[FuzzyRussianHat]

Only one player was inducted in the 1987 Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame Class, but it was an inner-circle guy in Wesley Dubar. The legendary CF was nearly unanimous with 99.1% on his debut. 1B Carlos De La Fuente barely missed the 66% cut, receiving 65.4% on his fifth ballot. One other was above 50% with pitcher Barnabe Sanchez at 56.6% on his fourth go.



One player was dropped after ten ballots in 1B Trevor Phipps. He had a 19-year career between MLB and CABA, winning four Silver Sluggers. Phipps peaked at 35.9% on his fourth ballot and ended at 17.6%. For his full pro career, he had 3140 hits, 1653 runs, 575 home runs, 1748 RBI, and 79.0 WAR. Just in CABA, he had 1973 hits, 1023 runs, 296 doubles, 361 home runs, 1110 RBI, a .293/.363/.506 slash and 49.5 WAR. A respectable run, but not the tallies needed just in CABA to deserve the spot.



Wesley “Four Eyes” Dubar – Center/Right Field – Guatemala Ghosts – 99.1% First Ballot

Wesley Dubar was a 5’10’’, 200 pound right-handed outfielder from La Chorrera, a city with around 160,000 people in central Panama. In his prime, Dubar was the prototypical “five-tool” player that was good to great across the board. He was a very solid contact hitter that could draw walks with average strikeout rates. Dubar had a strong bat, averaging around 35-45 home runs per year with another 35-40 doubles/triples per season. He was quick and was both an intelligent baserunner and one of the smartest in the game generally. Dubar was an ironman played 135+ games in all but his final three seasons, especially impressive as a career centerfielder. He was considered a rock solid defender in center as well, playing there until moving to right at the end due to age. It is no surprise that Dubar is one of the most beloved Central American baseball players of all time.

His incredible potential was noticed at a very young age by a scout for Guatemala, signing him as an amateur free agent at age 16. Dubar joined a very select group of guys who made his professional debut before turning 20. Even more rare was that he was a full-time starter at 19 and showed flashes of potential, although he had some growing pains in the first two seasons. By his third season, Dubar was at an all-star level and soon after, he’d be a perennial MVP candidate for the Ghosts.

Dubar would lead the Caribbean League in both runs scored and WAR nine times from 1965-74. He was the leader in triples thrice, home runs twice, RBI six times, walks drawn three times, total bases six times, batting average once, OBP five times, slugging eight times, OPS eight times, and wRC+ eight times. 1966 to 1974 saw nine straight MVP awards for Dubar, a total only matched in CABA history by fellow Hall of Famer Kiko Velazquez (10). He was also third in 1965’s MVP voting. Oddly enough, Dubar won more MVPs than Silver Sluggers, winning only seven Sluggers (1967, 69-74). He also took home a Gold Glove in 1970.

This success made Dubar an absolute superstar in Central American baseball. He was beloved in his native Panama, making 160 starts from 1964-83 for the national team in the World Baseball Championship with 142 hits, 88 runs, 19 doubles, 51 home runs, 89 RBI, and 8.1 WAR. He also turned Guatemala into a consistent Caribbean League contender, turning around a Ghosts franchise that had never won the pennant in their 50+ seasons before he arrived. During his two decades with Guatemala, the Ghosts made the playoffs 12 times with 10 division titles. They had a dynasty from 1967-71 with four Caribbean League titles in five years, including a franchise record 118-44 season in 1969.

However, each of those runs ended with a defeat in the CABA Championship due to the Mexico City dynasty on the other side. The Ghosts were runner-up in 1967, 69, 70, and 71. Guatemala and Dubar finally got over the hump as they won the 1974 CABA Championship over Juarez. In 97 postseason games in his career, Dubar had 95 hits, 58 runs, 17 doubles, 11 triples, 20 home runs, 48 RBI, 39 walks, 21 stolen bases, a .265/.342/.540 slash and 3.8 WAR.

As he entered his 30s, Dubar’s speed fell off noticeably, but he still was a strong bat. He hit 35+ home runs each year from 1966-77 and topped 50+ four times. Guatemala continued to contend throughout the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, but wouldn’t get another league title while Dubar was there. He had signed a seven-year, $2,096,000 contract extension in 1974 and finished out that deal, although he wasn’t elite in the final few seasons. Still, Ghosts fans and fans throughout CABA watched with anticipation as Dubar climbed the leaderboards and chased milestones.

In 1980, he joined the legendary Prometheo Garcia as the only CABA players with 2000+ career RBI and passed him later that season as CABA’s all-time RBI leader. He passed him for the runs scored lead as well and became the first to reach 2000. Dubar was the fifth member of the 3000 hit club and was fourth at retirement. In his last season, he narrowly passed Kiko Velazquez to be second in all-time batting WAR at 147.9, behind only Garcia’s 166.8 WAR. However, Dubar’s batting had become merely middling in that last season and despite being healthy, he only made 112 starts. He finished five home runs short of becoming the third CABA hitter to reach 700 dingers.

His contract expired after the 1981 season and the now 39-year old still wanted to play, although Guatemala was ready to move on. They parted with no hard feelings and his #32 uniform would soon be retired. Dubar would remain a franchise icon for decades to come. Wanting to cash in on his popularity, MLB’s Louisville decided to sign Dubar to a one-year, $1,240,000 deal. Dubar was happy to get the bag, this one season would net him as much as his last four seasons with Guatemala. He only had part-time use with the Lynx in 1982, then finished out his career in a bench role in 1983 with the expansion Orlando team. Dubar retired at age 40.

Dubar’s final CABA stats had 3362 hits, 2028 runs, 398 doubles, 330 triples, 695 home runs, 2104 RBI, 1070 walks, 661 stolen bases, a .296/.359/.572 slash, 151 wRC+, and 147.9 WAR. At induction, he was first all-time in runs scored, fourth in hits, fourth in triples, fourth in home runs, first in RBI, and second in batting WAR. As of 2037, Dubar is still second in runs scored, third in RBI, second in WAR, sixth in hits, and tenth in home runs. He’s an inner-circle level Hall of Famer and one of the true legends of Central American baseball. The 99.1% he received for induction was frankly too low.