Tensions were running high today in different areas of the country, as the 2012 Fountain City Baseball League Hall of Fame inductees were announced.  In the end only four of the numerous finalists made the cut, but no one can deny that all four are very deserving.  Let’s go through the inductee’s. 

First up is Randy Johnson.  Randy had a storied career with eleven different franchises over a 18 year FCBL career, including multiple stints with St. Louis, New York Yankees, and the Seattle Mariners.  His best years however were with the Baltimore Orioles from 1997 to 2000.  Randy was truly a strikeout machine in the FCBL.  He still holds the record for the most K’s in one season at 377.  Oh by the way, he also holds second place (375), sixth place (346), seventh place (342), and tenth place (319) on the single season K list.  Truly remarkable.  Randy will be entering the HOF as a Baltimore Oriole. 

Next is John Smoltz.  John may in fact be the most unique pitcher in the history of our great league.  John is 9^th all time in Wins for a Starting Pitcher.  Manager Erick Noland then became bored with seeing John dominate every 5^th day, so what’s he do?  He makes him his closer.  John is also Number 9 all time in Saves with 134.  This is a feat that will probably never be matched again in the FCBL.  John is also 5^th all time in ERA at 3.46, and 7^th all time in K’s with 1791.  John of course, will be entering the HOF as an Atlanta Brave.  He has 4 World Series rings with the Braves.

Now we move onto perhaps the greatest pitcher in the history of the FCBL.  Pedro Martinez played for seven different managers in seven different cities over his career.  Pedro is currently number 1 in both Wins and K’s with 211 wins and an astounding 3245 K’s.  To give you an idea how amazing that is, the current leader in K’s that is still playing only has 1932 K’s.  Pedro is also number 4 all time in ERA at 3.41.  Pedro had plenty of stops over his career, but nowhere was he better than he was in Atlanta.  In the 2001 and 2002 season, Pedro put together perhaps the two greatest back to back seasons ever seen.  In 2001 he had a 1.78 ERA and .80 WHIP.  The next season he fell back to Earth with a 1.84 ERA and .84 WHIP.  Pedro will be entering the HOF as a Brave.

Last but not least is possibly the most polarizing figure in the history of the FCBL.  No player caused more controversy or debate than Barry Bonds.  Barry started his career with the Seattle Mariners in 1997 and with the exception of one regrettable year with the Atlanta Braves in 2004, only had one year out of 18 where his OPS was under .900.  Most players would kill for one or two years with those numbers.  Barry is 5^th all time in Home Runs with 467, 6^th in RBI’s with 1179, and number 2 all time in walks with 1303.  Even with those numbers, Bonds could not escape whispers that he was cheating to achieve the amazing numbers he continued to get year in and year out.  It should be noted however, that it was never proven that Bonds ever used anything but the talent that God blessed him with.  Bonds will enter the HOF as a Giant.

Congratulations to the 2012 FCBL Hall of Fame class.  Each player was amazing in his own way, and no doubt deserves to be in the HOF.  Good luck to upcoming players that will be on the ballot for the first time, and also to those who have been on the ballot and didn’t get voted in.