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4x All Star
Chris Bergeron is the best pitcher in the Atlanta franchise's history. He ranks 1st in their record books in wins, win percentage, career ERA and is 2nd in games started and strikeouts. Five times in his career, Bergeron had 16 or more wins in a single season, including a 21-win campaign in Season 6. That was the best single season of his career. He went 21-6 in 224 innings with an ERA of 2.33. He could have very easily won the Cy Young that season if a little-known pitcher named Damaso Solano didn't go 20-3 with a 2.15 ERA on his way to leading the St. Louis Redbirds to an AL Pennant. His 184-109 career record is very impressive to go with a very strong career ERA of 3.51. He also had 1,955 strikeouts. He usually played on squads that didn't get a chance to play in the playoffs. That's also why he doesn't have the name recognition of some of his contemporaries despite his very good career numbers. He did pitch well in limited innings though. In 18 postseason innings he has an ERA of 2.95.
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8x All Star, 3x Silver Slugger, SPN All Decade Team C
In the early years of the SPL, Dean Bonham was, without a doubt, the best offensive catcher in the league. During those early turbulent seasons, he bounced around the country, like many of the teams did. Despite not knowing where he would be playing the next season, Bonham produced year after year. He had a career season during Season 5. He hit .340 with 68 home runs (still a franchise single season record) and 171 RBI. He was consistent too, getting named to all 8 of his All Star squads in consecutive seasons from Season 2-9. During that stretch, his average season production was .309 with 42 home runs and 119 RBI. Ten times he would hit at least 30 home runs in a season to finish with 507 during his career. His career average of .305 (along with 2,250 career hits) is certainly HoF worthy, especially when you consider the position he played. While he is mostly remembered for his offense, he was capable defensively as well. He had a good feel for the game and studied his opponents diligently to make sure he knew what pitches to call. He had a strong arm as well, throwing out 27% of base attempts in his career, a very respectable mark indeed.
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5x All Star, 3x Silver Slugger, 2x Gold Glove
Benji Cervantes was definitely a professional nomad. During his ten season career, he was traded four times and played in eight different cities with five different organizations. Wherever Cervantes went though, he produced. He was a very solid all around player. He hit with power and for solid average. He was a very good defender, winning a gold glove in CF and also one in RF when he moved positions toward the end of his career. He was a five time All Star and won three Silver Slugger Awards. In all of the nine seasons in which he was a full time starter, he hit at least 20 home runs. In four of those season he hit 30+ homers, twice clearing the 40 home run mark. In five seasons he drove in at least 100 runs. He was also fast, stealing double digit bases in nearly every season. He was also named to the Satchel Paige News All Decade I team. Benji Cervantes was a rare player. You don't come across many Gold Glove CF who also have a career OPS of .874. Cervantes is now enjoying a quiet retirement at his home in the Dominican.
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3x All Star, 1x Gold Glove (CF)
Barry Garcia was a rangy center fielder with a huge swing. In his time he probably had more power than any other center fielder in the league. He has now retired with 513 career home runs. Five times in his career he hit 50+ home runs, including a career high of 63. He still holds the 1st and 2nd highest single season records for HR and RBI in Philly franchise history. While he wasn't a great hitter for average (.263 for his career) he was a consistent run producer, driving in 100+ runs 9 times during his career and twice driving in 150+ runs. For a player who plays a defensive position, even winning a Gold Glove, having the offensive potential that he did was quite a luxury for whatever team he happened to be playing on. The biggest knock of Garcia would have to be his postseason hitting. Five times Garcia's teams made it into the playoffs. In his 17 career postseason games, Garcia hit an anemic .160 with an OBP of .208.
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3x All Star, 1x Gold Glove (RF), 2x World Series Champion
Derrick Hernandez was a very good power hitter. He has finished his career up with 552 home runs. His accumulated career totals are pretty impressive. He has 2,000 hits, 332 doubles, 1,510 RBI to go with a career line of .287/.359/.586. His Gold Glove award will attest to the fact that he was a pretty good defensive RF too. He hit at least 40 home runs 5 times during his career, including 2 seasons with at least 50. He also had 7 seasons with at least 100 RBI including 150 RBI in SPL's inaugural season. While you could certainly say more about Hernandez's regular season accolades, he really made a name for himself during the playoffs. During the two seasons in which he won the WS, Hernandez had two of the best offensive postseason hitting performances ever. In 13 playoff games in Season 2, he hit .436 with 9 HR and 17 RBI. His OPS was 1.423. He either scored a run, or drove in a run in 39% of his team's runs that postseason. In Season 5, he played in 19 playoff games. In those games he had an OPS of 1.230 with an AVG of .388 with 8 HR and 23 RBI. For his entire playoff career, he had an AVG of .342 and an OPS of 1.120. In Season 5, he either scored or drove in 36% of his team's runs.
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1x MVP, 4x All Star, 3x Silver Slugger
Ronald Lemon spent the first seven seasons of his fourteen year big league career, playing in the city of Salem for what is now the Vancouver Tragedy Twins organization. Lemon was one of the most feared left handed sluggers of his generation. In six of his first eight seasons, he crushed at least 40 home runs. In his MVP Season 6, Lemon had one of the best single seasons any player has ever had. He hit .323 with 33 doubles, 60 home runs, 156 RBI, a .711 SLG and threw in 15 steals for good measure. He had 6 consecutive seasons of at least 120 RBI. The Vancouver franchise record book should actually be called the 'Ronald Lemon Book of Career Achievements' because his name is on pretty much every offensive record. He is the all time Vancouver leader in games played, doubles, hits, home runs, runs scored and RBI. He is 2nd in AVG and SLG. Lemon wasn't just a slugger though. He was a complete offensive player. He wasn't blinding fast, but he was a good base runner and accumulated 132 steals in his career. He hit for average, with a career line of .303, but was also a disciplined hitter. He drew 665 walks in his career and had a career OBP of .368 and a career OPS of .938. Lemon has now returned to Salem, where he is beloved and spent so much of his career. He does radio color commentary for the returned Salem Blues franchise.
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8x All Star, 7x Silver Slugger, 1x MVP, SPN All Decade Team RF
Frank Mays is the model of consistency. He was also the most superstitious player in the league. According to those who’ve played with him, Mays has a strict ritual that he must adhere to or he wouldn't start the game. He must have a chocolate brownie, no nuts, precisely ninety minutes before first pitch. When he plays on the road, he has to have his toe nails painted black. When he plays at home, they have to be painted green. You’ll never see Frank step on the foul line, always over it. When he steps into the batter’s box, he has to tap his bat on the ground five times before each pitch, no more, no less. Whenever he hits a home run (and that’s pretty often) he mumbles as he rounds the bases (nobody knows what he says, and Mays says he’ll never tell) and he’ll never touch home plate with his left foot, always his right. He will never wear long-sleeves, or a jacket during the game, no matter how cold it gets. And he will only wash his cap during the off-season. It all seems to have worked, because Frank Mays has had one hell of a career. The rocket armed right fielder holds the all time record for assists from RF with 110. The first 8 seasons of his career were like clockwork. In 7 of the 8, he had between 42 and 48 home runs. And in each of those first eight seasons he produced between 105 and 145 RBI, between 19 and 26 steals, between 154 and 224 hits, between 119 and 154 runs, and between 26 and 48 doubles. His career numbers are gaudy. He has 472 doubles (5th all time), 2,533 hits (4th all time), 1,661 runs (2nd all time), 1,676 RBIs and 559 home runs. During Seasons 9-11, Mays was a part of maybe the most feared middle of the order in SP history. The Monterrey Venom had a #3, #4, #5 combination of Mays and current HoFers Terrell Quinn and Kazuhiro Takada. All three were still in their prime too. In Season 18, each owner really only has to decide what to do with 4 of their votes, because Mays should be a lock for the Hall.
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7x All Star, 3x Silver Slugger
Newman was a professional, line drive hitter, who is capable of driving the ball to all fields. He has a well deserved reputation for being especially tough on left handed pitching. He was named to 7 All Star games, more than any other 2B, and won 3 Silver Slugger Awards. He was also named #8 on the Satchel Paige League News Top Ten Position Players list. At the time of his retirement, his 426 doubles ranks 5th all time. He has very similar offensive numbers to his positional counter part Chin-Hui Martin (who was the 1st player ever elected into the HoF), although he wasn't quite as fast and was a weaker defensive player. Still, his offensive numbers are pretty impressive. He had 7 seasons with 190+ hits, 7 seasons with 30+ home runs, 8 seasons with 100+ RBI and 9 seasons with 30+ doubles. His Season 1 total of 65 doubles is still tied for the 3rd highest single season mark in SPL history. During his career, Newman totaled a batting average of .324, with an OBP .395, 340 home runs, 1292 RBI, 2036 hits and the aforementioned 426 doubles. Newman has been one of the best 2B in the early history of the SPL. Two seasons ago, Newman had his heart broken by finishing just one vote shy of being inducted into the HoF. He's hoping this year will be the year that he finally gets his due.
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4x All Star, 4x Fireman of the Year
Buster Timmons is an interesting study. Some seasons he was as dominant a relief pitcher as there has been (as his 4 Fireman of the Year awards would provide evidence for). Some seasons, he was mediocre. Some seasons, he was downright terrible. In Season 8 for example, he had an ERA of 5.19. In Season 9, he had an ERA of 13.00! The very next season, Season 10, he saved 39 of 42 chances with an ERA of 2.65. Despite his ups-and-downs, he still racked up an incredible 433 saves in 488 chances (a success rate of 88%) and a career ERA of 3.96. He saved at least 30 games in 10 out of his 12 full seasons. His playoff resume is sterling too. In 22 postseason games, he saved 17 of 19 chances with an ERA of 2.42. In remains to be seen whether the voters will overlook his rocky seasons and focus on his really, really good ones. His good seasons are definitely HoF worthy.
