[FuzzyRussianHat]

Beisbol Sudamerica inducted two players into the Hall of Fame with the 1971 class, both on the first ballot. The star was starting pitcher Argel Souza with 99.4% of the vote. Meanwhile, LF Ynilo Zapata barely got in with 66.3%, just beyond the 66.0% mark. SP Sousa Marques had a solid debut ballot as well, but was short at 60.1%. Two others were above 50% with SP Jon Mancilla at 52.9% on his second try and SP Jay Carrizales at 51.1% on his third go.



LF Placido Guerrero fell off the ballot after ten failed attempts, ending at 34.1% after peaking at 51.2% on his seventh attempt. In 14 years with Cordoba, he had 1974 hits, 1108 runs, 540 home runs, 1170 RBI, a .277/.337/.550 slash, 81.4 WAR, plus the 1951 MVP and two Silver Sluggers. His last four years were in MLB, perhaps costing him a chance of getting slightly more accumulations to cross the line. Also dropped was 3B Martin Fontura, a five-time Silver Slugger winner between Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo. He never got above 32.5% from his first year, despite having 2200 hits, 912 runs, 348 doubles, 198 home runs, 822 RBI, a .304/.345/.456 slash and 86.3 WAR. Both Fontura and Guerrero had solid careers that wouldn’t look out of place in the Hall of Fame, but neither swayed the voters in ten ballots.



Argel Souza – Starting Pitcher – Sao Paulo Padres – 99.4% First Ballot

Argel Souza was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Pouso Alegre, a city of 150,000 people in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Souza had excellent stuff with above average to good movement and control. He had 97-99 mph max velocity with a three pitch arsenal of a fastball, slider, and changeup. Souza mixed the three expertly to become one of South America’s best pitchers. He was known also for very good stamina and respectable defense. Souza was a fan favorite with a great work ethic and loyalty, making him a standout throughout his run.

Souza emerged as a top prospect after his amateur career and was picked ninth overall by Sao Paulo in the 1952 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft. He was a full-time starter as a rookie and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting with a respectable debut. By his second year, he was already viewed as elite, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. That year, he had a no hitter with 13 strikeouts and three walks against Montevideo.

Souza was a critical piece in Sao Paulo becoming the dominant force of the Brazil Division. They won the division title nine straight seasons from 1953-61, won the Southern Cone League in 1954, 57, 58, 59, and 60; and took the Copa Sudamerica crown in 1958. Souza was the ace of this run, leading the league in strikeouts and wins thrice, quality starts five times, shutouts thrice, and WAR thrice. In 1957, he had his second no-hitter, getting 14 strikeouts with no walks against Brasilia, but just missing out on the perfect game.

Souza won his first Pitcher of the Year in 1955, his second in 1957, third in 1958, and fourth in 1960. He took second in 1956 as well. 1957 was the crown jewel that also earned him a league MVP. Souza had only the third Pitching Triple Crown in BSA history to that point with a 27-4 record, 1.14 ERA, and 350 strikeouts in 291.2 innings with 11.2 WAR. The ERA mark was the third lowest total in BSA history. He had six seasons with an ERA below two for the Padres, posting a 194-75 record, 2.01 ERA, 2756.1 innings, 3198 strikeouts, and 77.3 WAR.

He was a huge part in getting Sao Paulo to the playoffs regularly for a decade, although his postseason numbers were surprisingly pedestrian with a 2.64 ERA and 5-11 record over 22 appearances. He had a 1.9 WAR over 146.1 innings with 140 strikeouts. He also was a regular for Brazil in the World Baseball Championship and was good, but not incredible. From 1954-64, he had 173 innings with a 3.02 ERA, 12-9 record, 189 strikeouts, and 3.7 WAR. He did toss 17 innings with only one unearned run against him in 1959.

Sao Paulo dropped off and started to rebuild with the 1962 season. Souza was still having good seasons, but his 1961 and 1962 campaigns weren’t award winning. The Padres traded him for three prospects before the 1963 season to Salvador. The 33-year old Souza showed he could still go, winning his fifth Pitcher of the Year in 1963 for the Storm, becoming the first five-time winner in the Southern Cone League. Souza fell off hard, going from an 8.1 WAR season to 0.4 WAR in 1964, in part hampered by an elbow strain. He stunk in limited action in 1965 for the Storm and opted to retire after the season at age 36. With Salvador, he had a 40-23 record, 3.19 ERA, 512 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR total.

The final stats for Souza: 234-98, 2.22 ERA, 3348.2 innings, 3710 strikeouts, 336/410 quality starts, 119 complete games, FIP- of 76, and 83.8 WAR. At retirement, he had the best winning percentage of any BSA Hall of Famer and is still #2 as of 2037. He didn’t play long enough to raise to the top of all of the leaderboards, but his prime was among the best in the history of South American baseball. Sao Paulo retired his #32 uniform as a key part of their memorable 1950s success. With five Pitcher of the Year awards, an MVP, and a Triple Crown, Souza was a no-doubter at 99.4%.



Ynilo Zapata – Left Field – Callao Cats – 66.3% First Ballot

Ynilo Zapata was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Lima, Peru. Zapata had prolific home run power, leading the Bolivar League in home runs six times in his first seven seasons. He was a good to occasionally great contact hitter who was better than many sluggers at avoiding strikeouts, although generally around average at drawing walks. Zapata was a slow baserunner and viewed as a below average to bad defender who played basically exclusively in left field. But the man hit dingers and that him a hot commodity.

He became well known in Peru as an amateur as the next possible great slugger. Zapata was picked 14^th overall by his hometown Lima in the 1950 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft, but couldn’t come to terms with the Lobos. While still an amateur, he played for the Peruvian team in the World Baseball Championship in 1951. From 1951-64, he played 115 WBC games with 89 hits, 71 runs, 40 home runs, 83 RBI, and 4.0 WAR. In the 1951 BSA Draft, Callao selected him fifth overall and he joined the Cats, where he spent the vast majority of his pro career.

Zapata was thrown into the starting lineup immediately and became the first-ever player to win MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. He led the Bolivar League with 53 home runs and had career highs in OPS at 1.077, wRC+ at 211, and WAR at 8.6. He led the league in home runs six times from 1952-58 and hit 50+ twice more with 53 in 1955 and 51 in 1957. He also had three 125+ RBI seasons with a peak of 133 in 1955. Zapata was second in MVP voting in 1955, third in 1956, and second again in 1957; but his rookie year was his lone MVP ultimately. He won six Silver Sluggers (52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 62).

Zapata’s power pushed Callao to relevance for the first time in the franchise’s history. The Cats won the South Division five times from 1954-60 and took the Copa Sudamerica crown in 1954 and 1957. In 34 playoff games, Zapata had 31 hits, 16 runs, 8 home runs, 19 RBI, and 1.2 WAR. His production began to fade a bit into his 30s with a broken hand putting him out 3-4 months in 1960.

Callao remained competitive after 1960, but wouldn’t make the playoffs in the next five years. Zapata still got 35+ homers in 1961 and 1962, but he was no longer an MVP candidate. In 1963, he missed two months with a strained MCL. Zapata was moved to a bench role in 1964 and at age 36, was traded in the summer to Fortaleza along with a prospect to get pitcher Leo Andrade. He spent the rest of 1964 and 1965 as a bench player for the Foxes, opting to retire after the 1965 season at age37. Callao still remembered him fondly though and would retire his #13 uniform.

Zapata’s final stats: 1860 hits, 1061 runs, 487 home runs, 1155 RBI, a .292/.350/.578 slash, 161 wRC+ and 69.6 WAR. His MVP rookie season made many think he was the next big thing, but his totals are actually lower than you’d expect considering his peak. Only one other player (Martyn Jarava) had gotten into the Hall as a hitter with under 2000 career hits. Many thought Zapata didn’t have the accumulations needed to deserve a spot, but other voters love dingers and pointed out he had a big role in two Cup wins for Callao. He ended up being a first ballot choice just barely at 66.3%; but barely or not, Zapata is in.