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Three players received first ballot Hall of Fame selections for Beisbol Sudamerica in 2026. RF Manuel Marquez was the clear headliner at 97.9% with 1B Rodrigo Aguilar joining him at a rock solid 89.4%. DH/LF Homer Torres joined them at 68.7%, scraping by the 66% requirement. SP Oliverio Garza barely missed joining them with 64.4% on his second ballot. Two other returners were above 50% with SP Ulisses Natividad getting 59.3% on his second try and 3B Artemio Reyes at 56.5% for his tenth and final shot.



For Reyes, he won three Silver Sluggers over 17 years and won Copa Sudamerica twice with Asuncion. He played 2196 games with 2589 hits, 1253 runs, 302 doubles, 234 triples, 172 home runs, 816 RBI, 273 walks, 515 strikeouts, 1189 stolen bases, .327/.352/.489 slash, 141 wRC+, and 76.2 WAR. As of 2037, Reyes ranks 9^th in stolen bases. However, it was tough for leadoff guys without big power numbers to get traction with a lot of voters. Reyes came closest in 2024 at 61.1% and ended at 56.5%, ranking him as one of the best guys to miss the cut.

SP Hernan Mendez lasted ten ballots, although he peaked only at 25.2% with a finish at 13.7%. He won Pitcher of the Year and an ERA title in 2008 at age 35 for Buenos Aires. Mendez finished with a 170-146 record, 3.12 ERA, 3032.2 innings, 3651 strikeouts, 897 walks, 114 ERA+, and 63.3 WAR. He didn’t quite have the dominance or tenure to make the cut and was mostly stuck on forgettable teams.

LF Henrique Valada also made it ten years, ending at only 8.8% with a peak at 41.9% for his debut. Valada was a playoff hero for Salvador, winning LCS MVP thrice and Copa Sudamerica MVP in the Storm’s 2007 and 2009 title wins. In 83 playoff games, Valada had a .369/.407/.624 slash, 1.032 OPS, 194 wRC+, and 4.0 WAR.

In the regular season, he won two Silver Sluggers with 2017 games, 2295 hits, 1058 runs, 228 double, 250 triples, 193 home runs, 914 RBI, 593 walks, 612 steals, .350/.403/.559 slash, 174 wRC+, and 56.9 WAR. Valada won three batting titles and ranks 16^th in batting average in 2027 among those with 3000+ plate appearances. Despite his playoff heroics, Valada also didn’t have the power numbers most voters required and didn’t have the longevity to rack up accumulations. Valada’s #33 is retired though by Salvador and he remains one of the team’s great heroes even if didn’t crack the Hall of Fame.



Manuel Marquez – Right Field – Medellin Mutiny – 97.9% First Ballot

Manuel Marquez was a 6’4’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from the capital of Colombia, Bogota. Marquez was a great contact hitter with reliably strong power, posting 44 home runs, 32 doubles, and 5 triples per his 162 game average. His ability to draw walks and avoid strikeouts was merely decent. Marquez fared notably better against right-handed pitching (1.002 career OPS, 162 wRC+). but was rock solid facing lefties (.868 OPS, 131 wRC+). His baserunning speed and instincts were subpar.

Marquez played right field almost exclusively and was a terrible defender. Still, Medellin kept him there generally with his Hall of Fame classmate Homer Torres occupying the designated hitter slot. His durability was respectable over a 17-year career. Marquez was appreciated by fans and teammates for his loyalty, sticking with the Mutiny for his entire run. His #1 jersey could be found in great numbers in the crowd long after his playing career ended.

He emerged as arguably Colombia’s top prospect entered into the 2002 BSA Draft and was picked third overall by Medellin as a teenager. The Mutiny kept him in developmental almost exclusively in his first two years with only 16 games in 2004. Marquez was rostered most of 2005 with 112 games, but only started 25 games. The Mutiny moved him into a full-time starting role in 2006 and he remained a fixture for 15 years.

Marquez won his first Silver Slugger in 2007 and was third in MVP voting, leading the Bolivar League in OPS (1.033), slugging (.652), and wRC+ (169). He won the MVP and another Slugger in 2008 with a league-best 121 runs, 48 homers, and 397 total bases. 2011 would be his strongest effort, earning his second MVP and third Slugger. That year had career bests in runs (137), hits (221), homers (60), RBI (158), total bases (447), triple slash (.363/.403/.734), OPS (1.137), wRC+ (197), and WAR (9.0). He fell only two homers short of a Triple Crown.

2011 also ended a 12-year stretch of losing seasons for Medellin, beginning what would be a nine-year playoff streak with eight Colombia-Ecuador Division titles. They lost in the divisional series that year, but knew they had something cooking. The Mutiny signed the 28-year old Marquez to an eight-year, $87,700,000 to lead the way. 2012 would have his first injury setbacks with a knee sprain and fractured hand costing him about half of the season. The Mutiny would be ousted in the BLCS by Callao.

Marquez was healthy the next few years, leading in runs in 2013 and posting 6+ WAR in 2013, 2015, and 2016. He earned Sluggers in 2013 and 2015, taking second in 2013’s MVP voting. Medellin repeated as Bolivar League champs in 2013-14. They faced Fortaleza in Copa Sudamerica in both years, losing in 2013 but winning in 2014. Marquez etched his spot into immortality with an all-time playoff run in 2014, winning MVP of all three rounds.

In 17 playoff starts in 2014, Marquez had 34 hits, 18 runs, 7 doubles, 2 triples, 11 home runs, 28 RBI, .472/.480/1.083 slash, 1.563 OPS, 324 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR. Marquez set BSA playoff records for runs, hits, total bases (78), homers, and RBI; all marks that still stand as of 2037. Marquez opted out of his Mutiny deal that winter in order to sign a new six-year, $74,400,000 deal with Medellin.

He had an outstanding run in the 2013 Baseball Grand Championship with 1.307 OPS and 1.9 WAR, but was unremarkable in 2014 with .760 OPS and 0.3 WAR. The Mutiny finished 9-10 in both events. Marquez was also a regular for Colombia in the World Baseball Championship. From 2007-20, he played 122 games with 96 hits, 62 runs, 18 doubles, 28 home runs, 62 RBI, .233/.334/.485 slash, and 4.1 WAR.

Marquez played a huge role in Colombia’s runner-up finish to the United States in the 2010 WBC. He finished second in MVP voting, starting 25 games with 30 hits, 22 runs, 4 doubles, 12 homers, 20 RBI, 1.206 OPS, and 2.3 WAR. Colombia also made it to the elite eight in 2015.

Medellin fell in the BLCS in 2015 and 2016. They remained a playoff team the next three years, but couldn’t get beyond the divisional series. For his playoff career, Marquez started 54 games with 76 hits, 41 runs, 14 doubles, 20 homers, 55 RBI, .350/.386/.719 slash, 195 wRC+, and 3.8 WAR. He dealt with forearm injuries to lose bits of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Marquez won his sixth and final Silver Slugger with a healthy 2019.

In 2020, Marquez reached the 2500 hit, 600 home run, and 1500 run milestones. He still hit 33 home runs with .882 OPS and 2.7 WAR that year, but this was his weakest full season of his career. Medellin just missed the playoffs and didn’t re-sign Marquez as they tried to re-tool. Marquez went unsigned for 2021 and retired that winter at age 38. The Mutiny quickly retired Marquez’s #1 uniform upon that announcement.

Marquez finished with 2290 games, 2652 hits, 1502 runs, 458 doubles, 74 triples, 625 home runs, 1650 RBI, 513 walks, 1685 strikeouts, .318/.361/.616 slash, 156 wRC+, and 80.5 WAR. As of 2037, Marquez ranks 60^th in hits, 27^th in runs, 37^th in doubles, 21^st home runs, 17^th in RBI, 30^th in total bases (5133), and 88^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Marquez’s .977 OPS ranks 35^th and he ranks 23^rd in slugging.

The tallies on their own get Marquez across the line and his playoff heroics make him a headliner. He’s not quite to the “inner circle” level of players, but he’s a legend in Medellin for very justified reasons. Marquez received 97.9% to headline the three-player 2026 Hall of Fame class for Beisbol Sudamerica.