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Pitcher Samuel Fernandez was the lone addition into the Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 2001, grabbing the first ballot nod at 96.5%. 3B Pedro Pizarro narrowly missed the 66% cut with 63.5% on his sixth attempt. The one other guy above 50% was pitcher Gabe de Kroon at 52.8% on his third ballot.



Dropped after ten failed attempts was 3B Hugo Vegas, who was one of a short list of guys to win an MVP in both CABA and MLB. He was hurt by the split career with seven years in Panama and one in Honduras, along with a decade in MLB. In CABA, Vegas had 1086 hits, 658 runs, 136 doubles, 353 home runs, 781 RBI, a .260/.318/.554 slash, 140 wRC+, and 41.5 WAR. It was an excellent stretch, but nowhere near the accumulations neded. He did have 71.4 WAR, 2305 hits, 1447 runs, 725 home runs, and 1624 for his combined career, which very likely gets you in if in one league. Vegas debuted at 33.6% and ended at a high of 47.5%.

Reliever Reynaldo Alvarado also fell off the ballot after ten years, also being hurt by a split CABA/MLB career. He had eight seasons with Guatemala, winning four Reliever of the Year awards and leading in saves thrice. Alvarado had 239 saves, 2.01 ERA, 586 innings, 908 strikeouts, 180 ERA+, 43 FIP-, and 28.5 WAR. His MLB run was merely decent. Alvarado also lacked the accumulations, but was good enough in a short burst to get as high as 52.8% on his ninth ballot. He plummeted to 12.4% for his final try. As of 2037, he is only one of eight in CABA with four or more Reliever of the Year awards, earning Alvarado a special mention.



Samuel Fernandez – Starting Pitcher – Leon Lions – 96.5% First Ballot

Samuel Fernandez was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Oaxaca, Mexico City, a city with around 715,000 in the country’s south. Fernandez had remarkable stuff that broke the scale, in his prime he was an 11/10. He had a great 99-101 mph fastball with a phenomenal forkball, good curveball, and rarely used changeup. Fernandez’s movement was solid, although his control was average at best. His stamina was merely okay and he was plagued with injuries at various points, limiting his potential. Fernandez was a very good fielder that was decent at holding runners. He was considered a strong leader that was willing to speak his mind, although his outspoken nature did rub some the wrong way.

Fernandez’s stuff was undeniable in his amateur career with many observers viewing him as a generational talent. Leon had the #1 overall pick in the 1982 CABA Draft and used it on Fernandez, who spent his entire pro career as a Lion. He was a full-time starter immediately and took second in 1983’s Rookie of the Year voting. Fernandez had some inconsistency early on, but looked like a true ace by his third season.

1986 saw an impressive no-hitter on April 6 with 17 strikeouts and two walks against Guadalajara. Shoulder issues would cost him nearly three months, but he’d be back in time for the postseason. Leon ended a six-year playoff drought and won the Mexican League title, falling to Costa Rica for the CABA crown. Fernandez would post a 2.83 ERA over 28.2 playoff innings with a blistering 51 strikeouts.

He was at full strength in 1987 with arguably his finest season, leading in wins (20-7), strikeouts (405), and quality starts (29) with a career-best 10.8 WAR and 1.83 ERA. It was only the eighth time in CABA history that a pitcher fanned 400+. Fernandez would take second in Pitcher of the Year voting despite that, overshadowed by Junior Vergara’s 11.2 WAR at age 33 in a comeback from a major injury. The next spring, Fernandez earned a seven-year, $8,540,000 extension with Leon.

He had a very good 1988, but lost two months of 1989 to elbow tendinitis. Fernandez stayed healthy from 1990-92 and led twice in strikeouts and WHIP, while also leading in WAR and wins in 1991. Fernandez was second again in 1991 in Pitcher of the Year voting, never winning the top honor. Leon got back to the playoffs in 1991 after being mediocre in the prior four years, falling to the Monterrey dynasty in the MLCS.

That was the last hurrah for Fernandez, who suffered a partially torn labrum in late April 1993. It required surgery, costing him eight months. In 1994, a herniated disc kept him out most of the year, although he still looked good when he did pitch. Fernandez partially tore his labrum again in early 1995 and looked lousy in his limited innings that year. He didn’t want it to end like that, but Fernandez realized his goose was cooked and retired that winter at age 35. Leon immediately announced that his #14 uniform would be retired.

Fernandez’s final stats: 156-93 record, 2.39 ERA, 2307.1 innings, 3377 strikeouts, 472 walks, 232/298 quality starts, 138 ERA+, 61 FIP-, and 75.4 WAR. Very few starters in the CABA Hall of Fame have a sub 2.40 career ERA and his strikeout rate is impressive. At his peak, Fernandez was electric, but he was overshadowed by Junior Vergara’s generational dominance and being on some forgettable Leon teams. Still, Fernandez’s peak was so impressive that the voters didn’t mind the lower accumulations. He was the lone 2001 inductee with an impressive 96.5%.