The Chicago Suburban Baseball League named its 2016 Hall of Fame class and the two inductees will both be Muskies.   Outfielders Ryan Kopp and Mike Henderson will join the league's elite when they are honored at the CSBL's annual awards dinner on January 31.

Ryan Kopp came to the Muskies in 2002 after a career as a baseball standout at Homewood Flossmoor High School where he not only played outfield but also was a left handed catcher for a time.  He played each year from 2002 through 2011 with a brief comeback in 2014.  He was named CSBL Player of the Year in 2008 when he hit 7 home runs and drove in 28 while posting an incredible 1.040 OPS.   His 2007 season was probably actually better when he hit .420 and drove in 39 runs with a 1.210 OPS!  In his first season as a Muskie, Kopp backed up regular right fielder Tim Chambers in a year that saw the Muskies advance to their first NABF World Series.  He played a critical role in the World Series when he had to fill in for Chambers and ended up being named to the All World Series team.  His .338 batting average that summer was a hint of things to come.  From 2002 through the next 9 seasons and the brief 2014 comeback, Kopp would play in over  400 Muskies games.  He had a .309 career batting average and smacked 23 home runs but most amazing to everyone who saw him play was the walks.  For his career, Kopp drew bases on balls in over 20% of his plate appearances.  In 2008, he drew 53 walks in 196 plate appearances.  His 280 career walks led to a career on-base percentage of .466.  On top of all of the offensive stats, Kopp was a reliable, strong-armed defensive right fielder.

The Muskies are actually Mike Henderson's third CSBL team.  He played for CSBL Hall of Famer Jerry O’Grady’s High Tech Scanners from 1999-2005.  Mike joined the Scanners while attending the University of St. Francis, where he was a two sport star in baseball and football.  He played for Hall of Fame manager Ron Biga on Hall of Famer Al Oremus’ Prairie Gravel team before joining the Muskies in 2008 where he is still active.    He was named to the NABF All World Series Team in 2012.   While his statistics are solid, Mike’s intangibles are what truly set him apart.  As Jerry O’Grady told us:

“Mike is the kind of player whose stats only tell part of the story on how important he is to a team.   I never told him this, but he was my all-time favorite player of all my teams.  (I told Al this years ago when he picked him up for one season.)   Mike contributed to my team with his football-like aggressiveness and intensity, his intelligence, his attitude, his defense, his speed, his excellent base-running, his great baseball instincts, his teamwork, his dedication, his hustle, the example he set for younger players as he got older and most of all his loyalty to the team----he missed ONE game in all his years and that was when his car broke down on the way to the North Central College field.   The only reason I can remember that is because it was such an incredibly rare occurrence.   Let me repeat that----in seven years, he missed ONE freaking game!  Also, he not only was always on time, but he was always EARLY----the first guy at the game-----and this might be a little thing (but it's not to coaches)---he was the first player after games to help pick up and pack all the equipment----just a total class act.”