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Einar Rodriguez – Outfield/Designated Hitter – Havana Hurricanes – 69.2% Sixth Ballot

Einar Rodriguez was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Manicaragua, a municipality of around 61,000 in central Cuba’s Villa Clara Province. Rodriguez was a solid contract hitter in his prime with reliable pop in his bat. He was above average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts as well. While not a prolific slugger, Rodriguez got you 39 home runs and 33 doubles per his 162 game average. He wasn’t much of an athlete with terrible speed and mediocre baserunning chops.

Rodriguez was also a subpar defender, who split his starts in the field roughly evenly between right field and left. Around 1/3 of his career starts came as a designated hitter. While a poor fielder, you could definitely do worse. Rodriguez’s excellent leadership and work ethic often made up for any lost defensive value. He would unfortunately see his tallies impacted by various injuries, but Rodriguez still managed a fine 14 year run.

By the 1998 CABA Draft, Rodriguez had emerged as arguably Cuba’s best prospect. That certainly got attention in the capital, as he was picked 7^th overall by Havana. He spent his entire pro career there and regularly represented Cuba in the World Baseball Championship. From 2000-13, Rodriguez played 101 WBC games with 71 starts, 72 hits, 37 runs, 10 doubles, 19 home runs, 47 RBI, .260/.322/.516 slash, 136 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR.

Rodriguez started most of his rookie year with solid results, taking second in 1999’s Rookie of the Year voting. He was on an excellent pace in 2000, but arm injuries and a strained PCL kept him out for a good chunk. Rodriguez showed his top potential in 2001 and 2002, staying healthy both years. Both seasons saw him led the Caribbean League in hits, doubles, and total bases.

2002 saw most of Rodriguez’s career bests, including hits (232), runs (115), home runs (44), RBI (132), total bases (408), batting average (.347), and WAR (7.1). He won his lone Silver Slugger in 2002 and was second in MVP voting, his only time as a finalist. In June 2002, Havana gave Rodriguez a four-year, $18,320,000 extension.

The Hurricanes as a wild card made the CLCS in 2002, but lost to Haiti’s dynasty. Havana lost in the 2004 CLCS to Honduras and had a first round loss in 2005 before retreating to the middle tier. Elbow issues cost Rodriguez bits of 2004 and 2005. Still, they were generally happy with his production and gave him a seven-year, $42,100,000 extension in May 2006.

Rodriguez stayed mostly healthy the next few years apart for missing much of 2008. His production was a bit inconsistent, but he did top 5+ WAR in 2006 and 2009. It was 2009 which would be Rodriguez’s most famous effort, winning CABA Championship MVP as Havana won it all over Monterrey. In 16 playoff starts, Rodriguez had 23 hits, 12 runs, 5 doubles, 5 homers, 15 RBI, 1.111 OPS, and 0.9 WAR.

Havana couldn’t follow up that title run, finishing below .500 for the following four seasons. Rodriguez’s production notably dipped in 2012 and the Hurricanes voided the team option year of his contract. Rodriguez wanted to play somewhere, but couldn’t find any suitors for 2013. He retired that winter at age 37.

Rodriguez finished with 2114 hits, 1126 runs, 370 doubles, 442 home runs, 1272 RBI, 456 walks, .311/.352/.569 slash, 143 wRC+, and 56.5 WAR. As of 2037, the only stat that he cracks the top 100 in is RBI at 99^th. The injuries certainly dented his final totals, which led many voters to dismiss Rodriguez as a Hall of Good type guy. His rate stats were quite solid, but weren’t otherworldly.

In 2018, Rodriguez debuted on the ballot at only 35.7%, then moved to 45.0% and 43.7%. He got a notable bump to 60.3% in 2021, then dropped to 53.8% in 2022. There seemed to be a late push for Rodriguez’s candidacy. Supporters especially pointed towards his role in Havana’s 2009 championship and having stayed with one team. He was given some grace for injury woes as well by those in favor. Rodriguez received the boost he needed in 2023 up to 69.2%, earning him a sixth ballot induction into CABA’s Hall of Fame.



Emiliano “Stumpy” Carreras – Starting Pitcher – Leon Lions – 69.2% First Ballot

Emiliano Carreras was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Texcoco, Mexico, a city of 35,400 located 25 kilometers northeast of Mexico City. Carreras wasn’t amazing at any one thing, but his stuff, movement, and control all graded as above average to good. His fastball peaked in the 96-98 mph range and was considered one of the stronger ones in the league. Carreras also had a great splitter and a nice changeup as his other options.

Carreras had very good stamina and solid durability. He was a good defensive pitcher who was decent at holding runners. Carreras ended up being a late bloomer, making for a unique career. He wasn’t one to draw attention to himself, which maybe limited his use earlier in his career.

Expectations were high initially for Carreras as he was picked 4^th overall by Leon in the 2003 CABA Draft. However, he saw limited relief use in his first five seasons despite being healthy. Carreras’s bullpen numbers were respectable, but several coaches thought his three-pitch arsenal wasn’t diverse enough to be a starter. It wasn’t until 2009 that Carreras earned his first shot as a full-time starter.

Carreras led the Mexican League in complete games, shutouts, and innings in 2009, proving he can hang in the rotation. He would finish third in 2010’s Pitcher of the Year voting and second in 2011. He won an ERA title in the former at 2.31 and the WARlord in the latter at 6.7. Along with Hall of Fame classmate Papu Rodriquez in the rotation, Leon started to compete into the 2010s. Carreras signed a seven-year, $81,200,000 extension in September 2011.

The Lions would suffer first round playoff exits in 2010, 2013, and 2014. Leon made it to the Mexican League Championship Series in both 2015 and 2016, but fell to Juarez’s fledgling dynasty both years. Carreras’s playoff stats were generally underwhelming with a 4.13 ERA over 61 innings, 2-5 record, 52 strikeouts, 91 ERA+, and 0.6 WAR.

Carreras put up reliable innings into his 30s, although his production was up-and-down since he wasn’t a big strikeout guy. He took third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2014, then won the award in 2015. Carreras earned the ERA title at 1.91 and led in WHIP at 0.85, while adding career bests in wins (22-7), WAR (7.5), strikeouts (253), and quality starts (28). He couldn’t replicate that effort later, posting roughly league average numbers for his final two seasons. Carreras decided to retire after the 2017 campaign at age 36 with Leon retiring his #13 uniform soon after.

In total, Carreras had a 160-106 record, 2.99 ERA, 2423 innings, 2169 strikeouts, 369 walks, 185/272 quality starts, 101 complete games, 124 ERA+, and 50.5 WAR. Like his former teammate Rodriquez, Carreras’s final tallies fall outside of the top 100 lists. While Rodriquez had injuries to blame, Carreras’s were in part from barely getting used in his first few seasons. He was a somewhat polarizing candidate for that reason when comparing his raw numbers to contemporaries.

Carreras’s rate stats were comparable to some of the lower-end Hall of Famers, but a bit lower than Rodriquez. Most voters felt strongly about Rodriquez though, which helped Carreras’s case. He had two ERA titles and a POTY, plus he spent his entire career with one franchise. Those factors were just enough to get Carreras across the 66% requirement on his debut ballot. At 69.2%, Carreras rounded out CABA’s three-player Hall of Fame class for 2023.