Wednesday, January 3, 2085
BEECHWOOD'S VILLAVASO ONLY 4TH CLOSER NAMED TO IPA HALL OF FAME
The ballots are counted and the results are in. One player was enshrined this year: Beechwood's hurler Luis Villavaso will now see his plaque mounted beside the other greats from the game in the IPA Hall of Fame in Marston. He will join Val Jackson of Fairfax, Burnell Kelley of Denton City and Archie Desmond of Tuckanarra as the only closers in the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame. It was announced today by Islandian Pro Alliance officials that renowned bullpen ace Luis Villavaso has been inducted into the league's Hall of Fame. It took him 9 years but he finally got what he richly deserved.
In his famed career Villavaso registered 391 saves in 1278 game appearances, ending up with a 124-114 won-loss record and a 2.64 ERA with a poor ballclub. He chalked up 1687 strikeouts in 2148 innings, while limiting other teams to a .234 batting average. Villavaso ended up 6th in all-time saves. Val Jackson of Fairfax has the most with 468 saves. Villavaso never really had a bad season in his 17-year career. Villavaso was still a very effective closer when he retired at age 39. He spent 15 years with the perennial also-ran Beechwood Blues, who only posted two winning seasons during his tenure with them. Villavaso's career lasted from 2057 to 2073.
Villavaso described his feelings during his induction speech, commenting, "When you're playing, awards don't seem like much. Then, you get older and all of it becomes more precious. It is nice to be remembered."
His longtime manager also spoke at the ceremony, stating, "As a pitcher he had it all... poise, confidence, control, great movement... and Luis wasn't afraid to pitch inside. He lit up the room when he came in. He was a joy to be around. Luis loved playing baseball."
The full voting results are included here. Players require 75% of ballots cast to be elected to the Hall, may stay on the ballot for up to 10 years if they receive at least 5% of the votes. Players must be retired for 3 years before they are eligible for induction to the Hall of Fame.
CL Luis Villavaso 78.4 (9th year) Inducted HOF
CF Maxie Mullinax 67.5 (9th year)
SS Yazzy Ricks 56.4 (4th year)
3B Cooter Eldridge 54.4 (8th year)
SP William Pike 51.8 (2nd year)
SS Junior Evans 36.4 (3rd year)
2B Luke Hazlett 21.0 (9th year)
SP Billy Lake 20.3 (1st year)
1B Bralen Josephson 20.3 (8th year)
C Ozzy Crenshaw 19.0 (9th year)
SP Andre Zajac 16.7 (1st year)
SP Russell Krohn 16.7 (3rd year)
RP Brownie Ashmore 13.8 (6th year)
RP Jason Irons 13.4 (1st year)
C Kuro Ishihara 12.1 (9th year)
SP Darryl Edmonds 9.8 (1st year)
RP Dorsey Burnette 9.5 (2nd year)
SP Anxo Di Lima 9.5 (1st year)
RF Alfie Elbourne 9.2 (9th year)
SP Dontrelle Gilbreath 8.5 (9th year)
RP Lloyd Fairhead 8.5 (2nd year)
SP Sassy Worsley 8.5 (4th year)
SP Gianni Caruso 7.9 (1st year)
SP Rollie Taft 7.2 (4th year)
SS Walt Ivy 6.9 (9th year)
SP Bruno Baptista 6.2 (1st year)
SP Benny Merckx 6.2 (2nd year)
1B Jackie Hansford 5.6 (3rd year)
RP Allie Gabrielson 5.6 (1st year)
RP Mickey Whiting 4.9 (1st year) Dropped
SP George Gently 4.9 (1st year) Dropped
CF Jalen Jackman 4.6 (2nd year) Dropped
SP Finn Roogeveen 3.9 (1st year) Dropped
SP Raymond Weatherly 3.9 (1st year) Dropped
SP Billy Pearl 3.3 (1st year) Dropped
SP Bryan Bushnell 3.3 (1st year) Dropped
SP Galen Busby 3.0 (3rd year) Dropped
SP Billy Wilkerson 2.6 (1st year) Dropped
SP Alton Liddell 2.3 (1st year) Dropped
SP Scotty Robeson 1.6 (1st year) Dropped
SP Sonny Barnett 1.0 (1st year) Dropped
SP Odie Warfield 0.7 (1st year) Dropped
RF Kit Clemmons 0.7 (1st year) Dropped
SP Steven Parmelee 0.7 (1st year) Dropped
SS Dante De Jesus 0.3 (1st year) Dropped
No other players received a vote, and have been dropped from the ballot.
