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Eurasian Professional Baseball added one player to its Hall of Fame from the 1973 voting with a first ballot nod to pitcher Miroslav Bohunicky at 76.4%. Another pitcher, Skerdi Hoxha, missed the cut by the thinnest of margins at 65.8% on his third attempt. SP Andrei Doman had 59.2% on his third go and SP Inal Brezhnev was at 57.0% in his debut. No one got to their tenth ballot yet in EPB voting with closer Mircea Ioan the first to get to six ballots in the EPB Hall’s short history.



Miroslav Bohunicky – Starting Pitcher – Kyiv Kings – 76.4% First Ballot

Miroslav Bohunicky was a 5’10’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Krompachy, a mining and skiing town with about 8,000 people in northwestern Slovakia. He was known for having excellent movement, solid control, and above average stuff. His velocity peaked in the 94-96 mph range with a four-pitch arsenal of fastball, slider, changeup, and cutter. Bohunicky had solid stamina when healthy, although various injuries started to cut into his innings in his 30s. He was also known as a very hard worker.

When Eurasian Professional Baseball was officially formed, Bohunicky was already 27 years old and known as a strong pitcher in the amateur and semi-pro ranks of Czechoslovakia. He’d ultimately head to Ukraine and join the new league with Kyiv on a six-year, $226,800 deal. He spent all but his final season with the Kings, who would be a consistent contender in EPB’s first decade.

Bohunicky never won Pitcher of the Year, but he was third in 1955, third in1 957, second in 1959, and second in 1960. He rarely was a league leader, but he posted a stellar 13.5 WAR season in 1959, only bested by Bogdan Chirita’s 13.9. That still stands as the ninth most WAR in a pitching season in EPB as of 2037. He had six straight 6.5+ WAR seasons to start his career, although the numbers would fall off with fewer innings into the 1960s. Bohunicky also pitched in the World Baseball Championship from 1956-63 with Slovakia, posting a 3.28 ERA over 118 innings with 119 strikeouts.

Bohunicky was a great playoff pitcher for Kyiv, who won the Soviet Series title in 1958, 59, 63, and 65. In 24 playoff starts, Bohunicky had a 12-8 record, 2.70 ERA, 167 strikeouts, and 4.1 WAR. His role in their early days dynasty run led to his unusual #97 jersey number getting retired. A number of injuries piled up and caused him to have only partial seasons in his latter run and less dominance when healthy. Bohunicky became a free agent at age 39 and spent his final season in Budapest, although a forearm strain took him out for most of the year. He retired after the season at age 39.

Bohunicky’s final stats: 184-102 record, 2.48 ERA, 2769.2 innings, 2655 strikeouts, 246/354 quality starts, a FIP- of 74, and 76.0 WAR. If he had his whole 20s, his stats may have been more prominent on the final leaderboards. Sharing a league with Bogdan Chirita meant he never won the big award despite having a few seasons that would’ve taken it otherwise. Still, he had an excellent burst and notable role in four rings for Kyiv, earning the first ballot induction at 76.4%.