New Deering baseball coach Mike Coutts and former major leaguer Pete Ladd are two of the 12 new inductees to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame, The Forecaster learned Friday morning.

Coutts, of Scarborough, was a co-captain on the 1981 University of Maine squad that went to the College World Series. He was later a head coach for his alma mater and coached in the Cape Cod League and in Alaska. Coutts is the co-owner (along with former major leaguer Mike Bordick, his brother-in-law) of Frozen Ropes Training Center in Portland. Coutts replaced Mike D’Andrea as Rams’ coach this season.

Pete Ladd, of South Portland, is another inductee. Ladd pitched in all or part of six
seasons in the majors leagues between 1979 and 1986. Ladd is best
remembered for retiring Hall of Famer Rod Carew with two outs and the
tying run on base in the top of the ninth inning of the deciding Game
Five of the 1982 American League Championship Series, giving the
Milwaukee Brewers their first and only pennant.

Two others with local ties will also be inducted in the annual Induction Ceremony and Banquet July 26 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland:

John Mullen, of Portland, an outstanding pitcher/outfielder for Westbrook High and the Manchester Legion Post in the 1970s, and later a star in the Portland Twilight League.

Pat Proulx, of Portland, a slugging outfielder for the semi-pro Presque Isle Indians in the Maine-New Brunswick League during the 1950s, who later had a professional stint in the Class C West Texas-New Mexico League.

Other inductees include Frederick “Ted” Clark of Dexter, John Cochin of Springvale, Stanley Doughty of Lisbon Falls, Malcom “Mac” Herrick of Gorham, Steven Lapointe of Rumford, Dale Plummer of Richmond, Neil Stinneford of Weld and Robert McPhee of Dixfield.

Tickets for the induction ceremony can be obtained by calling General Chairman Sonny Noel at 232-8356, Brian Gordon at 883-0154 or Don Douglas at 846-3460.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net