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FuzzyRussianHat · 07-13-2025, 06:36 AM

Eurasian Professional Baseball’s 2032 Hall of Fame class was an all-timer with five inductees; the third-ever EPB class with 5+ players. They were all first ballot picks and four were absolutely slam dunks with LF Igor Gorbatyuk at 99.6%, OF Yuriy Isakov at 98.5%, RF Nikolay Kargopolcev at 98.5%, and SP Kaysar Alkhasov at 96.9%. P Isak Baghoomiam was the fifth inductee at 68.1%, barely passing the 66% requirement. The best returner was 1B Sergie Stoev at 49.2% on his second ballot. No players were removed after ten failed ballots.

Igor Gorbatyuk – Left Field – Rostov Rhinos – 99.6% First Ballot

Igor Gorbatyuk was a 6’1’’, 195 pound right-handed left fielder from Oryol, Russia; a city with about 318,000 people located around 229 miles south of Moscow. Gorbatyuk was best known for having an excellent eye for drawing walks, leading the European League eight times in walks and six times in on-base percentage. He was also a solid contact hitter against both sides and decent at avoiding strikeouts. Gorbatyuk had a slight edge facing left-handed pitching (.931 OPS, 173 wRC+) but was plenty strong facing righties (.864 OPS, 156 wRC+).

Gorbatyuk brought reliable power with his bat as well, posting a 162 game average of 29 home runs, 22 doubles, and 10 triples. On top of that, he boasted great speed with impressive baserunning skills. Defensively, Gorbatyuk made the vast majority of his starts in left field. He played right as a rookie and occasionally filled in there. Gorbatyuk graded as an adequate glove man with just below average production overall.

His durability was outstanding across a 19-year career, playing 139+ games in all but his final season. Gorbatyuk was a passionate leader in the clubhouse, but he was also a bit thick. Still, his passion and talents made him one of Russia’s most popular players of his era.

Gorbatyuk was a hot prospect after an excellent amateur run and went seventh in EPB’s 2007 draft to Rostov. He was a full-time starter right away and maintained that role 14 years with the Rhinos. Gorbatyuk was merely okay as a rookie, then pretty good with league-bests in walks in 2009-10 and an OBP title in 2009. He earned Silver Sluggers both years.

Rostov was a 2000 expansion team and posted their first winning season in 2011 at 94-68, missing the wild card by two games. Gorbatyuk led the way by winning MVP and his third Slugger, leading the European League in RBI (109), OBP (.348), and OPS (.978). The next year started a five-year playoff streak for the Rhinos, who won 99 games and fell one short of first place Kazan. Rostov upset the Crusaders in the ELCS for their first-ever pennant, but lost the EPB Championship to Yekaterinburg.

2013 was Gorbatyuk’s second MVP win and fourth Silver Slugger, leading in WAR for the first time at 10.1. He had league bests in runs (118), homers (40), RBI (115), walks (83), total bases (356), OBP (.429), slugging (.645), OPS (1.074), and wRC+ (210). It would be Gorbatyuk’s career best slash line and runs total with his .341 average missing the Triple Crown by only .011.

Rostov finished first at 103-59 and beat Kazan to repeat as European League champs. The Rhinos then won it all for the first time against Ulaanbaatar with Gorbatyuk earning finals MVP. In 12 playoff starts, he had 11 hits, 10 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 6 RBI, and 0.7 WAR. Rostov finished 8-11 in the Baseball Grand Championship, but Gorbatyuk was impressive with 23 hits, 15 runs, 6 homers, 13 RBI, 1.247 OPS, 245 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR. That effort earned him BGC Tournament MVP honors.

On the whole, Gorbatyuk had strong playoff starts over 48 games for Rostov with 50 hits, 25 runs, 5 doubles, 3 triples, 9 homers, 27 RBI, 28 walks, .305/.415/.537 slash, 178 wRC+, and 2.3 WAR. He was also respectable from 2010-24 playing in the World Baseball Championship for Russia with 132 games, 88 hits, 62 runs, 14 doubles, 27 homers, 65 RBI, 74 walks, .210/.347/.440 slash, and 3.0 WAR. It was a relatively down era for the Russian national team with their lone division title with Gorbatyuk in 2023.

Rostov’s dynasty continued with Gorbatyuk finishing second in 2014’s MVP voting. They finished 102-60 and beat Moscow in the ELCS, but fell to Omsk in the EPB Championship. In April 2014, Gorbatyuk committed long-term as the franchise face for the Rhinos, inking a seven-year, $67,600,000 extension.

The Rhinos got back to the ELCS again in 2015 and 2016, but were defeated both years by the Mules. Gorbatyuk earned repeat MVPs in 2015-16, leading both seasons in homers, walks, OBP, slugging, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. 2016 had his career bests for homers (43), hits (189), RBI (126), total bases (358), and WAR (11.1). This was the end of Rostov’s run of glory, as they’d spend the rest of the 2010s in the middle tier before falling to the bottom consistently for the 2020s.

Gorbatyuk surprisingly fell off hard in 2017 with only 16 homers and 3.3 WAR. He rebounded from that to generally by a 4-6 WAR guy for the rest of his Rostov run, but his time as an MVP contender were done. Gorbatyuk did lead once more in runs scored and walks in 2019. His time with the Rhinos ended with the 2021 season, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 36.

For Rostov, Gorbatyuk finished with 2153 games, 2183 hits, 1323 runs, 291 doubles, 134 triples, 413 home runs, 1236 RBI, 1075 walks, 1054 strikeouts, 802 stolen bases, .290/.383/.528 slash, 166 wRC+, and 87.2 WAR. For his role in the dynasty run and the Rhinos’ first sustained success, Gorbatyuk’s #48 uniform was later retired. The team’s ace, 2031 Hall of Famer Dzimtry Poldnikov, had gotten his #1 retired the prior year.

Gorbatyuk would sign a three-year, $31,100,000 deal with Minsk. He had three reliably strong seasons with the Miners and even led again in OBP in 2022. Minsk was the top seed in both 2022-23. They suffered a surprise round one loss in 2022 to St. Petersburg and an ELCS defeat in 2023 to Volgograd. Gorbatyuk was lackluster in his 15 playoff games there with a .241/.302/.310 slash and -0.3 WAR. He was good on the whole with 469 games, 455 hits, 274 runs, 64 doubles, 25 triples, 73 homers, 224 RBI, 187 steals, .274/.372/.474 slash, 156 wRC+, and 15.7 WAR.

In September 2023, Gorbatyuk was only the third in EPB history to score 1500 runs for a career. In April 2024, he was the 27^th to reach 2500 hits. After the Minsk run, he had 1597 runs, just behind Zaur Kadirov’s 1619 for the top spot. Gorbatyuk seemed to still be able to go and wanted to reach that mark, signing in 2025 to a three-year, $12,960,000 deal with Moscow.

Gorbatyuk was a full-time starter in 2025 but was painfully average with .657 OPS, 105 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. However, he did pass Kadirov to become EPB’s runs scored leader. Gorbatyuk held thee mark until passed by Timofei Averkin in 2034. He also became the 10^th in EPB to reach 1500 career RBI.

The Mules won the ELCS as an 88-74 wild card, but fell to Krasnoyarsk in the EPB Championship. Gorbatyuk had a decent final playoff run with .763 OPS and 0.2 WAR. His playoff career had 77 starts, 76 hits, 35 runs, 6 doubles, 6 triples, 12 home runs, 43 RBI, 36 walks, 25 steals, .279/.370/.478 slash, 154 wRC+, and 2.2 WAR.

Gorbatyuk struggled and was reduced to a bench role in 2026 with 56 games and -0.5 WAR. He finished with 213 games, 172 hits, 72 runs, 35 doubles, 8 triples, 15 home runs, 77 RBI, 44 steals, .228/.274/.355 slash, 95 wRC+, and 0 WAR. The final year did allow him to join the 500 home run club as the 21^st member. Gorbatyuk retired after the 2026 campaign at age 41.

The final stats saw 2835 games, 2810 hits, 1669 runs, 390 doubles, 167 triples, 501 home runs, 1537 RBI, 1348 walks, 1535 strikeouts, 1033 steals, 890 caught stealing .282/.374/.506 slash, 160 wRC+, and 102.9 WAR. As of 2037, Gorbatyuk ranks 11^th in games played, 2^nd in runs, 10^th in hits, 9^th in total bases (5037), 54^th in doubles, 60^th in triples, 29^th in homers, 14^th in steals, 3^rd in walks, and 12^th in WAR among position players.

Gorbatyuk does also have the unfortunate distinction of being the all-time leader in caught stealing and has the 10^th-most in world history. The aggressive baserunning paid off overall since he was the runs leader for a time. Gorbatyuk also ranks 10^th in OBP, 60^th in slugging, and 25^th in OPS (.880) among batters with 3000+ plate appearances.

Those tallies, plus three MVPs, three pennants, and an EPB Championship ring certainly place Gorbatyuk among the inner-circle of Hall of Famers for Eurasian Professional Baseball. In a loaded five-player 2032 class, Gorbatyuk had the highest vote share with a near unanimous 99.6%.

07-13-2025, 06:36 AM	#2322
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,038	2032 EPB Hall of Fame (Part 1) Eurasian Professional Baseball’s 2032 Hall of Fame class was an all-timer with five inductees; the third-ever EPB class with 5+ players. They were all first ballot picks and four were absolutely slam dunks with LF Igor Gorbatyuk at 99.6%, OF Yuriy Isakov at 98.5%, RF Nikolay Kargopolcev at 98.5%, and SP Kaysar Alkhasov at 96.9%. P Isak Baghoomiam was the fifth inductee at 68.1%, barely passing the 66% requirement. The best returner was 1B Sergie Stoev at 49.2% on his second ballot. No players were removed after ten failed ballots. Igor Gorbatyuk – Left Field – Rostov Rhinos – 99.6% First Ballot Igor Gorbatyuk was a 6’1’’, 195 pound right-handed left fielder from Oryol, Russia; a city with about 318,000 people located around 229 miles south of Moscow. Gorbatyuk was best known for having an excellent eye for drawing walks, leading the European League eight times in walks and six times in on-base percentage. He was also a solid contact hitter against both sides and decent at avoiding strikeouts. Gorbatyuk had a slight edge facing left-handed pitching (.931 OPS, 173 wRC+) but was plenty strong facing righties (.864 OPS, 156 wRC+). Gorbatyuk brought reliable power with his bat as well, posting a 162 game average of 29 home runs, 22 doubles, and 10 triples. On top of that, he boasted great speed with impressive baserunning skills. Defensively, Gorbatyuk made the vast majority of his starts in left field. He played right as a rookie and occasionally filled in there. Gorbatyuk graded as an adequate glove man with just below average production overall. His durability was outstanding across a 19-year career, playing 139+ games in all but his final season. Gorbatyuk was a passionate leader in the clubhouse, but he was also a bit thick. Still, his passion and talents made him one of Russia’s most popular players of his era. Gorbatyuk was a hot prospect after an excellent amateur run and went seventh in EPB’s 2007 draft to Rostov. He was a full-time starter right away and maintained that role 14 years with the Rhinos. Gorbatyuk was merely okay as a rookie, then pretty good with league-bests in walks in 2009-10 and an OBP title in 2009. He earned Silver Sluggers both years. Rostov was a 2000 expansion team and posted their first winning season in 2011 at 94-68, missing the wild card by two games. Gorbatyuk led the way by winning MVP and his third Slugger, leading the European League in RBI (109), OBP (.348), and OPS (.978). The next year started a five-year playoff streak for the Rhinos, who won 99 games and fell one short of first place Kazan. Rostov upset the Crusaders in the ELCS for their first-ever pennant, but lost the EPB Championship to Yekaterinburg. 2013 was Gorbatyuk’s second MVP win and fourth Silver Slugger, leading in WAR for the first time at 10.1. He had league bests in runs (118), homers (40), RBI (115), walks (83), total bases (356), OBP (.429), slugging (.645), OPS (1.074), and wRC+ (210). It would be Gorbatyuk’s career best slash line and runs total with his .341 average missing the Triple Crown by only .011. Rostov finished first at 103-59 and beat Kazan to repeat as European League champs. The Rhinos then won it all for the first time against Ulaanbaatar with Gorbatyuk earning finals MVP. In 12 playoff starts, he had 11 hits, 10 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 6 RBI, and 0.7 WAR. Rostov finished 8-11 in the Baseball Grand Championship, but Gorbatyuk was impressive with 23 hits, 15 runs, 6 homers, 13 RBI, 1.247 OPS, 245 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR. That effort earned him BGC Tournament MVP honors. On the whole, Gorbatyuk had strong playoff starts over 48 games for Rostov with 50 hits, 25 runs, 5 doubles, 3 triples, 9 homers, 27 RBI, 28 walks, .305/.415/.537 slash, 178 wRC+, and 2.3 WAR. He was also respectable from 2010-24 playing in the World Baseball Championship for Russia with 132 games, 88 hits, 62 runs, 14 doubles, 27 homers, 65 RBI, 74 walks, .210/.347/.440 slash, and 3.0 WAR. It was a relatively down era for the Russian national team with their lone division title with Gorbatyuk in 2023. Rostov’s dynasty continued with Gorbatyuk finishing second in 2014’s MVP voting. They finished 102-60 and beat Moscow in the ELCS, but fell to Omsk in the EPB Championship. In April 2014, Gorbatyuk committed long-term as the franchise face for the Rhinos, inking a seven-year, $67,600,000 extension. The Rhinos got back to the ELCS again in 2015 and 2016, but were defeated both years by the Mules. Gorbatyuk earned repeat MVPs in 2015-16, leading both seasons in homers, walks, OBP, slugging, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. 2016 had his career bests for homers (43), hits (189), RBI (126), total bases (358), and WAR (11.1). This was the end of Rostov’s run of glory, as they’d spend the rest of the 2010s in the middle tier before falling to the bottom consistently for the 2020s. Gorbatyuk surprisingly fell off hard in 2017 with only 16 homers and 3.3 WAR. He rebounded from that to generally by a 4-6 WAR guy for the rest of his Rostov run, but his time as an MVP contender were done. Gorbatyuk did lead once more in runs scored and walks in 2019. His time with the Rhinos ended with the 2021 season, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 36. For Rostov, Gorbatyuk finished with 2153 games, 2183 hits, 1323 runs, 291 doubles, 134 triples, 413 home runs, 1236 RBI, 1075 walks, 1054 strikeouts, 802 stolen bases, .290/.383/.528 slash, 166 wRC+, and 87.2 WAR. For his role in the dynasty run and the Rhinos’ first sustained success, Gorbatyuk’s #48 uniform was later retired. The team’s ace, 2031 Hall of Famer Dzimtry Poldnikov, had gotten his #1 retired the prior year. Gorbatyuk would sign a three-year, $31,100,000 deal with Minsk. He had three reliably strong seasons with the Miners and even led again in OBP in 2022. Minsk was the top seed in both 2022-23. They suffered a surprise round one loss in 2022 to St. Petersburg and an ELCS defeat in 2023 to Volgograd. Gorbatyuk was lackluster in his 15 playoff games there with a .241/.302/.310 slash and -0.3 WAR. He was good on the whole with 469 games, 455 hits, 274 runs, 64 doubles, 25 triples, 73 homers, 224 RBI, 187 steals, .274/.372/.474 slash, 156 wRC+, and 15.7 WAR. In September 2023, Gorbatyuk was only the third in EPB history to score 1500 runs for a career. In April 2024, he was the 27^th to reach 2500 hits. After the Minsk run, he had 1597 runs, just behind Zaur Kadirov’s 1619 for the top spot. Gorbatyuk seemed to still be able to go and wanted to reach that mark, signing in 2025 to a three-year, $12,960,000 deal with Moscow. Gorbatyuk was a full-time starter in 2025 but was painfully average with .657 OPS, 105 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. However, he did pass Kadirov to become EPB’s runs scored leader. Gorbatyuk held thee mark until passed by Timofei Averkin in 2034. He also became the 10^th in EPB to reach 1500 career RBI. The Mules won the ELCS as an 88-74 wild card, but fell to Krasnoyarsk in the EPB Championship. Gorbatyuk had a decent final playoff run with .763 OPS and 0.2 WAR. His playoff career had 77 starts, 76 hits, 35 runs, 6 doubles, 6 triples, 12 home runs, 43 RBI, 36 walks, 25 steals, .279/.370/.478 slash, 154 wRC+, and 2.2 WAR. Gorbatyuk struggled and was reduced to a bench role in 2026 with 56 games and -0.5 WAR. He finished with 213 games, 172 hits, 72 runs, 35 doubles, 8 triples, 15 home runs, 77 RBI, 44 steals, .228/.274/.355 slash, 95 wRC+, and 0 WAR. The final year did allow him to join the 500 home run club as the 21^st member. Gorbatyuk retired after the 2026 campaign at age 41. The final stats saw 2835 games, 2810 hits, 1669 runs, 390 doubles, 167 triples, 501 home runs, 1537 RBI, 1348 walks, 1535 strikeouts, 1033 steals, 890 caught stealing .282/.374/.506 slash, 160 wRC+, and 102.9 WAR. As of 2037, Gorbatyuk ranks 11^th in games played, 2^nd in runs, 10^th in hits, 9^th in total bases (5037), 54^th in doubles, 60^th in triples, 29^th in homers, 14^th in steals, 3^rd in walks, and 12^th in WAR among position players. Gorbatyuk does also have the unfortunate distinction of being the all-time leader in caught stealing and has the 10^th-most in world history. The aggressive baserunning paid off overall since he was the runs leader for a time. Gorbatyuk also ranks 10^th in OBP, 60^th in slugging, and 25^th in OPS (.880) among batters with 3000+ plate appearances. Those tallies, plus three MVPs, three pennants, and an EPB Championship ring certainly place Gorbatyuk among the inner-circle of Hall of Famers for Eurasian Professional Baseball. In a loaded five-player 2032 class, Gorbatyuk had the highest vote share with a near unanimous 99.6%. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)