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The Central American Baseball Association added three players into its Hall of Fame in the 1963 class. Leading the class was starting pitcher Rolando Pena, a no-doubt first ballot pick at 96.5%. Another pitcher, Gavino Zaldana, also saw a first ballot nod with a solid 81.3%. Also getting in was third baseman Sandro Villanueba. On his fifth attempt, he crossed the 2/3 threshold with 71.2%. Two others, SP Martin Duenas (58.4%, 8^th try) and SP Sheldon Malcolm (52.5%, 4^th try) were above the 50% mark. No players made it to a tenth ballot in the 1963 voting.



Rolando Pena – Starting Pitcher – Mexicali Maroons – 96.5% First Ballot

Rolando Pena was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Villahermosa, the capital of the southern Mexico state of Tabasco. Pena had very good control, solid stuff, and decent movement. His velocity topped at 96-98 mph with an arsenal of a curveball, changeup, and cutter. Pena was also known as a solid defensive pitcher, once winning a Gold Glove. After a great amateur run, Pena was picked third overall by Mexicali in the 1942 CABA Draft and would spent his entire pro career with the Maroons.

He was a part-time starter in his rookie season then moved into the full-time role from thereafter. He had a good second and third season, then broke out in year four. From 1946-1952, he was the Mexican League leader in WAR and FIP- five times. In 1949, he led the league with a career-best 333 strikeouts. In 1947 and 1948, he was third in Pitcher of the Year voting. Pena won it in 1949, 1951, 1952, and 1953. He was widely viewed as the best pitcher in Mexico during this stretch.

During this time as well, Mexicali became the top team in the North Division. They won six straight division titles from 1949-54 and won five Mexican League titles. They were the overall CABA champ in 1953 and 1954. Pena’s playoff stats were actually somewhat underwhelming considering his regular season dominance, posting a 4.01 ERA over 123.1 innings. Still, he was a key reason they were in that position during that run. Pena also pitched for the Mexican team in the World Baseball Championship from 1952-56, including an excellent 1952 tournament with a 1.96 ERA in 41.1 innings for a runner-up squad. He fared better in the tournament with a 2.13 ERA in 80.1 innings.

1954 was the final year of the Mexicali dynasty and for Pena, shoulder inflammation and a herniated disc put him on the shelf for most of the season and the playoffs. He bounced back with a good 1955, leading the league in strikeouts for the second time. The now 34-year old would only have two more seasons left. He suffered a torn labrum in the summer of 1956. He returned in 1957 but was pedestrian in the first half of the season, then missed the second half with more back trouble. Pena opted to retire at the end of the 1957 season at only age 36. Immediately, the Maroons retired his #18 uniform.

The final stats for Pena: 218-150, 2.68 ERA, 3483.2 innings, 3624 strikeouts, 643 walks, 308/429 quality starts, a FIP- of 74, and 91.7 WAR. His final accumulations aren’t at the very top of the leaderboard, but over about an eight year stretch, Pena posted one of the most dominant stretches in Mexican League history. It is a very select group with four Pitcher of the Year awards, making Pena an easy first ballot pick at 96.5%.



Gavino Zaldana – Starting Pitcher – Honduras Horsemen – 81.3% First Ballot

Gavino Zaldana was a 6’6’’, 200 pound left-handed starting pitcher from Jiguani, a small city in eastern Cuba. Despite his height, he wasn’t a fireballer with velocity peaking at 94-96 mph. He threw five pitches and had strong stuff and control, but his movement was lousy. He mixed up a fastball, curveball, forkball, changeup, and circle change. Zaldana was great at changing speeds, but his poor movement meant he was an “extreme flyball” pitcher who could give up a lot of home runs. He allowed the most homers in six different seasons in his career. Fortunately for him, he also led in strikeouts five times to make up for it. Zaldana was a good defensive pitcher, but was chastised by some for a poor work ethic.

Zaldana was discovered as a teenage amateur and skipped the draft, signing a developmental deal in the summer of 1937 with Honduras. He wouldn’t debut until 1943 with four starts at age 22. He started part of the 1944 season, then became a full-time starter from then on. Because of the home runs allowed, he never had a season above 6 WAR. However, he did strike out 290+ batters in seven consecutive seasons.

Honduras was in a dry spell during Zaldana’s 20s, but emerged again with three straight 100+ win seasons from 1953-55. In 1953, they were the Caribbean League champ. In 36 postseason innings, Zaldana was solid with a 2.00 ERA and 50 strikeouts. Arguably his best season was 1955 at age 34, leading the league in WHIP (0.90), strikeouts (291), and wins (22-4). This was his only season in the top three for Pitcher of the Year, taking second. In total with Honduras, he had a 173-137 record, 3.13 ERA, 3009 innings, 3420 strikeouts, and 45.5 WAR.

Coming off that season, Zaldana opted for free agency and secured the bag with Guadalajara, seeing his salary go from a peak of $35,800 to $70,000. He fell off hard and was marginal at best and struggled in the playoffs. He was still on roster but was a healthy scratch in 1957 with only 40 innings, opting for retirement at season’s end at age 37. He did also pitch for the Cuban national team in the World Baseball Championship from 1954-56, posting a 2.00 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 36 innings. The Horsemen would go on to retire his #6 uniform soon after.

Zaldana’s final stats: 189-148, 3.17 ERA, 3322.2 innings, 3696 strikeouts, 585 walks, 274/419 quality starts, a FIP- of 98, and 47.1 WAR. The advanced stats are not kind to him with the home runs allowed and sabremetric-minded people point to Zaldana as one of the weakest CABA Hall of Famers. Strikeouts are sexy though and the voters of his era were wowed by that, not only inducting Zaldana, but as a first ballot guy at 81.3%.



Sandro Villanueba – Third Baseman – Ecatepec Explosion – 71.2% Fifth Ballot

Sandro Villanueba was a 6’2’’, 195 pound right-handed third baseman from Salama, a small town of fewer than 10,000 people in central Honduras. Villanueba was perhaps best known for having a very good eye, becoming only the fourth CABA Hall of Famer at the time with 1000+ walks drawn. He had a few good years in his 20s hitting for average, but was generally viewed as an average at best contact hitter with below average speed. Villanueba had respectable pop in his bat, reliable for around 25 home runs and 25-30 doubles most years. He was exclusively a third baseman in his career and was viewed as slightly above average defensively. Villanueba had a regular spot a lineup for 20 years, but was considered by many to be greedy and disloyal.

Villanueba was spotted as a teenage amateur by a scout from Guadalajara and was signed by the Hellhounds in late 1926. He spent four years on their developmental roster, but never saw the field with Guadalajara. He was shipped in the summer of 1930 to Ecatepec in a five player trade. Villanueba would spend nearly his entire pro career with the Explosion, making his debut at age 22 in 1932. He caught the tail end of the Ecatepec dynasty, earning a CABA Championship ring despite a limited bench role. He was a backup again the next year, then became a full-time starter in 1934. From there, he started 130+ games in all of his remaining 18 CABA seasons.

Villanueba wasn’t one to lead the league in many stats, leading in doubles (44) in 1937 and walks (76) in 1943. Still, he put up four straight 7+ WAR seasons in his late 20s. He won seven Silver Sluggers at third base, coming in 1936, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, and 47. Villanueba never did finish top three in MVP voting, but he gave you good starter production consistently for two decades.

His peak seasons were lean years for Ecatepec, but they had another run of success in 1943 and 1944. They won the Mexican League title both seasons and the CABA title in 1943. Villanueba did bat under .200 in his playoff career with the Explosion, but did add 21 hits, 17 runs, 8 home runs, and 17 RBI in 25 starts. In total with Ecatepec, he had 2308 hits, 1219 runs, 360 home runs, 1163 RBI, a .276/.345/.465 slash and 90.3 WAR. Despite this production and longevity, the Explosion would not retire his number and he would have an icy relationship post-career with the team.

Villaneuba continued to provide his same yearly production well into his 30s, getting his last Silver Slugger at age 37. For the 1949 season, the 39-year old signed with Puerto Rico and gave the Pelicans two seasons with slightly diminished, but still playable numbers. He also started for the Honduras National Team in the first three editions of the World Baseball Championship from 1947-49. In 33 starts, he had 10 home runs, 26 hits, and 16 runs. At age 41, he left for America and signed with Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, seeing his paycheck rise from $25,000 to $44,000. He still was good enough to provide positive value in his year in Boston, despite missing a month to a herniated disc. The Red Sox traded him to Chicago and he put up similar production with the Cubs in 1952. Villanueba returned for one final CABA season with Havana in 1953, although this was easily his weakest season. He would retire after this season at age 43, one of a select few to hang around that long.

Villanueba’s final stats in CABA saw 2692 hits, 1410 runs, 485 doubles, 427 home runs, 1367 RBI, 1045 walks, 196 stolen bases, a .269/.339/.454 slash and 99.4 WAR. His numbers look like they belong on the surface, but for whatever reason, the voters were underwhelmed by Villanueba’s resume. He hovered in the 60% range for his first four times on the ballot. Then on try #5 in 1963, he got the push to 71.2%, earning his spot in the CABA Hall of Fame.