MEXICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR BALLOTING OPENS

Online voting for the 79th annual Mexican League All-Star Game next month is now underway. Liga fans will have until one minute before midnight on Sunday, May 15 to send in ballots choosing All-Star starters for both the Northern and Southern Zones on the LMB website at www.lmb.com.mx.

Saltillo Saraperos manager Orlando Sanchez will guide the Northern squad while Quintana Roo Tigres skipper Matias Carrillo will head up the Southern team.

The 2011 All-Star Weekend will take place May 27-29 in Saltillo at Estadio Francisco I. Madero, which was remodeled during the off-season.

Last year’s All-Star festivities took place in Chihuahua, with the North (or “Zona Madero” to denote Mexico’s bicentennial year) defeated the South (Zona Hidalgo), 4-3, as Reynosa center fielder Leo Heras singled in Monclova’s Saul Soto with the eventual winning run in the seventh inning en route to winning MVP honors. Saltillo DH Refugio Cervantes won the Home Run Derby by nudging Mexico City’s Japhet Amador, 5-4, in the final round.