Soriano Joins Calgary Hall of Fame
The Pioneers announced that Mario Soriano, the long time Calgary center fielder, will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame. Soriano was inducted into the BBA Hall of Fame at the beginning of this season. It is a tradition with Calgary to induct into the team HOF any players that have been inducted into the BBA HOF.
“Mario was one of the greatest to put on a Calgary uniform,” said GM Kevin Dickson. “He was one of the best lead off guys to ever play this game and we are honored to induct him into our shrine.”
Soriano played 20 seasons in the BBA, 13 of them in Calgary. He ranks 10th on the BBA hit list with 3314 and his 2663 singles were the most of any player in league history until Dusty Rhodes surpassed him and pushed him back to 2nd. His 948 steals are 6th all time.
“This is an incredible honor. Growing up in Venezuela I had never heard of Calgary and never envisioned that I would spend so much of my life so far from home,” Soriano said. “Now I have 2 homes. The one I where I yearn for the ball field and the other that is the dirt of my birth and of course you know which one I go to in the winter!”
Soriano holds the distinction of being the all time BBA leader in getting hit by pitches with 395. To show you how he dominated at this statistic the 2nd place player is Joe Wilcox with 263. This is one of those records that might never be broken.
Soriano has been a scout for the Pioneers since his retirement in 2040. He is rumored to be in the running for a coaching position when one opens up.
Here are Soriano’s records for Calgary at the time of his induction.
Mario Soriano - CF - played in Calgary 2027-2039
Calgary Hall of Fame 2042
.314 AVG (5th)
1605 Games (8th)
6423 At Bats (8th)
1017 Runs (8th)
2016 Hits (8th)
1613 Singles (4th)
95 Triples (3rd)
543 SB (4th)
258 HP (1st)
BBA Hall of Fame 2042, 1 Zimmer Award, 3 time Puckett Award, 6 time All Star
