Duane Whitley was a long time star for the Montreal Blazers. His career started by winning the Gillstrom Award in 2001, and continued greatness followed. He went to thirteen All-Star Games, and won the Frick League Silk Award four times (2002, 2012, 2013, 2014) including a three-peat from 2012-14. Whitley ended his career With New Orleans (2016) and Halifax (2017) and retired as one of the All-Time Greats. His 3217 hits are ninth on the All-Time boards, and his 1845 RBI rank sixth All-Time.
Dexter Sheehan was the straw that stirred Birmingham's drink from 2003-2017. One of the best catchers in our league's history, Sheehan was an eight time All-Star, and won the Silk Award in 2008. He also was fantastic behind the plate, winning a Zimmer Award twice in his career. He ended his career with a .310 lifetime average and 425 homers.
Davey Acheson was one of the best right-handed starters in his era. He pitched for Las Vegas (2000-2012), Hawaii (2012) and Calgary (2013-2016) before ending his career where is started back in Las Vegas (2017). Acheson's 248 career wins place him eighth on the All-Time list. He was an eleven time All-Star and winner of the Nebraska Award in 2005.
There may never be a finer relief pitcher in our league than was Jason Egan. Vancouver made him the third overall pick in 1997, and he made it to the show in September of that year giving a tantalizing taste of what was to come. Over his 21 year career, all with the Mounties, Egan set the standard for a reliever. His 753 career saves are not only the All-Time Record for the MBBA, but to put his dominance in context, they rank 168 higher than the second total on that list. Incredible. The discussion may now begin to rename the Gunga Award in his honor, he won an incredible nine of them during his career, along with an unprecendented 2007 Nebraska Award (never before been won by a reliever). He was an All-Star an amazing 15 times during his brilliant career.
Larry Lasalle was one of the better pitchers in the league during a brilliant run for the Baltimore Monarchs (now Brooklyn) franchise. It took him a while to get elected, and it was indeed the final vote of this years polling that put him over the top. He was 194-109 in his career, ranking only 38th on the All-Time Wins list, but it was his three Nebraska Awards (1999, 2000, 2002) that put this four time All-Star into the rankings of the All-Time Greats. He finished his career with Atlantic City in 2007 but will go in as possibly the last Monarch to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Full Voting Results (75% needed for election):
Name Votes % of Votes Cast % of Possible Votes
Duane Whitley 23 95.83 95.83
Dexter Sheehan 22 91.67 91.67
Davey Acheson 21 87.50 87.50
Jason Egan 19 79.17 79.17
Larry Lasalle 18 75.00 75.00
Jake Urban 14 58.33 58.33
Niguel Halime 13 54.17 54.17
Armando Santos 13 54.17 54.17
Jim Wilson 12 50.00 50.00
Tipper Kengos 12 50.00 50.00
Lance Pere 12 50.00 50.00
Shane Wookey 11 45.83 45.83
Jeff Kiplinger 11 45.83 45.83
Donald Noboru 11 45.83 45.83
Paul Hogan 10 41.67 41.67
Bernard Maselli 9 37.50 37.50
Amen Mitrani 8 33.33 33.33
Jessie Wright 8 33.33 33.33
Sammy Bodeen 7 29.17 29.17
Hurley Reyes 7 29.17 29.17
David Crocker 7 29.17 29.17
Resurrection Santos 6 25.00 25.00
Benjamin Rivero 6 25.00 25.00
Jim Schmidt 6 25.00 25.00
McKinley Washington 6 25.00 25.00
Richard Wasson 5 20.83 20.83
Ashton Fontenot 5 20.83 20.83
Russell Vanness 4 16.67 16.67
Pedro Berrios 4 16.67 16.67
Chris Malone 4 16.67 16.67
Justin Marco 4 16.67 16.67
Kenji Masaki 4 16.67 16.67
David Klopp 3 12.50 12.50
Roark Dempsey 3 12.50 12.50
Tobias Kelly 3 12.50 12.50
Ted Dever 3 12.50 12.50
Christopher Terry 3 12.50 12.50
Vicente Vasquez 3 12.50 12.50
Steve Faulkner 3 12.50 12.50
Juan Quintero 3 12.50 12.50
Brett Caves 3 12.50 12.50
Devon Hyngary 3 12.50 12.50
Dash Kelly 3 12.50 12.50
Bill Burkholder 2 8.33 8.33
Jacinto Merino Jr. 2 8.33 8.33
Darius Campbell Jr. 2 8.33 8.33
Ramon Ayala 2 8.33 8.33
George Bellairs 2 8.33 8.33
Brock Lee 2 8.33 8.33
John Rasmussen 2 8.33 8.33
Jeremy Finch 2 8.33 8.33
Rafael Avila 2 8.33 8.33
Neil McKinney 2 8.33 8.33
John Neely 2 8.33 8.33
Norris Morgan 1 4.17 4.17
Robert Walton 1 4.17 4.17
Robert Jowers 1 4.17 4.17
Robert Harrell 1 4.17 4.17
Art Messer 1 4.17 4.17
Kanzaburo Yamaguchi 1 4.17 4.17
Hector Fernandez 1 4.17 4.17
Mark Bruner 1 4.17 4.17
Rex Bell 1 4.17 4.17
Matt Brunson 1 4.17 4.17
Gustavo Maldonado 1 4.17 4.17
Lee Dedeaux 1 4.17 4.17
Jason Wortman 1 4.17 4.17
Eric Rouse 1 4.17 4.17
