[FuzzyRussianHat]

With no slam dunk debuts on the 2008 ballot, Eurasian Professional Baseball ended up electing two pitchers each on their sixth ballot. Dana Bancu got 70.0% and Giorgi Mkadze got 69.0%, just crossing the 66% requirement. The best debuts were SP Temuujin Munkhuu and 3B Igor Urban, both with 58.3%. SP Mikhail Kripak was also just above 50% at 50.7% for his third try. No players were dropped following ten failed attempts.



Dana Bancu – Starting Pitcher – Vilnius Victory – 70.0% Sixth Ballot

Dana Bancu was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Braila, Romania; a city of around 155,000 people near the eastern border. Bancu was a fireballer with incredibly overpowering stuff that graded as an 11/10 at his peak. His control was solid too, but his movement was often lousy, leading to issues with home runs. Bancu had a 99-101 mph fastball, slider, screwball, forkball, and changeup arsenal.

His ability to change speeds made Bancu an elite strikeout pitcher in his prime. He had good stamina in his peak, but was plagued with injuries in the second half of his career. Bancu was a prankster in the clubhouse known for all sorts of zany shenanigans.

Bancu was hitting high velocities as a teenager, which quickly made him a talked about prospect in Romania. A scout from Vilnius talked him into signing a developmental deal in March 1980, bringing Bancu to Lithuania. He made his EPB debut in 1984 at age 21 with 36.2 innings. The Victory put him into the starting rotation the next year with inconsistent results, although he did earn third in Rookie of the Year voting.

Then from 1986-89, Bancu’s stuff was at full tilt, leading each year in strikeouts. 1986 was his lone Pitcher of the Year as he led the European League with a 1.57 ERA. Bancu also had a career-best 9.9 WAR. In 1987, Bancu struck out 428 batters, falling just three short of Artur Golub’s single-season record. Bancu struck out 425 in 1989 and as of 2037, those are the third and fourth most in a single season.

1987 also saw a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts and 1 walk against Kharkiv. Then in 1989, Bancu had EPB’s 26^th perfect game, striking out 19 against Minsk. That set the EPB record for most Ks in a perfect game and tied the mark for most strikeouts in any no-hitter. It was especially impressive coming against the reigning EPB champion Miners.

Despite the big strikeout numbers, he wasn’t a POTY finalist in any of those seasons. Bancu gave up a few more runs than the voters liked, plus he was stuck on a historically weak Vilnius franchise. The Victory never made the playoffs in their EPB run, but Bancu got them the closest they had even gotten. They were above .500 most of the 1980s, but couldn’t crack the 90 win mark to snag a wild card.

The Vilnius run was by far his most memorable though despite being only six years. Bancu did also pitch from 1985-97 in the World Baseball Championship for Romania. He posted a 9-4 record over 128.2 innings, 3.01 ERA, 198 strikeouts, 57 walks, 119 ERA+, and 2.8 WAR.

With the Victory, Bancu had a 93-50 record, 2.31 ERA, 1315.1 innings, 1960 strikeouts, 243 walks, 128 ERA+, 67 FIP-, and 39.0 WAR. His time in Vilnius ended after the 1989 season as he was traded to Warsaw for prospects. Shoulder bursitis cost him part of his debut season with the Wildcats, but he showed flashes of greatness. Warsaw gave Bancu a five-year, $6,620,000 extension in the offseason, expecting great things from the now 28-year old.

The deal was immediately cursed by injuries. In June 1991, Bancu suffered a damaged elbow ligament. He missed 13 months, losing the rest of 1991 and most of 1992. Warsaw lost in the ELCS, but Bancu had a 0.84 ERA in 10.2 playoff innings. He was in-and-out in 1993 to injuries, but still looked like a dangerous ace when he took to the mound.

In September 1993, Bancu suffered a partially torn UCL, keeping him on the shelf while Warsaw won its first pennant. They ultimately lost to Irkutsk in the EPB Championship with Bancu watching in a sling. He missed the entire 1994 regular season rehabbing, but did make it back to throw 2.2 scoreless innings in relief in the playoffs. That allowed Bancu to earn a championship ring as the Wildcats beat Bishkek for the EPB title.

He was healthy in 1995, but his control was garbage to the point he couldn’t even be “effectively wild.” Warsaw used him only for 73.1 innings in the regular season. Bancu did see two playoff starts but posted a 3.48 ERA over 10.1 innings. His career playoff stats saw a 1.99 ERA over 31.2 innings, 42 strikeouts, and 143 ERA+.

For his Warsaw tenure, Bancu had a 38-29 record, 2.47 ERA, 676.2 innings, 1011 strikeouts, 134 walks, 112 ERA+, 84 FIP-, and 13.9 WAR. Bancu was a free agent at age 33 and teams weren’t willing to give him a long-term deal. For 1996, he inked a one-year, $1,140,000 deal with Novosibirsk.

Bancu looked good in a partial season with the Nitros with a 1.69 ERA over 122.1 innings, but various injuries kept him from a full load. In 1997, Prague signed him for one year and $540,000. Injuries again kept him from a full load, although he looked firmly mediocre even when healthy. Bancu was unsigned in 1998 and retired that winter at age 36.

The final stats saw a 145-91 record, 2.41 ERA, 2232.2 innings, 3232 strikeouts, 458 walks, 188/279 quality starts, 140 complete games, 120 ERA+, 76 FIP-, and 55.7 WAR. In his brief prime, Bancu was quite dominant. But it was an incredibly short burst and he only ended up pitching about nine years’ worth of innings.

His accumulations were far lower than most EPB Hall of Fame pitchers, which gave many voters pause even though the league is known to be pitcher-centric. Still, Bancu was an exciting pitcher in his prime and some voters felt sympathy for him with the injuries. They figured that based on the rate stats, a healthy Bancu would’ve been in firmly.

Bancu debuted with a strong 57.0% in 2003. He dropped though to 49.8% and then 34.5%, making it look like he was in trouble. Bancu climbed back to 59.7% and 51.8% in the next two ballots. In 2008 with no standout debuts, Bancu bumped up to 70.0% to earn a sixth ballot induction.



Giorgi Mikadze – Starting Pitcher – Bishkek Black Sox – 69.0% Sixth Ballot

Giorgi Mikadze was a 6’1’’, 185 pound right-handed pitcher from St. Petersburg, Russia. Mikadze’s best feature was excellent pinpoint control, which enabled him to have a lengthy career. His stuff was pretty good, but his movement was often subpar, especially later in his career. Mikadze had an extreme flyball tendency with an arsenal of curveball, changeup, sinker, and cutter. His velocity peaked in the 95-97 mph range.

Mikadze’s stamina was respectable compared to most strong EPB starters. He had excellent durability in his 20s, but did deal with shoulder issues in his 30s. Teammates appreciated Mikadze’s scrappy demeanor as he was always one to give a full effort. This perhaps allowed him to outperform his talent.

Most don’t realize Mikadze’s professional baseball story began in Kyiv. As a teenage amateur, the Kings signed him to a developmental deal in June 1975. Mikadze spent around five years in Ukraine, but never made it to the big time with Kyiv. After the 1979 season, he was sent to Bishkek in a four-player trade that included the eventual single-season home run king Ilkin Hasanov.

The 21-year old Mikadze debuted in 1980 for the Black Sox and started most the season with respectable results, earning Rookie of the Year honors. That would pretty much the extent of his awards, as Mikadze was never a Pitcher of the Year finalist. He led in K/BB four times, but wasn’t a league leader otherwise. Mikadze was steady, but never posted a season above 5 WAR.

Bishkek knew Mikadze would get them reliable innings though, which was important as the Black Sox became a regular Asian League contender in the 1980s. From 1980-90, Bishkek had nine playoff appearances and eight ALCS berths. The Black Sox won the pennant in 1980, 83, 84, 86, and 90. However, they were never able to get over the hump and win the EPB title.

Mikadze’s playoff career was delightfully average at best. Over 149.1 innings, he had an 8-9 record and 5 saves, 3.25 ERA, 186 strikeouts, 20 walks, 89 ERA+, 89 FIP-, and 2.8 WAR. Despite not being dominant, Mikadze notably had EPB’s 23^rd perfect game on June 28, striking out seven against Yerevan.

Bishkek was happy with the results and gave Mikadze a six-year, $4,200,000 extension in March 1988. Although he’d have some injuries, Mikadze was largely a healthy scratch for much of 1990, 1991, and 1992. In 1992, the Black Sox gave him one start the entire year, leaving him on the reserve roster. Mikadze fought his way back into the rotation in 1993, although shoulder inflammation got him at the end of the season.

Mikadze was respectable in 1994 and 1995. The Black Sox had narrowly missed the playoffs from 1991-93, but won the AL pennant again in 1994. Bishkek gave Mikadze another two years and $1,900,000 in September 1994. He had a solid 1995, but struggled in 1996 and dealt with a partially torn labrum and rotator cuff strain.

After the 1996 season, Mikadze was a free agent for the first time at age 38. He signed a one-year deal with his hometown team St. Petersburg. Mikadze hadn’t been back in western Russia much and only saw a few World Baseball Championship appearances from 1983-86. He tossed 27.1 innings with a 2.96 ERA in the WBC.

Mikadze struggled as a part-time starter in his one season with the Polar Bears, struggling to a 4.49 ERA. He wanted to still pitch somewhere in 1998, but his stuff was now unplayable. After going unsigned for the season, Mikadze retired in the winter at age 40.

The final stats saw a 215-171 record, 2.85 ERA, 3534.1 innings, 3789 strikeouts, 480 walks, 304/435 quality starts, 166 complete games, 101 ERA+, 97 FIP-, and 50.5 WAR. Mikadze had some milestones the traditionalists liked in terms of wins, strikeouts, and innings. Plus, he had a perfect game and spent almost his whole career with one team, helping them throughout a decade of dominance.

Advanced stats were not kind to Mikadze though, suggesting he simply stuck around for a while with average stats. A 101 ERA+ is about as mid as one can get, plus he didn’t have awards or league-leading stats. His career WAR was only slightly lower than his HOF classmate Dana Bancu, but Bancu had thrown more than 1000 fewer innings to get it. Many scholars would later cite Mikadze as one of the weakest-ever inductees.

Still, EPB voters were very pitcher-centric and Mikadze hit enough benchmarks to have support. He debuted at 54.1% in 2003 and dropped to 41.8% by 2005, but was back in the mid 50s the next two seasons. In 2008, Mikadze received the boost to a nice 69.0%, earning a sixth ballot addition into the 2008 class.