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FuzzyRussianHat · 03-07-2024, 01:43 PM

Three players picked up a first ballot induction into the European Baseball Federation’s 1996 Hall of Fame class. Third basemen Radovan Smodlaka (90.9%) and Wojtek Napierkowski (89.7%) both firmly got in, while SP Jace Karch had just enough at 72.8% to make it. It was almost a four player class, but 1B Charles-Olivier Mallen was just shy of the 66% mark in his debut at 64.4%.

1B Jared Psaila was the lone player to fall off the ballot after ten failed tries. The Maltese righty got as high as 49.3% before ending at 42.8%. He was hurt by leaving for MLB after a decade in Milan, where he posted 1792 hits, 883 runs, 339 home runs, 333 doubles, 992 RBI, a .300/.366/.543 slash, 70.5 WAR, one MVP, and three Silver Sluggers. With his six MLB seasons, his 2498 hits, 483 homers, 1442 RBI, and 90.6 WAR probably gets him across the line. But his European accumulations alone weren’t quite there.

Radovan “Hoodoo” Smodlaka – Third/First Base – Athens Anchors – 90.9% First Ballot

Radovan Smodlaka was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed corner infielder from the capital of Serbia, Belgrade. Smodlaka was a great contact hitter who also had excellent power and a decent eye. He regularly hit above .300 with upwards of 30 home runs. Smodlaka did also add around 20-25 doubles per year, but lacked the speed or baserunning ability to get extra bags. He made about 3/5s of his starts at third base, where he was a terrible defender. The rest of his starts were at first, where he was delightfully average. Smodlaka was a fan favorite who worked hard and always made time to sign items after games for kids.

Smodlaka’s talents were well known as a high schooler throughout Yugoslavia’s amateur ranks. Upon graduating high school, Zagreb picked him eighth overall in the 1970 EBF Draft. Smodlaka wasn’t ready to begin playing pro ball though and opted to head to college. When he was eligible again in 1973, it was Athens that grabbed him with the ninth overall pick. Smodlaka was a regular pinch hitter for his first three seasons, but didn’t make a start until his fourth year in 1977.

He made an impressive impact, leading the Southern Conference in RBI in his first three seasons as a starter. Smodlaka also led in total bases, average, and OPS in 1978 while adding career bests with 55 home runs and 10.7 WAR. 1978 was his lone MVP, although he took third in 1977. Smodlaka won Silver Sluggers in 1977, 78, 79, 81, and 83. He also regularly played for Serbia in the World Baseball Championship with 145 games from 1973-90. In the WBC, he had 131 hits, 76 runs, 22 doubles, 45 home runs, 93 RBI, a .264/.336/.584 slash, and 6.3 WAR.

Smodlaka’s power in the heart of the Athens lineup helped the Anchors earn five straight Southeast Division titles from 1977-81. In 1978, they picked up the franchise’s first conference title, falling to Brussels in the European Championship. Athens would be one-and-done in the other appearances with Smodlaka posting 32 hits, 14 runs, 5 home runs, 7 RBI, and a .291/.342/.473 over 29 career playoff starts.

Following the 1977 season, Smodlaka was signed to an eight-year, $3,206,000 deal with Athens to be the franchise’s icon for the next decade. The Anchors would fall towards the bottom of the standings into the 1980s, but Smodlaka remained steady. He didn’t lead the conference ever again, but notably smacked 52 home runs and 138 RBI in 1986 at age 35. Smodlaka had signed another four-year, $4 million extension that started with the 1986 campaign.

That was Smodlaka’s last great season, as his power dwindled after that. He did bounce back from a weak 1987 with a better 1988, but that would be his final year as a starter. His final two seasons in Greece were primarily as a figurehead role, as he only made 19 starts and played 109 total games. Smodlaka was happy to play that part and remained a fan favorite, seeing his #31 retired after he called it quits at age 39 with the 1990 campaign.

Smodlaka’s stats were 2124 hits, 1119 runs, 330 doubles, 492 home runs, 1359 RBI, a .308/.366/.580 slash, 168 wRC+, and 81.8 WAR. While his totals aren’t at the very top of the EBF Hall of Fame leaderboard, they weren’t at the very bottom either. Being a well-liked player with one franchise and helping them get to a conference final goes a long way. EBF’s voters gave Smodlaka the thumbs up with 90.9% for his ballot debut.

Wojtek Napierkowski – Third Base – Copenhagen Corsairs – 89.7% First Ballot

Wojtek Napierkowski was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Szczecin, Poland, a city of around 390,000 located in the northwest by the Baltic Sea and the German border. Napierkowski had outstanding home run power, regularly smacking 40+ per season. He was good at drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was middling and his contact was above average at best. Napierkowski didn’t get many doubles or triples with his power concentrated on homers along with poor speed. He had very good durability and was a career third baseman who graded out as slightly below average defensively for his career. Napierkowski had a tireless work ethic and became a very popular player in his run.

In the 1970s, Polish baseball was the domain of Eurasian Professional Baseball and not the European Baseball Federation. However, Napierkowski left Poland for his college career and declared his intent to enter EBF’s draft in 1977. Poland wasn’t part of the regional draft restrictions of the first four rounds, meaning Napierkowski wasn’t eligible to be picked until the fifth round. However, any team would be able to pick him at that point. Copenhagen had the very first pick of the round, the 131st overall, and used it to bring Napierkowski to Denmark. He would later return to Poland for the World Baseball Championship, playing for his home country from1979-92. In the WBC, he had 118 games, 89 hits, 73 runs, 45 home runs, 88 RBI, a .211/.320/.555 slash, and 4.5 WAR.

Napierkowski was a full-time starter immediately and held that role for his entire 13 year tenure with the Corsairs, only missing time occasionally to injury. His 34 home runs and 4.1 WAR in his debut earned him the 1978 Rookie of the Year in the Northern Conference. In his second season, Napierkowski led with 49 home runs. He would post nine straight seasons with 45+ homers and hit 40+ in all but his first and final seasons with Copenhagen.

Napierkowski took second in 1980’s MVP voting, then won it in 1981 with a career best in WAR (10.1), plus 57 home runs and 126 RBI. This helped Copenhagen earn its first playoff appearance in three decades, as they had struggled after winning the very first European Championship in 1950. It was his first of three Silver Sluggers with additional wins in 1985 and 1988. The Corsairs were convinced Napierkowski was the guy and signed him to an eight-year, $5,820,000 extension after the 1982 season.

He was third in 1982 and 1985’s MVP voting. 1985 was a banner year with career bests for Napierkowski in homers (61), RBI (136), and batting average (.308). Copenhagen was one-and-done in the 1981 playoffs, then fell in the conference finals in 1983. In 1985, a strained groin kept Napierkowski out for most of the playoffs, but the Corsairs won the conference title. He was back for the tail end as they dropped the championship to Marseille. For his career, Napierkowski had 18 playoff games with 15 hits, 8 runs, 2 home runs, and a .238/.294/.365 slash.

Napierkowski’s power continued to be solid into his 30s, but Copenhagen faded towards the bottom of the standings by the end of the 1980s. While still a solid power guy, his final season with the Corsairs saw his lowest homer and WAR totals since his rookie year. They agreed to part ways after the 1990 campaign, although Napierkowski remained very popular and kept a good relationship with the franchise, He would soon come back to see his #8 uniform retired.

Napierkowski wasn’t ready to retire at age 36 and his steady power had gotten some attention in the United States. The Washington Admirals signed him to a three-year, $5,220,000 deal. However, Napierkowski struggled with strikeouts in MLB. Washington moved him to a bench role later in 1991 and he saw only 45 games and 25 starts in 1992. The Admirals let him go and Napierkowski went unsigned in 1993. He finally retired that winter at age 39.

For his EBF and Copenhagen run, Napierkowski had 1959 hits, 1245 runs, 204 doubles, 614 home runs, 1403 RBI, a .277/.355/.574 slash, 165 wRC+, and 94.3 WAR. It was rare for a guy without 2000 hits to get serious consideration, but Napierkowski was only the sixth to reach 600 home runs. At induction he was 15th best in batting WAR. The dingers and his fan favorite status made it easy for voters to fill in his bubble, sending him into the 1996 EBF Hall of Fame class at 89.7%.

Jace Karch – Starting Pitcher – Marseille Musketeers – 72.8% First Ballot

Jace Karch was a 5’11’’, 200 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, a town of 31,000 people in the western Netherlands. Karch’s biggest strength was very good control which he mixed with above average stuff and movement. His fastball peaked in the 95-97 mph range and was mixed with a slider, forkball, and changeup. Karch was very durable with 230+ innings in each of his first 12 seasons. He had respectable stamina, but it was the control and reliability that made Karch a success.

After playing in the Dutch amateur ranks, Karch ended up in France as he was picked third overall in the 1975 EBF Draft by Marseille. He did go back to the Netherlands for the World Baseball Championship from 1978-89. Karch had 156.1 WBC innings, but he was unremarkable in international play with a 4.89 ERA and 168 strikeouts.

His entire EBF run would be with the Musketeers and he was a full-time starter immediately with 233.1 innings as a rookie. Karch was merely average initially, but became reliably good from about his third year onward. He wasn’t overly dominant and never was a finalist for Pitcher of the Year. Karch’s only time atop a leaderboard was with a 23-3 record in 1980. That season would mark the start of a run of dominance for Marseille, who made the playoffs every year of the 1980s with the exception of 1984.

The Musketeers made it to the Southern Conference Championship in 1980, 81, 83, 85, and 86. They would win both the conference title and the European Championship in 1981, 1985, and 1986. Karch was not generally dominant in the playoffs, but was steady with a 10-4 record, 3.91 ERA, 119.2 innings, and 103 strikeouts. His best showing was a 1.99 ERA in 1983, although they were denied that year. Knowing what they were reliably going to get with Karch each year, Marseille signed him to a four-year, $4,000,000 extension after the 1985 season.

In 1988, shoulder inflammation cost Karch the majority of the season. When he came back for 1989 and 1990 with the Musketeers, his velocity had dropped a few miles per hour. Marseille didn’t re-sign him, although he would be honored soon after with his #32 uniform being retired. Karch found a surprising suitor for 1991 in CABA’s Honduras Horsemen. He struggled in only 17.2 innings of relief in his brief time in Central America. Karch wasn’t signed in 1992 and retired that winter at age 38.

Karch’s stats in EBF with Marseille had a 246-133 record, 3.13 ERA, 3526 innings, 3247 strikeouts, 624 walks, 311/475 quality starts, 90 FIP-, and 63.9 WAR. At induction, he was tied for seventh in wins among EBF pitchers. The advanced stats put him towards the bottom end of inductees though. It became a debate between voters who valued sustained solidness versus the ones who wanted moments of brilliants. Karch didn’t have the big awards or accolades, but he was a steady and reliable presence for a Marseille squad that won three rings in the 1980s. The rings won out and Karch got just enough to earn a first ballot induction at 72.8% to round out the 1996 EBF class.

03-07-2024, 01:43 PM	#1039
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,958	1996 EBF Hall of Fame Three players picked up a first ballot induction into the European Baseball Federation’s 1996 Hall of Fame class. Third basemen Radovan Smodlaka (90.9%) and Wojtek Napierkowski (89.7%) both firmly got in, while SP Jace Karch had just enough at 72.8% to make it. It was almost a four player class, but 1B Charles-Olivier Mallen was just shy of the 66% mark in his debut at 64.4%. 1B Jared Psaila was the lone player to fall off the ballot after ten failed tries. The Maltese righty got as high as 49.3% before ending at 42.8%. He was hurt by leaving for MLB after a decade in Milan, where he posted 1792 hits, 883 runs, 339 home runs, 333 doubles, 992 RBI, a .300/.366/.543 slash, 70.5 WAR, one MVP, and three Silver Sluggers. With his six MLB seasons, his 2498 hits, 483 homers, 1442 RBI, and 90.6 WAR probably gets him across the line. But his European accumulations alone weren’t quite there. Radovan “Hoodoo” Smodlaka – Third/First Base – Athens Anchors – 90.9% First Ballot Radovan Smodlaka was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed corner infielder from the capital of Serbia, Belgrade. Smodlaka was a great contact hitter who also had excellent power and a decent eye. He regularly hit above .300 with upwards of 30 home runs. Smodlaka did also add around 20-25 doubles per year, but lacked the speed or baserunning ability to get extra bags. He made about 3/5s of his starts at third base, where he was a terrible defender. The rest of his starts were at first, where he was delightfully average. Smodlaka was a fan favorite who worked hard and always made time to sign items after games for kids. Smodlaka’s talents were well known as a high schooler throughout Yugoslavia’s amateur ranks. Upon graduating high school, Zagreb picked him eighth overall in the 1970 EBF Draft. Smodlaka wasn’t ready to begin playing pro ball though and opted to head to college. When he was eligible again in 1973, it was Athens that grabbed him with the ninth overall pick. Smodlaka was a regular pinch hitter for his first three seasons, but didn’t make a start until his fourth year in 1977. He made an impressive impact, leading the Southern Conference in RBI in his first three seasons as a starter. Smodlaka also led in total bases, average, and OPS in 1978 while adding career bests with 55 home runs and 10.7 WAR. 1978 was his lone MVP, although he took third in 1977. Smodlaka won Silver Sluggers in 1977, 78, 79, 81, and 83. He also regularly played for Serbia in the World Baseball Championship with 145 games from 1973-90. In the WBC, he had 131 hits, 76 runs, 22 doubles, 45 home runs, 93 RBI, a .264/.336/.584 slash, and 6.3 WAR. Smodlaka’s power in the heart of the Athens lineup helped the Anchors earn five straight Southeast Division titles from 1977-81. In 1978, they picked up the franchise’s first conference title, falling to Brussels in the European Championship. Athens would be one-and-done in the other appearances with Smodlaka posting 32 hits, 14 runs, 5 home runs, 7 RBI, and a .291/.342/.473 over 29 career playoff starts. Following the 1977 season, Smodlaka was signed to an eight-year, $3,206,000 deal with Athens to be the franchise’s icon for the next decade. The Anchors would fall towards the bottom of the standings into the 1980s, but Smodlaka remained steady. He didn’t lead the conference ever again, but notably smacked 52 home runs and 138 RBI in 1986 at age 35. Smodlaka had signed another four-year, $4 million extension that started with the 1986 campaign. That was Smodlaka’s last great season, as his power dwindled after that. He did bounce back from a weak 1987 with a better 1988, but that would be his final year as a starter. His final two seasons in Greece were primarily as a figurehead role, as he only made 19 starts and played 109 total games. Smodlaka was happy to play that part and remained a fan favorite, seeing his #31 retired after he called it quits at age 39 with the 1990 campaign. Smodlaka’s stats were 2124 hits, 1119 runs, 330 doubles, 492 home runs, 1359 RBI, a .308/.366/.580 slash, 168 wRC+, and 81.8 WAR. While his totals aren’t at the very top of the EBF Hall of Fame leaderboard, they weren’t at the very bottom either. Being a well-liked player with one franchise and helping them get to a conference final goes a long way. EBF’s voters gave Smodlaka the thumbs up with 90.9% for his ballot debut. Wojtek Napierkowski – Third Base – Copenhagen Corsairs – 89.7% First Ballot Wojtek Napierkowski was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Szczecin, Poland, a city of around 390,000 located in the northwest by the Baltic Sea and the German border. Napierkowski had outstanding home run power, regularly smacking 40+ per season. He was good at drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was middling and his contact was above average at best. Napierkowski didn’t get many doubles or triples with his power concentrated on homers along with poor speed. He had very good durability and was a career third baseman who graded out as slightly below average defensively for his career. Napierkowski had a tireless work ethic and became a very popular player in his run. In the 1970s, Polish baseball was the domain of Eurasian Professional Baseball and not the European Baseball Federation. However, Napierkowski left Poland for his college career and declared his intent to enter EBF’s draft in 1977. Poland wasn’t part of the regional draft restrictions of the first four rounds, meaning Napierkowski wasn’t eligible to be picked until the fifth round. However, any team would be able to pick him at that point. Copenhagen had the very first pick of the round, the 131st overall, and used it to bring Napierkowski to Denmark. He would later return to Poland for the World Baseball Championship, playing for his home country from1979-92. In the WBC, he had 118 games, 89 hits, 73 runs, 45 home runs, 88 RBI, a .211/.320/.555 slash, and 4.5 WAR. Napierkowski was a full-time starter immediately and held that role for his entire 13 year tenure with the Corsairs, only missing time occasionally to injury. His 34 home runs and 4.1 WAR in his debut earned him the 1978 Rookie of the Year in the Northern Conference. In his second season, Napierkowski led with 49 home runs. He would post nine straight seasons with 45+ homers and hit 40+ in all but his first and final seasons with Copenhagen. Napierkowski took second in 1980’s MVP voting, then won it in 1981 with a career best in WAR (10.1), plus 57 home runs and 126 RBI. This helped Copenhagen earn its first playoff appearance in three decades, as they had struggled after winning the very first European Championship in 1950. It was his first of three Silver Sluggers with additional wins in 1985 and 1988. The Corsairs were convinced Napierkowski was the guy and signed him to an eight-year, $5,820,000 extension after the 1982 season. He was third in 1982 and 1985’s MVP voting. 1985 was a banner year with career bests for Napierkowski in homers (61), RBI (136), and batting average (.308). Copenhagen was one-and-done in the 1981 playoffs, then fell in the conference finals in 1983. In 1985, a strained groin kept Napierkowski out for most of the playoffs, but the Corsairs won the conference title. He was back for the tail end as they dropped the championship to Marseille. For his career, Napierkowski had 18 playoff games with 15 hits, 8 runs, 2 home runs, and a .238/.294/.365 slash. Napierkowski’s power continued to be solid into his 30s, but Copenhagen faded towards the bottom of the standings by the end of the 1980s. While still a solid power guy, his final season with the Corsairs saw his lowest homer and WAR totals since his rookie year. They agreed to part ways after the 1990 campaign, although Napierkowski remained very popular and kept a good relationship with the franchise, He would soon come back to see his #8 uniform retired. Napierkowski wasn’t ready to retire at age 36 and his steady power had gotten some attention in the United States. The Washington Admirals signed him to a three-year, $5,220,000 deal. However, Napierkowski struggled with strikeouts in MLB. Washington moved him to a bench role later in 1991 and he saw only 45 games and 25 starts in 1992. The Admirals let him go and Napierkowski went unsigned in 1993. He finally retired that winter at age 39. For his EBF and Copenhagen run, Napierkowski had 1959 hits, 1245 runs, 204 doubles, 614 home runs, 1403 RBI, a .277/.355/.574 slash, 165 wRC+, and 94.3 WAR. It was rare for a guy without 2000 hits to get serious consideration, but Napierkowski was only the sixth to reach 600 home runs. At induction he was 15th best in batting WAR. The dingers and his fan favorite status made it easy for voters to fill in his bubble, sending him into the 1996 EBF Hall of Fame class at 89.7%. Jace Karch – Starting Pitcher – Marseille Musketeers – 72.8% First Ballot Jace Karch was a 5’11’’, 200 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, a town of 31,000 people in the western Netherlands. Karch’s biggest strength was very good control which he mixed with above average stuff and movement. His fastball peaked in the 95-97 mph range and was mixed with a slider, forkball, and changeup. Karch was very durable with 230+ innings in each of his first 12 seasons. He had respectable stamina, but it was the control and reliability that made Karch a success. After playing in the Dutch amateur ranks, Karch ended up in France as he was picked third overall in the 1975 EBF Draft by Marseille. He did go back to the Netherlands for the World Baseball Championship from 1978-89. Karch had 156.1 WBC innings, but he was unremarkable in international play with a 4.89 ERA and 168 strikeouts. His entire EBF run would be with the Musketeers and he was a full-time starter immediately with 233.1 innings as a rookie. Karch was merely average initially, but became reliably good from about his third year onward. He wasn’t overly dominant and never was a finalist for Pitcher of the Year. Karch’s only time atop a leaderboard was with a 23-3 record in 1980. That season would mark the start of a run of dominance for Marseille, who made the playoffs every year of the 1980s with the exception of 1984. The Musketeers made it to the Southern Conference Championship in 1980, 81, 83, 85, and 86. They would win both the conference title and the European Championship in 1981, 1985, and 1986. Karch was not generally dominant in the playoffs, but was steady with a 10-4 record, 3.91 ERA, 119.2 innings, and 103 strikeouts. His best showing was a 1.99 ERA in 1983, although they were denied that year. Knowing what they were reliably going to get with Karch each year, Marseille signed him to a four-year, $4,000,000 extension after the 1985 season. In 1988, shoulder inflammation cost Karch the majority of the season. When he came back for 1989 and 1990 with the Musketeers, his velocity had dropped a few miles per hour. Marseille didn’t re-sign him, although he would be honored soon after with his #32 uniform being retired. Karch found a surprising suitor for 1991 in CABA’s Honduras Horsemen. He struggled in only 17.2 innings of relief in his brief time in Central America. Karch wasn’t signed in 1992 and retired that winter at age 38. Karch’s stats in EBF with Marseille had a 246-133 record, 3.13 ERA, 3526 innings, 3247 strikeouts, 624 walks, 311/475 quality starts, 90 FIP-, and 63.9 WAR. At induction, he was tied for seventh in wins among EBF pitchers. The advanced stats put him towards the bottom end of inductees though. It became a debate between voters who valued sustained solidness versus the ones who wanted moments of brilliants. Karch didn’t have the big awards or accolades, but he was a steady and reliable presence for a Marseille squad that won three rings in the 1980s. The rings won out and Karch got just enough to earn a first ballot induction at 72.8% to round out the 1996 EBF class. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)