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First baseman Casimiro Salceda stood alone for induction into the Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 2022. Salceda was a nearly unanimous selection with a 99.3% debut. It was a quiet group otherwise with only RF Elnar Rodriguez breaching 50% at 53.8% on his fifth ballot.



Dropped after ten ballots was catcher Zozimo Aguilar, who peaked at 38.4% in 2014 and ended with 12.5%. Aguilar won four Silver Sluggers and posted 2093 hits, 625 runs, 41 home runs, 763 RBI, a .330/.352/.420 slash, 116 wRC+, and 51.0 WAR. He had an impressive batting average but lacked power and rarely walked. Many catchers get jobbed by voter biases against the low totals of the positions, but even most ardent catcher supporters agreed that Aguilar was a “Hall of Pretty Good” level player.



Casimiro Salceda – First Base – Hermosillo Hyenas – 99.3% First Ballot

Casimiro Salceda was a 6’4’’, 205 pound right-handed first baseman from Nezahualcoyotl, a city of just over a million people just east of Mexico City. At his peak, Salceda boasted excellent contact and power skills. He also had a very solid eye for walks with a decent strikeout rate. Salceda had fantastic pop in his bat with a 162 game average getting 42 home runs, 39 doubles, and 4 triples. His speed was well below average, but Salceda had respectable baserunning skills.

Salceda made more than 80% of his career starts at first base and was a mediocre defender. Most of the rest of his starts came as a designated hitter with a very brief jaunt in right field. Salceda had strong durability over a 17-year career, playing 130+ games each year from 2000-2015. He was a hard worker and a true fan favorite, becoming one of the most adored Mexican baseball superstars of his era.

By the 1998 CABA Draft, most scouts had Salceda as the top prospect out of Mexico. Hermosillo had the #1 pick and agreed with that analysis, selecting Salceda. The Hyenas only used him in 10 pinch hit at-bats in 1999, then moved him to a full-time role from 2000 onward. Salceda earned Rookie of the Year honors with a 3.1 WAR, 37 home run debut. He would post 5.9+ WAR or better in each of the next 14 years.

With the Hyenas, Salceda led the Mexican League four times in doubles and once in walks. He won his first Silver Slugger in 2007 and took second in MVP voting. That year saw a six-hit game against Chihuhau and his Hermosillo career bests in runs (115), hits (212), RBI (125), batting average (.370), wRC+ (222), and WAR (9.7). In spring training 2006, Salceda signed a five-year, $34,500,000 extension for Hermosillo.

After falling into 100+ loss territory to end the 1990s, Hermosillo slowly got back above .500 with Salceda. In 2006, they broke a 16-year playoff drought, falling to Juarez in the MLCS. The Hyenas fell in the first round of 2007. Then in 2008, Hermosillo took the #1 seed at 100-62 and went all the way, defeating Nicaragua in the CABA Championship. In 14 playoff starts in the run, Salceda had 19 hits, 5 runs, 4 extra base hits, 10 RBI, and .931 OPS.

Bringing Hermosillo from the cellar to the top made Salceda forever a favorite with Hyenas fans, getting his #18 uniform later retired. However, his run ended with the 2008 championship, opting out of his contract in the winter. With Hermosillo, Salceda had 1693 hits, 887 runs, 348 doubles, 347 home runs, 993 RBI, 486 walks, a .331/.391/.616 slash, 186 wRC+, and 61.4 WAR.

While Hermosillo was his longest run by a healthy margin, Salceda’s most dominant performances came with Ecatepec. At age 33, he signed a five-year, $43.5 million deal with the Explosion, who was the team Hermosillo beat in the MLCS in 2008. Since 1993, Ecatepec had been in the MLCS 13 times, but they had gone four straight years without a pennant.

Salceda was incredible with the Explosion and really discovered his home run power. In 2009 and 2010, he earned back-to-back MVP and Triple Crown seasons. Both years, Salceda led in runs, homers, RBI, total bases, triple slash, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. His 145 runs scored in 2010 were the third-most in CABA history and his 158 RBI were the fourth-most to that point. That year had his career bests in hits (236), doubles (49), homers (57), total bases (464), triple slash (.381/.430/.750), OPS (1.179), wRC+ (233), and WAR (11.7).

Ecatepec got the top seed in 2009 at 102-60, but was upset in the MCLS by Monterrey. The Explosion did better in 2010 at 105-57 and broke through, beating Hermosillo for the Mexican League title and topped Haiti for the CABA crown. They finished 3-6 in the inaugural Baseball Grand Championship with Salceda posting 9 hits, 7 runs, 3 doubles, 5 homers, 7 RBI, and 1.317 OPS.

Ecatepec would fall in the 2011 MLCS to Chihuahua and to Juarez in 2012’s MLCS. In 2013, they finished 87-75 but missed the playoffs for only the third time since 1993. With the Explosion in the playoffs, Salceda had 38 starts, 41 hits, 25 runs, 12 doubles, 5 homers, 19 RBI, 18 walks, a .283/.362/.483 slash, 134 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR.

Salceda won additional Silver Sluggers in 2012 and 2013. 2012 was his third MVP win, leading in runs, hits, doubles RBI, total bases, triple slash, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. Salceda also had his second six-hit game 2012 against San Luis Potosi, making him the first in CABA history to achieve the feat twice. In five incredible years with Ecatepec, Salceda had 1085 hits, 619 runs, 199 doubles, 250 home runs, 680 RBI, a .357/.415/.690 slash, 207 wRC+, and 48.1 WAR. That effectiveness was especially remarkable considering he was in his mid 30s for the run.

2013 was his weakest season, but still had 7.2 WAR and a 1.002 OPS. Thus, the 38-year old Salceda had plenty of suitors as he re-entered the free agent mark. Honduras signed him for $25,600,000 over two years. Salceda still hit 43 homers in his debut, but his overall production dropped. For the first time since his rookie year, he had a batting average below .300, an OPS below .900, and a WAR below 5. Honduras won their division, but fell in the first round of the playoffs.

Still, they gave him a two-year, $11,840,000 extension. Salceda struggled though in 2015 with 0.5 WAR and a 105 wRC+ as a full-time starter. The Horsemen lost in the Caribbean League Championship Series with Salceda posting a terrible .481 OPS in the playoffs. That year, he did notably become the 11^th member of CABA’s 3000 hit club and the second to reach 600 doubles. Salceda was barely used in 2016 with -0.4 WAR over only 49 plate appearances. He had 3.4 WAR over 355 games in total for Honduras. Salceda retired after the 2016 season at age 40.

Salceda finished with 3087 hits, 1672 runs, 607 doubles, 57 triples, 669 home runs, 1863 RBI, 874 walks, 125 stolen bases, a .331/.388/.623 slash, 184 wRC+, and 112.9 WAR. As of 2037, Salceda ranks 12^th in hits, 13^th in runs, 3^rd in doubles, 16^th in home runs, 11^th in total bases (5815), 11^th in RBI, and 21^st in WAR among position players. Among CABA’s Hall of Famers, he’s one of three to reach both 600+ homers and doubles and one of 11 with an OPS above one.

Among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Salceda ranks 46^th in batting average, 29^th in on-base percentage, 21^st in slugging, and his 1.011 OPS sits 17^th. Among all of the world’s Hall of Famers in 2037, Salceda’s OPS ranks 33^rd and his wRC+ is tied for 44^th.

Few batters in CABA history have been more efficient at the plate than Salceda. He does lose some points amongst the absolute inner circle for poor defensive value, but that didn’t stop him from becoming a beloved superstar in Mexico. Salceda certainly earned the right to stand alone for CABA’s 2022 Hall of Fame voting with a nearly unanimous 99.3%.