Mike Fergerson and Dan Seelbinder had a lot in common but their careers were completely different. Fergerson spent
his entire TABL career in the West and was ALMOST as dominant as Seelbinder was but he was always chasing
something, either the ring or the dollar. He spent one year at Western Kentucky before entering the draft and being
selected by Sioux Falls with the seventh pick in the first round. After a great spring he made the big club as the
closer. He started his big league career with 16 consecutive saves and a dominant 1.21 ERA before the Noise decided
to move him into the rotation. He took off from there finishing the season 16-4 with 16 for 16 in save chances. The Noise
finished just two games out of the top spot in the West and Fergerson was named the league's top rookie and finished
third in the Pitcher of the Year voting. He would stay with the Noise from 1967 to 1972 leading them to the 1971 TABL Championship.
He would take home the 1971 Pitching Triple Crown leading the West with 18 wins, 238 K, and a 2.45 ERA. In 1972
he would pitch the first No Hitter in TABL history.
87-44, 2.74 ERA, 1967 Rookie of the Year, 69 & 71 Pitcher of the Year, five All-Stars with SF
In the fall of 1972 Fergerson signed a free agent contract with the Amarillo Arrows. In six seasons with the Arrows
he won 93 games and won another TABL Championship in 1975. He would win four more Pitcher of the Year awards
but he still wasn't satisfied and opted out of the final year of his contract to hit the free agent market once again at the age
of 34.
93-68, 2.60 ERA, four Pitcher of the Year Awards, six all-stars, 1975 TABL Championship with Amarillo
The winter of 1978 saw Fergerson sign a three year deal with the Fargo Frenzy. He would win 15 games in 1979 but the
the Frenzy would finish in fourth place and 11 games out of first. The next two seasons would be magical as Fergerson
would lead Fargo to the promise land and two consecutive TABL Championships in 1979 and 1980. He would also
take home the West Pitcher of the Year Award in each of those two seasons giving him nine in his fifteen year career.
He would also earn the second Pitching Triple Crown of his career, exactly 10 years after earning his first.
51-15, 2.89 ERA, 79 and 80 Pitcher of the Year, three all-stars, 79 and 80 TABL Championships with Fargo
After his fourth championship and ninth Pitcher of the Year Award Fergerson still felt he had something to
prove as he again filed for free agency and this time moved to Topeka to pitch for the Thunder. None of the first
three franchises he had pitched for had won a TABL Championship before he had arrived and he was hoping
he could do the same for the long suffering Thunder fans. He was 38 entering the 1981 season and was coming
off a triple crown so age was never a factor for the Topeka front office. It should have been. Fergerson didn't pitch
like a typical 38 year old finishing second and third in ERA for the 82 and 83 seasons. The Thunder finished second
to the Noise in 83, just one game out of the playoffs. He started to show his age in 1984 posting 4.52 ERA.
45-26, 3.74 ERA, two all-stars with Topeka
Not ready to hang up his spikes just yet Fergerson again took to free agency where his name alone would
bring fans to the park. He wanted a team that would guarantee him a rotation spot despite his age and ballooning ERA.
Hello Lincoln! The Killers had one their only TABL Championship back in 1976 and had failed to finish higher than third
since 1977. The Killers had hoped that Fergerson would be energized by another move and the fan base was buzzing
with excitement when the signing was announced. The fanfare was short lived as the Killers and Fergerson would suffer
through an unbearable season. The Lincoln front office lived up to their end leaving Fergerson in the rotation for the
duration of the season. Their reward was a 6-20 record and a seven plus ERA. Finally Fergerson had seen enough and
he retired as soon as the 1985 season was over.
6-20, 7.37 ERA with Lincoln
For his career Fergerson set several TABL career records including 282 wins and almost 4100 strikeouts. He was
5-1 with a 2.51 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched in seven postseason starts winning four championships.
He led the West in strikeouts for sixteen consecutive seasons from 1968 to 1983 while leading the West in ERA ten
times. He was named to 16 West All-Star teams and just for good measure after the press criticized his
fielding in the winter of 1973 he went out and won the 1974 Best Fielder Award.
