Season 111 Hall of Fame Class!! (Pt 1, Position Players)

The Franchise Ball Hall of Fame Committee has convened this season to select its Season 111 Class. This time around, there were more than a handful of qualified candidates. In fact, so robust was the class of candidates for the Hall, that committee members were sent separate ballots for position players and pitchers. On behalf of the Hall of Fame Committee, I am proud to present to you part one of the the Season 111 Franchise Ball Hall of Fame Class!

Honor Abrego - Catcher - Seasons 90-109

A unanimous inductee - one of TWO such legends of the game, Honor Abrego was the face of the Eugene Spitters for more than a decade. In 12 seasons in Oregon he never hit under .310 and showed every bit of his quality from his first day on the Spitters until his last. In fact, his two best seasons with the club were his first and final seasons, in which he batted .391 at the age of 22 and then .378 at the age of 33. A World Series winner in Season 96, he went 5-for-21 with a homer against the Flying Squirrels. As a finalist in Season 98, the only mark against his record was his failure to record a hit in 10ABs as his Spitters fell to a series sweep against the Yonkers Renegades. His abilities were on display during stints with the Marvols and Eagles as well, as he racked up a .300 average in 14 of his 15 full seasons.

The switch-hitting backstop clubbed 261 homers in his career, to pair with 183 double and 94 triples, putting him on the cusp of joining the Centurions. 739 career RBI and an unfathomable .341 career batting average sees him rival Ty Cobb (.366) Ted Williams (.344) as among the very best to hit a round ball with a round bat. Honor Abrego: first-ballot selection, unanimous selection, El Duque.


Trace Schuster - Third Base - Seasons 90-108

If Honor Abrego was the face of the Eugene Spitters during his time there, then Trace Schuster was their heart and soul. A career Spitter, the Oregon native was snapped up at the age of 20 by his hometome ballclub and made his debut in season 91 at the age of 21. That rookie season, he hit an impressive .323 with 26 homers and 59 RBI. That season set the tone for a level of excellence he would showcase throughout his career. A World Series title in season 92 was followed by the arrival of Abrego and further glory in 96, although the trio of championships was denied Schuster in Season 98.

Abrego was perhaps the more consistent hitter of the pair, but Schuster was the more explosive. On three occasions he batted over .380, and he had 8 seasons with 20 or more home runs, tallying 281 across his career. His career batting average of .341 places him in a dead tie with Abrego, though this would likely have been higher had age and injury not caused a steep decline in his final seasons. Nearly 200 career hits, 778 RBI and a career slugging percentage of .659 see Schuster join the hall at his first chance of asking, where he'll line up next to Abrego as brothers in arms. Trace Schuster: explosive, excellent, exceptional.


Armando Block - Shortstop - Seasons 92-110

Our SECOND unanimous selection! Armando Block hit safely on 1101 occasions in his career. That's a great tally by any estimation. It's an even greater one when you consider that it wasn't until the age of 25 that he ever swung a bat in the big leagues. Snapped up by the keen eyes in the scouting department of the San Diego Bombers' front office, he immediately impressed with a 100-hit season as a rookie, to go along with 24 homers and 59 RBI. Back-to-back world titles in Seasons 100 and 101 coincided with Block's two best seasons in his career - across those two seasons he combined for 234 hits, 158 RBI and an astonishing 65 homers.

Like a blue supergiant star, Block burned brightly and not for long. By season 106 he was on the Bombers bench, and he spent limited time with the Tacoma Storm and Tampa Bay Thunderbirds in the twilight of his career. Cumulative stats of 1101 hits, 285 homers, and a career slugging percentage of .685 across a career which objectively spanned only 11 seasons, are a glimpse at the singular class of Armando Block, and the reason why the committee gave him the unanimous nod into the Hall. Armando Block: generational talent, shining star, immortal legend.


Rohan Stoddard - Shortstop - Seasons 89-109

Before the St. Johns Deadly Sins were the double world champions and undefeated regular season behemoths of today, they were up-and-coming challengers looking to break through to that higher level. The man they counted on to get them there? Rohan Stoddard.

Stoddard, a tall, sure-gloved shortstop with pop enough for 341 career homers, got his big-league break with the Chicago Ohawks at the age of 19 in season 89. After two seasons in the windy city, he was snapped up by St. Johns, and took to Newfoundland like a seal to the North Atlantic. Casually hitting over .400 in each of his first two seasons in with the Deadly Sins, he put on an exhibition of contact, power and glove that made him a staple of the Deadly Sins' offense and a key to the empire-building process which has them at their peak now.

In 13 of his first 14 seasons, Stoddard batted over .320, reaching the .400 mark on three occasions. He managed at least 15 homers in 12 consecutive seasons, including a season with 31 round-trippers. 1378 career hits and 889 career RBI are among the very best of all time, and his career .342 batting average would surely have been over .350 had his numbers not tapered off later in his career during spells at San Diego and St. Louis with the aforementioned Bombers and the Birds on a Bat.

Rohan Stoddard never stole a base in his entire career. He never needed to. With 614 extra base hits, he could put himself in scoring position by simply walking to the batter's box. He embodied the tenacity and pure qualities that go into a legendary baseball player. And while he wasn't part of the Deadly Sins' first World Series title in Season 108, he was appointed third base coach by the club after his retirement at the end of season 110. What did they do in season 111? They went 60-0 and captured a World Series title. Rohan Stoddard got his ring at last, and now he takes his place in the hall. Rohan Stoddard: sultan of smack, shortstop extraordinaire, stud.


Hidalgo Rivera Outfield - Seasons 93-110

This year's lone Centurion is also the final position player selected to the Hall. Hidalgo Rivera was a player who possessed a combination of tools not commonly seen since the heyday of baseball. A contact hitter who could still clear the yard, a speedster of the highest order, a fielder with versatility to play all three outfield positions in his career, Hidalgo Rivera was a quiet, unassuming player who never did anything to a perceived level of excellence.

Except stealing bases. In an 18-year career, he amassed 17 seasons with 30 or more swipes, for a grand total of 721. Early power in his career with 5 20-homer seasons in his first 6 years in the big leagues, faded as he aged and he ended with a respectable total of 267. 264 doubles and an incredible 107 triples saw Rivera earn the title of Centurion at the age of 38. A late-career slump dropped his career average just below .300 with a career slugging percentage just south of .560.

How does a player with those relatively average numbers make his way to the Hall of Fame? 1449 career hits. 743 RBI, on par with all the other inductees. A World Series ring in Season 98 against the Eugene Spitters in which he went 5-for-16 with 2 homers and 4 RBI in a 3-game sweep. 50+ RBI on 5 occasions, from the leadoff spot no less. 100+ hits in seasons 97 and 98.

He didn't do it with the power of Stoddard, or the back-to-back rings of Block, or the average of Abrego and Schuster. In this Hall of Fame class, Rivera stands out as the "everyman." He didn't possess the generational class of the other inductees. He was a player who, by pure drive and quiet application of his efforts, achieved a combination of statistics fewer than a dozen known players have ever achieved: 100 doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases - the four pillars of the Centurion.

Does he make anybody's All-Time team? No. Was he ever an All-Star during his playing days? No. Is he one of the very best to ever play the game? Absolutely. Hidalgo Rivera: working-class hero. Lightning in his feet. Centurion.


That does it for the Season 111 Hall of Fame Class for position players. Check back Friday for the pitching inductees!