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Closer Dominic Thurman was the lone inductee from the 1991 ballot into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. On his second attempt, Thurman just crossed the 66% threshold with 72.8%. LF Tim Morgan barely missed the cut on his second try, getting 65.6%. C Gavin Geoghan received 63.7% in his ninth ballot, the closest he’s come in all of his tries. The top debut was 1B Edward Torres at 61.3%. 2B Bobby Davis also crossed 60% with 60.6% on his ninth attempt. Four others were above 50%: C Earl Tucker, CL Angelo Kiernan, CL Mike Jennings, and SP Joseph Ashcraft. No players were dropped after failing on ten ballots, although six guys could suffer that fate in 1992.



Dominic “Crab” Thurman – Closer – Tampa Thunderbirds – 72.8% Second Ballot

Dominic Thurman was a 5’10’’, 170 pound left-handed relief pitcher from Cary, North Carolina; a city near Raleigh with around 180,000 people. Thurman had incredible stuff with a one-two punch of a 96-98 mph cutter and a filthy changeup. His control and movement were both good and his ability to fool you with the changeup made him a very successful pitcher. Thurman was also a respectable defensive pitcher and was considered a team leader.

Thurman attended Tennessee, where he was a starting pitcher in his first two seasons. He was switched to a relief role as a junior, posting a 2.67 ERA over 178.1 college innings with 208 strikeouts and 6.6 WAR. He would be picked late in the third round of the 1968 MLB Draft, the 143^rd overall selection by Tampa. Thurman spent most of 1969 in minor league Orlando, but would make nine appearances in 1969.

In his first full MLB season, Thurman was moved to the closer role. He’d hold this position for the next six seasons with the Thunderbirds, winning Reliever of the Year in 1972 and taking second in 1973 voting. He also pitched from 1971-73 for Team USA in the World Baseball Championship, posting a 1.57 ERA over 34.1 innings with 80 strikeouts. Thurman earned three world titles with the American team and was second in Best Pitcher voting in 1973.

In total with Tampa, he had 155 saves and 178 shutdowns, a 1.66 ERA, 401.2 innings, 516 strikeouts, and 18.9 WAR. Thurman was well liked enough that this short run led to the Thunderbirds eventually retiring his #48 uniform. Although Tampa had decent seasons in this stretch, Thurman wouldn’t make the playoffs with the Thunderbirds. They finally broke their postseason drought in 1976, but Thurman was traded before the season started to Houston for four players. In his one year with the Hornets, Thurman led in saves and took second in Reliever of the Year voting. This was also his first playoff experience, as the Hornets lost in the American Association Championship Series to Las Vegas.

At age 28, Thurman was a free agent for the first time and signed a three year, $1,570,000 deal with Albuquerque. He had more of a setup role in his first year with the Isotopes, but got the closer role back in 1978. Albuquerque traded him to Las Vegas before the 1979 season straight up for LF John Howard. Thurman played a big role in the postseason as the Vipers won the World Series, posting five saves and a 0.75 ERA in 12 playoff innings.

Vegas didn’t re-sign Thurman with the now 31-year old going to Los Angeles on a two-year deal. He led the AA in saves in 1980 and won Reliever of the Year for the second time. Thurman was still decent in 1981, but the Angels decided to waive him in late August. Tampa re-signed him to finish out the year.

San Francisco signed Thurman to a two-year, $1,880,000 deal for the 1982 season. However in spring training, he suffered a stretched elbow ligament that knocked him out 12 months. Thurman made his return in 1983 with the Gold Rush and was a decent middle relief guy. He then played his final season with Columbus in 1984, retiring at the end of the year at age 36.

Thurman’s final stats: 313 saves and 366 shutdowns, 1.90 ERA, 882 innings, 1110 strikeouts to 270 walks, 56 FIP-, and 37.5 WAR. 300 saves wasn’t a guarantee for induction in MLB’s Hall of Fame, but it got you a look by the voters. Of the 18 relievers in the MLB HOF before him, Thurman had a better ERA than all but two. The WAR and strikeout numbers were comparable to many of them despite having fewer innings. His role in Las Vegas’ 1980 title run helped him as well despite lower accumulations. Thurman missed the cut on his debut at 63.3%, but with a weak 1991 ballot, he got the bump up to 72.8% to cross the line as the lone addition.