Hall of Fame Veteran's ballot

This ballot is for players who have been retired at least 15 seasons and are no longer eligible for the standard ballot, plus those who contributed off the playing field.  Of the ten candidates, vote for no more than four.

1. Kirby Miller

Kirby played his entire 14 year career for the Mars Eyebiters.  He started as a centerfielder before moving to right.  Kirby had a career season in 1998, hitting .328 with 29 homers, 127 RBI, and a .586 slugging percentage.  Kirby hit .300 or better 4 times, drove in 100 runs 3 times, and finished his career with 2204 hits.

2. Pedro Santini

A hard hitting second baseman, Pedro played 13 seasons with Hollywood, Baltimore, and Texas.  He finished with 2013 hits and 1015 RBI. In his second season, Pedro drove in 100 runs and walked more than he struck out as he team with Dirk Lindros to lead Hollywood to the playoffs.  Two years later he hit .320, and he followed that up with a .343 average in 1996.

3. Rico Cortez

Rico was not a highly regarded prospect coming into the league, but became a legend for the Utes, as his first three seasons were the years of the Utah threepeat.  In 1996 Rico had one of the greatest hitting seasons on record as he hit .392, and also hit 23 homers, 44 doubles, and 12 triples for .688 slugging percentage.  The following season he was traded to Hollywood where he became a top run producer, driving in at least 100 runs in 6 of the next 7 seasons.  Rico only played 11 seasons, but finished with 1088 RBI and a .516 slugging percentage.

4. Chris Berman

As a rookie, Berman hit .302 with 22 homers, walked more than he struck out, and caught a pair of pitchers who combined to win 51 games as his Decepticons won 109 games and the world series.  Berman played 10 more seasons after that, and while he never matched his rookie stats, was a consistent power bat while providing strong defense behind the plate.

5. Nigel Tufnel

In a 12 year career, Tufnel was a dangerous lefty bat while providing leadership behind the plate.  In 1994 he hit .330 for the world champion Utes, and in 1995 hit .337 with 97 RBI as his Utes won a league record 117 games.

6, Ray North

Though North was only 1 game over .500 for his career (171-170), he had a reputation as a big game pitcher.  North's best season came in 1992, when he went 17-9 with a 2.00 ERA and 206 strikeouts.  In 1991 he struck out 11 Penguins in a 9 inning world series game, though his team lost in extra innings.  In 1994, pitching against the 110 win Utes, North won games 2 and 5 in the world series, though Utah won every game North did not pitch in. His game 5 effort was a complete game 6 hitter, he allowed one run while striking out 11.  In 1998 he again faced the Utes in the world series.  He won game 1 3-1, pitching a 3-hitter.  He won game 4 8-3, pitching a shutout through 7 before allowing a few meaningless runs in a complete game effort.  North was lined up to start game 7, and may have defeated the Utes if his team could win a game without him, but they lost in 7.

7. Rafiki Monkey

The ancient primate began his career for the 1981 Jawa City Stars, and pitched until 1999, when he was 47.  He was a relief pitcher for almost all of his career, but threw over 1600 innings and had a record of 117-76 to go with 100 saves.  At age 38 he went 9-2 with a 2.25 ERA.  At 42 he pitched an incredible 140 relief innings with a 2.57 ERA.  At 45, he won 10 games, had a 2.57 ERA, and pitched 98 relief innings.

8. Jake Taylor

As a player Taylor was a catcher, most famous for his contributions to the division winning 1989 Cleveland Indians, despite the team being expected to finish dead last.  He managed the Louisville Sluggers for 21 seasons, winning 90 or more games 7 times, including 4 times with at least 97 wins.  They could never go far in the playoffs, but were a consistently entertaining team featuring great power hitters like HOFer Rob Block.  Taylor's record was 1783 wins, 1578 losses.

9. Mark Roberts

In 18 seasons managing the Charlotte Hawks, Roberts had a 1484-1387 record.  His teams won four pennants, losing in the world series in 2002 and 2010, and winning the championship in 2005 and 2013.  His teams did not have the funds to keep overwhelming talent, but always played to the best of their ability.

10. Yoda

As a player, Yoda played so long ago that his stats are unavailable.  He managed 13 seasons with a record of 1029-938.  His 1994 Orlando Rugrats became the first Superior League team to win a championship.  He managed the Florida Penguins in 2001 and won 95 games as the team went on to win the pennant but lose the world series.  He moved into the front office and is responsible for building the Penguin team that won the 2016 world series and has strongly contended in 2018 and 2019.