[illeracula]

Lewis Honored by First Ballot Selection to DBL Hall of Fame:
"He simply produced -- game after game after game. That's what I loved about him."

Those sentiments were expressed by one of Jeff Lewis's managers from his Norfolk Cavaliers days at the gifted right fielder's Hall of Fame induction ceremony yesterday. On a cloudy, but comfortable afternoon, he took his rightful place among the best DELMARVA Baseball League players of all-time.

The newest Hall of Famer assessed his career in these words: "I did my best to contribute to the team -- in the field, at the plate, in the dugout. I didn't care about personal numbers. I just went out there to win."

Lewis spent his best years playing for the Norfolk Cavaliers, playing in 2405 games with a .314 career batting average and 3035 hits. He also scored 1619 runs and drove in 1380 runs with 327 home runs.

Lewis retired from baseball when he was 42.


Rivera Now Hall of Famer:
Someone once said, "There's no crying in baseball." But the tears were flowing in abundance today at the Hall of Fame induction of baseball great Pedro Rivera. They were tears of joy.

The superstar hurler got quite emotional at times during his speech as he retraced his journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of success in the baseball world.

He told the audience, "The greatest feeling in the world is to win a major league game. The second greatest feeling is to lose a major league game. For someone who truly loved playing baseball, I couldn't really lose either way. Just to be on a baseball diamond is a wonderful feeling. Life just doesn't get any better than that. I will really miss it."

Baseball newest legend ended his career at age 39 with 195 wins and 123 defeats and compiled a 3.93 ERA. Rivera made 525 appearances and struck out 2935 in 2830.1 innings. Teams hit a composite .246 against him.