|
Hall of Fame Class 27 – It’s a No-Doubter for Junior! Game-Changer Joins Tom Glavine in TCBA Hall
of Fame |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ken Griffey Jr.
Tom Glavine
|
|
Batting
from the left-side, there can be little argument that Ken Griffey Jr. changed the game.
From his iconic backwards-hat, which impacted millions of little leaguers
(and infuriated millions of little leaguer parents), to his prodigious home
run swing (four times exceeding 56 homeruns in a TCBA season), Junior altered
attitudes. Signed by Scranton in 1990 for $162,000,
Griffey reimbursed his team far-beyond his six-figure contract. From 1990
until 2009, Junior led the Spanish Flies to fifteen post-season appearances,
including six league championships. In addition to his 578 homeruns (11th
all-time), Junior drove in more than 100 runs eight times, including a monstrous
216 in 1999, a season that also included 66 homeruns. He finished his career
as the 9th best RBI man in TCBA history. The voters were
clear-eyed in their respect for Junior, awarding him unanimous entry into the
TCBA Hall of Fame, sharing that rare honor with nine all-time greats: Jimmie Foxx,
Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Frank Thomas, and Ted Williams, along with
pitchers Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Early Wynn. Joining
Griffey into the Hall of Fame
will be lefty hurler Tom Glavine.
Unlike Junior, Glavine was an undrafted free agent, claimed by Norfolk in 1988. After a 2-2, 7.00+ERA season, he was
traded to Bergen, where he was allowed to experience
some growing pains. But Bergen’s Stu McCorkindale’s
patience paid off big-time. Glavine became a mainstay of the Barfly rotation,
providing five consecutive seasons of double-digit wins, including consecutive
Atlantic Division pennants in 1992-93. The second-half
of Glavine’s career found him toiling for five different teams, but the results
were consistent. From 1992 with Bergen through 2008 with Mimosa,
Tom Glavine never won less than twelve games, three times winning 18+.
Although he never won a World Series ring, Tom Glavine participated in nine
post-seasons for four different teams. Glavine’s 296 wins rank him 11th
all-time in TCBA history. Six
other players received votes in this recent election, with favorite-sons Javy Lopez and Sean Casey appearing for the final time. Voting
for Class 28 will be held next January. The vote totals for Class 27 are
listed below: Class 27 Voting Totals:
·
Appeared on the list for the final time. Source: TCBA Encyclopedia |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
