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| Williams | Tucker | Hayes |
TEAM:Hickory Huskers
OWNER: Craig Kronzer
ESTABLISHED: 1992
CHAMPI0NSHIPS: 0
YEARLY FINISHES: 7, 4, 6, 4, 11, 4, 7, 2, 8
MANAGER:Earl Huckleberry-pitcher for Philly in 1935, career stats: one game, 9.45 ERA, record of 1-0.
HISTORY: The Hickory Huskers, named after the basketball team in the movie "Hoosiers", entered the league in 1992 as an expansion team.
Although finishing ahead of two established teams, it was a disappointing seventh place for the Huskers in their first year. Plagued in their early years by severe weaknesses in saves and steals, the Huskers nevertheless became one of the more active participants in the minor trade scene.
The Huskers continued the building process with a leap into the money in 1993. The �93 Huskers were solid in all categories and were led by the all-around play of Jeff Bagwell, Gary Sheffield Larry Walker,and Sammy Sosa.
1994 was a season of great expectations in Husker country, boasting an outstanding hitting squad led by all-everything Jeff Bagwell. The Huskers led the league in hitting points with 42 points. However a dismal pitching staff placed the Huskers in sixth place.
Another season of disappointment followed in 1995 although the Huskers did finish in the money. However, a seemingly dominant team faded down the stretch despite leading for much of the year. Once again, subpar hurlers ruined 45 hitting points.
The Huskers started strong in 1996, behind pitchers Ken Ryan, T.J. Mathews, Mike Grace, and Joey Hamilton, hanging in contention for the early part of the season. Yet, when the pitching staggered, the entire team collapsed, falling all the way to an eleventh place finish. The Huskers woeful average and power combined with a number of truly dreadful pitching performances (Zane Smith) added up to the most forgetable season in Husker history.
The 1997 Huskers, perhaps learning from their problems of the previous season, assembled the greatest one-two combination in league history with Larry Walker and Jeff Bagwell, to go with Scott Rolen and Butch Huskey. As a team they were first in AVG, HR, and RBI. They battled for first place for much of the year before poor starting pitching (last in wins) relegated them to fourth place overall. Losing Shawn Estes (traded in a deal for Mark Wohlers) may have been too much for the undermanned staff to handle.
In 1998, the Huskers slipped back to the pack with a 7th place finish. Mediocre hitting (Husker wise), no speed, and average and best pitching will generally put you exactly where they found themselves. Saves, with youngsters Ugueth Urbina and sursprising Kerry Ligtenburg, was the only top 3 finish in any category for the Huskers.
The Huskers again gave it a run at the BLOBB title in 1999, only to once again stumble late in the year before closing out the year in second place, just 2 points out of first. The Huskers were similar to the Bums in that they did not dominate in any categories, but rather were solid in most, especially in the hitting categories where they collected 36.5 points. Franchise MVP Jeff Bagwell continued his stellar play while Sean Casey and Paul Byrd added unexpected contributions.
The Husker hitters held up their end of the bargain in 2000 with 32 hitting points behind the bats of Sheffield, Alou, and Floyd, but the pitching flopped, dropping them to 8th place overall. Bruce Chen and Dave Veres had nice years for the Huskers, but the front line starters took a serious nosedive to doom them to the second division.
BEST TRADE:In the 2000 pre-season, the Huskers trade Scott Elarton and topper rights to Ugueth Urbina to the Bums for Mike Lowell. The Bums retain Urbina for a hefty sum, though both Urbina and Elarton have shaky years. Lowell comes through with 22 homers and 91 RBI�s, and costs the Huskers less than $10 at the draft.
WORST TRADE:In a trade that was known more for what it did for the other team, the 1995 Huskers, loaded with a dominating and seemingly unbeatable group of hitters, trade Vinny Castilla, Mike Kelly, and Blas Minor to the upstart Marsupials for Darren Holmes, Brad Clontz, and Howard Johnson in order to boost their bullpen. However, both Clontz and Holmes prove to be worthless while the loss of Castilla costs the Huskers a couple points. Adding insult to injury was the fact that Minor's late season victory propels the Marsupials past the Huskers for the championship. There have been worse trades in terms of the numbers, but none compare to the damage done by this one.
FRANCHISE MVP:Jeff Bagwell
JIMMY CHITWOOD AWARD (YEARLY MVP)
AB H HR RBI J. Bagwell 2742 J. Bagwell 867 J. Bagwell 184 J. Bagwell 609 G. Sheffield 2240 G. Sheffield 695 G. Sheffield 140 G. Sheffield 424 De. Bell 1896 De. Bell 578 L. Walker 79 De. Bell 323 S. Rolen 1583 S. Rolen 446 S. Rolen 78 S. Rolen 279 E. Taubnsee 1375 L. Walker 401 De. Bell 53 L. Walker 255 SB AVG IP W J. Bagwell 112 M. Alou .355 B. Tewksbury 446.7 B. Tewksbury 33 E. Young 103 Ja. Bell .333 D. Mlicki 382.3 S. Parris 22 De. Bell 88 S. Casey .332 F. Cordova 375.7 F. Cordova 21 L. Walker 70 D. Glanville .325 B. Anderson 332.3 B. Anderson 19 G. Sheffield 57 J. Bagwell .316 S. Parris 309.7 K. Tapani 19 SV RAT ERA U. Urbina 75 S. Reed 0.90 S. Reed 1.48 T. Hoffman 51 K. Ligtenburg 1.02 K. Ryan 2.43 D. Veres 50 S. Fernandez 1.07 J. Frascatore 2.51 M. Wohlers 32 Mi. Grace 1.09 U. Urbina 2.54 K. Ligtenburg 30 R. Cormier 1.10 F. Rodriguez 2.64
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