In celebration of the tenth season of professional baseball in southcentral Kentucky, the Bowling Green Hot Rods have announced the creation of the Hot Rods Hall of Fame, which will debut for the 2018 season.
Prior to Opening Day on April 5, 2018, two former players or coaches of the Bowling Green Hot Rods will be selected to the inaugural Hall of Fame class.
“We have had so many tremendous players and people come through Bowling Green over the last decade,” said Hot Rods GM/COO Eric C. Leach. “Over 30 former Hot Rods players have reached the big leagues since we started. The tenth season is perfect time to honor some of those rare talents.”
These individuals all fit the starting criteria of playing for the Hot Rods in the first five seasons in the history of the organization (2009-2013), while also playing the minimum amount of games in a Hot Rods uniform. The minimum amount of games in a Hot Rods uniform for a person to considered is 50 games for a position player, 10 games for a relief pitcher, five games for a starting pitcher and an entire season as a coach or manager.
In addition to the baseline credentials, the players and coaches will also have to fall under ONE of the following categories to qualify for a nomination and acceptance in the Hall of Fame:
1) Make a Midseason/Postseason All-Star Team for the South Atlantic League/Midwest League.
2) Selected as a Postseason Organizational All-Star for the Hot Rods parent club during the season played or coached in Bowling Green.
3) Play or coach in at least one game in Major League Baseball.
4) Have a personal affiliation to the Bowling Green area or southcentral Kentucky prior or during their playing or coaching career.
Once players or coaches are nominated, they will be placed on a ballot of ten total nominees. Like the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a player or coach will be selected to the Hot Rods Hall of Fame if they receive AT LEAST 75% of the votes. If a player or coach receives a vote but does not meet the percent threshold, they will remain on the ballot for a maximum of three (3) seasons. A player or coach will be removed from the ballot if they do not receive a vote.
Bowling Green players or coaches will be selected as nominees by current and former Hot Rods employees and then will be voted yearly by a selection committee comprised of local media members, celebrities and government officials.
Fans can also participate in the Hall of Fame voting by clicking HERE, which will take them to the ballot.
2017 Nominees
( ) = Seasons spent with the Hot Rods
1. INF Tim Beckham (2009)
Hot Rods Stats: .275 batting average, 5 home runs, 63 runs batted in, 135 hits, 33 doubles in 125 games played.
Career MLB Stats: .260 batting average, 36 homeruns, 116 runs batted in, 37 doubles in 288 games played in 4 seasons.
Biography: Beckham is the highest draft pick (#1 overall, 2008 by TBR) ever to play for the Hot Rods. He was the top prospect in the Rays system on the first-ever Hot Rods Opening Day roster. He collected the Hot Rods first hit and homer in team history on 4/9/09 against Hickory. He was the only Hot Rods player to be named both a SAL (South Atlantic League) Midseason and Postseason All-Star in 2009. He has third-most hits (135) in Hot Rods single-season history, and was fourth-ever Hot Rods player to make his MLB Debut when he played against the New York Yankees on 9/19/13. Traded to Baltimore in July, 2017, Beckham hit a career-high 22 homers combined with the Rays and the Orioles.
2. LHP Matt Moore (2009)
Hot Rods Stats: 8-5, 3.15 ERA, 176 strikeouts in 123 innings pitched over 26 games (all starts).
MLB Stats: 51-48, 4.27 ERA, 711 strikeouts in 782.2 innings pitched over 140 games (137 starts) in seven seasons.
MLB Awards: 2012 MLB All-Star
Biography: Moore started the first-ever game for the Hot Rods and holds the franchise record for most strikeouts (176). Named an MiLB All-Star by Baseball America and a Rays Organizational All-Star in both 2010 and 2011, he was the second former Hot Rods player to play in the Futures Game in 2011. He was named “Top Starting Pitcher” in Minor League Baseball for the 2011 season and became the first Hot Rods player to make his MLB debut on 9/14/11. He is the first, and one of two former Hot Rods players, to make an MLB All-Star Team (2012). Moore finished ninth in the 2012 AL Cy Young Award voting.
3. RHP Alex Colome (2010)
Hot Rods Stats: 6-6, 3.95 ERA, 118 strikeouts in 114 innings pitched over 22 games (all starts).
MLB Stats: 15-13, 3.14 ERA, 84 saves, 242 strikeouts in 272.2 innings pitched over 173 games (19 starts) in 5 seasons.
MLB Awards: 2016 MLB All-Star; Led American League in 2017 with 47 saves
Biography: Colome was the #66 prospect in all of Minor League baseball per Baseball America when he began his season with the Hot Rods in 2010. He was a Midwest League Midseason All-Star with the Hot Rods in 2010 as well as a Rays Organizational All-Star in 2011. Since reaching the big leagues in 2013, Colome holds the record for the most saves and games played in MLB (172 and counting) by a Hot Rods player. He is one of two Hot Rods players to make an MLB All-Star Team (2016). He was the first Rays player to lead the AL in saves in 2017 with 47.
4. LHP Kyle Lobstein (2010)
Hot Rods Stats: 9-8, 4.14 ERA, 128 strikeouts in 148 innings pitched over 27 games (all starts)
MLB Stats: 6-10, 5.06 ERA, 74 strikeouts in 128.0 innings pitched over 34 games (17 starts) in 3 seasons.
Biography: After spending the entire 2010 season in Bowling Green, Lobstein still ranks in the top-five in single season Hot Rods history with 148 innings pitched (2nd), 27 games started (T-2nd) and 128 strikeouts (4th). He was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week with the Hot Rods from July 3 – July 10, 2010. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers in 2012 and was named a Tigers MiLB Organizational All-Star in 2013. He made his Major League debut on 8/23/14.
5. INF Derek Dietrich (2011)
Hot Rods Stats: .277 batting average, 22 home runs, 81 runs batted in, 34 doubles, 73 runs scored in 127 games played.
MLB Stats: .250 batting average, 44 homers, 159 RBI, 72 doubles in 459 games played over 5 seasons.
Biography: In his only season with the Hot Rods, Dietrich hit 22 homers, the most home runs ever for any Hot Rods player to date. During that season where he was also named a Midwest League Midseason All-Star, Dietrich finished ranked in the current Hot Rods single-season top five with 81 RBI (T-3rd), 34 doubles (4th) and 113 hits (5th). He was also one of two players in Hot Rods history to be named Midwest League Player of the Week twice in one season (7/4 – 7/11 and 8/15 – 8/22). Dietrich was traded to the Miami Marlins in 2012 for MLB infielder Yunel Escobar and made his big league debut with the Marlins on 5/13/13. Dietrich lead the National League with 26 HBP in 2016 with Miami and set career-high in HR (13), RBI (56), 2B (22) and games played (106) with the Marlins in 2017.
6. OF Kevin Kiermaier (2011)
Hot Rods Stats: .241 batting average, 4 home runs, 39 runs batted in, 8 triples, 27 stolen bases in 120 games.
MLB Stats: .262 batting average, 47 homers, 151 runs batted in, 25 triples, 60 stolen bases in 463 games played over 5 seasons.
MLB Awards: Gold Glove winner in 2015 and 2016.
Biography: As an under-the-radar 31st round draft pick in 2010 by the Rays, Kiermaier began his ascent through the minor league system to the big leagues in Bowling Green in 2011. During that season, Kiermaier ranked among the Midwest League leaders with 27 steals and 8 triples and was third in the league with 19 outfield assists. Since that time, Kiermaier has channeled that defensive prowess in the big leagues as “The Outlaw”, becoming the only Hot Rods player to earned an MLB Gold Glove Award, doing so in 2015 and 2016. Kiermaier led the AL in defensive WAR in both 2015 and 2016, finished 2015 with the third-highest WAR in the AL and finished 17thin the MVP voting that season.
7. RHP Victor Mateo (2011)
Hot Rods Stats: 12-6, 3.98 ERA, 102 strikeouts in 124.1 innings pitched over 26 games (20 games started)
MLB Stats: None
Biography: While being the only pitcher on this list not to make the big leagues, Mateo put together one of the best seasons on the mound in Hot Rods history. In 2011, Mateo threw the first (and only) complete-game no-hitter in team history on 7/8/11 against Lake County. It is the only seven-inning no-hitter in team history and the first of two total no-hitters in team history. Mateo was the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week that week and still ranks second in team history for most wins in a season (12).
8. LHP Enny Romero (2011)
Hot Rods Stats: 5-5, 4.26 ERA, 140 strikeouts in 114 innings pitched over 26 games (all starts)
MLB Stats: 4-6, 4.57 ERA, 146 strikeouts in 136 innings pitched over 129 games (34 starts) in 4 seasons.
MLB Awards: Participant of MLB Futures Game in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Biography: In 2011, Romero helped anchor a star-studded Hot Rods starting rotation, leading Bowling Green to their first playoff appearance in team history. His 140 strikeouts for the Hot Rods rank second all-time in franchise history over a single season, and are the most for any Hot Rods pitcher since 2011. Post Hot Rods, Romero went on to become the only Hot Rods player to participate in the MLB Futures Game in three different seasons (2012, 2013, 2014) and was a Rays Organizational All-Star in 2013 before reaching the big leagues later that year. With Tampa Bay, Romero made 52 appearances in 2016 alone before being traded to the Nationals prior to the 2017 season.
9. LHP Felipe Rivero (2012)
Hot Rods Stats: 8-8, 3.41 ERA, 98 strikeouts in 113.1 innings pitched over 27 games (21 games started)
MLB Stats: 8-10, 2.87 ERA, 223 strikeouts in 200.2 innings pitched over 197 games (all in relief) in 3 seasons.
Biography: As the ace on a Hot Rods team that clinched the franchise’s second playoff appearance in as many years during the 2012 season, Rivero was named a Midwest League Midseason All-Star that season and also became the second Hot Rods player to participate in the MLB Futures Game while still playing in Bowling Green. Since his time in southcentral Kentucky, Rivero has been traded twice in deals involving big leaguers, first in 2014 to the Nationals for RHP Nathan Karns and then to the Pirates in 2016 for All-Star closer Mark Melancon. With the Pirates, Rivero had his best season in 2017, going 5-3 with a 1.67 ERA during a team-high 73 appearances. He also had a career-high 21 saves, ranking 10th in the National League.
10. OF Drew Vettleson (2012)
Hot Rods Stats: .275 batting average, 15 home runs, 69 runs batted in, 24 doubles, 51 walks, 80 runs scored, 20 stolen bases in 132 games.
MLB Stats: None
Biography: As the only position player on this list not to make the big leagues, Vettleson had one of the best individual seasons in Hot Rods team history while being a fan favorite in Southcentral Kentucky during the 2012 campaign. Vettleson was a Midwest League Midseason All-Star and a Rays Organizational All-Star that season, leading the team in homers (15), runs scored (80) and triples (5). He ranked second in the Midwest League in total bases (218), behind only future big leaguer Miguel Sano. In the outfield, Vettleson ranked second in the Midwest League with 20 outfielder assists.
For more information on the Bowling Green Hot Rods, or to purchase tickets for the 2018 season, please call 270-901-2121 or visit www.BGHotRods.com.