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Slugger Goito Palominos was the lone inductee in Beisbol Sudamerica’s 1991 Hall of Fame class, getting in with an impressive 97.6% on his first ballot. Only three others were above 50% with 1B Cy Cavazos at 56.4% on his eight try, SP Robinson Moreira at 54.3% for his second go, and 3B Saul Puerta at 51.6% on his third ballot.



SP Carlos Estrella was dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking at 37.4% on his second try and ended at 11.1%. He pitched 20 years with the majority of his BSA run with Bogota, posting a 207-174 record, 2.88 ERA, 3656.1 innings, 3051 strikeouts, 587 walks, 87 FIP-, and 69.2 WAR. Guys with similar stat lines had gotten into the Hall, but Estella had no major awards or playoff accolades, along with only one season leading in any major stat.

Also dropped was 1B Jovanny Camacho, who won Bolivar League MVP in 1967. In 12 years with Valencia, he had 1631 hits, 902 runs, 284 doubles, 471 home runs, 1089 RBI, a .251/.294/.524 slash, and 48.0 WAR. Camacho led the league in homers four times, but fell off hard and was retired by age 35. He didn’t have the longevity to get the accumulations expected at the position, thus he peaked at 33.3% on his debut and finished with 9.7% of the vote.



Goito “Iceman” Palominos – Right Field/Designated Hitter/First Base – Maracaibo Mariners – 97.6% First Ballot

Goito Palominos was a 5’9’’, 175 pound right-handed hitter from Yaritagua, Venezuela; a city of around 120,000 people located just east of Barquisimeto. Nicknamed “Iceman” for his calm demeanor at the plate, Palominos was a very solid contact and power hitter. He regularly hit 30+ home runs and hit 40+ seven times. Despite his power, Palominos had an average at best walk and strikeout rate. He did have great gap power, often hitting 30+ doubles per season. Palominos was a very smart baserunner, but he lacked speed. He also lacked range, making him grade out as a poor defender in his career. Palominos made about half of his starts in left field with ¼ at first base and the rest as a designated hitter. He had a strong work ethic and was durable with 130+ games played in each his first 13 seasons

Palominos was the top prize coming out of the college/amateur ranks and was the first overall pick to Maracaibo in 1968. He was immediately a starter and hit 34 home runs on his way to 1969 Rookie of the Year honors. Palominos was used as a DH and won Silver Sluggers in 1970 and 1971. He was moved to first base in 1972 and had his finest year, earning Bolivar League MVP and a Silver Slugger. Palominos posted a Triple Crown with 52 home runs, 112 RBI, and a .351 average, while also leading in runs, hits, triple slash, OPS, wRC+, and WAR.

That MVP season helped make Palominos very popular with Maracaibo fans. He was also popular nationally as he played with Venezuela in the World Baseball Championship from 1970-85. He played in 125 games with 117 hits, 74 runs, 41 home runs, 88 RBI, and 4.7 WAR. Palominos was never as dominant again as that 1972 season, but he’d lead in runs scored once more, doubles twice, RBI twice, total bases once, and wRC+ once. He won Silver Slugger in 1974 (in LF), 1975 (at 1B), 1977 (DH), and 1980 (LF), giving him seven Sluggers. Palominos was also second in 1974 MVP voting, third in 1975, and second in 1977.

Palominos helped turn around Maracaibo, who was absolutely abysmal in the 1960s. By the mid 1970s, the Mariners were a consistent winner, but they were cursed by sharing a division with Valencia’s dynasty run of five straight Bolivar League titles. Palominos never made the playoffs with the Mariners, whose competitive window closed to end the decade. He’d still be very popular with Maracaibo fans for his excellence in the 1970s and his #39 uniform would be retired.
While still quite good, Palominos did see his production start to fall as he entered his 30s. He had signed a six-year contract extension in the summer of 1976, but it was clear that Maracaibo would need to rebuild before that. After the 1980 season, the Mariners moved the 35 year-old Palominos to Salvador for prospects. The Storm had won Copa Sudamerica in 1979 and lost in the Southern Cone Championship in 1980. Palominos had one season with Salvador, but was strong with 42 home runs and 6.4 WAR. He posted 14 hits, 10 runs, 5 home runs, and 8 RBI in the postseason as he helped the Storm to a Copa Sudamerica ring.

Although Salvador was grateful for his help in their title run, they voided the team option year left on his contract. At age 36, Palominos was a free agent for the first time. He got international attention and ended up heading to America on a three-year, $3,120,000 deal with MLB’s Jacksonville. His one year with the Gators was forgettable and plagued by a strained PCL as well. Jacksonville cut their losses by trading him that winter to Philadelphia.

Another PCL issue and poor production led to a subpar season with the Phillies. His MLB run in total had 44 home runs, 127 RBI, and 2.2 WAR. Before the 1984 season, Maracaibo brought him back and he bounced back with a solid 4.4 WAR season, earning his 2500^th career hit. Palominos would be a part of an offseason trade to Recife though, which neted Maracaibo eventual Hall of Fame pitcher Gonzalo Argueta. After an unremarkable season in a bench role with the Retrievers, Palominos retired at age 39,

The final Beisbol Sudamerica stats for Palominos: 2549 hits, 1307 runs, 439 doubles, 561 home runs, 1470 RBI, a .307/.345/.571 slash, 161 wRC+, and 85.2 WAR. He wasn’t at the very top of the leaderboards, but his tallies and popularity with Venezuelan baseball fans made Palominos a very easy choice. The voters got him in at 97.6% as the lone member of the 1991 class.