Rules: Vote for no more than 10. Players receiving 75% of the vote gain induction, players with 1 or more votes remain on the ballot for next year.
Candidates:
Sammy Swopa hit 445 homeruns, including 6 seasons of 40 or more. In 1999
he became one of 6 players to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a
season. In 2002 Sammy hit 50 homeruns. In 2003 Sammy hit 49 homers,
drove in 147 runs, and won the Superior League MVP award. A fine
defender, Sammy won 4 gold glove awards. Sammy did not have a long
career, fading in his 30's and retiring at age 35.
OF Leon Wolf
Final season
2008
Leon Wolf
started his career with the Charlotte Hawks. He was not expected to excel
defensively, or show great speed or power, but make a living with his
bat. He only hit .214 his first year, and .269 his second, and was let go
to look for another job. He improved to a .303 average in his third year
for the El Paso Devils, but only hit 3 homers in nearly 400 at bats. Once
again he was looking for the job, and found a great opportunity with the 1994
Utah Utes.
Wolf won a job as a platoon left fielder and thanks to a team culture that
embraced advanced hitting theory, improved to .348 and drove in 66 runs in only
374 at bats. The Utes went on to win the first of 3 consecutive
championships. In 1997 Wolf hit .382. Despite such lofty stats,
Wolf was never a fulltime player in Utah due to a talented roster, however he
did win 4 rings in his 5 seasons there.
After the breakup of the Utes in 1999 he spent one year in Portland, then went
to Hollywood where he became a fulltime player and had the most productive
seasons of his career. In 2000 he hit .335 with 22 homers. The next
two years he won batting titles (.357 and .344) while also hitting over 20
homers, and in 2003 hit career bests with 28 homers and 114 RBI. He
remained a productive bat into old age, hitting .322 with 17 homers as a 39
year old. He retired in 2008 with a .312 average and 2166 hits.
P Jake Decker
Final Season
2009
In 1995 Decker, a rookie for the Alaska Snow Sox, pitched 138 innings, struck
out 158 batters, and saved 35 games. The following season his ERA was
1.65. In 2003 he saved 47 games for the New York Cobra with a 1.70
ERA. Over his 15 year career, Decker pitched 1061 innings, had a 2.84
ERA, struck out 1015, walked only 316, and saved 494 games.
LF Gerald White Sr
Final Season 2013
Played 29 seasons, more than anyone else in league
history. Was an all star outfielder for
the first half of his career. Once his
skills declined he became a backup outfielder and stuck around for another 14
years. Hit 9 homers at age 47, and hit
.283 in his final season at age 51.
Overall White had 2,596 hits, hit 320 homers, and stole 213 bases. Set career highs in 1990 with a .348 average,
34 homers, and 137 RBI. In 1989 stole a
career high 35 bases and won a gold glove.
1B Marcel Johnson
Final Season 2013
A career .312 hitter, Johnson hit .300 or better in his
first 12 seasons. Hit .345 in 2003 and .341 the following season. Also won gold glove in 2003. Finished with 2,431 hits and 224 homers. A slow runner, Marcel attempted only one
steal during his career, and was thrown out.
OF Kimba Bartee
Final Season 2013
Hit .270 over a 14 year career, including .313 as a rookie. Went to the world series in his first 2
seasons with the Penguins. Stole 787
bases, including single season totals of 107, 96, 88. 5th alltime in stolen bases.
P Jason Baret
Final Season 2013
Won 223 games (while losing 227) while pitching almost 4000
innings over a 20 year career. Ranks 9th
alltime in innings pitched and 7th in strikeouts (3,471). Baret never backed down from a challenge and
was always willing to throw his fastball to the best hitters in the game. Won 20 games for the 2010 Baltimore Colts at
the age of 37. Threw 3 no-hitters in his
career, only Jojo Lewis, Nolan Ryan, and Sandy Koufax have thrown more.
P Troy Everett
Final Season 2012
Troy Everett ranks second all-time with 587 saves. He began his career with the Green Day Dukes
and spent his first 6 seasons there. He
saved 44 games as a rookie closer, and another 44 the following season as Green
Day made the playoffs for the first time in league history. He joined the Phoenix
Autobots in 2003 as the team faced the New York Cobra in the world series. Phoenix won the series in 6 games. Everett blew a lead and lost game one, but
bounced back to record multi-inning saves in games 2, 4, and 6. In 2004, Everett handled the biggest workload
of his career for the Bay Area Bandits.
Pitching 126 innings, he struck out 151, went 14-5, and led the team in
both wins and saves (32). In 2006 he
saved a career high 48 games for the New York Cobra but is best remembered for
his unlikely feat in the batter’s box.
Everett rarely hit in his career, with just 4 hits in 55 at bats, and he
also struck out 25 times. In the 9th
inning of game 7 of the world series however, Everett came to bat with two
runners on base, his team down by two runs, and one out. Everett had to bat because his team was
completely out of pinch hitters. Everett
singled to load the bases, and one out later Joe Thomas won the series with his
final swing, allowing Everett to cross the plate with the winning run. Everett pitched 6 mores seasons, 5 as a closer,
and retired after the 2012 season at the age of 38.
First time on the ballot:
1B Bubba Lewis
After being picked first overall in the draft by the
Toronto Seagulls, Bubba was expected to become the franchise superstar. He had a fine rookie season but struggled as
a sophomore, hitting .243 with 21 homers as the team had trouble deciding where
to play him. Drafted as a catcher, Bubba
was not a great defender and many felt that he should be moved off the position
to keep his bat in the lineup more. In
Toronto he split time between catcher, first base, and the outfield. After the season Bubba was traded to the
Boston Beaneaters. In Boston he played
at first base and DH, but was mostly a platoon player for his first 3 seasons
there. In 1999 Bubba was finally allowed to play everyday and had a spectacular
breakout season, hitting .342 with 42 homers, 131 RBI, 207 hits, and 62
doubles, mostly off Fenway’s left field wall.
The 42 homeruns was a record single season for a Jawa, and the sound of
his doubles hitting the wall gave him his knickname, “Doink”. Bubba followed that season up with another
great one in 2000, hitting .360 and knocking in 143 runs. Bubba never had a season that great again but
remained a dangerous power hitter for another decade and played in the world
series in 2006 and 2008 with Miami. He
did not get a contract in the offseason after 2011, and at the age of 40 might
have been finished with baseball when the Hawaii Hounddogs called him late in
the season with an offer. Bubba made the
most of it, with 5 hits in 9 at bats, and ended up playing two more seasons in
Hawaii, allowing him to reach the 500 homerun level.
SS Nomad Garciajawa
Nomad was the first overall pick before the 1998 season by
the Green Day Dukes. A solid shortstop
with good contact skills and some power, Nomad played well for the team in his
first 5 years, including a 118 RBI season in 2001. His career really took off however after a
trade to Boston in 2003, a blockbuster deal that also involved Bubba Lewis
going to Green Day and Hall of Famer Damon Nkik going to Boston. In his first 6 seasons in Boston, Nomad hit
over .300 each year and drove in at least 100 runs. In 2004, he led the team to the World Series,
where they lost to the Portland Decepticons.
In 2005, Nomad hit .367, collected 245 hits, 30 homers, and 147
RBI. In his 7th and final
season in Boston Nomad just missed the magic numbers with a .298 average and 99
RBI. Nomad played 3 season in Toronto
and finally two in Hawaii, where he became a player manager. Nomad finished his career with 2928 hits, 336
homers, 611 doubles, and 1541 runs batted in.
1B Brant Bowen
Bowen was a fine fielding, sweet-swinging first baseman
with a great batting eye and moderate power.
He hit over .300 6 times, including 3 times over .330, and drove in 100
or more runs 6 times over an 18 year career.
Bowen contributed to 3 championship teams. He started his career with
the Phoenix Autobots where he won rings in his 3rd and 4th
seasons, and spent his prime seasons in Charlotte where he won another ring
with the 2005 time.
In Game 7 of the 1999 World Series Bowen came to the plate
in the 5th inning with his team down 2-1 and the bases loaded. His 2 run single chased starter Steve Dixon
as the Bots held on for a 4-2 win. The
next year in game 3 against Florida, he singled to start the 12th
inning and scored the winning run as Phoenix went up 3-0 in the series. The next day he again reached base in the 11th
inning, and scored the series ending run.
In 2005, Bowen won game 1 with a single to drive in Jacen Solo in the 10th
inning, and in game 4 singled in a run with 2 out in the 9th to keep
the game going, Vernell Hightower later hit a 3 run homer to win the game.
Bowen finished his career with 2911 hits, a .299 average,
1455 RBI, and 1285 walks, and won 3 gold gloves.
C Bud McNamara
Perhaps the finest hitting catcher of all time, McNamara
hit .300 or better 14 times in a 20 year career and finished with 2865
hits. He played his first 9 seasons with
the Orlando Rugrats. In 2011 at the age
of 38 he joined the Miami Stars in an effort to win an elusive world series
ring. He teamed with Mighty Joe Young
and Brian Kaat to win 100 games and capture the world series title. Bud hit .303 with 15 homers and 83 RBI that
season. In a 4 game world series sweep
over the Rabbits, he hit .500, drove in 10 runs, did not strike out, and was
named series MVP.
3B/1B Anakin Solo
Anakin played his first 9 season with the Toronto
Seagulls. He signed a free agent
contract with the Charlotte Hawks, joining his brother Jacen, and spent his
last 9 seasons there. He hit over 30
homeruns 7 times and 9 times drove in at least 100 runs. In 2012, at the age of 37, he hit a career
best .321 with 31 homers and 101 RBI in only 424 at bats. The following season he won his only world
series ring, playing right field in the road games since the DH rule was not in
effect. Anakin finished his career with
521 homers, 1733 RBI, 1564 walks, a .372 OBP, and a .505 slugging percentage.
SS/2B Jason Gonzalez
Over a 16 year career Gonzalez hit 318 homeruns. He started as a shortstop and later played
second and third base. He drove in 100
or more runs 3 times. His best season
came with Utah in 2009, when he hit .301 with 28 homers and 130 RBI. He hit a 2
run homer in game 5 of the world series that year as Utah won the ring.
1B Mike Solar
A slugging first baseman, Solar hit 383 homers and drove in
1420 runs over a 16 year career with 8 teams. From 2004 to 2008, he drove in
100 runs each year. In 2010 he hit a
career best .330 with the Hawaii Hounddogs.
2B Trent Weaver
Weaver was an excellent fielding second baseman over a 16
year career. He did not hit for power
but consistently put the ball in play and got on base. For his career he had 2263 hits and a .353
OBP. Weaver hit .319 for the 2001 Florida Penguins as the team reached the world
series for back to back seasons.
OF Carlos Merejo
Merejo joined the Utah Ute organization in the aftermath of
Eddie Bird’s dynasty. He was a solid
defensive outfielder with a rocket arm, and an aggressive power hitter. Merejo did not like to walk, resulting in a
career OBP of only .315, but when he had people on base in front of him he
drove them in. Merejo had6 straight
seasons with at least 100 RBI for Utah, including 133 in 2005 and 145 in 2006. In the 2007 world series he homered in game 4
and scored 3 runs as Utah won 4-2. He
played 15 seasons, had 2103 hits, drove in 1252 runs, and blasted 273 homers.
OF/2B Sam Robinson
Sam was a rare blend of power and speed for a middle
infielder, though he struggled defensively and rarely got on base. After 4 seasons with Denver he joined the
Portland Decepticons, who freed him to run more often. In both 2006 and 2007 he joined the 30-30
club. In 2009 he went to Boston where he
was moved from second base to left field.
He broke out at the plate with a 41 homer season, and also hit 58
doubles and 2 triples for 101 extra base hits.
The following year he hit 48 homers, knocking in 141, and followed that
up with a 47-126 season. For his career
Sam played 13 years, hit 416 homers, stole 144 bases, and had 2050 hits.
DH Ryan Ballard
Ballard got a late start to his career. He was not a top prospect due to low
averages, a lack of speed, and not having a defensive position. He forced his way to the big leagues with his
power and patience, and as a 26 year old rookie for the Hawaii Hounddogs hit 26
homers. He spent the next 3 seasons with
the LA Shockers, averaging over 100 walks per year with between 36 and 39
homers. After a year in Philadelphia he
signed a free agent deal in Utah, where he would play the next 10 seasons at
his natural position, designated hitter.
Ballard in 2006 hit 51 homers and drove in 152 runs for the Utes. He continued to produce for the 2007 and 2009
championship teams, and drove in 100 or more runs for 11 consecutive seasons.
In 2014, at the age of 40, he hit only .204 and did not have an at bat as Utah
again won the world series. Over 15
years Ballard hit 504 homers, drove in 1623 runs, and walked 1347 times.
3B Bill Judge
Over a 15 year career, Judge hit .282 with 216 homers and 968
RBI. He had his best season in 2002 with
the Chicago Winds, hitting .309 with 25 homers, 101 RBI, and 30 doubles.
OF Charlie Howard
Howard hit .279 with a .361 OBP over a 15 year career. A patient, line drive hitting left handed
batter, he often platooned. In 2007 he
hit a career best .330 for Texas. His
final season came with the championship winning 2014 Utes. He had 3 hits, including a homer, in game 3
as the Utes won 8-6. In the decisive
game 5, Utah was trailing 4-1 in the 6th when Howard came to the
plate, and his homerun started a rally.
Utah went on to win the game 5-4 and capture their 7th
championship. For his career Howard and
1951 hits and drove in 1044 runs.
1B Humberto Rivera
Power hitting first baseman hit 396 homers and knocked in
1250 runs over a 17 year career. His
best season came with the 2002 Charlotte Hawks when he hit .274 with 41 homers
and 125 RBI. The Hawks played in the
world series that year and Rivera homered in a game 2 win, but that was the
only win the Hawks had against the New York Cobra.
3B Domingo Chavez
Chavez broke in with the Detroit Devils as a slick
fielding, power hitting 3rd baseman.
He played his first 8 season in Detroit, winning 3 gold gloves. He had 3 seasons each of 30 homeruns and 100
RBI. His best season was 2002 when he
hit .300, hit 30 homers, 98 RBI, a .381 OBP and a .536 SLG. In 2009 he signed a free agent contract with
Philadelphia but was largely a disappointment there. He hit only .229 his first season with the
team, and only had one season out of 7 that was as good as his years in
Detroit. In 2010 he hit only .235 with
20 homers and 70 RBI, but the team did reach and win their only world
championship. Chavez had only one hit in the 6 game series. For his career he hit 314 homers and drove in
1139 runs.
OF Jermaine Moore
One of the youngest players to enter the league, Moore played
for the 1997 Toronto Seagulls at the age of 19.
While he had plenty of ability, he was raw and not ready for the big
leagues, hitting only .223 with 3 homers in 179 at bats. Moore was a backup outfielder for his first 3
seasons before earning a starting job in 2000.
He hit 30 homers and drove in 102 runs, and then became a free
agent. Only 23, the Miami Stars signed
him to a 9 figure, 11 year contract. In his first season with the Stars Moore joined
the 40-40 club, hit .288, and drove in 139 runs. For the next two seasons he had
at least 30 homers and 30 steals. After
three years Miami traded him to the New York Cobra, who dealt him to the
Detroit Devils after another season. He
never again played as well as he did with the Stars, but averaged better than
25 homers and 80 RBI per season for the length of his contract.
When the contract was up he played 3 more years as a backup
with Charlotte before retiring at age 36 with 18 years of service. Moore hit 382 homers, stole 199 bases, and
drove in 1297 runs.
SS Fidel Duenas
Knicknamed “The hero of little Havana”, Duenas was drafted
by his hometown Miami Stars and played shortstop there for his first 4
seasons. Duenas did not usually hit for
great averages, but played solid defense and hit for more power than most
shortstops. In 2003 he had his best
season, hitting .284 with 29 homers and 111 RBI, all career bests.
Duenas played 14 seasons, hitting 292 homers and driving in
1037 runs. He returned to Miami at age
37 to play his final season, before moving into the coaching ranks.
C Optimus Minor
A strong defensive catcher with good on base skills, Minor
played his first 8 season with the Autobots, winning a championship in 2003,
and finished with his last 5 season in Bay Area. He hit .300 or better 5 times, and a career
OBP of .366. Minor caught all 6 games of
the 2003 world series and had a homer in game 4.
OF Brian Kaat
Brian Kaat played his entire 15 year career with the Miami
Stars. He joined the team in 2003 in
center field. As a rookie, Brian struggled
at the plate, hitting only .262, but played excellent defense and stealing 55
bases. The following season he hit .304,
the first of 12 consecutive seasons over .300.
In 2005 Brian hit a career best .347.
Brian stole 738 bases for his career, 7th on the alltime list,
with a career high of 69. He had at
least 200 hits 5 times and finished his career with 2840 hits. In his final season, Brian hit .314 with a
career high of 9 homeruns and was still a strong defender. He likely would have reached 3000 hits with
another year of play, but retired after being diagnosed with kidney disease.
Brian played in 5 world series in his career, winning the
championship in 2011 with a sweep over the Denver Rabbits. In the clinching game, Brian had 4 hits and
scored 2 runs as the Stars won 7-2. In
2016, with the Stars trailing 3-1 in the series, Brian led off the 10th
inning of game 5 with a homer to keep his team alive.
After a season off, Brian returned to the field as the team’s
manager and won 102 games. Sadly, it
would be the only his only year as manager as he lost his battle with kidney
disease after the season.
Brian joins the HOF ballot due to the Clemente/Gehrig exception.
P Don Law
Law was a solid pitcher over his first 6 seasons, averaging
13 wins and 200 innings per year for the Toledo Mud Hens. In 2001 he shocked the world with one of the
greatest pitching seasons of all time.
Law won 24 games, lost only 4, and had a 2.18 ERA over 282 innings. He
became the first and only pitcher in league history to throw 2 no-hitters in a
single season. His career year was well
timed with free agency, and he cashed in with an 8 year contract worth 160
million. Law never came close to such
greatness again, but was a solid starter to the age of 39. He won 246 games, lost 224, and pitched over
4000 innings in a 20 year career. In his
final season he won a championship with Utah, though he did not appear in the
world series.
P Storm Morris
In the same year that Don Law won 24 games and a Cy Young, Storm
Morris won the Cy in the other league with a record setting 28 wins. He only lost 6 times, and had a 2.48 ERA over
264 innings. After 7 years with the
Penguins, Morris joined the Baltimore Colts and in 2005 pitched 297 innings,
winning 18 games. In 2008 Morris won a
second Cy Young award with a 20-6 record as the team won 106 games. Morris won
at least 15 games in 9 different seasons, including his final season (16-9) in
2014, at the age of 38. Morris intended
to pitch in 2015, signing with Utah, but shoulder issues ended his career. Morris went 256-177 for his career, had a 3.69
ERA, pitched 3857 innings, and struck out 2765 batters. Morris had great control and exceptional
durability. In 17 seasons he topped 200 innings 16 times, and the only time he
fell short he threw 190.
Morris pitched game 4 of the world series in 2000 (The year
of the Penguin). With his team trailing
3-0 in the series, he pitched to a tie over 9 innings, however the Autobots
prevailed in extra innings.
P Derek Howe
Over 14 seasons Howe, a groundball specialist, won 160
games, lost 146, and had a 3.65 ERA. In
2006 he won 18 games, had a 2.67 ERA in 235 innings, and won the Cy Young award
for the Alaska Snow Sox. In 2009, he
again went 18-8 and had a 2.44 ERA for the Denver Rabbits.
In 2012, Howe was 36 years old, pitching for the Rabbits as
they reached the world series for the second year in a row. They had been swept in 2011, with Howe losing
the final game. In 2012 he pitched in
game 2 and went 8 1/3 innings with a 3 hit shutout as Denver won 4-0. In game 6, he pitched into the 7th
to earn the win as Denver won their only world championship against the Utah
Utes.
P Rene St. Claire
Over a 17 year career he won 192 games, lost 162, and had a
3.79 ERA over more than 3000 innings. In 2008 he went 17-7 for the Hollywood B’s,
the only season he had more than 15 wins.
P Kevin Millhouse
Over 15 season he went 165-160. In his best season, 2008 with Chicago,
Millhouse went 17-9 with a 2.98 ERA. He
finished with a 4.02 ERA over 2795 innings.
P Keith Langford
The younger brother of Mike, Keith won 196 games against
154 losses over 16 seasons, made 6 trips to the world series and won 4 rings. He won 20 games for the 2000 Hawks, 18 more
in 2002 as the team went to the world series, and 19 in 2003.
In the 2002 series Langford pitched game 2 and beat New
York 7-0, with a 5 hit shutout over 8 innings.
It was his only appearance in the series as his team lost in 5. In 2005
he pitched the first game against Portland, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings before
the team rallied to win in the late innings.
Charlotte swept the series for Langford’s first ring. In 2007 he pitched for the Utes, he lost both
his starts although the team prevailed the series. In 2009, facing New York again, he lost his
first start but won the decisive game 6, holding New York to 3 runs over 6
innings as the Utes won 5-4. In 2014
Langford pitched out of the bullpen for his final season. He earned 2 holds in the series, not allowing
a run in either. In game 5, he pitched a
perfect 8th inning to hold onto a 5-4 lead as Utah beat the Denver Rabbits.
P Dave Fitzgerald
Won 194 games and lost 163 over 16 seasons. From 2000 to 2004 he won 15 games or more
each year, but his high was only 16.
Over 3006 innings, he had a 4.22 ERA.
Twice he pitched in the world series.
In 2010 game 2 he held Philadelphia to 1 run over 6 innings, a game his
team won in extra innings. In game 5 he came on in relief with his team down
5-0 early and threw 8 shutout innings, but it wasn’t enough as they lost
5-4. Fitzgerald pitched game 4 of the
2013 series with a chance to sweep the Decepticons. He game up 4 runs in the second inning, but did
not allow any more, pitching 8 2/3 innings and facing 39 batters. His team won the series 2 games later.
