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FuzzyRussianHat · 07-27-2023, 04:49 AM

The Central American Baseball Association added only one player with its 1969 Hall of Fame class. If there was ever a player worthy of standing alone though, it was 1B Prometheo Garcia. He got the first ballot nod at 97.6%, which is frankly too low of a percentage for arguably Mexico’s greatest-ever hitter. SP Tirso Sepulveda was the next highest on his third ballot, falling short of the 66% threshold with a respectable 59.8%. 1B Salvador Islas was the only other player above 50% with 51.0% on his fifth try.

One player was dropped after ten failed attempts on the CABA ballot. LF Curtis Velazquez was a Panamanian who had a 19 year career with three Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. Primarily with Nicaragua in CABA, he had 2147 hits, 1190 runs, 263 doubles, 211 triples, 406 home runs, 1174 RBI, and 80.0 WAR. If his four season, 15.5 WAR run with Seattle in his 30s was included, his resume may have been solidified. But his CABA stats alone, the Navigators being a bottom-tier franchise and general lack of league-leading accolades banished Velazquez to the Hall of Very Good. He got as high as 51.5% on his fifth ballot before ending at a paltry 24.3%.

Prometheo “Nitro” Garcia – First Baseman – Guadalajara Hellhounds – 97.6% First Ballot

Prometheo Garcia was a 5’10’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Ojinaga; a rural Mexican border town just across from western Texas. He was renowned as one of the best-ever contact hitters, graded as a 10/10 in his best years. Garcia won an unprecedented 13 batting titles in his Mexican League career. Not only could he hit for contact, but he had great power as well, leading in home runs five times and RBI seven times. Garcia was respectable at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. His speed was subpar, but he was considered a smart baserunner. Garcia was a career first baseman and graded out as delightfully average defensively. Most importantly, Garcia was a true ironman who missed nine days to injury for entire storied career, allowing him to remain a strong player into his 40s.

Garcia’s talent was immediately spotted during his amateur career, making him highly sought after without attending college. Guadalajara would select him second overall in the 1942 CABA Draft and he would play all but his final CABA season with the Hellhounds. Garcia struggled immediately jumping to the pros in 38 games at age 20. Guadalajara wisely let him develop on the reserve roster in 1944, then brought him back at age 22 for the 1945 season. From there, he lived up to the hype and more.

His first full season was his first batting title of 13 and his first of 14 CABA Silver Sluggers. He won it again in 1946, 49, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, and 62. He would lead the Mexican League in hits 14 times, runs seven times, WAR 10 times, OPS eight times, and wRC+ seven times. Garcia’s first CABA MVP game in 1946, followed by his second in 1949, third in 1951, fourth in 1954, fifth in 1955, sixth in 1958, seventh in 1959, and eighth in 1962. Garcia was behind only Kiko Velazquez’s ten for most MVPs in CABA history.

Garcia would pass a mark set by Velazquez many felt was untouchable. Garcia won the Triple Crown five times, passing the impressive four Triple Crowns by Velazquez. He did it for the first time in 1949 with perhaps the greatest season in CABA history for a hitter. He became the first batter in any professional league to bat above .400 with a .406; which would only get passed once later in CABA. The 14.2 WAR still stands as the all-time best season for a CABA hitter as does the 252 hits in a season; which was a world record at the time as well. In addition, Garcia scored 117 runs, socked 55 dingers, and had 140 RBI.

His second Triple Crown was 1951 with only a .350 average, 44 home runs, and 119 RBI. The third was 1954 with a .350 average, 44 home runs, and 117 RBI. He followed that up with a .370 average, 54 home runs, and 122 the next year. The final Triple Crown was 1959 at age 36, boasting a .369 average, 51 home runs, and 141 RBI.

Despite his heroics, Guadalajara was not a great franchise in his run, They only made the playoffs five times and never won the Mexican League title. In 27 playoff games for the Hellhounds, Garcia had 38 hits, 12 runs, 7 home runs, and 16 RBI; certainly he wasn’t the problem. He would get the chance to be clutch for the Mexican National Team as a World Baseball Championship mainstay from 1947-66. In 234 tournament games, Garcia had 262 hits, 169 runs, 81 home runs, 188 RBI, a .302 average, and 13.5 WAR. He was twice a finalist for tournament MVP and won rings for Mexico in 1949, 1950, and 1963. As of 2037, he is one of 15 players in tournament history with 80+ career home runs and is ninth all-time in hits and 11^th in WAR.

Garcia was the pride of Mexican baseball and a hero in Guadalajara with his #11 uniform getting retired. At age 39, he hadn’t lost a step, but the Hellhounds decided to trade Garcia away to Juarez for the 1962 season for five prospects. The Jesters went 103-59 to give Garcia his lone Mexican League title, although the CABA Championship would remain elusive as they fell in the final to Santo Domingo.

This would be Garcia’s final CABA season with final totals of 3871 hits, 1850 runs, 535 doubles, 753 home runs, 2042 RBI, a .350/.395/.615 slash and 1.010 OPS, wRC+ of 203 and 166.8 WAR. He was CABA’s WARlord, hit king, home run king, RBI king, runs king, and batting average leader. As of 2037, he remains CABA’s hitting WARlord and the leader all-time in singles, second in hits, fifth in home runs, fifth in runs scored, and fifth in RBI. It would take a tremendous effort from other greats in later higher offensive eras to even come close to Garcia’s tallies.

And he still had six more seasons of professional baseball that weren’t added to those CABA tallies. Had Garcia not left for Major League Baseball, he likely would’ve put many of those records completely out of reach and been the undisputed CABA GOAT, as opposed to merely a top contender for that designation.

Garcia entered free agency for the first time at age 40 and signed for the 1963 season with San Francisco on a three year, $456,000. He immediately proved he wasn’t just hype from a perceived weaker league with a historic MLB debut season, Garcia smacked 52 home runs and led the American Association in hits runs, RBI, and OPS. This earned him his ninth MVP award, one of a very select few to win MVP in multiple leagues and one on an even shorter list to win an MVP in his 40s. Garcia also won his first of two MLB Silver Sluggers and his only one to come as a designed hitter; giving him 16 for his career. He regressed a bit in his second year with the Gold Rush, but returned more to form in 1965, putting up 16.8 WAR, 614 hits, 112 home runs, and 351 RBI in his SF tenure. The Gold Rush in 1965 got to the AACS, but fell to Memphis.

The now 43-year old Garcia became a free agent again and signed a three-year, $618,000 deal with Toronto. This marked the end of his time as an elite hitter, although he was still a decent starter for the Timberwolves. 1966 also marked his final WBC appearance. After the 1968 season, Garcia finally ended his incredible career at age 46; one of a very select few to stick around that long.

For his entire professional career, Garcia had 4917 hits, 2374 runs, 670 doubles, 928 home runs, 2618 RBI, 8515 total bases, a .339/.384/.587 slash, and 189.1 WAR. At retirement, no one was close to Garcia in hits, homers, RBI, or hitting WAR with only MLB’s Stan Provost narrowly behind in runs scored and just ahead in doubles. His 3784 games played was also the most ever and would remain #1 as of 2037, even as other legends in more hitter-friendly leagues and eras would catch some of the other numbers.

There would be a few 200+ WAR position players, boosted by excellent defensive production along with their bats. A couple would cross 1000 home runs with one even getting to 3000 RBI. His hold on the most hits would only finally fall with the first 5000+ batter in 2031. Still, really only Kiko Velazquez matches up with Garcia for CABA’s hitting GOAT with comparable rate stats and MVP tallies. Few would argue against Prometheo Garcia being the best hitter of his generation in any professional league, but he also has a notable case as possibly the best pure hitter in pro baseball history.

07-27-2023, 04:49 AM	#450
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,617	1969 CABA Hall of Fame The Central American Baseball Association added only one player with its 1969 Hall of Fame class. If there was ever a player worthy of standing alone though, it was 1B Prometheo Garcia. He got the first ballot nod at 97.6%, which is frankly too low of a percentage for arguably Mexico’s greatest-ever hitter. SP Tirso Sepulveda was the next highest on his third ballot, falling short of the 66% threshold with a respectable 59.8%. 1B Salvador Islas was the only other player above 50% with 51.0% on his fifth try. One player was dropped after ten failed attempts on the CABA ballot. LF Curtis Velazquez was a Panamanian who had a 19 year career with three Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. Primarily with Nicaragua in CABA, he had 2147 hits, 1190 runs, 263 doubles, 211 triples, 406 home runs, 1174 RBI, and 80.0 WAR. If his four season, 15.5 WAR run with Seattle in his 30s was included, his resume may have been solidified. But his CABA stats alone, the Navigators being a bottom-tier franchise and general lack of league-leading accolades banished Velazquez to the Hall of Very Good. He got as high as 51.5% on his fifth ballot before ending at a paltry 24.3%. Prometheo “Nitro” Garcia – First Baseman – Guadalajara Hellhounds – 97.6% First Ballot Prometheo Garcia was a 5’10’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Ojinaga; a rural Mexican border town just across from western Texas. He was renowned as one of the best-ever contact hitters, graded as a 10/10 in his best years. Garcia won an unprecedented 13 batting titles in his Mexican League career. Not only could he hit for contact, but he had great power as well, leading in home runs five times and RBI seven times. Garcia was respectable at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. His speed was subpar, but he was considered a smart baserunner. Garcia was a career first baseman and graded out as delightfully average defensively. Most importantly, Garcia was a true ironman who missed nine days to injury for entire storied career, allowing him to remain a strong player into his 40s. Garcia’s talent was immediately spotted during his amateur career, making him highly sought after without attending college. Guadalajara would select him second overall in the 1942 CABA Draft and he would play all but his final CABA season with the Hellhounds. Garcia struggled immediately jumping to the pros in 38 games at age 20. Guadalajara wisely let him develop on the reserve roster in 1944, then brought him back at age 22 for the 1945 season. From there, he lived up to the hype and more. His first full season was his first batting title of 13 and his first of 14 CABA Silver Sluggers. He won it again in 1946, 49, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, and 62. He would lead the Mexican League in hits 14 times, runs seven times, WAR 10 times, OPS eight times, and wRC+ seven times. Garcia’s first CABA MVP game in 1946, followed by his second in 1949, third in 1951, fourth in 1954, fifth in 1955, sixth in 1958, seventh in 1959, and eighth in 1962. Garcia was behind only Kiko Velazquez’s ten for most MVPs in CABA history. Garcia would pass a mark set by Velazquez many felt was untouchable. Garcia won the Triple Crown five times, passing the impressive four Triple Crowns by Velazquez. He did it for the first time in 1949 with perhaps the greatest season in CABA history for a hitter. He became the first batter in any professional league to bat above .400 with a .406; which would only get passed once later in CABA. The 14.2 WAR still stands as the all-time best season for a CABA hitter as does the 252 hits in a season; which was a world record at the time as well. In addition, Garcia scored 117 runs, socked 55 dingers, and had 140 RBI. His second Triple Crown was 1951 with only a .350 average, 44 home runs, and 119 RBI. The third was 1954 with a .350 average, 44 home runs, and 117 RBI. He followed that up with a .370 average, 54 home runs, and 122 the next year. The final Triple Crown was 1959 at age 36, boasting a .369 average, 51 home runs, and 141 RBI. Despite his heroics, Guadalajara was not a great franchise in his run, They only made the playoffs five times and never won the Mexican League title. In 27 playoff games for the Hellhounds, Garcia had 38 hits, 12 runs, 7 home runs, and 16 RBI; certainly he wasn’t the problem. He would get the chance to be clutch for the Mexican National Team as a World Baseball Championship mainstay from 1947-66. In 234 tournament games, Garcia had 262 hits, 169 runs, 81 home runs, 188 RBI, a .302 average, and 13.5 WAR. He was twice a finalist for tournament MVP and won rings for Mexico in 1949, 1950, and 1963. As of 2037, he is one of 15 players in tournament history with 80+ career home runs and is ninth all-time in hits and 11^th in WAR. Garcia was the pride of Mexican baseball and a hero in Guadalajara with his #11 uniform getting retired. At age 39, he hadn’t lost a step, but the Hellhounds decided to trade Garcia away to Juarez for the 1962 season for five prospects. The Jesters went 103-59 to give Garcia his lone Mexican League title, although the CABA Championship would remain elusive as they fell in the final to Santo Domingo. This would be Garcia’s final CABA season with final totals of 3871 hits, 1850 runs, 535 doubles, 753 home runs, 2042 RBI, a .350/.395/.615 slash and 1.010 OPS, wRC+ of 203 and 166.8 WAR. He was CABA’s WARlord, hit king, home run king, RBI king, runs king, and batting average leader. As of 2037, he remains CABA’s hitting WARlord and the leader all-time in singles, second in hits, fifth in home runs, fifth in runs scored, and fifth in RBI. It would take a tremendous effort from other greats in later higher offensive eras to even come close to Garcia’s tallies. And he still had six more seasons of professional baseball that weren’t added to those CABA tallies. Had Garcia not left for Major League Baseball, he likely would’ve put many of those records completely out of reach and been the undisputed CABA GOAT, as opposed to merely a top contender for that designation. Garcia entered free agency for the first time at age 40 and signed for the 1963 season with San Francisco on a three year, $456,000. He immediately proved he wasn’t just hype from a perceived weaker league with a historic MLB debut season, Garcia smacked 52 home runs and led the American Association in hits runs, RBI, and OPS. This earned him his ninth MVP award, one of a very select few to win MVP in multiple leagues and one on an even shorter list to win an MVP in his 40s. Garcia also won his first of two MLB Silver Sluggers and his only one to come as a designed hitter; giving him 16 for his career. He regressed a bit in his second year with the Gold Rush, but returned more to form in 1965, putting up 16.8 WAR, 614 hits, 112 home runs, and 351 RBI in his SF tenure. The Gold Rush in 1965 got to the AACS, but fell to Memphis. The now 43-year old Garcia became a free agent again and signed a three-year, $618,000 deal with Toronto. This marked the end of his time as an elite hitter, although he was still a decent starter for the Timberwolves. 1966 also marked his final WBC appearance. After the 1968 season, Garcia finally ended his incredible career at age 46; one of a very select few to stick around that long. For his entire professional career, Garcia had 4917 hits, 2374 runs, 670 doubles, 928 home runs, 2618 RBI, 8515 total bases, a .339/.384/.587 slash, and 189.1 WAR. At retirement, no one was close to Garcia in hits, homers, RBI, or hitting WAR with only MLB’s Stan Provost narrowly behind in runs scored and just ahead in doubles. His 3784 games played was also the most ever and would remain #1 as of 2037, even as other legends in more hitter-friendly leagues and eras would catch some of the other numbers. There would be a few 200+ WAR position players, boosted by excellent defensive production along with their bats. A couple would cross 1000 home runs with one even getting to 3000 RBI. His hold on the most hits would only finally fall with the first 5000+ batter in 2031. Still, really only Kiko Velazquez matches up with Garcia for CABA’s hitting GOAT with comparable rate stats and MVP tallies. Few would argue against Prometheo Garcia being the best hitter of his generation in any professional league, but he also has a notable case as possibly the best pure hitter in pro baseball history. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)