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Eurasian Professional Baseball’s 1985 Hall of Fame class had two inductees. Both were first ballot, but by very different margins. Closer Jas Starsky was a firm pick at 95.6%, while starting pitcher Seitzhan Svechnikov just crossed the 66% requirement with 66.6%. Two other debuting candidates got very close but fell just short with SP Pavel Melnichuk at 65.4% and SP Serhiy Belov at 61.3%. Also above 50% was 2B Ali Alasgarov at 52.6% on his third ballot, SP Eryk Wozniak at 52.0% in his seventh attempt, and SP Artyom Rudasev at 50.3% for his seventh go.



No one was cut after ten ballots, but two notables fell below 5% after a number of tries. The biggest snub was SS Leonard Szuster, who had 22 years between Minsk and Omsk. He won seven Gold Gloves and had eight Silver Sluggers with 2407 hits, 1211 runs, 396 doubles, 215 home runs, 1014 RBI, a .265/.328/.395 slash and 109.8 WAR. Despite that resume, he debuted at 46.3% and plummeted until falling to 4.4% on his eighth ballot. As of 2037, he has the fourth most WAR of any EPB hitter, but the voters weren’t swayed by defensive value and turned off by low power numbers. . Pitcher Borys Voynov debuted at 54.0% before falling to 4.1% on his ninth ballot. He had a 203-108 record in 14 years with Minsk with a 2.65 ERA, 2838 innings, 2798 strikeouts, and 65.4 WAR.



Jas “Hellraiser” Starsky – Closer – Warsaw Wildcats – 95.6% First Ballot

Jas Starsky was a 5’11’’, 200 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Glogzw, a city of around 65,000 people in western Poland. Nicknamed “Hellraiser,” he was known for incredible stuff and very good movement along with decent control. His peak velocity was 96-98 mph and he only had two pitches, but Starsky’s fastball/splitter combo was deadly when he was dealing. He was also considered a very good defensive pitcher. Starsky was the ultimate journeyman playing for 11 teams in his career, but he was a fan favorite at each stop. His great work ethic and adaptability made him a success in multiple environments.

Starsky got noticed as a great amateur in Poland and caught the attention of the capital’s team. Warsaw selected him 47^th overall in the 1962 EPB Draft; the ninth pick of the second round. He was immediately thrown into a closer role and generally held that for his entire career, posting 20+ saves in 14 different seasons. Starsky also pitched for Poland in the World Baseball Championship from 1965-79. Although he was exclusively a reliever as a pro, he made 25 starts with 14 relief appearances in the WBC. Over 176 innings, Starsky had a 2.35 ERA, 285 strikeouts, and 6.1 WAR. His highlight was a 14 strikeout, two walk no-hitter in a 1969 encounter with Brazil.

With Warsaw, he played seven seasons in his first run. Starsky was second in Reliever of the Year voting in 1967. The Wildcats only made the playoffs once in this tenure, but Starsky was a local favorite and would later see his #21 uniform retired. He posted 187 saves and 21.2 WAR in the first run. In 1969, he seemed primed for a career-best season, but suffered bone chips in his elbow that put him out for five months.

The Wildcats would trade him for three prospects before the 1970 season to Tirana. His one year with the Trojans was his strongest season and his first Reliever of the Year, posting 7.8 WAR over 102.2 innings with 47 saves and 208 strikeouts. As of 2037, the WAR total is the second most ever in a EPB season by a Reliever of the Year winner. Starsky also picked up four saves in the playoffs as Tirana won the European League title, falling in the Soviet Series to Yekaterinburg.

He pitched another decade, but his vagabond life began at age 31 as a free agent for the first time. Starsky signed with Omsk in 1971 and won Reliever of the Year for the second time and took third in Pitcher of the Year voting. This season saw a 0.75 ERA, a career-best for a full season, and 7.0 WAR. Srarsky spent 1972 in Moscow, then returned to Warsaw for 1973. The Wildcats would trade him midseason to Kharkiv, who ended up winning the EL title. He led the league in saves (36) and had 6.7 WAR, earning his third Reliever of the Year.

1974 was split as well, starting with Tashkent and getting traded at the deadline to Krasnoyarsk. Starsky was second in Reliever of the Year voting this season. He signed in 1975 with Minsk and won the award for the fourth and final time. Starsky was third in voting in 1976 with Kyiv, then second in 1977 with Tashkent. That was his last year as a full-time closer with a torn rotator cuff in April 1978 with Bratislava. He attempted a comeback in 1979 by signing with Tbilisi, but was traded before the season to Dushanbe. Starsky was unremarkable in his limited use with the Dynamo and retired after the season at age 39.

Starsky’s final stats: 473 saves and 564 shutdowns, 1.42 ERA, 1211.1 innings, 1986 strikeouts to 301 walks, FIP- of 33, and 67.0 WAR. He also had a 1.67 ERA and 22 saves over 59.1 playoff innings with 107 strikeouts and 3.1 WAR. Starsky retired EPB’s all-time saves leader and still holds the crown as of 2037, although he is just behind former saves leader Demis Mankovsky for most WAR by an EPB reliever (72.1 to 67.0). As of 2037, Starsky also has the career record in ERA (1.42), H/9 (4.73), K/9 (14.8), WHIP (0.77), opponents average (.155), and opponents OBP (.216). Starsky’s dominance and popularity made him an easy first ballot choice, getting in with 95.6%.



Seitzhan Svechnikov – Starting Pitcher – Yerevan Valiants – 66.6% First Ballot

Seitzhan Svechnikov was a 6’1’’, 185 pound left-handed pitcher from Kosonsoy, a city of around 50,000 people in eastern Uzbekistan. Svechnikov was a fireballer with 99-101 mph velocity and overpowering stuff, which made up for middling movement and control at times. His fastball was fantastic, but he also had a very good forkball, good slider, and occasionally used curveball and changeup. Svechnikov had good stamina and was quite durable, posting 11 straight seasons with 255+ innings.

He was spotted in late 1960 as a teenager by a scout from Yerevan and opted to sign a developmental deal with the Valiants. Svechnikov spent his entire pro career in Armenia, finally making his debut in 1966 at age 21. He was a full-time starter from the beginning, but really didn’t emerge as an ace until a few years in. Svechnikov led the Asian league in strikeouts three times and won Pitcher of the Year in 1974. That season had a career-best 414 Ks over 296.2 innings with a 2.12 ERA and league-best 12.9 WAR. That season earned him a hefty contract extension worth $1,798,000 over six years. Svechnikov finished third in Pitcher of the Year the following season, his only other time as a finalist.

Svechnikov also pitched for Uzbekistan from 1967-78 in the World Baseball Championship. Over 109.2 innings, he had a 2.87 ERA, 155 strikeouts, and 2.8 WAR. He tossed 16.2 scoreless innings notably in the 1971 edition. Yerevan was typically awful in his tenure, but in 1977, they popped out of nowhere to win the South Division. Svechnikov had a 4.12 ERA in three playoff starts as they lost in the ALCS. That would be Yerevan’s only playoff appearance for their 45 year run in Eurasian Professional Baseball.

Svechnikov’s production dropped a bit after his Pitcher of the Year season, although he was still a solid starter. 1978 saw a big setback though with a stretched elbow ligament putting him on the shelf for 10 months. Svechnikov came back and pitched a full 1979, but his strikeouts and innings were both down significantly with average at best production. He decided to retire after this season at age 35.

Svechnikov’s stats had a 186-180 record, 2.76 ERA, 3567.1 innings, 4436 strikeouts, 741 walks, 300/444 quality starts, 172 complete games, 77 FIP- and 87.4 WAR. He was the tenth EPB pitcher to earn 4000 career strikeouts and his stats didn’t look out of place compared to some others in the Hall of Fame, but Svechnikov was often overlooked having been stuck with lousy Yerevan teams. In his debut, he managed to win enough voters over to get the first ballot nod, albeit barely at 66.6%.