Former big-leaguer Brett Oberholtzer out of William Penn High is among the 2022 inductees to the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame.
Oberholtzer, who pitched for the Astros, Phillies and Angels, is joined by Seaford graduates Derrik Gibson and Bob Vantrease, St. Elizabeth alumni Aaron Lewis and A.J. Zickgraf, Dickinson’s Don Krug and Salesianum’s Mike Stanek.
They’ll be honored June 15 at Frawley Stadium before the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ game against the Brooklyn Cyclones at 6:35 p.m.
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The Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame was founded in 1994 and is operated by the Delaware High School Baseball Coaches Association. The Class of 2022’s enshrinement increases the number of inductees to 149 plus seven teams.
The 2022 inductees:
Derrik Gibson: The 2008 Seaford grad was first-team All-State three times from 2006-2008 while starring as a pitcher and shortstop. As a senior, Gibson batted .655 and was 8-1 on the mound en route to being named state Player of the Year. A second-round draft pick by the Red Sox in 2008, Gibson played 11 minor-league seasons, including four in Triple-A, and had a .253 career batting average and 172 stolen bases.
Don Krug: Krug led Dickinson in batting and stolen bases as a senior in 1971 en route to All-Blue Hen Conference selection and was on a 16-18 Babe Ruth team that reached the World Series. He played as freshman at Delaware before transferring to Salisbury State and completed his collegiate career there, then continued in the Delaware Semi-Pro and Roberto Clemente leagues. Krug then threw himself himself into coaching and as a clinician, highlighted by his two seasons on the University of Delaware staff and 27 at Caravel Academy, including one year as head coach.
Aaron Lewis: The outfielder was a three-time first-team All-State pick at St. Elizabeth from 1998-2000. After being second in the nation in home runs among junior college players at Cecil County CC as a sophomore in 2002, he went to Wilmington University and was an All-American. Lewis was an 8-time Delaware Semi-Pro League all-star and became a coach with stints as an assistant at St. Elizabeth and William Penn. He’s now head coach at Delaware Military Academy, which he guided to its first state title last spring.
Brett Oberholtzer: Oberholtzer went 23-5 on the mound and, also playing first base, batted .443 at William Penn from 2005-07, making first-team All-State as a junior and senior. He was an eighth-round draft choice by the Atlanta Braves in 2008 from Seminole State College in Florida. Traded to Houston in 2011, Oberholtzer posted a career-best 2.76 ERA in 13 games with 10 starts as an Astros rookie in 2013. The lefty pitched in 82 career big-league games with 44 starts and played in Triple-A through 2018 and in independent and Mexican leagues into 2020.
Mike Stanek: A three-year starting shortstop at Salesianum, Stanek homered to spark the Sals to the 1979 state title as a junior and was All-State as a senior. He then starred at third base for the University of Delaware from 1981-84, setting single-season school records with 17 home runs and 72 RBI in 1983. He had 32 homers and 159 RBI in his UD career. Stanek was a 10th-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers and played two minor-league seasons before a torn rotator cuff ended his career.
Bob Vantrease: Vantrease was a two-time first-team All-State pick while going 16-2 as a Seaford pitcher from 1977-79. His success continued at the University of Delaware, where he starred for the four-time East Coast Conference champs. Vantrease went 28-4 in 59 career appearances, including 13 complete games, and is still among the all-time UD leaders in wins, strikeouts (224) and innings pitched (280). He was a 29th-round pick by Oakland in the 1983 draft and pitched in 37 games in two minor-league seasons.
A.J. Zickgraf: The 2000 graduate started four years at catcher for St. Elizabeth and was first-team All-State his last three seasons. Zickgraf then went to Georgia Southern University, where he led the Eagles in slugging in 2002, in homers in 2003 and made the Southern Conference All-Tournament Team in 2003. He was also the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s all-league catcher in 2002.
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