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Medellin had the Bolivar League’s best record in 1966, earning back-to-back North Division titles. The Mutiny finished 105-57, leading the league in both runs scored (701) and fewest allowed (468). Caracas had another good ear at 99-63, but again took second. In the South Division, Callao ended a five-year playoff drought with the Cats on top at 98-64. Lima was second at 93-69, followed by La Paz at 88-74. Quito’s dynasty officially ended after three straight league titles. In 1966, they were fourth in the division at 86-76.

Picking up MVP was Caracas 2B Mateo Aguilar. The 28-year old was the batting champ at .342 and led in hits (209) and WAR (8.4), adding 26 home runs and 97 RBI. Medellin’s Roldan De La Herran won the Pitcher of the Year, having joined the Mutiny in a midseason trade the prior summer from Cali. The 31-year old Colombian was the leader in wins at 25-7 and had the most innings at 308.2. He also led in complete games (19) and shutouts (6), posting 8.8 WAR, a 2.10 ERA, and 314 strikeouts. Notable as well was Cali’s Alfredo Mejia becoming a three-time Reliever of the Year winner. In his penultimate Beisbol Sudamerica season, Mejia had 38 saves and a 1.06 ERA with 132 strikeouts in 84.2 innings.



The Southern Cone League looked very similar from the prior seasons as Santiago and Fortaleza both won their third straight division title. Like the prior two seasons, the Saints had the best record overall, winning the South Division at 105-57. Santiago had 714 runs scored, a solid gap ahead of the next best Foxes at 636. Fortaleza took the Brazil Division at 98-64, six games ahead of Brasilia.

The Foxes had the MVP in Niculao Semide, who had a remarkable first full season. The 24-year old Brazilian 2B started the year as World Baseball Championship Tournament MVP, then followed that up with 9.5 WAR, 38 home runs, 100 RBI, 102 runs, and a .306 average. Cordoba’s Will Feliciano won his third Pitcher of the Year in his seventh full season. The right-handed Argentine was the leader in wins with a 23-8 record and had the most complete games (24) and shutouts (7). He added 9.1 WAR with a 1.89 ERA over 285.2 innings with 308 strikeouts.

Medellin and Callao met for the third time in the history of the Bolivar League Championship Series, as the Mutiny swept them in the first one back in 1931 and the Cats took it in five in 1954. Round three was a seven-game classic claimed by Medellin, giving them their first title since 1947. The Mutiny have six Bolivar League titles to their name now. The Southern Cone Championship was the fifth with Santiago versus Fortaleza and the third straight with the Saints taking it in 1964 and the Foxes winning 1965. The 1966 edition went the distance with Santiago winning 4-3. This gives the Saints three titles in the decade and six overall.



Copa Sudamerica was far less dramatic than the prior round with Santiago sweeping Medellin. The Saints join the Mutiny, Caracas, La Paz, and Buenos Aires for the most overall titles with four each. Three of those for Santiago have come in the 1960s. Finals MVP was 3B Matt Gonzalez, who had 9 hits, 5 runs, 3 home runs, and 8 RBI in 11 postseason games.



Other notes: Brasilia’s Bernardo Borja set the single-season save record with 54 over 89 innings, striking out 119. As of 2037, that remains BSA’s all-time record. Sao Paulo’s Victor Ramos threw a perfect game on April 18, striking out eight against Cordoba. Ishmael Perla won his 13^th Silver Slugger in left field, becoming the second player to reach 13 in BSA. It would be his final, leaving him two short of Hall of Famer Diego Pena’s 15 at shortstop.