Post by Captain America on Jul 8, 2014 17:42:14 GMT -5
Four legendary BBSBL players earned unanimous inductions into the Hall of Fame immediately after they retired this past offseason.
Following the 2008 season, four of the greatest players we have seen in BBSBL history all decided to call it a career. A few months later, these four players earned unanimous inductions into the BBSBL Hall of Fame. All 28 current BBSBL GM's and former teammates of these players were all in attendance for this wonderful day. Former commissioner Jeff Erbes gave the opening speech and current commissioners Ashes Ryan and Steve Wyche presented the plaques to each inductee.
Oh yeah the inductees themselves..let's move onto them!
First up was longtime White Sox ace Alex Fernandez, who retired after an 18-year career from 1991-2008. In his career, Fernandez's numbers included a 335-193 record, a 3.45 ERA, 821 walks and 3,275 strikeouts in over 4,650 innings pitched. During his BBSBL years though from 1996-2008, Fernandez had a 277-145 record, a 3.33 ERA, 501 walks and 2,585 strikeouts in 3,648 innings pitched.
Fernandez was a 6-time All-Star and won three consecutive AL Cy Young Awards from 2001-2003. He was the dependable ace for a White Sox team that won seven consecutive AL Central division titles from 1998-2004 and reached the 1998 World Series. Fernandez would later spend time with the Rays and Diamondbacks in 2006, and Diamondbacks and Royals in 2007 before returning to the South Side of Chicago to spend his final season with the White Sox.
Fernandez is only the second pitcher to get inducted into the BBSBL Hall of Fame and certainly is one of the most deserving. He is the all-time BBSBL career leader in wins, games started and innings pitched. He is also third in complete games, sixth in shutouts and third in strikeouts. His 30 wins in 2003 is tied for the second most wins in a single season. Congrats again Alex!
Longtime White Sox teammate Reggie Jefferson also earned a unanimous induction into the BBSBL Hall of Fame. Jefferson was one of BBSBL's first great contact hitters and won the first ever AL batting title in 1996. Jefferson's career numbers include a .326/.364/.485 line, 2,537 hits, 550 doubles, 215 home runs, 1,145 RBI, 459 walks and 1,063 runs scored. Within his BBSBL years, Jefferson hit .333, with a .369 OBP, a .492 slugging percentage, 2,307 hits, 511 doubles, 188 home runs, 1,034 RBI, 400 walks and 964 runs scored.
Jefferson was a 6-time All-Star himself and had a particularly great postseason in 2002 when he hit three home runs and drove in seven RBI in 39 at-bats. Defensively, Jefferson played mostly in left field, but also played some first base and was in the designated hitter spot as well. He joins former teammates Fernandez and Frank Thomas in the BBSBL Hall of Fame as the third player wearing a White Sox hat. Congats again Reggie!
Next up was one of the first true 5-tool hitters this league has ever seen and was arguably the best NL hitter around in the first few seasons of BBSBL history. He would then go on to have a long and quite legendary career. That man is the greatest Canadian hitter to ever step on a baseball field: Larry Walker.
After signing a lucrative contract with the Rockies in 1995 after spending the first six years of his career with the Expos, Walker had a nice season in 1995, but in 1996, he simply started putting up amazing numbers.
Walker was the first ever BBSBL NL MVP (both in-game and GM-voted) in 1996 and would win a 2nd in-game and GM-voted NL MVP Award in 1998 and then the in-game NL MVP Award in 1999. Over a four-year stretch from 1996-1999, Walker put up crooked numbers that included a .352 average (along with three NL batting titles in 1996, 1998 and 1999), a .433 OBP, a .654 slugging percentage, 846 hits, 186 doubles, 26 triples, 162 home runs, 544 RBI, 318 walks, 556 runs scored, and 196 stolen bases. You really can't get much better than that generally speaking. His 1998 season is still one of the best and most complete single seasons in BBSBL history.
Sure, Walker played all four of those seasons with the Rockies in Coors Field, but he hit well on the road too throughout his career. After those impressive four seasons, Walker got traded to the Marlins in 2000, who then sent him to the Orioles a year later. Walker would spend the 2001-2005 seasons in Baltimore, before signing with the A's in 2006 and finally winning a World Series championship that year. He spent 2007 in Oakland as well and then returned to the Rockies in 2008, but did not play in the major league all season.
In his entire career, Walker hit .305 with a .377 OBP, a .535 slugging percentage, 2,865 hits, 625 doubles, 80 triples, 457 home runs, 1,695 RBI, 1,076 walks, 1,741 runs scored and 669 stolen bases. He was a 5-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove Award in 2005 as well. Within his BBSBL seasons, Walker hit .314, with a .391 OBP, a .548 slugging percentage, 2,048 hits, 447 doubles, 59 triples, 322 home runs, 1,210 RBI, 763 walks, 1,277 runs scored, and 555 stolen bases.
With all those impressive numbers, Walker currently ranks fourth (tied) in OBP, fifth in slugging percentage, second behind Todd Helton in OPS, fifth in XR, fifth in runs scored, tenth in home runs, eighth in RBI, fifth in runs scored, and tenth in total bases. Walker also still holds single season records in OPS (1.118 in 1998), XR (159.8 in 1999) and runs scored (154 in 1998).
Walker has certainly become the greatest player in Rockies history (and became the first player to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame wearing a Rockies cap) and it was no surprise to hear earlier this season that the Rockies will hold a special pre-game ceremony in July to retire both Walker's #33 and longtime teammate Vinny Castilla's #9. It will be quite a special day for sure. Congrats again Larry!
And last but most certainly not the least, the greatest and most feared slugger in BBSBL history retired this past offseason as well. That would be the Kid himself, Ken Griffey Jr.
Over his 20-year career, Griffey hit .287, with a .364 OBP, a .557 slugging percentage, 2,818 hits, 555 doubles, 50 triples, 663 home runs, 1,898 RBI, 1,190 walks, 1,801 runs scored, and 342 stolen bases. He played the first 11 seasons of his career with the Mariners before getting traded to the rival Rangers in 2000. Two seasons later, Griffey was traded to the Padres, who then moved him to the Yankees for one and a half seasons. In 2004, Griffey was traded again to the Giants and midway through the season, he got sent to the Tigers, whom he played for from 2004-2007. In 2007, he got traded a second time to the Yankees and then played his final season in 2008 with the White Sox.
Griffey's stats from his BBSBL years include a .279 average, a .357 OBP, a .568 slugging percentage, 1,779 hits, 354 doubles, 31 triples, 474 home runs, 1,313 RBI, 764 walks, 1,231 runs scored, and 250 stolen bases. He was a 5-time All-Star and won a pair of AL MVP Awards in 1998 and 2001.
Griffey currently ranks second in career slugging percentage, fourth in OPS, tenth in XR, first in home runs, third in RBI, ninth in runs scored, and ninth in total bases. Griffey also still holds single season records in slugging percentage (.726 in 2001), home runs (64 in 2001; he's also second with 56 in 1999) and total bases (408 in 2001). Griffey's 2001 MVP season is widely considered one of, if not the greatest offensive single season ever.
Despite playing on a lot of teams over his career, Griffey made a name for himself with the Mariners, where he spent the majority of his career as well. As a result, Griffey was inducted into the BBSBL Hall of Fame as a Mariner and is now the 1st Hall of Famer to ever go in wearing a Mariners cap. It will be very fascinating to see if another slugger ever hits for power as well as, or even better than Griffey. Congrats again Ken!
The next stage of voting for the BBSBL Hall of Fame should begin later this season. The potential candidates should include Rod Beck, Jim Thome, John Smoltz, John Smiley, Mike Piazza, Vinny Castilla, Chuck Knoblauch, Sammy Sosa, Gary Sheffield, Tom Glavine, Aaron Fultz, Kirk Reuter, Robb Nen, Mariano Rivera, Todd Van Poppel, Takashi Saito, and Rusty Greer, among others.
Best of luck to all future candidates and congrats once more to the four living legends that recently got inducted!