Wingnuts Hall of Fame Class Features Strong Wichita Ties
January 20, 2017 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
WICHITA, Kans. - The Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame will welcome seven new members on Saturday, January 28, as the 2016 class will be inducted. Announced last month, this seven-member class has strong ties to Wichita both on and off the diamond.
Leading the 2016 class is Wingnuts co-owner Steve Ruud, who played a pivotal role in keeping professional baseball in Wichita when the Wichita Wranglers left town. Ruud was part of a group of five that joined Horn Chen to bring the Wingnuts to Wichita, and now is the team's majority owner. During his playing days, Ruud pitched in the NBC World Series for 13 years.
Also among the inductees is former Wichita State Shocker and Wingnut Kevin Hooper. After hitting .402 to lead the Shockers in 1999, Hooper went on to a 10-year professional career that saw him play a couple of seasons with the Detroit Tigers. The final year of Hooper's playing career saw him hit .373 and win an American Association Batting Title during the Wingnuts inaugural season. Following his playing career, Hooper managed Wichita to a 422-270 record in seven seasons at the helm, and also led the team to the 2014 American Association Championship.
Born in Fort Riley, Kans., Johnny Damon was one of the top high school prospects in the country when the Kansas City Royals selected him in the first round of the 1992 draft. Damon's professional career brought him back to his native state in 1995, when he hit .343 in 111 games for the Wichita Wranglers. Later that year, Damon was called up to make his big league debut with the Royals, beginning an 18-year major league career which saw him post a .284 lifetime batting average while suiting up for the Royals, A's, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Rays, and Indians.
A native of Fort Scott, Kans., Adam LaRoche played in the major leagues for 12 seasons before retiring prior to the 2016 season. In his dozen years at baseball's highest level, LaRoche hit .260 and launched 255 home runs. In conjunction with Wingnuts co-owner Nate Robertson, a member of last year's Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame Class, LaRoche helped put together the Kansas Stars, a collection of former Major League stars who participated in the 2016 NBC World Series. Adam's brother, Andy, played in 26 games for the Wingnuts in 2015, hitting .269 with six homers and 23 RBIs.
Rounding out the seven-member class are 14-year major league veteran and Pittsburg native Ray Mueller, writer Bob Rives and former Garden City Community College coach Joe Slobko.
The induction ceremony for the 2016 class will be held on Saturday, January 28 at Distillery 244 in Wichita. The cost to attend is $20, and will include a buffet lunch. For more information or to make reservations, call (316) 264-5222 or visit http://www.wichitahof.com/.
The 10th season of Wichita Wingnuts baseball begins on Thursday, May 18 against the Laredo Lemurs at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. For information on season tickets, group outings, and party packages, call the Wingnuts main office at (316) 264-NUTS, or visit the Wingnuts official website at www.wichitawingnuts.com .
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