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The European Baseball Federation elected three players into the Hall of Fame for 2024, headlined by SP Mitja Kovacic at 96.3%. LF Robert Patrikyan also made it on the first ballot, but he narrowly reached the 66% requirement with 70.7%. Meanwhile SP Martin Kukoc finally crossed the line at 68.8% in his tenth and final chance. He became the fourth player to make EBF’s HOF on their tenth try. Kovacic and Kukoc were both also notable as the first-ever Slovenian inductees.



Two others were above 50% with 3B Kyle Evrard at 62.3% and SP Johannes Jol with 58.9%; both on their sixth ballot. No one else was above 50%, although LE Richmond Diagne was close at 48.3% in his tenth and final try. Diagne’s peak was 49.4% in 2017 and he was never lower than 38.9% in 2022, but just couldn’t get any movement.

For Diagne, he won two Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger, finishing with 2079 hits, 1302 runs, 289 doubles, 132 triples, 513 home runs, 1393 RBI, .282/.331/.566 slash, 149 wRC+, and 71.5 WAR. He also notably won four European Championship rings between three teams, getting one with Paris, two with Copenhagen, and one with Marseille. In 99 playoff games, Diagne had 109 hits, 58 runs, 15 doubles, 22 home runs, 69 RBI, .288/.323/.544 slash, 139 wRC+, and 3.0 WAR. He was reliably solid, but had no ink and was never an MVP finalist, thus he was banished to the Hall of Pretty Good.

RF Kristijan Acevski was dropped after ten ballots, peaking with a 31.1% debut and ending at 9.7%. He was hurt by his first five seasons with Budapest being in Eurasian Professional Baseball, although his final tallies combined still were likely too low with 2338 hits, 1019 runs, 398 doubles, 176 triples, 286 home runs, 1182 RBI, .307/.340/.519 slash, 146 wRC+, and 53.2 WAR. Acevski had one batting title and a nice career, but unsurprisingly missed the cut.

SP Mehmet Azemi also lasted ten ballots, debuting at 34.5% and ending with 4.4%. The Kosovar had a 16-year career with eight teams for a 195-189 record, 3.77 ERA, 3470 innings, 3538 strikeouts, 694 walks, 102 ERA+, and 51.1 WAR. He was a solid journeyman, but was never in the Pitcher of the Year conversations.

Two others fell below 5% and were dropped, but were still worthy of noting. RF Ari Hartnell had three Silver Sluggers, one Gold Glove, and led in WAR once. He had 2293 hits, 1105 runs, 247 doubles, 229 triples, 393 homers, 1195 RBI, .304/.337/.554 slash, 150 wRC+, and 74.4 WAR. Hartnell peaked with a 28.0% debut and fell to 4.7% on his eighth try.

Lastly, C Geir Valla fell off on his seventh ballot, peaking in his second try at 23.3%. He had 1640 hits, 748 runs, 277 doubles, 262 home runs, 833 RBI, .253/.306/.430 slash, 106 wRC+, and 46.9 WAR. Valla won two championships with Copenhagen and was an important piece for 16 years for the Corsairs. It is tough in the best cases though for catchers and even most pro-catcher voters would agree that Valla didn’t have the dominance or longevity.



Mitja Kovacic – Starting Pitcher – Marseille Musketeers – 96.3% First Ballot

Mitja Kovacic was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Ilirska Bistrica, a town of 4,500 people in southwestern Slovenia. Kovacic had great stuff, excellent control, and very good movement. His fastball topped out in the 96-98 mph range, but his slider, curveball, and changeup were each equally viable options.

Kovacic’s stamina was above average relative to other European aces. While he did have some injury issues, he mostly avoided major setbacks over a 17-year run. Kovacic was good at holding runners, but struggled defensively otherwise. He wasn’t a genius by any stretch, but his natural ability was usually plenty to succeed. Kovacic became one of the more popular pitchers of his era and the first Slovenian baseball superstar.

He came from humble beginnings, but managed to catch the eye of a scout from Warsaw. The Wildcats just joined EBF in 2000 as part of the great exodus of teams from EPB. In March 2000, Kovacic joined Warsaw’s academy and spent four years in Poland. He never pitched for the Wildcats though, as he was traded in January 2004. Kovacic and prospect C Guntars Ozols were sent to Marseille for HOF Class of 2016 pitcher Enrico Gini.

Gini gave Warsaw one solid season as a rental, although they didn’t win it all as they hoped. The Musketeers certainly won the deal as Kovacic would give them 14 years of production. He debuted in 2005 at age 22 and struggled initially in a part-time role. Kovacic was a full-time starter after that, but he posted merely okay numbers over his first three full seasons in the rotation.

Kovacic broke out in 2009 as the Southern Conference’s WARlord at 8.1. He would also lead in WAR with 8+ efforts in 2010, 2013, and 2015. It also started a streak of nine consecutive seasons of at least 5+ WAR. Kovacic was second in 2009’s Pitcher of the Year voting and Marseille ended a 19-year playoff drought by going 97-65.

The Musketeers went all the way, defeating Luxembourg for the European Championship. Kovacic earned MVP of the conference finals win over Athens, posting a 2.52 ERA and 3-1 record over five playoff starts with 39.1 innings, 40 strikeouts, and 3 walks. He tossed a three-hit shutout against both the Anchors and the Lancers in the run, forever earning a spot in the hearts of Marseille fans.

Kovacic led in wins (21-8), strikeouts (290), WHIP (0.96), and WAR (8.3) in 2010, but again was second in Pitcher of the Year voting. His WAR and Ks were down in 2011, but a conference-best 21-2 record led him to his first POTY win. Kovacic was second again in 2012 and finally got his big payday that winter with a seven-year, $92,400,000 extension.

Marseille remained competitive, but never matched their 2009 title run. They earned playoff berths in 2010, 11, 12, 14, and 16, narrowly missing in the off years. However, they only got to the conference finals once with a 2014 loss to Barcelona. Kovacic held his own in the playoffs with 86 innings, a 5-4 record, 2.41 ERA, 82 strikeouts, 160 ERA+, and 2.9 WAR over his Musketeers tenure.

Kovacic won his second Pitcher of the Year in 2013 with his lone ERA title at 1.85, while also leading in wins (20-6) and WAR (8.1). He took third in 2014, then won for the third time in 2015 as the leader in WAR and strikeouts. 2015 saw his career best WAR (8.8) and FIP- (55). 2014 would see Kovacic‘s lone no-hitter on May 23 with 7 strikeouts against Chisinau. Kovacic was done with awards consideration after that, but remained solid in 2016 and 2017.

2017 was an absolute disaster on all fronts for Marseille. Kovacic got shoulder inflammation after his third start, missing the rest of the season. The Musketeers had fallen to 78-84 the prior year to end a decade run of winning seasons. In 2017, they plummeted to 56-106 and were relegated to the European Second League. Kovacic had one year left on his deal, but used the relegation opt-out to leave for free agency at age 35.

This ended Kovacic’s time in Europe, finishing with a 193-97 record, 2.88 ERA, 2848 innings, 2864 strikeouts, 422 walks, 247/351 quality starts, 104 complete games, 26 shutouts, 133 ERA+, and 71.5 WAR. Most fans in southern France remember Kovacic fondly, but the organization seemingly held a grudge for the way it ended and never retired his #10 uniform. As of 2037, Kovacic ranks 60^th in wins, 77^th in strikeouts, and 47^th in pitching WAR.

His EBF tallies aren’t overwhelming as he didn’t crack the top 100 in innings. But the accolades made Kovacic a no-brainer. He won Pitcher of the Year thrice, led in wins thrice, strikeouts twice, and had an ERA title. Kovacic also was a solid playoff performer who helped Marseille return to relevance with their 2009 title. Some voters also gave him some credit for his post-EBF accumulations. Thus, Kovacic was an easy headliner for EBF’s 2024 Hall of Fame class at 96.3%.

Kovacic still had four more years post EBF though. Some were worried that after a season-ending injury that he might be cooked, but MLB’s Kansas City gave him a shot with a three-year, $61,200,000 deal. The Cougars were the reigning World Series champ and hoped to start a dynasty run. Kovacic was a reliably strong veteran starter for KC with a 44-19 record, 2.82 ERA, 685 innings, 526 strikeouts, 99 walks, 122 ERA+, and 13.8 WAR.

Kansas City won their third National Association pennant in four years, but lost the 2019 World Series to Houston. The Cougars fell in the 2020 NACS to Cincinnati, then missed the 2021 playoffs. Kovacic was merely okay in the playoffs with a 3-3 record over eight starts, 3.66 ERA, 51.2 innings, 32 strikeouts, and 95 ERA+. He was solid though in the 2019 Baseball Grand Championship with 2.73 ERA in five starts, 33 innings, 3-1 record, 34 strikeouts, and 141 ERA+. Kansas City finished third in the BGC at 12-7.

Heading towards age 39, he signed for 2022 with New York. Kovacic was respectable in a half-season for the Yankees with a 3.12 ERA over 124 innings, 111 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR. However, they cut him in late July. Baltimore employed Kovacic two days, but didn’t use him before cutting him in August. He finished the year for Montreal’s minor league Sherbrooke team and retired that winter. In MLB, Kovacic had a 50-22 record, 2.87 ERA, 809 innings, 566 strikeouts, 121 walks, 120 ERA+, and 15.9 WAR.

For his combined pro career, Kovacic had a 243-119 record, 2.87 ERA, 3657 innings, 3430 strikeouts, 543 walks, 130 ERA+, and 87.4 WAR. He’s not inner-circle level, but his resume was ironclad. Kovacic widely is considered Slovenia’s best-ever baseball player and he joined classmate Martin Kukoc as the first Slovenes to earn the top honor.