2008 Hall of Fame Voting

The time has come to vote for our new army of immortals. Stats for the players on this year's ballots will be emailed to all voters in the next few minutes. In addition, there is a great player injustly left off of the ballot, and you can learn more about him here.

Please email your ballots to kevin.smith1@comcast.net

Voters are:
Sean
Kevin
Eddie
Brad
Jeff
Juan
Sam
Bob

The following is a brief synopsis of the players on the ballots:

Rugless Odor is on the ballot for the 4th time. He was a fine defensive shortstop who hit .315 or better in 5 of his first 6 seasons, had over 2200 career hits, and led the 1994 Rugrats to the world series. He received 3 out of a possible 8 votes in 2007.

Kirby Miller appears on the ballot for a 2nd year now. He had over 2200 career hits, 244 homers, and played his entire career on Mars. He is the alltime fan favorite of the Eyebiters and had his best season in 1998, hitting .328 with 29 homers and 127 RBI. He played center field early in his career before moving to right.

Helmut Schmidt was one of the cornerstones of the great Louisville Slugger teams of the 1990's. At third base he provided strong defense (4 gold gloves), power (356 homeruns) and strong on-base skills (4 100 walk years with a high of 130). He compares favorably to the 3rd basemen who have been elected to the Hall. He narrowly missed election in his first year of eligibility last year, receiving 5 out of 8 votes, with 6 needed for enshrinement.

Pedro Santini appears on the ballot for a 2nd time and was a great offensive second baseman in his early years, hitting .343 in 1996. His range declined quickly, and he played more at 1st and 3rd towards the latter part of his career.

Rico Cortez appears on the ballot for the 2nd time. He had the season of a lifetime in 1996, hitting .392 for the mighty world champion Utes at age 24. He never lived up to the promise of that season again, but had some solid years with the bat, driving in at least 100 runs each year from 1999 to 2003. He was known more for his bat than his glove. A fine looking player, Rico was very popular with the ladies in Utah for their "Marry a Ute" night promotions.

The 2008 first time Hitter Candidates:

Eric Stratton played 3B for his entire career in Charlotte, winning a world championship in his final season in 2005. He was a consistent glove man and regularly hit 25-30 homers a year, finishing with 297.

Paul Hudson played centerfield his entire career in Denver, Miami, and finally St. Louis. He was very comparable to "Jungle Jim" Edmonds of St. Louis Cardinals fame. He was always making highlight catches despite having average speed at best. He always got a great jump on the ball and was also a solid hitting outfielder, hitting 20+ homeruns in 11 of his 12 seasons.

Jason Dunn was a teammate of Hudson's in Denver at the beginning of his career, and batted leadoff on many of the great Denver teams. A tremendous leadoff hitter due to his uncanny batting eye, Dunn was only slightly above average as a defensive player.

Marty LeFleur had a cannon arm in rightfield throughout his career. He teamed with Paul Hudson for the final 6 seasons of his career in the St. Louis outfield and finished his career with an impressive 327 homeruns.

Mervis Jackson was a journeyman outfielder who had his best season in the mid '90's before winning a world championship with the '99 Phoenix Autobots. Nicknamed "Never Nervous Mervis", this moniker was far more memorable than any of his career accomplishments.

Ryne Horse Solo appears on this ballot one more time due to popular demand. He last played in 1997 for the Snow Sox, and has managed the team ever since. His career highlight was leading Darth Vader's 1992-2 Charlotte Hawks to the World Series, in the process, becoming the first baseball team to come back from a 3-0 series defecit to beat Lousiville in the first round of the playoffs. Horse also won the 1985 rookie of the year award for the Miami Stars.

The 2008 first time Pitcher Candidates:

John Terry won 245 games (the most among retired players eligible for the Hall of Fame) and 4 world series championships in his 19-year career. He is most famous for forming one half of one of the greatest pitching duos of all time with Roger Chillingworth. Terry is most remembered for pitching 10 seasons in Portland (in 3 different stints) and appearing in 7 World Series (4 Championships) during his tenure. In 2004, despite not being a member of the playoff rotation, John helped Portland to their 4th title by pitching a memorable 6 shutout innings against the heavily favored New York Cobra, and being the winning pitcher in the 18-inning game.

Chris Abbott had perhaps the greatest pitching season in history that did not end in a Cy Young award. In 1992-1, he finished with 21 wins and a 1.45 ERA, while establishing a microleague/APBA record 45 consecutive scoreless inning streak. He also won 4 world titles in his career, 2 with Miami and 2 with Utah. After winning the World Series in 1995 with Utah, Abbott retired to start a 2 year mormon mission. He returned to Utah in 1998, to help them to their 4th world title in 7 years. In his final 2 seasons, Abbott returned to the Miami Stars and won his 200th career game and finished his career an impressive 72 games over .500.

Dave Wilson was an undrafted free agent pitcher who went on to have a long and successful big league career as a premier control pitcher. Dave was part of Utah's early winning tradition, and even fired two no-hitters early in his career. Dave just missed getting 200 wins, finishing at 194-148.

Dave Sturdivant was one of the first free agent signings of the 1993 Utah Utes. Dave's remarkable ability to "just win" helped establish this team as a dynasty. His best season came in 1994-2 when he won 21 games and helped lead Utah to their first World Championship. Finished his career at 190-165 and chose to play a secondary role for the 2005 New York Cobra in the hopes of winning a world championship with longtime mentor Eddie Bird, rather than try to play for a poorer team and get the starts he needed to chase 200 wins.

Stan Burrell was a crafty left-hander who was able to pitch 16 seasons and accumulate a 183-177 career record.

Morlin Cone was one of the best undrafted free agent pitchers ever. In his rookie season, he was unhittable and quickly established himself as the ace of the Mars Eyebiters. Late in his career, he was still able to get hitters out as evidenced by his 2002 and 2003 seasons. Finished with a 163-165 career record, mostly spent pitching on sub .500 teams.

Alan Tyler was the #1 overall pick in the 1993 draft by the Los Angeles Shockers. The Shockers traded his rights to the Phoenix Autobots in exchange for Jose Rubiera. Although Tyler would have a few solid seasons, highlighted by winning the 1997 Superior League Cy Young Award with the Utah Utes, his career was largely a disappointment with a 142-154 career record.

Norm Gasser had one great season in helping the 2000 St. Louis Robins to the division title with his 20-7, 2.99 campaign. He was a journeyman pitcher who finished his career at 125-143.

Roger Scott was a longtime journeyman pitcher who finished at 111-91 in his career. The last few seasons of his career, he was able to stay on big league rosters due to his outstanding control and also due to some luck.

2007 Ballot Pitching Holdovers:

Elvin Grbac appears on the ballot for the 2nd straight year. Last year he did not get much support, but in his career he was able to pitch one no-hitter and also appeared on an impressive 5 world championship teams. Finished his 14-year career with a 123-86 record.

Eric Wilson was a flamethrower originally drafted by the Portland Decepticons and he appears on the ballot for the 2nd straight year. Some of his best seasons came for the Miami Stars in the mid '90s. Finished his career with a 159-129 won-loss record.

You can view current Hall of Fame members at the APBA baseball website here.