Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.

[Coop]

The Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame has now been established.  The intention is to inaugurate one (and only one) new member every November.

[Coop]

The first player inducted into the Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame is:

SERHAT KARPAT

Karpat pitched in the WBA from 2100 through 2116.  He was with the Black Forest organization from 2100 through 2107.  He led the league in ERA four times and in pitchers' WAR five times.  His overall record was 209 wins, 131 losses.  His career ERA was 2.94.  The Sarge, as he was known in the Black Forest clubhouse (after having played the role of a combat sergeant in a Hollywood movie), was at the time of his retirement acclaimed as the greatest pitcher in Black Forest history.  He wore jersey number 12, which has been permanently retired.

[Echo127]

"The Sarge", huh? His given nickname not good enough for you? :-)

Also, you need to claim Hashimoto before Clap does.

[Huckleberry]

Nice. Kerpat was a beast. And I understand not wanting to call him Con-man. Hahaha.

[APMP]

Is he good enough to make any other franchise HOFs?
 I ask because he was only in Mumbai five years, but he was solid except the BS injury year.

[claphamsa]

"The Sarge", huh? His given nickname not good enough for you? :-)

Also, you need to claim Hashimoto before Clap does.

<3 hashimoto

[Coop]

I definitely didn't like the nickname "Con Man."  It might have fit some junkball pitcher who got hitters out by means of trickery, but Karpat was more of a Tom Seaver type, had nasty stuff and could put it right where he wanted it.  He didn't fool hitters; he dominated hitters.

When he was in his prime there was some OOTP-generated offseason news story about him playing the role of a combat sergeant in an action movie.  I always called him Sarge after that.  A much better nickname.  The way he pitched, though, maybe he deserved to be nicknamed "Major General."

[Coop]

Every offseason, one new player is inducted into the Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.  Last year's honoree was Serhat Karpat.  This year's honoree is:

DHRITIMAN SANGHA

Sangha was a big, strong rightfielder who played in the WBA from 2104 through 2114.  He was with the Black Forest Foxes from 2104 through 2110 after having been acquired in the famous Hashimoto trade with Paris.  He was a good hitter, a good fielder, and as reliable as they come --- in every full season he played for the Foxes, he always appeared in at least 150 games.  He also clubbed more than 30 homers in each of those seasons except one, when he hit 27.  Moreover, Sangha drove in 100+ runs every year he was with the Foxes except 2107 (when he had 96 RBIs) and 2110 (when he had 99).  His career batting average was .272, with 280 home runs and an OBP of .350.  His best year (by WAR) was 2105, when he hit 37 homers and posted a WAR of 6.44.  Sangha never led the league in any significant category except games played (he did that twice), but he was a consistent, productive and reliable performer.  He wore jersey number 3.

[Echo127]

Nice. I think I've got a couple players I need to add to my HOF soon.

[Coop]

Every offseason, one new player is inducted into the Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.  This year's honoree, who becomes the third member of the Hall, is:

BAO-TIAN QIAN

Qian, a corner outfielder from China, was never expected to accomplish much; he was a seventh-round pick in the 2103 rookie draft.  And he spent five long seasons toiling in the minor leagues before reaching The Show.  But once he arrived, he made his presence known in a big way.  He hit over .300 with power in his first five big-league seasons.  Qian was the 2108 IBL Rookie of the Year, and actually led the IBL in slugging percentage that year.  He won the Silver Slugger award for leftfielders in 2109.  He was the IBL Championship Series MVP in 2109 and 2110.  In his best season, 2110, he set Black Forest records with 46 home runs and 138 RBIs.  Qian was not big (5 feet, 9 inches tall) and he was not fast (4 stolen bases in his career), but he was one of the best at swinging the bat.  In his 9-year big-league career, 8 years of which were spent with the Foxes, Qian posted a career batting average of .307 with 220 homers.  His last name, translated into English, means "money," and it fit, because when Bao-tian came to the plate, he was money.  He wore jersey number 7.

[Coop]

This year the Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame is inducting as its fourth member

SERAFINO CUNHAL

This big southpaw from Venezuela was acquired in a 2107 trade.  He spent the next 9 years in the Black Forest, helping the Foxes to 5 IBL pennants.  He was so reliable and effective that it's hard to pinpoint his best season; possibly 2110, when he was 18-6 with a 2.97 ERA, or possibly 2112, when he was 19-8 with a 3.43 ERA.  Or there's 2113, when Cunhal won "only" 15 games (15-6 record) but posted his best-ever ERA, 2.58.  Cunhal's approach was simple --- he threw heat, and he threw strikes.  In short, he challenged hitters.  He led the league in WHIP in 2112, led the league in K/BB ratio in both 2112 and 2113, led the league in fewest walks issued per 9 innings in 2113, and finished second in the league in ERA in 2110.  Overall Cunhal pitched in the majors for 14 years, winning 144 games and losing 76, a terrific winning percentage of .655.  His career ERA was 3.42.  He was a key part of the Black Forest team which won 5 pennants in a 6-year period.  He wore jersey number 28.

[Coop]

This year the Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame is inducting as its fifth member

SALIM TUNCAY

This shortstop/third baseman from Turkey is, up to this point in time, the greatest player in Black Forest history.  He had so many accomplishments that they're difficult to list in their entirety.  They include two IBL MVP awards, a Rookie of the Year award, a Championship Series MVP award, and six Silver Slugger awards.  Tuncay finished with a lifetime batting average of .305 and a lifetime on-base percentage of .407.  He wore jersey number 22, and and that number has been permanently retired in his honor.

[CaseyBlakeDeWitt]

Tuncay felt like one of the best players in the league for a really long time. Was pretty shocked to look at his page and see he was gone by 33. A star is a star though. Likely 1st ballot Hall of Famer, I'd think

[Coop]

Yeah, he fell apart at a shockingly young age.  But he was sure great for about a ten-year period.  And I would think he’s a lock for the Hall.  Can’t think of many multiple MVP award winners who got rejected for the Hall unless it was due to gambling or steroids.

[Coop]

This year the Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame is inducting as its sixth member

TOM McGREGOR

This big Scotsman (6'6") was both an outstanding hitter and an outstanding baserunner.  He was the IBL Rookie of the Year in 2111.  He led the league in batting average twice, led the league in hits four times, led the league in runs scored four times, led the league in triples twice, and led the league in stolen bases once.  In all McGregor played ten seasons in the majors, six of them in the Black Forest.  He finished his career with a batting average of .327 and an on-base percentage of .380.  He wore jersey number 6.

[CaseyBlakeDeWitt]

Ah, he had a fun profile! Was surprised he didn’t get any major league opportunities towards the end of his career

[Coop]

Well, he didn't hit home runs and he wasn't great defensively.  I believe when most GMs go looking for a corner outfielder, they want a guy who can hit the long ball.  McGregor wasn't that type of player.

But Big Mac was good.  Very good.  So good, they even named a hamburger after him.

[Coop]

Every November, one new member is inducted into the Black Forest Baseball Hall of Fame.  I forgot to post the 2124 honoree in November, but better late than never.  The seventh member of the Hall is

GAUDENCIO MOSINHA

Acquired from Mexico City in a 2109 trade when he was in the minor leagues, this native of Brazil became the Foxes' starting shortstop in 2111 and was a key member of the 2112 WBA championship club.  Mosinha was an excellent fielder at a key defensive position, and he was one of the few shortstops who was a legitimate slugger.  He hit a total of 200 home runs in his career; he spent six seasons with the Foxes and hit more than 20 home runs in five of those seasons, with a high of 34 homers in 2112.  He twice led the IBL in doubles, and in 2114 he led the league in both slugging percentage and OPS, practically unheard of for a shortstop.  He posted a WAR of 7.72 that year.  In all Mosinha won 3 Silver Slugger awards, a Rookie of the Year award and a Championship Series MVP award, all while playing for Black Forest.  He wore jersey number 20.

[Coop]

This year's honoree is

ACHAIUS MAINAKY

Drafted in the seventh round of the rookie draft in 2106, this big first baseman from Malaysia wasn't expected to have much of a big-league career.  He was more of a line-drive hitter than a slugger, which is unusual for a first baseman.  But he just kept getting better and better, and by 2110 he'd reached the majors.  He stayed there for 8 years, all of them with the Foxes, and he posted a career batting average of .323.  He helped the club to four pennants and a WBA championship.  Mainaky had his best year in 2116, when he led the IBL in batting average, RBIs, hits, extra-base hits, doubles and total bases.  He added 28 home runs that season, and ended with a career total of 144 homers.  He was a productive hitter for a long time.  He wore jersey number 24.

[Coop]

This year we induct

MANNY JUAREZ

Manny becomes the first relief pitcher in the Hall.  He was born in Colombia and was drafted out of high school by the now-defunct Florida Hurricanes.  By the age of 22 Juarez had been involved in three trades, the last of which caused him to be sent from the Melbourne Meteors to the Black Forest Foxes.  There he found a home; he pitched in the major leagues for 16 years, 13 of which were spent with the Foxes.  Juarez was voted IBL Relief Pitcher of the Year for three straight years, 2115 through 2117.  He appeared in a total of 721 games for Black Forest and recorded a team-record 198 saves.  At the time of his retirement, Juarez was acknowledged as the greatest reliever in Black Forest history.  He wore jersey number 47.

[Coop]

The November 2127 honoree is

HUO-TU CHENG

This big, hard-throwing righthander was the #1 pick in the 2107 rookie draft, chosen by Seoul.  He came to the Black Forest in a blockbuster 2108 trade in which the immortal Serhat Karpat was sent away due to excessive salary demands.  Cheng made his big-league debut with some late-season appearances in 2111, then won the IBL Rookie of the Year award in 2112.  The following season, 2113, Cheng posted some of the most incredible stats you’ll ever see; he was 19-2 with an ERA of 2.14.  He led the league in wins, winning percentage and ERA.  He continued to rack up wins the next two seasons, posting records of 16-9 and 18-9.  But late in the 2115 season Cheng suffered injuries to his back and shoulder.  The following season he struggled to regain his previous form, and in July 2116 he reinjured his shoulder so badly that his career came to an abrupt end.  Cheng was only 29 years old at the time.  He retired with 70 wins and 34 losses, for a tremendous winning percentage of .673.  Cheng had a short career, but he established himself as a consistent winner during the brief time allotted to him in the major leagues.  If he could have stayed healthy, he may have become one of the all-time greats.  Anyway, he was a key member of the Black Forest dynasty team which won five pennants in six seasons, and thus he has earned a place in the Hall.  Cheng wore jersey number 48.

[Coop]

The November 2128 honoree is

JEAN-MARIE TIKARAM

Not much was expected of Tikaram initially.  He was drafted by the Foxes in the third round of the rookie draft as a skinny, lefthanded 19-year-old from the Seychelles.  Growing up in a land where baseball was an afterthought, Tikaram hadn't experienced top-level competition.  But by the time he was 24 he had pitched his way to the majors, and he soon took over as Black Forest's closer.  He was outstanding in that role; he led the league in saves three times and won the league’s Reliever of the Year award twice.  Tikaram pitched in the majors for 11 years, eight of them as a Fox.  He was the closer for the 2112 club which won the WBA championship.  He racked up a total of 245 saves with a 3.30 career ERA.  All in all, he did just fine for a third-round draft pick from the baseball hinterlands.  He wore jersey number 30.

[Coop]

The November 2129 honoree is

JIM ALEXANDER

He came to the Black Forest in a March 2108 trade, when he was a minor-league prospect.  Alexander soon established himself as a big-league star; he went on to an 11-year major-league career.  Six of those 11 years were spent with the Foxes.  He was the starting centerfielder on the 2112 WBA championship team.  Alexander posted a lifetime BA of .308 and an OBP of .389.  While he wasn’t a power hitter, he managed to hit 76 homers in his career, with a high of 19 homers in 2110.  He hit over .300 every season from 2110 to 2115, and he was a patient hitter who drew as many as 92 walks in a season.  Alexander won one Silver Slugger award and was named the Championship Series MVP in 2113.  As for defense, he won three Gold Gloves in center field.  He was a valuable player both offensively and defensively.  He wore jersey number 26.

[CaseyBlakeDeWitt]

Boy, Alexander walked nearly twice as much as he struck out. Now that is controlling the strike zone as a hitter.

[Huckleberry]

Now that's a Fox name I remember. He was a beast.

[Coop]

The November 2130 honoree is

NIKO SHIPANGA

Hailing from the sparsely-populated African nation of Namibia, Shipanga was a slugging leftfielder who spent his entire big-league career with the Foxes.  He was that rare first-round draft choice who lived up to his billing.  He led the IBL in RBIs once (2123), in runs scored once (2120), in doubles once (2124), and in HBP four times (he crowded the plate and refused to back down to any pitcher).  Shipanga was the cleanup hitter for the 2125 WBA championship team.  By the time he was 29 years old he'd posted three seasons of hitting above .300, four seasons with more than 100 RBIs, and four seasons with more than 30 home runs.  But then, like a perplexing number of Black Forest stars, Shipanga's production dropped like a stone the instant he turned 30, and he made his final big-league appearance when he was only 31 years old.  He still managed in his truncated eight-year career to hit 221 homers and to post a career batting average of .289.  He wore jersey number 3.

[Coop]

The November 2131 honoree is

JANARDAN SHREERANG

A native of India, Shreerang pitched in the WBA for 12 years, six of them for the Foxes.  He led the IBL in shutouts once (in 2113) and he won as many as 18 games in a season.  He was a member of the starting rotation for the 2112 team which won the WBA championship.  During his six seasons in the Black Forest he posted a record of 71-46 with an ERA of 3.50.  His overall career record was 120-83 with an ERA of 3.68.  These numbers are especially impressive when one considers that Shreerang was originally a 19th-round pick in the rookie draft; he wasn't expected to reach the major leagues, much less to win 120 games.  He was a good, reliable starter for a long time.  He wore jersey number 31.

[Coop]

The November 2132 honoree is

AN-SHI CHIN

This versatile infielder was, first and foremost, a WINNER.  He had an 11-year career in the major leagues, and in seven of those 11 seasons he was a member of a league champion.  After coming to the Black Forest in July 2109 from Paris, Chin spent six seasons with the Foxes and the team won the IBL pennant in five of those six seasons.  Later he moved on to Rio de Janeiro and was a member of two more pennant winners.  When An-shi Chin was on a team's roster, more often than not, that team went to the WBACS.  During his time in the Black Forest, Chin spent time at both second base and third base.  He was an unusually good hitter for an infielder; he hit over .300 twice, swatted as many as 21 homers (in 2110), drove in as many as 104 runs (also in 2110), drew as many as 104 walks (in 2113) and won a Silver Slugger award (in 2113).  He was named MVP of the Championship Series in 2111.  In the 2112 and 2113 seasons, Chin was among the very best players in the IBL; he posted a WAR of 5.28 in 2112, and a WAR of 6.20 in 2113.  He wore jersey number 13.

[Echo127]

Pretty sure Chin won a WS with Rio. The More You Know

[Coop]

The November 2133 honoree is

REX QUALTROUGH

Selected in the fourth round of the rookie draft, this speedy rightfielder from Australia ended up playing 9 years in the majors (six and a half of them with the Foxes), and he proved to be one of the best leadoff hitters in the game.  He posted a career batting average of .313 with an on-base percentage of .362.  He stole 320 bases in 387 attempts, an incredible 83 percent success rate.  In his best year, 2125, Qualtrough hit .344, had an OBP of .390, stole 72 bases, won the Silver Slugger award and led the Foxes to a WBA championship.  He wore jersey number 21.

[Coop]

The November 2134 honoree is

FERNANDO REGISTO

The Foxes acquired this fleet-footed centerfielder from the Ottawa Whiskey Jacks in June 2111, when he was still in the minors.  He ended up having an 18-year career in the majors and was inducted into the WBA Hall of Fame in January 2134.  Registo spent the first 7 years of his big-league career in the Black Forest; later he would go to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, back to Ottawa, back to Sao Paulo, then to Manila.  He finished his career in Los Angeles in 2129, when he was 40.  His 7-year stay with the Foxes was his longest stay with any team.  Registo didn't post high batting averages (his career BA was .249), but he did everything else well.  He slugged 304 home runs, stole 598 bases and had a career on-base percentage of .376.  He won three Silver Slugger awards, was a member of three league championship teams (all of which were Black Forest teams), led the league in stolen bases three times, led the league in walks drawn five times, led the league in runs scored twice, and led the league in on-base percentage once.  He wore jersey number 11.

[Coop]

The November 2135 honoree is:

ECKERT HERDE

Following a 15-year big-league career, this star shortstop has become first German-born player to be inducted into the Black Forest Hall of Fame.  Herde spent the first seven years of his career with the Foxes, during which time he won two Silver Slugger awards, three Gold Gloves and a WBA Championship ring.  He was an outstanding player at a key position for a long time.  He wore jersey number 25.

[Coop]

The November 2136 honoree is

MANUEL CORONADO

This slugging first baseman from Puerto Rico spent 16 years in the majors, the first 9 of them with the Foxes.  He was the IBL Rookie of the Year in 2120, and was named the league's MVP in 2124 when he hit .335, blasted 42 home runs, drove in 155 runs and posted a WAR of 8.34.  He won the Silver Slugger award four times, all of them during his time in the Black Forest.  He led the league in RBIs twice, runs scored twice, on-base percentage once, total bases once and hits once.  He was a member of two WBA championship teams.  In sum, Manuel Coronado might have been the best pure hitter to ever play for the Foxes.  He wore jersey number 19.

[Coop]

The November 2137 honoree is

AVAJAYA GANESHWARAN

Drafted as a centerfielder, Ganeshwaran was converted to second base and had a long, productive career there.  He played in the majors for 13 years, the first five of them in the Black Forest, where he was named IBL Rookie of the Year.  He also won a Gold Glove and three Silver Slugger awards during his time with the Foxes.  He was the biggest star on the 2125 club which won the WBA championship.  During that season Ganeshwaran hit .317, belted 29 home runs, led the league with a .425 on-base percentage and led the league with a WAR of 8.90.  He finished his career with 215 home runs, a batting average of .279 and an on-base percentage of .376.  As a Fox, he wore jersey number 8.

[Coop]

The November 2138 honoree is

LOAN NGO

Drafted by Black Forest in the second round of the rookie draft, this third baseman from Vietnam was valuable both as a hitter and as a fielder.  He won a Silver Slugger award (2125) and a Gold Glove (2128).  Ngo was the starting third baseman on the Foxes when they won the 2125 WBA championship, and Ngo was named MVP of the Championship Series.  He spent 14 years in the majors, the first six in the Black Forest.  The best season of his career was 2125, when he hit .341 and had an on-base percentage of .404 as he helped lead the Foxes to a title.  He finished with a career BA of .307.  Ngo wasn't a home-run hitter (a total of 83 home runs), but he hit a lot of doubles, and in fact led the league in doubles in 2126, with 46 two-baggers.  He wore jersey number 2 while playing for Black Forest.