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Designated hitter Mike Andrades would be the lone inductee for Beisbol Sudamerica’s 1974 Hall of Fame class, earning an excellent 97.7% first ballot nod. Three others were above 50% with SP Raimundo Rodriquez at 54.4% on his second attempt, SP Jon Mancilla at 54.0% in his fifth, and closer Alfredo Mejia at 52.9% in his debut. No players were dropped after a tenth ballot, although three guys are destined for that fate next year.



Mike Andrades – Designated Hitter – Callao Cats – 97.7% First Ballot

Mike Andrades was a 5’11’’, 200 pound left-handed slugger from Urcos, a small town of 10,000 people in eastern Peru. He was one of the excellent power hitters of the era with nine seasons of 35+ home runs and a consistent 30 doubles per year. Andrades was also a great contact hitter, leading the Bolivar League in hits four times and batting average twice. Oddly for a power hitter, he very rarely walked, but he also was better than most at avoiding strikeouts. Andrades had below average speed and the running joke in the clubhouse was that he didn’t even own a glove. Andrades was a career DH who played a whopping 14 total innings of defense in his entire run. Still, he was extremely popular for his bat, leadership, work ethic, and durability.

Even as a teenager, Andrades’ batting potential was hard to miss. Not only was he selected out of high school, but grabbed the first overall pick in the 1949 Beisbol Sudamerica Draft by Callao. He’d spend his entire career with the Cats, making his debut at age 21 in 1952. He was a bench player that year and part-time starter the next year. From 1954 onward, he was the full-time starter and had 140+ starts in all but two of 15 seasons. Andrades led the Bolivar League in hits four times, runs twice, RBI five times, homers once, total bases six times, batting average twice, slugging four times, OPS thrice, wRC+ thrice, and WAR twice.

Andrades would win MVP three times; 1956, 57, and 62. In the latter two, he had an OPS above 1.000 and 9+ WAR even as a DH. 1962 had a career-best 52 home runs and 147 RBI; which was a BSA RBI single-season record that held until 1975. He was also third in 1954’s MVP voting, second in 1958, and third in 1963. Andrades was a seven-time Silver Slugger winner (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 62, 63).

Andrades was a huge reason that Callao became a regular contender for the first time in the 1950s From 1954-60, the Cats made the playoffs five times and won Copa Sudamerica in both 1954 and 1957. In 47 playoff games, he had 52 hits, 21 runs, 12 home runs, 29 RBI, and a .321 average. Andrades also became even more beloved in his native Peru through the World Baseball Championship. From 1954-69, he played 98 games with 76 starts, getting 82 hits, 48 runs, 30 home runs, and 56 RBI.

Andrades was fairly injury free in his 20s, but had his first major setback at age 35 with a broken hand sidelining him for three months. He played all of the next two years, but saw diminished stats in both seasons. After only mustering 17 home runs in 161 games in 1968, Callao didn’t re-sign the now 38-year old Andrades. He went unsigned in 1969 and retired that winter, seeing his #20 uniform retired by the Cats. Andrades was the 11^th BSA batter to reach 500 career home runs and the seventh to 1500 RBI.

The final stats for Andrades: 2854 hits, 1371 runs, 463 doubles, 535 home runs, 1604 RBI, a .308/.335/.551 slash, 154 wRC+ and 81.5 WAR. At retirement, he was third all-time in RBI, fourth in hits, and seventh in home runs. He was even 14^th in hitting WAR despite the statistical punishment of being a DH. Andrades was rightly Peru’s beloved slugger of the era and worthy of the first ballot induction at 97.7%.