[Westheim]

The Hall of Fame voting results were announced on January 4. The Hall’s population remained a crisp ten, as nobody was elected to the Hall, and in fact nobody has been inducted since Leland Lewis in 2001, although several players, including one we know quite well, were pretty close!

Top 10 vote getters (year on the ballot*):
SP Craig Hansen – 74.3% (1st)
SP Kisho Saito – 73.3% (1st)
SP Carlos Asquabal – 65.7% (2nd)
C Gabriel Rivera – 62.4% (2nd)
CL Jim Durden – 55.4% (2nd)
CL Domingo Rivera – 51.2% (2nd)
SS Paul Connolly – 39.9% (1st)
OF Yoshinobu Ishizaki – 38.0% (2nd)
INF Pedro Villa – 32.3% (1st)
1B/2B Jeremiah Carrell – 31.7% (2nd)

Carrying forward on the ballot is another ex-Coon in Mark Dawson (21.8%, 2nd), infamous coonsnubber Bill Smith (6.6%, 1st), 1983 World Series coonskinner Kiyohira Sasaki (19.5%, 2nd), and a few other guys like David Burke (most career shutouts), Eddy Bailey (Elk in the late 80s), and Robbie Campbell (likewise).

18 of 42 players dropped off the ballot, including ex-Coons Mike Dye, Jack Pennington, Mark “Icon” Allen, Armando Sanchez, Alex White (RAAAHH!!!), as well as Archie Dye, Clement Clark (both part of the early 90s Capitals dynasty), Judd Montgomery (who was also almost a Coon), and Bob “Butcher” Haines, who in 1984 pitched a no-hitter in a spot start.

Next year’s newcomers on the ballot include a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer for sure, however, in (still) career hits leader Jeffery Brown. The following year, two former Furballs will be eligible in Jason Turner and Scott Wade, but in all honesty neither of them is a true Hall of Famer…



January 2 – The Rebels sign 38-yr old ex-ATL SP John Woodard (129-172, 4.44 ERA) to a 2-yr, $2.92M deal.
January 7 – The Canadiens trade 26-yr old SP Harry Wentz (11-15, 5.46 ERA) to the Capitals for two third-rate AA prospects.
January 13 – And for everybody else in the CL North it keeps getting worse: the Titans sign ex-SAL INF Kurt Metting (.263, 62 HR, 435 RBI) to a 3-yr, $2.97M deal.
January 13 – Former Thunder SP Fabien Armand (102-72, 3.41 ERA) goes west and signs a 4-yr, $6.84M deal with the Gold Sox.
January 14 – 32-yr old 1B/2B Dave Heffer (.289, 47 HR, 681 RBI) returns to Sioux Falls after a year in Charlotte. He will get $850k for a 1-year deal.
January 15 – Ex-BOS SP Francisco Garza (115-129, 4.09 ERA) signs a 2-yr, $3.6M contract with the Thunder.
January 18 – The Raccoons and Titans agree on a deal that sends 26-yr old MR Manuel Martinez (9-9, 3.53 ERA, 6 SV), 27-yr old C Freddy Rosa (.214, 16 HR, 65 RBI), and 28-yr old C Mark Thomas (.240, 11 HR, 90 RBI) to the Titans, while the Raccoons receive 28-yr old OF Christian Greenman (.244, 77 HR, 226 RBI) and 20-year old A-level shortstop Ryan Miller.
January 22 – Ex-CIN CL Lorenzo Flores (52-57, 2.68 ERA, 278 SV) signs a 3-yr, $4.5M contract with the Stars.
January 22 – Former Thunder SP Dave Crawford (81-93, 3.96 ERA) hooks up with the Warriors for 4-yr, $3.64M.
January 28 – The Warriors also go on and add ex-SAL SP Alfredo Rios (56-85, 4.43 ERA) for $2.4M over three years.
January 29 – The Raccoons sign 29-yr old C/1B Curt Cooks (.277, 9 HR, 62 RBI) to a 1-yr, $200k contract. Cooks last played with the Pacifics in the majors, from 2002 to 2003.



Greenman has been an almost-Coon for over half a year. A trade *somewhere* along those lines was in the talks in July already, and then later in August, but a waiver trade fell through. We offered Thomas and Martinez, and then they specifically asked for – among others – Rosa, whom I’d happily part with. We currently have no catcher on the roster, but we have Bob Wood waiting to be used. He got 17 AB last season already. He’s 24, and an excellent defensive catcher, but he also is a lock in the #8 slot. And he makes the minimum! We will stop flinging money at catchers that don’t deserve it! We have had nothing but disappointments behind the dish since David Vinson’s third season in the majors, and nothing is expected from Bob Wood in the first place, so there won’t be a disappointment anymore.

And we can go with Wood and whomever scrub we can find as backup, because we have already forfeited all hope of a winning record next season anyway.

While Greenman is a credible batter (that will doubtlessly turn into a lifeless .215 lump in Portland), Miller is the prize in here. He was the #73 prospect in 2003, before being downgraded after a bad first full season in professional ball last year, to #198. Vince thinks he’s worth his weight in gold. Too bad he’s only 5’9’’ and 180 lbs. Miller is a sparkling defensive centerfielder with a knack of getting on base, stealing bases, and he also has a bit of pop. We don’t want to label him as future Hall of Famer just yet, but I think he might make All Star teams regularly in a few years. We will take it slow, though, and start him at AA next year.

The major drawback is Greenman’s luxurious $1.12M contract he received in arbitration, which makes him the #2 earner on the roster behind fellow outfielder Clyde Brady ($1.2M). You can expect those to start on the corners, with Torrez in the middle, by the way, unless more trades happen (and I will try). Next in line are starting pitchers Randy Farley ($1M), Nick Brown, Ralph Ford, and then Albert Martin, who all make $900k. Concie makes 800 grand, and then comes Sharpie with 500 grand.

The Cooks signing is not owed to his abilities (his .277 average comes from 573 AB since 1998), but rather to us having allowed a number of minor league catchers to walk as well. We have an interesting catching prospect in Erik Ruff, our 2004 first rounder, who batted .281/.412/.455 in 72 games for Aumsville and will be promoted to AA Ham Lake to start the season, but he’s at the very least two years away from the majors. Even with Cooks aboard, we don’t even have injury depth anywhere in the system.

*As this is the second offseason in OOTP16, a flock of long-retired players reappeared on the ballots and hung on last year, and nobody has been on more than twice. It will sort itself out in eight years at the most. Eight years, or in Northwestern terms: the minimum time between winning seasons for the Raccoons.

Cringeworthy note: OOTP changed the schedule on its own, going to 20 or 21 games against division rivals, and 7 games against opponents in the other division. Do I REALLY need to watch out for every piece of dirt every five seconds?