[FuzzyRussianHat]

LF Carlo Mizurado was the only player inducted in Beisbol Sudamerica’s 1952 Hall of Fame class, getting in on his first try with 76.2% of the vote. SP Rey Parisi barely was short on his fourth go as he was at 65.6%, less than a percent off the 66% threshold. Closer Diego Cabanero was the only other player above 50%. No BSA options were dropped after a 10^th ballot.



Carlo “Bats” Mizuardo – Left Fielder – Sao Paulo Padres – 76.2 First Ballot

Carlo Mizuardo was a 6’0’’, 195 pound left-handed outfielder from Florianopolis, a city on Brazil’s Santa Catarina Island Mizurado was known as a strong contact hitter with good reliable power and very solid baserunning speed. His discipline was at times lacking, as he rarely walked and struck out a decent amount, but he picked up a lot of extra base hits in the very defensive early era of Beisbol Sudamerica. He played primarily in left field, although he made a few starts sporadically in center and right. In left, he was considered an excellent fielder, winning the Gold Glove seven straight seasons from 1936-1942.

After a solid amateur career, Mizurado was taken second overall in the 1932 BSA Draft by Sao Paulo, where he played nearly his entire professional career. He was immediately successful, earning Rookie of the Year in 1933. By 1935, he was a top-tier starter, leading the Southern Cone in WAR at 10.1. He had 10.1 WAR again in 1936 and a career best 11.2 in 1941. His lone MVP season was 1941 where he also led the league in the triple slash (.326/.361/.631), wRC+ (227), home runs (39), doubles (38), and hits (190). He was second in MVP voting in 1935, 1936, third in 1937 and 1939; and won five Silver Sluggers.

The Padres finally found success as a franchise towards the end of Mizurado’s run. They made the playoffs from 1942-45, won the Southern Cone title in 1943 and 44, and took Copa Sudamerica in 1944. A severe hip strain kept him out of the 1943 playoff run and a few knee injuries kept caused him to miss some games, but he finally had a chance to experience team success after a decade with Sao Paulo. The Padres would retire his #13 jersey after he was done. After the 1945 season, the 35-year old Mizurado entered free agency and signed with Belo Horizonte, but stunk it up in his one season with the Hogs, retiring at only age 35.

His final statistics: 2038 hits, 963 runs, 294 doubles, 114 triples, 410 home runs, 1028 RBI, a .284/.319/.529 slash and 92.9 WAR. To contemporary eyes, his totals may seem underwhelming, but he played in an incredibly defensive early era. His stellar defense bumped his WAR and he was actually third on the batter leaderboard at retirement. He became very popular in Sao Paulo as a franchise high point in their early years and deserves a first ballot spot in the HOF, even at only 76.2%.