The Albuquerque Isotopes will enshrine four deserving members into its Albuquerque Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.The Albuquerque Isotopes (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) will enshrine four deserving members into its Albuquerque Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, as former Dukes outfielder Joe Simpson, infielder Jack Perconte, General Manager Charlie Blaney, and broadcaster Mike Roberts comprise the 2010 class to receive admittance to the prestigious body. The induction will take place in a pre-game ceremony on the field as part of Dukes Retro Night on July 17 before the ‘Topes take on Round Rock.
Simpson played for the Dukes for parts of five seasons (1974-78) and holds career franchise records for at-bats (1,994), hits (607), and triples (35). In 1978, he batted .309 and racked up a team-high 88 walks while helping to lead the Dukes a PCL Co-Championship with Tacoma that season.
One of the most popular players to ever suit up for the Dukes, Perconte played in Albuquerque from 1979 to 1981 and again in 1987, finishing tied with Simpson for the career franchise record in runs scored with 363 and singles with 467. Perconte was a key component of the 1981 PCL Champions Dukes, batting .346 on what is considered one of the best teams in Minor League Baseball history.
Blaney served as General Manager of the Dukes from 1973 to 1977 and helped lay the groundwork for what would become one of the most storied Triple-A franchises in history, taking over right after the Dukes reached Triple-A classification in 1972.
Local broadcasting legend Roberts served as “Voice of the Dukes” for 17 years (1982-99) during which time he called four PCL Championships. Roberts also helped usher in a new era of professional baseball in the Duke City, by working in the booth during the first three years of the Isotopes existence from 2003-05.
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