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The European Baseball Federation added one into the Hall of Fame with the 1967 ballot. Outfielder Branislav Mikusiak got the nod with 76.9% on his ballot debut. Slugger Orion McIntyre was short again but had a respectable 58.7%. Three others were above 50% with closer Ken Jacob at 58.0%, closer Richard Hackl at 54.9%, and CF Joe Ramet at 54.2%.



Branislav Mikusiak – Outfielder – Madrid Conquistadors – 76.9% First Ballot

Branislav Mikusiak was a 5’10’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Stupava, a small town of around 12,000 people near the western border in Slovakia. Mikusiak was an incredibly well-rounded hitter who was above average to good in all facets with the bat. He was a strong contact hitter who regularly hit 30+ home runs; he was great at drawing walks and decent at avoiding strikeouts, and he had very good speed. Mikusiak made about 60% of his starts in right field and was viewed as a great defender there, winning two Gold Gloves. The rest of his starts were generally in center, where he was viewed as below average.

Mikusiak began his EBF career at age 25 when he signed an eight-year deal with Paris. This began a streak of seven straight 7+ WAR seasons. He won three Silver Sluggers with the Poodles in 1952, 53, and 54 and helped them to a Northern Conference title in 1952. In 23 playoff games, he had 28 hits, 17 runs, 6 home runs, and 21 RBI. Mikusiak won his first MVP in 1953, leading in WAR (9.5) and slugging (.597). In four seasons with Paris, Mikusiak had 637 hits, 430 runs, 89 doubles, 147 home runs, 447 RBI, and 34.5 WAR.

Mikusiak missed the last two months of the 1954 season with a torn meniscus. He opted out of his contract following this and signed an eight-year contract with Madrid. He only played four years with the Conquistadors, but had one of the greatest four-year stretches possible. Mikusiak was the WARlord in three straight seasons, posting 35 total WAR in that stretch. He won MVP in 1956 and 57 and took second in 1955; winning Silver Sluggers in each year. Madrid won the 1955 European Championship with Mikusiak in 28 playoff games for the Conquistadors posting 28 hits, 17 runs, 6 home runs, and 20 RBI. In total with Madrid, he had 675 hits, 434 runs, 159 home runs, 424 RBI, and 39.4 WAR. In 1956, Mikusiak played for the first time for Slovakia in the World Baseball Championship as well. He became a regular from 1956-63, starting 72 games with 66 hits, 49 runs, 21 home runs, and 43 RBI.

A strained hip muscle put him out about two months in 1958. Mikusiak opted out of his Madrid deal, feeling that he deserved to paid far more. He couldn’t find any EBF team able or willing to match his asking price and Mikusiak sit out the entire 1959 season. MLB teams were reluctant as well as he wanted top money even by their standards, plus they were still skeptical of EBF’s talent level and not wanting to deal with the legal issues of bringing him over. Eventually, Denver took the plunge, signing Mikusiak for $496,000 and four years; almost doubling his peak yearly salary with Madrid.

He began his MLB career at age 34 and won his two Gold Gloves with the Dragons. He was a strong starter for his first three years with Denver and helped them to the 1962 World Series title. In 32 playoff starts, Mikusiak had 31 hits, 19 runs, 6 home runs, and 12 RBI. In total with the Dragons, he had 590 hits, 343 runs, 118 home runs, 302 RBI, and 18.1 WAR.

Mikusiak’s production fell off noticeably in his fourth year with Denver and he wasn’t re-signed. Mikusiak spent 1964 as a decent starter with Albuquerque, then was below average with Charlotte in 1965. After going unsigned in 1966, he retired at age 41. Between MLB and EBF, Mikusiak had 2153 hits, 1352 runs, 309 doubles, 129 triples, 454 home runs, 1274 RBI, a .289/.373/.549 slash and 94.1 WAR.

For his eight-season EBF run, Mikusiak had 1312 hits, 864 runs, 194 doubles, 306 home runs, 871 RBI, a .303/.394/.605 slash, and 73.9 WAR. For the 1950s, he was generally viewed as a top five level player in the European Baseball Federation. The short run and move to MLB means his leaderboard tallies are low, but he was incredibly impressive at his peak and played a role in early successes for both Madrid and Paris. With the standards a bit different for the earliest players in EBF, Mikusiak’s resume was enough to earn first ballot induction at 76.9%.