Larry Walker played for 3 teams over his 16-year IAL career, hitting .291 with a .377 OBA and .554 SLG. The only player who played longer and slugged higher was Barry Bonds, and only 4 players played longer and had a better on-base. He hit 407 homer, drove in 1,343 runs, and scored 1,364 times. He also stole 233 bases and played Gold Glove caliber defense in the outfield. Walker’s most impressive year was 1998 with the Aurora Gamblers, when he hit .343 with 52 homer, 157 RBI, 156 runs, and 40 steals; this probably ranks as one of the best overall seasons in IAL history. He topped 40 HR 3 times, 100 RBI 6 times, and 100 runs scored 6 times. His struggles with injuries kept him to only 2,044 hits.
Dennis Eckersley pitched for 24 seasons, splitting time between starting and relieving; he won 168 games (versus 183 losses) and saved 208 games as a closer. He played for 10 different teams (made all the more amazing for the fact that for most of his career in the IAL was an 8-team league) which couldn’t have hurt his voting drive! Eck was a good but not great starter, winning 16 games twice, but it as a closer that he made his mark, mostly with the Dreamteam. From 1989 through 1993 he saved 154 games, with ERA’s of 2.13, 2.35, 2.45, 2.49, and, in 1993, 1.12! That year he saved 35 games in 52 appearances, throwing 80.2 innings with a 6-4 record and allowed only 40 hits and 10 earned runs all year
We ventured out to the banks of the Fox River to play Keith this month. The Highlander lineup continued its streak of hot hitting, hitting .281 on the series and taking six of nine games. We started hot and stayed in the zone for the full series, running our won-loss record to 24-15.
The top performer for the month didn’t even play all nine games; Howie Kendrick went 11-24 (.458/.458/.875) with 7 runs and 4 RBI in 6 games. He also didn’t walk, running his at-bat total to 89 without a walk this season. Stephen Drew also hit well, hitting 2 homers in two separate games and driving in 9 runs. Chris Young hit .324 and had 5 doubles and two steals.
Our pitching was good but not great, with a 4.16 ERA on the series. Roy Oswalt won both of his starts, and Ryan Madson picked up two wins in relief. Jim Johnson lost two in relief, and Julian Tavarez and Cla Meredith both got knocked around a bit, while Andrew Miller got his second start and did a pretty good job again, going 7 innings and allowing only 3 runs, though he did pick up a loss.
On the year, Stephen Drew is leading the team in homers and RBI, with 8 HR and 28 RBI along with a team-leading .290 average. No one is performing extraordinarily, but no one is slumping too badly either; it’s been a strong all-around team effort. On the mound, Oswalt has a 5-2 record in 8 starts, and Felix Hernandez is 4-2. Jeremy Guthrie and Jon Garland are both 3-1. Even Ian Snell is 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA. Brad Zeigler has 10 saves and a 2.13 ERA. The overall team ERA is 3.89.
This next month, with a rematch with the Iowa teams, will go a long way to telling us if our record so far is for real. We expected to compete, but didn’t really expect to compete for first place.
It’s been a while since I ran a list of the all-time leaders in various categories, and with the blog coming online, I thought this would be a great time to do so! So without further ado, here are the top 10 home run hitters of the Illowa League, current and retired. Read more »
ial hall of fame | Rob Moore December 17, 2009 | 
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