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Eurasian Professional Baseball didn’t induct any players into the Hall of Fame in 2009 or 2010 and many thought 2011 could be the same. Only four players debuted in 2011 and only one of them survived to a second ballot, getting a mere 14.1%. Not wanting another blank ballot, four returners received another look and crossed the 66% requirement, making for a hefty four-player class.



Pitcher Wojciech Grzybek led the way with 79.0% on his third ballot. 3B/1B Igor Urban was the lone position player added at 75.1% on his fourth ballot. Pitcher Temuujin Munkhuu also was a fourth ballot addition at 73.4% Rounding out the group was pitcher Mikhail Kripak with 69.8% for his sixth ballot. One other player cracked 50% with reliever Nijat Arzhanov at 53.0% on his second try. No one was dropped following ten failed ballots.



Wojciech Grzybek – Starting Pitcher – Kazan Crusaders – 79.0% Third Ballot

Wojciech Grzybek was a 6’6’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Szczecin, Poland; the country’s seventh-largest city with around 391,000 inhabitants. Grzybek was a fireballer with strong stuff, good control, and above average movement. His fastball regularly hit the 98-100 mph range and was supported by a slider, forkball, change, and splitter. Each pitch was equally potent, making Grzybek a tough one to get this off of.

When healthy, Grzybek had tremendous stamina and loved going deep in games. He led the league thrice in innings pitched and twice in complete games. Grzybek was also a solid defensive pitcher and won a Gold Glove in 1994. Major injuries ended up derailing him, but he was a force to be reckoned with when healthy. Grzybek was also considered a solid leader and was generally liked in the clubhouse.

Being a big lefty that throws hard gets plenty of attention from a young age. A scout from Kazan caught wind of Grzybek and signed him in June 1984 to a teenage amateur deal. He spent most of the next six years in Russia in the developmental system. He officially debuted in 1989 at age 21, but only faced one batter in relief.

Grzybek was a part-time starter in 1990 and posted promising results. Kazan intended to make him a full-timer in 1991, but disaster struck with a torn labrum in his first start of the season. Grzybek missed the rest of the season and posted average results in his 1992 return. Forearm tendinitis also knocked him out more than a month of the 1992 campaign.

1993 was Grzybek’s first full season and he looked quite strong, leading in complete games, innings, and shutouts. Although his entire pro career was in Russia, Grzybek did play for his native Poland from 1991-2001 in the World Baseball Championship. He had a 2.38 ERA over 124.2 innings, 157 strikeouts, 36 walks, 150 ERA+, and 3.0 WAR. Grzybek also tossed a WBC no-hitter in 1998 with 14 strikeouts and 2 walks against China.

1994 saw similar results to 1993, earning third in Pitcher of the Year voting and his lone Gold Glove. Kazan ended a six-year playoff drought, but fell in the first round of the playoffs to eventual EPB champ Kyiv. Among Grzybek’s successes in 1994 was a no-hitter on September 18 against St. Petersburg with 12 strikeouts.

Things were going well, so the Crusaders gave Grzybek a five-year, $6,500,000 extension. Then in his first start of 1995, Grzybek suffered a torn flexor tendon. This ended another season prematurely and again put his future in doubt. Grzybek bounced back with an impressive 1996 with a 7.4 WAR season, posting his most impressive outing to date.

Grzybek looked even better and played a huge role in a surprise championship season for Kazan. The Crusaders had narrowly missed the playoffs the prior two years, but won 107 games in 1997. That was still the third-best record in the European League, but they overcame the field to win it all, eventually ousting Irkutsk in the EPB Championship. Grzybek had an all-time playoff run, going 5-0 in five starts with a 1.26 ERA over 43 innings, 56 strikeouts, 227 ERA+, and 1.2 WAR.

1998 would be his most dominant effort, winning Pitcher of the Year and taking second in MVP voting. He posted career and league bests in strikeouts (397), WAR (10.3), WHIP (0.75), and quality starts (31). Grzybek had a 22-7 record and 1.74 ERA, missing a Triple Crown by only six points.

Grzybek had a nice 1999, but he missed a month to forearm tendinitis. He tossed one complete game win in the playoffs, but Kazan fell in the first round. Grzybek decided he wanted to test free agency, ending the Crusaders run heading into his age 32 season. His role in their 1997 championship season was huge in eventually getting his #22 uniform retired by the squad.

Novosibirsk gave Grzybek the bag with a six-year, $18,480,000 deal. Forearm tendinitis lingered in 2000 and he put up a respectable 4.2 WAR season with a 115 ERA+ in his Nitros debut. The run would be short-lived sadly, starting with more injury trouble in 2001. A sprained ankle in the WBC put him out for much of spring training. Then as soon as he got back, he suffered radial nerve compression, missing the entire 2001 campaign.

Grzybek hoped to make it back again and had 37.1 good innings in 2002, but dealt with forearm inflammation in the first half of the season. Once back in August, he tore his flexor tendon again. Grzybek made it back for one poor start in 2003, but was clearly cooked from the accumulated injuries. He retired that winter at age 35.

Grzybek finished with a 150-97 record, 2.19 ERA, 2287 innings, 198/274 quality starts, 2470 strikeouts, 406 walks, 184 complete games, 43 shutouts, 130 ERA+, and 54.7 WAR. More than 2/3s of his starts were complete games, but perhaps that overuse doomed him. Grzybek’s rate stats were certainly worthy, but his accumulations were very low from the injuries.

Many voters thought he just didn’t play long enough, leading to Grzybek narrowly missing the Hall of Fame in 2009 at 64.3% and 57.5% in 2010. His dominance when healthy and the playoff run in 1997 was enough for many. After back-to-back blank classes, a few EPB voters loosened up and look at Grzybek again. On the third try, he bumped up to 79.0% to headline the four-player 2011 EPB class.



Igor “Full Pack” Urban – Third/First Base – Novosibirsk Nitros – 75.1% Fourth Ballot

Igor Urban was a 6’0’’, 205 pound left-handed hitting corner infielder from Stochov, a small town of 5,400 people in the central Czech Republic. Urban was an excellent contact hitter that was great at putting the ball in play and avoiding strikeouts. He didn’t draw too many walks and his home run power was quite limited, only topping 10+ twice. However, Urban’s gap power was impressive. He had 25 doubles and 20 triples per his 162 game average.

Urban was an outstanding baserunner that could often leg out doubles and triples. He was also a very effective base stealer with quick feet. Urban was notably much more effective hitting against right-handed pitching (.817 OPS, 151 wRC+) compared to lefties (.647 OPS, 104 wRC+). He had fairly reliable durability over a 19 year career, becoming one of the great EPB leadoff hitters.

Despite his hitting profile, Urban was a corner infielder that made about 2/3s of his starts at third base and the rest at first base. His strong arm helped him grade out as delightfully average at third, although he was comparatively mediocre at first. Urban was a respected locker room leader and team captain, known for fierce loyalty and a tireless work ethic.

Urban emerged as the top Czech prospect ahead of EPB’s 1983 Draft. He was picked 6^th overall by Bratislava, although his time there was ultimately brief. Urban had 97 games and 50 starts in his rookie year, but was a full-timer the following two seasons. In 1985, he led the European League in hits (177) and triples (19). Urban led in triples again in 1986.

Bratislava was a bottom-tier franchise that never made the playoffs in their entire EPB run. Although they liked Urban, they traded him after his third season to Novosibirsk for two prospects. With the Blue Falcons, he had 422 hits, 166 runs, 52 doubles, 56 triples, 27 home runs, 136 RBI, 139 stolen bases, a .286/.332/.452 slash, 138 wRC+, and 7.1 WAR.

Urban became a well-known figure while in Russia with the Nitros, although he did return home to Czechia for the World Baseball Championship regularly. From 1984-2002, he played 168 games with 154 starts, posting 150 hits, 79 runs, 30 doubles, 9 triples, 2 home runs, 31 RBI, 54 stolen bases, a 2.51/.319/.342 slash, 91 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR.

Novosibirsk was on the cusp of being a contender when they got Urban. They narrowly missed the playoffs in 1987, but he posted the first of 11 consecutive seasons worth 5+ WAR. Although Urban wasn’t a league leader, he was a consistently strong presence. In 1988, he won his first Silver Slugger with a 7.3 WAR effort.

In 1988, the Nitros won their first-ever Asian League Championship, although they lost to Minsk in the EPB Championship.Urban was the LCS MVP with 25 hits, 13 runs, 10 stolen bases, and 5 extra base hits over 15 playoff starts with a .403 batting average. Novosibirsk bettered their record in 1989 with the top seed at 107-55, but suffered a tough first round loss to Yekaterinburg.

Now 29-years old, Urban signed to a seven-year, $6,730,000 extension after the 1989 campaign. The Nitros were a perennial playoff team with six straight berths from 1991-96, but unfortunately this run coincided with a dynasty run by Irkutsk. Novosibirsk lost in the 1991 ALCS to Chelyabinsk as the #1 seed. The next five seasons were all wild cards and first round exits, often at the hands of the Ice Cats.

Urban kept plugging along, winning his third Silver Slugger in 1993 and his fourth in 1996. His playoff stats were usually good even when the team lost. In 39 playoff starts, he had 58 hits, 28 runs, 7 doubles, 6 triples, 2 home runs, 8 RBI, 14 stolen bases, a .365/.395/.522 slash, 190 wRC+, and 2.1 WAR.

Novosibirsk gave him a three-year, $5,800,000 extension after the 1996 campaign. Their playoff success ended with that and they quickly fell towards the bottom of the standings. Urban still looked strong, posting arguably his best season in 1997. At age 36, he won his lone batting title with a .328 average and had a career best 7.4 WAR. He also had career and league bests in runs (96), hits (198), and triples (29).

That was Urban’s last great year, although he was still a good starter for the next three seasons. The Nitros gave their captain another three years and $6,540,000 after the 1999 campaign. By 2001, he was merely a passable starter and in 2002, he had negative value with a -1.5 WAR season.

In late 2001, Urban became EPB’s all-time hits leader, passing Kirill Ohlobystin’s 2898. In 2002, he became the first-ever EPB hitter to reach 3000+. Urban held the hit king title until finally passed in the early 2030s by Timofei Averkin.

Urban’s last year also saw a partially torn labrum in September. With that, he retired at age 42 and immediately had his #4 uniform retired by Novosibirsk. With the Nitros, Urban had 2622 hits, 1151 runs, 361 doubles, 275 triples, 90 home runs, 658 RBI, 934 stolen bases, a .299/.339/.434 slash, 139 wRC+, and 82.3 WAR.

The final stats saw 3044 hits, 1317 runs, 413 doubles, 331 triples, 117 home runs, 794 RBI, 544 walks, 1073 stolen bases, a .297/.338/.437 slash, 139 wRC+, and 89.4 WAR. As of 2037, he’s still second all-time in hits. He also ranks 19^th in runs, fifth in triples, eighth in stolen bases, and 27^th in WAR among position players.

However, there were voters who shunned a lack of home run power, especially from his position. Urban didn’t have big hardware either. The previous hit-king Ohlobystin never made the Hall of Fame either, so that achievement wasn’t a lock for EPB voters. For many, that alone was enough, but there were some who dismissed Urban as an above average compiler.

Urban missed the cut narrowly thrice, finishing with 58.3%, 65.4%, and 60.0%. On his fourth try, enough voters realized that leaving out the all-time hits leader was silly. Urban received 75.1% and entered EPB’s Hall of Fame with the 2011 class.