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FuzzyRussianHat · 05-06-2025, 05:36 AM

Oscar Valdivia – Second Base – Quito Thunderbolts – 87.4% First Ballot

Oscar Valdivia was a 6’4’’, 195 pound right-handed second baseman from Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. Valdivia was a well-rounded batter with good-to-great contract, eye, and power skills. He wasn’t going to lead the league in slugging, but his 162 game average gave you plenty of extra base hits with 29 home runs, 32 doubles, and 11 triples. Valdivia hit for average effectively against both sides and was rock solid at drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was merely okay.

In his prime, Valdivia had good speed along with excellent baserunning and base stealing abilities. He was a career second baseman and consistently provided good-to-great defense. Valdivia’s durability was mostly good over an 18-year career at a demanding position. He was also a team captain with excellent leadership, loyalty, and work ethic. Valdivia was one of the most respected players of his era and a favorite of Ecuadoran fans.

Valdivia wasn’t incredible at any one thing, but he was good at basically everything. It was also rare to find second basemen who could hit that well and still be a net positive defender. Valdivia grew up a Golds fans in Guayaquil, but he’d spend his entire career in the capital Quito. The Thunderbolts grabbed him 30^th overall in the 2006 BSA Draft. He started half of 2007 and took third in Rookie of the Year voting with his efforts.

He was a full-time starter from 2008 onwards, although he missed part of that year from a fractured finger. Valdivia also had a torn abdominal muscle in fall 2009, but he’d avoid big injuries for about a decade after that. Still, each year from 2008-19 was worth 5+ WAR. Valdivia had an OPS above one in eight seasons and had 7+ WAR from 2011-18. He won Silver Sluggers in 2010, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 21.

Valdivia never won MVP, but he was third in 2013 and 2014’s voting. He led the Bolivar League with 8.1 WAR in 2014 and with 8.3 in 2017. His career best was 9.3 in 2015, a year that also had his most runs scored (115). Valdivia led in walks in 2015-16 and led with a .419 OBP in 2017. Eight times he had an OBP above four and he hit above .300 from his rookie year through 2021. In March 2017, Quito gave Valdivia a five-year, $73,500,000 extension.

Despite his efforts, the 2010s were unremarkable for Quito. They were never outright bad and won 80+ games in all but two of Valdivia’s seasons. However, they were stuck in the middle tier and missed the playoffs from 2007-18. Valdivia stayed steadfast as they finally broke the drought in 2019 as a wild card, although they lost in the divisional round. 2020 saw a first round exit, followed by playoff misses from 2021-23.

Valdivia missed a chunk of 2020 to a strained rib cage muscle and parts of 2021 with knee and elbow issues. He was healthy in 2022 but struggled to .774 OPS and 2.3 WAR. Quito stayed loyal to their longtime captain and gave him a three-year, $47,800,000 extension that winter. Although he had very limited playoff opportunities, Valdivia did regularly play on the World Baseball Championship stage for his native Ecuador.

The Ecuadorans didn’t win a division title from 2008-24 with Valdivia, but he gave it his all. He played 152 games with 129 hits, 101 runs, 16 doubles, 6 triples, 39 home runs, 67 RBI, 80 walks, 43 steals, .240/.356/.509 slash, 150 wRC+, and 6.7 WAR. Valdivia was certainly one of the country’s most well respected figures in baseball.

Valdivia was merely passable in 2023 and was benched in 2024 after struggles, playing only 60 games with 37 starts. His leadership was still important from the bench as Quito almost out of nowhere had a franchise record 112-50 campaign. The Thunderbolts won Copa Sudamerica over Sao Paulo and Valdivia finally got Quito a ring after 18 years, even if he was 0-3 with three strikeouts as a playoff pinch hitter. Valdivia retired the day after the championship celebration and shortly after had his #14 uniform retired.

In total, Valdivia played 2424 games with 2834 hits, 1465 runs, 483 doubles, 164 triples, 434 home runs, 1414 RBI, 965 walks 1606 strikeouts, 845 steals, .324/.391/.566 slash, 148 wRC+, and 105.9 WAR. As of 2037, Valdivia is 84^th in games, 32^nd in hits, 34^th in runs, 39^th in total bases (4947), 22^nd in doubles, 58^th in RBI, 42^nd in steals, 22^nd in walks, and 26^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Valdivia is 23^rd in OBP and his .957 OPS is 64^th.

Despite those tallies, Valdivia is surprisingly under-rated and overlooked for being consistently good without any massive single year tallies. He ranks 5^th in WAR at second base, but often is rated below his contemporaries Antonio Arceo and Daniel Schafer, who both won Southern Cone League MVPs.

Valdivia also sometimes gets forgotten since Quito was aggressively mid during his prime years. Real ones know that Valdivia was legit and is on the short list for Beisbol Sudamerica’s top five at second base. He received 87.4% to take the third of four slots with the impressive 2030 Hall of Fame class.

Rico “Lippy” Ortega – Left Field – Trujillo Thoroughbreds – 78.4% First Ballot

Rico Ortega was a 6’0’’, 200 pound switch-hitting left fielder from Trujillo, Peru’s third most populous city. Ortega was a stellar contact hitter who was graded as a 10/10 at his peak by some scouts. He also had impressive power with a 162 game average of 44 home runs, 22 doubles, and 15 triples. Ortega was above average at drawing walks and had a decent strikeout rate relative to his peers.

Ortega was especially powerful facing right-handed arms with a career 1.092 OPS and 178 wRC+. His power was less pronounced against lefties, but he was still quite effective with a .895 OPS and 137 wRC+. Ortega’s baserunning skills and speed were average, but he was far from a liability. He primarily played left field and was a great defender, winning Gold Gloves in 2011 and 2012.

Additionally, Ortega was considered a good leader and he wasn’t selfish, making him a five-star recruit. On top of that, he could throw a great sinker, although he lacked a worthy second pitch with only a bad changeup on offer. That kept Ortega from being a true two-way guy, but he was quite good in limited relief use. The one downfall with Ortega would be durability issues with numerous injuries limiting him throughout a 16-year career.

When Ortega was growing up, his hometown Trujillo didn’t have a franchise. The city was angling for one and finally got their wish as part of the 2009 expansion. It couldn’t have been a more perfect fit that a hometown kid was a top prospect for their first-ever draft in 2008. The Thoroughbreds picked Ortega fourth overall and immediately made him the face of the new franchise.

Ortega delivered right away as 2009 Rookie of the Year. He was second in 2010’s MVP voting and third in 2011, while winning his first Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in 2011. 2010 had his career high for hits (202), and WAR (9.2), while 2011 saw his bests for home runs (51).

In 2012, Ortega got the awards sweep and won Bolivar League MVP by leading in the triple slash (.382/.436/.747), OPS (1.183), wRC+ (200), and WAR (8.7). This came despite missing April to a knee sprain, which would be the first of his injury issues. Ortega was third in 2013’s MVP voting and won another Slugger, leading again in slugging, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. 2014 would be a rough go, missing most of the season between a fractured ankle and knee sprain.

Like many expansion teams before them, Trujillo was terrible in their early years. Still, they were plenty satisfied with Ortega and gave him an eight-year, $82,860,000 extension after the 2014 season. He was popular in his home town and throughout Peru as he was a regular for his country in the World Baseball Championship.

From 2008-23, Ortega played 131 WBC games with 131 hits, 94 runs, 21 doubles, 8 triples, 43 home runs, 90 RBI, 43 steals, .289/.394/.656 slash, and 8.4 WAR. He had a 1.050 OPS in the WBC, one of only 62 guys to hit that effectively with at least 250 plate appearances. Ortega was an effective pitcher in the WBC with a 2.87 ERA over 37.2 innings, 41 strikeouts, and 1.0 WAR.

In 2012, Ortega won WBC Tournament MVP despite only playing seven games, posting an absurd triple slash of .556/.636/1.185 with a 1.822 OPS, 405 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR. That run included one of the few four home run games in WBC history in an encounter with the Czech Republic. Ortega also was third in 2013’s WBC MVP voting, although Peru never picked up a division title in his tenure.

Ortega remained very effective when healthy from 2015-18 with 5+ WAR and 1.000+ OPS each year. The trouble was each of those years he fell short of 110 starts due to various injuries, most commonly with his knee. Ortega lost almost all of 2019 with a fractured coracoid bone in his shoulder. But by then, Trujillo had finally put the pieces together to be a contender.

In 2018, the Thoroughbreds had their first playoff berth at 101-61, although they lost in the first round. Trujillo was 102-60 in 2019 and upset 117-win Caracas to win the Bolivar League title with Ortega winning BLCS MVP. Ortega had made it back for the playoffs with 17 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, .808 OPS, and 0.5 WAR over 14 starts. Trujillo would be denied by Recife in Copa Sudamerica, but they had impressively won their first pennant in only their 11^th season.

In the Baseball Grand Championship, the Thoroughbreds finished 9-10 with Ortega looking strong over 18 starts, posting 17 hits, 16 runs, 11 homers, 21 RBI, 12 walks, 1.274 OPS, and 1.6 WAR. That stat line earned Ortega Tournament MVP honors. This made Ortega the first player to own MVP honors in both the Baseball Grand Championship and the World Baseball Championship.

Trujillo won two more division titles in 2020-21, but were unable to win a playoff series. Ortega was fully healthy both years and won his second MVP in 2020, leading the league in slugging (.699), OPS (1.090), and wRC+ (187). He was good in 2021, but down from his usual production. Ortega had a sub .900 OPS for the first time in 2022 and lost a month to a fractured wrist. The Thoroughbreds just missed the playoffs, but still extended their longtime star for another two years and $20 million at age 37.

Ortega stayed healthy the next two years, but declined sharply and was relegated to only 94 games and 32 starts with subpar production. Trujillo also fell hard off a cliff and started a six-year run of 100+ loss seasons in 2024. Ortega was unsigned in 2025 and officially retired that winter shortly after turning 40. The Thoroughbreds quickly retired his #7 uniform to honor their first superstar and a hometown hero.

In total, Ortega had 1810 games, 2143 hits, 1160 runs, 241 doubles, 169 triples, 495 home runs, 1217 RBI, 572 walks, 1135 strikeouts, 453 steals, .336/.393/.659 slash, 171 wRC+, and 84.5 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 74^th in home runs and 77^th in WAR among position players. The injuries greatly limited his final tallies and kept him out of the top 100 for most counting stats.

Ortega’s efficiency was stellar though and his 1.053 OPS and .659 slugging were first among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances at retirement. He still ranks 3^rd in OPS as of 2037 and his triple slash ranks 51^st/21^st/4^th. Among all of the world’s Hall of Famers as of 2037, Ortega is 8^th in OPS, 7^th in slugging, and 41^st in batting average.

Had he been able to stay healthy, Ortega might have been an inner-circle level inductee. Most voters felt his accomplishments even with the injuries were worthy with efficient hitting, two MVPs, and five Silver Sluggers. Ortega spent his whole career with his hometown team as they joined the league and helped them win their first pennant. At 78.4%, he was a first ballot selection to cap off an impressive four-player 2030 class for Beisbol Sudamerica.

05-06-2025, 05:36 AM	#2239
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,626	2030 BSA Hall of Fame (Part 2) Oscar Valdivia – Second Base – Quito Thunderbolts – 87.4% First Ballot Oscar Valdivia was a 6’4’’, 195 pound right-handed second baseman from Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. Valdivia was a well-rounded batter with good-to-great contract, eye, and power skills. He wasn’t going to lead the league in slugging, but his 162 game average gave you plenty of extra base hits with 29 home runs, 32 doubles, and 11 triples. Valdivia hit for average effectively against both sides and was rock solid at drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was merely okay. In his prime, Valdivia had good speed along with excellent baserunning and base stealing abilities. He was a career second baseman and consistently provided good-to-great defense. Valdivia’s durability was mostly good over an 18-year career at a demanding position. He was also a team captain with excellent leadership, loyalty, and work ethic. Valdivia was one of the most respected players of his era and a favorite of Ecuadoran fans. Valdivia wasn’t incredible at any one thing, but he was good at basically everything. It was also rare to find second basemen who could hit that well and still be a net positive defender. Valdivia grew up a Golds fans in Guayaquil, but he’d spend his entire career in the capital Quito. The Thunderbolts grabbed him 30^th overall in the 2006 BSA Draft. He started half of 2007 and took third in Rookie of the Year voting with his efforts. He was a full-time starter from 2008 onwards, although he missed part of that year from a fractured finger. Valdivia also had a torn abdominal muscle in fall 2009, but he’d avoid big injuries for about a decade after that. Still, each year from 2008-19 was worth 5+ WAR. Valdivia had an OPS above one in eight seasons and had 7+ WAR from 2011-18. He won Silver Sluggers in 2010, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 21. Valdivia never won MVP, but he was third in 2013 and 2014’s voting. He led the Bolivar League with 8.1 WAR in 2014 and with 8.3 in 2017. His career best was 9.3 in 2015, a year that also had his most runs scored (115). Valdivia led in walks in 2015-16 and led with a .419 OBP in 2017. Eight times he had an OBP above four and he hit above .300 from his rookie year through 2021. In March 2017, Quito gave Valdivia a five-year, $73,500,000 extension. Despite his efforts, the 2010s were unremarkable for Quito. They were never outright bad and won 80+ games in all but two of Valdivia’s seasons. However, they were stuck in the middle tier and missed the playoffs from 2007-18. Valdivia stayed steadfast as they finally broke the drought in 2019 as a wild card, although they lost in the divisional round. 2020 saw a first round exit, followed by playoff misses from 2021-23. Valdivia missed a chunk of 2020 to a strained rib cage muscle and parts of 2021 with knee and elbow issues. He was healthy in 2022 but struggled to .774 OPS and 2.3 WAR. Quito stayed loyal to their longtime captain and gave him a three-year, $47,800,000 extension that winter. Although he had very limited playoff opportunities, Valdivia did regularly play on the World Baseball Championship stage for his native Ecuador. The Ecuadorans didn’t win a division title from 2008-24 with Valdivia, but he gave it his all. He played 152 games with 129 hits, 101 runs, 16 doubles, 6 triples, 39 home runs, 67 RBI, 80 walks, 43 steals, .240/.356/.509 slash, 150 wRC+, and 6.7 WAR. Valdivia was certainly one of the country’s most well respected figures in baseball. Valdivia was merely passable in 2023 and was benched in 2024 after struggles, playing only 60 games with 37 starts. His leadership was still important from the bench as Quito almost out of nowhere had a franchise record 112-50 campaign. The Thunderbolts won Copa Sudamerica over Sao Paulo and Valdivia finally got Quito a ring after 18 years, even if he was 0-3 with three strikeouts as a playoff pinch hitter. Valdivia retired the day after the championship celebration and shortly after had his #14 uniform retired. In total, Valdivia played 2424 games with 2834 hits, 1465 runs, 483 doubles, 164 triples, 434 home runs, 1414 RBI, 965 walks 1606 strikeouts, 845 steals, .324/.391/.566 slash, 148 wRC+, and 105.9 WAR. As of 2037, Valdivia is 84^th in games, 32^nd in hits, 34^th in runs, 39^th in total bases (4947), 22^nd in doubles, 58^th in RBI, 42^nd in steals, 22^nd in walks, and 26^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Valdivia is 23^rd in OBP and his .957 OPS is 64^th. Despite those tallies, Valdivia is surprisingly under-rated and overlooked for being consistently good without any massive single year tallies. He ranks 5^th in WAR at second base, but often is rated below his contemporaries Antonio Arceo and Daniel Schafer, who both won Southern Cone League MVPs. Valdivia also sometimes gets forgotten since Quito was aggressively mid during his prime years. Real ones know that Valdivia was legit and is on the short list for Beisbol Sudamerica’s top five at second base. He received 87.4% to take the third of four slots with the impressive 2030 Hall of Fame class. Rico “Lippy” Ortega – Left Field – Trujillo Thoroughbreds – 78.4% First Ballot Rico Ortega was a 6’0’’, 200 pound switch-hitting left fielder from Trujillo, Peru’s third most populous city. Ortega was a stellar contact hitter who was graded as a 10/10 at his peak by some scouts. He also had impressive power with a 162 game average of 44 home runs, 22 doubles, and 15 triples. Ortega was above average at drawing walks and had a decent strikeout rate relative to his peers. Ortega was especially powerful facing right-handed arms with a career 1.092 OPS and 178 wRC+. His power was less pronounced against lefties, but he was still quite effective with a .895 OPS and 137 wRC+. Ortega’s baserunning skills and speed were average, but he was far from a liability. He primarily played left field and was a great defender, winning Gold Gloves in 2011 and 2012. Additionally, Ortega was considered a good leader and he wasn’t selfish, making him a five-star recruit. On top of that, he could throw a great sinker, although he lacked a worthy second pitch with only a bad changeup on offer. That kept Ortega from being a true two-way guy, but he was quite good in limited relief use. The one downfall with Ortega would be durability issues with numerous injuries limiting him throughout a 16-year career. When Ortega was growing up, his hometown Trujillo didn’t have a franchise. The city was angling for one and finally got their wish as part of the 2009 expansion. It couldn’t have been a more perfect fit that a hometown kid was a top prospect for their first-ever draft in 2008. The Thoroughbreds picked Ortega fourth overall and immediately made him the face of the new franchise. Ortega delivered right away as 2009 Rookie of the Year. He was second in 2010’s MVP voting and third in 2011, while winning his first Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in 2011. 2010 had his career high for hits (202), and WAR (9.2), while 2011 saw his bests for home runs (51). In 2012, Ortega got the awards sweep and won Bolivar League MVP by leading in the triple slash (.382/.436/.747), OPS (1.183), wRC+ (200), and WAR (8.7). This came despite missing April to a knee sprain, which would be the first of his injury issues. Ortega was third in 2013’s MVP voting and won another Slugger, leading again in slugging, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. 2014 would be a rough go, missing most of the season between a fractured ankle and knee sprain. Like many expansion teams before them, Trujillo was terrible in their early years. Still, they were plenty satisfied with Ortega and gave him an eight-year, $82,860,000 extension after the 2014 season. He was popular in his home town and throughout Peru as he was a regular for his country in the World Baseball Championship. From 2008-23, Ortega played 131 WBC games with 131 hits, 94 runs, 21 doubles, 8 triples, 43 home runs, 90 RBI, 43 steals, .289/.394/.656 slash, and 8.4 WAR. He had a 1.050 OPS in the WBC, one of only 62 guys to hit that effectively with at least 250 plate appearances. Ortega was an effective pitcher in the WBC with a 2.87 ERA over 37.2 innings, 41 strikeouts, and 1.0 WAR. In 2012, Ortega won WBC Tournament MVP despite only playing seven games, posting an absurd triple slash of .556/.636/1.185 with a 1.822 OPS, 405 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR. That run included one of the few four home run games in WBC history in an encounter with the Czech Republic. Ortega also was third in 2013’s WBC MVP voting, although Peru never picked up a division title in his tenure. Ortega remained very effective when healthy from 2015-18 with 5+ WAR and 1.000+ OPS each year. The trouble was each of those years he fell short of 110 starts due to various injuries, most commonly with his knee. Ortega lost almost all of 2019 with a fractured coracoid bone in his shoulder. But by then, Trujillo had finally put the pieces together to be a contender. In 2018, the Thoroughbreds had their first playoff berth at 101-61, although they lost in the first round. Trujillo was 102-60 in 2019 and upset 117-win Caracas to win the Bolivar League title with Ortega winning BLCS MVP. Ortega had made it back for the playoffs with 17 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, .808 OPS, and 0.5 WAR over 14 starts. Trujillo would be denied by Recife in Copa Sudamerica, but they had impressively won their first pennant in only their 11^th season. In the Baseball Grand Championship, the Thoroughbreds finished 9-10 with Ortega looking strong over 18 starts, posting 17 hits, 16 runs, 11 homers, 21 RBI, 12 walks, 1.274 OPS, and 1.6 WAR. That stat line earned Ortega Tournament MVP honors. This made Ortega the first player to own MVP honors in both the Baseball Grand Championship and the World Baseball Championship. Trujillo won two more division titles in 2020-21, but were unable to win a playoff series. Ortega was fully healthy both years and won his second MVP in 2020, leading the league in slugging (.699), OPS (1.090), and wRC+ (187). He was good in 2021, but down from his usual production. Ortega had a sub .900 OPS for the first time in 2022 and lost a month to a fractured wrist. The Thoroughbreds just missed the playoffs, but still extended their longtime star for another two years and $20 million at age 37. Ortega stayed healthy the next two years, but declined sharply and was relegated to only 94 games and 32 starts with subpar production. Trujillo also fell hard off a cliff and started a six-year run of 100+ loss seasons in 2024. Ortega was unsigned in 2025 and officially retired that winter shortly after turning 40. The Thoroughbreds quickly retired his #7 uniform to honor their first superstar and a hometown hero. In total, Ortega had 1810 games, 2143 hits, 1160 runs, 241 doubles, 169 triples, 495 home runs, 1217 RBI, 572 walks, 1135 strikeouts, 453 steals, .336/.393/.659 slash, 171 wRC+, and 84.5 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 74^th in home runs and 77^th in WAR among position players. The injuries greatly limited his final tallies and kept him out of the top 100 for most counting stats. Ortega’s efficiency was stellar though and his 1.053 OPS and .659 slugging were first among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances at retirement. He still ranks 3^rd in OPS as of 2037 and his triple slash ranks 51^st/21^st/4^th. Among all of the world’s Hall of Famers as of 2037, Ortega is 8^th in OPS, 7^th in slugging, and 41^st in batting average. Had he been able to stay healthy, Ortega might have been an inner-circle level inductee. Most voters felt his accomplishments even with the injuries were worthy with efficient hitting, two MVPs, and five Silver Sluggers. Ortega spent his whole career with his hometown team as they joined the league and helped them win their first pennant. At 78.4%, he was a first ballot selection to cap off an impressive four-player 2030 class for Beisbol Sudamerica. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)