Gateway Indians Hall of Fame

Ryan Peterson #7

Year Inducted: 20??

When the Indians returned to action in 2015 following a one-season hiatus, Peterson was one of the new group of players who returned the Tribe to prominence.  Formerly a player for Edwardsville of the North County Baseball League, Peterson established himself with the Tribe, posting a .317 batting average in his first season, along with 19 runs scored and eight stolen bases.  Meanwhile, he established himself in center field, winning Gold Gloves in each of his first three seasons as an Indian.

Peterson improved in his second season as an Indian, batting .368 with 21 runs scored and 21 RBIs as the Tribe won their fourth championship.  Peterson’s his was part of a seven-run inning when the Indians claimed the 2018 title.  Early in the 2021 season he became the sixth player in team history with 150 career hits, despite not joining the team until 2015.  He entered the season with a .339 career batting average.

In the 2020 season, Peterson was part of an all-Ryan outfield, joining new teammates Ryan Zeugin and Ryan Weston and covering considerable ground.

Peterson is among the top ten Indians in several offensive categories.  At the end of the 2020 season, he ranked sixth in hits (148), eighth in runs scored (100), and tenth in doubles (22).  With 23 stolen bases, he needs only one more to crack the top ten list in that category.

Joe Phelps #25

Year Elected: 2018

Phelps only pitched three seasons for the Indians, but turned in one of the most dominating pitching stretches in team history.  Brought onto the team following the 2014 hiatus, Phelps made an immediate impact his rookie 2015 season with a 5-3 record, 1.14 ERA, and 78 strikeouts in 49 innings, winning his first Cy Young Award.  The next season Phelps repeated as Cy Young winner, posting a perfect 5-0 record, 1.11 ERA, and 46 strikeouts in 38 innings as the Indians claimed their fourth championship.  Phelps finished his Indians career in 2017 with a 4-2 season and 54 strikeouts.

Phelps was a St. Louis Men’s Baseball League All-Star in 2015 and 2016.  He is the second Hall of Famer to come from the defunct Lindenwood-Belleville baseball program, joining Zach Speckhals.  Although remembered for his pitching, Phelps finished with a .292 career batting average and 10 RBIs in only 52 at-bats.

In his brief time with the Indians, Phelps climbed the pitching leader boards.  Entering the 2021 season, his career 1.54 ERA is second to Shawn Spainhoward.  His 14-5 career record puts him fourth in wins and he also ranks fourth in strikeouts with 178.  In both categories, Phelps trails only Scott Long, Shawn Spainhoward, and Brandon Marolf.

Matt Pomerantz #33

Year Elected: 20??

Pomerantz has defined the role of utility player for the Indians and is perhaps the only player in team history to have seen action in the infield, outfield, at pitcher, and at catcher.  Known as “Matty P”, Pomerantz has been a part of each of the last five Indians championship teams and veteran Tribe players have watched his older son Roman grow up and have now met his daughter Jay.  During the North County years, Pomerantz took advantage of some of the league’s smaller fields and the term “Maryland Heights home run” is one of the best known phrases among Tribe members.

Pomerantz won Gold Gloves in the 2009 and 2012 seasons and was named to the All-Star Team in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013.  He has shone in postseason play, most notably batting 4-for-4 against Edwardsville in the rubber game of the 2010 championship series, belting a home run to eliminate the Patriots in 2011, and delivering 3 hits and 3 RBIs in the first game of the 2016 championship against the Longhorns.

Pomerantz has been part of two combined no-hitters.  At the 2007 Show-Me Games, he combined with Scott Long to no-hit Cairo.  Five years later he finished Aren Cummings’ no-no against the Monarchs.

After 13 seasons and 261 games with the Indians, Pomerantz finds himself among most leader boards.  Only Justin Coliny and Scott Long have played in more games.  He entered the 2021 season fourth in hits (268), third in runs scored (256), second in doubles (48), tied with Drew Sertich for fifth in RBIs (116), and third in stolen bases (49).  In pitching categories, Pomerantz is tied with Brent Buffa for sixth with 11 wins, in a four-way tie for fifth with 2 saves, and tenth in strikeouts with 105.

Tyler Schweigert #28

Year Elected: 20??

Schweigert contributed to the Indians in a number of ways during his four seasons with the team.  He provided a consistent bat in the heart of the Indians lineup, posting a .451 batting average, including .609 in a 2019 season abbreviated when a coaching job at Ranger College caused him to move to Texas.  Playing both shortstop and third base, Schweigert made a number of web gem plays that earned him Gold Gloves in each of his three full seasons with the Tribe.  Occasionally Schweigert was called upon to pitch; his most memorable outing was a shutout in the 2017 Show-Me Games.  Following the 2018 season, he became the second manager in Indians history, replacing founder Justin Coliny.

Schweigert batted .491 with 11 doubles in his rookie season with the Indians in 2016.  He followed with a .381 season in 2017 and batted .373 the following year.  During his abbreviated 2019 season, Schweigert hit for more power, moving into the Indians career leaders in home runs.

In addition to his three Gold Gloves, Schweigert won MVP awards in 2016 and 2019.  Schweigert was named to the MSBL All-Star Team in 2016 and 2017.

Despite playing fewer than four full seasons with the Tribe, Schweigert ranks among the top ten Indians in most offensive categories.  His .451 career batting average is ahead of every player except Brent Buffa and Cie Arell.  He ranks eighth in doubles with 31 and is tied for tenth with 3 triples.  Schweigert’s 7 home runs put him in a tie with Nate Mabb for eighth place.  He ranks eighth with 89 RBIs.

Drew Sertich #11

Year Elected: 20??

Sertich was part of the new group of Indians players that joined the team following the 2014 hiatus and has caught more games than any Tribe player except Matt Jayne.  He made a quick impression in his first season in 2015, batting .333 with 7 doubles and 22 RBIs.  Sertich drove in more than 20 runs in four of his first five Indians seasons with a career high of 29 in 2018.

As part of the 2016, 2018, and 2019 championship teams, Sertich has been stellar in the postseason.  In the clinching 2016 game against the Longhorns, he belted a three-run home run and finished the game with 6 RBIs.  He finished the 2016 playoffs with 9 RBIs.  In Game 1 of the 2018 championship against Bud Light, Sertich broke a sixth-inning scoreless tie with a home run.  Sertich has 16 career postseason RBIs.

Sertich was named 2016 co-MVP with Tyler Schweigert, finishing the season with a .447 batting average, 10 doubles, and 28 RBIs.  He won a Gold Glove in his 2015 debut season and was named to the All-Star Team in 2015 and 2016.

Entering the 2021 season, Sertich ranks sixth in hits (135), ninth in runs scored (89), sixth in doubles (37), tied with Brent Buffa for fifth in home runs (9), and tied with Matt Pomerantz for fourth in RBIs (116).

Shawn Spainhoward #23

Year Elected:  2019

Since joining the Indians for the 2017 season, Spainhoward has been the leader of the top-of-the-line starting pitching that defined the 2018 and 2019 championship teams.  His final start of the 2019 season was an 8-inning complete game that clinched the Indians sixth championship.

Spainhoward finished his rookie season with a 5-0 record and 45 strikeouts in only 25 innings pitched.  In his second season, Spainhoward won all eight of his decisions, including a 15-strikeout shutout at the 2018 Show-Me Games.  Later that season Spainhoward pitched a one-run, 11-strikeout Game 1 of the MSBL championship against Bud Light.

Spainhoward matched his 8-0 record in 2019, striking out a club-record 89 batters in 46 innings of work.  He won his second consecutive Cy Young Award, after sharing 2018 honors with Derringer Huff.  In addition, he became only the third pitcher in Indians history to strike out 200 batters, joining Scott Long and Brandon Marolf.  On July 14, 2020 Spainhoward struck out four batters in one inning against the Reds, a feat he matched later in the season.  He became the second Indian with 300 career strikeouts, notching the milestone against the Thunder on June 14, 2021.

In his first four seasons with the Indians, the former pitcher from Rogers State University in Oklahoma posted a 27-1 career record.  Despite having pitched only 175 innings, he finished the 2020 season with 288 career strikeouts, trailing only Scott Long.  His career ERA of 1.48 is the lowest among pitchers who have thrown at least 75 innings for the Tribe.

Zach Speckhals #50

Year Elected: 2017

Speckhals was one of several players from the now-defunct Lindenwood University-Belleville who joined the Indians in 2013.  He quickly established himself as a two-way threat at the plate and on the mound and pitched the last three innings to earn the save when the Tribe closed out the Longhorns to win its fourth championship in 2016 and first in the MSBL.

Speckhals finished his rookie campaign batting .372 with 4 home runs and 24 RBIs.  Following the team’s one-year hiatus, he returned in 2015 with a .333 average and 2 home runs while earning 5 wins on the mound.  Speckhals went 3-4 in 2016, but in the playoffs, was 1-0 with a save and 2.10 ERA.  Although he slumped at the plate for much of 2018, Speckhals batted .400 with a double and triple in the MSBL playoffs as the Indians earned their fifth title.

In 2019 Speckhals bounced back with a .380 batting average and 11 RBIs.  He finished the season 2-for-4 with an RBI in the 7-4 championship-clinching win over the Thunder.

Speckhals has moved onto the Indians record board in many hitting and pitching categories.  He cracked the top-ten list with 125 hits and is one of only four players in Tribe history to have belted 10 home runs.  His 101 RBIs rank seventh all-time.  Speckhals is in sixth place with 37 career doubles.  He ranks fifth with 5 career triples.  In the pitching column, Speckhals is fifth in both career wins (13) and strikeouts (166).  His five career saves are more than any Indian other than Scott Long.