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FuzzyRussianHat · 02-09-2024, 05:51 PM

The 1993 class for the Eurasian Professional Baseball Hall of Fame was a sturdy one with three guys getting in on the first ballot. All-time home run leader Konrad Mazur led the way at 96.4%, joined by pitchers Nurlan Rahmonov and Carymyrat Kurbanow at 96.0% and 83.5%, respectively. LF Emin Ismayilov received 56.8% on his third ballot, falling short again. Also above 50% was 1B Ilkin Hasanov at 51.2% on his debut and 1B Bartlomiej Tarka at 50.2% for his fourth try.

One player was dropped after ten ballots in catcher Samir Allahverdiyev. He had a 22-year career with Tbilisi, winning 11 Silver Sluggers and five Gold Gloves. The Azeri righty was another victim of the anti-catcher bias of Hall of Fame voters. Allahverdiyev had 2110 hits, 958 runs, 404 doubles, 349 home runs, 1063 RBI, a .248/.301/.428 slash, and 87.6 WAR. The usual issue of catchers getting low accumulations, plus Tbilisi’s lack of deep playoff runs, sunk him. Allahverdiyev debuted at 44.9% and ended at 14.5%.

Allahverdiyev as of 2037 is the all-time EPB leader at catcher in games, runs, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, home runs, RBI, WAR, starts, assists, putouts, total chances, double plays, and innings played. Yet, the anti-catcher bias kept him out. As of 2037, there still hasn’t been a single catcher added to the EPB Hall. If Allahverdiyev’s run wasn’t worthy, then no catcher may ever make the cut.

Konrad Mazur – Third Base – Bucharest Broncos – 96.4% First Ballot

Konrad Mazur was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Ustka, a spa town of around 17,000 people in northern Poland. He was a prolific home run hitter who hit the ball incredibly hard anytime he made contact. The trouble was, Mazur was a subpar contact hitter with an abysmal 35.7% strikeout rate for his career. He also drew shockingly few walks for a guy with his power. Mazur had okay speed and fairly good baserunning chops compared to most sluggers. He was primarily a third baseman, although he had some starts at first in his later years. Mazur was a below average defender, but not a liability. Some questioned his work ethic at times, but he was very durable and reliably gave you 145+ starts each season.

Mazur was noticed as a 15-year old amateur by scouts despite being from a small town in Poland. It was Budapest that ended up signing him to a developmental deal, sending him south to Hungary for the first half of his professional career. He made his debut at age 21 in 1968 as a pinch hitter primarily. He was a part-time starter in 1969 and got his first chance at the postseason. The Bombers would make the playoffs in 1969 and 1972 during Mazur’s run, but went one-and-done both years.

In his second full season, Mazur led the European League with 49 home runs and 95 runs. He won his first Silver Slugger, playing as a designated hitter. It was his lone season leading in runs. It was also the first of 13 seasons that Mazur had more strikeouts than anyone else in the league. He struggled in 1971, but bounced back in 1972 with 48 home runs and 7.4 WAR to earn his second Silver Slugger (first at 3B) and a third place in MVP voting. From here, Mazur hit 30 or more homers for the next 13 years, topping 40 dingers nine more times.

He won a third Silver Slugger in 1974 for the Bombers. Mazur also became a regular for Poland in the World Baseball Championship. From 1970-86, he had 109 games and 93 starts, 82 hits, 57 runs, 37 home runs, 57 RBI, a .229/.285/.561 slash, and 3.6 WAR. He spent eight seasons on Budapest’s active roster, posting 999 hits, 507 runs, 265 home runs, 577 RBI, a .242/.271/.481 slash, and 32.4 WAR.

It appeared the Bombers were committed long-term to Mazur, signing a seven-year, $1,718,000 extension prior to the 1975 season. Budapest had won 88 games the prior year and felt they were close to being a regular contender. However, both the team and Mazur fell off a bit and saw a 77-85 record in 1975. That would be his last year in Hungary, as he was part of a blockbuster trade on October 30. The Bombers sent Mazur and a prospect to Bucharest in exchange for class of 1991 Hall of Famer LF Ivan Valev and a prospect.

This began what would be Mazur’s most famous tenure. He was a more consistent performer in Romania and put up relatively consistent stats for more than a decade. He won Silver Sluggers in 1978, 79, 81, 82, and 83; giving him eight for his career. Mazur never won MVP, but took third in 1981 and 1982. He seemingly got better with age, as those two efforts came in his mid 30s. He had a career high 56 homers in 1981 and career bests in RBI (130) and WAR (8.8) in 1982.

The dawn of the 1980s also saw the dawn of success for Bucharest, who had been generally terrible from the mid 1960s through the 1970s. They made the playoffs six times from 1981-87, although they went one-and-done in all but one of those seasons. 1984 was a special run all the way to the EPB Championship with Mazur winning finals MVP. In that run, he had 14 hits, 8 runs, 7 home runs, and 20 RBI over 19 playoff starts. Despite a .177 average, Mazur’s 20 RBI tied an EPB playoff record. He also set a playoff record for strikeouts at 31.

Mazur started climbing the home run leaderboards, seemingly in a race to catch Zina Gigolashvili’s mark alongside Ivan Valev, the guy he was traded for back in 1975. Interestingly enough despite his impressive final tallies, Mazur only led the league twice in home runs and only once in RBI. Valev would retire in 1985 at 691, still short of Gigolashvili’s record 720 homers. Mazur closed the 1985 campaign with 684 and although he still had 44 homers that year, he had a career worst 238 strikeouts and .202 average.

In 1986, Mazur’s strikeout rate was a career worst 40.5%, but he managed to improve his average and hit another 44 home runs, passing both Valev and Gigolashvili to become the all-time EPB home run king. This also put him at 1664 RBI, short of Valev’s all-time mark of 1699. Mazur came back for one more season in 1987 at age 40, although he largely struggled and only played 69 games. Still, he got 38 RBI to pass Valev for the all-time mark. His 117 strikeouts also gave him a regrettable distinction, the first player in any world league to strike out 4000 times in a career. Mazur retired that winter and Bucharest quickly retired his #19 uniform.

Mazur’s final stats: 2570 hits, 1387 runs, 404 dobules, 740 home runs, 1702 RBI, 4051 strikeouts, 442 walks, a .237/.268/.490 slash, 138 wRC+, and 92.4 WAR. As of 2037, Mazur is still EPB’s all-time home run king and sits fourth in RBI and 20^th in batting WAR. He also was the world leader in whiffs and would be the only player in pro baseball history with 4000+ strikeouts until getting passed by WAB’s Abdel Aziz Ashraf in the mid 2030s. Mazur’s windmill tendencies keep him from getting mentioned in the GOAT hitter conversations, but dingers still get you a long way. Being the home run king and winning a ring will make you a lock even with other deficiencies and Mazur earned his first ballot spot at 96.4%.

Nurlan Rahmonov – Pitcher – Dushanbe Dynamo – 96.0% First Ballot

Nurlan Rahmonov was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Karakul, Uzbekistan, a small town of around 22,000 people in the Bukhara Region. Rahmonov was a fireballer with a 99-101 mph fastball mixed with solid control and above average movement. He also had a solid slider and a circle change, leading to an extreme groundball tendency. Rahmonov had good stamina and durability for most of his run.

Rahmonov was picked 16^th overall in the 1968 EPB Draft by Dushanbe. He’d spend his entire pro career in Tajikistan, although he was a regular for his native Uzbekistan in the World Baseball Championship. From 1970-87, he pitched 241 WBC innings with a 4.37 ERA, 12-12 record, 287 strikeouts, and 2.4 WAR. At the start of his run with Dushanbe, Rahmonov was used as a reliever. He had only 14.1 innings in his first year, but was a regular out of the bullpen the next two seasons. He led the Asian League in saves and games in 1971.

Rahmonov was split between the bullpen and rotation in 1972, but he became a full-time starter from 1973 through to the end of his career. In 1973, he led the league in WAR at 9.4 and posted a career high 326 strikeouts. This earned Rahmonov his lone Pitcher of the Year award. He would take second in 1979, leading that year in innings pitched. Rahmonov generally wasn’t a league leader, but he had six seasons worth 7+ WAR and nine seasons with 300+ strikeouts.

Dushanbe was a regular contender during his run, as they made the playoffs nine times in his tenure. The Dynamo had bad luck in most of their runs, but they went 108-54 in 1981 and claimed the EPB championship. Rahmonov had a 2.70 ERA over 33.1 playoff innings and 32 strikeouts in that postseason. For his entire playoff career, Rahmonov posted a 2.27 ERA over 103 innings with a 7-7 record and three saves, 90 strikeouts, and 1.8 WAR.

Rahmonov continued his steady production into his 30s. In 1985 at age 37, he tossed his lone no-hitter with 12 strikeouts and two walks against Omsk on May 23. In 1986, he became the third EPB pitcher to 250 career wins. In 1987, he was the fifth to reach 4500 strikeouts. By these final two years, Rahmonov’s productivity had fallen to around below average numbers. He opted to retire after the 1987 season at age 40. Dushanbe quickly retired his #29 uniform.

For his career, Rahmonov had a 264-206 record, 2.49 ERA, 4389.1 innings, 4573 strikeouts, 744 walks, 365/504 quality starts, 239 complete games, 77 FIP-, and 107.5 WAR. He wasn’t generally viewed as a tip-top pitcher, but he quietly was very good for a long time. As of 2037, he’s 15^th all-time in pitching WAR, 14^th in strikeouts, and 11^th in wins. His resume was more than enough to earn the Hall of Fame spot, getting the first ballot selection at 96.0%.

Carymyrat Kurbanow – Pitcher – St. Petersburg Polar Bears – 83.5% First Ballot

Carymyrat Kurbanow was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Asgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Kurbanow got by on having very powerful and impressive stuff with 98-100 mph peak velocity. This made up for having control issues early on as well as very poor movement. Still, the speed on his cutter and slider, plus a fantastic changeup, made Kurbanow a success despite the lousy movement and control woes. His ability to change speeds helped him become an elite strikeout pitcher in his prime.

Kurbanow’s career started when a scout from Krasnoyarsk signed him as a teenage amateur in 1963. He spent nine years almost entirely in the developmental system with the Coassacks. Kurbanow had one appearance in relief in 1970 and 11 in 1972. Dissatisfied with his slow progress, Krasnoyarsk traded him and catcher Igor Razinsky in the spring of 1973 to St. Petersburg for catcher Aleksei Nizov and SP Shota Levkov.

Kurbanow was used as a reliever in his Polar Bears debut with promising results. He was moved to the rotation full-time the next year and he solved his control issues, although he still ahd trouble allowing home runs. Kurbanow posted nine consecutive seasons with 300+ strikeouts and led the European League in Ks from 1975-80. He was third in Pitcher of the Year in 1977, but never won the award. Although the strikeouts were exciting, Kurbanow still gave up enough runs to get passed over for recognitions

St. Petersburg was a success during Kurbanow’s tenure, making the playoffs six straight seasons from 1974-79. The Polar Bears won the European League pennant in both 1976 and 1977; additionally taking the Soviet Series in 1977. For his playoff career, Kurbanow had a 2.51 ERA and 8-4 record over 14 games with 104 innings, 138 strikeouts, and 1.9 WAR. He also had appearances for Turkmenistan in the World Baseball Championship in 1977 and 1978, although they usually didn’t qualify for the event.

Along with winning the league title, 1977 was special for Kurbanow as he tossed a perfect game. It came on April 21 against Kyiv with 12 strikeouts. Kurbanow had also pitched a no-hitter the prior year with 18 strikeouts and two walks against Riga on 7/10/76. These big performances convinced St. Petersburg to sign Kurbanow to a five-year, $1,950,000 extension before the 1980 season.

While still usually above .500, the Polar Bears weren’t a real championship contender in the 1980s. Rotator cuff injuries started costing Kurbanow some innings and strikeouts, but he was still valuable when on his game. This was most notable in 1984, whne he tossed two no-hitters. The first was 8/12 against Riga with 10 strikeouts and two walks, followed by a 13 K, 1 BB walk effort over Sofia on 9/17. He joined Artur Golub as the only EPB pitchers to that point to have thrown four no-hitters in their career.

Kurbanow signed a two-year extension after the 1985 season, but he suffered a torn flexor tendon in his elbow in his first inning of 1986. He attempted a comeback in 1987, but only got two starts into the season. Shoulder inflammation would knock him out another seven months. Kurbanow decided to call it quits here at age 40. St. Petersburg retired his #33 uniform as an important part of their 1970s successes.

Kurbanow’s final stats: 183-145 record, 2.87 ERA, 3237.2 innings, 4135 strikeouts, 558 walks, 259/379 quality starts, 90 FIP-, and 56.9 WAR. His case was an interesting one as all but one eligible pitcher that got to 4000 Ks earned inducition. He did it in fewer innings than most, but his ERA and WAR stats were weaker than most. At that point, only Bataar Baatarkhuu had earned induction with a worse career ERA. Kurbanow also didn’t have the major awards of many of his contemporaries. Working in his favor though was the playoff runs with the Polar Bears and his no-hitters. The voters ended up sold on Kurbanow, putting him in with 83.5% on the first ballot to round out EPB’s 1993 Hall of Fame class.

02-09-2024, 05:51 PM	#959
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,589	1993 EPB Hall of Fame The 1993 class for the Eurasian Professional Baseball Hall of Fame was a sturdy one with three guys getting in on the first ballot. All-time home run leader Konrad Mazur led the way at 96.4%, joined by pitchers Nurlan Rahmonov and Carymyrat Kurbanow at 96.0% and 83.5%, respectively. LF Emin Ismayilov received 56.8% on his third ballot, falling short again. Also above 50% was 1B Ilkin Hasanov at 51.2% on his debut and 1B Bartlomiej Tarka at 50.2% for his fourth try. One player was dropped after ten ballots in catcher Samir Allahverdiyev. He had a 22-year career with Tbilisi, winning 11 Silver Sluggers and five Gold Gloves. The Azeri righty was another victim of the anti-catcher bias of Hall of Fame voters. Allahverdiyev had 2110 hits, 958 runs, 404 doubles, 349 home runs, 1063 RBI, a .248/.301/.428 slash, and 87.6 WAR. The usual issue of catchers getting low accumulations, plus Tbilisi’s lack of deep playoff runs, sunk him. Allahverdiyev debuted at 44.9% and ended at 14.5%. Allahverdiyev as of 2037 is the all-time EPB leader at catcher in games, runs, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, home runs, RBI, WAR, starts, assists, putouts, total chances, double plays, and innings played. Yet, the anti-catcher bias kept him out. As of 2037, there still hasn’t been a single catcher added to the EPB Hall. If Allahverdiyev’s run wasn’t worthy, then no catcher may ever make the cut. Konrad Mazur – Third Base – Bucharest Broncos – 96.4% First Ballot Konrad Mazur was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Ustka, a spa town of around 17,000 people in northern Poland. He was a prolific home run hitter who hit the ball incredibly hard anytime he made contact. The trouble was, Mazur was a subpar contact hitter with an abysmal 35.7% strikeout rate for his career. He also drew shockingly few walks for a guy with his power. Mazur had okay speed and fairly good baserunning chops compared to most sluggers. He was primarily a third baseman, although he had some starts at first in his later years. Mazur was a below average defender, but not a liability. Some questioned his work ethic at times, but he was very durable and reliably gave you 145+ starts each season. Mazur was noticed as a 15-year old amateur by scouts despite being from a small town in Poland. It was Budapest that ended up signing him to a developmental deal, sending him south to Hungary for the first half of his professional career. He made his debut at age 21 in 1968 as a pinch hitter primarily. He was a part-time starter in 1969 and got his first chance at the postseason. The Bombers would make the playoffs in 1969 and 1972 during Mazur’s run, but went one-and-done both years. In his second full season, Mazur led the European League with 49 home runs and 95 runs. He won his first Silver Slugger, playing as a designated hitter. It was his lone season leading in runs. It was also the first of 13 seasons that Mazur had more strikeouts than anyone else in the league. He struggled in 1971, but bounced back in 1972 with 48 home runs and 7.4 WAR to earn his second Silver Slugger (first at 3B) and a third place in MVP voting. From here, Mazur hit 30 or more homers for the next 13 years, topping 40 dingers nine more times. He won a third Silver Slugger in 1974 for the Bombers. Mazur also became a regular for Poland in the World Baseball Championship. From 1970-86, he had 109 games and 93 starts, 82 hits, 57 runs, 37 home runs, 57 RBI, a .229/.285/.561 slash, and 3.6 WAR. He spent eight seasons on Budapest’s active roster, posting 999 hits, 507 runs, 265 home runs, 577 RBI, a .242/.271/.481 slash, and 32.4 WAR. It appeared the Bombers were committed long-term to Mazur, signing a seven-year, $1,718,000 extension prior to the 1975 season. Budapest had won 88 games the prior year and felt they were close to being a regular contender. However, both the team and Mazur fell off a bit and saw a 77-85 record in 1975. That would be his last year in Hungary, as he was part of a blockbuster trade on October 30. The Bombers sent Mazur and a prospect to Bucharest in exchange for class of 1991 Hall of Famer LF Ivan Valev and a prospect. This began what would be Mazur’s most famous tenure. He was a more consistent performer in Romania and put up relatively consistent stats for more than a decade. He won Silver Sluggers in 1978, 79, 81, 82, and 83; giving him eight for his career. Mazur never won MVP, but took third in 1981 and 1982. He seemingly got better with age, as those two efforts came in his mid 30s. He had a career high 56 homers in 1981 and career bests in RBI (130) and WAR (8.8) in 1982. The dawn of the 1980s also saw the dawn of success for Bucharest, who had been generally terrible from the mid 1960s through the 1970s. They made the playoffs six times from 1981-87, although they went one-and-done in all but one of those seasons. 1984 was a special run all the way to the EPB Championship with Mazur winning finals MVP. In that run, he had 14 hits, 8 runs, 7 home runs, and 20 RBI over 19 playoff starts. Despite a .177 average, Mazur’s 20 RBI tied an EPB playoff record. He also set a playoff record for strikeouts at 31. Mazur started climbing the home run leaderboards, seemingly in a race to catch Zina Gigolashvili’s mark alongside Ivan Valev, the guy he was traded for back in 1975. Interestingly enough despite his impressive final tallies, Mazur only led the league twice in home runs and only once in RBI. Valev would retire in 1985 at 691, still short of Gigolashvili’s record 720 homers. Mazur closed the 1985 campaign with 684 and although he still had 44 homers that year, he had a career worst 238 strikeouts and .202 average. In 1986, Mazur’s strikeout rate was a career worst 40.5%, but he managed to improve his average and hit another 44 home runs, passing both Valev and Gigolashvili to become the all-time EPB home run king. This also put him at 1664 RBI, short of Valev’s all-time mark of 1699. Mazur came back for one more season in 1987 at age 40, although he largely struggled and only played 69 games. Still, he got 38 RBI to pass Valev for the all-time mark. His 117 strikeouts also gave him a regrettable distinction, the first player in any world league to strike out 4000 times in a career. Mazur retired that winter and Bucharest quickly retired his #19 uniform. Mazur’s final stats: 2570 hits, 1387 runs, 404 dobules, 740 home runs, 1702 RBI, 4051 strikeouts, 442 walks, a .237/.268/.490 slash, 138 wRC+, and 92.4 WAR. As of 2037, Mazur is still EPB’s all-time home run king and sits fourth in RBI and 20^th in batting WAR. He also was the world leader in whiffs and would be the only player in pro baseball history with 4000+ strikeouts until getting passed by WAB’s Abdel Aziz Ashraf in the mid 2030s. Mazur’s windmill tendencies keep him from getting mentioned in the GOAT hitter conversations, but dingers still get you a long way. Being the home run king and winning a ring will make you a lock even with other deficiencies and Mazur earned his first ballot spot at 96.4%. Nurlan Rahmonov – Pitcher – Dushanbe Dynamo – 96.0% First Ballot Nurlan Rahmonov was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Karakul, Uzbekistan, a small town of around 22,000 people in the Bukhara Region. Rahmonov was a fireballer with a 99-101 mph fastball mixed with solid control and above average movement. He also had a solid slider and a circle change, leading to an extreme groundball tendency. Rahmonov had good stamina and durability for most of his run. Rahmonov was picked 16^th overall in the 1968 EPB Draft by Dushanbe. He’d spend his entire pro career in Tajikistan, although he was a regular for his native Uzbekistan in the World Baseball Championship. From 1970-87, he pitched 241 WBC innings with a 4.37 ERA, 12-12 record, 287 strikeouts, and 2.4 WAR. At the start of his run with Dushanbe, Rahmonov was used as a reliever. He had only 14.1 innings in his first year, but was a regular out of the bullpen the next two seasons. He led the Asian League in saves and games in 1971. Rahmonov was split between the bullpen and rotation in 1972, but he became a full-time starter from 1973 through to the end of his career. In 1973, he led the league in WAR at 9.4 and posted a career high 326 strikeouts. This earned Rahmonov his lone Pitcher of the Year award. He would take second in 1979, leading that year in innings pitched. Rahmonov generally wasn’t a league leader, but he had six seasons worth 7+ WAR and nine seasons with 300+ strikeouts. Dushanbe was a regular contender during his run, as they made the playoffs nine times in his tenure. The Dynamo had bad luck in most of their runs, but they went 108-54 in 1981 and claimed the EPB championship. Rahmonov had a 2.70 ERA over 33.1 playoff innings and 32 strikeouts in that postseason. For his entire playoff career, Rahmonov posted a 2.27 ERA over 103 innings with a 7-7 record and three saves, 90 strikeouts, and 1.8 WAR. Rahmonov continued his steady production into his 30s. In 1985 at age 37, he tossed his lone no-hitter with 12 strikeouts and two walks against Omsk on May 23. In 1986, he became the third EPB pitcher to 250 career wins. In 1987, he was the fifth to reach 4500 strikeouts. By these final two years, Rahmonov’s productivity had fallen to around below average numbers. He opted to retire after the 1987 season at age 40. Dushanbe quickly retired his #29 uniform. For his career, Rahmonov had a 264-206 record, 2.49 ERA, 4389.1 innings, 4573 strikeouts, 744 walks, 365/504 quality starts, 239 complete games, 77 FIP-, and 107.5 WAR. He wasn’t generally viewed as a tip-top pitcher, but he quietly was very good for a long time. As of 2037, he’s 15^th all-time in pitching WAR, 14^th in strikeouts, and 11^th in wins. His resume was more than enough to earn the Hall of Fame spot, getting the first ballot selection at 96.0%. Carymyrat Kurbanow – Pitcher – St. Petersburg Polar Bears – 83.5% First Ballot Carymyrat Kurbanow was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Asgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Kurbanow got by on having very powerful and impressive stuff with 98-100 mph peak velocity. This made up for having control issues early on as well as very poor movement. Still, the speed on his cutter and slider, plus a fantastic changeup, made Kurbanow a success despite the lousy movement and control woes. His ability to change speeds helped him become an elite strikeout pitcher in his prime. Kurbanow’s career started when a scout from Krasnoyarsk signed him as a teenage amateur in 1963. He spent nine years almost entirely in the developmental system with the Coassacks. Kurbanow had one appearance in relief in 1970 and 11 in 1972. Dissatisfied with his slow progress, Krasnoyarsk traded him and catcher Igor Razinsky in the spring of 1973 to St. Petersburg for catcher Aleksei Nizov and SP Shota Levkov. Kurbanow was used as a reliever in his Polar Bears debut with promising results. He was moved to the rotation full-time the next year and he solved his control issues, although he still ahd trouble allowing home runs. Kurbanow posted nine consecutive seasons with 300+ strikeouts and led the European League in Ks from 1975-80. He was third in Pitcher of the Year in 1977, but never won the award. Although the strikeouts were exciting, Kurbanow still gave up enough runs to get passed over for recognitions St. Petersburg was a success during Kurbanow’s tenure, making the playoffs six straight seasons from 1974-79. The Polar Bears won the European League pennant in both 1976 and 1977; additionally taking the Soviet Series in 1977. For his playoff career, Kurbanow had a 2.51 ERA and 8-4 record over 14 games with 104 innings, 138 strikeouts, and 1.9 WAR. He also had appearances for Turkmenistan in the World Baseball Championship in 1977 and 1978, although they usually didn’t qualify for the event. Along with winning the league title, 1977 was special for Kurbanow as he tossed a perfect game. It came on April 21 against Kyiv with 12 strikeouts. Kurbanow had also pitched a no-hitter the prior year with 18 strikeouts and two walks against Riga on 7/10/76. These big performances convinced St. Petersburg to sign Kurbanow to a five-year, $1,950,000 extension before the 1980 season. While still usually above .500, the Polar Bears weren’t a real championship contender in the 1980s. Rotator cuff injuries started costing Kurbanow some innings and strikeouts, but he was still valuable when on his game. This was most notable in 1984, whne he tossed two no-hitters. The first was 8/12 against Riga with 10 strikeouts and two walks, followed by a 13 K, 1 BB walk effort over Sofia on 9/17. He joined Artur Golub as the only EPB pitchers to that point to have thrown four no-hitters in their career. Kurbanow signed a two-year extension after the 1985 season, but he suffered a torn flexor tendon in his elbow in his first inning of 1986. He attempted a comeback in 1987, but only got two starts into the season. Shoulder inflammation would knock him out another seven months. Kurbanow decided to call it quits here at age 40. St. Petersburg retired his #33 uniform as an important part of their 1970s successes. Kurbanow’s final stats: 183-145 record, 2.87 ERA, 3237.2 innings, 4135 strikeouts, 558 walks, 259/379 quality starts, 90 FIP-, and 56.9 WAR. His case was an interesting one as all but one eligible pitcher that got to 4000 Ks earned inducition. He did it in fewer innings than most, but his ERA and WAR stats were weaker than most. At that point, only Bataar Baatarkhuu had earned induction with a worse career ERA. Kurbanow also didn’t have the major awards of many of his contemporaries. Working in his favor though was the playoff runs with the Polar Bears and his no-hitters. The voters ended up sold on Kurbanow, putting him in with 83.5% on the first ballot to round out EPB’s 1993 Hall of Fame class. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)