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The Central American Baseball Association added two players into the Hall of Fame with the 1966 class. Starting pitcher Miguel Martinez received 84.1% on his ballot debut, while fellow pitcher Sheldon Malcolm got a big boost on his seventh ballot up to 81.7%. 1B Alejandro Encinas on his third try fell just short of the 66% threshold with a 64.7%. No other player on the CABA ballot was above 50%.



Notably, four players were removed from the ballot after ten failed attempts. The highest rated of this group was Korean CF Min-Je Kil, who spent 19 years almost exclusively with Mexico City. He won seven Silver Sluggers and had 2464 hits, 1322 runs, 371 home runs, 1318 RBI, and 82.1 WAR; a strong resume that surprisingly never got him over 50%. His peak was 48.5% on his ninth try.

The other three dropped were starting pitchers. Guatemalan lefty Alonzo De La Garza won Pitcher of the Year three times, but his CABA career was only nine seasons with a move to MLB in his 30s, plus three major elbow injuries. Still, he had 52.3 WAR in just seven seasons with Salvador, but his CABA tallies of 121-90, 2.65 ERA, 1875 strikeouts, and 58.2 weren’t high enough despite brief dominance. He peaked at 29.8% on his debut.

Paulo Perez peaked higher at 32.2% on his debut ballot, posting a 178-127 record, 3.07 ERA, 2432 strikeouts, and 58.9 WAR primarily with Havana. No dominance or major awards meant he never got much consideration. Lastly, Stinky Macaca deserves mention for having an all-time great name at least. He peaked at 20.1% with a career that had six Gold Gloves, a 209-213 record, 3.42 ERA, 3410 strikeouts, and 60.3 WAR with four teams. A nice sustained career for Stinky, but he was never elite.



Miguel Martinez – Starting Pitcher – Merida Mean Green – 84.1% First Ballot

Miguel Martinez was a 5’9’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Banderilla, a small town located about 300 kilometers east of Mexico City. The stocky lefty was a hard thrower with 98-100 mph velocity mixed with good to great movement and average control. He had an extreme groundball tendency and had an incredible slider mixed with a great fastball, decent forkball, and decent changeup. Martinez was also a good defender and excellent at holding runners while also boasting solid durability. He was considered a team leader and was well liked in the clubhouse.

After an excellent amateur career, Martinez was picked fourth overall in the 1946 CABA Draft by Hermosillo. He had a respectable rookie campaign in 1947 and was excellent in the playoffs for the Hyenas, posting a 1.17 ERA in 23 innings. Hermosillo would win the CABA Championship in what would ultimately be Martinez’ only chance at the postseason. Despite his potential, the Hyenas traded him and veteran RF Manuel Figueroa to Merida in exchange for Salvador Islas; a 27-year old perennial Gold Glove first baseman who eventually earned Hall of Fame induction himself in 1972.

His Merida run would last nine seasons and he would be well respected by the franchise, getting his #34 uniform eventually retired. They were a mid to bottom tier franchise during Martinez’ tenure, but he consistently offered reliable production. Three times, he led the Mexican League in quality starts, but he typically didn’t put up dominant numbers. His peak season would come in 1954 at age 29 with a 1.90 ERA over 270 innings, 270 strikeouts, 30 quality starts, and 6.4 WAR. This earned Martinez his lone Pitcher of the Year Award. His WAR was a career-best 7.1 the next year, but he took third for the top award. In total with Merida, Martinez had a 136-97 record, 2.61 ERA, 2281 innings, 2248 strikeouts, and 46.8 WAR.

Martinez left for free agency after the 1956 season and the now 32-year old signed a five-year, $375,000 deal with Puerto Rico. He put up the same steady production in four seasons with the Pelicans, posting a 66-41 record, 3.40 ERA, 1028 innings, 888 strikeouts, and 24.6 WAR. In his last season at age 35, he still posted 6.0 WAR and 20 quality starts. While most players end up quitting because of loss of effectiveness and/or injury, Martinez decided to quit while he was still solid, retiring at age 36.

The final stats for Martinez: 213-144, 2.86 ERA, 3446 innings, 3258 strikeouts, 712 walks, a 1.06 WHIP, 334/455 quality starts, FIP- of 83, and 73.7 WAR. He’s not at the tip-top of the CABA Hall of Fame leaderboard by any stretch, but not at the bottom either. He was an interesting test case for voters who reward sustained solidness over big peaks. Either way, enough felt he earned a first-ballot induction with 84.1%.



Sheldon Malcolm – Starting Pitcher – Puerto Rico Pelicans – 81.7% Seventh Ballot

Sheldon Malcolm was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. Malcolm’s skillset was considered well rounded and not outstanding at any one thing, boasting above average to good stuff, movement, and control. His velocity peaked in the 96-98 mph range with only two pitches; a fastball and a slider, owing to an extreme groundball tendency. Malcolm had great stamina, which led to use as a starter in the first half of his career despite guys with two pitches often being relegated to the bullpen. He was also known for strong durability in the front half of his career.

Malcolm was selected 17^th overall in the 1933 CABA Draft by Puerto Rico and spent his most prominent years with the Pelicans. His first two seasons were out of the bullpen mostly with mid-tier results, followed by a move to the rotation for the rest of this run. He led the Caribbean League in innings pitched in both 1941 and 1942 and had four seasons with 250+ strikeouts. Malcolm six times was Pitcher of the Month with Puerto Rico, although he was never a finalist for Pitcher of the Year in his career.

The Pelicans became a contender to start the 1940s, winning the Caribbean League title four times from 1941-46 and taking the overall CABA title in 1944. Malcolm missed the 1944 season, but had a 3.75 ERA over 57.2 playoff innings with Puerto Rico, striking out 49 with 1.3 WAR. He missed the 1944 run as the Pelicans released the 32-year old after the 1943 season. After spending 1944 with Santo Domingo, he signed with Puebla in 1945. The Pumas traded him back to Puerto Rico that summer for the final season of his first CABA run.

Now 35 years old, the rest of Malcolm’s career came out of the bullpen. He signed a three-year deal with MLB’s San Diego that doubled his best CABA salary, although he was rarely used with only 39.1 innings over those three seasons. Malcolm saw five innings with Tampa in 1949, then saw a bit more use with St. Louis in 1950 and Louisville in 1951.

At age 41, he returned to CABA with Merida, who traded him mid-season to Monterrey. In 1952 and 1953, he also pitched for Jamaica as a starter in the World Baseball Championship. His 1953 saw fairly significant use as a closer for the Matadors, but he suffered a damaged elbow ligament late in the season. Malcolm attempted a comeback in 1954 at age 43, but struggled in 17.1 innings, retiring at the season’s end.

For his entire career, Malcolm had a 196-146 record, 79 saves, 3.33 ERA, 2726 strikeouts in 3075.1 innings, and 55.3 WAR. For just CABA, he had a 184-139 record and 72 saves, 3.34 ERA, 2933 innings, 2604 strikeouts, 235/355 quality starts, FIP- of 90, and 51.9 WAR. Even with the MLB stats added, his resume is pretty unremarkable compared to other CABA Hall of Fame pitchers. Voters seemed to feel the same as his first four times on the ballot were in the 40-50% range. Try #5 he got a big boost, barely missing the 66% cut with 65.9%. He dropped to 59.3% in attempt #6, then got a big boost for induction on his seventh go at 81.7%. Malcolm is often cited as one of the weakest members of the CABA Hall, but regardless, he’s in.