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The Eurasian Professional Baseball Hall of Fame ballot in 1996 was an open field with no slam dunk debuts. Two returners found their way narrowly across the 66% requirement, led by DH Emin Ismayliov at 75.7% on his seventh ballot. SP Yevhen Selin barely joined him with 66.5% for his third attempt. SP Maksim Ekstrem missed it at 65.2%, the closest he’s been in his eight attempts. The best debut was Maxim Aivazyan with 59.4%. 1B Bartlomiej Tarka was the only other guy above 50% at 53.7% for his seventh attempt. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots in 1996.



Emin “Sparrow” Ismayilov – Designated Hitter – Moscow Mules – 75.7% Sixth Ballot

Emin Ismayliov was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed hitter from Denau, Uzbekistan; a city with around 78,000 people in the country’s southeast. Ismayliov had excellent home run power and was effective at drawing walks. He was a decent contact hitter, but he would strike out a ton. Ismayliov had respectable contact power and was a smart baserunner despite lacking speed. Ismayliov was primarily a designated hitter, making around 2/3s of his career starts there. The rest were split generally between left and right field, where he was a terrible defender at both spots. Ismayliov did have very good durability, which combined with the home run power made him a valuable bat even with his flaws.

A scout from Kyiv managed to notice an 18-year old Ismayliov toiling away in the amateur ranks of Uzbekistan and signed him to a developmental deal. He officially debuted with three at-bats in 1966, although he had limited appearances and mostly pinch hit opportunities in his first three seasons. Ismayliov really struggled with contact and strikeouts early on. It wasn’t until 1970, his fifth year on roster with the Kings, that Ismayliov became a full-time starter. He would be a regular for the next 15 years in EPB.

Ismayliov would get noticed with 37 home runs and 102 RBI in 1970, although he really got noticed the next year with 53 dingers and 120 RBI. That earned him his first Silver Slugger at DH and his lone award with Kyiv. In total with the Kings, he had 885 hits, 468 runs, 147 doubles, 228 home runs, 545 RBI, a .245/.299/.482 slash, and 22.4 WAR. Ismayliov also regularly played for his native Uzbekistan from 1971-86 in the World Baseball Championship. He had 111 games and 83 starts in the WBC, posting 74 hits, 55 runs, 36 home runs, 57 RBI, a .232/.332/.599 slash, and 4.3 WAR.

Ismayliov entered free agency at age 29 in 1975 and would begin his signature run with defending EPB Champion Moscow, signing a six-year, $1,724,000 deal. His debut season with the Mules was by far his most impressive with European League and career highs in runs, hits, home runs, RBI, walks, total bases, OBP, slugging, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. With 62 homers, 117 RBI, and 10.3 WAR, Ismayliov easily earned league MVP and a Silver Slugger. Moscow only narrowly got a wild card, but they went on an impressive playoff run and repeated as EPB champs. Ismayliov was finals MVP and had an outstanding postseason with 18 hits, 11 runs, 4 doubles, 6 home runs, and 15 RBI over 15 starts. That season alone in many ways cemented Ismayliov’s legacy.

Ismayliov never had a season quite that dominant, but he did win a Silver Slugger at right field in 1977 and DH in 1978. He led the EL in doubles in 177 and RBI in 1978 and hit 34+ home runs in each of his nine seasons in the main Moscow run. The Mules would be respectable, but only make the playoffs twice more during Ismayliov’s tenure with first round exits in both 1979 and 1981. After the 1980 season, Moscow would give Ismayliov a four-year, $1,106,000 extension.

Ismayliov began to struggle a bit in his later years, leading in strikeouts in 1982 and managing only 23 home runs in 1983. The Mules bottomed out at 60-102 that season and began a full rebuild. The now 38-year old Ismayliov was traded to Ufa with RF Rahim Ametov for prospects Pardis Butayev and Thacher Correll. In his one year with the Fiends, Ismayliov became the sixth EPB member of the 600 home run club. He became a free agent in 1985 and went back to Moscow, where he struggled in one final season. Ismayliov retired after going unsigned in 1986 at age 40. The Mules would honor him by retiring his #11 uniform. For his time in the Russian capital, he had 1362 hits, 774 runs, 254 doubles, 390 home runs, 852 RBI, a .241/.305/.501 slash, and 42.6 WAR.

Ismayliov’s career stats had 2357 hits, 1309 runs, 419 doubles, 643 home runs, 1471 RBI, 851 walks, a .241/.302/.489 slash, 144 wRC+, and 67.3 WAR. At induction, he was fifth in home runs and seventh in RBI (but also fifth in strikeouts at 2932). His WAR total was lower though than any other HOF hitter to that point and many voters were reluctant to give a DH the nod. Ismayliov debuted at 59.9% and was always within single digits of the threshold, but missed out in his first five ballots. In 1994, he was less than a percentage point shy at 65.3%. The homers, his MVP season, and title with Moscow though were enough to get him across the line in 1996, receiving 75.7% of the vote on his sixth try.



Yevhen Selin – Starting Pitcher – Omsk Otters – 66.5% Third Ballot

Yevhen Selin was a 6’1’’, 190 pound left-handed pitcher from Simferopol, Ukraine, the second largest city on the Crimean peninsula with around 330,000 inhabitants. Selin was viewed as above average to good across the board in terms of stuff, control, and movement. Control would be his biggest asset, especially in his later years. Selin had a 93-95 mph cutter mixed with a slider and a changeup. The changeup in particular was considered outstanding. Selin had respectable stamina and durability, while also viewed as a respectable defensive pitcher that could hold runners. Some would criticize him for a lack of leadership and work ethic.

Many fans don’t realize that Selin began his pro career with Kyiv, picked 20^th overall by the Kings in the 1972 EPB Draft. His time in the Ukrainian capital was brief with 13 forgettable starts in 1973. Kyiv was looking to push for a playoff spot and decided to move Selin and another prospect at the deadline. He was traded to Omsk for SP Nikita Titov (Hall of Fame class of 1984) and SS Yevhen Zhokh.

Selin would spend the remainder of his pro career with the Otters. He would still return home to Ukraine for the World Baseball Championship, although he was used more as a reliever than starter. In 100 innings from 1975-88, he had a 2.52 ERA with 130 strikeouts and 2.3 WAR. Selin was primarily a starter with Omsk, but a fairly unimpressive one in his first two seasons. He would emerge as a fine starter soon after, although he never was a finalist for Pitcher of the Year. Selin would pass 300 strikeouts in four seasons and peaked with 8.2 WAR in 1977.

Content with his steady production, Omsk gave Selin a four-year, $1,788,000 extension in March 1981. The Otters were mid to bottom tier with no playoff appearances from 1972-84. They finally returned to relevance the mid 80s, wining the Asian League pennant in 1985 and 1987. They fell in the EPB final in 1985 to Minsk and Kyiv in 1987. For his playoff career, Selin had a 2-5 record, but 2.44 ERA over 59 innings with 54 strikeouts and a 121 ERA+.

The veteran received another three year extension after the 1985 season. In 1986, he had his first-ever season as a league leader, topping the AL in both ERA (1.50) and WHIP (0.81). Selin had a nice 1987, but saw his production worsen in 1988. He was only a part-time starter in that final season, opting to retire at age 38.

Selin finished with a 205-162 record, 2.51 ERA, 3584.1 innings, 3753 strikeouts, 666 walks, 332/456 quality starts, 115 complete games, 81 FIP-, and 79.0 WAR. His totals were more middle-to-bottom of the leaderboard compared to other EPB Hall of Famers. Selin’s lack of dominant seasons and awards hurt him with many voters, but a long run with Omsk and helping them to two AL pennants was a notable plus. He missed out at 61.7% and 55.2% in his first two ballot appearances. With a fairly quiet 1996 group, Selin just barely breached the 66% threshold with 66.5% to secure his place among EPB’s all-timers.