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Emmanuel Angel – Left Field – Caracas Colts – 87.5% First Ballot

Emmanuel Angel was a 6’4’’, 195 pound left-handed hitting left fielder from Valencia, Venezuela; the country’s third-largest city at around 1.6 million people. Angel had reliably good-to-great contact and power skills, especially facing right-handed pitching. His 162 game average got you 43 home runs and 113 RBI, along with 28 doubles and 4 triples. Angel was merely okay at drawing walks and struggled with strikeouts.

Angel posted a career .966 OPS and 152 wRC+ facing righties, but he wasn’t bad against lefties with a .872 OPS and 128 wRC+. His speed was below average and his baserunning ability was abysmal, only succeeding on 1/3 of his steal attempts. Despite iffy sped, Angel actually graded as reliably solid defensively in left field. His strong arm played a big role, but his glove work was good too. Angel did run into some knee troubles over a 15-year career that cost him some playing time.

He was a strong clubhouse leader, which made him popular across Venezuela but especially with Caracas. Angel’s entire career came with the Colts, who picked him fifth overall in the 2014 BSA Drat. He saw limited use initially with only 102 games and 90 starts in his first two seasons, struggling to -0.3 WAR. Angel missed a month in 2017 to a hamstring strain, but emerged as a good full-time starter with 4.8 WAR and .914 OPS that year in 127 games.

This also marked the start of run of dominance for Caracas, ending a ten-year playoff drought. From 2017-23, the Colts would win the Venezuela Division and win 100+ games each season. Initially, they couldn’t get over the playoff hump despite winning 117 games in 2019 and 110 in 2020. Caracas was upset in the 2018 and 2019 Bolivar League Championship Series and didn’t even get that far in 2017, 20, or 21.

Angel was starting to thrive, including his first Silver Slugger in 2018 and a second place in MVP voting. That year he scored 139 runs, only two short of the BSA single-season record at the time and it still ranks as the fourth-best. Angel also had his career highs in 2018 for hits (224), doubles (33), homers (50), total bases (419), average (.365), OBP (.407), wRC+ (183), and WAR (9.8). He was BLCS MVP in defeat with a 1.447 OPS over 10 playoff starts. 2018 was also Angel’s first time playing in the World Baseball Championship for Venezuela. From 2018-29, he played 103 games with 80 hits, 52 runs, 14 doubles, 19 homers, 36 RBI, .227/.316/.440 slash, and 2.3 WAR.

He led in homers with 48 in 2019, then led in runs again in 2020 at 110. Angel was third in 2020’s MVP voting. In June 2022, Angel signed an eight-year, $89,800,000 to stay with Caracas. That year, he won his second Silver Slugger and was third in MVP voting. It was Angel’s only time leading the league in WAR (9.1) and saw his career best OPS (1.092) and slugging (.692). He also matched his high for homers with 50.

Caracas finished 114-48 in 2022 and finally got over that playoff hump, beating Cali in the BLCS and Fortaleza in Copa Sudamerica. Angel was LCS MVP, although for the entire run he had a middling .716 OPS and 0.2 WAR. He struggled in the Baseball Grand Championship as well with .575 OPS, 64 wRC+, and -0.1 WAR. Despite his personal woes, the Colts finished 13-6 and had the tiebreaker win over Kampala to claim Grand Champion honors.

In 2023, Caracas was 100-62 and repeated as Copa Sudamerica winners, this time beating Concepcion in the finale. Statistically, Angel had a much better postseason with 25 hits, 10 runs, 6 homers, 14 RBI, 1.081 OPS, and 1.1 WAR in 19 starts. He also did much better in the BGC with 20 hits, 13 runs, 6 doubles, 7 homers, 21 RBI, 1.000 OPS, 200 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. The Colts’ repeat bid failed, but they still earned a very respectable fourth place finish at 12-7.

Angel’s first big injury setback came in 2024 with a torn meniscus in May, limiting him to only 34 games all season. Caracas fell to 89-74, missing the playoffs after losing a divisional tiebreaker game to Valencia. The Colts did bounce back with four more division titles from 2025-28, but they wouldn’t get beyond the divisional round in any of those seasons.

In 2025, Angel had an impressive return from injury by leading with 48 homers and posting 80 WAR. He had three more solid years starting after that, then missed much of 2029 with a fractured finger. Angel’s final season was 2030 and while down from his prime, Angel still posted 30 homers, .832 OPS, and 3.1 WAR in 152 games. Caracas had one final division title with Angel, but lost in the first round.

For his playoff career, Angel had 90 starts with 102 hits, 49 runs, 10 doubles, 26 homers, 67 RBI, .297/.332/.566 slash, 133 wRC+, and 2.9 WAR. For his role in their dynasty run, Angel’s #39 uniform was quickly retired. He wasn’t re-signed after the 2030 season and seemed to still have something left in the tank. However, Angel was unsigned in 2031 and eventually retired that winter at age 38.

Angel finished with 2007 games, 2396 hits, 1310 runs, 347 doubles, 54 triples, 537 home runs, 1404 RBI, 499 walks, 1957 strikeouts, .316/.360/.589 slash, 148 wRC+, and 78.4 WAR. He ranks 69^th in runs, 86^th in total bases (4462), 55^th in homers, 62^nd in RBI, and 85^th in strikeouts. Angel’s .950 OPS is 72^nd among BSA batters with 3000+ plate appearances and his slugging is 62^nd, although he missed the top 100 for WAR.

While he wasn’t an inner-circle level Hall of Famer, Angel was one of the more consistent and steady power hitters of his era. He was certainly a critical piece for Caracas’ dominance of the Venezuela division for more than a decade, winning two cups and a Grand Championship along the way. Angel earned 87.5% of the vote to secure a first ballot spot with the four-man 2036 class for Beisbol Sudamerica.



Nuno Escalante – First Base – Santiago Saints – 67.5% First Ballot

Nuno Escalante was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Arica, Chile; the country’s northernmost city with about 222,000 people. Escalante was a fantastic contact hitter with a low strikeout rate, although he rarely drew walks. He did differ from that traditional lead-off man role though in that he had nice home run power. Escalante also differed as he had terrible speed and baserunning skills.

Escalante’s 162 game average got you 35 doubles, 3 triples, and 29 home runs; so he wasn’t just a singles slap hitter. He was especially potent facing right-handed pitching with a career .938 OPS and 161 wRC+. Facing lefties, Escalante was still respectable with a .781 OPS and 117 wRC+. Excellent durability also pushed him to a 21-year career, playing 140+ games each year from 2016-33.

Defensively, Escalante played almost exclusively at first base and graded as a reliably solid defender. He was a fan favorite with a strong work ethic, helping Santiago to consistent success during his tenure. The Saints picked Escalante 27^th in the 2013 BSA Draft, but he saw limited usage initially. In 2014, he played 96 games with five starts, then had only 14 games and zero starts in 2015.

Santiago made him a full-timer in 2016 with immediate success, starting a seven-year streak as the Southern Cone League leader in hits with at least 6.5 WAR each year. Escalante also won three straight batting titles from 2016-18 and earned MVP honors in 2017 as the WARlord at 9.9. He had 248 hits, a .383 average, and career highs for total bases (420) and homers (42).

Escalante won his only Silver Slugger in 2018, but wasn’t an MVP finalist despite a record-setting 262 hits. This remains the BSA record and ranks as the eighth-best single-season in world history and the second-best outside of West African Baseball Escalante also had a .4068 average, the fifth-best in BSA history and 22^nd-best qualifying season in world history.

Santiago had a four-year playoff streak from 2015-18, but didn’t get beyond the divisional series. After a miss in 2019, the Saints started what would be a league-record 17-year playoff streak in 2020. Santiago defeated Santa Cruz to win Copa Sudamerica in 2020 with Escalante earning series MVP. In 15 playoff starts, he had 23 hits, 14 runs, 5 doubles, 4 homers, 15 RBI, 1.083 OPS, and 1.1 WAR. He continued onto the Baseball Grand Championship with 22 hits, 12 runs, 7 doubles, 5 homers, 13 RBI, 1.065 OPS, 188 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. Santiago finished 8-11 for the event.

Escalante remained a strong playoff performer, even winning LCS MVP in 2022, but Santiago would have to wait until the 2030s for their next pennant despite the streak. They lost in the Southern Cone final in both 2021-22, then had back-to-back one-and-dones despite being the top seed. For his playoff career with the Saints, Escalante had 67 games, 92 hits, 47 runs, 16 doubles, 17 home runs, 52 RBI, .397/.405/.685 slash, 213 wRC+, and 4.2 WAR.

2022 was Escalante’s fourth batting title and second time as the WARlord at 9.8, taking second in MVP voting. He also had his career high of 135 RBI and 1.071 OPS. Escalante had a strong 2023, then had a mere .308 average and 3.5 WAR in 2024; easily the weakest of his starting run. This was in a contract year and Santiago let him leave for free agency at age 33. They eventually retired his #40 uniform for his solid decade of service.

Surprisingly, that was the end of Escalante’s time in Beisbol Sudamerica, although he still had another decade of pro baseball ahead. Although he left the continent, he would still be a regular for Chile in the World Baseball Championship. From 2015-34, Escalante played 183 games with 165 hits, 74 runs, 25 doubles, 30 homers, 78 RBI, .283/.342/.484 slash, and 5.1 WAR. He leads all Chileans in event history in games and hits and ranks third in WAR among position players.

Escalante’s next step came in Turkey with a four-year, $22,400,000 deal with Ankara in the Asian Baseball Federation. He won his lone Gold Glove in 2025 and was a respectable four-year starter there. With the Alouettes between two stints, Escalante played 774 games with 845 hits, 354 runs, 179 doubles, 126 home runs, 401 RBI, .291/.327/.489/ slash, 121 wRC+, and 14.8 WAR.

Back to free agency for 2029 at age 37, he stayed in ABF on a one-year deal with Istanbul. Escalante played 149 games with 152 hits, 67 runs, 34 doubles, 21 homers, 79 RBI, .832 OPS, and 2.6 WAR. He kept chugging along and spent the next two years with Shymkent, playing 286 games with 284 hits, 130 runs, 49 doubles, 45 homers, 156 RBI, .783 OPS, 133 wRC+, and 6.3 WAR.

Escalante stayed remarkably consistent into his 40s, posting 4.0 WAR and .859 OPS in 2032 in Tabriz. He had similar results in a return for 2033 with Ankara. For his ABF tenure, Escalante had 1360 games, 1454 hits, 634 runs, 294 doubles, 222 home runs, 745 RBI, .290/.326/.490 slash, 125 wRC, and 27.7 WAR. This did get him to 3500 hits for his pro career and puts him just outside of the top 50 in all of pro baseball history.

He wanted to keep playing, but the big league teams were done with him. Escalante played in the African Second League from 2034-35 with Blantyre and struggled to -0.5 WAR in 135 games, retiring after the 2035 season at age 44. A2L stats don’t count towards all-time pro totals. Between BSA/ABF, Escalante had 2904 games, 3504 hits, 1534 runs, 642 doubles, 521 homers, 1751 RBI, and 96.8 WAR. He also just misses the world top 50 for doubles.

Just in Beisbol Sudamerica with Santiago, Escalante played 1544 games with 2050 hits, 900 runs, 348 doubles, 38 triples, 299 home runs, 1006 RBI, 251 walks, 292 strikeouts, .361/.388/.594 slash, 179 wRC+, and 69.1 WAR. The short tenure keeps him out of the top 100 for any counting stat, but he does rank fifth in batting average among BSA batters with 3000+ plate appearances. Escalante’s .928 OPS is also good for 31^st and he ranks 26^th in OBP and 54^th in slugging.

Escalante’s Hall of Fame case was a tough one for some voters who valued tenure and raw accumulations. Certainly, Escalante was one of the most efficient hitters in his prime and many voters gave him at least partial credit for his ABF stats. His outstanding playoff stats and role in Santiago’s team success got him just across the line for some skeptics. At 67.5%, Escalante only barely breached the 66% induction threshold, but it was enough for a first ballot nod to cap off the four-player 2036 class.