In honor of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, who won their first Pacific League pennant in 25 years last night (and now head to the Japan Series), I thought I would usurp Mick's usual gig and name an "All-Ham" Hall of Names team.
(As Tybalt explains over at Tyblog, the team's name is the "Fighters" and they represent the Nippon Ham company. It's not the "Ham Fighters". Just to be clear. You can't fight City Hall, and you can't fight ham either.)
So, our porcine friends include...
C Robby Hammock (.263, 12 HR)
1B Bob Hamelin (.246 AVG, 67 HR)
2B Granny Hamner* (.262, 104 HR, 708 RBI in 1531 games)
SS Ken Hamiln (468 games, .241 average, an original Angel)
3B Jeff Hamilton (.234, 24 HR)
LF "Sliding Billy" Hamilton** (two batting titles, five SB crowns)
CF Darryl "Hambone" Hamilton (.291 career, 163 steals, 1328 games)
RF Jeffrey Hammonds* (.272, 110 HR, 957 G)
DH Charlie Hamburg (.272, 93 runs, 46 steals, 112 OPS+ in his only ML season)
RHSP Mike Hampton* (138-101, obscenely wealthy)
LHSP Earl Hamilton (116-147 but an ERA+ of 102)
RHSP Atlee Hammaker* (59-67, 3.66 ERA, ERA titlist)
RHSP Luke "Hot Potato" Hamlin (73-76, 103 ERA+)
RHSP Joey Hamilton (74-73, 94 ERA+)
Bonus : LHSP Cole Hamels (9-8 but a promising beginning)
LH-CL Steve Hamilton (114 ERA+, 42 saves)
RH-Set Ralph Hamner (220 IP, 82 ERA+)
LH-Set Dave Hamilton (704 IP, 3.85 ERA, 31 saves)
RH-Long Jack Hamilton (32-40, 20 saves)
LH-Long Chris Hammond (100 ERA+, 14 seasons)
Well, the team isn't that great but it's definitely serviceable and they'd win a few games in a real league. Defensively, with Hamlin and Hamner at the keystone and Darryl Hamilton in center, the team is decent up the middle. Not a lot of punch in the middle of the order though.
Can anyone Ham it up any better for this team?
