2 of the greatest Sox players of all time were rewarded for their excellence by being voted into the Long Beach Black Sox Hall of Fame as part of the 2007 class. Dale Lopes and Chuck Vranich join an elite group of players with this honor. They join Dan Fleming, Benny Guerrero and Kenny " The Jet " Harley as the only members of The Sox Hall of Fame. Lopes retired in 2005 in the top 5 in all of the Sox career hitting categories. Vranich retired at the end of the 2006 season and is either 1st or second in all the Sox career pitching categories. Lets look back at these 2 fine players illustrious Sox career.

                                  DALE LOPES 2003-2006

Dale Lopes joined the Sox as a good friend of Fred Hanker in 2003 in the Artesia League on Wednesday night.  The team was named after the great Lopes and were called The Lopes Brigade. In 2004 the first year the Sox would join tournament play Lopes was voted Most Valuable Player of the Long Beach Black Sox. He had arguably the greatest single tournament of any Sox player in the history of the team. In the 2004 Turkey Shootout he hit .917 with 12 RBI. He was voted all tournament on 8 different occassions. Lopes also was MVP in 3 seperate tournaments. He ended his career as a .385 hitter with 100 RBI. Dale has remained in the top 5 in virtually all of the Sox career hitting stats. He has been the only captain the Sox have ever had.

            CHUCK VRANICH 2004-2006

Chuck joined the Sox in 2004 as a 30 year veteran of fast pitch softball. Vranich and Hanker have been long time friends. In 2005 Chuck haand the greatest single season for a Sox pitcher ever until Ron Rupp's 2007 season. Vranich was 16-5 in the B Alliance. Vranich is the all time leader in complete games with 82. He also is in the top 5 in every career pitching category. Vranich is second all time in most of the Sox pitching categories behind Randy Clay. He also carriers a career .303 batting average for Long Beach. Chuck appeared in 87 career Sox games as a pitcher and over 100 games overall. Vranich finished with 54 career wins and over 400 innings.

Sox manager and owner Fred Hanker had this to say. "Both of these guys meant alot to Sox softball and are an large part of its history" "It is my pleasure to have called them both teammates and life long friends" If they ever wish to return to softball they have a spot on my team"

      LONG BEACH BLACK SOX

    “2005 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

    KENNY “THE JET” HARLEY # 30
                        

 *Co-founder of the Black Sox  *Batted .571 in 2004 Artesia League and was voted MVP  *Hit .320 with 2 hr in 2004 C alliance  *Had the 1^st hit ever for the Sox in 2003  *Signed Sox CF John Otte  *Came up with the Black Sox name  *Was fundraising coordinator for the Sox in 2004  *Called “The Jet” because of his blazing speed

2006 LONG BEACH BLACK SOX HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

    
         DAN FLEMING # 8                    BENNY GUERRERO # 55

Long Beach Black Sox owner Fred Hanker today announced that Dan Fleming and Benny Guerrero have been elected to The Long Beach Black Sox Hall of Fame. The 2 join Kenny " The Jet " Harley as the 3 members in the Sox Hall. The 2 will be officially inducted at the Sox team party in October. For the first time ever fans were involved in the process and voted online. Benny Guerrero received 71% of the internet vote for a total of 36 votes and was voted in by the fans by reaching 75% of the vote last week. Dan Fleming received 18% of the internet vote for a total of 9 votes. Fleming was voted in by the Sox Veterans Committee headed by Fred Hanker but also includes Dale Lopes and Jim Flanagan. Sox owner Fred Hanker was reached for comment. " I am proud to have both of these guys in our Hall of Fame. They are both very classy people and great players. I would like to thank them for all they did for this team." Here is a writeup and breakdown of some career highlights of both guys!!

 Dan Fleming # 8   SS
Dan Fleming joined the Sox in 2004 in the Artesia League. He impressed with his speed and versatility and outstanding baserunning. Dan began his 1st full season on a tournament team in the 2004 ASA C Alliance. Fleming would play every inning of every game in that year and be voted the Rookie of the Year and the Cal Ripken Award for durability. Dan would bat .338 in his rookie season and lead the Sox in at bats and stolen bases. In his Sox career Fleming is a career .305 hitter which also includes a .332 career average in the ASA Alliance. Dan also played 5 different positions in his Sox career. Fleming is 2nd team all time shortstop for the Sox Artesia League and the Tournament team.

Career Highlights

* 17 career stolen bases is 1st all time  * 12 stolen bases in 2004 is season record
* 92 games played 3rd all time  * 226 at bats 4th all time  * 58 runs 4th all time
* 58 singles 4th all time  * 25 walks 3rd all time  * .332 career hitter in C Alliance
* 2nd team all time Artesia League and Sox Tournament team as a shortstop
* 2004 Rookie of the Year Award winner as the best Sox rookie
* 2004 Cal Ripken Award winner as the most durable player
* 2005 Chone Figgins Award winner as the most versitle player
* .305 career batting average  * Played 7 different positions in Sox career

  Dan Fleming a great defensive player in his Sox career


 Speed a big part of Fleming's game!!!



  Benny Guerrero # 55  OF / DH
Benny Guerrero joined the Sox in 2005 to play his final season of his illustrious fast pitch career with his son Damo. Benny's career has spanned over 25 years of solid play and is liked and respected by everyone in the fast pitch community. Benny played 1 year with the Sox but was inducted based on not only his contributions to the Sox, but his contributions as a player and what he gave to the game of fast pitch softball. In his one season with Long Beach Guerrero played a major role in the success of the team. His 14 walks was second to Fred Hanker for the season. Benny batted an even .300 for the Sox and had many crucial hits. His 22 career walks is third all time. Benny was selected to the 1st team all time Artesia League team as a DH and 2nd team all time Sox tournament team as a left fielder.

Career Highlights

* career .300 hitter as a Sox player  * 22 walks is third all time  
* oldest position player to ever get a hit for Long Beach
* played over 25 seasons of fast pitch and hit well over .300
* voted the Manny Mota award in 2005 as the best veteran hitter off the bench
* in 2005 became the 1st ever Sox father son combo to play together
* voted all tournament 3 times with the Sox in 2005
*1st team all time Artesia League DH  * 2nd team all time DH tournament team

  Benny enjoys Beaumont win with son Damo



 Benny and Dale Lopes celebrate Sox 1st Alliance win ever in Palm Springs!!!