[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two players got the nod for the 2002 Eurasian Professional Baseball Hall of Fame class. Pitcher Fredi Tamasi got in with basically no objections with 98.6% on his debut. Fellow pitcher Maxim Aivazyan joined him, although by a very slim margin. On his seventh ballot, Aivazyan crossed the 66% requirement at 67.4%. Another pitcher came close on his fifth try, but Petr Bidzinashvili fell short with 62.9%.



One other player was above 50% in 1B/DH Ilkin Hasanov, who got 56.4% in his tenth and final chance. His EBP tenure was only about a decade, but he had tremendous power with five Silver Sluggers and one MVP. In 1986, Hasanov became the single season home run king in EPB with 71, a record he still holds as of 2037. Five times, Hasanov led the league in home runs. He also won two EPB titles with Kyiv.

Hasanov’s career numbers were 1352 hits, 767 runs, 465 home runs, 999 RBI, a .261/.297/.573 slash, 173 wRC+, and 52.1 WAR. He also hit 22 home runs with 51 RBI in the playoffs for the Kings. The Kazakh lefty was hurt by a short career with low accumulations, as well as abysmal defense and baserunning value. He never was lower than 44.3% on the ballot, but never got higher than 57.4%. Some still argue that it is a major oversight that the single-season home run king didn’t make the cut. Those who champion longevity and all-around skills (and not just dingers) argue his exclusion was justified. Hasanov still remains a very popular figure in the game and his #33 uniform is retired in Kyiv.



Fredi Tamasi – Starting Pitcher – Bishkek Black Sox – 98.6% First Ballot

Fredi Tamasi was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Batonyterenye; a town of 11,000 inhabitants in north central Hungary. He would be the first-ever Hungarian Hall of Fame inductee. Tamasi’s biggest assets were excellent pinpoint control and his ironman-like durability. Tamasi also had outstanding stamina, tossing 280+ innings in all but two seasons of his 16-year career.

Tamasi still had solid stuff and above average movement, even if he wasn’t a fireballer. His velocity peaked in the 92-94 mph range on his fastball, but he knew how to change speeds and pick his spots. Tamasi’s best pitch was his forkball, but his slider and curveball were both quite good too. He was very adaptable to the situation, which helped him with his awesome longevity.

Tamasi came from humble origins, but managed to get spotted as a teenager by a scout from Bishkek. He signed in August 1974 as a teenage amateur and had to make the cultural adjustment of moving to Kyrgyzstan. Tamasi remained in the developmental academy until 1979, when he was called up at age 21. He was part-time starter that season with mixed results. The Black Sox moved Tamasi into the rotation full-time the next year and he would be a fixture there for 17 years.

Tamasi was great in his second season, leading the Asian League with a career-best 24 wins and taking second in Pitcher of the Year voting. The Black Sox won the pennant, but fell to Kyiv in the EPB Championship. This began regular contention for Bishkek, who made nine playoff appearances from 1981-90 with six division titles. They won the ALCS again in 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1990; but they were never able to win it all.

In the playoffs, Tamasi put up solid numbers with a 20-11 record over 296 innings and a 2.61 ERA. He had 295 strikeouts, a 112 ERA+, and 5.2 WAR. As of 2037, he’s the all-time playoff leader in complete games with 20 and is tied for second in wins with 20. The longevity meant he’s also allowed more hits (231) and homers (31) than any EPB pitcher in the playoffs.

In the regular season, Tamasi thrice led the league in wins, once in ERA, thrice in innings pitched, twice in WHIP, four times in K/BB, thrice in quality starts, twice in complete games, four times in shutouts, and once in WAR. His only Pitcher of the Year win was 1989, which had career bests in ERA (1.73), innings (307), strikeouts (356), WHIP (0.78), and WAR (10.5).

Tamasi was second in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1980, third in 1982, third in 1985, second in 1986, third in 1987, and second in 1991. Sharing a league with two-way star Igor Bury kept Tamasi from being more decorated, as Bury won POTY five times. Azer Sattarli also won three during Tamasi’s prime. Tamasi’s low 90s fastball was definitely less sexy compared to what those two offered, although the results were still impressive.

Bishkek gave Tamasi a six-year, $2,078,000 extension after the 1983 season and another six years at $5,040,000 before the 1989 season. Tamasi tossed three no-hitters in his career with the first on 4/21/88 with 11 strikeouts against Asgabat. The second was 7/20/89 with 14Ks and 1 walk against Omsk. Then 4/1/93, he had 5 Ks in a no-no against Ulaanbaatar in what was his 250^th career win. Twice he tossed no-hitters without surrendering a walk as well, but Tamasi was ultimately denied the elusive perfect game.

Tamasi’s game aged well and he continued to pitch at a high level into his 30s. Bishkek missed the playoffs from 1991-93, but bounced back with another Asian League pennant in 1994. Alas, the Black Sox still couldn’t win it all, this time thwarted by Warsaw. Bishkek gave him another three years and $4,140,000 after the 1995 season where they narrowly missed the playoffs. The Black Sox would fall off after that with 1996 being their first losing season since 1976.

1996 would also be Tamasi’s last season, as he posted a 3.09 ERA and 91 ERA+, looking pedestrian for the first time. He went 13-19 on the season, but that enabled him to get to 300 wins exactly; the third in EPB history to do so. With that, Tamasi bid farewell to the game at age 39 and saw his #5 uniform immediately retired by Bishkek.

Tamasi’s career stats saw a 300-219 record, 2.33 ERA, 5104.2 innings, 5199 strikeouts, 613 walks, 455/589 quality starts, 352 complete games, 75 shutouts, 124 ERA+, 82 FIP-, and 111.2 WAR. He was not the top pitcher on the leaderboards in dominance and Alvi Tahiri had him beat for the #1 longevity spots. Still, Tamasi longevity gives him some impressive notables.

As of 2037, Tamasi is still fifth in wins, second in complete games, second in innings pitched, second in shutouts, fifth in strikeouts, and 12^th in WAR. That, plus five pennants and a full career with Bishkek made him a very easy choice. Tamasi got 98.6% to headline EPB’s 2002 Hall of Fame class.



Maxim Aivazyan – Starting Pitcher – Ufa Fiends – 67.4% Seventh Ballot

Maxim Aivazyan was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Liski, Russia. Formerly named Georgiu-Dezu, it is a city of 54,000 people in the Voronezh Oblast bordering eastern Ukraine. Aivazyan was known for having excellent movement and very solid control, although his stuff graded out as around average. His fastball was in the 94-96 mph range, but he had a five pitch arsenal. Aivazyan boasted a solid sinker, forkball, and curveball, plus a rarely seen changeup.

In the world of EPB where pitchers were expected to go the distance, Aivazyan’s stamina was merely decent. He had good durability though and avoided major injuries, making 28+ starts each year for 12 years. Aivazyan was appreciated as being scrappy, resilient, and hard working.

Aivazyan dominated the amateur circuit and rose up to be considered Russia’s top baseball prospect in the eyes of many heading into the 1973 EPB Draft. Ufa agreed with that assessment and made Aivazyan the #1 overall pick, giving him a five-year major league contract worth $715,000. He wasn’t thrown immediately into the fire despite Ufa being terrible and needing help. Aivazyan sat all of 1974 and made only two relief appearances in 1975. He was a part-time starter in 1976 and made the full-time transition starting in 1977.

Aivazyan was reliably steady, posting ten seasons of 6+ WAR. He wasn’t a dominant strikeout pitcher and didn’t go as deep as many contemporaries. Aivazyan was also over shadowed by the many elite pitchers in the Asian League during his run. He was only a Pitcher of the Year finalist once, taking third in 1984. He twice led the AL in wins and once in quality starts, but otherwise wasn’t a league leader.

Ufa was regardless satisfied with the results, giving Aivazyan a six-year, $2,592,000 extension in June 1983. After spending most of the 1970s as the dirt worst in the league, the Fiends were now at least around .5000 for much of the 1980s. They earned wild cards in 1984 and 1988, but suffered first round exits both times. Aivazyan had a 0.52 ERA in his two playoff starts.

Although limited in his opportunities on the big stage, Aivazyan did see strong numbers in the World Baseball Championship. From 1978-90, he tossed 117 innings for the Russian team with a 2.46 ERA, 100 strikeouts, 151 ERA+, and 3.4 WAR. The career highlight for Aivazyan came on July 17, 1987. He struck out eight and walked one in a no-hitter against Ulaanbaatar.

After generally being durable, Aivazyan’s first major injury came in April 1989 with rotator cuff inflammation. That cost him about half of the season, although he looked like himself in the second half at age 35. Ufa decided not to give him another extension, making Aivazyan a free agent for the first time. The franchise would opt to retire his #34 uniform for his lengthy service as a Fiend.

Aivazyan signed a two-year, $1,760,000 deal with Almaty for the 1990 season. He still had his fairly standard production for 70 innings, but catastrophe struck on May 29 as Aivazyan suffered a torn elbow ligament. He considered trying a comeback, but the 11 month injury duration seemed too daunting. Aivazyan retired in the winter of 1990 at age 37.

For his career, Aivazyan had a 217-147 record, 2.50 ERA, 3433.2 innings, 3132 strikeouts, 505 walks, 321/424 quality starts, 135 complete games, 118 ERA+, 77 FIP-, and 82.7 WAR. Aivazyan had quietly put together a good resume that looked better than some others that had earned the induction. However, he had plenty working against him. Aivazyan had been stuck on largely forgettable Ufa teams, lacked major awards, and looked less impressive next to the loaded competition he had in the Asian League.

Aivazyan debuted at 59.4% and never dropped below 50%, but he fell short in his first six ballots. 1999 saw him at 64.0%, two points shy of induction, but he dropped back to 60.5% and 59.2% the next two years. Aivazyan worried that he’d be cursed to the Hall of Pretty Good, but he won over just enough doubters in 2002 to get to 67.4%. That gave Aivazyan the seventh ballot induction, joining his contemporary Fredi Tamasi as EPB’s 2002 class.