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Conrado Gonsalez – Starting Pitcher – Torreon Tomahawks – 78.0% First Ballot

Conrado Gonsalez was a 6’3’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Sancti Spiritus, a city with around 215,000 people in central Cuba. Gonsalez was a fireballer with phenomenal stuff and excellent control, although his movement was spotty and led to issues allowing home runs. It was hard to make contact though with 99-101 mph peak velocity on his fastball, along with a terrific slider, screwball, and changeup. Gonsalez was an extreme flyball pitcher, but his stuff was untouchable when he was dealing. He was also a solid defender with respectable stamina and durability.

All of his professional innings came with Torreon, but Gonsalez’s career actually started with Juarez. The Jesters spotted him as a teenage amateur and signed him to a developmental deal in May 1968. He spent six years in the developmental system, but hadn’t progressed to the level that Juarez was wanting. Before the 1974 season, he was traded with veteran 2B Rob Raden and $95,000 to Torreon for veteran RF Yoo-Hyun Kim.

Gonsalez made his debut with the Tomahawks at age 22 and was an occasional back-end starter in his first three years, posting very mediocre numbers. Things finally clicked in his fourth season, which saw him lead the league in WHIP. He also started to show his potential in the World Baseball Championship for his native Cuba. From 1976-87, he pitched 117.2 WBC innings with a 2.75 ERA, 175 strikeouts to only 16 walks, and 3.4 WAR.

In 1978, Gonsalez was a legit ace, leading the Mexican League with career bests in strikeouts (357), K/BB (12.8), quality starts (29), and WAR (10.6). This earned him his lone Pitcher of the Year award. Gonsalez never quite had a season that good again and wasn’t a league leader again, but he was consistently solid for about the next decade or so. He took third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1979 and 1981.

Torreon made the MLCS in 1976, 79, 80, and 83 while Gonsalez was there. He missed the 1976 postseason to injury, but posted a 2.87 ERA over 53.1 innings in the other seasons with 72 strikeouts and 8 walks. The Tomahawks won their first-ever ML pennant in 1979, but fell in the CABA Championship to Santiago.

Gonsalez had signed a six-year contract extension worth $3,060,000 after the 1979 season. He had suffered a torn labrum in late 1980, but bounced back from it quite well. Various injuries started to crop up into his mid 30s, although he still was successful with sub-two ERA seasons in 1985 and 1987. In 1985, he needed radial nerve decompression surgery. When Gonsalez reported in 1988, his velocity had started to drop and although officially healthy, he wasn’t used the entire season. Gonsalez opted to retire after the campaign at age 36. That winter, Torreon retired his #16 uniform.

Gonsalez’s final stats: 180-110 record, 2.73 ERA, 2855 innings, 3557 strikeouts to only 447 walks, 0.96 WHIP, 257/368 quality starts, a 83 FIP-, and 61.9 WAR. He is the only CABA Hall of Fame pitcher to reach 3500+ strikeouts without also reaching 3000+ career innings. The innings and longevity were lower than most pitchers who got the nod, but Gonsalez was impressive enough in his sample size to get the voters’ attention. He earned the first ballot selection at 78.0%, the third-best total in the four-player 1993 class.



Ricardo Dias – Second Base – Monterrey Matadors – 69.5% First Ballot

Ricardo Dias was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting second baseman from Victoria, a city of around 330,000 people and capital of the northeastern Mexican state of Tamauilpas. Dias was a very good contact hitter with a decent eye and above average knack at avoiding strikeouts. He wasn’t a prolific slugger, but was good for around 25-30 home runs and 30-35 doubles per season. Dias had respectable speed and baserunning instincts. He only ever brought his glove out to second base, although he was considered a poor defender. Many observed that Dias was a bit of a lone wolf, but he was still a talented enough hitter to be a valuable asset.

Dias was highly touted out of the amateur ranks and went second overall in the 1971 CABA Draft to Monterrey. He made a few starts in his rookie year, although was mostly used as a pinch hitter. Dias was a full-time starter after that for the rest of his pro career when healthy. With the Matadors, he won six Silver Sluggers (1973, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79). Dias was also a regular for Mexico in the World Baseball Championship from 1973-88 with 150 games and 134 starts. In that run, he had 144 hits, 73 runs, 38 doubles, 29 home runs, 75 RBI, a .272/.329/.512 slash, and 5.2 WAR. He earned a world title ring with the 1978 squad.

Monterrey struggled in the 1970s with only one wild card appearance in 1979. They hoped Dias would turn things around for them and signed him to an eight-year, $2,474,000 extension after the 1974 season. A strained hamstring kept him out half of the 1975 campaign and another hamstring strain cost him six weeks in 1976. Dias was stellar in 1976 even in only 112 games with a .414/.451/.689 slasj, 1.140 OPS, and 8.3 WAR. He fell just short of the at-bats required for the .414 average to count as an all-time record.

Dias was able to stay healthy from 1977-80, taking second in 1979’s MVP voting. This would be his only time as a MVP finalist. His Monterrey run ended eight games into 1981 with a torn PCL knocking him out 10 months. He’d remain popular with Matadors fans despite playing in a down period with the team, eventually seeing his #14 uniform retired. In total with Monterrey, Dias had 1473 hits, 688 runs, 271 doubles, 220 home runs, 772 RBI, a .332/.380/.559 slash, and 57.2 WAR.

One year remained on his contract entering 1982, but the Matadors were worried about Dias coming off the PCL tear. He was traded to Guatemala for pitchers DJ Sauceda and Manuel Acosta, plus 1B Ivan Saldana. Dias bounced back impressively in his one year with the Ghosts, winning the batting title for the only time in his career. Guatemala went one-and-done in the playoffs, which would be Dias’ only other postseason appearances. He won his seventh Silver Slugger and upped his value entering free agency at age 34.

Dias signed a five-year, $3,000,000 deal with Haiti. He was solid in his Herons tenure, winning Silver Sluggers in 1983, 86, and 87. He joined Luis Miranda as the only CABA players to win nine or more Silver Sluggers at second base. Dias had ten total with nine at second, having won at DH in 1986. A sprained ankle cost him five weeks in his final year with Haiti. In total with the Herons, Dias had 858 hits, 381 runs, 134 doubles, 114 home runs, 417 RBI, a .324/.355/.519 slash, and 24.6 WAR.

Now 39-years old, Dias was able to land a big contract in MLB with Orlando worth $4,600,000 over three years. He couldn’t stay healthy with the Orcas, making only 74 starts in 1988 and 45 in 1989. Dias wasn’t very good with Orlando either, posting -0.1 WAR and a .235 average in MLB. The Orcas cut him after spring training 1990. Dias went unsigned all season and retired that winter at age 41.

For his CABA career, Dias had 2525 hits, 1158 runs, 442 doubles, 62 triples, 361 home runs, 1239 RBI, 251 stolen bases, a .329/.369/.543 slash, 162 wRC+, and 87.8 WAR. He compared similarly to his Hall of Fame classmate Mesquito Delion, but Dias didn’t have the MVPs, league-leading seasons or playoff appearances. His accumulations were among the best ever at second base, but many voters were still iffy with a few voting for Delion and not Dias. However, there were still enough to give Dias the first ballot nod, albeit just barely at 69.5%. Regardless, he was a first ballot Hall of Famer and a solid player to round out the impressive four-player 1993 CABA class.