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FuzzyRussianHat · 08-21-2025, 06:04 PM

The Central American Baseball Association had two players inducted on the first ballot for the Hall of Fame in 2034, but neither guy was a lock. C Luis Moran had 70.9% and RF James Figueroa got 66.9%, both narrowly crossing the 66% requirement. 1B Hasan Alvizo painfully missed out at 64.5% on his tenth and final chance. Three other returners were above 50% with LF Marvin Orellana at 55.1% on his ninth ballot, RF Jose Leal with 55.1% for his second go, and 1B Ivan Moran at 51.4% on his ninth try.

For Alvizo, he was hurt by a lack of longevity with some injuries in his 15-year career. He won MVP in 2011 for Panama and had two Silver Sluggers, finishing with 1849 games, 2223 hits, 1126 runs, 336 doubles, 117 triples, 413 home runs, 120 RBI, 521 walks, .326/.372/.591 slash, 154 wRC+, and 59.5 WAR. Playing on mostly weaker teams didn’t help, but he still got close despite the borderline resume. Alvizo’s 64.5% finish was his best with a low of 46.4% the prior year. Most agreed he was best left to the Hall of Pretty Good.

3B Alexander Trinidad also was dropped after ten ballots, although he didn’t get as close with a finish of 9.5% and a peak of 40.0% in 2026. He was arguably more statistically impressive than Alvizo over his 16-year career with three Silver Sluggers, 2320 games, 2317 hits, 1364 runs, 433 doubles, 543 home runs, 1365 RBI, 750 walks, .273/.331/.534 slash, 142 wRC+, and 81.7 WAR.

On the bad side, Trinidad struck out a lot and his 2556 whiffs rank as the fifth-most in CABA history as of 2037. Still, he ranks 74^th in WAR for position players and 50^th in home runs. Trinidad also won pennants with both Mexicali and Torreon with strong showings in both runs. Despite that, he never got any serious momentum towards induction.

Luis Moran – Catcher – Cancun Captains – 70.9% First Ballot

Luis Moran was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting catcher from Allende, Mexico; a town of 35,000 in the northeast. Moran’s home run power and eye for walks were both quite good, especially for a catcher. His 162 game average got you a healthy 32 homers along with 20 doubles and 3 triples. Against right-handed pitching, Moran was a good contact hitter and had a career .924 OPS and 153 wRC+. He was actively bad against lefties with a .621 OPS and 73 wRC+. Moran also struggled with strikeouts against both sides, but especially versus LHP.

As you’d expect from a catcher, Moran’s speed and baserunning were terrible. He also was a pretty lousy defensive catcher, but teams were willing to put up with that in exchange for the strongest bat available at the spot in all of CABA. Moran’s durability was quite solid over a 20-year career at a very demanding spot. He was also a good team player and became popular amongst teammates and fans.

Moran was one of the highest-rated catching prospects in a long while and made many top five boards for the 2008 CABA Draft. Cancun picked him third overall and he’d be a full-time starter eight years for the Captains. Moran won Silver Sluggers in each of his Cancun seasons and was always good for 4.5 WAR. He took second in 2009’s Rookie of the Year voting. Moran was quickly viewed as the best offensive catcher in the Mexican League.

Cancun was a 2003 expansion team and stayed at the bottom of the standings for a long while not getting a winning season until 2024. Moran did help them to 81-81 in 2011, their only non-losing season until 2024. The fans appreciated his efforts though and he’d be the Captains’ first Hall of Famer. Moran’s #9 uniform would also be the first retired by the franchise. 2012 had his career highs for hits (154), runs (84), RBI (92), triple slash (.321/.386/.596), OPS (.982), wRC+ (177), and WAR (7.5).

After the 2012 season, Moran signed an eight-year, $108,100,000 extension with Cancun. That season, he also picked up All-Star Game MVP honors. Moran would become a staple of the game and would be selected 16 times as an all-star. With the Captains making seemingly no progress towards team success, Moran opted out of his contract after the 2016 season, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 30.

With Cancun, Moran played 1129 games with 1072 hits, 577 runs, 170 doubles, 223 home runs, 615 RBI, 442 walks, .291/.367/.529 slash, 151 wRC+, and 44.7 WAR. He ended up signing a seven-year, $84,500,000 deal with Nicaragua. Moran spent six years with the Navigators and won Silver Sluggers in 2018, 2019, and 2022. He did notably miss the entire 2020 season because of a torn PCL in spring training.

Nicaragua had been competitive in recent memory with pennants in 2008 and 2014, but they had only losing seasons during Moran’s tenure. He hadn’t gotten to play in any big games yet apart from the World Baseball Championship with Mexico. His WBC stats were unremarkable from 2010-28 with 122 games, 65 hits, 42 runs, 13 doubles, 18 homers, 40 RBI, .181/.294/.372 slash, and 1.2 WAR. Moran was notably a starter for the 2015 runner-up Mexican squad, but had an abysmal .393 OPS, -0.6 WAR, and 46 strikeouts in 23 starts.

Moran was still quite steady with Nicaragua over 685 games with 592 hits, 346 runs, 84 doubles, 145 home runs, 345 RBI, .258/.340/.496 slash, 127 wRC+, and 24.0 WAR. He had one year left on his deal entering 2023, but the Navigators traded him for prospects to Honduras. Moran’s first season with the Horsemen was his weakest statistically to that point, but they still gave him a three-year, $29 million extension after the season. He inked another three-year, $54,800,000 extension in September 2026.

In 2026, Moran won his 12^th and final Silver Slugger. This set the CABA position record, passing 11-time winners Mar Pavia and Chip Perez. Apart from that year, he had merely decent production and started to get used more in a platoon role in his later years. Still, he was a passable starter for a squad that started up another playoff streak in 2023. Honduras had wild cards and first round exits from 2023-25.

In 2026, the Horsemen got the top seed at 105-57, but lost to Bahamas in the Caribbean League Championship Series. They had a first round exit and division title in 2027. Then in 2028 as a 102-win wild card, Honduras beat the Buccaneers to take the Caribbean crown. They then went onto defeat Leon for the CABA Championship.

Moran’s career playoff stats were lackluster over 31 games with 18 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 5 homers, 11 RBI, .191/.283/.383 slash, 80 wRC+, and 0.1 WAR. He was used only five games in the Baseball Grand Championship, but did go 4-15 with a homer. Honduras finished 11-8 in the event, tied for seventh. In that season, he also joined the 500 home run club; only two other CABA catchers had even breached 300.

For Honduras, Moran had 713 games, 545 hits, 318 runs, 63 doubles, 134 home runs, 306 RBI, 248 walks, .239/.313/.452 slash, 108 wRC+, and 14.8 WAR. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria in his contract and was let go for 2029. Moran wanted to still play, but wasn’t signed all season and eventually retired that winter at age 43.

Moran finished with 2527 games, 2209 hits, 1241 runs, 317 doubles, 41 triples, 502 home runs, 1266 RBI, 974 walks, 2346 strikeouts, .268/.344/.498 slash, 132 wRC+, and 83.4 WAR. As of 2037, Moran ranks 51^st in games, 94^th in runs, 71^st in home runs, 18^th in walks, 19^th in strikeouts, and 70^th in WAR among position players.

Among CABA catchers, Moran is the career leader in slugging, OPS, runs, total bases (4114), homers, RBI, and walks. He does rank third in WAR behind Chip Perez (93.9) and Mar Pavia (91.1), who many cite as being better all-around catchers. Both of those guys won Gold Gloves along with solid bats and Pavia in particular played a big role in CABA’s first-ever dynasty with Tijuana in the 1910s.

Still, Moran has a case for being the best batting catcher and/or the best power-hitting catcher in the Central American Baseball Association’s history. He’s rarely outside of the top three for the position in league history. Still, the usual biases voters seem to hold against the position kept Moran to only 70.9% in his ballot debut. That was still enough for a first ballot nod as part of the two-player Hall of Fame class for 2034.

James Figueroa – Right Field – Guatemala Ghosts – 66.9% First Ballot

James Figueroa was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Mejicanos, El Salvador; a district of 141,000 people within greater San Salvador. Figueroa was good-to-great in terms of contact and power. He was better than most in CABA at avoiding strikeouts, but was subpar at drawing walks. Figueroa’s 162 game average got you 34 home runs, 25 doubles, and 8 triples. You weren’t going to generally get league-leading stats, but he provided a steady diet of extra-base hits.

Figueroa’s stats were stronger facing right-handed pitching (.909 OPS, 141 wRC+) compared to lefties (.769 OPS, 110 wRC+). His speed and baserunning ability graded as generally solid. Figueroa spent the vast majority of his career in right field and was an excellent defender, winning nine Gold Gloves. He occasionally played center and had good production there as well. Figueroa’s durability was impressive, playing 140+ games in all of his CABA seasons. He was considered a good leader, but his overall intelligence and loyalty graded as subpar. Still, Figueroa was very well liked at each of his career stops.

In the 2015 CABA Draft, Figueroa was picked 23^rd overall by Guatemala and spent his entire 11-year CABA run with the Ghosts. He was a full-time starter immediately with decent results as a rookie offensively and his first Gold Glove. Figueroa became a great starter after that and was good for 5+ WAR in each of his remaining Guatemala seasons except for 2025.

Figueroa’s additional Gold Gloves came in 2017, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. In 2017, he hit for the cycle against Panama. In 2020, Figueroa had his finest season and his only one as a Caribbean League leader. He led in runs (118), homers (49), RBI (134), total bases (424), slugging (.684), OPS (1.075), wRC+ (185), and WAR (10.5). Those were all career bests as were his 228 hits, .368 average, and .391 OBP. He won his first MVP and Silver Slugger and would’ve been a Triple Crown winner if not for Haiti’s Fabino Salasar and his .393 average.

Guatemala finished 85-77 that year and missed the wild card by four wins. They had been stuck in perpetual mid-ness for most of the decade, but with Figueroa’s leadership, they soon became a regular contender. In 2021, he repeated as MVP and won another Silver Slugger with 7.9 WAR, 31 homers, and .977 OPS. The Ghosts took the top seed at 109-53, but got upset in the first round by Havana. Still, they knew they were on the cusp and gave Figueroa an eight-year, $129,600,000 extension that winter.

Figueroa never reached MVP or Silver Slugger caliber again in the regular season, but he remained a reliable starter. He did hit for the cycle in 2023 against Nicaragua, becoming one of the select few to do it twice in a career. Most importantly, he stepped up huge in the postseason as Guatemala built a dynasty. From 2022-25, they won 106, 105, 108, and 115 games; winning four consecutive Caribbean League titles. They were the first CL team to four-peat since Salvador in the 1990s.

Guatemala won the 2022 CABA Championship over Juarez, but dropped the 2023 final to 117-win Mexico City. The Ghosts reclaimed the title in 2024 against Tijuana, but couldn’t repeat in 2025 thanks to the Jesters. Figueroa was the CLCS and CABA Championship MVP in 2022 and won CLCS MVP again in 2025. For his playoff career, Figueroa started 72 games with 94 hits, 40 runs, 12 doubles, 20 home runs, 53 RBI, 23 steals, .341/.362/.616 slash, 163 wRC+, and 3.8 WAR.

The Ghosts’ first Baseball Grand Championship trip saw a 10-9 record and 11^th place finish in 2022. In 2023, they finished 13-6 and were second only to 14-5 Dhaka for the title. Guatemala took 12^th in 2024 at 9-10 and eighth in 2025 at 11-8. Over 75 starts, Figueroa had 70 hits, 37 runs, 11 doubles, 18 home runs, 46 RBI, .265/.340/.519 slash, and 2.5 WAR. He was a critical reason that the Ghosts became THE top Caribbean team in four straight years.

Guatemala was 104-58 in 2026, but lost the division by a win to Honduras and lost in the first round. Their playoff streak continued through 2030, but they never made it back to the CLCS. A big reason for that was likely Figueroa’s surprising departure, opting out of his deal after the 2026 season. This made him a free agent for the first time at age 33. It also marked the end of his run in CABA. Ghosts fans were sad to see him go, but he remained popular for his role in the dynasty and his #44 uniform would later be retired.

Although he left the region, Figueroa did continue to represent his native El Salvador in the World Baseball Championship. He was a regular from 2017-31 and played 159 games with 142 hits, 88 runs, 20 doubles, 37 home runs, 76 RBI, .248/.317/.490 slash, and 4.3 WAR.

Figueroa left for Major League Baseball and signed a four-year, $72 million deal with Hartford. He wasn’t exceptional or award winning with the Huskies, but he gave them four years as a very reliable and solid starter. Hartford ultimately hovered around the .500 mark during his time there. Figueroa played 573 games with 608 hits, 348 runs, 84 doubles, 129 home runs, 361 RBI, .278/.323/.510 slash, 126 wRC+, and 16.5 WAR. He did lose about two months in his final summer in Connecticut to a fractured thumb.

Now 37-years old heading into 2031, Figueroa was a free agent again. Teams were generally averse to a guy his age and he had to settle for a two-year, $15,600,000 deal with Timor of the Oceania Baseball Association. Figueroa fell completely off a cliff in 2031 with the Tapirs and was reduced to a bench role in 2032. In 179 games, he had -1.2 WAR, .580 OPS, and 63 wRC+. He wanted to still play in 2033, but was clearly completely washed at this point. Figueroa retired in the winter of 2033 at age 40.

For his combined pro career, Figueroa had 2723 hits, 1438 runs, 374 doubles, 125 triples, 517 home runs, 1548 RBI, 475 walks, 1568 strikeouts, 504 steals, a .297/.338/.534 slash, 133 wRC+, and 80.9 WAR. As a combined resume, those numbers would usually be plenty. However, Figueroa’s candidacy for the Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame was to be primarily based on the 11 seasons with Guatemala.

With the Ghosts, Figueroa had 1705 games, 1992 hits, 1041 runs, 271 doubles, 102 triples, 380 home runs, 1148 RBI, 338 walks, 1059 strikeouts, 428 steals, .310/.349/.561 slash, .910 OPS, 141 wRC+, and 65.6 WAR. The shorter tenure meant he was outside of the top 100 in all stats. Even getting some partial credit for his post-CABA years, there were voters who felt his totals were very borderline.

However, the strong playoff stats and role in Guatemala’s dynasty made a huge difference. Figueroa was top 30 for most playoff stats in CABA, had two CLCS MVPs and a finals MVP. Nine Gold Gloves and two MVP wins also went a very long way with many voters favoring important accolades like that over the counting stats. Still, those who fixate on tallies kept Figueroa to only 66.9% upon his debut ballot. Since 66% was the threshold, this was just enough for a first ballot selection as part of CABA’s 2034 class.

08-21-2025, 06:04 PM	#2398
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,853	2034 CABA Hall of Fame The Central American Baseball Association had two players inducted on the first ballot for the Hall of Fame in 2034, but neither guy was a lock. C Luis Moran had 70.9% and RF James Figueroa got 66.9%, both narrowly crossing the 66% requirement. 1B Hasan Alvizo painfully missed out at 64.5% on his tenth and final chance. Three other returners were above 50% with LF Marvin Orellana at 55.1% on his ninth ballot, RF Jose Leal with 55.1% for his second go, and 1B Ivan Moran at 51.4% on his ninth try. For Alvizo, he was hurt by a lack of longevity with some injuries in his 15-year career. He won MVP in 2011 for Panama and had two Silver Sluggers, finishing with 1849 games, 2223 hits, 1126 runs, 336 doubles, 117 triples, 413 home runs, 120 RBI, 521 walks, .326/.372/.591 slash, 154 wRC+, and 59.5 WAR. Playing on mostly weaker teams didn’t help, but he still got close despite the borderline resume. Alvizo’s 64.5% finish was his best with a low of 46.4% the prior year. Most agreed he was best left to the Hall of Pretty Good. 3B Alexander Trinidad also was dropped after ten ballots, although he didn’t get as close with a finish of 9.5% and a peak of 40.0% in 2026. He was arguably more statistically impressive than Alvizo over his 16-year career with three Silver Sluggers, 2320 games, 2317 hits, 1364 runs, 433 doubles, 543 home runs, 1365 RBI, 750 walks, .273/.331/.534 slash, 142 wRC+, and 81.7 WAR. On the bad side, Trinidad struck out a lot and his 2556 whiffs rank as the fifth-most in CABA history as of 2037. Still, he ranks 74^th in WAR for position players and 50^th in home runs. Trinidad also won pennants with both Mexicali and Torreon with strong showings in both runs. Despite that, he never got any serious momentum towards induction. Luis Moran – Catcher – Cancun Captains – 70.9% First Ballot Luis Moran was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting catcher from Allende, Mexico; a town of 35,000 in the northeast. Moran’s home run power and eye for walks were both quite good, especially for a catcher. His 162 game average got you a healthy 32 homers along with 20 doubles and 3 triples. Against right-handed pitching, Moran was a good contact hitter and had a career .924 OPS and 153 wRC+. He was actively bad against lefties with a .621 OPS and 73 wRC+. Moran also struggled with strikeouts against both sides, but especially versus LHP. As you’d expect from a catcher, Moran’s speed and baserunning were terrible. He also was a pretty lousy defensive catcher, but teams were willing to put up with that in exchange for the strongest bat available at the spot in all of CABA. Moran’s durability was quite solid over a 20-year career at a very demanding spot. He was also a good team player and became popular amongst teammates and fans. Moran was one of the highest-rated catching prospects in a long while and made many top five boards for the 2008 CABA Draft. Cancun picked him third overall and he’d be a full-time starter eight years for the Captains. Moran won Silver Sluggers in each of his Cancun seasons and was always good for 4.5 WAR. He took second in 2009’s Rookie of the Year voting. Moran was quickly viewed as the best offensive catcher in the Mexican League. Cancun was a 2003 expansion team and stayed at the bottom of the standings for a long while not getting a winning season until 2024. Moran did help them to 81-81 in 2011, their only non-losing season until 2024. The fans appreciated his efforts though and he’d be the Captains’ first Hall of Famer. Moran’s #9 uniform would also be the first retired by the franchise. 2012 had his career highs for hits (154), runs (84), RBI (92), triple slash (.321/.386/.596), OPS (.982), wRC+ (177), and WAR (7.5). After the 2012 season, Moran signed an eight-year, $108,100,000 extension with Cancun. That season, he also picked up All-Star Game MVP honors. Moran would become a staple of the game and would be selected 16 times as an all-star. With the Captains making seemingly no progress towards team success, Moran opted out of his contract after the 2016 season, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 30. With Cancun, Moran played 1129 games with 1072 hits, 577 runs, 170 doubles, 223 home runs, 615 RBI, 442 walks, .291/.367/.529 slash, 151 wRC+, and 44.7 WAR. He ended up signing a seven-year, $84,500,000 deal with Nicaragua. Moran spent six years with the Navigators and won Silver Sluggers in 2018, 2019, and 2022. He did notably miss the entire 2020 season because of a torn PCL in spring training. Nicaragua had been competitive in recent memory with pennants in 2008 and 2014, but they had only losing seasons during Moran’s tenure. He hadn’t gotten to play in any big games yet apart from the World Baseball Championship with Mexico. His WBC stats were unremarkable from 2010-28 with 122 games, 65 hits, 42 runs, 13 doubles, 18 homers, 40 RBI, .181/.294/.372 slash, and 1.2 WAR. Moran was notably a starter for the 2015 runner-up Mexican squad, but had an abysmal .393 OPS, -0.6 WAR, and 46 strikeouts in 23 starts. Moran was still quite steady with Nicaragua over 685 games with 592 hits, 346 runs, 84 doubles, 145 home runs, 345 RBI, .258/.340/.496 slash, 127 wRC+, and 24.0 WAR. He had one year left on his deal entering 2023, but the Navigators traded him for prospects to Honduras. Moran’s first season with the Horsemen was his weakest statistically to that point, but they still gave him a three-year, $29 million extension after the season. He inked another three-year, $54,800,000 extension in September 2026. In 2026, Moran won his 12^th and final Silver Slugger. This set the CABA position record, passing 11-time winners Mar Pavia and Chip Perez. Apart from that year, he had merely decent production and started to get used more in a platoon role in his later years. Still, he was a passable starter for a squad that started up another playoff streak in 2023. Honduras had wild cards and first round exits from 2023-25. In 2026, the Horsemen got the top seed at 105-57, but lost to Bahamas in the Caribbean League Championship Series. They had a first round exit and division title in 2027. Then in 2028 as a 102-win wild card, Honduras beat the Buccaneers to take the Caribbean crown. They then went onto defeat Leon for the CABA Championship. Moran’s career playoff stats were lackluster over 31 games with 18 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 5 homers, 11 RBI, .191/.283/.383 slash, 80 wRC+, and 0.1 WAR. He was used only five games in the Baseball Grand Championship, but did go 4-15 with a homer. Honduras finished 11-8 in the event, tied for seventh. In that season, he also joined the 500 home run club; only two other CABA catchers had even breached 300. For Honduras, Moran had 713 games, 545 hits, 318 runs, 63 doubles, 134 home runs, 306 RBI, 248 walks, .239/.313/.452 slash, 108 wRC+, and 14.8 WAR. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria in his contract and was let go for 2029. Moran wanted to still play, but wasn’t signed all season and eventually retired that winter at age 43. Moran finished with 2527 games, 2209 hits, 1241 runs, 317 doubles, 41 triples, 502 home runs, 1266 RBI, 974 walks, 2346 strikeouts, .268/.344/.498 slash, 132 wRC+, and 83.4 WAR. As of 2037, Moran ranks 51^st in games, 94^th in runs, 71^st in home runs, 18^th in walks, 19^th in strikeouts, and 70^th in WAR among position players. Among CABA catchers, Moran is the career leader in slugging, OPS, runs, total bases (4114), homers, RBI, and walks. He does rank third in WAR behind Chip Perez (93.9) and Mar Pavia (91.1), who many cite as being better all-around catchers. Both of those guys won Gold Gloves along with solid bats and Pavia in particular played a big role in CABA’s first-ever dynasty with Tijuana in the 1910s. Still, Moran has a case for being the best batting catcher and/or the best power-hitting catcher in the Central American Baseball Association’s history. He’s rarely outside of the top three for the position in league history. Still, the usual biases voters seem to hold against the position kept Moran to only 70.9% in his ballot debut. That was still enough for a first ballot nod as part of the two-player Hall of Fame class for 2034. James Figueroa – Right Field – Guatemala Ghosts – 66.9% First Ballot James Figueroa was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Mejicanos, El Salvador; a district of 141,000 people within greater San Salvador. Figueroa was good-to-great in terms of contact and power. He was better than most in CABA at avoiding strikeouts, but was subpar at drawing walks. Figueroa’s 162 game average got you 34 home runs, 25 doubles, and 8 triples. You weren’t going to generally get league-leading stats, but he provided a steady diet of extra-base hits. Figueroa’s stats were stronger facing right-handed pitching (.909 OPS, 141 wRC+) compared to lefties (.769 OPS, 110 wRC+). His speed and baserunning ability graded as generally solid. Figueroa spent the vast majority of his career in right field and was an excellent defender, winning nine Gold Gloves. He occasionally played center and had good production there as well. Figueroa’s durability was impressive, playing 140+ games in all of his CABA seasons. He was considered a good leader, but his overall intelligence and loyalty graded as subpar. Still, Figueroa was very well liked at each of his career stops. In the 2015 CABA Draft, Figueroa was picked 23^rd overall by Guatemala and spent his entire 11-year CABA run with the Ghosts. He was a full-time starter immediately with decent results as a rookie offensively and his first Gold Glove. Figueroa became a great starter after that and was good for 5+ WAR in each of his remaining Guatemala seasons except for 2025. Figueroa’s additional Gold Gloves came in 2017, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. In 2017, he hit for the cycle against Panama. In 2020, Figueroa had his finest season and his only one as a Caribbean League leader. He led in runs (118), homers (49), RBI (134), total bases (424), slugging (.684), OPS (1.075), wRC+ (185), and WAR (10.5). Those were all career bests as were his 228 hits, .368 average, and .391 OBP. He won his first MVP and Silver Slugger and would’ve been a Triple Crown winner if not for Haiti’s Fabino Salasar and his .393 average. Guatemala finished 85-77 that year and missed the wild card by four wins. They had been stuck in perpetual mid-ness for most of the decade, but with Figueroa’s leadership, they soon became a regular contender. In 2021, he repeated as MVP and won another Silver Slugger with 7.9 WAR, 31 homers, and .977 OPS. The Ghosts took the top seed at 109-53, but got upset in the first round by Havana. Still, they knew they were on the cusp and gave Figueroa an eight-year, $129,600,000 extension that winter. Figueroa never reached MVP or Silver Slugger caliber again in the regular season, but he remained a reliable starter. He did hit for the cycle in 2023 against Nicaragua, becoming one of the select few to do it twice in a career. Most importantly, he stepped up huge in the postseason as Guatemala built a dynasty. From 2022-25, they won 106, 105, 108, and 115 games; winning four consecutive Caribbean League titles. They were the first CL team to four-peat since Salvador in the 1990s. Guatemala won the 2022 CABA Championship over Juarez, but dropped the 2023 final to 117-win Mexico City. The Ghosts reclaimed the title in 2024 against Tijuana, but couldn’t repeat in 2025 thanks to the Jesters. Figueroa was the CLCS and CABA Championship MVP in 2022 and won CLCS MVP again in 2025. For his playoff career, Figueroa started 72 games with 94 hits, 40 runs, 12 doubles, 20 home runs, 53 RBI, 23 steals, .341/.362/.616 slash, 163 wRC+, and 3.8 WAR. The Ghosts’ first Baseball Grand Championship trip saw a 10-9 record and 11^th place finish in 2022. In 2023, they finished 13-6 and were second only to 14-5 Dhaka for the title. Guatemala took 12^th in 2024 at 9-10 and eighth in 2025 at 11-8. Over 75 starts, Figueroa had 70 hits, 37 runs, 11 doubles, 18 home runs, 46 RBI, .265/.340/.519 slash, and 2.5 WAR. He was a critical reason that the Ghosts became THE top Caribbean team in four straight years. Guatemala was 104-58 in 2026, but lost the division by a win to Honduras and lost in the first round. Their playoff streak continued through 2030, but they never made it back to the CLCS. A big reason for that was likely Figueroa’s surprising departure, opting out of his deal after the 2026 season. This made him a free agent for the first time at age 33. It also marked the end of his run in CABA. Ghosts fans were sad to see him go, but he remained popular for his role in the dynasty and his #44 uniform would later be retired. Although he left the region, Figueroa did continue to represent his native El Salvador in the World Baseball Championship. He was a regular from 2017-31 and played 159 games with 142 hits, 88 runs, 20 doubles, 37 home runs, 76 RBI, .248/.317/.490 slash, and 4.3 WAR. Figueroa left for Major League Baseball and signed a four-year, $72 million deal with Hartford. He wasn’t exceptional or award winning with the Huskies, but he gave them four years as a very reliable and solid starter. Hartford ultimately hovered around the .500 mark during his time there. Figueroa played 573 games with 608 hits, 348 runs, 84 doubles, 129 home runs, 361 RBI, .278/.323/.510 slash, 126 wRC+, and 16.5 WAR. He did lose about two months in his final summer in Connecticut to a fractured thumb. Now 37-years old heading into 2031, Figueroa was a free agent again. Teams were generally averse to a guy his age and he had to settle for a two-year, $15,600,000 deal with Timor of the Oceania Baseball Association. Figueroa fell completely off a cliff in 2031 with the Tapirs and was reduced to a bench role in 2032. In 179 games, he had -1.2 WAR, .580 OPS, and 63 wRC+. He wanted to still play in 2033, but was clearly completely washed at this point. Figueroa retired in the winter of 2033 at age 40. For his combined pro career, Figueroa had 2723 hits, 1438 runs, 374 doubles, 125 triples, 517 home runs, 1548 RBI, 475 walks, 1568 strikeouts, 504 steals, a .297/.338/.534 slash, 133 wRC+, and 80.9 WAR. As a combined resume, those numbers would usually be plenty. However, Figueroa’s candidacy for the Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame was to be primarily based on the 11 seasons with Guatemala. With the Ghosts, Figueroa had 1705 games, 1992 hits, 1041 runs, 271 doubles, 102 triples, 380 home runs, 1148 RBI, 338 walks, 1059 strikeouts, 428 steals, .310/.349/.561 slash, .910 OPS, 141 wRC+, and 65.6 WAR. The shorter tenure meant he was outside of the top 100 in all stats. Even getting some partial credit for his post-CABA years, there were voters who felt his totals were very borderline. However, the strong playoff stats and role in Guatemala’s dynasty made a huge difference. Figueroa was top 30 for most playoff stats in CABA, had two CLCS MVPs and a finals MVP. Nine Gold Gloves and two MVP wins also went a very long way with many voters favoring important accolades like that over the counting stats. Still, those who fixate on tallies kept Figueroa to only 66.9% upon his debut ballot. Since 66% was the threshold, this was just enough for a first ballot selection as part of CABA’s 2034 class. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)