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Pitcher Eusebio Mendoza was the lone inductee into the Beisbol Sudamerica Hall of Fame in 1992. He was a first ballot nod, but by the slimmest possible margins with 66.7%. 1B Cy Cavazos was close enough on his ninth try, but still short with 62.0%. Two others were above 50% with RF Jasper Saucedo at 56.1% on his second ballot and SP Robinson Moreira at 50.6% for his third attempt.




One player was dropped after ten ballots in SP Pizarro Salinas, who had a 12-yaer career with five teams. Salinas had a 182-118 record, 2.94 ERA, 2827.2 innings, 2663 strikeouts, and 54.3 WAR. A nice career, but he lacked big stats and accolades, plus he was dinged for bouncing around in his career. Salinas debuted with 28.6% and bottomed out at 8.6%.



Eusebio Mendoza – Pitcher – Brasilia Bearcats – 66.7% First Ballot

Eusebio Mendoza was a 6’1’’, 205 pound right-handed pitcher from Comodoro Rivadavia, a city with around 180,000 people in southeastern Argentina. It is the most populous city in the world south of the 45th parallel. Mendoza had excellent stuff and very good control, although his movement was terrible. He had 96-98 mph peak velocity on his fastball and mixed it with a splitter, cutter, and changeup. Mendoza had an extreme flyball tendency and had troubles allowing home runs, allowing the most in the league four times. However, his stuff and control gave him a very good K/BB ratio and allowed him to succeed. Mendoza also had great stamina and durability along with a tireless work ethic.

As a 16-year old, he was noticed by a scout visiting Argentina from Fortaleza. Mendoza singed in late 1967 with the Foxes and made his debut in 1971 at age 20. He made a few spot starts in his first three seasons as the team didn’t think he was quite ready for a full-time spot. Mendoza received a Copa Sudamerica ring as the Foxes won the 1972 title, although he didn’t participate in the postseason. Unfortunately for Mendoza, he wouldn’t have a single playoff start in his career.

Mendoza became a full-time starter in 1974 and 1975 and was one of the best strikeout pitchers in the Southern Cone League. This also marked the start of his time with Argentina in the World Baseball Championship. From 1974-85, Mendoza had a 4.52 ERA over 71.2 innings with 108 strikeouts and 1.0 WAR. He regressed a bit in 1976 and was later split between the rotation and bullpen. In total with the Foxes, Mendoza had a 45-52 record, 3.58 ERA, 852.1 innings, 1148 strikeouts, and 13.7 WAR.

Mendoza’s woes allowing home runs made Fortaleza leery of giving him a long-term deal. After the 1976 season, he was traded straight up to Brasilia for pitcher Israel Roldan. The Bearcats made him a full-time starter again and he showed some flashes. In 1978, Mendoza had a career-best 2.43 ERA with a league-best 379 strikeouts, 8.1 WAR, and 0.86 WHIP. He took second in Pitcher of the Year voting. 1979 saw him lead in strikeouts and innings, but also in home runs allowed at 57.

In 1980, Mendoza made history with the 34th perfect game in Beisbol Sudamerica history. He did on April 22 with 16 strikeouts against Santiago. Five days later, Brasilia rewarded him with a three-year, $1,328,000 contract extension. That season saw a career and league best 393 strikeouts, but it would be his last great season. Mendoza spent two more seasons with the Bearcats as a full-time starter with the team stuck in the middle of the standings.

Mendoza stuck around three more seasons with Brasilia, but his productivity dropped significantly and he was relegated to spot starts and long relief. In total with the Bearcats, he had a 127-99 record, 3.19 ERA, 2001 innings, 2680 strikeouts to 285 walks, and 31.6 WAR. Mendoza was liked enough by Brasilia that they would later retire his #1 uniform. He signed in 1986 with Rosario and had sporadic and unremarkable use. After going unsigned in 1987, Mendoza retired at age 36.

Mendoza’s final stats: 174-158 record, 3.32 ERA, 2937.2 innings, 3910 strikeouts to 474 walks, 491 home runs allowed, 227/356 quality starts, 100 complete games, a FIP- of 93, and 45.9 WAR. As of 2037, he has the worst WAR of any starting pitcher in the BSA Hall of Fame and one of the weakest ERAs. The advanced stats are not kind to Mendoza with a career ERA+ of 101. Many modern lists cite him among the least deserving of the BSA Hall of Famers. But he had an impressive strikeout rate and came close to 4000 career Ks despite having much fewer innings than the other guys to reach that milestone. Mendoza was also well liked among his peers and the 1992 ballot had no standouts. This helped him get in on the first ballot no less, but barely at 66.7%.