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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-31-2023, 06:35 AM

Only slugger Christopher Ross was elected to the MLB Hall of Fame in the 1936 class. Ross finally made the cut narrowly at 67.4% on his fifth ballot. Closer Adelmo Castillo was close but short on his second try at 62.5%. First baseman Israel Bishop, 1B Emanuel McCain, and pitcher Juan Haro each were above 50%.

Three players made it to the 1936 CABA Hall of Fame Class. Pitchers Ulices Montero and Pedro Becerra each were first ballot choices with more than 97% of the vote. Closer Ramiro Aguero on his third try made it in as well at 75.5%. Another pitcher, Sidney Chairez, had a nice first showing but was just shy at 61.9%.

One player made it to his 10^th ballot in pitcher Jay Samson. The Aruban only pitched seven seasons in CABA but picked up 53.8 WAR with Haiti. Had he not left for MLB and been out of baseball at age 33, he might have made it in. Samson peaked at 43.1% on his fifth try.

No one made it in the 1936 East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. The two highest players both were at 41.4%, relievers Ga-On Ko and Dong-Hyeon Park.

Christopher Ross – First Base/Designated Hitter – New Orleans Mudcats – 67.4% Fifth Ballot

Christopher Ross was a 5’7’’, 185 pound left handed batter from Fairburn, Georgia; located just north of Atlanta. Despite his small stature, Ross was known for his excellent home run hitting power. It would be his calling card, as he was never better than an average hitter in the other aspects. He didn’t hit for a great average, was good but not great at drawing walks, rarely hit doubles, and struck out often.

Ross was also a very slow baserunner and a poor fielder. He split his starts roughly 50-50 between first base and designated hitter. Despite the deficiencies, the hard-working Ross put up a notable 15-year MLB career. But being such a one-dimensional player led to him not get elected until his fifth ballot, and even then, barely so in a down year.

After playing college baseball at Louisville, New Orleans picked Ross with the ninth overall pick in the 1910 MLB Draft. He spent eight seasons with the Mudcats, cracking 50 home runs in 1915. He led the American Association in dingers in 1916 and 1917, but he still was relatively unnoticed by the larger baseball fan as New Orleans was a bottom-tier team in his tenure. He hit 328 homers with 1271 hits, 836 RBI, and 29.0 WAR with the Mudcats.

Just before the start of the 1919 season, New Orleans traded Ross to Seattle. He led the AA in homers for the third time in his one season with the Grizzlies, then signed with Charlotte for the 1920 season at age 29. Ross’s career highlight came in his first year with the Canaries when he hit 58 home runs, tying what was the single-season record at the time. Elijah Cashman would hit 61 three seasons later, leaving Ross’s 58 HR, 148 RBI as one relatively quickly forgotten despite being a rare one at that point in history.

He spent two and a half seasons with Charlotte and didn’t get to play on the 1923 Association Champion squad, as the Canaries traded him to Cincinnati midway through 1922. He signed a four-year extension with the Reds and picked up his 500^th home run there; the fourth player to reach the milestone. In 1925, he got to his 600^th homer, the first to the milestone. When he retired after the 1926 season at age 35, he was the all-time career homer leader at 644, although he’d be passed within a decade by Cashman.

The final line for Ross: 644 homers, 1664 RBI, 2378 hits, 1505 runs, a .270/.342/.532 slash and 51.7 WAR. Despite this, he never won an MVP or Silver Slugger, nor did he ever get to even play a single postseason game. The lack of accolades made the debate over Ross’s HOF candidacy a contentious one, requiring five ballots and getting just past the bare minimum at 67.4%. But retiring the career leader with 644 home runs is hard to overlook and eventually that secured him a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Ulices “Fireman” Montero – Starting Pitcher –Santiago Sailfish – 98.7% First Ballot

Ulices Montero was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher born in Santiago de Cuba; although it would be the Dominican Republic’s Santiago that he would become most associated with. Nicknamed “Fireman,” Montero would end up going down as arguably the greatest pitcher in CABA history.

Montero’s velocity was 97-99 mph and he had incredible stuff as he switched between five great pitches; a fastball, slider, curveball, forkball, and changeup. He also had great movement and excellent control with his changeup in particular noted for being deadly; especially when mixed with his other offerings. On top of that, Montero was an impressive leader, earning team captain honors and the respect of everyone he faced. He very quickly was noted as one of Cuba’s most impressive amateurs and when the 1912 CABA draft came around, he’d be picked fifth overall by the Santiago Sailfish, moving him to the DR.

He struggled with walks in his first two seasons, but figured it out in his third season and became elite from there on. Montero was the Caribbean League Pitcher of the Year seven times with the Sailfish, winning it in 1916, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, and 27. He also added league MVP in 1920 in a year with a career-best 1.37 ERA, which also was a single-season record. It got beaten two years later by Lian Llanes, but it remained the second-best single season ERA for more than a century.

He won the Triple Crown that year and also in 1918, led the league in strikeouts nine times and led in WAR 11 times. His 13.8 WAR in 1919 was the second best single season for a century and his 439 strikeouts only second to Brian Kendall’s 441 a century later.

Santiago was a regular Island Division contender during Montero’s tenure. The Sailfish won the Caribbean title in 1916, 1921, and 1923; winning the overall CABA crown in 1916 and 1923. 1921 was Montero’s best showing, allowing only one run in 27 postseason innings. He surprisingly only had one no-hitter, coming in 1915. Montero also had a 20 strikeout game in 1919. He became the first CABA player to 4000 career strikeouts and until 2035, was the only CABA pitcher to 5000+.

Although Montero was still going strong, Santiago entered a rebuilding phase late in the 1920s. The Sailfish traded Montero to Juarez for prospects prior to the 1929 season. In his one year with the Jesters, he earned his 300^th CABA win and was the only pitcher in the 21^st Century to reach the mark.

At age 38, his CABA run was over with the final line of 314-183, 2.31 ERA, 4527.1 innings, 5849 strikeouts with 865 walks, a 0.90 WHIP, and a 165.6 WAR. His WAR total made him the CABA pitching WARlord and he’d second among all CABA players, only one point behind 40s-50s slugger Prometheo Garcia. But despite these historic numbers, his pitching career wasn’t done yet.

For the 1930 season at age 38, Montero made his way to America and signed with the Denver Dragons, where he’d make $9,600 per season compared to his CABA peak salary of $3,780. He was still an all-star even in MLB, leading the American Association in ERA at 2.49 in 1931. Denver traded him to Kansas City and at age 40 in 1932, he led the National Association with 22 wins, becoming one of a very select few to lead multiple leagues in wins. Montero was still worth almost 19 WAR over his first three MLB seasons.

He’d pitch three more seasons in MLB, although he finally regressed in those final seasons. San Diego signed him in 1933 and he struggled, getting traded mid-season with Indianapolis. He pitched two more seasons with the Racers and then retired at age 44 after the 1935 season. He then returned to CABA as a manager and coach.

When you combine his MLB and CABA numbers, Montero had 398 wins, 6796 strikeouts, and 191.7 WAR. Not only does Montero have a strong case as the greatest pitcher in CABA history; he’s in the conversation for the greatest pitcher in the history of professional baseball. The Fireman is a revered figure in his native Cuba and in Caribbean baseball history, a true icon of the sport.

Pedro Becerra – Starting Pitcher – Honduras Horsemen – 97.8% First Ballot

Pedro “Tadpole” Becerra was a 6’1’’, 205 pound right handed pitcher from Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Becerra peaked later in his career with 99-101 mph fire, using his stellar fastball to dominate along with a solid changeup and good curveball. Becerra’s amateur success got the attention of the Honduras Horsemen, who selected him third overall in the 1917 CABA Draft. His entire CABA career would be with Horsemen.

Becerra had some early success, really finding his rhythm in his mid to late 20s. He led the Caribbean League in ERA four straight seasons from 1924-27, also leading in strikeouts and WHIP numerous times in that stretch. His career-best WAR was 10.6 in 1923. In 1923, he pitched two no-hitters. He won Pitcher of the Year in 1925 and 26 and in 26, won the Triple Crown.

Honduras was the class of the Continental Division, winning the title nine times in Becerra’s 12 seasons there. They won the Caribbean League title in 1919, 20, 22, 24, and 26 and in 1926, won the overall CABA title. He posted a 2.43 ERA over 140.2 postseason innings with 176 strikeouts.

Injuries started to plague Becerra once he turned 30. Late in 1927, he suffered a ruptured UCL and midway through 1928, a torn elbow ligament. At the start of April, he had radial nerve decompression surgery, causing him to miss major chunks of his last years with Honduras. His final CABA statistics were 161-77 with a 2.10 ERA over 2354 innings with 2894 strikeouts, a 0.86 WHIP, and 68.6 WAR. The Horsemen would retire his #1 jersey, the first player to earn the honor for the franchise.

Despite the injuries, Becerra tried to revive his career and was signed by MLB’s Brooklyn Dodgers. He spent four seasons there, but injuries prevented him from ever playing more than half a season and kept him at average-at-best production. He was let go by Brooklyn after the 1934 season and signed a deal with Pittsburgh, but at the start of 1935, he suffered another torn UCL. He never threw a pitch for the Pirates and finally had to call it quits.

His accumulations aren’t high on the leaderboards, but his 20s saw one of the best decades thrown by a CABA pitcher. Without the injuries, perhaps Becerra would be thought of as more of an inner-circle Hall of Famer. Still, his accomplishments still netted him a first ballot, 97.8% election in the CABA Hall.

Ramiro Aguero – Closer – Jamaica Jazz – 75.5% Third Ballot

Ramiro Aguero was a 5’5’’, 200 pound right handed closer born in Hormigueros, a small town in western Puerto Rico. The pudgy pitcher had an awesome 99-101 mph fastball and a good slider with excellent movement and good control. Early in his amateur career, Aguero also was a decent hitter and catcher, but he ended up committing to pitching. The Jamaica Jazz selected Aguero in the second round of the 1913 CABA Draft, 50^th overall.

Aguero saw little action in his first two seasons and then spent four seasons in the middle of the bullpen. Aguero finally became the closer in 1920 and held that role for the next six seasons, leading the Caribbean League in saves three times. In 1920, he won Reliever of the Year with 41 saves, a 0.90 ERA, and 4.7 WAR.

The Jazz traded him for five players for the 1926 season to Haiti. At age 34, Aguero won his second Reliever of the Year in his one season with the Herons, with a career high 43 saves and a 1.12 ERA. That would be his last great season. Aguero signed with Brooklyn in 1927 and saw only 14.1 innings, before coming back to CABA for one season with Santo Domingo. He then saw 8.2 innings in 1929 between Pittsburgh and Houston, retiring at age 38.

Aguero’s CABA final line was a 1.59 ERA, 271 saves, 1017 strikeouts over 756.1 innings, a 0.85 WHIP, and 34.3 WAR. His overall numbers are among the weakest of the relievers in the CABA Hall of Fame, but enough voters decided Aguero deserved the induction on the third ballot.

01-31-2023, 06:35 AM	#119
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,968	1936 Hall of Fame Only slugger Christopher Ross was elected to the MLB Hall of Fame in the 1936 class. Ross finally made the cut narrowly at 67.4% on his fifth ballot. Closer Adelmo Castillo was close but short on his second try at 62.5%. First baseman Israel Bishop, 1B Emanuel McCain, and pitcher Juan Haro each were above 50%. Three players made it to the 1936 CABA Hall of Fame Class. Pitchers Ulices Montero and Pedro Becerra each were first ballot choices with more than 97% of the vote. Closer Ramiro Aguero on his third try made it in as well at 75.5%. Another pitcher, Sidney Chairez, had a nice first showing but was just shy at 61.9%. One player made it to his 10^th ballot in pitcher Jay Samson. The Aruban only pitched seven seasons in CABA but picked up 53.8 WAR with Haiti. Had he not left for MLB and been out of baseball at age 33, he might have made it in. Samson peaked at 43.1% on his fifth try. No one made it in the 1936 East Asia Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. The two highest players both were at 41.4%, relievers Ga-On Ko and Dong-Hyeon Park. Christopher Ross – First Base/Designated Hitter – New Orleans Mudcats – 67.4% Fifth Ballot Christopher Ross was a 5’7’’, 185 pound left handed batter from Fairburn, Georgia; located just north of Atlanta. Despite his small stature, Ross was known for his excellent home run hitting power. It would be his calling card, as he was never better than an average hitter in the other aspects. He didn’t hit for a great average, was good but not great at drawing walks, rarely hit doubles, and struck out often. Ross was also a very slow baserunner and a poor fielder. He split his starts roughly 50-50 between first base and designated hitter. Despite the deficiencies, the hard-working Ross put up a notable 15-year MLB career. But being such a one-dimensional player led to him not get elected until his fifth ballot, and even then, barely so in a down year. After playing college baseball at Louisville, New Orleans picked Ross with the ninth overall pick in the 1910 MLB Draft. He spent eight seasons with the Mudcats, cracking 50 home runs in 1915. He led the American Association in dingers in 1916 and 1917, but he still was relatively unnoticed by the larger baseball fan as New Orleans was a bottom-tier team in his tenure. He hit 328 homers with 1271 hits, 836 RBI, and 29.0 WAR with the Mudcats. Just before the start of the 1919 season, New Orleans traded Ross to Seattle. He led the AA in homers for the third time in his one season with the Grizzlies, then signed with Charlotte for the 1920 season at age 29. Ross’s career highlight came in his first year with the Canaries when he hit 58 home runs, tying what was the single-season record at the time. Elijah Cashman would hit 61 three seasons later, leaving Ross’s 58 HR, 148 RBI as one relatively quickly forgotten despite being a rare one at that point in history. He spent two and a half seasons with Charlotte and didn’t get to play on the 1923 Association Champion squad, as the Canaries traded him to Cincinnati midway through 1922. He signed a four-year extension with the Reds and picked up his 500^th home run there; the fourth player to reach the milestone. In 1925, he got to his 600^th homer, the first to the milestone. When he retired after the 1926 season at age 35, he was the all-time career homer leader at 644, although he’d be passed within a decade by Cashman. The final line for Ross: 644 homers, 1664 RBI, 2378 hits, 1505 runs, a .270/.342/.532 slash and 51.7 WAR. Despite this, he never won an MVP or Silver Slugger, nor did he ever get to even play a single postseason game. The lack of accolades made the debate over Ross’s HOF candidacy a contentious one, requiring five ballots and getting just past the bare minimum at 67.4%. But retiring the career leader with 644 home runs is hard to overlook and eventually that secured him a spot in the Hall of Fame. Ulices “Fireman” Montero – Starting Pitcher –Santiago Sailfish – 98.7% First Ballot Ulices Montero was a 6’0’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher born in Santiago de Cuba; although it would be the Dominican Republic’s Santiago that he would become most associated with. Nicknamed “Fireman,” Montero would end up going down as arguably the greatest pitcher in CABA history. Montero’s velocity was 97-99 mph and he had incredible stuff as he switched between five great pitches; a fastball, slider, curveball, forkball, and changeup. He also had great movement and excellent control with his changeup in particular noted for being deadly; especially when mixed with his other offerings. On top of that, Montero was an impressive leader, earning team captain honors and the respect of everyone he faced. He very quickly was noted as one of Cuba’s most impressive amateurs and when the 1912 CABA draft came around, he’d be picked fifth overall by the Santiago Sailfish, moving him to the DR. He struggled with walks in his first two seasons, but figured it out in his third season and became elite from there on. Montero was the Caribbean League Pitcher of the Year seven times with the Sailfish, winning it in 1916, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, and 27. He also added league MVP in 1920 in a year with a career-best 1.37 ERA, which also was a single-season record. It got beaten two years later by Lian Llanes, but it remained the second-best single season ERA for more than a century. He won the Triple Crown that year and also in 1918, led the league in strikeouts nine times and led in WAR 11 times. His 13.8 WAR in 1919 was the second best single season for a century and his 439 strikeouts only second to Brian Kendall’s 441 a century later. Santiago was a regular Island Division contender during Montero’s tenure. The Sailfish won the Caribbean title in 1916, 1921, and 1923; winning the overall CABA crown in 1916 and 1923. 1921 was Montero’s best showing, allowing only one run in 27 postseason innings. He surprisingly only had one no-hitter, coming in 1915. Montero also had a 20 strikeout game in 1919. He became the first CABA player to 4000 career strikeouts and until 2035, was the only CABA pitcher to 5000+. Although Montero was still going strong, Santiago entered a rebuilding phase late in the 1920s. The Sailfish traded Montero to Juarez for prospects prior to the 1929 season. In his one year with the Jesters, he earned his 300^th CABA win and was the only pitcher in the 21^st Century to reach the mark. At age 38, his CABA run was over with the final line of 314-183, 2.31 ERA, 4527.1 innings, 5849 strikeouts with 865 walks, a 0.90 WHIP, and a 165.6 WAR. His WAR total made him the CABA pitching WARlord and he’d second among all CABA players, only one point behind 40s-50s slugger Prometheo Garcia. But despite these historic numbers, his pitching career wasn’t done yet. For the 1930 season at age 38, Montero made his way to America and signed with the Denver Dragons, where he’d make $9,600 per season compared to his CABA peak salary of $3,780. He was still an all-star even in MLB, leading the American Association in ERA at 2.49 in 1931. Denver traded him to Kansas City and at age 40 in 1932, he led the National Association with 22 wins, becoming one of a very select few to lead multiple leagues in wins. Montero was still worth almost 19 WAR over his first three MLB seasons. He’d pitch three more seasons in MLB, although he finally regressed in those final seasons. San Diego signed him in 1933 and he struggled, getting traded mid-season with Indianapolis. He pitched two more seasons with the Racers and then retired at age 44 after the 1935 season. He then returned to CABA as a manager and coach. When you combine his MLB and CABA numbers, Montero had 398 wins, 6796 strikeouts, and 191.7 WAR. Not only does Montero have a strong case as the greatest pitcher in CABA history; he’s in the conversation for the greatest pitcher in the history of professional baseball. The Fireman is a revered figure in his native Cuba and in Caribbean baseball history, a true icon of the sport. Pedro Becerra – Starting Pitcher – Honduras Horsemen – 97.8% First Ballot Pedro “Tadpole” Becerra was a 6’1’’, 205 pound right handed pitcher from Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Becerra peaked later in his career with 99-101 mph fire, using his stellar fastball to dominate along with a solid changeup and good curveball. Becerra’s amateur success got the attention of the Honduras Horsemen, who selected him third overall in the 1917 CABA Draft. His entire CABA career would be with Horsemen. Becerra had some early success, really finding his rhythm in his mid to late 20s. He led the Caribbean League in ERA four straight seasons from 1924-27, also leading in strikeouts and WHIP numerous times in that stretch. His career-best WAR was 10.6 in 1923. In 1923, he pitched two no-hitters. He won Pitcher of the Year in 1925 and 26 and in 26, won the Triple Crown. Honduras was the class of the Continental Division, winning the title nine times in Becerra’s 12 seasons there. They won the Caribbean League title in 1919, 20, 22, 24, and 26 and in 1926, won the overall CABA title. He posted a 2.43 ERA over 140.2 postseason innings with 176 strikeouts. Injuries started to plague Becerra once he turned 30. Late in 1927, he suffered a ruptured UCL and midway through 1928, a torn elbow ligament. At the start of April, he had radial nerve decompression surgery, causing him to miss major chunks of his last years with Honduras. His final CABA statistics were 161-77 with a 2.10 ERA over 2354 innings with 2894 strikeouts, a 0.86 WHIP, and 68.6 WAR. The Horsemen would retire his #1 jersey, the first player to earn the honor for the franchise. Despite the injuries, Becerra tried to revive his career and was signed by MLB’s Brooklyn Dodgers. He spent four seasons there, but injuries prevented him from ever playing more than half a season and kept him at average-at-best production. He was let go by Brooklyn after the 1934 season and signed a deal with Pittsburgh, but at the start of 1935, he suffered another torn UCL. He never threw a pitch for the Pirates and finally had to call it quits. His accumulations aren’t high on the leaderboards, but his 20s saw one of the best decades thrown by a CABA pitcher. Without the injuries, perhaps Becerra would be thought of as more of an inner-circle Hall of Famer. Still, his accomplishments still netted him a first ballot, 97.8% election in the CABA Hall. Ramiro Aguero – Closer – Jamaica Jazz – 75.5% Third Ballot Ramiro Aguero was a 5’5’’, 200 pound right handed closer born in Hormigueros, a small town in western Puerto Rico. The pudgy pitcher had an awesome 99-101 mph fastball and a good slider with excellent movement and good control. Early in his amateur career, Aguero also was a decent hitter and catcher, but he ended up committing to pitching. The Jamaica Jazz selected Aguero in the second round of the 1913 CABA Draft, 50^th overall. Aguero saw little action in his first two seasons and then spent four seasons in the middle of the bullpen. Aguero finally became the closer in 1920 and held that role for the next six seasons, leading the Caribbean League in saves three times. In 1920, he won Reliever of the Year with 41 saves, a 0.90 ERA, and 4.7 WAR. The Jazz traded him for five players for the 1926 season to Haiti. At age 34, Aguero won his second Reliever of the Year in his one season with the Herons, with a career high 43 saves and a 1.12 ERA. That would be his last great season. Aguero signed with Brooklyn in 1927 and saw only 14.1 innings, before coming back to CABA for one season with Santo Domingo. He then saw 8.2 innings in 1929 between Pittsburgh and Houston, retiring at age 38. Aguero’s CABA final line was a 1.59 ERA, 271 saves, 1017 strikeouts over 756.1 innings, a 0.85 WHIP, and 34.3 WAR. His overall numbers are among the weakest of the relievers in the CABA Hall of Fame, but enough voters decided Aguero deserved the induction on the third ballot. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)