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2022 Hall of Fame Inductees continued
Graig Nettles (left) hit 390 major league home runs and Jim (right) hit 16. The #1 brother combination is Hank Aaron with 755 and brother Tommy with 13.
phia Phillies, respectively, to World Series titles. In 1981, Jim returned to the Puget Sound region to play outfield for the Tacoma Tigers, then the Triple A affiliate of the Oakland A’s. The following season he was the club’s hitting coach while also squeezing in 10 at-bats as a designated hitter. All told, he had more than 4,000 at bats in nine minor league seasons while also playing in Japan and Mexico. Jim’s longevity in the minors stretched into the mid-2000s as a manager and coach. He managed in the Athletics system from 1981– 89, for the Mariners organization from 1990–91, in the Blue Jays minor league system from 1992–95, and a decade later with the Texas Rangers minor leaguers in 2005–06. Jim also managed the Amarillo Dillas in the Independent Texas-Louisiana League in 1996 and was a coach for the Spokane Indians in the Northwest League in 2005 and 2006. Eventually, Pierce County became his full-time home, and he continued his involvement in baseball as a hitting instructor for youths. Michael Wholey—While the strikeout has become an increasingly common occurrence in baseball today, Michael Wholey was racking up the K’s and showing no mercy to his fellow junior high and high school players in the early 1970s. Born Jan. 23, 1956, in Fort Worth, Texas, Wholey made his opponents in the South Puget Sound region wish he’d never left the Lone Star State. Pitching for Mann Junior High in the South Puget Sound Junior High School League Championship, Wholey pitched a 13-strikeout no-hitter to give Mann the title and a perfect 8–0 final record. Moving up to Lakes High School, Wholey continued his fire-balling ways with numerous doubledigit strikeout performances. He notably struck out 15 batters in a 4–0 win while plating two runs himself in a 2-for-3 performance as a junior. That year, he
compiled a 6–2 record with a 0.58 earned run average, striking out 68 batters in 63 innings and earning SPSL all-league honors. Wholey was even more dominant as a senior in 1974, finishing the year with a 10–2 record—including eight complete games and a 0.24 ERA in 86 innings. He helped pitch Lakes to the state tournament, recording 15 strikeouts Mike Wholey was a standout pitcher against Kelso and at for Lakes HS his senior year with a 10–2 record, helping the Lancers one point retiring 18 batters in a row. earn a state tournament berth. Wholey’s legend only grew throughout the season. There was the game where he injured his finger sliding into second and still struck out 12 in a five-hitter to earn the win. There was the win over Puyallup where he struck out 10 and figured in both runs. There was the five-hit shutout against Juanita that included his headlong dive to put the Lancers up 2–0. Then there was the 20 innings pitched in less than a week at the state tournament—setting a school record. Wholey graduated from Lakes with countless school records, perhaps most impressive being 139 strikeouts in 86 innings as a senior. He pitched in the All-Star game at Cheney Stadium that June, striking out nine hitters from the East team. That year, he received Team MVP, all-league and all-state honors. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round, and one year later the New York Mets selected him in the ninth round. He wrapped up his playing career with Green River and Ft. Steilacoom Community College in the late 1970s.