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Gianni Fenech – Pitcher – Copenhagen Corsairs – 90.0% First Ballot

Gianni Fenech was a 6’6’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Gzira, a town of around 11,000 in Malta’s Central Region. He would be only the second-ever Maltese Hall of Famer, joining Class of 2012 pitcher Vincent Cassar. Fenech had incredible stuff with and outstanding movement later in his career. He had good control in his younger days, but regressed to average in his later run. Fenech had a three-pitch arsenal with a 95-97 mph fastball, slider, and changeup.

Fenech notably fared better against right-handed bats (158 ERA+, 2.34 ERA) compared to lefties (124 ERA+, 2.99 ERA). He had good stamina at his peak, but later injuries tanked that and shifted him to the bullpen. Fenech also started his career as a reliever and saw success in both mediums at various points in his career.

In the 1988 EBF Draft coming out of high school, Fenech was picked 10^th overall by Naples. He spurned the Nobles though and decided to attend junior college for the next two years. Fenech upped his stock and was picked by his home country team Malta third overall in 1991. The Marvels saw him as a reliever and used him in the closer role in his first four seasons.

Fenech looked merely okay in his first three years, but posted a 1.36 ERA and 33 saves in 1995, earning Reliever of the Year honors. Malta made him a starter in 1996 with average production. The Marvels remained a bottom feeder franchise during his run, averaging 70.4 wins. Although Fenech appreciated his home country, he wasn’t expected to stay long-term with the perennial loser Marvels. In five seasons, he had a 38-40 record, 125 saves, 3.02 ERA, 536.2 innings, 531 strikeouts, 125 ERA+, and 11.2 WAR.

Coming up on age 28, Fenech was traded straight up for prospect pitcher Edwin Copel. The Highlanders had him for two years with solid results, including a Northern Conference best 22-8 record and a career-best 28 quality starts. Fenech took second in 1997 Pitcher of the Year voting. He was solid in the 1997 postseason with a 2.25 ERA, but iffy in 1998 at 4.24. Both seasons, Glasgow was defeated in the conference championship.

With Glasgow, Fenech had a 40-18 record, 2.62 ERA, 525 innings, 528 strikeouts, 138 ERA+, and 12.4 WAR. He decided to test free agency heading towards age 30 and drew plenty of attention. Copenhagen ended up the buyer on a six-year, $21,040,000 deal. This became Fenech’s signature run, helping the Corsairs begin an eight-year playoff streak from 2000-2007.

In his Copenhagen debut, Fenech won his lone Pitcher of the Year, leading the conference in WAR (9.2) and complete games (17). He became one of a select few in baseball history to win POTY as a starter as well as a Reliever of the Year. Fenech’s WAR was even better in 2000 at 10.2, but he took third in POTY voting. Fenech was third again in 2001 and second in 2003.

Fenech was solid in the postseason with a 2.66 ERA over 47.1 innings and 59 strikeouts for Copenhagen. From 2000-2003, they had three second round exits and a conference finals loss in 2001 to Glasgow. The Corsairs finally broke through in 2004 and won the European Championship. However, Fenech had to watch the festivities in a sling.

Shoulder inflammation had knocked him out for the second half of 2002, although he bounced back expertly in 2003. 2004 would see the big one though with radial nerve compression in late April, knocking him out eight months. That injury ultimately ended both his Copenhagen tenure and his time as a starting pitcher. His deal naturally expired that winter and the Corsairs weren’t willing to commit to a soon-to-be 36-year old off a major injury.

With Copenhagen, Fenech had an 89-33 record, 2.29 ERA, 1160.1 innings, 1458 strikeouts, 172 walks, 162 ERA+, and 41.1 WAR. Although the Corsairs wouldn’t commit big money, MLB’s Las Vegas Vipers would. They bet on Fenech with a three-year, $28,300,000 deal. The deal was a bust though as he ultimately just had a 4.42 ERA over 38.2 relief innings in 2005. In the offseason, he was traded to Chicago.

Fenech regained his mojo with the Cubs, posting a 1.47 ERA and 27 saves as their closer, finishing second in Reliever of the Year voting. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the third year of the deal, becoming a free agent again. Houston signed him as a set-up man in 2007, posting a 2.31 ERA over 78 innings. Fenech then joined Cincinnati for 2008.

He had a 3.69 ERA over 75.2 innings for the Reds, but notably took home a World Series ring with Cincy in 2008. This concluded his MLB tenure with 31 saves, 272 innings, a 2.75 ERA, 291 strikeouts, 133 ERA+, and 7.3 WAR. Coming up on his 40s, Fenech went back to Europe and inked a two-year, $7,440,000 deal with Budapest.

Fenech still could contribute, taking second in 2009 Reliever of the Year voting with a 2.13 ERA over 55 innings. In July 2010 with trading allowed between EBF and AAB, Fenech was sent to Africa in a four-player deal with Nairobi. He had 11 appearances with the Night Hawks, then stayed in AAB for 2011 with Brazzaville. Fenech struggled in 22 innings for the Blowfish and retired that winter at age 42.

For his combined pro career, Fenech had a 194-115 record, 207 saves, 2.62 ERA, 2612.2 innings, 2902 strikeouts, 539 walks, 142 ERA+, and 74.0 WAR. Just in Europe, he had a 175-97 record, 176 saves, 2.55 ERA, 2302 innings, 2592 strikeouts, 419 walks, 182/238 quality starts, 77 complete games, 145 ERA+, and 66.6 WAR. As of 2037, he’s 63^rd in pitching WAR. His ERA ranks 36^th amongst all pitchers with 1000+ innings.

Fenech fell into an odd place for evaluation with his split starting/relief career. However, his tallies still were respectable even with a shorter run as a starter. Fenech’s peak dominance with Copenhagen went a long way with voters and he got the first ballot nod easily. At 90.0%, Fenech was the second of three in EBF’s 2016 Hall of Fame class.



Ulrich Thomsen – Catcher – Oslo Octopi – 67.9% Third Ballot

Ulrich Thomsen was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting catcher from Holstebro, Denmark; a town with around 37,000 people in the Mid Jutland Region. Thomsen wasn’t an outstanding hitter, but he was considered above average to occasionally good in terms of contact, power, and eye. His 162 game average got you 19 home runs, 23 doubles, and 4 triples.

With the lower offensive expectations from catchers, this made Thomsen stand out. Thomsen was also a very clever and savvy baserunner who had more speed than you’d expect, although you wouldn’t call him fast. He was actually quite lousy defensively, but his bat was reliable enough to still give him plenty of positive value overall.

Expectations were high from Oslo, who picked Thomsen second overall in the 1991 EBA Draft. He was a part-time starter in his first two years, then had the full-time gig from 1994-2001 for the Octopi. Thomsen showed great durability during that stretch apart from a strained oblique and separated shoulder in his last year. Oslo signed him after the 1997 season to a four-year, $13,400,000 deal. 1998 would see his career-best WAR at 6.6.

He was the top hitting catcher in the Northern Conference, winning five straight Silver Sluggers from 1995-1999. Thomsen topped 4+ WAR in each of those seasons and regularly hit above .300 with an OPS above .800. Despite his efforts, Oslo stunk during this era as from 1988-2000, their best season was 76-86. In total for the Octopi, he had 1269 hits, 543 runs, 173 doubles, 147 home runs, 518 RBI, a .301/.339/.464 slash, 130 wRC+, and 39.8 WAR.

Thomsen also was a regular for his native Denmark in the World Baseball Championship. From 1992-2008, he had 117 games and 114 starts, posting 95 hits, 43 runs, 13 doubles, 12 home runs, 37 RBI, a .230/.298/.358 slash, 93 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR.

2001 was the last year of his contract and Oslo wasn’t sure they wanted to extend the 32-year old Thomsen. They ended up moving him in a five-player offseason trade to Lisbon. He won his sixth Silver Slugger in his one year with the Clippers, then entered free agency for the first time. Madrid signed Thomsen to a four-year, $20,800,000 deal.

Injuries cost him some time with the Conquistadors, although he still posted 11.3 WAR and a .816 OPS in three seasons for Madrid. They were a regular contender at this point and won the Southern Conference title in 2002 and 2004, although they fell in the EBF final both years. This was Thomsen’s lone playoff experience in his career, posting a .328/.384/.472 slash, 131 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR over 36 starts.

Thomsen didn’t meet the criteria for the fourth year of the Madrid deal, becoming a free agent at age 36. Most teams were leery of signing a catcher at that age and he had to look towards the newly formed European Second League, signing a three-year, $17,900,000 deal with Edinburgh.

Thomsen had a strong 6.5 WAR in 2005, then dropped to 3.4 WAR in 2006. He ended up back in the big time as he was traded after the 2006 season to Dublin. He had 2.3 WAR in his one year with the Dinos, although he had a career-worst 88 wRC+. Berlin gave him a look in 2008, but he struggled to -0.5 WAR over 48 games and 30 starts. Thomsen would retire that winter at age 40.

For his EBF Elite tenure, Thomsen had 1891 hits, 856 runs, 273 doubles, 223 home runs, 819 RBI, 188 stolen bases, a .292/.333/.455 slash, 122 wRC+, and 55.9 WAR. At retirement, he had the second most WAR among catchers and still ranks fourth as of 2037. As often the case with the position, his tallies were unremarkable compared to other position players.

It was never an easy battle for any catcher with the limitations of the position. Even by catcher standards though, Thomsen seemed pretty borderline. At that point, EBF hadn’t elected a single catcher into its Hall of Fame. He debuted at 53.7% in 2014 and fell to 52.0% in 2015. Thomsen got the bump just across the line in 2016 at 67.9%, earning the third ballot nod. As of 2037, he’s still EBF’s lone Hall of Fame catcher.