1997 Central American Games

The 1997 Central American Games were held in San Pedro Sula, Honduras in December 1997.  Panama won their first Gold in baseball in the Central American Games, while  Nicaragua got the Silver and host  Honduras took the Bronze.  Guatemala was the 4th entrant. Panama had two future major leaguers, José Macías and Carlos Ruiz, while Nicaragua had one, Vicente Padilla. In the Gold Medal Game, Darío Agrazal Sr. got the decision in a 7-3 victory over Nicaragua, whose starter Jose Quiroz lasted only 2/3 of an inning (4 H, 3 R).

Nicaragua had the top hitters of the tournament. Jose Ramon Padilla led the tournament with 3 homers and tied his brother Jose Reynaldo Padilla for the lead with 9 RBI. Ariel Delgado led with a .769 average.

See 1997 Central American Games (Rosters) as well.