Four Legends Inducted into ABQ Hall of Fame
Four men influential to the success of baseball in the Duke City were inducted into the Albuquerque Baseball Hall of Fame as players Sid Bream and Greg Brock, player and manager Kevin Kennedy, and longtime sportswriter Carlos Salazar made up the 2012 class that was honored in a pre-game ceremony on Dukes Retro Night festivitie, July 21. The four were nominated and elected by vote of the Albuquerque Professional Baseball Hall of Fame committee, consisting of baseball history experts throughout the city of Albuquerque.
Before embarking on a 12-year Major League career, Bream played parts of four seasons with the Dukes from 1982-85, batting a combined .336 with 70 home runs and 267 RBI in 340 games. In 1983, Bream lead the Pacific Coast League with 32 home runs and drove in a league-high 118 runs.
Brock holds the Albuquerque Triple-A record for home runs in a season with 44 dingers in 1982, the same year he also racked up a record 318 total bases. In parts of two seasons with the Dukes, 1982 and 1984, Brock batted .311 in 159 games.
Kennedy was a standout catcher for the Dukes in 1982 and 1983 before going on to become the manager of Albuquerque from 1989-1991. In three seasons at the helm of the Dukes, Kennedy amassed a 251-171 record and guided Albuquerque to a PCL Championship in 1990.
Jon Carlos Salazar worked at the Albuquerque Tribune from 1946-1996 and covered the Dukes for 27 seasons, becoming the first writer to be inducted to the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. Before he passed away in 1998, Salazar was issued a lifetime pass by Major League Baseball in recognition of his contributions to the game, both in Albuquerque and beyond.
The Albuquerque Professional Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony was part of the festivities surrounding Dukes Retro Night when the Isotopes defeated the Iowa Cubs. Kennedy and Brock were on hand for the ceremony. In addition to the Hall of Fame enshrinement, the Isotopes donned special mustard-yellow throw-back Dukes jerseys!