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Two first ballot inductions came with the 1978 Hall of Fame voting for the European Baseball Federation. SP Hermann Hoffman was almost unanimous with 99.7% and was joined by SS Paolo Gigliotti at 79.1%. The only other player above 50% was SP Karlo Godina with 56.3% on his seventh go. No players were dropped after ten attempts in the 1978 voting.



Hermann Hoffmann – Starting Pitcher – Hamburg Hammers – 99.7% First Ballot

Hermann Hoffman was a 5’11’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from the capital of Austria, Vienna. Hoffmann was best known for excellent control along with solid stuff and movement. He had 97-99 mph peak velocity with an arsenal of fastball, curveball, forkball, and changeup. Hoffman had tremendous stamina and great stamina early in his career. He was also considered a strong defensive pitcher and a solid batter for a pitcher. Hoffman made eight starts in the field, but wasn’t a true two-way guy. Still, he also provided positive value in the nine-hole and as a pinch hitter, adding to his overall value.

Hoffmann left for England’s University of Cambridge to play collegiate baseball. He’d get picked 25^th overall in the 1957 EBF Draft by Hamburg and he’d spend his whole pro career with the Hammers. Hoffman pitched 200 innings with decent success as a rookie, taking third in Rookie of the Year voting. He then became a full-time starter for the next decade. He led the Northern Conference four times in innings pitched and complete games. In his second season, Hoffmann threw a no-hitter on August 18, 1959 with nine strikeouts and three walks against Amsterdam.

Hoffman had eight seasons with 6+ WAR and had a career and conference high 9.6 in 1960. However, he wasn’t a Pitcher of the Year finalist that year. Hoffman finally got recognition and won the award in both 1962 and 1963; along with a second place finish in both 1964 and 1965. He’d also win three Silver Sluggers (1967, 68, 70) and a Gold Glove in 1967. In 1965, he set a still-standing EBF record with 26 complete games.

Hamburg was a playoff contender for most of Hoffman’s run with eight playoff berths in his career. The Hammers fell short most of the time, but did finally win the Northern Conference in 1964, falling to Barcelona in the European Championship. In 21 playoff appearances and 19 starts, Hoffmann was 5-6 with a 3.13 ERA over 126.2 innings with 120 strikeouts and 2.9 WAR. Hoffman also pitched for Austria’s World Baseball Championship team from 1958-72, posting a 2.44 ERA with a 12-9 record in 217.1 innings with 233 strikeouts and 6.2 WAR. He also had a WBC no-hitter with nine strikeouts and one walk against New Zealand in 1971.

After a solid decade of production, some injuries started to pop up for Hoffman in his 30s. Herniated discs in his back cost him a few months in 1967 and 1968. Then in April 1969, Hoffman suffered a partially torn UCL to end his season. He bounced back with a solid 1970, but shoulder inflammation cost him much of 1971. More back trouble plagued him in 1972 and he was relegated to mop up duty when healthy. Hoffman retired after the season at age 36 and immediately saw his #37 uniform retired.

Hoffmann’s final stats: 220-122 record, 2.52 ERA, 3327.2 innings, 3137 strikeouts to 498 walks, 277/402 quality starts, 206 complete games, 74 FIP- and 88.1 WAR. As of 2037, he’s still the EBF career leader in complete games, especially impressive since his production was so limited in his 30s relative to most Hall of Famers. Hoffmann was an easy choice for first ballot induction and was nearly unanimous with 99.7%.



Paolo “Echo” Gigliotti – Shortstop – Rome Red Wolves – 79.1% First Ballot

Paolo Gigliotti was a 5’10’’, 195 pound right-handed shortstop from Procida, a commune of 10,000 people within the Naples metropolitan city. Gigliotti was a great contact hitter and excellent baserunner with very good speed. He had strong gap power, averaging around 35-45 doubles and triples per season while also getting you around 20 home runs each year. Gigliotti was average generally at avoiding strikeouts and drawing walks. He was a career shortstop, although he made a few starts at first base in his later years. Gigliotti was considered consistently average with his glove. He was also incredibly durable at a demanding position, starting 135+ games in for the first 14 seasons of his career.

After a great college baseball career at the University of Cambridge, Gigliotti went back home to Italy as he was picked third overall in EBF’s first rookie draft in 1950 by Rome. He was a starter immediately and won the 1951 Southern Conference Rookie of the Year. Gigliotti wasn’t often a conference leader, but he was consistently a top batter at the position. He led in doubles twice, hits once, and OBP twice. Gigliotti won eight Silver Sluggers in the EBF (1953, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63).

Gigliotti had ten seasons worth 6+ WAR and eight seasons worth 8+ WAR. He twice had 10+ WAR seasons with 10.2 in 1953 and 10.1 in 1957. Despite these numbers, he was never a MVP finalist in his career. The Red Wolves were unremarkable in the 1950s, but became a contender in the 1960s. In 1962 and 1963, Rome won the Southern Conference Championship and took the EBF ring against Paris in 1963. Gigliotti was also a fixture for Italy in the World Baseball Championship, playing 183 games from 1952-71. In that stretch, he had 166 hits, 105 runs, 26 doubles, 36 home runs, and 85 RBI.

After winning the EBF title in 1963 with Rome, Gigliotti became a free agent at age 35. MLB came calling and he signed with Charlotte to a four-year, $800,000. He was an okay starter for three seasons with the Canaries, posting5.7 WAR. Charlotte let him go after the 1967 season and Gigliotti joined with Ottawa. At age 39, he had a solid year even despite missing a month to a fractured wrist, earning a MLB Silver Slugger. Gigliotti went to Houston for 1969, but missed almost the entire season with a broken kneecap. For his MLB career, Gigliotti had 662 hits, 357 runs, 102 doubles, 68 home runs, 290 RBI, a .281/.334/.430 slash and 10.0 WAR.

At age 41, Gigliotti returned to Italy and signed again with Rome. He stunned many with an awesome 7.6 WAR return season in 1971 for the Red Wolves. He was decent in 1971, ultimately his final year with Rome, who would retire his #24 uniform soon after. Gigliotti went to his hometown team Naples in 1972 at age 43, but a partially torn labrum put him out much of the year. He became a free agent and went unsigned in 1973, retiring at age 44.

Gigliotti’s final full pro numbers saw 3445 hits, 1771 runs, 535 doubles, 219 triples, 346 home runs, 1432 RBI, a .300/.354/.475 slash, 976 stolen bases, wRC+ of 137, and 116.5 WAR. Specifically in EBF (almost all with Rome), he had 2783 hits, 1414 runs, 433 doubles, 197 triples, 278 home runs, 1142 RBI, 895 stolen bases, a .305/.360/.487 slash, wRC+ of 144, and 106.5 WAR. At retirement, he was one of only six EBF batters with 100+ career WAR and he was very briefly the all-time hits leader. Certainly Gigliotti had a first ballot Hall of Fame resume and it is actually a bit surprising he only received 79.1% to get his induction.