FSL names ’15 Hall class
DAYTONA BEACH – The Florida State League Hall of Fame committee announced Wednesday its 2015 class of inductees for the hall’s seventh induction ceremony in November.
The class includes two pitchers, four position players, two managers, three executives, one farm director and one umpire.
The 13 new members will be enshrined on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach.
The class includes pitchers Josh Beckett, who played for the Brevard County Manatees and Jupiter Hammerheads before moving on to the Florida Marlins, and Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers, who played for the Lakeland Tigers in the FSL.
Position players include Kirk Gibson, who played with the Lakeland Tigers before his Major League career started with the Detroit Tigers; Kenny Lofton of the Houston Astros, who played for the Osceola Astros and Tampa Yankees in the FSL; Kevin Mench (Texas Rangers), who played for the FSL Port Charlotte Rangers; and Frank Thomas (Chicago White Sox), who played for the Sarasota White Sox in the FSL.
They are joined by managers Omar Malave and Luis Sojo; the first female FSL general manager Debbie Brooks, and GMs Rob Rabenecker and Tom Simmons, farm director of Tampa Bay Rays Mitch Lukevics; and umpire Richie Garcia.
The ceremony is open to the public and tickets are $75 per person. For more information call 386-252-7479.