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Ysidro Pico – First Baseman – Puerto Rico Pelicans – 79.3% First Ballot

Ysidro Pico was a 5’11’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from the Dominican Republic’s capital Santo Domingo. He was a very solid bat in his prime with strong contact and power skills, leading the Caribbean League in total bases six times. His home run power was quite good for around 30-40 per year, but his gap power made him dangerous as well, good to get around 20 doubles and another 20 or so triples per year. Pico got the extra bags despite having average-at best speed. He very rarely walked and did strike out a bit more than average, but he always made his contact count. Pico was primarily a first baseman with occasional starts in right field or at designated hitter. Defensively, he was quite lousy, but his bat was strong and he was an ironman who was always in the lineup.

Pico was a bit of a late bloomer, although he was spotted as an amateur free agent in 1947 by Guadalajara at age 16. He finally debuted for the Hellhounds in 1953 at age 22, but only had 63 at-bats. After not being used for the first half of 1954, Guadalajara sent Pico and two others to Puerto Rico in the summer for RF Gilbert Abreo. The rest of Pico’s pro career would be with the Pelicans, although he was a rarely used pinch hitter in both 1954 and 1955. He showed potential with 64 regular season starts in 1956 and an excellent playoff run with 14 hits, 6 runs, 3 home runs, and 13 RBI. This helped Puerto Rico to the CABA Championship ring and launched Pico into the starting job for the next decade.

Pico won seven Silver Sluggers with the Pelicans, coming in 1957, 58, 59, 61, 62, 64, and 66. He never won MVP, but did finish third in the voting in both 1963 and 1964. He led the Caribbean League in runs scored five times in his career and scored 100+ runs and had 100+ RBI in nine seasons apiece. Puerto Rico only made it to the playoffs again in 1963 and 1964 in his tenure with early exits, but he’d forever be adored for the 1956 magic; getting his #21 uniform retired after his career.

Pico was popular in PR and back home in the DR, playing for the Dominican Republic from 1958-65 in the World Baseball Championship. He had 55 starts, 55 hits, 34 runs, 23 home runs, and 48 RBI. Pico’s production would drop significantly for the first time in 1967 and after unremarkable 1967 and 1968 campaigns, he retired at age 38.

Pico’s final stats: 2335 hits, 1327 runs, 282 doubles, 253 triples, 451 home runs, 1339 RBI, a .300/.339/.575 slash, 149 wRC+, and 60.4 WAR. Not at the tip top of the CABA leaderboards, but very solid especially with really only a decade of notable years. His popularity and having almost his whole career with one team helped him with voters despite a lack of MVP trophies or big totals, giving Pico the first ballot nod at 79.3%.



Zak Carranza – Right Field – Leon Lions – 66.5% First Ballot

Zak Carranza was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Villaflores, Mexico; a municipality of around 100,000 near the border with Guatemala. In his prime, Carranza was a solid power and contact hitter with a good eye. At full health, he could get you 35-45 home runs per year, although he didn’t double much relative to his power. Carranza was decent at avoiding strikeouts with speed that wasn’t awful, but was still below average. He was a career right fielder and fairly weak in the field, but passable. Carranza was a good leader and was a popular player as a result, but various injuries kept him off the field in significant chunks of his career.

Carranza was highly touted out of college and ended up the second overall pick by Leon in the 1953 CABA Draft. He’d spend his entire career with the Lions and was an immediate starter, earning 1954 Rookie of the Year honors. Year two saw his first of six Silver Sluggers, winning the award in 1955, 57, 58, 60, 61, and 62. In 1957, he led Mexico in home runs (41) and RBI (108). Hamstring and PCL trouble kept him out chunks of 1958 and 1959. He’d lead in homers twice more, peaking with a stellar 1961 with 53 dingers, 134 RBI, 1.050 OPS, and 8.6 WAR. Carranza was MVP this year, his only season in the top three.

Leon was a Mexican League power with seven playoff appearances from 1957-65. They won the Mexican League title in 1959, 60, and 64; and won the overall CABA title in 1959. Carranza was the 1959 finals MVP, posting 13 hits, 6 runs, 3 homers, and 7 RBI in 11 playoff games that year. In 56 playoff games total, he had 62 hits, 24 runs, 10 home runs, 31 RBI, and 2.0 WAR. Carranza also had 33 starts and 59 appearances in the World Baseball Championship for Mexico from 1955-66, posting 46 hits, 33 runs, 17 home runs, 37 RBI, and 3.0 WAR.

Carranza peaked with the 1961 MVP season, but still provided good solid value into his 30s for Leon. The Lions began to drop to the mid-tier as the 1960s ended and Carranza saw his production dip in his last two years. He was only a part-time starter in 1967 and then a bench piece primarily in 1968. He opted to retire after the 1968 campaign at age 37 and would see his #25 uniform retired immediately by the team.

Carranza’s final stats: 2044 hits, 1062 runs, 312 doubles, 461 home runs, 1225 RBI, a .297/.352/.553 slash, 169 wRC+ and 73.3 WAR. Respectable numbers and arguably better than his Hall of Fame classmate Ysidro Pico, but a lot of voters felt Carranza’s tallies were just low enough to miss the cut. However, he had just enough support to get in on the first ballot, even if just barely over the 66.0% threshold with 66.5%.