For Isotopes Hall of Famer John Ely, life remains Wonder-ful

Anyone who spent time around Isotopes Park in the summer of 2012 learned two undeniable facts.

Stevie was a very good boy.

And John Ely was a very good pitcher.

The latter is the primary reason Ely, who spent parts of three seasons from 2010-2012 with the Isotopes, will be one of two men inducted Saturday into the Albuquerque Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.

Stevie Wonder, long ago a 5-month-old blind Lab/shepherd mix adopted by Ely from the Watermelon Ranch animal shelter in Rio Rancho who quickly turned into the unofficial Isotopes clubhouse mascot, dominated a 20-minute interview Ely had recently with Albuquerque media when his Hall of Fame induction was announced.

“He’s alive and well, man. He’s 11 years old. He still acts like a puppy,” Ely said through a hearty chuckle when asked not about his pitching days but about Stevie Wonder.

“He’s spoiled as hell and he’s happier than a pig in (expletive), for lack of a better term. I’m sorry. You probably can’t use that.”

Stevie Wonder would often run around the outfield during the days chasing the sounds of birds. He’d play around the clubhouse when not sleeping in his cage near Ely’s locker and would stay at the homes of Isotopes staffers when the team was on the road. That was before he made the trip back to Ely’s home in Illinois, where he now lives with Ely and his wife.

As for Ely, he is now in his seventh season as a pitching coach in the Chicago White Sox organization — this season with the organization’s High-A affiliate in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Ely and Gary Herron, a local sports journalist and 40-year official scorekeeper of the Albuquerque Dukes and Isotopes, make up the 2023 class of the Albuquerque Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, a project of the Albuquerque Isotopes. The two will be a part of a pregame induction ceremony ahead of Saturday night’s 6:35 p.m. game, which will be the popular annual Duke Retro Night game.

“This whole deal means so much to me,” said Ely. “It’s hard to explain. When John (Traub, Isotopes general manager) called me up and told me that they were going to do this ... I was choking back tears. This was a really big deal for me. It’s a really big deal for anybody that supported me.”

While Isotopes Park remains notorious for being one of the most pitcher-unfriendly venues in all of professional baseball, Ely found some lightning in a bottle in his time in the Duke City.

He remains the Isotopes’ career leader in wins (26) and is tied for most innings pitched (381.0), complete games (4) and shutouts (2), while his 320 strikeouts with the club is second all-time.

But atop the list of accomplishments for Ely during his Isotopes run is winning the Pacific Coast League Triple Crown in 2012, leading the league in wins (14), ERA (3.20) and strikeouts (165). He also was named that season a PCL all-star, PCL Pitcher of the Year and the Los Angeles Dodgers Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Asked about that magical season, Ely acknowledged there’s still a bit of disbelief with some of those numbers, especially considering how it started.

“I gave up seven runs in three innings, I think it was against the Iowa Cubs (in my first game that season) — three bombs to (Anthony) Rizzo in the same game,” Ely said. “I can’t believe that season went that well. ... I have a hard time believing that was even me.

“It was a pretty incredible season.”