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The 1974 Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame class was an impressive one with four players inducted for the first time since 1967. On top of that, all four guys were first ballot picks. The stars were easily CF Emmanuel Lopez and SP Oscar Medina, receiving impressive tallies of 98.5% and 96.0% respectively. 1B Ysidro Pico was next with 79.3%, then RF Zak Carranza barely crossed the 66% threshold with 66.5%. No one else was above 50%.



SP Danny Ledo was the one player dropped after ten failed ballots, finishing at 46.5% after a peak at 53.6% and bottom at 14.5%. A two-time Pitcher of the Year, he was hurt by leaving for MLB’s Baltimore for six seasons in his 30s. In his 12 CABA seasons, he had a 154-122 record, 3.03 ERA, 2633 strikeouts in 2561 innings, and 52.0 WAR. With his full pro totals of 237-197 and 71.2 WAR, he might have crossed the line narrowly, but the CABA accumulations weren’t quite there in the minds of the voters.



Emmanuel Lopez – Center Field – Mexico City Aztecs – 98.5% First Ballot


Emmanuel Lopez was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed center fielder from Naucalpan, Mexico; a part of the greater Mexico City metro. Lopez was a tremendous contact hitter that led in both batting average and hits three times in his career. He had very solid baserunning speed and a respectable knack for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. Lopez wasn’t a prolific slugger, but he had excellent pop in his bat, averaging around 25-30 home runs per year and around 30-40 doubles/triples. Lopez was a career center fielder and considered an above average to good defender in his career. Maybe most impressively, he was incredibly durable despite playing a very physically demanding position, still putting up strong numbers in center into his mid to late 30s. With this impressive five-tool skill set, the mild-mannered Lopez became an extremely popular player of the 1950s and 1960s.

Lopez’ talent was noticed immediately in his amateur days and in the 1950 CABA Draft, he was the #1 overall pick by Mexico City. The Aztecs were struggling this point and only won 61 games in his first season. Sadly for Lopez, he’d be gone before they made their dynasty run and only saw one playoff season with them, but his efforts still helped revitalize the franchise.

Lopez started 126 games in his rookie year and would start 148+ in every season for the next decade. He was the Mexican League Rookie of the Year in 1951, then won MVP and Silver Slugger in his sophomore season with 10.2 WAR, a .346 average, and 209 hits. He’d finish first in WAR four times with the Aztecs and take home additional MVPs in 1956, 57, and 60, along with a third place finish in 1954. He won eight straight Silver Sluggers from 1954-61, getting nine in total with Mexico City. Lopez also was a regular for Mexico in the World Baseball Championship from 1952-66. In 166 games and 163 starts, he had 163 hits, 111 runs, 35 home runs, 90 RBI, and 4.0 WAR. Lopez led the tournament in hits (34) and stolen bases (15) in 1963 and finished third in MVP voting, helping Mexico to a World Championship.

In total in a decade-plus with the Aztecs, Lopez had 2223 hits, 1117 runs, 333 doubles, 125 triples, 302 home runs, 1053 RBI, a .328/.382/.547 slash and 98.6 WAR; arguably a Hall of Fame career right there up to age 33. The Aztecs would retire his #13 uniform later and he’d be remembered very fondly despite it being a relatively unremarkable decade for the franchise. His 1960 season at age 31 was arguably his best with a career-best 11.1 WAR, 218 hits, and 354 total bases.

At age 33, free agency was likely looming following the 1962 season. That summer, Mexico City sent him to Honduras for five prospects, one of which would be Brian Arevalos, the closer in three of the Aztec championship seasons. Lopez would sign a four-year, $582,000 contract extension with the Horsemen after the season and ultimately spend the rest of his pro career there.

Honduras was the powerhouse of the Caribbean League Continental Division at that point and would make the playoffs five times in Lopez’ tenure, winning the CABA Championship in 1963. That season, Lopez won his fifth league MVP with a career-best 43 home runs and 114 RBI. He was CLCS and CABA finals MVP as well with 22 hits, 10 runs, 4 home runs, and 12 RBI over 13 playoff games. Lopez won his sixth and final league MVP in 1964. He won Silver Sluggers in both seasons as well, giving him 11 for his career.

Back injuries would start to put him out sporadically in his final seasons, although he was still very solid when healthy from 1965-67. Lopez became the fourth CABA hitter to reach 3000 career hits, the fourth to 1500 runs scored, and the eighth to 1500 RBI. 1968 was the year where Lopez finally dipped below replacement level and he’d retire after the season at age 40. With Honduras, he had 1091 hits, 548 runs, 171 home runs, 558 RBI, a .309/.356/.533 slash and 37.0 WAR.

The final stats for Lopez: 3314 hits, 1665 runs, 482 doubles, 190 triples, 473 home runs, 1611 RBI, 908 stolen bases, a .321/.373/.542 slash, 164 wRC+, and 135.6 WAR. At retirement, he was third in CABA hitting WAR behind only Prometheo Garcia and Kiko Velazquez. Lopez also retired third in hits, third in runs scored, and fourth in RBI. As of 2037, no CABA player has more WAR in center field. Lopez was easily an inner-circle Hall of Famer and arguably Mexico’s greatest center fielder, earning a no-doubt induction at 98.5%.



Oscar Medina – Starting Pitcher – Honduras Horsemen – 96.0% First Ballot

Oscar Medina was a 5’11’’, 185 pound left-handed pitcher from San Antonio de Desamparados, Costa Rica; a small district in the San Jose province. Medina always had excellent stuff with 99-101 mph peak velocity with a fastball, changeup, screwball, slider arsenal. His movement and control were a bit dodgy in his 20s, but he honed both in his 30s to become a complete pitcher. Medina was largely durable and became very popular for his role in Honduras’ success in the 1960s.

Medina’s career wouldn’t start there, signing as an amateur teenage free agent in late 1949 with Guatemala. He made his debut with the Ghosts in 1955 at age 22 and although he led the Caribbean League in walks, he was still impressive enough to earn Rookie of the Year honors. Medina had four seasons with Guatemala and was a decent starter, although limited by control issues. His Ghosts highlight was a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts and two walks against Santiago on August 1, 1958. In his four seasons there, he had a 48-54 record, 3.54 ERA, 882 strikeouts in 947 innings, and 12.3 WAR.

Medina also started playing for the Costa Rica National Team in the World Baseball Championship at age 23. He’d male 24 starts from 1956-68, posting an 11-11 record, 3.11 ERA, 171 innings, 232 strikeouts, and 4.1 WAR. It’d be in nearby Honduras where Medina would become a Caribbean League legend. Guatemala traded him at age 27 to the Horsemen before the 1959 season in exchange for three prospects. He led in strikeouts with 294 in his debut season and showed great stamina with 17 complete games, but still saw average ERA numbers. Medina did have a solid postseason with a 2.73 ERA in 26.1 innings, helping the Horsemen get to the CABA Championship. Honduras liked him enough to sign a five-year, $425,000 extension after the 1959 season, but Medina would blow out his elbow in mid 1960, requiring ligament reconstruction surgery that put his future in major doubt.

In his return in mid 1961 at age 28, he looked solid. From there, he became a bonefide ace for the next six seasons with each year seeing 6.9+ WAR or better. Medina led in ERA in both 1966 and 1967 and WHIP in 1965 and 1966. He’d finish third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1963, 64, 65, and 66. In 1967, Medina finally won the award at age 34 with career bests in ERA (2.00), strikeouts (321), WHIP (0.87), wins (21-8), and WAR (10.7.).

Medina played in seven postseasons for Honduras and in 1963, earned a CABA Championship ring. For his playoff career, he had a 3.50 ERA over 123.1 innings with 127 strikeouts and 3.4 WAR. In 1963, he had his second no-hitter with a five strikeout, three walk effort on July 29 against Salvador. Then on May 15, 1965; Medina had CABA’s 20^th Perfect Game, striking out 10 against Haiti. This also made Medina the first (and as of 2037, only) CABA pitcher to have three CABA no-hitters in his career.

After a career-best season in 1967, Medina struggled significantly in 1968. He pitched through elbow pain, then below out his elbow in mid-September. With a 15-16 month recovery time expected and no guarantee of future success, Medina retired at age 35. Honduras immediately retired his #37 uniform and in his run there, he had a 153-83 record, 2.85 ERA, 2247 innings, 2400 strikeouts, and 60.6 WAR.

Medina’s final total stats: 201-137 record, 3.06 ERA, 3194 innings, 3282 strikeouts, 260/420 quality starts, a FIP- of 82, and 73.0 WAR. The accumulations aren’t massive with a slower start to his career and early exit, but they still certainly don’t look out of place among other pitchers in the Hall of Fame. His role in Honduras’ playoff success and the perfect game meant Medina was very popular and his resume was very firm, earning the first ballot induction at 96.0%.