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Dzmitry “Extreme” Kuliev – First Base/Designated Hitter – Novosibirsk Nitros – 78.6% First Ballot

Dzmitry Kuliev was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Alamty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. Kuliev was a tremendous home run hitter with good contact ability. In every season that he played 140+ games, Kuliev hit at least 40 home runs. Despite the power profile, he rarely drew walks and was below average at avoiding strikeouts. Kuliev had alright gap power, but it was more homer or bust for him. He also wasn’t going to leg out extra bases often with his mediocre speed.

Defensively, Kuliev was exclusively at first baseman. He was a poor defender, but not the worst you’ve ever seen. He made about 60% of his career starts at first and was a designated hitter the rest of the time. Kuliev had solid durability and was an intelligent guy. He became very popular in his era because no one in EPB could quick mash dingers like him.

At a showcase in Almaty, a visiting scout from Novosibirsk took notice as a teenaged Kuliev. He signed in May 1979 with the Nitros to a developmental deal and would play his entire pro career there. It took a long time for Kuliev to get established and reach the power potential they saw in him. He officially debuted in 1985 at age 23, but only saw 12 appearances as a pinch hitter. Kuliev had 78 games and six starts in 1986.

Kuliev earned a full-time job in 1987 and made a major impact, smacking an Asian League best 61 home runs and 124 RBI. This started a streak of seven straight years leading in homers. Kuliev was the league leader in dingers ten times in his career, as well as RBI six times, total bases six times, slugging five times, OPS thrice, wRC+ four times, runs once, and WAR once. 1987 was his first of six Silber Sluggers and saw a third place in MVP voting. Kuliev won Silver Sluggers at first base in 1987, 88, 90, and 95. He also won the honor as a DH in 1993 and 97.

Kuliev had seven seasons with 50+ home runs, the most of any player in EPB history. His career best was 66 in 1993, which was the second-most in EPB history behind Ilkin Hasanov’s 71 from 1986. As of 2037, that is still the #2 all-time season. Kuliev also set the single-season RBI record in 1988 with 141, which only finally got passed in 2030 by Yuri Demyan’s 145. Three times, Kuliev had 60 or more homers in a season.

By WAR, 1988 was his finest season at 10.9, which also featured career bests in RBI, total bases (429), slugging (.686), hits (203), average (.325), OPS (1.034), and wRC+ (229). That won Kuliev his first AL MVP. He’d win it a second time in 1993 with the 66 homer, 136 RBI effort. Kuliev also placed second in 1991 and second in 1997.

He became very popular in Novosibirsk, who gave him a five-year, $11,000,000 extension in April 1994. The Nitros were regularly in the playoff mix in Kuliev’s reign, although they rarely went very far. 1988 was the exception, as the franchise won its first Asian League pennant. They would fall to Minsk in the EPB Championship. From 1985-99, Novosibrisk had nine playoff appearances, but went one-and-done seven times. They also had an ALCS defeat in 1991 to Chelyabinsk.

Kuliev did get some criticism as his playoff numbers weren’t great. In 49 games and 47 starts, he had 41 hits, 13 runs, 9 home runs, 24 RBI, a .215/.226/.366 slash, 85 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. Kuliev’s stats were only slightly better in the World Baseball Championship, where he played with his native Kazakhstan from 1986-2000. In 119 games and 107 starts, he had 95 hits, 60 runs, 16 doubles, 32 home runs, 60 RBI, a .224/.269/.487 slash, 111 wRC+, and 2.3 WAR.

Novosibirsk had a six-year playoff streak from 1991-96. There was some excitement though as Kuliev entered his 30s with some hoping he’d make a run at Konrad Mazur’s all-time home run record of 740. Kuliev would see his first setback in September 1995 with a torn PCL, knocking him out 10 months. As a result, he only played half of the 1996 season.

Kuliev bounced back well with 58 home runs in 1997 and 43 dingers in 1998. His contact ability was starting to slip though. 1998 was the Nitros’ first losing season since 1981 they had begun the downswing. In late 1988, Kuliev became the eighth member of the 600 home run club. 1999 would be a setback though with a fractured fibula costing him the first chunk of the season. Kuliev still played 120 games, but had career worsts across the board.

Kuliev’s contract expired with Novosibirsk and he became a free agent for the first time at age 38. He still had power, but not much else at that point and was still too far from the homer record to have a shot. Kuliev played in the 2000 WBC, but was unsigned for the season. He would retire that winter at age 38 with Novosibirsk immediately bringing him in to retire his #25 uniform.

Kuliev finished with 2050 hits, 1075 runs, 263 doubles, 634 home runs, 1379 RBI, a .271/.304/.565 slash, 172 wRC+, and 80.9 WAR. As of 2037, Kuliev is seventh all-time in homers and 21^st in RBI. Detractors would note that he was a guy who was really only good for homers and not much else. However, chicks dig the long ball and dug Kuliev. He earned 78.6% for a first ballot nod with the sixth highest percentage in the 2005 EPB Hall of Fame Class. Kuliev was the only non-pitcher in the seven man crew.



Petro Mihalko – Starting Pitcher – Kharkiv Killer Bees – 69.1% First Ballot

Petro Mihalko was a 6’6’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Kirovohrad, Ukraine, an oblast in the center of the country with around 900,000 people. Mihalko had excellent control with pretty good stuff and average movement. His fastball regularly hit the 98-100 mph range and was part of a five-pitch arsenal that included a splitter, curveball, screwball, and changeup.

Mihalko had very good stamina and durability in his early years, tossing 250+ innings in 11 consecutive seasons. He could rub people the wrong way though, as some felt he was a selfish loner. His work ethic and love for the game were sometimes questioned, but Mihalko’s pitching talent couldn’t be denied.

He stood out even in his primary school days as one of the best upcoming prospects out of Ukraine. In the 1988 EPB Draft, he was picked out of high school 34^th overall by Kyiv near the end of the first round. Mihalko couldn’t come to terms with the Kings and opted to attend college. He was next eligible in the 1991 Draft and had increased his stock. This time, Kharkiv grabbed him with the 16^th overall pick. Mihalko’s entire pro career would be with the Killer Bees, becoming a full-time starter immediately.

His ability to eat innings was always valuable, but he didn’t look truly elite until his fourth year. Mihalko posted back-to-back 10+ WAR seasons, leading both years in wins and once in WHIP. The 1995 effort earned his lone Pitcher of the Year. He was also third in MVP voting. Mihalko wasn’t a finalist in 1996, but would take second in 1997 with a league and career-best 1.36 ERA and 0.75 WHIP.

Mihalko had eight straight seasons with 6+ WAR and thrice hit double-digits. It was hard to get noticed though, especially being teammates with his Hall of Fame classmate Igor Kuchkowski. In another era on another team, Mihalko likely would’ve scored more accolades. He was very much the Scottie Pippen to Kuchkowski’s Michael Jordan for Kharkiv. Mihalko wasn’t as much of a strikeout pitcher, never leading the league in the stat.

Like Kuchkowski, Mihalko had big success in the playoffs, helping Kharkiv become a dynasty in the late 1990s. Although they lost in the 1995 and 1996 European League Championship Series, Mihalko had a no-hitter in the ELCS against eventual champ Minsk, striking out 10. The Killer Bees were one-and-done in 1997, but then win the EPB title over Tashkent in both 1998 and 1999.

In his playoff career, Mihalko had an 11-8 record over 169.2 innings, 1.91 ERA, 172 strikeouts, 19 walks, 159 ERA+, and 4.4 WAR. He also looked good for Ukraine from 1992-03 in the World Baseball Championship with a 16-4 record in 172 innings, 2.67 ERA, 199 strikeouts, 31 walks, 135 ERA+, and 3.2 WAR. Mihalko also tossed the fourth Perfect Game in WBC history, striking out nine in 1992 against Fiji.

Kharkiv left Eurasian Professional Baseball for the European Baseball Federation in the 2000 exodus. The Killer Bees locked up Mihalko as they made the transition with a six-year, $18,960,000 contract extension. He was far less dominant in his first three EBF years, but still respectable. Mihalko helped continue on the Kharkiv dynasty, as they won the EBF Championship in 2000 and 2002. Mihalko also made history on June 11, 2000. He tossed EBF’s 22^nd Perfect Game in an 11 strikeout effort versus Dublin.

Mihalko didn’t have any major injuries, but he saw a surprisingly steep decline. His usual 98-100 mph velocity dropped to 95-97 mph in 2002, then 93-95 mph in 2003. Mihalko was relegated to a relief role in 2003, struggling to a 5.17 ERA in 71.1 innings. In 2004, he couldn’t even reach 90 mph anymore. Mihalko was under contract for the 2004 season, but didn’t play. He retired that winter at age 35.

For his entire pro career, Mihalko had a 212-120 record, 2.58 ERA, 3123.1 innings, 3272 strikeouts, 400 walks, 258/357 quality starts, 229 complete games, 33 shutouts, 123 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 81.8 WAR. Because of the exodus, his EPB numbers are lower with a 158-80 record, 2.18 ERA, 2275.1 innings, 2514 strikeouts, 204/256 quality starts, 133 ERA+, and 65.8 WAR. In EBF, Mihalko was a less impressive 54-40 with a 3.64 ERA in 848 innings, 758 strikeouts, 103 ERA+, and 16.0 WAR.

Like many of his 2005 classmates, his overall EPB accumulations are a bit lower due to the exodus. Mihalko also had the trouble of being the #2 pitcher that was overshadowed by his teammate Kuchkowski. Plus, he was out of the game relatively early compared to many other HOF pitchers. Still, Mihalko was quite impressive in his prime and a key part of Kharkiv’s dynasty and their four titles in five years.

Of the seven inductees in EPB’s 2005 class, his 69.1% was the lowest percentage and just barely above the 66% requirement. Regardless, he was a first ballot Hall of Famer and got to stand beside his longtime teammate Kuchkowski as an all-timer.