Randy Gustafson

Utility, Pitcher – Lafayette Lakers 1997-98; Stanley Loggers 1999-2002; Stanley Slammers 2012-17

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A left-handed batter who possessed superior bat control and a disciplined eye at the plate. Randy Gustafson was an extremely respected player throughout his 12 seasons of competition in the Chippewa River Baseball League.

Beginning with the Lafayette Lakers in 1997, Gustafson hit .327 (18 for 55) in his CRBL rookie year.  That mark was the first of 11 seasons in which Randy would hit .300 or better.  In two of those seasons, he hit over .400, doing so for the Stanley Loggers in 2001 (.458 – 22 for 48) and 2002 (.400 – 16 for 40).  

Commendably, Randy also served as a player/manager for five seasons, doing so for the Lakers from 1997 to 1998 and the Slammers from 1999 to 2002, during which he led the 1999 Slammers to their lone WBA appearance with a 13 and 5 record.     

After a 10-year absence from CRBL competition, Gustafson returned with the fledgling Stanley Slammers in 2012.  With his bat-to-ball skills as sharp as ever, Randy hit .330 or better in each of his six seasons on the club, including a personal best of .556 (20 for 36) in 2016.

Combined with his batsmen skills, Gustafson’s eagle-eye at the plate enabled him to have a career on base percentage of .502.  In seven different seasons, Randy had 10 or more walks, with a high on 19 in 2012.

A reliable left-handed pitcher, Randy logged 446 innings while winning 22 games over his CRBL career.  In three seasons, Gustafson pitched over 50 innings, with a high of 56 for the Slammers in 2013.  

A participant in one CRBL All-Star game (1998), the high regard shown towards Gustafson was evident in his array of accolades — three Honorable Mention CRBL awards as a pitcher/1st baseman (2002, 2012, 2016) and four All-CRBL selections: 1997 at utility, 1999 at utility, 2014 at utility, and 2016 at designated hitter.

Upon induction, the Great Slammer is ranked 5th all-time in on base percentage, 9th in batting average, 11th in OPS., 34th in slugging pct., (tied) 38th in pitching decisions, 41st in innings pitched, and (tied) 41st in walks as a hitter.