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The 1946 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame class had three inductees, all on the first ballot, but all below 80%. LF Rafael Becerra (79.9%), SP Mark Tarkenton (71.7%), and 1B Pedro Gil (71.0%) were those added to the Hall. Three others were above 60% but were short of the 66% threshold; 2B Kenny Goldman, LF Sergio Castro, and 1B Balta Llama. Three others made it above 50%. No players in the 1946 MLB ballot were dropped from the ballot on their 10^th try.



Rafael Becerra – Left Fielder/Designated Hitter – San Antonio Oilers – 79.9% First Ballot

Rafael Becerra was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed batter from Querendaro in the Mexican state of Michoacan. Becerra was a very solid hitter with strong contact and power ability. He was an above average baserunner and could respectably draw walks. Becerra was a poor defender who primarily played in left field, although he made about 40% of his career starts as a designated hitter.

Becerra came to the United States for college and played NCAA baseball at Ohio. He was the first pick in the fourth round of the 1923 MLB Draft, 150^th overall, by Milwaukee. The late pick could be attributed to the regional rounds at the front of the draft which limited teams to regional American and Canadian selections. Becerra was immediately named the #7 prospect in baseball though. The Mustangs wouldn’t make him a full-time starter until year three, getting his first Silver Slugger that season. In five seasons with Milwaukee, he had 650 hits, 132 home runs, 382 RBI, and 20.7 WAR.

Interestingly, Becerra was traded before the 1929 season to San Francisco, where he’d finish his 20s. In his second season for the Gold Rush, Becerra earned his lone career MVP, leading the American Association in runs (126), home runs (45), RBI (140), slugging (.642) and OPS (1.070). With a .350 average, he was only five points away from a Triple Crown. SF won the AA title in 1929, falling in the World Series to Ottawa. The next year, he had a career-best 50 home runs. After four seasons with San Francisco, Becerra had 747 hits, 159 home runs, 474 RBI, a .311 average, and 20.0 WAR.

At age 30, Becerra entered free agency for the 1933 season and signed a seven-year deal with San Antonio in what would be his longest run. He picked up his third, fourth, and fifth Silver Sluggers in his first three years with the Oilers, leading the AA in OBP (.403) and OPS (1.000) in 1934. A hip injury and broken leg cost him parts of 1936 and 1938, but he was a consistent bat for San Antonio.

In seven seasons for the Oilers, Becerra had 1042 hits, 595 runs, 233 home runs, 646 RBI, and 23.6 WAR. They were a weak franchise who didn’t make the playoffs in his run, but Becerra was a reason to go to the ballpark. He crossed500 home runs and 1500 RBI in his final year in San Antonio, but his production began to slip into his late 30s and he wasn’t re-signed by the Oilers.

This ended his MLB career, but Becerra had a bit of a career revival in CABA, playing another six years. He played 1940-42 with Honduras and 1943-1945 with Guadalajara. He was a starter with the Horsemen during a dynasty run, winning two CABA titles during Becerra’s tenure. He got 701 hits, 144 home runs, and 16.7 in six CABA seasons.

Between the two organizations, Becerra had 3140 hits, 668 home runs, 81.1 WAR, 1874 RBI and 1753 runs. Specifically in MLB, Becerra finished with 2439 hits, 1374 runs, 524 home runs, 1502 RBI, a .305/.372/.561 slash and 64.3 WAR. A very solid and reliable bat during the 1920s and 1930s earned Becerra a first ballot spot in the MLB Hall.



Mark Tarkenton – Starting Pitcher – San Francisco Gold Rush – 71.7% First Ballot

Mark Tarkenton was a 5’10’’, 190 pound right-handed pitcher from the small town of Kerman in Fresno County, California. Tarkenton was an extreme groundball pitcher whose top pitcher was a 98-100 mph cutter, mixed with a curveball and changeup. His stuff was considered exceptional with solid control. He didn’t fully develop that stuff though until a year or two post college. After playing for Georgia, he was drafted by San Francisco in the second round, 96^th overall, in the 1926 MLB Draft.

Tarkenton was used sparingly in his first two seasons, only throwing 79.2 total innings. This was the tail end of SF’s run atop the Western League. He became a full-time starter in 1929 and held that role for the next decade for the Gold Rush. That season, San Francisco won the American Association title, losing the World Series to Ottawa.

He became a dominant strikeout pitcher, leading the American Association in Ks eight times in nine seasons. He led in WAR three times, twice going above 10 WAR. In 1934, he earned the Triple Crown with a 23-8 record, 2.45 ERA, and 329 strikeouts. He was the third pitcher in MLB history at that point to achieve the honor. That was his lone Pitcher of the Year season; he did take third in 1936 and second in 1937. Although never a bad team, San Francisco wasn’t a playoff team for most of the 1930s. In 1939 at age 33, Tarkenton’s production dropped off significantly. In summer 1940, a stretched elbow ligament effectively ended his career. His #18 would get retired though by the Gold Rush that winter.

He was done at age 35, but still put up 3159 career strikeouts over 11 full seasons. Tarkenton had a 184-152 record, 3.32 ERA in 3070 innings with 218/381 quality starts and 81.0 WAR. He averaged 9.26 Ks per nine innings, the highest of any Hall of Fame starter at the time of induction. His ERA was a bit higher than some others in the Hall with lower compiled stats due to his relatively short career. However, his strikeout dominance in the 1930s meant Tarkenton was going to have a good shot and at 71.7%, made it on the first ballot to the 1946 class.



Pedro Gil – First Baseman – Washington Admirals – 71.0% First Ballot

Pedro Gil was a 6’2’’, 195 pound left-handed batter from the small town of Banning, part of the Inland Empire in California. He was an excellent contact hitter with good power and a decent eye. He was an okay baserunner and spent the majority of his career at first base, considered an okay fielder. He also made some starts in left field and as a designated hitter when he was in the American Association.

Gil attended the University of Houston and was a stellar college baseball player, earning the college MVP award as a freshman. In 1922, Las Vegas selected Gil with the 41^st overall pick in the MLB Draft. He immediately excelled with a 37 home run, 129 RBI, .350 average rookie season, earning the Rookie of the Year. In 1925, Gil led the AA in home runs (49) and RBI (160). Although he was in the top 10 in a number of stats in numerous seasons, that would be his only time in the top spot. Gil won his two Silver Sluggers with the Vipers in 1924 and 1926.

He spent six seasons with Las Vegas with 1086 hits, 212 home runs, 708 RBI, and 25.8 WAR. Gil was a fan favorite and signed an eight-year extension with the Vipers in late 1926, but was traded to Washington for the start of the 1929 season at age 27. He would go into the Hall as an Admiral, also spending six seasons there. Gil’s only opportunities at playoff baseball came with the Admirals, who won the World Series in 1930. With Washington, Gil had 995 hits, 195 home runs, 595 RBI, a .304 average, and 26.8 WAR.

In 1935, the 33-year old Gil signed with Brooklyn and spent four seasons starting for the Dodgers, where he added 108 home runs, 319 RBI, and 10.6 WAR. His last two seasons then came with San Diego where he added another 43 home runs, 159 RBI, and 3.4 WAR.

The final line for Gil: 2969 hits, 1602 runs, 412 doubles, 558 home runs, 1781 RBI, a .298/.350/.526 slash and 66.7 WAR. He was a consistent starter for 17 seasons who could be counted on for around 30 home runs, a near .300 average and around 4-5 WAR per season. Not dominant, but as reliable and well-liked as you can get in the mind of his peers and fans. This snagged Gil a first ballot selection with 71.0% of the vote.