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The Central American Baseball Association’s 1970 Hall of Fame class had two players inducted, both on the first ballot. Closer Feliz Fuentes was a no-doubter at 96.4%, while 1B Jonathan Suarez made the cut at 76.1%. Starting pitcher Tirso Sepulveda barely missed the 66% cut on his fourth attempt at the HOF, falling short at 65.4%. One other player was above 50% with 1B Salvador Islas at 55.9% on his sixth attempt. No players were dumped after a tenth ballot in the 1970 CABA voting.



Feliz Fuentes – Closer/Relief Pitcher – Mexicali Maroons – 96.4% First Ballot

Feliz Fuentes was a 6’1’’, 195 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Amatlan, a municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz, located about 300 kilometers east of Mexico City. Fuentes was known for having terrific control, strong stuff, and respectable movement. His velocity peaked around 95-97 mph with a one-two punch of a fastball and slider. Fuentes had great stamina for a reliever and very good durability and reliability for most of his career. Fuentes was also a strong leader and a very intelligent player, making him a popular player in each of the clubhouses he played in.

After his amateur and college career, Fuentes was picked in the second round of the 1945 CABA Draft, 32^nd overall, by Merida. In his first two seasons, Fuentes was middle relief. The Mean Green moved him to closer in his third season, leading the Mexican League in saves and finishing second in Reliever of the Year voting. He won the award in 1950 with a career-best 1.56 ERA over 98.1 innings. He led with a career-high 46 saves and 4.8 WAR in 1950, winning the award for a second time. He took second in 1952 and in nearly six seasons with Merida, had 177 saves in 533.2 innings, 206 ERA, 610 strikeouts, and 17.1 WAR.

The Mean Green traded Fuentes in the summer of 1952 to Mexicali in exchange for four prospects. The Maroons had won the Mexican League title in the prior two seasons and would win it again in 1952, 53, and 54; taking the overall CABA crown in 1953 and 54. Fuentes had a key role as Mexicali’s closer, winning his third Reliever of the Year in 1956. In 30.2 playoff innings, Funetes had a stellar 0.59 ERA with nine saves, 27 strikeouts, and 1.2 WAR. He ended up with Mexicali for six-and-a-half seasons and saw his #15 uniform retired for his role in the Maroons dynasty. In total, he had 218 saves, 2.72 ERA, 520.1 innings, 531 strikeouts, and 13.2 WAR.

Fuentes’ Mexicali run ended after the 1959 season at age 37. He signed with Honduras and was middle relief mostly for his two seasons with the Horsemen. Still, there he became the first CABA closer to 400 career saves. He played 1962 with Chihuahua, 1963 with Mexico City, and 1964 with Santo Domingo with limited success and injuries plaguing those runs. Funetes suffered a torn labrum in summer 1964 and retired at the end of the season at age 41.

Fuentes final stats: 430 saves and 519 shutdowns, 2.60 ERA, 1005 games pitched, 1290.2 innings, 1347 strikeouts, 239 walks, a FIP- of 74, and 31.9 WAR. He retired as CABA’s all-time saves leader and leader in games pitched; both marks he still holds as of 2037. No pure reliever inducted into CABA’s HOF had more innings, although others would have more dominant figures in terms of WAR and strikeouts. This longevity and his excellent playoff stats during Mexicali’s dynasty made Fuentes a very firm Hall of Fame choice.



Jonathan Suarez – First Baseman – Nicaragua Navigators – 76.1% First Ballot

Jonathan Suarez was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting first baseman from San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras with a metro population of around 1.5 million. Suarez was a solid contact and power hitter who consistently averaged around a .290 batting average and 35-40 home runs per season. He rarely walked relative to other sluggers with fairly average strikeout rates. Suarez was a slower baserunner and a career first baseman who was viewed as average to below average defensively. Suarez was also a prankster, considered a fun part of the clubhouse. Durability was an additional strength with 139+ starts in all but his first two seasons on the bench.

Suarez became known as a bat with a lot of potential during his amateur and collegiate career. When the 1947 CABA Draft came around, he was picked third overall by Nicaragua. Ultimately, his entire pro career would be with the Navigators. Suarez was a rarely used bench player in his first two seasons with only 42 at-bats, but he would take over the starting role from 1950 through his final year in 1964.

1951 was Suarez’ first standout season, ending with his first Caribbean League MVP and Silver Slugger. He won the batting title at .322 and led the league in hits (202), RBI (121), and OPS (.949). Nicaragua earned its first playoff berth in 30 years as well and would make the playoffs from 1950-52, although they were never able to advance to the final. Suarez’s production dropped in 1952, but he remained a solid starter throughout the rest of his 20s.

Although the Navigators remained a bottom tier franchise in the rest of his run, he emerged as a top hitter more firmly in his 30s. Suarez’ second Silver Slugger came in 1957 and 1958 was his second MVP and third Silver Slugger. 1958 saw a career-best and league lead with 52 home runs and 7.0 WAR. He continued on as a full-time starter through the rest of his 30s, posting 12 seasons of 30+ home runs. Suarez eventually saw his power fall off in 1964 and he retired after the season at age 40. 1964 also ended a lengthy run with the Honduras National Team in the World Baseball Championship. From 1947-64, he had 88 hits, 52 runs, 31 home runs, and 61 RBI over 118 games.

Suarez’ final CABA stats saw 2629 hits, 1309 runs, 405 doubles, 509 home runs, 1485 RBI, a .288/.322/.511 slash, wRC+ of 137, and 65.5 WAR. His #90 uniform was also retired for his long service with the Navigators franchise. Being stuck on a weaker franchise and lower advanced stats made some question Suarez’ Hall of Fame candidacy despite being the 19^th CABA batter to 2500 hits and 17^th to 500 home runs and falling just short of being the seventh to 1500 RBI. His power was enough though to get the first ballot nod with 76.1%.