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Three first ballot inductions were made with the 2002 Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame class. Each had around the same range with OF Orlando Ramos at 88.8%, SP Juan Meza at 87.1%, and pitcher Ramon Herrera at 86.8%. 3B Pedro Pizarro was the only other player above the 50% mark, getting 59.1% in his seventh ballot.



Dropped after ten ballots was 1B Yerardo Alva, who had a 16-year career between Havana, Queretaro, and Guadalajara. He won six Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger, helping the Hurricanes win the title in 1975. His totals saw 1804 hits, 1153 runs, 275 doubles, 100 triples, 554 home runs, 1263 RBI, a .233/.297/.510 slash, 131 wRC+, and 51.0 WAR. Alva also had an abysmal 30.7% strikeout rate and at retirement, had more whiffs than any other CABA player at 2613. As of 2037, he’s still third all-time in strikeouts. That ultimately sank Alva’s HOF hopes with a peak of 26.5% in 1994 and a finish at 9.2%. He was the first CABA player to hit 550+ homers and not earn induction.

SP Martin Cordova also fell off after ten years on the ballot. His CABA run was only nine seasons between Guatemala and Puerto Rico, followed by three MLB seasons. In CABA, he had a 125-61 record, 3.04 ERA, 1771.1 innings, 1857 strikeouts, only 264 walks, 115 ERA+, 86 FIP-, and 35.7 WAR. Cordova didn’t have big awards and lacked the tenure, but it was a nice career for a guy picked in the fourth round. A damaged elbow ligament also rendered him effectively done after his age 32 season. Cordova peaked at 19.5% in 1994 and ended at 4.3%, but managed to last ten seasons on the ballot.



Orlando Ramos – Center Field – Puerto Rico Pelicans – 88.8% First Ballot

Orlando Ramos was a 6’2’’, 205 pound right-handed center fielder from San Pablo, Costa Rica; a canton of around 27,000 in the center of the country. Ramos was a good contact hitter with solid home run power and respectable gap power. He had a decent eye with a below average strikeout rate. Ramos averaged around 39 home runs per 162 games and around 28 doubles. He wouldn’t leg out extra bases very often with subpar speed and baserunning skills.

Despite slowness on the bases, Ramos was a career center fielder. He showed solid range with good defensive instincts, grading out as a solid defender in his career. Ramos was hard working and adaptable, allowing him to thrive in center. He had strong durability in his 20s, although he did have injury woes in his later years. Ramos ended up being extremely popular throughout CABA and was a hero to the Costa Rican baseball fan. He would be the fourth player from the nation to earn induction.

Ramos had an impressive amateur career, drawing plenty of attention among the Central American teams heading into the 1980 CABA Draft. With the sixth overall pick, Ramos was selected by Nicaragua. He would only play 16 games in his one season with the Navigators. In the offseason, he and catcher Kyle Florez were traded to Puerto Rico for veteran pitcher Victor Newby. This started a 12-year run as a star for the Pelicans.

PR immediately made Ramos a full-time starter, although he would miss 7 weeks in 1982 to shoulder bursitis. He’d stay healthy for the rest of his run with 138+ games in each of his remaining years as a Pelican. In 1983, Ramos led the Caribbean League with 7.6 WAR, earning his first Silver Slugger and a third place in MVP voting. Puerto Rico made the CLCS, but lost to Guatemala.

Ramos also became a regular for Costa Rica in the World Baseball Championship, playing each year from 1982-2001 and starting each year except for his 1982 debut. In 171 games, Ramos had 150 hits, 93 runs, 16 doubles, 47 home runs, 104 RBI, a .234/.303/.482 slash, 124 wRC+, and 4.7 WAR.

1984 was Ramos’ finest season, leading the Caribbean and posting career bests in WAR (11.0), wRC+ (189), slugging (.620), average (.346), OPS (1.012), and total bases (367). He earned MVP and his second Silver Slugger, although Puerto Rico just missed the playoffs. They’d go one-and-done in 1985 and while they’d be often above .500, PR didn’t make the playoffs for the rest of Ramos’ tenure.

Still, Ramos was a star and a success. He led home runs with 50 in 1987, was the WARlord at 10.0 in 1989, and led in OBP in 1991. From 1983-93, he posted 5.8+ WAR or better each year. He won Silver Sluggers in 1985, 87, and 88 and took third in MVP voting in 1985, 86, 87, 88, and 89. Ramos was inked to an eight-year, $9,180,000 extension after the 1985 season. The contract would expire after the 1993 season with Ramos at age 35. The Pelicans would later retire his #32 uniform.

Ramos decided to give free agency a look and had plenty of suitors as he still played at a very high level at the end of the Puerto Rico run. Ramos took an MLB offer with Vancouver worth $8,760,000 over three years. The run would ultimately be cursed by injuries, starting with a torn labrum in 1994 that cost him five months. Back issues cost him half of 1995. Ramos was healthy in 1996 and posted 3.8 WAR, showing he could still be a quality starter. In his tenure with the Volcanoes, he had 277 starts, 273 hits, 145 runs, 41 doubles, 55 home runs, 171 RBI, a .251/.319/.444 slash, 109 wRC+, and 8.4 WAR.

Ramos was still a hot commodity even at age 38 and signed a three-year, $11,680,000 deal with Oakland. Injuries again bothered him during this run and by the end, his productivity was below average. With the Owls, Ramos had 291 starts, 249 hits, 147 runs, 58 home runs, 161 RBI, a .222/.273/.421 slash, 94 wRC+, and 3.8 WAR. For his MLB run, Ramos had 522 hits, 292 runs, 113 home runs, 332 RBI, a .236/.296/.432 slash, 102 wRC+, and 12.2 WAR.

Now 41 years old, Ramos still wanted to play, but didn’t have many teams interested in an aged outfielder. He ended up going to Iraq and the Arab League with a two-year, $584,000 deal with Basra. Ramos had 3.0 WAR in only 73 games in 2000, but was terrible in 2001 and quickly benched. He finished with 2.3 WAR with Basra and retired after the 2001 season at age 43.

For his entire professional career, Ramos had 2691 hits, 1417 runs, 425 doubles, 572 home runs, 1630 RBI, a .289/.337/.527 slash, 141 wRC+, and 107.1 WAR. Just in CABA though, Ramos had 2082 hits, 1077 runs, 335 doubles, 437 home runs, 1239 RBI, a .308/.351/.560 slash, 155 wRC+, and 92.6 WAR. His 13-year CABA run was quite impressive, even if he didn’t have the playoff opportunities. Ramos was a beloved player and a consistent MVP finalist for a decade, earning the first ballot induction at 88.8% to lead off CABA’s 2002 Hall of Fame class.