[Westheim]

Now, before we get back to more serious business (and it will be very serious, I can tell you), here some lighter news, honoring baseball’s finest, and we have a paw in it.

The ABL Hall of Fame grew by two members to nine inhabitants total with the 2000 elections. The following players were selected:

DAL/RIC OF/1B Gabriel “Blockhead” Cruz (.294/.326/.506, 318 HR, 1,348 RBI, 89 SB)
Drafted seventh overall by the Dallas Stars in the 1980 amateur draft, this Mexican kid didn’t waste much time in the minors, making his debut in early 1981. He was with the Stars for eight years, hitting the majority of his 318 career home runs, 206 to be exact, for the Texans. After one year in Nashville, he moved on to the Rebels, for whom he played until 1995. He was a 6-time All Star, won the FL Gold Glove in leftfield twice (1982-83), and also won a pair of championships with the Stars, in 1983 and 1988. Cruz currently ranks 3rd in home runs, and 4th in RBI all time.

POR CL Grant “Demon” West (43-34, 2.12 ERA, 522 SV, 673 K)
The fourth overall pick in the 1979 draft was able to live a little boy’s dream. Born in Portland in 1957, West was drafted by his hometown team and spent his entire professional career with the organization, all the way through retirement after the 1995 season. West made his debut in 1980, and became the team’s closer the next season. The Portland dream team of the Raccoons and West, who didn’t lose a single one of his first 190 career games, eventually produced a pair of championships in 1992 and 1993. He was a 4-time All Star (all consecutively from 1983 to 1986), and once was the Pitcher of the Month, an extremely rare accomplishment for relief pitchers. The “Demon’s” 522 saves rank him third all time, with no challenger incoming for at least two to three years.

Let’s all cherish this moment of another great Raccoon going to the Hall of Fame – news won’t get better from here on out.