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FuzzyRussianHat · 09-29-2024, 11:12 AM

The Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame added three players from the 2015 ballot. Each were first ballot guys with little opposition, led by a nearly unanimous 1B Maikel Loya at 99.6%. Fellow 1B Corneles Menendez was close behind at 96.1% and two-way star Fabian Quintana had a very healthy 88.6%. Only one other player topped 50% with SP Angel Tobar at 59.2% for his seventh ballot. No players were dropped after ten ballots.

Maikel Loya – First Base – Juarez Jesters – 99.6% First Ballot

Maikel Loya was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Totocuitlapilco; a village of only 377 people located about 60 kilometers southwest of Mexico City. Loya was an incredibly well-rounded hitter who was good to great with his power, contact, and eye. He was reliably strong, averaging 43 home runs and 31 doubles per 162 games. Loya hit above .300 in each of his full seasons while also drawing a decent number of walks and posting a respectable strikeout rate.

Loya’s baserunning wasn’t atrocious, but it was firmly below average. He started every game of his career at first base and was a consistently solid defender. Loya had some smaller injuries later in his career, but he didn’t miss time often. He became a very popular figure in Mexican baseball as a fixture for Juarez over 18 years.

The Jesters were quite interested in Loya and picked him with the fourth pick in CABA’s 1990 draft. He only saw 17 games in 1991, but took the full-time job from 1992 onward. With 4.9 WAR and a 151 wRC+ in 1992, Loya claimed Rookie of the Year honors. From 1993 to 2007, Loya was worth more than 6 WAR each season. In only his second year starting, he led the Mexican League in on-base percentage at .404. That earned him an eight-year, $19,800,000 extension that summer.

With the always strong bats at first base, Loya only won four Silver Sluggers (1994, 1995, 1998, 2001) despite his production. His 1995 was an all-timer, earning his lone MVP. As of 2037, Loya’s 12.78 WAR was the 14^th-best season by a CABA position player. He also earned a Triple Crown (59 homers, 138 RBI, .318 average) with career highs in each stat, plus in runs (132), hits (235), total bases (463), OBP (.419), slugging (.750), OPS (1.169), and wRC+ (240).

Loya would top 8+ WAR eight times from 1994-2002, taking second in 1998 MVP voting and third in 2000. During that run, he also hit above a one OPS each year. He won his second batting title in 1998 and led that season in the triple slash and runs. Loya led the league in hits as well in both 1999 and 2001.

Despite his efforts, Juarez was stuck in the middle tier without a single playoff berth in the 1990s, averaging 78.6 wins per year during the decade. It didn’t help that they were stuck in a division with Monterrey’s dynasty and a strong Tijuana. Things would start to turn around for the Jesters in the new millennium.

In 2000, Juarez got their first playoff berth since 1988 and their first division title since 1984. They beat Monterrey in the first round, but couldn’t get by a now emerging Ecatepec dynasty in the Mexican League Championship. Juarez missed the playoffs narrowly in 2001, then lost in the 2002 MLCS again to Ecatepec. Loya was big in the playoffs in the defeat with a 1.159 OPS, 15 hits, 8 runs, and 5 homers in 11 games.

In July 2002, a now 33-year old Loya signed a four year, $25,200,000 extension. He missed a month in 2004 and 2005 to injury, but still played at a very high level. Juarez suffered first round playoff losses in 2003 and 2004 as a wild card. The Jesters would finally end their pennant drought in 2005, getting revenge against Ecatepec, who was going for their seventh straight league title. Loya was named the MLCS MVP.

Juarez lost the CABA Championship to Salvador even with Loya’s playoff run seeing 22 hits, 10 runs, 4 homers, 10 RBI, and a 1.270 OPS over 15 starts. Now 36 and still rolling, Loya officially became a free agent that winter. He looked around for a month, but ultimately re-upped with Juarez for two years and $11,200,000.

Loya was beloved by Juarez fans, but he also had great national support from his time in the World Baseball Championship for Mexico. From 1994-2008, Loya had 185 games and 181 starts with 174 hits, 107 runs, 27 doubles, 46 home runs, 126 RBI, a .253/.331/.496 slash, 141 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. Loya helped Mexico to a finals berth in 1998 and semifinal appearances in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2007.

Juarez repeated as Mexican League champs in 2006, but Haiti denied them the CABA Championship. Loya again was solid and in his playoff career had 59 starts, 73 hits, 41 runs, 10 doubles, 16 home runs, 43 RBI, a .330/.406/.638 slash, 197 wRC+, and 3.5 WAR. Unfortunately, 2006 was his last shot at the CABA crown. Juarez would miss the playoffs in Loya’s remaining seasons.

Loya signed a two-year, $13,200,000 extension after the 2006 season. In 2007, he became only the tenth CABA member of the 3000 hit club. Loya posted a 9.3 WAR, 47 home run, 131 RBI, 1.115 effort in 2007 at age 38. That was his last hurrah, although he still had respectable stats in 2008 despite missing two months to an oblique strain.

Age finally caught up to Loya in 2009 and he was relegated to a part-time role. He still had 0.7 WAR and a 132 wRC+ over 78 games and 52 starts, but was done as an elite performer. Some thought Loya might try to chase 700 home runs, but he’d retire that winter at age 41 and finish 11 short of the milestone. Juarez immediately retired his #2 uniform for his nearly two decades of service.

Loya finished with 3288 hits, 1796 runs, 491 doubles, 79 triples, 689 home runs, 1902 RBI, 857 walks, a .338/.393/.617 slash, 191 wRC+, and 136.1 WAR. As of 2037, he’s one of only 11 Hall of Famers with a career OPS above one at 1.010. Among all CABA hitters with 3000+ plate appearances, Loya is 19^th in OPS, 24^th in slugging, 21^st in OBP, and 32^nd in batting average.

He also ranks ninth in hits, seventh in runs, 12^th in homers, 15^th in doubles, eighth in RBI, and sixth in WAR among position players. Loya was almost under-rated due to lesser black ink and awards despite his tallies. However, his grey ink of 309 is fourth best of all CABA Hall of Famers as of 2037, behind only nine-time MVP Prometheo Garcia, ten-time MVP Kiko Velazquez, and seven-time Pitcher of the Year Ulices Montero.

Few players in all of baseball history sustained such a high consistent level of play over a career. Loya truly had an inner-circle level Hall of Fame career, even if it wasn’t fully appreciated in his time. The voters certainly got it though, giving him a near unanimous 99.6% to headline CABA’s 2015 class.

09-29-2024, 11:12 AM	#1656
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,197	2015 CABA Hall of Fame (Part 1) The Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame added three players from the 2015 ballot. Each were first ballot guys with little opposition, led by a nearly unanimous 1B Maikel Loya at 99.6%. Fellow 1B Corneles Menendez was close behind at 96.1% and two-way star Fabian Quintana had a very healthy 88.6%. Only one other player topped 50% with SP Angel Tobar at 59.2% for his seventh ballot. No players were dropped after ten ballots. Maikel Loya – First Base – Juarez Jesters – 99.6% First Ballot Maikel Loya was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Totocuitlapilco; a village of only 377 people located about 60 kilometers southwest of Mexico City. Loya was an incredibly well-rounded hitter who was good to great with his power, contact, and eye. He was reliably strong, averaging 43 home runs and 31 doubles per 162 games. Loya hit above .300 in each of his full seasons while also drawing a decent number of walks and posting a respectable strikeout rate. Loya’s baserunning wasn’t atrocious, but it was firmly below average. He started every game of his career at first base and was a consistently solid defender. Loya had some smaller injuries later in his career, but he didn’t miss time often. He became a very popular figure in Mexican baseball as a fixture for Juarez over 18 years. The Jesters were quite interested in Loya and picked him with the fourth pick in CABA’s 1990 draft. He only saw 17 games in 1991, but took the full-time job from 1992 onward. With 4.9 WAR and a 151 wRC+ in 1992, Loya claimed Rookie of the Year honors. From 1993 to 2007, Loya was worth more than 6 WAR each season. In only his second year starting, he led the Mexican League in on-base percentage at .404. That earned him an eight-year, $19,800,000 extension that summer. With the always strong bats at first base, Loya only won four Silver Sluggers (1994, 1995, 1998, 2001) despite his production. His 1995 was an all-timer, earning his lone MVP. As of 2037, Loya’s 12.78 WAR was the 14^th-best season by a CABA position player. He also earned a Triple Crown (59 homers, 138 RBI, .318 average) with career highs in each stat, plus in runs (132), hits (235), total bases (463), OBP (.419), slugging (.750), OPS (1.169), and wRC+ (240). Loya would top 8+ WAR eight times from 1994-2002, taking second in 1998 MVP voting and third in 2000. During that run, he also hit above a one OPS each year. He won his second batting title in 1998 and led that season in the triple slash and runs. Loya led the league in hits as well in both 1999 and 2001. Despite his efforts, Juarez was stuck in the middle tier without a single playoff berth in the 1990s, averaging 78.6 wins per year during the decade. It didn’t help that they were stuck in a division with Monterrey’s dynasty and a strong Tijuana. Things would start to turn around for the Jesters in the new millennium. In 2000, Juarez got their first playoff berth since 1988 and their first division title since 1984. They beat Monterrey in the first round, but couldn’t get by a now emerging Ecatepec dynasty in the Mexican League Championship. Juarez missed the playoffs narrowly in 2001, then lost in the 2002 MLCS again to Ecatepec. Loya was big in the playoffs in the defeat with a 1.159 OPS, 15 hits, 8 runs, and 5 homers in 11 games. In July 2002, a now 33-year old Loya signed a four year, $25,200,000 extension. He missed a month in 2004 and 2005 to injury, but still played at a very high level. Juarez suffered first round playoff losses in 2003 and 2004 as a wild card. The Jesters would finally end their pennant drought in 2005, getting revenge against Ecatepec, who was going for their seventh straight league title. Loya was named the MLCS MVP. Juarez lost the CABA Championship to Salvador even with Loya’s playoff run seeing 22 hits, 10 runs, 4 homers, 10 RBI, and a 1.270 OPS over 15 starts. Now 36 and still rolling, Loya officially became a free agent that winter. He looked around for a month, but ultimately re-upped with Juarez for two years and $11,200,000. Loya was beloved by Juarez fans, but he also had great national support from his time in the World Baseball Championship for Mexico. From 1994-2008, Loya had 185 games and 181 starts with 174 hits, 107 runs, 27 doubles, 46 home runs, 126 RBI, a .253/.331/.496 slash, 141 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. Loya helped Mexico to a finals berth in 1998 and semifinal appearances in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2007. Juarez repeated as Mexican League champs in 2006, but Haiti denied them the CABA Championship. Loya again was solid and in his playoff career had 59 starts, 73 hits, 41 runs, 10 doubles, 16 home runs, 43 RBI, a .330/.406/.638 slash, 197 wRC+, and 3.5 WAR. Unfortunately, 2006 was his last shot at the CABA crown. Juarez would miss the playoffs in Loya’s remaining seasons. Loya signed a two-year, $13,200,000 extension after the 2006 season. In 2007, he became only the tenth CABA member of the 3000 hit club. Loya posted a 9.3 WAR, 47 home run, 131 RBI, 1.115 effort in 2007 at age 38. That was his last hurrah, although he still had respectable stats in 2008 despite missing two months to an oblique strain. Age finally caught up to Loya in 2009 and he was relegated to a part-time role. He still had 0.7 WAR and a 132 wRC+ over 78 games and 52 starts, but was done as an elite performer. Some thought Loya might try to chase 700 home runs, but he’d retire that winter at age 41 and finish 11 short of the milestone. Juarez immediately retired his #2 uniform for his nearly two decades of service. Loya finished with 3288 hits, 1796 runs, 491 doubles, 79 triples, 689 home runs, 1902 RBI, 857 walks, a .338/.393/.617 slash, 191 wRC+, and 136.1 WAR. As of 2037, he’s one of only 11 Hall of Famers with a career OPS above one at 1.010. Among all CABA hitters with 3000+ plate appearances, Loya is 19^th in OPS, 24^th in slugging, 21^st in OBP, and 32^nd in batting average. He also ranks ninth in hits, seventh in runs, 12^th in homers, 15^th in doubles, eighth in RBI, and sixth in WAR among position players. Loya was almost under-rated due to lesser black ink and awards despite his tallies. However, his grey ink of 309 is fourth best of all CABA Hall of Famers as of 2037, behind only nine-time MVP Prometheo Garcia, ten-time MVP Kiko Velazquez, and seven-time Pitcher of the Year Ulices Montero. Few players in all of baseball history sustained such a high consistent level of play over a career. Loya truly had an inner-circle level Hall of Fame career, even if it wasn’t fully appreciated in his time. The voters certainly got it though, giving him a near unanimous 99.6% to headline CABA’s 2015 class. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)