[FuzzyRussianHat]

Two players from Zurich’s historic playoff streak earned Hall of Fame nods with the 2006 European Baseball Federation class. 1B Daniel Galonopoulas was a no-brainer with 92.4% and a first ballot nod. Meanwhile, SP Angelo Silvestri saw a huge swing, going from a mere 33.4% in 2005 to 80.8% in 2006. That gigantic shift gave Silvestri a sixth ballot induction.



The next closest to the 66% requirement was 3B Thomas Indiani with 60.9% on his seventh try. LF Kenneth Hammer received 58.9% on his fifth ballot LF Husnija Kojic fell off the ballot with 57.0% on his tenth go and 1B Luigi Cuttone picked up 53.6% on his second try.

For Kojic, he peaked at 59.7% the prior year and bounced between the mid 30% to mid 50% range during his ten tries. He had a 13-year career with Brussels, winning five Silver Sluggers with 1637 hits, 1120 runs, 385 home runs, 965 RBI, a .293/.397/.562 slash, 168 wRC+, and 76.2 WAR. Kojic notably led the Northern Conference eight straight seasons in walks drawn and four times in OBP. He quickly fell off after his age 33 season though, which prevented him from reaching the accumulations required. Kojic had hoped to become the first Bosnian Hall of Famer, but no dice.

Pitcher David Jurik fell off after ten ballots also, peaking at 42.9% on his debut and ending at 15.2%. In 14 years primarily with Milan, he had a 185-155 record, 3.11 ERA, 3079.1 innings, 3042 strikeouts, 119 ERA+, and 78.1 WAR. Jurik won an ERA title, but never won Pitcher of the Year. His lack of dominant stats and being on mostly mediocre Milan teams caused him to be overlooked despite a respectable resume.

2B Jayden Smith also dropped after ten ballots. The Scotsman had a unique path as he didn’t join EBF until his age 27 season, having played on the independent circuit before that. In 11 seasons with Belgrade, he won four Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers, posting 1747 hits, 897 runs, 233 doubles, 308 home runs, 935 RBI, a .303/.351/.522 slash, 149 wRC+, and 80.4 WAR. If Smith hadn’t started late and had a few more years of accumulations, he probably gets a stronger look. He debuted at 39.9% but fell to 14.2% by the final ballot.



Daniel Galonopoulas – First Base – Zurich Mountaineers – 92.4% First Ballot

Daniel Galonopoulas was a 6’5’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Ayia Varvara, Greece; a western suburb of Athens with around 27,000 people. Galonopoulas was a solid contact hitter with a powerful bat, hitting 40+ home runs in six different seasons. He’d also regularly get you around 30 doubles per season with his gap power. Galonopoulas was above average at drawing walks, but his strikeout rate was lousy.

Galonopoulas was a big galoot on the basepaths with terrible speed and grace. Despite that sluggishness, he managed to be delightfully average to sometimes good defensively as a first baseman. Galonopoulas had respectable durability and didn’t usually miss significant time. He was an excellent leader and one of Zurich’s team captains during their playoff run, earning tremendous respect throughout European baseball.

Galonopoulas’s big frame and potential was spotted even as a teenager in the greater Athens area. A visiting Swiss scout signed him as a teenage amateur in January 1977, bringing him to Zurich. Galonopoulas spent most of the next six years in the developmental academy. He did officially debut with 23 at bats in 1981 at age 20, but was back to the reserve roster in 1982. Zurich was already a decade into their playoff streak by this point, so roster spots weren’t easy to come by.

Galonopoulas secured a part-time role in 1983, then earned the full-time spot in 1984. He was the full-time first baseman from then onward, only missing time mainly in his later years due to injury. Galonopoulas’ first full season saw 49 home runs and 7.3 WAR, which snagged his first Silver Slugger. He only won once more in 1986 at the ultra-competitive first base.

1986 would be Galonopoulas’ finest season and his lone MVP. He led the Southern Conference with 138 runs and 162 RBI and also had career bests in hits (214), homers (57), OPS (1.048), and WAR (8.5). Galonopoulas had 11 seasons with 100+ RBI, 13 seasons with 30+ homers, and six seasons with 6+ WAR. Despite that, the 1986 campaign was his only time as a league leader.

Galonopoulas shined brightest in the playoffs as Zurich continued what would be a 21-year playoff streak with 24 berths in 25 years. Despite his efforts, the Mountaineers for the longest time couldn’t get over the playoff hump. They won the Southern Conference pennant in 1983 and 1984, but wouldn’t take it again from 1983-92. They made the conference final thrice in that stretch, but lost each time.

For his playoff career, Galonopoulas had 108 games, 131 hits, 58 runs, 23 doubles, 27 home runs, 68 RBI, a .319/.367/.582 slash, 160 wRC+, and a 5.1 WAR. As a team captain, he shouldered responsibility for the lack of playoff success. Galonopoulas stayed a popular and important figure for the franchise. Zurich gave him an eight-year, $7,540,000 extension in the summer of 1986.

While he carried on in Switzerland, Galonopoulas still held love for his native Greece. From 1984-2000, he played in 146 games with 142 starts in the World Baseball Championship, posting 117 hits, 78 runs, 28 doubles, 35 home runs, 84 RBI, a .225/.301/.481 slash, 126 wRC+, and 3.8 WAR.

In 1993, Zurich finally got the monkey off their back and won the European Championship in the 21^st and final year of their playoff streak. Galonopoulas was instrumental, winning MVP of the conference final and the championship against Birmingham. In 14 playoff starts, Galonopoulas had 23 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 6 home runs, 19 RBI, a .418/.475/.836 slash, and 1.5 WAR. Finally, the Mountaineers captain had his ring.

Coming up on age 33, he signed for another five years and $9,500,000 in January 1994. Galonopoulas continued to play well, although that was the peak of the Zurich run. They missed the playoffs in 1994 to end the streak at 21 seasons, then a world record. They got back in 1995, 96, and 97, but were one-and-done each year. Then in 1998, Zurich had its first losing season since 1971.

Injuries started to plague Galonopoulas a bit in the later years, but he was still a good bat well into his 30s. In his twilight years he crossed the 600 home run and 1500 career RBI milestones. Zurich brought him back in 2000 on a qualifying offer, but he struggled and was limited to a bench leadership role. Galonopoulas retired that winter at age 39 and immediately saw his #19 uniform retired by the Mountaineers.

Galonopoulas had 2757 hits, 1534 runs, 481 doubles, 639 home runs, 1866 RBI, a .301/.357/.574 slash, 155 wRC+ and 91.0 WAR. As of 2037, he is still 14^th all-time in RBI and 15^th in home runs. Galonopoulas was a terrific leader and a huge piece of Zurich’s historic playoff run, making him an easy Hall of Fame choice. He received 92.4% to headline EBF’s 2006 class.



Angelo “Dog” Silvestri – Starting Pitcher – Zurich Mountaineers – 80.8% Sixth Ballot

Angelo Silvestri was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Chene-Bourg, Switzerland; a municipality of around 9,000 in the greater Geneva area. Nicknamed “Dog” Silvestri had excellent control and outstanding movement with his arsenal. His stuff was merely graded as above average to good with a 97-99 mph fastball, good curveball, and okay slider in his repertoire.

Silvestri was remarkably effective when healthy, but he had a lot of injury issues along with middling stamina. He always put in the time and effort, earning the respect of teammates and foes alike. Silvestri was also viewed as very intelligent with few pitchers as effectively able to pick the right spot for their pitches.

Silvestri started drawing attention from scouts as a teenager. His home country team Zurich quickly wanted to lock up the talented Swiss prospect, signing him to an amateur deal in February 1978. Silvestri officially debuted with three relief appearances in 1981 at age 21, then saw 14 games in 1982. The Mountaineers moved him into the full-time rotation starting with the 1983 season.

Despite being a full-time starter from 1983-86, he only narrowly topped 200 innings once due to various injuries. Silvestri was quite effective when healthy though and Zurich gave him a four-year extension worth $3,320,000 in June 1986. Silvestri had a very good 1987, then put it all together for a fantastic 1988.

That year, Silvestri was the ERA leader at 2.28 and WARlord at 11.5, winning his lone Pitcher of the Year award. He would lead the conference in K/BB five times and also lead in quality starts in 1990. Silvestri had a good 1989 despite some back troubles, but his excellent 1988 earned him another six years and $8,880,000 signed in early 1990.

1990 saw a 9.5 WAR effort, earning second in Pitcher of the Year voting. It was also his final full season as he went from having nagging smaller injuries to a major one. The third start of 1991 saw a torn UCL, knocking out Silvestri for 13 months. Silvestri made it back for sporadic starts the next three years, but his effectiveness with hit-and-miss.

Silvestri would post a 3.46 ERA in four playoff starts in 1993, helping Zurich finally win the European Championship after falling short in 20 straight playoff appearances. For his career, Silvestri had a 3.36 ERA and 9-9 in 187.2 playoff innings with 158 strikeouts, 18 walks, 110 ERA+, and 3.4 WAR.

Additionally, Silvestri was a regular for the Swiss national team in the World Baseball Championship. From 1982-94, he pitched 129 innings for Switzerland with a 9-3 record, 1.95 ERA, 166 strikeouts, 31 walks, 187 ERA+, and 5.6 WAR.

1994 started with an oblique strain costing Silvestri seven weeks. Then on June 30, he tore his UCL again, putting him on the shelf for another 11 months. Silvestri attempted a comeback in 1995, but only made it back for three lousy innings. He finally realized he was done, retiring that winter at age 35. Zurich would retire his #18 uniform for his lengthy service and role in both the playoff streak and the 1993 title.

Silvestri finished with a 153-70 record, 2.81 ERA, 2045 innings, 1785 strikeouts, 207 walks, 8.6 K/BB, 181/274 quality starts, 136 ERA+, and 71 FIP-, 58.9 WAR. His rate stats certainly weren’t out of place compared to other EBF Hall of Famers, but his accumulations were on the low end due to the injuries. Only two other starting pitchers had gotten inducted with fewer innings. His best year showed Silvestri could be absolutely elite, but he had trouble sustaining it.

It seemed like Silvestri would be a Hall of Good guy with a debut of 33.0% in 2001. He grew to 49.0% in 2002, but dropped back to 32.8% in 2003. Silvestri saw a huge boost to 62.8% in 2004, but plummeted to 33.4% in 2005. The rollercoaster continued and he had the massive swing up to 80.8% in 2006. Regardless of why the change of heart happened, this earned Silvestri the sixth ballot induction, joining his longtime teammate Daniel Galonopoulas as the 2006 EBF Hall of Fame inductees.