The traditional fifth anniversary gift is wood, so it makes that The Hall of Very Good™ would induct a pair that were known to swing some serious lumber.
In this, its fith year, The Hall of Very Good™ has opened its proverbial doors to three former players – baseball’s first 40/40 man JOSE CANSECO, lifetime .289 hitter BILL BUCKNER and the website’s “Jerry West”, pitcher ROSS GRIMSLEY. Joining these three men, is this year’s celebrity inductee, “Rookie of the Year” star, THOMAS IAN NICHOLAS.
Say what you want about Jose Canseco, the guy was a phenom. The Cuban-born outfielder became baseball’s first 40/40 man during his 1988 American League MVP campaign. Following his career, the embattled slugger would transform himself into a New York Times best-selling author and, along the way, shine a light on baseball’s steroid issue.
“Jose Canseco was a marvel in every way – on the field and off – and brought baseball plenty of attention. Some of it was desired – tape measure home runs and World Series titles – and some of it was not,” Rich Grisham, Out of the Park Baseball CMO said. “But there’s no doubt be had a huge impact on the game.”
Bill Buckner holds the unique distinction of being only one of a handful of Major Leaguers from the modern era to have played in four decades. From 1969-1990, the first baseman hit .289 while collecting 2715 hits. There are currently only seven Hall of Fame-eligible players who ended their careers with more than the wonderfully mustached Billy Buck.
“This year’s class is definitely worthy,” Grisham added. “For all the talk of the ’86 World Series debacle he’s best known for, Bill Buckner had a gallant and gritty career that stands the test of time. Beloved by teammates and a consistent contributor offensively and defensively for more than two decades, Bill Buckner epitomizes baseball.”
Known affectionately as “Scuz”, Ross Grimsley has been the logo of The Hall of Very Good™ since the website’s inception. Add to that his colorful personality and his status as the only 20-game winner for the Montreal Expos and you’ve got a guy with “HOVG” written all over him.
“Ross Grimsley was a character in every sense of the word,” Grisham concluded, “but he could also pitch pretty darned well. His 1978 season in particular stands out as an OOTP favorite.”
Earlier this month marked 23 years since “Rookie of the Year” hit the silver screen, so, it would seem, this is the perfect timing for its star Thomas Ian Nicholas to nail down the spot as this year’s celebrity inductee. As Henry Rowengartner, Nicholas helped lead the Chicago Cubs to the World Series, something they hope to duplicate this season.
PAST INDUCTEES
- 2012 – Tommy John
- 2013 – Dale Murphy and Steve Blass
- 2014 – Luis Tiant, Tony Oliva and The San Diego Chicken
- 2015 – Jim Kaat, Lee Smith and “Macho Man” Randy Savage
Friday, The Hall of Very Good™ will once again be awarding the annual GLENN BURKE MEMORIAL COURAGE AWARD.
The Glenn Burke Memorial Courage Award will be awarded to a person who has made a significant impact on the game of baseball or has overcome adversity to succeed on the field. In 2014, it was given to minor league infielder TANNER VAVRA and in 2015, Cedar Rapids Kernels batboy JON TEIG took home the honor.
The Hall of Very Good™ Class of 2016 is also presented by Out of the Park Developments, the creators of the wildly popular baseball simulation game Out of the Park Baseball. Out of the Park Developments has made a generous donation to The Hall.
ABOUT THE HOVG INDUCTION LOGO: The Hall of Very Good™ Induction logo is courtesy of Todd Radom, the creative mind behind some of the sports world’s more iconic logos. Radom has created logos for the Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers and the World Baseball Classic.
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