[FuzzyRussianHat]

Left fielder Caetano Penuelas was the only addition in 1996 to the Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame. Penuelas was a slam dunk with a 98.8% first ballot pick. Only two others had a shot at the 66% mark with C Hansel Morel at 59.1% on his sixth ballot and 2B Steven Bevil at 55.0% for his fifth. The next best debut was 3B Pedro Pizarro at only 44.7%.



One player fell off the ballot following ten tries in RF Ishmael “Noodle” Mendizabal. He was hurt by having only 11 seasons with Honduras before leaving CABA for MLB and Montreal in his later years. Mendizabal had the 1975 MVP, three Gold Gloves, and one Silver Slugger; adding 1807 hits, 991 runs, 279 doubles, 351 home runs, 1046 RBI, a .290/.336/.542 slash and 67.4 WAR. If his MLB numbers were in CABA, his 2424 pro hits, 456 homers, and 84.8 WAR may have been enough. His CABA tallies alone weren’t high enough, as Mendizabal peaked at 30.4% in 1988 before ending with only 11.2%.



Caetano “Acrobat” Penuelas – Left Field – Juarez Jesters – 98.8% First Ballot

Caetano Penuelas was a 6’4’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from San Nicolas, Costa Rica; a district of around 25,000 people in the center of the country. Penuelas was a generational talent at contact hitting that would lead the Mexican League in batting average six times. He was pretty good at avoiding strikeouts and okay at drawing walks. Penuelas was far from being just a singles hitter, providing terrific gap power. He averaged around 25-30 doubles, 15-25 triples, and 15-25 home runs each season. Despite his large frame, Penuelas was very quick and was a very intelligent baserunner. He was a career left fielder and graded out as below average defensively. Even with his great talents, Penuelas was incredibly humble, which helped endear him to fans and teammates alike.

Penuelas was spotted at a baseball camp in Costa Rica as a teenager by a scout from Juarez. They signed the 16-year old to a developmental deal and brought him north to Mexico. Penuelas would ultimately spend his entire pro career with the Jesters, although he would return home for the World Baseball Championship. He made 137 starts in 139 WBC games from 1973-91 for Costa Rica, posting 151 hits, 81 runs, 18 doubles, 28 home runs, 65 RBI, a .287/.352/.500 slash, and 4.2 WAR.

At age 20, Penuelas made his debut with Juarez in 1972. He was a full time roster member in his first three seasons, but rarely started and was used almost exclusively as a pinch hitter or runner. The Jesters began to contend around this point and even won the 1974 Mexican League pennant, although Penuelas struggled in limited playoff use. 1975 was Penuelas’s fulltime starting debut and what a debut it was. He posted a .391 batting average, a mark that had only been hit twice prior in CABA and both times by the legendary Prometheo Garcia. Penuelas led in hits and the triple slash with a 1.105 OPS, earning the Mexican League MVP.

In total, Penuelas led the ML twice in runs scored, four times in hits, once in doubles, thrice in triples, four times in total bases, six times in batting average, four times in OBP, thrice in slugging, four times in OPS, and thrice in wRC+. 1977 saw career highs in runs (124), hits (229), triples (32), doubles (38), total bases (418), average (.391), slugging (.715), OPS (1.154), wRC+ (232), and WAR (11.6). That season also saw a 33-game hit streak and 41-game on base streak over the early summer. Penuelas won MVP four times (1975, 77, 83, 84) and was third in 1981. He picked up seven Silver Sluggers (76, 77, 79, 81, 83, 84, 87).

Juarez realized Penuelas would be a key piece for a long time, signing him to a six-year, $1,622,000 extension after the 1974 season. Before the 1980 season, he got another eight years and $3,316,000. The Jesters became a Mexican League powerhouse with five playoff berths in six years from 1973-78. In 1977 and 1978, Juarez won back-to-back CABA Championships. Penuelas picked up MLCS MVP in 1977 and finals MVP in 1978. The Jesters would set a setback with only 83 wins in 1979 and a losing 74-88 in 1980. Penuelas missed most of the 1980 season with a stretched elbow ligament.

He would bounce back from that injury well and continued to contribute at a high level into his 30s. Juarez had a second dynasty run with Mexican League pennants in 1981, 82, and 84; along with the CABA crown in 1981. Penuelas was the 1984 MLCS MVP. For his playoff career, Penuelas had 89 games and 82 starts, 118 hits, 54 runs, 14 doubles, 11 triples, 18 home runs, 56 RBI, a .361/.399/.636 slash, and 6.1 WAR. He was beloved by Jesters fans and his #10 uniform would be displayed proudly once his career was oer.

The Jesters fell off hard in 1985 and had to rebuild. Age and injuries would start to cost Penuelas time in the lineup. Juarez would have one more almost surprising run in 1988, winning the Mexican League for the seventh time in Penuelas’s run. They would ultimately fall to Trinidad in the CABA Championship and fall towards the bottom of the standings heading into the 1990s.

Penuelas received another two year contract extension after the 1988 season. He didn’t seem to age at the plate, still posting a .356 average, 1.001 OPS, 195 wRC+, and 4.8 WAR in his final season of 1990. His body was physically wrecked though and he was becoming a defensive liability in the DH-less ML. Juarez didn’t re-sign him after the 1990 season. Penuelas was just short of 3000 hits and wanted to keep playing, but surprisingly he couldn’t find a home. After going unsigned in 1991, he retired that winter at age 40.

Penuelas’s final stats: 2928 hits, 1280 runs, 431 doubles, 328 triples, 294 home runs, 1278 RBI, 970 stolen bases, a .350/.395/.585 slash, 187 wRC+, and 99.8 WAR. At induction, his batting average (.3497) was second-best all time in CABA behind only Prometheo Garcia’s .3504. He was ninth in hits, fifth in triples, and 11^th in stolen bases. Penuelas was also viewed as a clutch playoff performer and a big reason why Juarez had such great success in the 1970s and 1980s. He was one of the finest pure hitters in CABA history and a slam dunk inductee at 98.8% as the only Hall of Famer in 1996 for CABA.