Article Courtesy: Alex Edwards, ULM / Lisa Babin, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
MONROE, La. -- The University of Louisiana at Monroe and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation will be honoring 2016 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee Ben Sheets at the top of fifth inning during Tuesday evening's 6 p.m. baseball game between ULM and Louisiana Tech at Warhawk Field.
ULM alumni are encouraged to join the “Celebrating Our Legends” recognition of a very respected and beloved alumnus who became a four-time All-Star pitcher in major league baseball.
The Hall of Fame Foundation will be represented by Lisa Babin, President of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, and ULM alums Charles Herald and Tag Rome, who are members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation Board of Directors. ULM president Dr. Nick J. Bruno, President and director of athletics Brian Wickstrom will also be involved in the “Celebrating Our Legends” ceremony.
Sheets will be enshrined in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches on June 25, culminating three days of festivities honoring the Hall's 11-member Class of 2016. Information about the induction activities, including purchase of tickets, sponsorship and congratulatory messages, can be made at the LaSportsHall.com website or by calling the Hall of Fame Foundation at 318-238-4255.
After a standout career at St. Amant High School, Sheets emerged as one of the college game's top talents at ULM. Named a freshman All-American in 1997, he set the ULM record for single-season victories after posting a 14-1 record in 1999. Setting a single-game school record with 20 strikeouts against Louisiana Tech, Sheets finished the 1999 season with 158 strikeouts, the most at ULM at the time. Sheets was named Southland Conference Player and Pitcher of the Year in 1999. ULM retired Sheets' No. 15 jersey in 2007.
Sheets was a first-round Major League Baseball draft pick (10th overall) of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1999. A 2000 Olympic gold medalist for Team USA, he reached the big leagues in less than two years, making the Brewers' roster in spring training in 2001 and earning a spot in the rotation at the age of 22. He started that season 10-4 with a 3.35 ERA and was chosen to the All-Star Game -- the first of four during his career.
Sheets pitched in the majors for 10 seasons before arm troubles ended his career. He had a career 94-96 record with a 3.78 ERA while pitching in 250 games -- all starts -- for the Brewers, Atlanta Braves and Oakland A's. In addition to the 2001 All-Star game, he was chosen to the game in 2004, 2007 and 2008. He won at least 10 games in seven of his 10 seasons, with his best years coming when he went 12-5 in 2007 and 13-9 a year later with the Brewers. Sheets was known as a power pitcher with solid command of his pitches. He had 1,325 career strikeouts in 1,596 innings and issued just 369 unintentional walks.
Sheets will join such ULM legends as Stan Humphries, Mike Vining, Eun Jung Lee Ok, Lenny Fant, Calvin Natt, Bob Groseclose, John Pennel, Joe Profit, Dave and Don Styron, and longtime athletic publicist Bob Anderson in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, which is the focal point of a $23 million, 27,500-square foot world class museum on Front Street in Natchitoches.
For updates on the baseball squad, be sure to follow the team on Twitter @ULM_BSB, Facebook (www.facebook.com/ULMBaseball) and Instagram (@ULM_BSB).
