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Two pitchers were added in 2007 into Beisbol Sudamerica’s Hall of Fame. Felipe Castaneda was a slam dunk first ballot choice at 96.9%. Gonzalo Argueta just barely breached the 66% requirement, getting 67.2% on his third try. The top position player efforts saw RF Jairo Vicente at 59.8% on his eighth try and 2B Leonardo Salvador with 57.8% for his third ballot. No one else was above 50% and the next best debut was down at 35.9%.



Falling off the ballot after ten tries was RF Oscar Linares. He had a 19-year career, but did leave for Eurasian Professional Baseball for four years, hurting his tallies. Primarily with Sao Paulo, Linares won three Silver Sluggers, three Copa Sudamerica rings, and the 1983 finals MVP.

Linares totals saw 2329 hits, 1125 runs, 300 doubles, 144 triples, 326 home runs, 1069 RBI, 957 stolen bases, a .325/.374/.544 slash, 168 wRC+, and 60.2 WAR. Adding the EPB years, he had 69.9 WAR and 2945 hits. Linares was just borderline enough though in tallies and wasn’t a league leader apart from one batting title and three times atop the steals list. He debuted at 51.6% in 1998, which made many figure he’d eventually make the cut. Linares would hover in the low 40s to upper 30s though most of the time on the ballot, ending at 43.6%. A fine member of the Hall of Pretty Good.



Felipe Castaneda – Starting Pitcher – Lima Lobos – 96.9% First Ballot

Felipe Castaneda was a 6’4’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from San Estanislao, Paraguay; a city of around 52,000 people. Castaneda had excellent stuff with great movement, although his control was subpar. His velocity peaked in the 95-97 mph range with a cutter, splitter, screwball, slider, changeup arsenal. The screwball and cutter especially were his best pitches and were very tough to solve when Castaneda was on form.

Compared to most Hall of Fame pitchers in BSA, Castaneda’s stamina was considered weak. However, he had excellent durability and reliably pitched 30+ starts each year from 1990-2001. Castaneda also had an excellent work ethic, which allowed him to compete at a high level.

Despite coming from relatively humble beginnings in a smaller town in Paraguay, Castaneda was spotted by a visiting Peruvian scout. In March 1983, the 16-year old Castaneda was signed to an amateur deal with Lima. He spent the majority of six years in the developmental academy, officially debuting with three relief appearances in 1988 at age 21.

Castaneda was a part-time starter in 1989 with decent results, earning him a full-time slot in the rotation for the next decade. The Lobos had started what would be a Beisbol Sudamerica record 14-year playoff streak in 1988 and Castaneda would be around for basically all of it. 10 of his seasons with the Lobos were worth 6+ WAR with eight seasons at an ERA below 3.00 and seven seasons with 300+ strikeouts.

Castaneda was a reliable playoff arm over this streak, which saw Lima make it to the Bolivar League Championship Series seven times. The Lobos won the pennant in 1990, 1991, and 1993, but fell each of those years. They finally got over the hump and won Copa Sudamerica in 1997 and 1998. The last year of the streak in 2001 saw another pennant, but defeat in the final.

In 37 playoff games, Castaneda had an 18-13 record, 3.31 ERA, 272 innings, 303 strikeouts, 80 walks, 23/36 quality starts, 110 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 6.8 WAR. His most impressive run was the 1993 season with a 1.64 ERA over four starts, earning LCS MVP. Castaneda wasn’t the most dominant playoff pitcher, but he was incredibly steady.

With his two wins in 2001, he passed Danilo Patricio for the all-time BSA lead in playoff wins. He’d only get passed once in later years. Castaneda is also second all-time in playoff strikeouts and WAR behind only the world strikeout king Mohamed Ramos. The longevity does also mean he holds two bad playoff records; losses and walks. Either way, Castaneda was a massive reason why Lima was a regular contender for a decade.

Castaneda wasn’t often a regular season statistical leader though. He did lead in strikeouts twice, peaking with 368 in 1997. He also led once in WAR, once in quality starts, and twice in wins. 1997 was Castaneda’s lone Pitcher of the Year with the 368 Ks and career bests in both ERA (2.21) and WAR (9.4). He also took third in 1998’s voting.

Despite being a success in Peru, Castaneda did retain a fondness for his native Paraguay. He pitched for his country from 1990-2003 in the World Baseball Championship, posting an 9-11 record over 168 innings, 3.38 ERA, 201 strikeouts, 75 walks, 107 ERA+, and 2.6 WAR.

In March 1997, Castaneda signed a four-year, $11,040,000 extension to stay with Lima. He continued to look good into his 30s, even posting 6.0 WAR in his last Lima season of 2001. Castaneda was due to become a free agent at age 35 and to the surprise of most, decided to not only leave Lima, but leave South American baseball altogether. The Lobos would later retire his #26 uniform for his role in their dynasty run.

Castaneda stunned many observers by ending up in South Africa, signing a three-year, $4,620,000 deal with AAB’s Durban Deer. He had two decent years there, but did miss some time in 2002 to an elbow injury. Castaneda had 5.0 WAR over 327.1 innings with Durban, posting a 3.63 ERA, 20-16 record, 313 strikeouts, and 112 ERA+. He was let go after the 2003 campaign and opted to retire with that at age 37.

For his BSA career, Castaneda had a 2.99 ERA, 232-118 record, 3249 innings, 3787 strikeouts, 947 walks, 298/427 quality starts, 77 complete games, 123 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 85.7 WAR. He won’t come up in conversations with the absolute top tier, but Castaneda run was a no-doubter for Hall of Fame induction. He received 96.9% to headline BSA’s 2007 voting.



Gonzalo Argueta – Starting Pitcher – Maracaibo Mariners – 67.2% Third Ballot

Gonzalo Argueta was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from San Fernando, a city of 165,000 in central Venezuela. In his prime, Argueta had solid stuff, great control, and average movement. His fastball only peaked in the 93-95 mph range, but he countered it with an incredible 10/10 circle change. That pitch often had even great hitters whiffing wildly. Argueta also had a strong knuckle curve and a decent regular curve in his arsenal.

Argueta had very good stamina, leading the Bolivar League twice in both innings pitched and complete games. He was good at holding runners, but below average defensively. A few major injuries prevented Argueta from having a longer and more storied career. He stayed loyal to Maracaibo for much of run, despite the squad historically being bottom rung.

Despite being known for his run with the Mariners, Argueta’s career started with Recife. He was spotted and signed in January 1980 as a teenage amateur. Argueta never made it to the Retrievers roster though and was part of a six-player trade in November 1984 with Maracaibo. This trade did give Recife 1991 Hall of Famer Goito Palominos, although he only gave them 74 games the next year.

Argueta was a part-time starter in 1985 at age 21, but he showed some potential. The Mariners made him a full-time starter for 1986, but disaster struck in May with a ruptured UCL. A later setback meant this cost Argueta 14 months total, missing the rest of 1986 and half of 1987. He did look good in his return though and would stay healthy from 1988-1993.

From 1989-91, Argueta led the Bolivar League each time in strikeouts. He also led twice in WHIP and twice in complete games. In 1990, Argueta also led in ERA (2.19) and WAR (9.0) to earn his lone Pitcher of the Year. His 20-9 record left him only one win short of a Triple Crown. Argueta also took third in 1991’s POTY voting.

Most importantly in 1990, Maracaibo ended a playoff drought that dated back to 1953. They made it to the BLCS, but lost to Lima. Argueta had a mediocre 4.22 ERA over 21.1 playoff innings. He was better with a 1.59 ERA in 11.1 innings in 1994, but the Mariners suffered a first round defeat. These were his only playoff games with Maracaibo, but Argueta helped get them there for the first time in a generation.

On September 26, 1991, Argueta threw a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts and one walk against Ciudad Guayana. A month later, Maracaibo gave him a four-year, $6,260,000 extension. Injuries would pop up towards the end of that run starting with elbow inflammation costing him half of 1994. In July 1995, a torn labrum put Argueta on the shelf for the next 13 months.

That ultimately ended his Maracaibo tenure at age 32. With the Mariners, Argueta had a 137-97 record, 2.79 ERA, 2292.2 innings, 2465 strikeouts, 367 walks, 130 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 54.5 WAR. His #19 would be the second number retired by the franchise, joining the Goito Palominos’ #39. Ironically, Palominos was part of that trade that brought him to the Mariners in the first place.

It was unknown if Argueta could even make it back from the injury and if he’d be any good still. In late May, Belo Horizonte gave him a one-year deal. He made it back for the last few weeks and was below average at best, posting an 88 ERA+ in 95.2 innings. Now 33-years old, Argueta expanded his search worldwide to find a home. This led him to England of all places, signing a three-year, $6,480,000 deal with Birmingham of EBF.

Argueta would still pitch for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Championship even as he went to Europe. From 1988-99, he had 106.1 WBC innings with a 7-6 record, 3.22 ERA, 136 strikeouts, 22 walks, 111 ERA+, and 1.6 WAR.

Argueta posted a remarkable 28.2 K/BB in his Bees debut with 169 strikeouts and only six walks over 186.1 innings. His overall production was fairly average, but he filled a spot for Birmingham. In two years in England, Argueta had 432.2 innings, a 28-17 record, 3.29 ERA, 363 strikeouts, 38 walks, 108 ERA+, and 5.6 WAR. The Bees would buy out his team option year though, making Argueta a free agent again at age 35.

That showed South American teams though that he could still go and Bogota was interested. Argueta signed a three-year, $6,840,000 deal with the Bats and had an impressive return. He led in K/BB at 9.1 and posted a 2.69 ERA over 277.2 innings, 22-7 record, 255 strikeouts, and 5.3 WAR. Bogota was very pleased with the results, but was then disappointed when Argueta retired after only one season. After successful comeback, the now 36-year old Argueta said he felt he had nothing left to prove.

Argueta’s BSA tenure had a 165-110 record, 2.81 ERA, 2666 innings, 2807 strikeouts, 414 walks, 228/338 quality starts, 124 complete games, 128 ERA+, 81 FIP-, and 60.8 WAR. The rate stats didn’t look out of place at all when compared to other BSA Hall of Famers. The accumulations were low though, hurt by his injuries and relatively early retirement. With that, Argueta found himself with a borderline case.

Argueta’s legendary circle change and helping Maracaibo snap their playoff drought were the major plusses to his supporters. Still, he missed the cut with 57.6% and 58.8% in his first two ballots. Third time was the charm though as Argueta just barely crossed the 66% requirement with 67.2%. That earned him the second spot in Beisbol Sudamerica’s 2007 Hall of Fame class.