[FuzzyRussianHat]

The 2024 Hall of Fame ballot for Eurasian Professional Baseball was a weaker one and nearly didn’t add any players. LF Aram Sargsyan would be the lone selection on his second ballot, although he squeaked by the 66% requirement at 66.7%. SP Nijat Statsky came close on his fifth ballot but missed at 64.5%. 1B Benjamin Bodnar was the only other player above 50% with 57.4% on his fifth go. The best debut was SP Artur Woloshyn with 49.3%.



SP Mateo Chapparo was dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking at 20.7% in 2016 and ending at 8.5%. The Mexican lefty had an unusual career, coming to Moscow after eight years with Mexicali. His EPB run was just five seasons, but he won two Pitcher of the Year awards and two EPB titles for the Mules. With Moscow, Chaparro had a 79-39 record, 1.95 ERA, 1175.2 innings, 1214 strikeouts, 150 ERA+, and 36.9 WAR.

It speaks to how impressive Chaparro was with the Mules that he lasted ten years on the ballot with only a five year run. Combining his CABA stats, Chaparro had a 173-145 record, 2.80 ERA, 3003.2 innings, 2861 strikeouts, 573 walks, 122 ERA+, and 73.4 WAR. It was certainly a unique run that deserved acknowledgement, but it fell outside the Hall of Fame threshold.



Aram Sargsyan – Left Field – Irkutsk Ice Cats – 66.7% Second Ballot

Aram Sargsyan was a 6’1’’, 200 pound switch-hitting left fielder from the capital of Armenia, Yerevan. Sargsyan was best known for having an incredible eye for drawing walks, leading the league in 11 different seasons. At his peak, he was also a good-to-great power hitter with a decent strikeout rate. Sargsyan’s power wasn’t amazing, but it was steady with 26 home runs, 23 doubles, and 10 triples per his 162 game average. Sargsyan was noticeably better facing right-handed pitching (156 wRC+, .882 OPS) compared to lefties (131 wRC+, .769 OPS).

Sargsyan’s speed was above average, but he was a sloppy baserunner and got caught stealing much more than he succeeded. His athleticism did lend itself towards reliably strong defense in left, winning five Gold Gloves. Sargsyan had a few notable injuries, but held up remarkably well overall for a 19-year pro career. He built up a sizeable fan base over his near two decades in the game.

When Sargsyan was growing up in the 1990s, Armenia was still part of the EPB sphere. His hometown Yerevan was among the teams that made the jump to the European Baseball Federation in 2000. Sargsyan still had great popularity back home, although his entire career was in Russia. In October 1995, it started with a developmental deal with Irkutsk. Sargsyan spent most of four years in the Ice Cats academy, debuting in 1999 at age 20 with 12 pinch hit at-bats.

Sargsyan was named a full-time starter in 2000 and held down left field for eight years in Irkutsk. He had a career and Asian League best 35 doubles in 2000. Sargsyan only got to 30 doubles once more, but his home run power improved shortly after to a reliable 25 dingers per year. 2001 started a six-year streak as the AL’s leader in walks drawn. He led in OBP in both 2001 and 2005 and had five seasons worth 5+ WAR. Sargsyan’s career best WAR was 7.9 in 2005.

For Irkutsk, Sargsyan won Silver Sluggers in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2007 and took Gold Gloves in 2004, 2005, and 2007. The Ice Cats were mostly in the middle tier during his run, but did loser in the 2006 ALCS to Yekaterinburg. In 2007, Sargsyan still won awards despite missing the spring to a dislocated shoulder. He was very popular at this point in Irkutsk, but it was unclear if the Ice Cats would be able to lock him up long-term.

On New Year’s Day 2008, Sargsyan was traded to Yekaterinburg as part of a six player exchange. It was ultimately a star-studded exchange that had three eventual Hall of Famers involved. The Ice Cats got prospect Kamil Domanski, who would be their 2010s ace and a two-time Pitcher of the Year winner. Irkutsk also got 2016 inductee Yakov Ryzhinkov in his late 30s, who had made his name with Krasnoyarsk primarily. They also got two forgettable prospects, while the Yaks got Sargsyan and a forgettable reliever.

With Irkutsk, Sargsyan had 1195 hits, 544 runs, 192 doubles, 74 triples, 167 home runs, 544 RBI, 620 walks, .277/.368/.472 slash, 149 wRC+, and 44.7 WAR. He would be remembered quite fondly by Ice Cats fans and his #13 uniform would eventually be retired. Yekaterinburg wasn’t looking for a rental in the deal though, signing Sargsyan to a seven-year, $47,500,000 extension in spring training 2008. The Yaks were the defending EPB champ and wanted to continue their dynasty run, having won four pennants and three EPB titles in the prior five years.

Sargsyan’s overall WAR and power was down in 2008, but he still won a Gold Glove and led the league with 111 walks, tying the EPB single-season record. He had an unremarkable postseason, but Yekaterinburg earned repeat championships, beating Minsk in the final. The Yaks would be the ALCS runner up in the next three seasons with largely underwhelming playoff stats out of Sargsyan.

However in 2009, Sargsyan led the league in walks (104), OBP (.426), OPS (.985), and wRC+ (173) while adding 7.4 WAR. He got the awards sweep, winning MVP, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove. His triple slash of .312/.426/.559 would be career bests for a qualifying season and he had his top mark of runs scored at 104. Sargsyan was on an even more dominant pace early in 2010, but suffered a severely strained hip muscle that kept him out from June onward.

Sargsyan missed small bits of the next two years, but led in OBP for the fourth and final time in 2012. He won Silver Sluggers in 2011 and 2012, giving him seven for his career. Sargsyan had a second place in 2011’s MVP voting and would lead in walks again in 2013 and 2015. As of 2037 in EPB, there have only been 17 seasons with 100+ walks drawn; Sargsyan has four of them.

Yekaterinburg’s dynasty had one final stand in 2012, which was their tenth straight year in the playoffs. They won their fifth EPB Championship of the streak, defeating Rostov in the final. Sargsyan stepped up in the postseason and won finals MVP, getting 15 hits, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 1 home, and 6 RBI over 13 playoff starts. He played nine games in the Baseball Grand Championship as Yakerinburg finished near the bottom at 7-12. The Yaks would be just above .500 but outside the playoffs in the next two years. They then plummeted to 65-97 in 2015 to truly signal the end of their era on top.

For the Yaks, Sargsyan had 1023 hits, 595 runs, 136 doubles, 65 triples, 192 home runs, 532 RBI, 623 walks, .277/.381/.504 slash, 155 wRC+, and 38.8 WAR. Yekaterinburg fans often claim him as their guy, although he played slightly longer for Irkutsk and was inducted in Ice Cats blue. Sargsyan became a free agent for 2016 heading towards age 37 and had been still playing at a high level. He stayed in the AL and inked a two-year, $21,400,000 deal with Omsk.

The Otters had looked to take over Yekaterinburg’s old spot as the Asian League’s top contender, having won the EPB title in 2014. They missed the playoffs in 2016 narrowly, then were upset as the top seed in the 2017 ALCS by Ulaanbaatar. Sargsyan gave Omsk two respectable seasons with 289 hits, 156 runs, 37 doubles, 54 home runs, 148 RBI, .250/.332/.454 slash, 133 wRC+, and 7.1 WAR. He likely could’ve played another season or two, but decided to retire after the 2017 campaign at age 38.

Sargsyan finished with 2612 games, 2507 hits, 1295 runs, 365 doubles, 157 triples, 413 home runs, 1224 RBI, 1383 walks, 1854 strikeouts, 264 stolen bases, .274/.368/.483 slash, 149 wRC+, and 90.7 WAR. As of 2037, Sargsyan is 40^th in hits, 25^th in runs, 27^th in games, 71^st in doubles, 67^th in home runs, 46^th in RBI, 2^nd in walks, and 21^st in WAR among position players. Among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his OBP ranks 14^thand his .852 OPS is 44^th.

Many EPB Hall of Voters were stingy towards Sargsyan though despite his resume. He didn’t have the home run or RBI numbers many traditionalists liked and many of those same types put little stock into walks or defensive value. Advanced metrics were much more appreciative of Sargsyan, plus he had plenty of awards along with two championship rings.

Despite that, he missed out on a first ballot induction in 2023 with 65.2%, barely missing the 66% requirement. Sargsyan hardly budged with a weak 2024 group, but that hardly was enough to get to 66.7%. With that, Sargsyan earned a second ballot induction as the lone addition into the Eurasian Professional Baseball HOF in 2024.