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The European Baseball Federation added a player into its still young Hall of Fame with the 1968 ballot. Pitcher Luigi Kerac earned the nod easily in his debut at 95.9%. Another starter, Harald Solbach, had a promising debut on the ballot with 63.7%, only slightly behind the 66% required for entry. Also above 50% were closer Richard Hackl and slugger Orion McIntyre; both on their third ballot.



Luigi “The Bandit” Kerac – Starting Pitcher – Amsterdam Anacondas – 95.9% First Ballot

Luigi Kerac was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Osijek, the fourth largest city in Croatia with just shy of 100,000 people. Kerac was known for outstanding control of his pitches, mixed with very good movement and above average stuff. His velocity peaked around 96-98 mph with a fastball, forkball, cutter, and changeup. Kerac was viewed as a “sparkplug” personality with high energy and drive.

After World War II, Kerac got into the game in the amateur and semi-pro ranks in Yugoslavia. By the time the European Baseball Federation was formed, Kerac was already in his 30s, but was a known and desired commodity by many teams. He joined the EBF by signing with Copenhagen for the 1951 season on a five-year, $136,800 deal.

The Corsairs were the first European Champion in 1950, but fell into immediate mediocrity following. Kerac excelled despite his team’s struggles, finishing third in Pitcher of the Year voting in all three of his seasons in Denmark. With Copenhagen, Kerac had a 47-37 record, 1.98 ERA, 851.1 innings, 490 strikeouts, and 31.0 WAR. He led the Northern Conference in WHIP all three seasons and posted WAR totals of 9.2, 12.7, and 9.1. Not satisfied with the Corsairs being noncompetitive, Kerac opted out of his contract after the third season. The now 34-year old signed in 1954 to a five-year, $232,600 deal with Amsterdam.

In his Anacondas debut, Kerac won his lone Pitcher of the Year with a conference-best 1.74 ERA and a 22-1 record. Amsterdam went 118-44 that season and won their second European Championship with Kerac throwing 19 innings with a 19 ERA in the postseason. They also made the playoffs in 1955 and 1957, although didn’t get to the final. Kerac wasn’t in the award conversation in his other four years in Amsterdam, but was a consistent all-star. In total with the Anacondas, he had a 76-42 record, 2.36 ERA, 1155 strikeouts in 1192.1 innings and 39.1 WAR.

Kerac began to long for home a bit after starting to play for Croatia in the World Baseball Championship. From 1957-61, he had a 4.37 ERA over 68 innings with 61 strikeouts. When his Amsterdam contract expired, the now 39-year old signed with his home country team Zagreb. Kerac took third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1959 and in 1960 helped lead the Gulls to their first European Championship. In total with Zagreb, he had a 37-19 record, 2.82 ERA, 442 strikeouts, and 14.1 WAR. With control being his greatest asset, Kerac’s game aged well and he seemed primed to still put up great numbers into his 40s. In his first start of 1961, a ruptured UCL derailed that hope. Kerac made it back for a few relief appearances in 1962, opting to retire at season’s end at age 43.

His final stats: 160-98, 2.33 ERA, 2579 innings, 2537 strikeouts to only 228 walks for a 11.1 K/BB ratio, 243/322 quality starts, 112 complete games, and 84.2 WAR. He led his conference in K/BB in eight seasons and WHIP four times and his rate stats are among the best in the Hall of Fame. The overall accumulations are low since his career started at age 31, which makes you wonder how high his tallies could’ve gone with a full EBF career. Either way, his accomplishments were plenty to earn first ballot induction at 95.9% and become EBF’s fifth Hall of Fame member.