Hall of Fame Candidates 2012

The 2012 Hall of Fame Candidates have been announced.

The hitters are led by the great leadoff and cleanup hitters from the mighty Ute teams.  Kermit Holmes had 3327 hits in his career, won 5 world series rings with the Utes, and played great defense in center field.  He has 8 gold gloves.  In 1996 Holmes became the only player in league history to hit .400 in a season with at least 500 plate appearances.

His teammate, Conan, drove in the Holmes more than anyone else in history.  He also had 810 homeruns and 2397 RBI, more than anyone in APBA or MLB history.  Conan won 5 world series rings in his career, 4 with Utah and one as a rookie with the Penguins. 

Both Conan and Holmes left Utah as the team was broken up in 1999.  Ten years later they played in their final game together, Holmes back with the Utes and Conan with the New York Cobra, as Utah won the 2009 World Series.

Bob Zygyk and Leon Wolf had great years with the Utes, and for other teams after 1998.  Zygyk played in a record 10 world series. 

John Conner had 2875 hits, and had his best season in 2001 (.314-34-132) as Springfield won their only world series.  Vern Terrell also played for that team, hitting 30 homers and driving in 120, on the way to 408 career homers.

Pudge Fernandez was one of the greatest defensive catcher, played 20 years, and won two rings with New York in 2002 and 2006.

Rewind played 26 seasons, hanging around to age 45.  He began his career in the season before Microleague, and lasted throughout that and for much of the APBA era.  He was at his best as the cleanup hitter for the Stars in 1992-93, winning two rings.

Mike Langford won 3 Cy Young awards as the Ace of the Utes, threw 3 no-hitters, and completed 133 games.  Andre Castillo is one of only a dozen pitchers with at least 100 career wins and a .600 winning percentage.  He was the long time ace for the Louisville Sluggers, who had one of the longest runs of sustained excellence without reaching a world series.

Bernie Grayson, Steve King, and Jake Decker rank 1st, 3rd, and 4th on the all time saves list.  Grayson holds the single season record of 56 saves.  Grayson's greatest moment came in 1997, when he prevented the Utes from eventually winning 5 world series in a row.  With a one run lead, bases loaded, and Conan coming to the plate in the bottom of the 9th, Grayson got the mighty slugger to tap a weak hit back to the mound, which he turned into a series ending double play.

Drummond Peltier never pitched a game that was not a complete game win.

All the candidates can be found here:
http://www.baseballprojection.com/apba/hof2012.htm