Hall of Fame Class of '55

 

Glavine 300 Welcomes Kendrys Almonte as the class of ’55 Lone Hall Of Fame Representative

In season ’34 Almonte signed as a massive international free agent, a whopping amount of 27 Million dollars. The Mexican native was best suited to play 1^st base, where he did spend about 2/3rds of his playing time making 81+ plays against 31 negatives. He did play almost 800 games in RF where he made a crazy 98 negative plays.  After a bit of a slow star in his rookie season, 26 homers and a 257 AVG.  He then hit 154 homers in his next three seasons combined. He would top 50 homers three more times including 59 in his best overall season that would see him hit 307 with 172 RBI and win his first of two MVP’s. He would win again in season ’46 when he hit a career hit 40 doubles with 54 homers 161 RBI and bat 305.  His career would finish with 2777 hits, 742 of them being homers(4^th all-time), 1886 RBI and a slash line of 286/350/560 and a 910 OPS.  By comparison I have him 7^th among all 1^st basemen in the Hall behind Benito Monatez and ahead of Michael Wang. Having just retired Almonte seems to be enjoying his down time and travelling the world when not spending time with his new wife, Giselle (27) a former model for the Spanish Beauty magazine El Espectador (The Looker)

Glavine300 Season 35 Rule 5 Draft Recap

10.  Darryl Hunter-The 2^nd of two players selected by the then St.Louis franchise, now Colorado. Won two Gold Gloves in his two full seasons playing Left Field (43+ plays). On the offensive side he was pretty much a slap and spray type hitter who could steal a few bases (70 over three seasons) but with a 625 Career OPS his time in the majors didn’t last very long. He is a driving instructor in Eastern Canada specializing in defensive driving during winter months.

9. Carl Lewis-One of two players taken by the Helena franchise Carl was pretty bad his first two seasons going a combined 12-32 with an ERA around 5.70. Put it together in his 3^rd season when he went 9-10 with a solid 3.91 ERA over 177 innings. Lewis now ironically coaches track at his old college, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.

8. Walter Montgomery- Taken 5^th overall Walter didn’t have any great statistical seasons but was very solid in his three big league years. He went 10-9 with a 3.34 ERA in 183 Innings while pitching mostly out of the bullpen. Monty retired after his three seasons and went back to school, getting a degree in Nuclear Physics he now is an engineer at the  Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant.

7. Kendry Matos- Taken 6^th overall, Kendry was a pretty solid bullpen arm over parts of 6 seasons and 1 season as Opener type arm. 416 total innings with a 17 wins and 11 saves isn’t anything great but he did twice pitch over 50 games and twice went over 100 innings while keeping his ERA a respectable 4.15. He is now a “promotor” in his hometown of Tijuana Mexico.

6.  Rico Martinez- The 2^nd player taken Rico had a high ceiling when he was player, hit for the cycle in his final season where he hit 298 with 10 homers and 14 steals. Stole 56 bases in his two other seasons combined but his OBP was barely over 300. The Laguana Beach native now owns a chain of successful Laundromats (Ricos Spin and Cycle).

5. Giovanny Grey- Had some very good seasons, once saving 31 games, then followed that up with three seasons in a row with 90+ innings and an ERA around 3.50. Signed his biggest contract the next season with Colorado and celebrated it by having an ERA over 10.  Grey now writes for his hometown paper and serves on the city council.

4. Bryson Spring-Not sure why Spring stopped playing as he had three very good seasons. Averaged 18 homers and 75 RBI with 20 steals while batting a solid 267. Was below average in RF but was good in LF.  After his baseball career ended no one is really sure what happened to him, the last time he was scene was purchasing a ticket for the movie Nomadland.

3. Alving Baez-A Gold Glove Catcher, Baez was not a real great hitter though. But hell he played 11 seasons and kept his average over 250 for his career while being a tremendous defender at the toughest position in baseball. Alving runs a baseball clinic in the Dominican and a son that is looking to be an International Free Agent next season.

2. Mario McDowell- Hit 170 major league homers with three seasons over 30 and two seasons with over 100 RBI.  Mario only hit 254 for his career but that is a lot of homers.  Was an okay fielder at 1^st base but better suited for time at DH. McDowell now spends his time at home with his family that includes 5 kids and 13 grandchildren.

1. Dustan Kirkland- Taken third overall, Kirkland won a Gold Glove in RF, but was known for his glove work at SS where he made 29 Positive plays.  6 times he reached double digits in homers with a career high of 22 in season ’38.  The smooth fielder is now a spokesperson for a weight loss supplement as the one time 5’8 163LBS Shortstop ballooned to almost 295lbs after his retirement.