2063 Hall of Fame Presser
Championship Baseball Association (CBA) 2063 Hall of Fame Ballot
As the 2062 CBA season winds to a close, the league’s GMs will consider the following ballot to determine who, if any, are deserving of being enshrined in the Hall of Fame. If elected, any player or players would become the Inaugural Class of the Hall of Fame. This document is meant to give some context to the players on the ballot, especially for General Managers who came in after the start of CBA2.0 in 2020.
Players who are new to the ballot are listed first, followed by last year’s vote percentage. Players who have their names italicized are on the watch list. Players on the watch list must hit 25% of the votes to remain on the ballot for future years, otherwise they are removed.
Position Players
- 1B David Bennett (NY/GAL – New) – When all was said and done, David ‘Looney Tunes’ Bennett had a hell of a career. Known for his contact-first approach at the plate, Bennett still managed to smash 112 home runs to go with his 362 doubles and .319 career batting average. Bennett was a 4x BL hitting king (‘51, ‘52, ‘54, and ‘56), 2051 Bronze League MVP, 3-time Gold Glover (‘50, ‘55, ‘58), 3-time Premier League Champion (‘57-’59)… and he also was a 1-time Bronze League Silver Slugger in 2050. His 32.7 Career WAR isn’t as impressive as his resume would suggest… but it’s still a hell of a resume.
- CF Alberto Avila (SEA/SD/DC – New) – If we look solely at 2053, Avila is a shoe-in Hall of Fame talent: .318/.383/.618 slash line to go with 37 home runs, 24 steals, and 107 hits, the most in the league. Until you look at the big picture and see he finished with a slash line of .281/.346/.490; and that he only had 80 hits in a season one more time. Oh, and that big 2053 season only resulted in a BL Silver Slugger Award (MVP: Chicago’s Jose Villa). It’s unfortunate that the bulk of his career was spent on a San Diego team that was asleep at the wheel, but as it stands right now there’s just not a lot to make him stand out.
- CF Victor Villa (DC/BOS/CAR – New) – Looking just by offensive statistics, Villa would be a Hall of Fame afterthought. There’s nothing special about his .296/.327/.401 line or his steal success rate (205 SB, 82 CS), and he only swatted 22 home runs in his entire career. BUT, Villa perhaps should go down as the GOAT when it comes to defense. Premier League Gold Glove winner in CF in ‘50, ‘51, ‘52, ‘53, ‘54, and ‘55, Villa is still simply without comparison. An anchor at one of the most important and demanding defensive positions, we may never see another season like his 2052, when he led the league in ZR with 22.7, and at a Defensive EFF of 1.129, easily tops in the league.
- 1B Cort Hansen (CHI/GAL/SLC/BAL/CIN – New) – Like Bennett, Hansen had the hardware: 2-time gold glove, 3-time silver slugger, and perhaps the only player with a BL, SL, and PL ring in his case. The problem, however, is that of his 21.6 career WAR, 51.8% of it (11.2) came before 2053. And Hansen played until 2060. He did have some pretty good offensive seasons and was a pretty good defender, but that unfortunately be what his career boils down to: pretty good.
- C Bobby Skelly (KTY/NO/NY/LA – New) – Simply owing to the demands of the position, the Hall of Fame bar for catchers must always be lower compared to other positions: it’s rare to see a truly gifted offensive or defensive catcher who puts together a long career. Skelly, at least, had a long career. He won a singular gold glove in 2050, and of his 10.1 career WAR, 8.3 came before 2053. Rourke Hewitt managed to hang on to the ballot for a second year. Skelly… will not.
- LF Rico Santellan (MIN/MIA – 33%/44%/45%) – Santellan only has 20 career WAR, but his career in the CBA started at age 27 and he spent the heart of his career on contending teams in the Silver League and Premier League. Santellan led the league in HRs and BBs twice.
- C Rourke Hewitt (AUS/DC – 10%) – Drafted in the 3rd round of the CBA Inaugural Draft by the Austin Rustlers, Hewitt possessed a unique trait for a catcher: speed. His 87 steals in his first two seasons is a record likely to stand forever among catchers. Unfortunately, Hewitt struggled throughout his career with consistency. His 14.7 Career WAR does not immediately jump off the page, but given the relative paucity of production at the Catcher Position, Hewitt deserves at least some serious consideration for the Hall of Fame.
- 3B Gabe Netro (PHI/DET/CLE/PHO – 10%) – Netro might be the biggest what if on this list. On the surface, his accomplishments aren’t very impressive: 17.5 Career WAR with a .692 OPS. These numbers, however, deserve some context. Netro’s first season, with the Philadelphia Liberty in 2050, came during his age 33 season. Netro would defy the odds and be a productive player through his Age 41 season. He enjoyed a career Renaissance of sorts with the Cleveland Bobcats in 2056 when he posted a 3.0 WAR and helped the Bobcats earn promotion to the Silver League. Netro also boasts a whopping Six Gold Gloves at 3B, and would have undoubtedly had many more if we were able to see the full scope of his career.
- SS Bobby Gutierrez (TB/NO/HOU/DC – 10%) –Like Netro, Gutierrez’s career in the CBA began on the downside of his arc, and while he was able to accumulated 15 WAR in that time, he was, on the whole, a league-average hitter (103 Career OPS+) and a subpar defender save for his inaugural season with the Tampa Bay Palms (6.3 ZR / 1.040 EFF)
Pitchers
- SP Nick Vitale (ATL/SD/SEA/MEX – New) – Nick Vitale was pretty good for a pretty long time. He won the ERA crown in the Bronze League in 2058 as a 35 year old (that 2.17 ERA is seriously impressive, but his BABIP was .047 below career average). He did win the Bronze League with Atlanta in 2055, and while he was a workhorse, Sandy Torres was clearly their best starter. If everything beaks right, Vitale might hang on the ballot for one season, but he’s most likely here on the ballot for a Limited Time Only.
- SP Bob McCarthy (MIN/DET/VAN – 20%/25%) – McCarthy is a pitcher who pitched his entire career in the PL. He won one Pitcher of the Year award, in 2053. He posted 24.7 career WAR and is roughly in the same tier as Alberto Munoz. His candidacy would likely be more clear-cut if we could see the first four years of his career, but McCarthy was certainly a dominant pitching force in the Premier League for the better part of half a decade.
- CL Volkmar Arikan (GAL/AUS/DEN/DET – 20%) Arikan had an impressive peak to his career from 2052 to 2054, winning the PL Reliever of the Year award in 2053 with Austin. Arikan was never truly dominant, but he was definitely one of the best handful of relievers in the PL during his career, and his candidacy will be a great litmus test for future relievers.
- SP Javier Jimenez (PHI/TB/DET/ATL – 22%/19%/20%) – Entering the CBA at age 30 as a pitcher, Jimenez was a reliable force at the front of the rotation for the entirety of his career in the CBA. He was the PL’s best pitcher in 2052, but only put up 18.0 WAR for his CBA career. One must wonder what his resume would look like if we could see the other 5 years.
- SP D.J. “The Dick” Alvarado (CHR/DET/PHI/PHO/GAL/DC/ATL – 15%) – If nothing else, Alvarado is known throughout the league for his petulant and, frankly ‘dickish’ behavior. Drafted in the 1st round of the Inaugural Draft by Detroit, Alvarado never had the type of season that would cement him as one of the premier starting pitchers in the game. Ultimately, he was probably more trouble than he was worth for a majority of his career. Perhaps if a historical wing of the Hall is ever opened he will have an exhibit next to Craig “Icebox” Bannon.
- CL Bobby Ward (IND/GAL – 10%) – Ward was a very solid relief pitcher for 8 seasons, mostly in the Bronze League. His best season, however, came with the Galveston Gremlins in 2054 with a 1.42 ERA and a staggering 289 ERA+ in 82.2 innings. Ward is the first player on this list who played his entire major league career in the CBA, which may ultimately hurt his candidacy as there is no unknown career to speculate upon.
- CL Jerry Parten (DC/NY – 5%) – Parten faces a certain uphill battle in his quest for the CBA Hall of Fame. One of the most dominant relievers in the PL in 2051 and 2052, Parten was almost invisible for the following five seasons before finally posting a dominant 1.68 ERA with the moribund DC Eagles in the Bronze League in 2058.