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FuzzyRussianHat · 07-21-2023, 05:37 PM

The 1968 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot saw three players earn first ballot inductions. Pitcher Ayaz Shainidze was the start with 99.4% of the vote, one of a very select few to earn 99+ thus far. Outfielders Bill Tan and Patrick White both firmly made it in as well with Tan at 89.6% and White at 85.2%. 1B Tiger Novak on his fifth attempt barely missed the 66% mark again, finishing at 65.1%. Three others, OF Estefan Salinas, SP Abraham Reiner, and SS Chance Warren were above the 50% mark.

Dropped after ten attempts was closer Victoro Fraijo, who ended at 48.4% after peaking at 58.2% and generally hovering in the 50s. He had a 21-year career between MLB and CABA with a combined 438 saves and 41.6 WAR, including two CABA Reliever of the Year nods. His MLB tally was 356 saves, 2.13 ERA, 1017 strikeouts, and 32.8 WAR. Guys with similar looking lines had made it in, but Fraijo couldn’t earn any new supporters for whatever reason.

Six other players also made it ten years and were dropped after the 1968 ballot, although none of those finished above 15%. RF Jack McCoy never was above 37.3% despite a career with 3110 hits, 1668 runs, 390 home runs, 1546 RBI, and 76.7 WAR. Meanwhile, RF Wei-Ju Wang had 3275 hits, 1716 runs, 460 doubles, 273 triples, 94 home runs, 957 RBI, and 49.1 WAR. 3000+ hits wasn’t a guarantee though and they joined Joe Thibault (3257) and two others who had crossed the mark but didn’t get in. McCoy won two titles with Los Angeles as well, making his exclusion even more surprising considering other guys in a similar stat range had gotten the nod. Lack of home run power hurt Wang, although he finished second all-time in triples at 273, one behind Jess Lewis. Wang peaked at 29.7%.

Also dropped was closer Alex Lusk, a three time Reliever of the Year winner with340 saves, a 2.81 ERA, and 31.4 ERA with 903 strikeouts. He had the awards and a save number that usually gets attention, but lacked the dominant strikeout numbers to get higher than 39.3%. Another reliever dropped was Aaron Reyes, who had 254 saves, 2.19 ERA, 826 strikeouts, and 29.6 WAR. He actually peaked at 44.8% before falling to 13.5% at the end.

Rounding out the dropped players was 1B Gage Fairbanks, with 1599 hits, 882 runs, 283 home runs, 884 RBI, a .320 average, and 50.1 WAR. The vast majority of his value were in his first six excellent years with Oakland, but he never recovered from a torn MCL. SP Leon Frausto also fell off peaking at 20.8%. The 1946 Pitcher of the Year was a part of Philadelphia’s dynasty with a 203-171 record, 3.64 ERA, 2901 strikeouts, and 56.4 WAR.

Ayaz Shainidze – Starting Pitcher – Las Vegas Vipers – 99.4% First Ballot

Ayaz Shainidze was a 5’11’’, 200 pound left-handed starting pitcher from Georgia; the country in Asia, not the US state. He was from a town called Zahesi, located nine miles north of the capital Tbilisi. Shainidze’s velocity peaked at 96-98 with solid control and stuff, plus above average movement. He had a slider, curveball, and sinker that were all excellent, along with a rarely used terrible changeup. Shainidze was also known for great durability and stamina, as well as solid leadership skills and adaptability.

Shainidze’s family left Georgia during World War II and he instantly picked up baseball when fully exposed in the United States. He attended Notre Dame and excelled in college, taking the 1947 NCAA Pitcher of the Year with a 12-1 record, 0.81 ERA, and 6.0 WAR with 124 strikeouts in 111 innings. Due to the regional restrictions in the first three rounds, he wasn’t eligible until the fourth round of the 1947 MLB Draft. Shainidze was the third pick of the round, 154^th overall, by New Orleans.

He had an excellent rookie season with 7.7 WAR, yet somehow wasn’t even in the top three for Rookie of the Year voting. He instantly was the Mudcats ace and in five seasons there, had a 92-55 record, 2.96 ERA, 1151 strikeouts in 1376.1 innings, and 37.6 WAR. In his third season with New Orleans, he won his lone Pitcher of the Year with 8.9 WAR, 304.2 innings, and a 2.81 ERA. Shainidze was third in 1952. The Mudcats stunk though with only one playoff berth his tenure in 1949 that he missed to a late-season injury, Unlikely to stick around, New Orleans traded Shainidze before the 1953 season to Las Vegas for prospects.

The Vipers run is what Shainidze would be known for, pitching the remainder of his ten professional seasons there and earning the retirement of his #26 uniform. He put up six 7+ WAR seasons and was a consistent force, although he rarely was a statistical leader. He still earned award looks, but never won Pitcher of the Year again. He was third in 1953, second in 1954, and second in 1958.

During this stretch, Las Vegas became a regular playoff contender, making it nine times from 1950-59. Shainidze caught the back-end of the run, going 3-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 10 playoff starts with 71.1 innings and 55 strikeouts. He made five starts with a 3.50 ERA in 1959, the year that the Vipers finally got over the hump and won the World Series. In the back end of his career as well, Shainidze’s home country began to compete in the World Baseball Championship. From 1956-61 for Georgia, he had a 3.61 ERA over 12 starts and 92.1 innings with 120 strikeouts.

Shainidize’s innings never dwindled, but his production began to fade as he entered his 30s. His ERA went above four in 1960 and 1961 with the stats closer to league average, although he did cross the 250 win and 3000 mlestones. After a middling 1962 at age 35, he opted to retire fairly young. This last year pushed him above 100 career WAR, making him only the 11^th MLB pitcher to that point to do so. His Las Vegas stats saw a 184-114 record, 3.38 ERA, 2323 strikeouts in 2781.1 innings and 64.7 WAR.
For his career, Shainidze had a 276-169 record, 3.24 ERA, 4157.2 innings, 3474 strikeouts, 324/514 quality starts, 267 complete games, FIP- of 80 and 102.3 WAR. He was about as consistently strong as you come and even in his weaker years, he still gave you a lot of innings. A big part in Las Vegas finally winning the big one, Shainidze earned no-doubt induction at 99.4%.

Bill “Wall” Tan – Outfielder – Albuquerque Isotopes – 89.6% First Ballot

Bill Tan was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed hitting outfielder from South Gate, California; located seven miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Tan had one of the most unique skillsets of all-time as he known for incredible speed and baserunning skills, along with a terrific eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He was still a good contact hitter with respectable gap power, although Tan’s home run power was almost non-existent. He could get on base and fly around the basepaths though and combined with his work ethic, this made him a popular player. He bounced around the outfield defensively with about 2/5 of his starts in center, 2/5 in left, and 1/5 in right. Tan was viewed as above average to good defensively in the corners and just below average in center. Tan was also very durable, making 130+ starts each year from age 21 to age 36.

Tan went east to play college baseball for Pittsburgh. After his junior year with the Panthers, he was picked seventh overall in the 1941 MLB Draft by Albuquerque. Tan was an immediate starter and immediate success, leading the American Association as a rookie in steals and OBP. This game him third in Rookie of the Year voting. His two Silver Sluggers came in 1947 and 1948 with third place MVP finishes in both years as well and the most WAR in the AA in 1947. Without the big power numbers, he wasn’t often in the MVP conversation. Tan occasionally had down years when he was overworked, but he typically provided good things. Tan led in stolen bases 11 times, walks five times, runs thrice, and OBP thrice. He also played once in the World Baseball Championship with five games in 1949.

Tan was a key leader as Albuquerque regularly contended in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Isotopes made the playoffs eight times in Tan’s tenure with the deepest run coming in 1948 with an American Association title, falling to Hartford in the World Series. In 52 playoff games with Albuquerque, Tan had 55 hits, 34 runs, 11 doubles, 21 RBI, 28 walks, and 20 stolen bases. In total with the Isotopes, he had 2535 hits, 1565 runs, 422 doubles, 115 triples, 1343 walks, 974 stolen bases, and 69.0 WAR. The team retired his #18 uniform as well.

At age 35 in 1956, Tan had a career-best 110 walks drawn and led in stolen bases for the 11^th and final time. He crossed 2500 hits and 1500 runs scored, but opted to leave Albuquerque sensing a rebuild was to come. Tan signed a three-year, $270,000 deal with St. Louis that saw his salary jump from a peak of $48,400 with the small market Isotopes to $90,000. He set a career best with 116 walks in his Cardinals debut and became the first MLB player to reach 1000 stolen bases for his career. He was a bit weaker in year two and became a free agent, signing for the 1959 season at age 38 with Minnesota.

Notably with the Moose, he hit for the cycle in a game against Indianapolis, scoring four times. Tan also earned his 3000^th hit with Minneapolis in 1960. That was his last year as a full-time starter as he joined Phoenix in 1961, but was benched after struggling. Tan spent 1962 in both Baltimore and Buffalo before retiring after the season at age 41. He ultimately came just short of the 2000 runs scored milestone, which to that point had only been crossed by Stan Provost.

Tan’s final stats: 3324 hits, 1982 runs, 528 doubles, 148 triples, 53 home runs, 994 RBI, 1838 walks, 1177 stolen bases, a .294/.396/.382 slash, and 83.2 WAR. He retired MLB’s stolen base king and still holds the title as of 2037 (as well as the caught stealing record of 725) At retirement, Tan was also third all-time in runs scored, second in walks drawn to Chris Louden’s 2106 and ninth in doubles. His OBP was fifth best among Hall of Famers at the time of induction, but his .382 slugging was also the worst. With such lousy power numbers, some wondered if Tan would get snubbed by the voters. But as the all-time best base stealer and one of the all-time best at simply getting on base, Tan couldn’t be ignored and earned induction on the first ballot at 89.6%.

Patrick White – Center Fielder – Houston Hornets – 85.2% First Ballot

Patrick White was a 5’11’’, 205 pound left-handed center fielder from Fairfield, Texas; a tiny town of around 3,000 people located about 90 miles southeast of the Dallas Metroplex. White was best known as an excellent contact hitter that could also give respectable gap power and around 20 home runs per year. He was very quick as well, stealing 816 bases in his career while only getting caught 370 times. White was just okay and drawing walks and at times had troubles with strikeouts, although he was fine when properly rested. White was an ironman who played exclusively in center with above average to good defense. He was also a team captain and was known as a terrific leader.

White went to Western Michigan University for college, then came home to Texas when picked 25^th overall by Houston in the 1944 MLB Draft. He had an excellent rookie season that earned third place in Rookie of the Year honors. But he struggled immensely in 1946 for an abysmal -4.9 WAR and 229 strikeouts. White suffered from being overworked and fatigued in center with no other options for a then middling Hornets squad. He was much better but still poor offensively in year three, then again lousy in year four.

The switch flipped in his fifth season of 1949 that saw a batting title at .361 and the most WAR in the American Association at 9.8, earning a Silver Slugger and a second place finish in MVP voting. White would never have a year quite this good again, but he became a consistent strong performer until his final year, posting nine 5+ WAR seasons. White won additional Silver Sluggers for Houston in 1951, 56, and 58.

After a down period in the 1940s, Houston had a very brief resurgence and won the Southern League title in 1951 and 52. In 1952, they went all the way and won the World Series with White posting 21 hits, 11 runs, 3 home runs, and 7 RBI in 16 playoff games. He continued into his mid 30s with the Hornets, posting a final line there of 2487 hits, 1300 runs, 358 doubles, 236 home runs, 1113 RBI, 707 stolen bases, and 60.7 WAR. Houston would retire his #10 uniform once his career was finished. He also was a captain for the United States team as a World Baseball Championship starter from 1950-54, then a reserve in 1955 and 59-61. In 133 tournament games, he had 148 hits, 87 runs, 86 RBI, 57 stolen bases, and .325 average. Three times he finished second in WBC MVP voting (50, 51, 52) and won world titles in 51, 52, 55, 60, and 61.

Now 35 years old, White opted for free agency and signed a hefty four-year, $451,000 contract with Las Vegas. His fifth and final Silver Slugger came in his Vipers debut and he was critical in helping the Vipers win their first World Series. White won both World Series and AACS MVP, posting 33 hits and 21 runs in 16 playoff games with four home runs, 15 RBI, a .524 average, and 1.8 WAR. At the time, it was a MLB playoff record for most hits and runs in a postseason with the runs mark still standing as of 2037, even despite the later expanded postseason.

The playoff heroics alone made the contract worth it. Las Vegas fell off, although his second year was equally solid and White led in runs with a career-high 115. He regressed to average in year three and struggled in year four, retiring after the 1962 season at age 38. With the Vipers, White had 668 hits, 360 runs, and 13.9 WAR.

White’s final stats: 3155 hits, 1660 runs, 447 doubles, 139 triples, 311 home runs, 1426 RBI, 816 stolen bases, a .291/.333/.444 slash and 74.7 WAR. At his peak, White was an excellent reliable center fielder who you could trot out every day. At retirement, he was one of only six MLB players with 800 stolen bases and the 31^st member of the 3000 hit club, although that wasn’t a guaranteed mark for induction. The couple of terrible years he had weighed down some of the advanced stats, but his leadership and playoff performances in helping both Houston and Las Vegas to rings put White over the top for a first ballot induction at 85.2%.

07-21-2023, 05:37 PM	#434
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,015	1968 MLB Hall of Fame The 1968 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot saw three players earn first ballot inductions. Pitcher Ayaz Shainidze was the start with 99.4% of the vote, one of a very select few to earn 99+ thus far. Outfielders Bill Tan and Patrick White both firmly made it in as well with Tan at 89.6% and White at 85.2%. 1B Tiger Novak on his fifth attempt barely missed the 66% mark again, finishing at 65.1%. Three others, OF Estefan Salinas, SP Abraham Reiner, and SS Chance Warren were above the 50% mark. Dropped after ten attempts was closer Victoro Fraijo, who ended at 48.4% after peaking at 58.2% and generally hovering in the 50s. He had a 21-year career between MLB and CABA with a combined 438 saves and 41.6 WAR, including two CABA Reliever of the Year nods. His MLB tally was 356 saves, 2.13 ERA, 1017 strikeouts, and 32.8 WAR. Guys with similar looking lines had made it in, but Fraijo couldn’t earn any new supporters for whatever reason. Six other players also made it ten years and were dropped after the 1968 ballot, although none of those finished above 15%. RF Jack McCoy never was above 37.3% despite a career with 3110 hits, 1668 runs, 390 home runs, 1546 RBI, and 76.7 WAR. Meanwhile, RF Wei-Ju Wang had 3275 hits, 1716 runs, 460 doubles, 273 triples, 94 home runs, 957 RBI, and 49.1 WAR. 3000+ hits wasn’t a guarantee though and they joined Joe Thibault (3257) and two others who had crossed the mark but didn’t get in. McCoy won two titles with Los Angeles as well, making his exclusion even more surprising considering other guys in a similar stat range had gotten the nod. Lack of home run power hurt Wang, although he finished second all-time in triples at 273, one behind Jess Lewis. Wang peaked at 29.7%. Also dropped was closer Alex Lusk, a three time Reliever of the Year winner with340 saves, a 2.81 ERA, and 31.4 ERA with 903 strikeouts. He had the awards and a save number that usually gets attention, but lacked the dominant strikeout numbers to get higher than 39.3%. Another reliever dropped was Aaron Reyes, who had 254 saves, 2.19 ERA, 826 strikeouts, and 29.6 WAR. He actually peaked at 44.8% before falling to 13.5% at the end. Rounding out the dropped players was 1B Gage Fairbanks, with 1599 hits, 882 runs, 283 home runs, 884 RBI, a .320 average, and 50.1 WAR. The vast majority of his value were in his first six excellent years with Oakland, but he never recovered from a torn MCL. SP Leon Frausto also fell off peaking at 20.8%. The 1946 Pitcher of the Year was a part of Philadelphia’s dynasty with a 203-171 record, 3.64 ERA, 2901 strikeouts, and 56.4 WAR. Ayaz Shainidze – Starting Pitcher – Las Vegas Vipers – 99.4% First Ballot Ayaz Shainidze was a 5’11’’, 200 pound left-handed starting pitcher from Georgia; the country in Asia, not the US state. He was from a town called Zahesi, located nine miles north of the capital Tbilisi. Shainidze’s velocity peaked at 96-98 with solid control and stuff, plus above average movement. He had a slider, curveball, and sinker that were all excellent, along with a rarely used terrible changeup. Shainidze was also known for great durability and stamina, as well as solid leadership skills and adaptability. Shainidze’s family left Georgia during World War II and he instantly picked up baseball when fully exposed in the United States. He attended Notre Dame and excelled in college, taking the 1947 NCAA Pitcher of the Year with a 12-1 record, 0.81 ERA, and 6.0 WAR with 124 strikeouts in 111 innings. Due to the regional restrictions in the first three rounds, he wasn’t eligible until the fourth round of the 1947 MLB Draft. Shainidze was the third pick of the round, 154^th overall, by New Orleans. He had an excellent rookie season with 7.7 WAR, yet somehow wasn’t even in the top three for Rookie of the Year voting. He instantly was the Mudcats ace and in five seasons there, had a 92-55 record, 2.96 ERA, 1151 strikeouts in 1376.1 innings, and 37.6 WAR. In his third season with New Orleans, he won his lone Pitcher of the Year with 8.9 WAR, 304.2 innings, and a 2.81 ERA. Shainidze was third in 1952. The Mudcats stunk though with only one playoff berth his tenure in 1949 that he missed to a late-season injury, Unlikely to stick around, New Orleans traded Shainidze before the 1953 season to Las Vegas for prospects. The Vipers run is what Shainidze would be known for, pitching the remainder of his ten professional seasons there and earning the retirement of his #26 uniform. He put up six 7+ WAR seasons and was a consistent force, although he rarely was a statistical leader. He still earned award looks, but never won Pitcher of the Year again. He was third in 1953, second in 1954, and second in 1958. During this stretch, Las Vegas became a regular playoff contender, making it nine times from 1950-59. Shainidze caught the back-end of the run, going 3-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 10 playoff starts with 71.1 innings and 55 strikeouts. He made five starts with a 3.50 ERA in 1959, the year that the Vipers finally got over the hump and won the World Series. In the back end of his career as well, Shainidze’s home country began to compete in the World Baseball Championship. From 1956-61 for Georgia, he had a 3.61 ERA over 12 starts and 92.1 innings with 120 strikeouts. Shainidize’s innings never dwindled, but his production began to fade as he entered his 30s. His ERA went above four in 1960 and 1961 with the stats closer to league average, although he did cross the 250 win and 3000 mlestones. After a middling 1962 at age 35, he opted to retire fairly young. This last year pushed him above 100 career WAR, making him only the 11^th MLB pitcher to that point to do so. His Las Vegas stats saw a 184-114 record, 3.38 ERA, 2323 strikeouts in 2781.1 innings and 64.7 WAR. For his career, Shainidze had a 276-169 record, 3.24 ERA, 4157.2 innings, 3474 strikeouts, 324/514 quality starts, 267 complete games, FIP- of 80 and 102.3 WAR. He was about as consistently strong as you come and even in his weaker years, he still gave you a lot of innings. A big part in Las Vegas finally winning the big one, Shainidze earned no-doubt induction at 99.4%. Bill “Wall” Tan – Outfielder – Albuquerque Isotopes – 89.6% First Ballot Bill Tan was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed hitting outfielder from South Gate, California; located seven miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Tan had one of the most unique skillsets of all-time as he known for incredible speed and baserunning skills, along with a terrific eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He was still a good contact hitter with respectable gap power, although Tan’s home run power was almost non-existent. He could get on base and fly around the basepaths though and combined with his work ethic, this made him a popular player. He bounced around the outfield defensively with about 2/5 of his starts in center, 2/5 in left, and 1/5 in right. Tan was viewed as above average to good defensively in the corners and just below average in center. Tan was also very durable, making 130+ starts each year from age 21 to age 36. Tan went east to play college baseball for Pittsburgh. After his junior year with the Panthers, he was picked seventh overall in the 1941 MLB Draft by Albuquerque. Tan was an immediate starter and immediate success, leading the American Association as a rookie in steals and OBP. This game him third in Rookie of the Year voting. His two Silver Sluggers came in 1947 and 1948 with third place MVP finishes in both years as well and the most WAR in the AA in 1947. Without the big power numbers, he wasn’t often in the MVP conversation. Tan occasionally had down years when he was overworked, but he typically provided good things. Tan led in stolen bases 11 times, walks five times, runs thrice, and OBP thrice. He also played once in the World Baseball Championship with five games in 1949. Tan was a key leader as Albuquerque regularly contended in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Isotopes made the playoffs eight times in Tan’s tenure with the deepest run coming in 1948 with an American Association title, falling to Hartford in the World Series. In 52 playoff games with Albuquerque, Tan had 55 hits, 34 runs, 11 doubles, 21 RBI, 28 walks, and 20 stolen bases. In total with the Isotopes, he had 2535 hits, 1565 runs, 422 doubles, 115 triples, 1343 walks, 974 stolen bases, and 69.0 WAR. The team retired his #18 uniform as well. At age 35 in 1956, Tan had a career-best 110 walks drawn and led in stolen bases for the 11^th and final time. He crossed 2500 hits and 1500 runs scored, but opted to leave Albuquerque sensing a rebuild was to come. Tan signed a three-year, $270,000 deal with St. Louis that saw his salary jump from a peak of $48,400 with the small market Isotopes to $90,000. He set a career best with 116 walks in his Cardinals debut and became the first MLB player to reach 1000 stolen bases for his career. He was a bit weaker in year two and became a free agent, signing for the 1959 season at age 38 with Minnesota. Notably with the Moose, he hit for the cycle in a game against Indianapolis, scoring four times. Tan also earned his 3000^th hit with Minneapolis in 1960. That was his last year as a full-time starter as he joined Phoenix in 1961, but was benched after struggling. Tan spent 1962 in both Baltimore and Buffalo before retiring after the season at age 41. He ultimately came just short of the 2000 runs scored milestone, which to that point had only been crossed by Stan Provost. Tan’s final stats: 3324 hits, 1982 runs, 528 doubles, 148 triples, 53 home runs, 994 RBI, 1838 walks, 1177 stolen bases, a .294/.396/.382 slash, and 83.2 WAR. He retired MLB’s stolen base king and still holds the title as of 2037 (as well as the caught stealing record of 725) At retirement, Tan was also third all-time in runs scored, second in walks drawn to Chris Louden’s 2106 and ninth in doubles. His OBP was fifth best among Hall of Famers at the time of induction, but his .382 slugging was also the worst. With such lousy power numbers, some wondered if Tan would get snubbed by the voters. But as the all-time best base stealer and one of the all-time best at simply getting on base, Tan couldn’t be ignored and earned induction on the first ballot at 89.6%. Patrick White – Center Fielder – Houston Hornets – 85.2% First Ballot Patrick White was a 5’11’’, 205 pound left-handed center fielder from Fairfield, Texas; a tiny town of around 3,000 people located about 90 miles southeast of the Dallas Metroplex. White was best known as an excellent contact hitter that could also give respectable gap power and around 20 home runs per year. He was very quick as well, stealing 816 bases in his career while only getting caught 370 times. White was just okay and drawing walks and at times had troubles with strikeouts, although he was fine when properly rested. White was an ironman who played exclusively in center with above average to good defense. He was also a team captain and was known as a terrific leader. White went to Western Michigan University for college, then came home to Texas when picked 25^th overall by Houston in the 1944 MLB Draft. He had an excellent rookie season that earned third place in Rookie of the Year honors. But he struggled immensely in 1946 for an abysmal -4.9 WAR and 229 strikeouts. White suffered from being overworked and fatigued in center with no other options for a then middling Hornets squad. He was much better but still poor offensively in year three, then again lousy in year four. The switch flipped in his fifth season of 1949 that saw a batting title at .361 and the most WAR in the American Association at 9.8, earning a Silver Slugger and a second place finish in MVP voting. White would never have a year quite this good again, but he became a consistent strong performer until his final year, posting nine 5+ WAR seasons. White won additional Silver Sluggers for Houston in 1951, 56, and 58. After a down period in the 1940s, Houston had a very brief resurgence and won the Southern League title in 1951 and 52. In 1952, they went all the way and won the World Series with White posting 21 hits, 11 runs, 3 home runs, and 7 RBI in 16 playoff games. He continued into his mid 30s with the Hornets, posting a final line there of 2487 hits, 1300 runs, 358 doubles, 236 home runs, 1113 RBI, 707 stolen bases, and 60.7 WAR. Houston would retire his #10 uniform once his career was finished. He also was a captain for the United States team as a World Baseball Championship starter from 1950-54, then a reserve in 1955 and 59-61. In 133 tournament games, he had 148 hits, 87 runs, 86 RBI, 57 stolen bases, and .325 average. Three times he finished second in WBC MVP voting (50, 51, 52) and won world titles in 51, 52, 55, 60, and 61. Now 35 years old, White opted for free agency and signed a hefty four-year, $451,000 contract with Las Vegas. His fifth and final Silver Slugger came in his Vipers debut and he was critical in helping the Vipers win their first World Series. White won both World Series and AACS MVP, posting 33 hits and 21 runs in 16 playoff games with four home runs, 15 RBI, a .524 average, and 1.8 WAR. At the time, it was a MLB playoff record for most hits and runs in a postseason with the runs mark still standing as of 2037, even despite the later expanded postseason. The playoff heroics alone made the contract worth it. Las Vegas fell off, although his second year was equally solid and White led in runs with a career-high 115. He regressed to average in year three and struggled in year four, retiring after the 1962 season at age 38. With the Vipers, White had 668 hits, 360 runs, and 13.9 WAR. White’s final stats: 3155 hits, 1660 runs, 447 doubles, 139 triples, 311 home runs, 1426 RBI, 816 stolen bases, a .291/.333/.444 slash and 74.7 WAR. At his peak, White was an excellent reliable center fielder who you could trot out every day. At retirement, he was one of only six MLB players with 800 stolen bases and the 31^st member of the 3000 hit club, although that wasn’t a guaranteed mark for induction. The couple of terrible years he had weighed down some of the advanced stats, but his leadership and playoff performances in helping both Houston and Las Vegas to rings put White over the top for a first ballot induction at 85.2%. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)