BBA Hall of Fame: Starting Pitcher Wing

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RonCo
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BBA Hall of Fame: Starting Pitcher Wing

Post by RonCo » Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:47 pm

"Starting Pitcher"
A Wing of the BBA Hall of Fame


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Compliments of SABR, “An important part of the folklore of baseball is the significance attached to pitching in winning games. John Schwartz in his article, "New Measures for Pitchers" in the 1979 edition of the Baseball Research Journal writes: "Pitching as the old cliche goes, is somewhere between 75 and 90% of baseball." The legendary Connie Mack is supposed to have remarked: "Pitching is 75% of baseball." All baseball enthusiasts are familiar with such phrases as : "good pitching will always stop good hitting," "pitching is the key" and "pitching will always win out in a short series:" They are part of the oral tradition of the game. They have been passed on from generation to generation since baseball's infancy”
KURT STALLWITH
(MONTREAL BLAZERS)
1973 - 1984

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181 - 119, 2.97 ERA, 2,259 K, 72.7 WAR
1976 Johnson League Owner’s Choice Golden Arm Award
All-Star: 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980

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At age 28 Stallwith was the seventh round draft pick of the Chicago Black Sox in 1973 in the league’s inaugural season. He pitched one year in Chicago before being traded to Montreal where he starred for nine years. Known as “Bionic Arm”, Kurt twice won tenty games and came close with three other nineteen win seasons. His career year was 1976 when he was 28-5 with an ERA of 2.22 and with 322 strikeouts. Although he pitched in the postseason six times, he never managed to win a Landis ring.
BILL MAX
(NEW ORLEANS CRAWDADS)
1975 - 1989

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225 - 145, 3.23 ERA, 2,787 K, 101.3 WAR
1975 Frick League Owner’s Choice Rookie of the Year
All-Star: 1985, 1987, 1988

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Max was Frick League Rookie of the Year with Buffalo in 1975 when he went 18-8. Moved on to Honolulu, Charlotte, and Greenville before finding a home with the Crawdads in New Orleans where he appeared in the playoffs for six consecutive years. He was 20-5 in 1984 and 22-5 in 1988. While not an overpowering pitcher, he had tremendous control. He is one of only nine pitchers to amass a lifetime WAR over 100.
MICHAEL MANGUAL
(DES MOINES KERNELS)
1975 - 1991

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215 - 172, 3.43 ERA, 3,004 K, 105.3 WAR
All-Star: 1978, 1980

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Mangual pitched for the Des Moines Kernels from 1975 until 1985 eventually moving on to Calgary, Huntsville, Montreal, Mexico City, New Orleans, and Valencia. His best season was in 1978 when he was 21-7 with a 2.47 ERA. Three other times he won 19 games for the Kernels. He pitched in the postseason five times.
JERRY SYED
(SEATTLE STORM)
1976 - 1990

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214 - 120, 2.92 ERA, 2,747 K, 110.5 WAR
All-Star: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989

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Syed pitched with the Seattle Storm from 1976 through 1986. He finished up his career with New Orleans and Washington. He cracked twenty wins only one, in 1979, when he posted a 20-6 record with 3.36 ERA. He pitched in the postseason eight times. Jerry was named to All Star team six times, five times consecutively from 1983 through 1987. His career WAR of 110.5 is fifth best in BBA pitching history.
JUSTIN ALEXANDER
(LAS VEGAS HUSTLERS)
1976 - 1992

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204 - 132, 3.31 ERA, 2,964 K, 82.3 WAR
1977 Frick League Owner’s Choice Rookie of the Year
All-Star: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989

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While he pitched the most years with the Las Vegas Hustlers, the best year of his career came in 1989 with the Long Beach Surfers when he was 25-3 with an ERA of 2.53. He appeared in the postseason six times, winning a Landis Championship ring on his first in 1976. He also pitched for Valencia, and Yellow Springs. He started his career as Rookie of the Year with the Hustlers in 1977 and finished up with them as well in 1992.
FERNANDO HUERTAS
(AUSTIN RIVERBATS)
1976 - 1993

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242 - 183, 3.52 ERA, 3,969 K, 97.6 WAR
All-Star: 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987

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Huertas was a seventh round draft pick by Vancouver in 1973. He spent four full season with the Mounties before being traded to the Austin Riverbats in mid-1980. His best years were 22-12 with the Mounties in 1979 and 18-8 with the Riverbats in 1985. Pitched in the playoffs in ten different seasons. His 3,969 career strikeouts are second best in BBA history behind Steve Nebraska.
VERNON SIMPSON
(LONG BEACH SURFERS)
1973 - 1978

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117 - 44, 2.81 ERA, 1,366 K, 27.4 WAR
1974 and 1975 Frick League Owner’s Choice Golden Arm Award
All-Star: 1974, 1975, 1976

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Simpson was already 34 years old when the BBA began play in 1973. He pitched two years for the Montreal Blazers, two years for the Long Beach Surfers, and two years for the Vancouver Mounties. In three of those six years he won over 20 games. His 27-2 record with Long Beach in 1975 will long be remembered as one of the best performances ever over the course of a single season. His ERA that year was an astounding 1.32 with a 0.83 WHIP.
MARK BOBOVNIK
(BALTIMORE MONARCHS)
1979 - 1992

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210 - 100, 2.70 ERA, 2,808 K, 97.9 WAR
1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 Johnson League Owner’s Choice Golden Arm Award
All-Star: 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990

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“Bobo” was named best pitcher in the Johnson League five times in a row and was an eight time All Star. He had seasons of 21-4, 22-2, and 24-2 over the course of a great pitching career. He recorded 35 complete games in his career, and 25 of them were shutouts.
JOHN ROSS RILES, JR.
(BALTIMORE MONARCHS)
1981 - 2002

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287 - 157, 3.17 ERA, 3,696 K, 135.5 WAR
1986, 1987 Johnson League Owner’s Choice Golden Arm Award
1993 Frick League Owner’s Choice Golden Arm Award
1995, 1996 Frick League Steve Nebraska Gold Arm Award
All-Star: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997

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Twenty-one amazing years in the BBA, Riles won Pitcher of the Year Awards five different times and was named to eleven All Star teams. His career WAR of 135.5 is second among pitchers only to Steve Nebraska. He won 21 games back to back in 1986 and 1987 and then won 21 again in 1993 and 1995.
KEN HOWELL
(VALENCIA STARS)
1984 - 2005

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250-143, 135 SV, 2.98 ERA, 3,069 K, 112.1 WAR
Landis Memorial Ring: 2003
JL Steve Nebraska Golden Arm Award: 1995
All-Star: 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002

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Howell is one of those rare breeds that started as a successful bullpen arm and then became a starter. He debuted at the age of 23 in 1984 for the Valencia Stars out of the bullpen. He pitched in 101 games in both his first two BBA season going 16-10 with 10 saves and an ERA just over 3.00. Three more seasons brought double-figure wins each year and 76 more saves as well as a few starts before he moved on to Greenville early in 1989. His first full year there in 1990 brought a return to 101 outings, a 13-6 record, 22 saves and his first Landis Series Finals. Unfortunately the Moonshiners lost as they did in 1991 when he split his time between the pen and the rotation. Aged 31 now he became a full-time starter for the first time and in two seasons he racked up 66 starts along with a 24-13 record. He had racked up 563 strikeouts in his time at Valencia but in these two years as a starter in Greenville he struckout 371 batters. A move to Washington aged 33 saw six more seasons as a member of the starting rotation, the second of which in 1995 saw him claim his Golden Arm award. Only once did he fail to post at least double-figure wins and twice led the JL in games started. As he entered his third decade in the BBA he became a bit part starter before finally at 41 in 2002 he headed for Las Vegas mid-season. In that year he went 11-10 overall in 33 starts split between the Bobwhites & the Hustlers and he collected his first Landis Memorial Ring in 2003 as a Hustler, making 33 starts in the season that year. 2004 saw Howell make 31 starts in New Orleans before winding up back in Las Vegas the following year, 2005, where he was used sparingly with 14 outings & one start before they shipped him to California where he made his last 13 outings of his 1,089 BBA career. He was inducted to the Hall in 2009.
HEATH ROCKEFELLER
(CHICAGO BLACK SOX)
1985 - 1996

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145-72, 91 SV, 2.58 ERA, 1,772 K, 65.0 WAR
Landis Memorial Series Ring: 1993
JL Owner’s Choice Reliever Award: 1987, 1988
JL Owner’s Choice Pitcher Award: 1990, 1993, 1994

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Rockefeller is a rare BBA pitcher decorated both as a reliever and a starter. As a 1985 September callup to the Chicago side at the age of 23 he posted a 2-1 record in 11 starts. The next three years though he made 278 appearances out of the bullpen going 34-20 with 90 saves, the last two he was the recipient of the Owners Choice Reliever’s Award. In 1989 Chicago decided to use him as a starter and over the next six years he only once started less than 36 starts and picked up three Owners Choice Pitchers Awards after picking up 93 wins. He also struckout 1,199 batters and posted a 54.2 WAR during this time. In 1993 he pitched in his only Landis Memorial Series and picked up his ring while in 1995 he made the last move of his short career as he headed for Las Vegas. In 38 appearances he made 31 starts and ended with a 14-12 record with his third straight 200+ strikeout season. In 1996 though he made just one appearance out of the pen pitching one innings and surrendered two runs, LV had discarded him and he never pitched again. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.
JEFF KIPLINGER
(CHICAGO BLACK SOX)
1991 - 2007

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217-170, 3.45 ERA, 3,298 K, 99.7 WAR
Landis Memorial Series Rings: 1993, 1995,1996, 2007 (losing finals in 2000)
Slick Fielder Award: 1994
All-Star: 1995,1998, 2005

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Kiplinger made his BBA debut in 1991, aged 21, for Chicago and was a solid performer good for mid-teen wins most years. He picked up Landis Series Rings in 1993, 1995 and 1996 with the dominant Black Sox. He continued to play for the Windy City until 1999 when at the age of 29 when after eight starts that year he moved on to the newly relocated Marquette Suns making 30 starts that year before the turn of the century saw him starting 2000 on a merry-go-round, after 18 more starts in Marquette he passed through Greenville long enough to make six starts before finishing the season in Des Moines with a losers medel in the Landis Memorial Series. Eight more seasons with the Kernels left him with a 93-71 record, a 3.42 ERA and over 1300 K’s. In his penultimate Des Moines season at the age of 38 he picked up his fourth LMS ring as the Kernels put paid to his brief employers, Greenville. 2009 saw him finish his career with 10 appearances back in Marquette before retiring in 2010. It wasn’t until 2031 that he was inducted to the Hall in 2031.
ALLEN IZATT
(AUSTIN RIVERBATS)
1992 - 2007

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256 – 165, 1 SV, 3.31 ERA, 3,692 K, 109.4 WAR
FL Steve Nebraska Golden Arm award: 1998, 1999
All-Star: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2008

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Izatt debuted for the Calgary Marauders in 1992 at the age of 20 and over the next five years he complied a steady 63-31 record including leading the Frick League in ERA in 1995 & 1996. After 10 starts in 1997 for Calgary Izatt was on his way to the Austin Riverbats. He won 17 out of 25 starts that year and the next year he led the FL with 22 wins and claimed his first Golden Arm Award. In 1999 the Austin Riverbats relocated, became the Marquette Suns but Izatt still led the FL with 24 wins and another Golden Arm Award. An 18-8 season as he reached 30 was virtually his last hurrah, 2003 & 2004 saw losing seasons and in 2005 he popped up in Louisville with a dreadful 5-12 season. He was back as a winner in Sluggers colours the next year but was inconsistent as he alternated between losing and wining seasons before he was packed off to the Carolina Kraken mid-2009 at 37. His final season in the BBA he split between Carolina and New Orleans, he went 5-4 in his 11 games for the Crawdads before hanging up his cleats. He was admitted to the Hall of Fame in 2012.
LARRY LASALLE
(BALTIMORE MONARCHS)
1994 - 2007

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194 - 109, 3.40 ERA, 2,413 K, 80.4 WAR
JL Steve Nebraska Golden Arm Awards: 1999, 2000, 2002
All-Star: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

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Lasalle spent virtually his entire career with the Baltimore organisation. He debuted as a September call-up in 1994 and went 2-2 from nine starts. A 14-9 season in 1995 was followed by his only losing season as a full-time member of the rotation. He played in a losing Landis Series in 1997 and was creeping closer to his first 20-win season. Almost getting there in 1999 he blew the last few starts to finish on 19 wins, he did have the consolation though of his first Steve Nebraska Award though. Finally, in 2000 Lasalle broke the 20-win mark with 23, led the JL in wins and captured his second Golden Arm. Into his thirties now he won 20 again in 2001 before only winning 18 the next year. That year he did led the JL in ERA (2.15) and WHIP (1.05) though and picked up the final Golden Arm Award of his three. In 2005, at the age of 35, he staged a revival and went on to win 19 games and appear in his second Landis Memorial Series. Unfortunately, it was to be his second losing one. 2006 saw him only start in17 of his 22 outings and post a 3-5 record with an ERA close to 6.00. He spent his final BBA year in Atlantic City, lost in different franchise he made nine starts in 20 outings, went 2-5 with an ERA over 7.00 and retired. He had nine 200+ strikeout seasons for the Monarchs and led the JL in WAR in 2002 & 2003. He wasn’t a popular ballot vote though and wasn’t inducted to the Hall until 2020.
JAY LEE
(AUSTIN RIVERBATS)
1994 - 2007

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259 - 135, 2.90 ERA, 3,631 K, 122.4 WAR
Owner’s Choice Rookie Award: 1994
JL Steve Nebraska Golden Arm Award: 1996, 1998, 2004
FL Steve Nebraska Golden Arm Award: 2001, 2002
All-Star: 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006

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Lee made his BBA debut aged 23 in 1994 posting a 9-6 record in 35 starts for Greenville, selected both to the All-Star game and voted JL Rookie of the Year. Over the next four years he started 136 games, posted four winning seasons, led the JL twice in strikeouts & only once struckout less then 250 batters while posting 22 wins in 1998. That was good enough to lead the JL in wins and picking up his second Golden Arm Award (1996 was his first) but in 1999 he had his first BBA losing season going 13-14. He opened 2000 with a 6-7 record from his first 17 starts and the Moonshiners shipped him off to Marquette at the age of 29. It revived his career and after finishing the year 10-5 for the Suns he went on to record a further four winning seasons, including two 20+ win seasons (both leading the FL in wins). He won two FL Golden Arms in this period to go with his two earlier JL Golden Arms as well as making his fifth, sixth and seventh All-Star outings. At the end of 2003 aged 32 he finished in Omaha, making three starts for the Barnstormers. Back once more in the JL he posted five more winning season, won his last Golden Arm in 2004, made two more All Star appearances, two more 20+ win seasons and was still churning out 200+ K’s a season as he approached mid-thirties. At 37 he split 2008 between Omaha and Carolina Kraken, and started to come out of the pen more regularly. His final BBA year was 2009 where he headed once more for Marquette. He posted a 3-5 record from 16 appearances, only 10 of which were starts. He was inducted to the Hall in 2013.
CHRISTOPHER STOLLER
(LAS VEGAS HUSTLERS)
1996 - 2007

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258 - 129, 3.24 ERA, 3,104K, 103.7 WAR
Landis Memorial Series Rings: 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 (lost in 2009)
FL Steve Nebraska Golden Arm Award: 2006, 2007, 2008
FL Yogi Zimmer Diamond Glove Award at P: 2010
All-Star: 2003 – 2008 (six straight)

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Stoller was a rare one club man, debuting for Las Vegas in 1996 at the age of 21. The next year he won 22 games and led the FL in wins. 1999 saw another 20-win season for the Hustlers before injury limited 2000 to just nine starts. He roared back though and only once in the next 10 years did he post a losing season, he had four 20+ win seasons in this time, led the FL in ERA three times, led in IP three times, led in WHIP three times and led in pitcher WAR five times. His silverware haul during these 10 years was five Landis Rings, three Golden Arms Awards, a Yogi Zimmer Glove and six invites to the All Star game. A truly dominant performance in a 10-year period, even in his one losing season he still won 12 games. In 2011, aged 36, and in his 16th BBA season he only made five starts, winning just one and called it a day on an explosive career. He had orchestrated the Hustlers most successful period and made it into the Hall of Fame in 2017
ROBBIE SARGENT
(VANCOUVER MOUNTIES)
1998 - 2016

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291 - 152, 3.34 ERA, 3,405 K, 99.8 WAR
Landis Memorial Rings: 1999, 2000 (lost in 2006 & 2008)
Johnson League Steve Nebraska Golden Arm Award: 2005, 2010
FL Yogi Zimmer Diamond Glove Award at P: 2009, 2012
All-Star: 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011

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“Silent Bob” made his debut for his only BBA team in 1998 and success came early. 1999 was his first 20-win season and also his first Landis ring as the Mounties overcame Buffalo. 2000 saw him add 18 wins and another Landis ring but then it was a story of just falling short of 20 wins the next few seasons before he reached that mark again in 2003. He helped Vancouver back to the Landis Memorial Series again in 2006 & 2008 but they lost both to Las Vegas. The years rolled on and he was consistently dominant, each year 30+ starts brought 18+ wins and only once before 2010 did he post double figure losses. As he entered the latter half of his thirties he started to tail off but overall he hit the 20-win plateau six times, started 34 times or more 11 times, twelve 200+ K seasons and five seasons of nine or more complete games. 2014, 2015 & 2016, his final three season in the BBA were his only losing seasons in his 19=year career. He was 39 in his final season and retired in 2016; he was inducted into the HOF on his first ballot in 2018.
DAVEY ACHESON
(LAS VEGAS HUSTLERS)
2000 - 2018

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248 - 141, 3.53 ERA, 3,199 K, 131 WAR
Landis Memorial Series Rings: 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 (lost in 2009)
EBA European Cup Ring: 2018
Frick League Steve Nebraska Gold Arm Award 2005
All-Star: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011,2012, 2013

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It was a solid debut for Acheson at 23 for the Hustlers and in his second BBA year he hit the 20-win mark, was six off 200 K’s and posted a 7.2 WAR. Over the next decade he was part of the dominant Las Vegas team that went to the Landis Series six times, winning five. Between his debut season and 2011 he posted eight seasons over 200 K’s as well as winning a handful of games shy of 200. Mid-2012 at the age of 35 he was moved on to Hawaii where he went 6-6 in 17 starts. The next four years he spent in Calgary where he posted a .500 record the first three years and at 39 in 2016 he finally turned in a winning record at 15-9. Las Vegas had him back for his 40th birthday year but he couldn’t reprise the glory years, going 7-8 in what turned out to be his final BBA year. He wasn’t completely done though, in 2018 at the age of 41 he finished his career over in the European Baseball Association playing for the Paris Patriots. Acheson only made 12 starts but he did pick up an EBA Championship Ring as Paris beat Belfast in the European Cup. That was his only year in the EBA and he retired in 2019 before being inducted to the BBA Hall of Fame in 2020
MANUEL "EYECHART" RAMIREZ
(NEW ORLEANS CCRAWDADS)
2018 - 2035

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Active Career: 2018-2035 (18 seasons)
245-130, 3.29 ERA, 3381 K, 85.2 WAR
Landis Champion: 2019
2022 Nebraska Award
6-Time All-Star

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Mainstay of the New Orleans Crawdads in the meat of their most glorious run of post season appearances. His teams won their division 5 times in his 11 Crawdad seasons, and was second 5 more. In addition to winning the Nebraska once, he was in the top three in voting two additional times. Finished his career with successful stints in Long Beach, Vancouver, and Jacksonville. Inducted in 2036.
Michael 'Boy Scout' Strathallan
(MARQUETTE)
2005 - 2020

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178-132, 3.40 ERA, 2,408 K, 1.19 WHIP, 3.22 FIP, 83.3 WAR
Nebraska Winner: 2010, 2011, 2012
Gillstrom Newcommer of the Year: 2006
All-Star: 6 Times

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Strathallan was one of the most dominating pitchers in the league for several years, including a three-season span in which he owned the Nebraska. He Lead his league in ERA three times, in wins once (winning 20+ games in four straight seasons. After being pretty heavily used, injuries brought his career to a somewhat abrupt cliff event at age 30, and by age 34 he was done. It's enough tom leave one wondering what could have been.
Tom 'Hermit' Madonald
(CHICAGO)
2005 - 2021

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212-120, 3.65 ERA, 2,718 K, 1.26 WHIP, 3.40 FIP, 82.3 WAR
Nebraska Winner: 2012, 2015
All-Star: 6 Times

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McDonald broke in as a reliever with chicago, but within two years was a fixture in the rotation. He led the legue in wins three seasons, including 21 in his Nebraska wining 2015. It's noted that in addition to winning the Nebraska twice, he was second in the voting two other times. He was a unique pitcher in that he dominated with a clircle hange and a slider--very junkballer rather than someone who got by on power...but whose strikeout to walk ratio was above three. Very sneaky-good.
Bryan 'Missing Link' Walden
(LOUISVILLE)
2013 - 2025

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176-139, 3.66 ERA, 2,538 K, 1.17 WHIP, 3.53 FIP, 62.0 WAR
Nebraska Winner: 2018, 2019
All-Star: 5 Times

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Given the length of his career, Walden might be considered a bit controversial, but he won a pair of Nebraskas and was a runner up on two more. As a hard-throwing lefty, he was 200+K guy for an entire decade, and from 2014-2023, never threw under 229 innings. One of the mainstays for the Louisville franchise, but he hit an absolute cliff event at age 33, and by 35 he was out of baseball. He's a solid Hall of Famer, but dreamers can look at him and wonder how good some of those numbers could be if he'd gotten those extra three or four seasons.
Gabriel Campos
(CALIFORNIA)
2011 - 2026

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211-177, 3.38 ERA, 2,659 K, 1.12 WHIP, 3.34 FIP, 81.1 WAR
Nebraska Winner: 2020
Zimmer Diamond Glove Award: 2023
All-Star: 4 Times

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A control specialist of the highest order, Campos was a mainstay of the California organization for nearly a decade. He lead the league in BB/9 five times, and was in the top 5 two others. He was also a durable workhorse, throwing over 200 innings thirteen straight years (and oftern tossing more than 250). He led the league in complete games six times (and shut-outs four times). Ultimately, Campos was the definition of reliable.
Mike Swanson
(BUFFALO)
2014 - 2026

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183-100, 2.88 ERA, 2,787 K, 1.69 WHIP, 2.80 FIP, 87.41 WAR
Nebraska Winner: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019
Gillstrom Newcomer of the Year: 2014
All-Star: 10 Times

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Swanson was a hard-throwing right-hander with a sinker that sinked and a slider that slid. He dominated hitters while leading the league in strikeouts five times and ERA four times. To get a feel for how dominant dominant can be, realize that from 2014-2012, Mike Swanson llead the league in pitcher WAR every season but one. His career was shortened by injury, however, and he left the league to play in Europe at age 34.
Perry Eccles
(CALGARY)
2008 - 2025

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228-191, 3.93 ERA, 2,816 K, 1.28 WHIP, 3.82 FIP, 66.2 WAR
Landis Memorial Series Champion: 2021, 2024
Zimmer Diamondn Glove Award: 2022
All-Star: 4 Times

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Las Vegas or Calgary, you can make anargument either way. Eccles broke in with the Hustlers and had seven solid seasons before moving on to Montreal and then the Pioneers. He hit hs stride as a junkballer extraordinaire at age 30, however, posting several outstanding seasons and helping the Pioneers to one Landis championship before sliding over to California to enjoy another.

Eccles was never really brilliant in the way some other guys are. He never dominated a category. Never blew away hitters. What he was, however, was consistently very hard to hit, highly durable, and always tricksie.
Manny Bautista
(LAS VEGAS)
2017 - 2031

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192-100, 3.27 ERA, 2,134 K, 1.15 WHIP, 3.36 FIP, 62.5 WAR
Landis Memorial Series Champion: 2025
Zimmer Diamondn Glove Award: 2028
All-Star: 6 Times

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While Bautista was never handed a Nebraska award, he was in the top three on five occasions. He terrorized befuddled hitters with a hard speedball, and one of the best changeups in the league. While he was a force for most of his career, the highlight was a 5-season span from 2019-2023 during which his ERA never got higher than 2.87.
Steve Hoffman
(OMAHA)
2011 - 2029

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184-132, 3.48 ERA, 2,547 K, 1.24 WHIP, 3.46 FIP, 68.0 WAR
Nebraska Award: 2017
Gillstrom Newcomer Award: 2013
All-Star: 5 Times

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Hoffman's nickname was "Horse," and it fit. The man threw innings. 253 of them in Omaha one year. 219 as a 36-year-old in Valencia another. Finished with almost 3,000 when it was said and done. Hoffman struck out a lot of hitters in those innings, but he did it with guile more than power. Add in the fact that he strung a set of sub-3.00 ERAs together, and was the central figure in one of the more legendary trades in league history, and you've got one great inductee.
Billy Chapel, Jr.
(CAROLINA)
2017 - 2034

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251-148, 3.50 ERA, 3,728 K, 1.22 WHIP, 3.13 FIP, 97.0 WAR
Landis Memorial Champion: 2031
Nebraska Award: 2020, 2023, 2024
Comeback Player of the Year: 2029
All-Star: 10 Times

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At his prime, the man could throw the speedball by ya right as rain. As an older guy he'd just make you look silly up there. Billy Chaple, Jr. was flat-out, one of the handful of greatest pitchers of all-time, a star of stars with Carolina before moving on to Jacksonville and winning a Landis with a gutty performance that threw back to the brilliance of his youth.
Gary Estes
(LAS VEGAS)
2017 - 2035

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240-127, 3.58 ERA, 2,935 K, 1.15 WHIP, 3.56 FIP, 70.6 WAR
Landis Memorial Champion: 2027
Nebraska Award: 2018
All-Star: 6 Times

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Let's see, a lefty with a blistering fastball, that big, arcing curve, and a change that left hitters frozen in place. Yeah. that's about right. One of the marquee guys of his age. Estes anchored the Hustler rotation for most of his career, and, while he led the league in any one category only rarely, was always in the upper regions of them all. Considered a gritty competitor, Estes hated to lose. The guy could do it all.
Mingo Boone
(ATLANTIC CITY)
2016 - 2034

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239-156, 3.58 ERA, 2,865 K, 1.19 WHIP, 3.61 FIP, 73.2 WAR
Landis Memorial Champion: 2022
Nebraska Award: 2021
Comeback Player of the Year: 2030
All-Star: 5 Times

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Boone broke in with Yellow Springs and made a big enough splash that he nearly took the Gillstrom Award home, but hit the jackpot and became a champion in Atlantic City. At 5'11" he didn't look as overpowering as he was, but he wielded a fastball/curve/slider repertoire that caught the corners and stayed in the park. 2,865 strikeouts ain't bad. He was also considered a consummate teammate, and eventually went on to become a coach.
Nelson Ramirez
(SAN ANTONIO)
2020 - 2034

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175-139, 3.40 ERA, 2,909 K, 1.01 WHIP, 3.39 FIP, 68.8 WAR
Nebraska Award: 2025, 2026, 2029
All-Star: 4 Times

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His nickname was "Slider" for a reason. Nelson Ramirez was a guy who could throw the whole kitchen sink at you, and still hold another wrinkle back. He could make a ball dance, yes he could. At his peak, he dominated hitters in ways very few could, taking home Nebraska hardware three times and putting up numbers that would be eye-popping in a normal park, but in the Bombers bandbox were like acts of God. To get a walk from him was like finding a drop of rain in the desert (he lead the league in BB/9 nine times, including a remarkable 6-season string. An injury at age 33 cost him a season, however, and he was done with baseball by 35. He belongs here based on what he did, but tack those lost years onto the end of his career, and you'd have a guy that might stack up with the greatest of the greats.
Ricardo Diaz
(CALIFORNIA)
2019 - 2038

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243-170, 3.18, 4,056 K, 1.07 WHIP, 88.9 WAR
Landis Memorial Winner 2024, 2035
Nebraska Winner: 2022, 2023, 2025, 2027
10-Time All-Star

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From the 2039 Media Guide: Ted Schmidt

Ricardo Diaz retired at the end of the 2038 season, marking the end of an era. He spent his entire career with the Crusaders. Ricardo was a key cog in the 2024 Crusaders title, and found a way to contribute as a cagey vet during the 2035 title. Diaz famously pulled a miracle out of whatever orifice he keeps his miracles in against Calgary in the 2035 Cartwright round. The stuff of legends.

As a send-off, Diaz got the start on the last day of the 2038 season. For Diaz it was the first game he pitched all year, a 3.2 inning, 5 hit, 1 run, 2 K effort.

Speaking of strikeouts ... Ladies and gentleman, Ricardo Diaz! Your All-Time strikeout leader (non Steve Nebraska division). 4056. The only non-created player to reach 4000. Lead the league in strikeouts for 8 straight seasons. Four-time Steve Nebraska Award winner. Ten time All-Star. Eighth all time in innings pitched. The game has changed. Pitchers don't stay as healthy or throw as many innings anymore. This was even changing by the time Diaz started his career. The most recent pitcher to throw more innings than Diaz had his career end three years before Diaz's started. Diaz's durability was the stuff of legends. He took the mound for his turn a record 515 times in a row. At his peak, he was utterly unhittable. During a six-year run from 2021 to 2026, he never allowed an OPS above .593. Three of those years he kept the LEAGUE below the Mendoza line for batting average. The others he allowed .201, .205, and .204. He was a quality start machine, leading the league 8 times. He led the league in WHIP 8 times. He struck out 200 and threw 200 innings fourteen straight season. For the first eleven of those seasons, he crushed those marks, averaging 230 innings and 260 k's.

I'm sorry if you're tired of hearing about him (sorry Fred, I truly am), but he's the best player I've had, and likely that I will ever have. This combination of talent, durability and longevity will never come my way again. Thanks for the memories, Ricardo.
Enrique Gomez
(Omaha/Mexico City)
2022 - 2038

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Player Page

242-133, 3.26 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 3.24 FIP, 88.7 WAR
Landis Winner: 2036, 2037
Steve Nebraska Award: 2026, 2028, 2036
8-Time All-Star

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From the 2039 Media Guide: Fred Holmes

Enrique 'Pep' Gomez arrived in the BBA as the #1 overall pick in the 2021 entry draft by the then Omaha Barnstormers. His selection was accompanied by some debate at the time, as there were a number of people around the league who were of the mind that the Barnstormers should have selected Mike Davis, who went #2 overall to Des Moines, instead. It didn't take Enrique long to prove that Barnstormer management's faith was well placed. After being drafted he was sent immediately to AAA, spending a year there developing and being made ready for big league service. He was Omaha's 2022 opening day starter. He worked through some growing pains his rookie year, posting a 11-12 record for a bad Barnstormer team and having some trouble keeping the ball in the park. Those growing pains would be well worth it, however, as Gomez announced his arrival amongst the league's elite in 2023, posting a 1.97 ERA, winning his first ERA crown and finishing 2nd in Nebraska voting for the first time.

2023 would serve as Gomez's springboard to BBA dominance. Over the next 9 seasons in Omaha, Gomez would collect 2 Nebraska awards, win 2 ERA crowns, lead the league in pitcher WAR and wins once each, and appear in a Landis Memorial Series.

Despite Gomez's dominance of the late 2020s and early 2030s, the Barnstormers could never make it over the hump and in 2032, Enrique was traded to Madison as part of a rebuilding move. Changing the uniform did not change the player, however. Gomez was spectacular in a season and a half in Madison, posting 7 WAR in 2033 before famously spurning an extension offer from the Wolves and becoming a free agent for the first time in his career.

After spending the winter of 2033-34 sifting through contract offers from multiple teams, Gomez agreed to terms and signed on with the up and coming Rockville Pikemen. In Rockville, Gomez would become a member of one of the most fearsome pitching triumvirates in league history and would find new peaks of individual and team success.

His first season in Maryland, Gomez won the ERA crown. His second season, he led the league in wins. In his third season with the Pikemen, at 36 years of age, he earned his third Nebraska award, leading the league in ERA and WAR, and finally made it to the top of the mountain and won a Landis memorial trophy. 2037 was another effective year in Rockville and the Pikemen repeated as champions but by the end of the season it was apparent that even Enrique Gomez was beginning to lose the battle with Father Time. After the 2037 season, Rockville bought out the remainder of Gomez's contract and he was again a free agent. Amazingly, Gomez's second foray into free agency was shorter than the first as the Madison Wolves, perhaps trying to right a 5 year old wrong, signed him on the first day when the market opened. His second stint in Madison would be a trying one, as Gomez, now 38, was battling slipping velocity and Madison was outclassed in the FL Heartland. After statistically the worst season of his career, Gomez opted out of the remainder of his contract with the Wolves and retired.
Amen Mitriani
(Buffalo/San Fernando)
1995 - 2009

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Player Page

215-138, 3.42 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 3.39 FIP, 89 WAR
Zimmer Diamond Glove WInner
2-Time All-Star

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Mitriani spent his entire career with the Buffalo Bisons, breaking in as a 23-year-old in the reboot year of 1995, and pitching until he was 37. At his peak, he was a consistent 20+ game winner who took the ball every four-to-five days and got the job done. Led the league in IP six times, strike outs four times, and Wins and SHIP twice each.

GM: Bikini Krill
Nothing Matters But the Pacific Pennant
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