Larry Walker played for 3 teams over his 16-year IAL career, hitting .291 with a .377 OBA and .554 SLG. The only player who played longer and slugged higher was Barry Bonds, and only 4 players played longer and had a better on-base. He hit 407 homer, drove in 1,343 runs, and scored 1,364 times. He also stole 233 bases and played Gold Glove caliber defense in the outfield. Walker’s most impressive year was 1998 with the Aurora Gamblers, when he hit .343 with 52 homer, 157 RBI, 156 runs, and 40 steals; this probably ranks as one of the best overall seasons in IAL history. He topped 40 HR 3 times, 100 RBI 6 times, and 100 runs scored 6 times. His struggles with injuries kept him to only 2,044 hits.
Dennis Eckersley pitched for 24 seasons, splitting time between starting and relieving; he won 168 games (versus 183 losses) and saved 208 games as a closer. He played for 10 different teams (made all the more amazing for the fact that for most of his career in the IAL was an 8-team league) which couldn’t have hurt his voting drive! Eck was a good but not great starter, winning 16 games twice, but it as a closer that he made his mark, mostly with the Dreamteam. From 1989 through 1993 he saved 154 games, with ERA’s of 2.13, 2.35, 2.45, 2.49, and, in 1993, 1.12! That year he saved 35 games in 52 appearances, throwing 80.2 innings with a 6-4 record and allowed only 40 hits and 10 earned runs all year