Hall of Fame!

Prospero Miramontes, C

Career: Season 80-Season 100
Teams: Orange Yetis (83-84), Baltimore Orioles (85-86), San Diego Bombers (87-100)
Stats: 4055 AB, 1339 H (.330 AVG), 236 2B, 47 3B, 309 HR, 816 RBI, 51 SB, .640 SLG
Accolades: 2x All Star (91, 95), 3x World Champion (91-92, 100)

After being a 20-10 man for a dead team and a bench player in Baltimore, Miramontes found a home in San Diego, where he stayed for 14 whole seasons. During that time, he hit his prime, and hit over .300 11 times from 87-98 while hitting 15 or more homers every season. He was never the most flashy player, but he provided some excellent pop on 3 World Champion teams.

Hernando Coronado, 1B

Career: Season 85-Season 100
Teams: Spokane Warriors (86-88), Cincinnati Reds (87-100)
Stats: 3456 AB, 1227 H (.355 AVG), 188 2B, 26 3B, 317 HR, 814 RBI, 352 SB, .700 SLG
Accolades: 4x All Star (94-97)

Coronado was good-but-great from 86-89, and from 90-97, he had perhaps the greatest 8-season tear we’ll ever see in Franchise Ball. His lowest batting average was .363, and he was at least 20/20 in 6 seasons of the 8, including a 42 HR/42 SB Season 94 campaign. Those insane numbers gave him the flashiest stats and awards case of anyone who made it in the Hall this year, and helped him join the rare 300/350 club, not to mention hitting over .350 and slugging over .700 on his career.

Ignazio Torrez, CF

Career: Season 84-Season 100
Teams: Cambridge Longballs (84), Oakland ObZen (85), Peoria Destroyers (86-87), Knoxville Smokies (88), Victoria BC Batallion (89), San Diego Giants (90-100)
Stats: 4337 AB, 1453 H (.335 AVG), 207 2B, 90 3B, 341 HR, 844 RBI, 51 SB, .660 SLG
Accolades: All Star (92)

Torrez was by far the most consistent player of this bunch of players, hitting over .300 15 seasons in a row despite making only 1 All Star team. After bouncing around some of the best teams for 6 years, Torrez found a home in San Diego and didn’t leave. He never won any awards, but he was a rock in San Diego’s lineup for about a decade.

Videl Aguilar, RF

Career: Season 80-Season 99
Teams: Mount Vernon Boxers (82-99)
Stats: 4349 AB, 1373 H (.316 AVG), 232 2B, 71 3B, 279 HR, 777 RBI, 9 SB, .594 SLG

Aguilar is a weird case. He wasn’t as consistent as Torrez, but he didn’t have any clearly defined prime years like Coronado. He just kinda got to the ball park, got a hit or 2, and did the same thing the next game. Decisively a borderline HOFer, but the career Boxer is in the Hall nonetheless.

Kale Bolton, SS, Year 2

Career: Season 33-Season 52
Teams: Oakland Athletics (33-35), Baltimore Orioles (36-44, 46-52), Virginia Beach jimmies (45)
Stats: 3896 AB, 1240 H (.318 AVG), 179 2B, 71 3B, 320 HR, 774 RBI, 135 SB, .647 SLG

Bolton, a player I didn’t see who played many seasons ago, needed a change of scenery from the Atheletics, and after 3 seasons, he got his wish, moving to Baltimore, where he was a stud after a tough first 3 seasons. From 39-51, he hit over .300 in all but one of those seasons while also smashing 20+ homers 7 times and stealing more than 10 bases 7 times as well. In an era where players changed hands frequently, Bolton was a stalwart in the Orioles batting order.

Jermaine Zarate, CF

Career: Season 56-Season 75
Teams: Kansas City Monarchs (56-57), Toronto Smoke Eaters (58-61), Seattle Marvols (62-63), Madison Annanuki Reds (64-68), Chicago Dolphins (69), New Orleans Rusty Tollers (70-74), Baltimore Orioles (75)
Stats: 4383 AB, 1302 H (.297 AVG), 179 2B, 87 3B, 305 HR, 728 RBI, 355 SB, .586 SLG
Accolades: World Champion (61)

Zarate was quite the traveler, playing for 7 teams in his 20-year career, however, unlike most journeymen, he was quite good. After moving away from the not-so-stories Kansas City Monarchs, he burst on to the scene as a 21-year old for the Smoke Eaters, hitting .336 with 24 HRs and 26 SBs. Though he wasn’t quite as good in his other 3 seasons with the club, he came up extremely clutch in his final season, 61. In Game 1 of that year’s World Series, he got the scoring action started with a solo homer, and in the deciding Game 2, he went 3-5 with another homer and 4 RBIs to help power the team to an epic 6-5 walk off win. Though he never won another championship, he played amazing until 64, when he finally fell off and did poorly, he still managed to make the 300/350 club that year.

Dallas Boling, P

Career: Season 82-Season 100
Teams: Victoria BC Batallion (83), San Diego Giants (84, 92-94), Indianapolis WolfPack (85-86), Yonkers River Rats (87-91), Vancouver Terrace Rage (95-98), Cincinnati Reds (99)
Pitching Stats: 103-39, 12 SV, 1438 IP, 626 ER, 1339 K, 303 BB, 3.92 ERA, 1.128 WHIP
Hitting Stats: 45 AB, 8 H (.178 AVG), 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .444 SLG

Boling was often on the move early in his career, playing on 4 teams in 5 seasons. However, once he got to the River Rats, he started having longer stints with teams once he arrived at Yonkers, where he enjoyed his prime years, going 42-12 with a legit 3.22 ERA. He was never quite the same after he joined San Diego, but he did just enough to keep his ERA below 4.

Oro Cortes, P

Career: Season 83-Season 100
Teams: Hollywood Hollies (84-85), Oakland ObZen (86-91), Honolulu Shimakaze (92-93), Boston Red Sox 1 (94-100)
Pitching Stats: 111-39, 2 SV, 1368 IP, 578 ER, 1197 K, 124 BB, 3.77 ERA, 0.985 WHIP
Hitting Stats: 230 AB, 36 H (.157 AVG), 4 2B, 9 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB, .335 SLG

Cortes is best known for being one of the best pitchers in ObZen history, where he won 45 of his 11 games, but he also experienced a later-career resurgence pitching for the Boston Red Sox 1, where he got all of his at bats. He was extremely good, and while he had 2 off seasons in his prime years, he never really peaked but rather plateaued from age 23 to age 36, an exceptionally long and steady prime. He provided lots of innings and lots of outs year after year, and I imagine that all the teams that had him were appreciative of his ability to just work, work, and work some more.

Gael Huynh, P, Year 2

Career: Season 78-Season 98
Teams: Anchorage polarbears (80-98)
Pitching Stats: 126-63, 1797 IP, 712 ER, 1164 K, 147 BB, 3.57 ERA, 0.986 WHIP

Huynh was a miracle of sorts, spending all 19 seasons of playing with Anchorage, something seldom seen by a team not named the Mount Vernon Boxers. He seemed to have amazing stamina, pitching nearly 1,800 innings in his career but also recording only 2 seasons of 4+ ERAs in his first 15 seasons, which was his prime years. And even at 38, in season 97, he managed to use his old tricks to go 7-3 with a 3.62 ERA and bring Anchorage their 16th division title, and in his final season, while “only” going 6-4 with a 4.81 ERA, he helped the polarbears to their most recent league title.

Rueben Hickman, P

Career: Season 82-Season 99
Teams: Dustinmem (82), Houston Ryan Express (83), St. Petersburg Grozovoi (84-87), Edmonton Robins (88), Peroia Destroyers (89), San Diego Giants (90-95), New York Mets (96-97), Pittsburgh Mavericks (98-99)
Pitching Stats: 124-52, 4 SV, 1491 IP, 609 ER, 1437 K, 271 BB, 3.68 ERA, 1.063 WHIP
Hitting Stats: 252 AB, 35 H (.139 AVG), 6 2B, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 10 SB, .179 SLG

Hickman was a very well traveled player, spending no more than 4 season on every team he played for except for the San Diego Giants. After 2 seasons of having a 4.00 ERA exactly, Hickman broke out in 84 and kept it up until 94. During that time, he went 101-33 with only 1 4+ ERA season across 4 teams. With the Hellhounds in 98, he briefly recaptured his greatness (4-0, 2 ER, 13 IP) but it didn’t last, and he retired after a 9.00 ERA campaign. However, he did what he had to do to get in to the Hall and he got into the Hall.

GET ANOTHER TRY
Jerrald Banda, 2B
Anbessa Corrales, 3B
Eddie Macias, P
Adrian Collins, P
Alec Noonan, 3B, Year 2
Videl Ballesteros, 1B, Year 2
Dale O’Bryan, C
Destin Findley, 2B
Kenny McAlister, RF
Coby Valenzuela, 2B
Dario Rangel, 1B
Sergio Hardwick, CF
Layton Pittman, SS

ELIMINATED FROM BALLOT
Houston Popp, 3B/2B, Year 2
Blaine Bellamy, P, Year 2
Cuarto Curiel, SS, Year 2
Geraldo Almaraz, P, Year 2
Tyrese Howland, RF, Year 2
Alexandre McGrew, 2B

Sorry for the lateness, I tried writing this not on Notes but I closed the article writing tab so I had to start over. I will get the Awards History spreadsheet updated ASAP. And remember to take the All Star ballot for hitters, made by my homie the Tacoma Storm!