OSLOPRETENDERS
We welcome our 10th member of the Hall of Fame
- By Terje Myhrer-Hoaas, January 18th 2016
Every vote has been registered and we are now ready to announce our new members of the Oslo Pretenders Hall of Fame. The election was between HÃ¥kon JÃ¥tun, Jostein Sameien and Matthew Soria.
In total we had 17 voters - 8 from the P-board, 8 from the HOF members and the last one from the rest of the active players in the club.
With 16 out of 17 1st place votes (the last one being blank), the winner got a total of 48 points - the same amout as Bob Mainardi got last year - which is the highest ever given to a winning candidate.
Let us welcome our 10th members of the Oslo Pretenders Hall of Fame!
And he is.....
HÃ¥kon JÃ¥tun (159 games, 2000-2010)
Håkon - aka Hawk or the Budda - was one of the main forces behind the second great era of the Pretenders' impressive history. Hawk was a feared power-hitter in the new millennium and he had his glory seasons between 2001 and 2006. He probably had the best right-center-gap-power as a right-handed hitter in the Norwegian baseball history which resulted in 49 doubles (5th all-time) and 13 triples (2nd all-time), in addition to his impressive 15 bombs (4th all-time). Hawks’ 2004 season stands out as one of the best single-season ever by a Pretender – going .439 with 5 homers (tied single-season-record with Mainardi), 45 RBIs (best ever) and 60 total bases (best ever). In addition Hawk also holds the record for most triples (5 – tied with Wood) from his 2001 season.
On the mound his stats are as equally impressive. Hawk holds the second lowest lifetime ERA on 3.19 in the club and is tied at first place on 9 wins in a single season with Haavik and Wells. In 2005 and 2006 Hawk went back-to-back seasons with Era under 1.00 and Oba. (Opponents Batting Average ) below .100. No one else has ever done this in the Norwegian baseball history (and probably not in the whole world). His absolute dominance was a major factor behind the club’s 56-game-winning-streak between Sept. 2004 and Aug. 2007.
As a core member of the club in the new millennium, Hawk was also a vital part of the clubs e-cup era. His best performance at the plate came in 2003 as he went .566 (2nd all-time). On the mound Hawks best single-game-performance probably came in 2005 vs Deby Osielsko (Poland). Although the team lost 1-3 in the game, Hawk pitched a strong complete game vs a very good team, and the outcome could’ve easily been different if the HP umpire had had his eyes open and rightfully called the interference at 3rd late in the game. Hawk incredibly pitched in two other games in that 5-game tournament and got his and the club’s only win of the tournament vs. Vikingas Vilnius (Lithuania).
When the Mullah called Hawk earlier today, he was very happy to be voted in, saying he was very honored to be the 10th member.
The Party
The Hall of Fame party will most likely be held at some point during May/June 2016.
More info will follow as we get closer to the date.
But for now: Congratulation HÃ¥kon!
