NEW ULM — Membership in the New Ulm American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame will increase to 95 on Dec. 21, as six new members join the group.

The induction ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. at the American Legion.

The Legion Hall of Fame will celebrate its 33rd year as the selection committee names the following four players and two non-players to be honored. The event is open to the public, and past inductees are encouraged to attend.

WADE FRENCH

French played from 2007-2009 and had a career batting average of .317 and a career slugging percentage of .500. In 2009, he hit six home runs and drove in 37 runs, leading to a career total of 10 homers and 70 RBIs.

As a pitcher, he had a 13-7 record with an ERA of 4.05 in 134 2/3 innings. He played on the 2008 team that qualified for the Minnesota State Legion Baseball Tournament [MSLBT]. The 2009 team went 28-10 and played in the MSLBT that was hosted by New Ulm.

French resides in North Mankato with his wife, Kelsey. He is a teacher in Mankato and still enjoys playing baseball as a member of the New Ulm Brewers.

SCOTT O’BRIEN

O’Brien was a solid player on successful teams from 1998-2000. The 1999 team finished second in the District and qualified for the MSLBT the other two seasons. They went 2-2 in the 1998 tournament and in 2000, they won 12 of their last 14 games to finish fourth in the state.

O’Brien has a career batting average of .337 and a slugging percentage of .455. O’Brien and his wife, Emily, live in Le Sueur County, where O’Brien is employed by the Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office as an investigator with the Drug and Violent Offender Task Force.

NATE VAN ROECKEL

Van Roeckel was a top hitter, infielder and leader for New Ulm that played from 2006-2008. Some of his top career statistics he achieved are a .406 batting average, 10 homers and 91 RBIs. He also had a .577 slugging percentage for his career and played in the MSLBT in 2006 and 2008.

Van Roeckel resides in Owatonna with his wife, Chelsea, and their twin 3-year-old daughters. He is employed as a Lead Manufacturing Engineer at Itron in Waseca and also continues to play amateur baseball.

BEN D. WOLF

Wolf was a top infielder and good hitter for New Ulm with a career batting average of .350. He played on the 2007 team that was 23-9 and in 2008 when the team was 18-13 and went 1-2 at the MSLBT.

Wolf is engaged to be married, lives in Stewartville, and is employed as an engineer for Minnesota Energy Resources in Rochester.

KEN “LEFTY”

LINDMEYER

Lindmeyer was a significant supporter of all New Ulm baseball teams. While he was most visible with New Ulm Amateur Baseball, he was a great promoter of American Legion Baseball.

“Lefty” was active behind the scenes and served as transportation chairman when New Ulm hosted Legion regional tournaments in 1985 and 1988. Lindmeyer was an active member of the Legion Baseball Boosters and helped initiate that organization’s involvement with pull tabs, which helped fund the program for many years. Lindmeyer will be inducted posthumously.

HERB SCHAPER

Schaper was a long-time supporter of anything related to New Ulm Baseball, including American Legion Baseball. Schaper took great pride in Johnson Park, where New Ulm’s Legion teams played the majority of their home games.

He chaired the committee for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of that park and served on the committee for the 75th anniversary event as well. He was involved in many tasks to the benefit of Legion Baseball, including his creation of a website dedicated to historical records of local sports. Included in that site is a vast amount of New Ulm American Legion Baseball stories, records and statistics. He will be inducted posthumously.