in ERA 8 different times and led the league in starts 3
times. Much like his owner, he was a
true gentleman of the game and overachieved immensely in his career in the NSL.
Greg
Maddux
22 Year NSL Career
Elected 2014, entered as a Longstown
Prospector
Six All Star Teams
Six All-League Teams
Selected in the 1988 Rookie Draft 4th round
He received 22 votes (18 needed)
Greg became the 22nd player elected
into the NSL Hall of Fame with his election in 2014. His 342 career wins was the most of any
player in the league at the time of his election. His 3.38 career ERA is good for 4th
all-time at the time of his induction.
Greg was a 6 time All Star including 6 seasons out of 8 from
1991-98. He was also a six time All
League team member. He was originally
selected in the 4th round of the 1988 Rookie Draft by the East
Hardwick Hurricanes. You read that
right- 4th round pick.
Similar to his fellow 2014 inductee, Maddux
accomplished so much with so little trust from membership being incredibly a 4th
round rookie pick. After his rookie
season of 4 starts, Maddux didn’t miss a start the rest of his career, dipping
below 30 starts just twice- both strike years.
He led the league in starts 10 different times in his career. He was also in the top 10 in ERA 10
times. He was the 1993 Ryan winner (Cy Young) with a 2.12 ERA and 22 wins for the Pounders that
year. His 342 career wins might not be
threatened in our lifetime, and 4809 1/3 IP is another possible untouchable
total.
In 1992, the Hurricanes pulled up stakes and
moved to Longstown, to be known as the
Prospectors. The P’s had a very good
success rate through the 90s and early 00s, yet only made the Championship
Series once (2004) with Maddux on the roster.
His 10-10 career post season mark is very un-Maddux like. He was traded to York for 5 seasons and
finally to Glenville where he closed out his career with 14 wins. Never known
as a hard thrower, his 3584 strike outs are still amazing and 145 complete
games will cause pitchers of today to stare at the record book.
Frank
Thomas
19 Year NSL Career
Elected 2014, entered as a Pennsylvania Pounder
Eight All Star Teams
Six All-League Teams
Selected in the 1991 Rookie Draft 1st
round
He received 19 votes (18 needed)
Frank became the 20th player elected
into the NSL Hall of Fame with his election in 2014. His 493 career HR was the 10th
most of any Hall of Fame player at the time of his election. His 1594 career rbi were the 9th highest ever at election
time. Frank was an 8 time All Star
including 7 seasons out of 8 from 1991-98.
He was also a six time All League team member. He was the MVP of the league in 1994. He was originally selected in the 1st round
of the 1991 Rookie Draft by the Pennsylvania Pounders.
Frank was one of the “Holy Trinity”, as the
Pounders wound up for years with 4 great first basemen on their roster. The bulk of the Pounder offense was created
by these 3, along with Jim Thome and Tony Clark. Frank was the 1994 MVP as he poked 52 HR and
had 174 rbi for the ’94
Pounders. Yet he wasn’t even an All Star
that year- his one overlook in the 8 year stretch. Thomas batted over .300 every year from
1983-1998 and had more than 40 HR from ’94-’98.
He played for the Pounders for 18 seasons before being traded to Longstown for the finale. He finished his career with a
.292 batting average.
One of the eye popping stats that come off the
pages at you is that Frank walked more than he struck out over his career by a
margin of 1378-1248. That OBP (.403
without HBP) is good for 3rd place in the history of the
league. He led the league in walks 4
times and runs twice. He toiled for some
poor teams, though, and as a result never appeared in a Championship Series game. He did appear in 20 post season games with 7
HR, 11 BB, and 17 rbi. Known as a big, hulking DH/1B type, he
managed 25 SB over his career and 22 triples to go along with his 444
doubles. He was the face of the
franchise for roughly 15 years.
Bruce
Taylor
10 Year NSL Career
Elected 2014 by the Veteran’s Committee
League Commissioner 1979-84
Bruce was the original founder and commissioner
of the Northern States League. He took
the league from the kitchen table in Athens, Ohio to the homes of some 24
league members at present. It is very clear that we would not be where we are today
without the guidance of the original commissioner who always had time for
membership, and worked countless hours on typewriters and Xerox machines to get
monthly Newsletters out on time. His
expertise did not manifest itself with his team, the Saskatchewan RoughRiders (now Keystone Comanches)
but it is easy to see the trades and moves he made to help others and the
league at the expense of his own team
The league originally started with 14 lists of
676 players listed 1-676. That’s right,
all 14 original franchises had to list all the players in the 1978 card set in
order of preference to draft by list and start the season. There were several glitches, but our
commissioner held things together, talked guys out of quitting before we even
started, and sacrificed some 6 grade B starters to help the league. Even so, the start of the league was a
challenge to him, and his perseverance kept things headed the right way. But imagine 4 guys at the kitchen table
trying to manage 14 lists from 1-676.
In 1984, Bruce resigned as commissioner and
tended to his beloved franchise, which he would then give up in 1989. The original 4 at the drafting table were all
gone, but Bruce stuck it out long enough to see what he had started embark on
an incredible run that brings us to where we are today.
Six page typewritten (single spaced)
newsletters and running off copies while Ohio U students waited are a thing of
the past. The RoughRiders
are gone but the league we have now is alive and well
thanks to the building and determination of Bruce Taylor.
Mike Piazza
15 Year NSL Career
Elected 2015, entered as Albany Wildcat
Nine All Star Teams
Five All-League Teams
Selected in the 1994 Rookie Draft 1st Round (1st
overall pick)
Rookie of Year 1994
Three batting titles- 1996, 1998, and 1999
He received 18 votes (17 needed) on his 3rd
HOF ballot
Mike became the 24th player selected top the
Hall of Fame with his election in 2015. He
was the overall 1st selection in the 1994 rookie draft by the
Williamsport Millionaires and was the Rookie of the year in 1994. He had a 15 year career with some poor clubs,
and only appeared in 5 post season game- in 2007 for the Imperials where he had
2 doubles, a HR, and 3 rbi
in 5 games.
Mike was the clear #1 overall pick of the 1994
draft and won the league batting titles in 1996 (.362), 1998 (.372) and 1999
(.360) for the Farmland Chieftones. Although he played for some poor clubs, he
was in the top 10 in HR 3 times with a career best 43 in 1998. In the 1998 batting title year, he was walked
89 times and had the 2nd best rbi
total of his career with 129. He was 2nd
in the batting title race in 1997 (.339). In 2003 he was traded to the Indiana
Imperials
Piazza was a 9 time All Star including the
years 1994-2002. He was on 5 All-League
teams. He was the 2nd full
time catcher enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
His offensive numbers were fantastic, yet one can only wonder how he
would have done on better teams with a more potent lineup. Best known for his plate discipline, he still
amassed 424 HR in his career and drove in 1231.
His career batting average was 6th best in the Hall of Fame
at the time of his election.
.
Ken Griffey, Jr
21 Year NSL Career
Elected 2015, entered as Wolf’s Wizard
Nine All Star Teams
Five All-League Teams
Selected in the 1990 Rookie Draft 1st Round (1st
overall pick)
MVP 1998
He received 19 votes (17 needed)
Don became the 25th player selected top the
Hall of Fame with his election in 2015. He
had a very long 21 year career, in which he stayed relatively healthy, before
fading some in his last few years. He
was the 1998 league MVP. Ken was
originally selected in the 1st round of the 1990 Rookie Draft (1st
pick overall) by Wolf’s Wizards. In 17
post season games he had 5 HR and 21 rbi.
Ken was one of the best rbi men ever seen.
His total of 1868 ranked 1st overall in the Hall of Fame at
the time of his election. He swatted 606
HR- 2nd best in a career at the time of his induction. He led the league in rbi in 1998, 1999, and 2000 with his 175 rbi in 1999 being his career best mark. Although 2nd in strikeouts at his
election time, he’ll be passed by many others soon after. Ken played a brilliant 21 year career with
just some minor fading over his last 2 seasons.
He had some injury issues from 2003-6, but rebounded nicely for 112 rbi in 2008. He was traded to Indiana for his final 7
seasons. There was only 2 years in his
21 year career when he had less than 20 HR.
Griffey was a 9 time All Star and on 5 All
League teams. He will always stand out for
his high rbi totals (7 times
in the top 10) and HR totals (led the league with 67 in 1998 and 60 in
1999). He was not usually on impressive
NSL teams, and as such played in just 17 playoff games. With a more potent lineup, 2000 rbi would not have been out of the
question. He had a 5 year segment of his
career where he was better than anyone (1997-2001, 271 HR and 755 rbi.
Randy Johnson
21 Year NSL Career
Elected 2015, entered as a Creekside
Crusher
Seven All Star Teams
Four All League Teams
Selected in the 1990 Rookie Draft 3rd round
Nolan Ryan Award- 1996, 2000, 2005
He received 18 votes (17 needed)
Randy became the 26th player to be
elected to the Hall of Fame with his election in 2015. His 264 career wins was the 4th most of any
player at the time of his election. His sub
4.00 career ERA is remarkable, and he was on 7 All Star teams, including 5 in a
row (1999-2004). Incredibly, he won 3
Nolan Ryan awards in a 10 year period. He
was also a four time All League team member.
He was originally selected in the
3rd round of the 1990 Rookie Draft by the New England Elite.
Much like fellow Hall of Fame inductee Tom
Glavine, Randy provided more than expected production of a 3rd round
pick. Wild and out of control early in
his career, he eventually got his delivery in order and despite walking 1571 in
his career, he whiffed an amazing 4108- including leading the league 7 times
and being in the top 10 13 times. Randy
got the benefit of being on some fine Creekside
teams, and won 12 post season games over his career. He did lose 200 games but his strike-out
totals far outweigh the losses, and of course the wins helped out also. He began his career 13-51 with 293 BB in 79
starts, then “figured it out” and began a surge rarely seen in the league (20-3
in 1996, 1187 Ks from 2000-3, 27-5 in 2000).
He pitched more than 200 innings 13 times.
Randy won the ERA title in 2000 with a 2.21
mark, and just 69 BB in 269.1 innings, punching out 293. Sixteen years in to his career, he posted a
25-4, 2.31 for York before things finally started to fade. He was in the top ten in ERA 7 times and wins
7 times. Originally drafted by New
England, he quickly was traded to Creekside where he
had a dozen outstanding seasons, then on to York for 7 and finally Kalamazoo
for the finale. Although batters are striking out more these days, chances of
Randy’s career whiff numbers being challenged are remote.
.