VALDEZ PITCHES LEONES WITHIN GAME OF LMB FLAG

Cesar Valdez pitching for Oakland in 2017

If there was any doubt remaining as to why Cesar Valdez is the odds-on favorite to be named the Mexican League Pitcher of the Year for 2019, the 34-year-old Dominican right-hander should have dispelled them after he pitched a shutout Sunday to lead the Yucatan Leones to a 3-0 win over the visiting Monclova Acereros in Game Five of the Serie del Rey in front of 14,917 fans at Merida's Parque Kukulkan.  The triumph gives Yucatan a 3-games-to-2 lead in the series.

Valdez threw 112 pitches (77 of them strikes) in holding the potent Steelers to four hits and a walk, striking out eight batters to run his playoff record to 4-0 after a 15-2 regular season in which he led the LMB in wins, ERA (2.26) and WHIP (1.06) in 23 starts.  Art Charles' two-out single in the bottom of the first inning off Monclova starter Adam Quintana drove in Jonathan Jones from third with the first run of the game. It would turn out to be the only tally Valdez would need but (just in case) Jorge Flores opened the third with a triple and scored on a Jones single to make it 2-0 and Alex Liddi's solo homer in the bottom of the eighth added one more insurance run for manager Geronimo Gil's squad.  Jones contributed two singles to the Yucatan offense as seven of the other eight Leones batsmen had one hit. Catcher Sebastian Valle had an 0-fer but called a solid game behind the plate for the winners.

Valdez' outstanding Sunday outing was far removed from his work during last Tuesday's Serie del Rey Game One in Monclova.  Although he was awarded a 5-4 win over the Acereros, the 2008 California League All-Star Game MVP and future major leaguer let in four runs over seven innings and gave up home runs to Jose Amador, Eric Young Jr. (a two-run shot) and Noah Perio to account for all Steeler scoring.  Valdez did strike out 13 of the 27 batters he faced.

Monclova evened the series Wednesday with a 9-3 comeback win over Yoanner Negrin, the 2016 LMB Pitcher of the Year.  Negrin was impressive in earlier playoff wins over Oaxaca and Mexico City and had a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh when the Acereros loaded the bases after striking out leadoff batter Bruce Maxwell.  At that point, Gil replaced the Cuban righty with Manny Parra, who gave up a two-run Young single up the middle and an RBI safety to Erick Aybar that gave the home team a 4-3 lead. The Acereros scored five more in the eighth, including a Ricky Rodriguez grand slam off Enrique Burgos, to put the game away.  Amador singled twice and doubled for three of ten Acereros hits as another sellout crowd of 8,500 watched at Estadio Monclova.

Art Charles (r) homered for Leones in Game 4

The title set shifted to Merida for Game Three on Friday, when Monclova took a 2-games-to-1 lead with a 6-3 road win.  Francisco Peguero went 3-for-4 with a double, scoring one run and driving in another as the Acereros collected 13 hits off Leones starter Jose Samayoa and five relievers.  Valle socked a solo homer off Monclova closer Carlos Bustamante in the bottom of the ninth but the contest was all but decided by then. Connor Herber earned his third postseason win by pitching five innings of two-run ball for manager Pat Listach.

Yucatan battled back to tie the series Saturday night with 3-2 victory.  Monclova took an early lead in the top of the first when leadoff hitter Perio doubled off Leones starter Dustin Crenshaw and came in one out later on a Peguero two-bagger.  The Acereros made it 2-0 one entrada later when Perio's two-out single off Crenshaw brought in Amador from second after the latter had doubled to open the inning.  From that point on, Crenshaw went unscathed through the sixth inning and benefitted from a three-run Yucatan fourth keyed by a two-run Charles homer against Monclova opener Geno Encina.  That would mark the last run of the game as Crenshaw, who earned the win, and three relievers held the Acereros scoreless over the last seven innings. A Californian who pitched collegiately at South Alabama and spent four years in indy ball before making his 2015 LMB debut with Laguna, the 6'5" Crenshaw has been one of the Liga's best pitchers since when healthy with a 29-14 record and 3.63 ERA in 61 starts.

The Serie del Rey now shifts back to Monclova for Tuesday night's Game Six.  All five games have been sellouts and another full house is expected at Estadio Monclova as the Acereros strive for the city's first Mexican League pennant since entering the league in 1974.  Negrin is expected to start for Yucatan while Jaime Lugo will take the mound for Monclova.

LOS MOCHIS, GUASAVE BALLPARKS READYING FOR LMP SEASON

Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada in Los Mochis

Two of the Mexican Pacific League's ten ballparks are undergoing upgrades in preparation for the upcoming 2019-20 season.  

State approval of renovations at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada in Los Mochis was signed by Sinaloa governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel on October 7, 2017 with hope that the two-stage project would be completed by October 2018 after an initial investment of 50 million pesos for work that winter and 260 million pesos projected as the overall price. Sinaloa Public Works secretary Osvaldo Lopez Angulo envisioned a total remodel of the central portion of the stadium, which now has three seating levels (lower and upper box seats topped by luxury and press boxes), and other safety- and comfort-related amenities.  Instead, the facelift will be unveiled a year late with a pricetag of 400 million pesos, or about 20 million US dollars, not an unusual turn of events when it comes to ballparks, new or renovated. 

Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada was first opened in 1947 when Los Mochis was admitted to the old Pacific Coast League, precursor to the modern LMP.  Initially known as Estadio Mochis, the facility seated 3,000 and had no lights. It has since undergone a number of renovations, the first coming in 1963 when seating was doubled to 6,000 and a lighting system was installed.  A second renovation took place in 1972, as seating was nearly doubled again to a capacity of 11,000 while being renamed after Ibarra, who brought pro baseball to Los Mochis in 1947 and helped inaugurate the ballpark that winter.  Ten years later, Hurricane Paul damaged the facility so badly that the Caneros were forced to play the first half of the 1982-83 LMP schedule on the road before playing home games without lights during the second half. The updated, modern facility is expected to be ready to host 12,000 spectators when the Caneros play their first home game on Saturday, October 12 against Guasave.

Speaking of Guasave, work at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon has been hurrying along in advance of the revived Algodoneros' home opener against Los Mochis on October 13, one day after the two teams welcome the season at the Caneros' new digs.  Where renovations in Los Mochis have had almost two years to reach completion, Guasave has had less than a year to bring their stadium up to modern standards because the city was only granted re-entry to the Mex Pac last winter after the previous version of the Algodoneros were sold and moved to Guadalajara in 2014.

Guasave's Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon

Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon is a much newer plant than its counterpart in Los Mochis, opening in 1970 with seating for up to 8,000 spectators.  However, the ballpark was not upgraded over the years and by the time it was 44 years old in 2014, it was showing its age and falling into disrepair as the undercapitalized team owners couldn't afford to make needed changes and the state government wasn't willing to pick up the tab.  Attendance had long been declining in Guasave and the team was eventually sold to a group led by Armando Navarro and Salvador Quirarte and moved inland to Guadalajara, where the renamed Jalisco Charros have become of of Mexican baseball's more recent success stories, hosting several international tournaments and winning last winter's LMP pennant.  After a five-year absence, the Mex Pac returned to Guasave when Mexico president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador fulfilled a campaign promise to bring baseball back to the Sinaloa agricultural center.

Mexico City Diablos Rojos owner Alfredo Harp Helu, who bankrolled a new ballpark of his own in the nation's capital, is paying for renovations at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon, which will be expanded to 10,000 seats.  While there was speculation that Harp might own an LMP along with his Mexican League franchise, he said he had no such interest and another LMB owner, Arturo Aramburo (who owns the Durango Generales but is said to be looking to sell that franchise), officially bought the team over summer.  

The ballpark used by the new Algodoneros was in enough disrepair that the facility might not have been ready to host games next month.  LMP president Omar Canizales, who toured the stadium with Governor Ordaz last week, was quoted in Puro Beisbol as saying, "I am pleasantly surprised.  I had come a couple months ago and I was really a little worried, and when I realize what has happened in the last six weeks, I see a very important breakthrough.  

"They will be ready to sing 'Play ball' on October 13." 

MEDIUM: 30% OF 2019 LMB PLAYERS WERE MEXICAN-AMERICANS

Tijuana outfielder Beau Amaral

It's been two years since the Mexican League expanded its definition of what constitutes a "Mexican" player.  The issue is one reason the LMB underwent an offseason schism that threatened either a split into two separate leagues or cancellation of the 2017 season altogether.  An uneasy truce was eventually brokered and the new policy, in which a player with Mexican heritage who can qualify for a passport is considered "domestic" and does not count against foreign player limits per team, has played out for two years.  While it can be argued that making players with peripheral family connections to Mexico eligible has raised the overall level of play in the Liga, homegrown Mexican players are now having a harder time finding work in their own country.

A September 18 story by Joseph Bien-Kahn for the Medium website delves deeply into the topic.  According to Bien-Kahn, "If you had a Mexican ancestor and could qualify for a Mexican passport, you were Mexican in the eyes of the league."  Tijuana Toros press officer Armando Esquivel estimates that 30 percent of the Mexican League's 400 players (25 players per team) are Mexican-Americans, many of whom bring Major League Baseball experience south of the border.  One such player, Tijuana outfielder Beau Amaral, is a son of former major league infielder Rich and spent seven seasons in the Reds minor league system and part of 2018 with the Mariners' AA Arkansas affiliate before joining the Toros this year.  A Californian who played collegiately at UCLA, Amaral had a great-grandmother who was born in Mexico and thus is not considered a foreigner in the eyes of the LMB.

Indeed, Tijuana has come to specialize in finding players with tenuous literal relations to Mexico who still oxymoronically qualify as domestic imports, with Director of International Operations Arturo Marcano heading the effort.  "That's one of my areas of work: to look for pochos," Marcano told Bien-Kahn, "It's kind of like detective work."  Marcano is a hard-working man, as only six Toros players this season were born in Mexico, including just one pitcher.  He says, "It's not like we have a network of spies looking for pochos everywhere.  What we're doing is scouting players for the team."

Tijuana won their first LMB pennant in 2017 after embracing the philosophy and earning the enmity of Monterrey owner Jose "Pepe" Maiz, who played on Mexico's 1957 Little League World Series champions as a 12-year-old.  Maiz called the team who defeated his Sultanes in the LMB North Championship Series the Pocho Toros, a term that stuck among opposing fans and players who saw the influx of foreign-born players after eligibility rules were relaxed as taking away jobs from homegrown talent.  Although the Mexico City Diablos Rojos played the 2017 season without a single foreign player in protest and missed the playoffs. Other teams noticed that Tijuana won a pennant with 22 foreign-born players (including 16 Mexican-Americans) while Monterrey was eliminated in the semis and Mexico City took the postseason off altogether, and the Toros' philosophy was eventually adopted by organizations across the Liga.

Manny Barreda pitched 2017 no-hitter for Toros

The term pocho technically applies to foreign-born ethnic Mexicans (similar to the longer standing term chicano), but it can also be a derogatory one used toward ethnic Mexicans perceived to have "lost their way" culturally.  While players like Watkins won't hear it directed towards them, Mexican-Americans like pitcher Manny Barreda are frequently targeted.  Born and raised in Arizona, Barreda came to Tijuana in late 2015 after eight years in the Yankees system and one in the Brewers organization.  Except for an excellent seven-start stint with the Braves' AAA Gwinnett affiliate in 2017 (3-1 record with a 1.83 ERA), he's played for the Toros every summer since.  Barreda memorably tossed a 138-pitch no-hitter for Los Mochis of the Mexican Pacific League on November 28, 2016 and then repeated the feat for Tijuana on July 16, 2017, requiring 135 pitches for that 14-strikeout performance.

Although he and wife Karla have become more comfortable living in Mexico, Barreda's first full year in the LMB resulted in several hostile emails and a sense of isolation in a country where he had much stronger cultural roots than many players with far more tertiary ties.  Players of Mexican descent born and raised north of the border often find themselves in a cultural void on both sides of the border. Barreda explains to Bien-Kahn, "In the U.S., you're considered 'Mexican.' And when you come to Mexico, you're an American. You're a pocho. People like us, we don't have a place."  Minnesota Twins reliever Sergio Romo, who still pitches winterball for the Mexican Pacific League's Jalisco Charros, has voiced similar frustrations in the past.

Perhaps the biggest losers with the new regulations are the Mexican-born players who would have played in the LMB in the years prior to 2017.  Previously, Mexican League teams could only carry four foreign-born players, including Mexican-Americans, so only 64 total imports were on the 16 active team rosters.  If Marcano's estimate is accurate, that number is now 120 and could be higher. Not being able to play in their national circuit has hurt these players economically because the average pay in the both the Liga and Mex Pac for homegrown players is said to generally be in the $3,000-$5,000 per month range, a lot of money in a nation where the International Monetary Fund estimated the per capita income in 2017 to be equal to 9,377 US dollars per year. Minor league baseball is not a lucrative undertaking north of the border but in Mexico, many players extend their careers as long as possible because few jobs at home pay the kind of money they can earn in the LMB and LMP.

The notion of limiting the number of foreign-born players may be an unfamiliar one outside Major League and Minor League Baseball (where such practices are illegal), but it is a common practice in almost every other country in the world as a means to allow domestic talent a chance to play.  With the apparent impending ouster of president Javier Salinas and return to power of the so-called Old Guard owners who opposed relaxing player eligibility rules, a return to the old standards may well be discussed during the offseason.

HARBER LIGHTS OUT, ACEREROS REACH SERIE DEL REY

Monclova pitcher Conor Harber

Monclova starting pitcher Conor Harber pitched 6.2 innings of two-hit shutout ball and Francisco Peguero's solo homer highlighted an Acereros' three-run fourth inning as the Steelers went on to win, 3-0, in Tijuana Sunday night to take the Mexican League North Division Championship Series, 4 games to 3.  That outburst in the fourth was all the support Harber needed in earning the win while allowing only a Junior Lake single in the first and a Luis Alfonso Cruz safety in the fourth among 25 Toros batters faced (unfurling 98 pitches along the way).  With two out in the bottom of the seventh, Harber walked Yelson Asencio and Monclova manager Pat Listach brought in Al Albuquerque. A Detroit Tigers' 2011 Rookie of the Year who pitched all or parts of seven MLB seasons, Albuquerque got pinch-hitter Logan Watkins to pop out to Acereros second baseman Erick Aybar to end the entrada and struck out the side in the eighth before closer Carlos Bustamente had a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.

After the Toros had copped the first two games in Tijuana, the series shifted to Monclova for last Tuesday's Game Three.  The home team cut TJ's series lead in half with an 11-2 shallacking as Jose Vargas and former MLBer Eric Young, Jr. belted two-run homers for the Acereros.  Young hit .315 with two homers in 27 games after Monclova signed him in late July, but only batted .143 (7-for-47) over his first ten playoff games for the Steelers.  Former Rays MiLB reliever Spencer Jones tossed one scoreless inning and got the win.

One night later, Jose Amador's solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a deadlocked score as Monclova evened the series with a 4-3 Game Four win.  Vargas (his second two-run blast in as many games) and ex-Angels shortstop Erick Aybar both went deep for the Acereros off Toros starter Terance Marin in the bottom of the second as Bustamante tossed a scoreless ninth for the save.  Ricky Alvarez had a two-hit night for Tijuana, doubling in one run and scoring another.

The Acereros took the series lead with their third straight home win last Thursday, 7-2, as former Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Tijuana starter James Russell and another two-run roundtripper in the third off reliever Aaron Kurcz.  Alvarez drove in both Toros runs on singles in the third and fifth frames.  Wilmer Rios, who came on in relief after Monclova starter Danny Rodriguez injured his hand while issuing a game-opening walk to Maxwell Leon, was awarded the win for tossing 2.2 innings of one-run ball before giving way to Jones in the third.  A third straight sellout crowd at Estadio Monclova (8,500 per night) watched as their heroes joined the Toros in the trek back to Tijuana for Game Six.

The Toros won Saturday night when they held off Monclova, 5-4, in front of 16,973 fanaticos in the border city ballpark.  Tijuana took the lead in the bottom of the second on Asencio's two-run homer, but the visitors knotted the contest back up when Chris Carter returned the favor in the top of the fourth.  The Bulls went back in front in the bottom of the fourth on Asencio's RBI single, then opened a 5-2 lead in the seventh on run-scoring singletons by Javier Salazer and Lake.  Peguero singled in Beau Amaral and a bases-loaded walk to Maxwell pushed across Alex Mejia to bring Monclova to within one run before Kurcz (who'd walked Maxwell, his first batter) struck out Amador and Vargas, both swinging, to end the game and force Sunday's Game Seven.

Acereros third baseman Rodolfo Amador

Monclova will advance to the Serie del Rey against Yucatan, starting Tuesday night in Monclova after winning home field advantage for the title with a better overall season won-lost record than the Leones.  This will be the third trip to the championship series for the Acereros, who are celebrating Monclova's 45th season in the Mexican League.  They fell in 2008 to Oaxaca and in 2015 to Quintana Roo.  Conversely, the Leones won their fourth LMB pennant over 65 years in last year's Spring season.

The Acereros have one of the Liga's scariest offenses, belting out a .326 team average with 196 homers over 120 games and featuring with such hitters as Peguero (.386/31/106), Maxwell (.325/24/112), Chris Carter (.293/49/119) and Rodolfo Amador (.326/19/102).  Monclova will need all the runs they can get because their pitching staff doesn't remotely compare to Yucatan's.  With ace Josh Lowey out since May, the only pitcher with more than 11 starts has been Rodriguez, who opened 22 times en route to an 8-6 record with a 4.73 ERA.  The 36-year-old lefty has been a big game pitcher in the past, but was 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA in four playoff starts before getting hurt Thursday and landing on the Reserve List one day later.


YUCATAN SWEEPS MEXICO CITY FOR LMB SOUTH CROWN

The Yucatan Leones defeated Mexico City in Games Three and Four in Merida last week to complete a four-game Mexican League South Division Championship Series sweep of the hard-hitting Diablos Rojos.  Yucatan, who knocked out defending LMB South champs Oaxaca in five games in the first round, now advances to the Serie del Rey and Tuesday's Game One.

Yucatan pitcher Dustin Crenshaw

The Leones won the first two games of the series in Mexico City before the two teams shifted to Parque Kukulkan in Merida for Game Three last Tuesday. Yucatan took away a 7-5 victory as Luis Juarez and Jorge Flores each cracked two-run homers. Juarez' roundtripper in the third off Arturo Lopez reversed a 2-1 Diablos advantage and the Lions never looked back, with Dustin Crenshaw giving up two runs in 5.2 innings for the W.  Japhet Amador drove in four runs on three singles for Mexico while Carlos Figueroa had three hits and scored twice.

Yucatan brought out the brooms in last Wednesday's Game Four, completing the sweep with a 4-1 triumph over the Red Devils in front of a second sellout crowd of 14,917 at Parque Kukulkan.  Jose Samayoa and three relievers combined to hold the visitors to four hits. Alex Liddi gave the Leones an early lead with a two-run homer in the first, but David Vidal made it a 2-1 game in the top of the second by singling in Amador from third.  Liddi responded in the bottom of the frame with a two-run double to end the game's scoring early.  From that point, Samayoa (one run on four hits over 6.2 innings) and the bullpen held the potent Diablos scoreless to vault Yucatan into the Serie del Rey for the second time in three seasons.  Samayoa got the win while Mexico City starter Patrick Johnson, who gave up both of Liddi's two-run hits, absorbed the loss.  Liddi later added a single and ended the night 3-for-5 for the winners.

Leones infielder Alex Liddi (c)

The Leones have shown unusual (for them) power this year, as eight batters reached double figures in homers, led by Leo Heras' 15, en route to 126 bombs during the regular season.  Among the leaders in the power surge has been June free-agent signee Liddi, an ex-Seattle corner infielder who hit .344 with 12 homers and 66 RBIs in 59 games. The Italian National team stalwart has hit .359 with three homers and 11 RBIs in nine playoff games for Yucatan.  The Lions have always relied on good pitching and while 2019 was a down year for hurlers across the LMB, the Merida club did finish second to Tijuana with a team ERA of 4.45 (the Toros turned in a 4.41 mark) while giving up both the fewest homers (100) and walks (311).  Manager Geronimo Gil comes off the elimination of his former team and will bring four solid starters into the Serie del Rey: Cesar Valdez (15-2/2.26), Yoanner Negrin (13-6/3.22), Samayoa (9-5/4.05) and Crenshaw (5-1/2.72 over seven starts).

While the Diablos headed back to the nation's capital in disappointment, it's been a good year for baseball in Mexico City.  The March 23 opener of the new Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu kicked things off as the San Diego Padres beating the Diablos Rojos, 11-2, as a full house of 20,000 looked on.  Baseball devotee Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador became the first Mexican president since Miguel Aleman in 1947 to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at an LMB ballpark opener.  The next afternoon saw another sellout witness a 9-6 Padres win, although 2018 Southern League batting champion Kevin Medrano became the first Diablos player to homer in the new facility.  Mexico City also hosted the Mexican League All-Star Game (another sellout) while the Diablos drew 389,641 fans over the regular season for an average of 7,216, good for fourth in the Liga. Mexico City led the league with a .330 team batting average en route to an overall 67-49 record, best in the LMB South.


EL TITAN: "IF I RETURN TO LMP, I RETURN WITH VENADOS"

Adrian Gonzalez in his earlier Mazatlan days

Perhaps as a reply to rumors that he might play winterball in Culiacan this season, five-time Major League All-Star Adrian Gonzalez has tweeted that he would prefer the same team he's always played Mexican Pacific League ball with: the Mazatlan Venados.  A four-time Gold Glove first baseman with two Silver Slugger awards during his 15-year MLB career, Gonzalez tweeted last Friday: "I really doubt that I can play with the Tomateros.  Great team with a lot of history.  But I've always said it.  If I return to LMP, I return with Venados."

According to an ElFildeo.com writer only identified as Otero (maybe longtime Laredo Morning Times sports editor and former Baseball America scribe Salo Otero?), "Much has been said, specialted and written about Adrian Gonzalez, whether he is retired or not from baseball, if he will play in the LMP in the 2019-2020 campaign, if he will do so with the Charros de Jalisco, even if he is also going to play with Mexico in the Premier12 tournament."  For the record, while the 37-year-old has only played in the LMP for Mazatlan, he does not appear on a protected roster for any of the Mex Pac's ten teams and is free to make a deal with any team of his choosing.

Will he or won't he? And where?

The San Diego-born "El Titan," Gonzalez spent a few years growing up across the border in Tijuana, where he and older brother Edgar learned baseball from their father, former Mexican National Team member David Gonzalez.  With Edgar manning second base, the Gonzalez brothers played side-by-side with Mazatlan a number of times during the '00s before becoming the first Mexican brother duo to play together in MLB with San Diego in 2009.  Adrian went on to play for Boston, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets before recurring back issues shelved him last season after he hit .237 with six homers before the Mets released him in June 2018.  In his MLB career, Gonzalez batted .287 on 2,050 hits, including 317 homers and 1,202 RBIs over 1,989 games.  He has not played in a game since going 0-for-3 on June 10, 2018, when the Mets hosted the crosstown rival Yankees at Flushing Meadows.

YUCATAN WINS FIRST 2 ON ROAD IN LMB SOUTH FINALS

Yucatan outfielder Jonathan Jones

Over the years, the Yucatan Leones have traditionally been winners in Mexican League baseball because of timely hitting, consistent defense and top-notch pitching.  Power has rarely been a facet for the Merida team but 2019 has been a different year with the new Franklin ball and the Leones unleashed a barrage of homers over the weekend as the defending division champions socked eight homers while winning the first two games of the LMB South finals in Mexico City. 

Yucatan batters belted three homers Saturday against the Diablos Rojos before knocking out five roundtrippers in Sunday's Game Two 14-6 laugher, a game that was actually tied 3-3 until the Leones posted nine runs in the top of the third inning to break the contest wide open.  Three of those five Yucatan homers came in the third as two-run bombs from Sebastian Valle and Xavier Scruggs bookended a solo shot from Leo Heras.  Earlier, Alex Liddi and Luis Juarez went long for the Leones as each ended with three hits and two RBIs apiece.  Cesar Valdez was far from his best on the mound for the winners, giving up three runs on seven hits over five innings of work, but still got the win thanks to that nine-run gift in the third.  Diablos starter David Reyes was chased after allowing six runs (including three homers) in two-plus innings.

In Saturday's series opener, Leones starter Yoanner Negrin tossed seven strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits, while centerfielder Jonathan Jones cracked two solo homers and designated hitter Luis Juarez added a two-run shot in the seventh as Yucatan prevailed, 6-3.  That it was Jones who went deep twice was surprising, as the former Jays farmhand had homered just twice since late June, with his last four-bagger coming on August 6 en route to a career-high 10 homers.  Jones finished the night 4-for-4 at the plate and plated four runs.  Just to show the Leones haven't forgotten their roots, catcher Sebastian Valle (he of the 13 career stolen bases over as many seasons) swiped second base in the seventh off reliever Juan Robles.

The Leones reached the division title set by knocking out Oaxaca in five games in the first round, eliminating the Guerreros with a 3-1 win at home on Sunday, September 8 in Estadio Kukulkan as Cesar Valdez held Oaxaca to one run over seven two-hit innings and Juarez drove in the first Yucatan run with a double and later scored their second tally in the bottom of the first.  A stocky two-time All-Star out of Culiacan, Juarez batted .319 to top the .300 mark for the fourth season in a row (including twice last year) and hit 12 homers, driving in 65 runs despite two trips to the reserve list.

It was a tough way to end the season for Oaxaca outfielder Alonzo Harris, who followed up an MVP-worthy regular campaign (.343 with 39 homers, 45 stolen bases, 117 RBIs and a remarkable 131 runs over 119 games) with a .263 average in five postseason tilts during which he homered twice and scored three times in Game Four but was otherwise fairly quiet at the plate.  Guerreros catcher Erick Rodriguez, a seven-time All-Star (MVP of the 2015 ASG) likewise had a good regular season (.356/12/47 in 87 games) with another ASG appearance, but the 39-year-old Monterrey native faded in the playoffs by going only 3-for-17 with one run while playing all five games. He did steal a base in Game One after collecting only 15 swipes over his 19-year career, none since 2017.

Mexico City outfielder Carlos Figueroa

Mexico City advanced from the LMB South semis by topping Quintana Roo, 4 games to 3.  The Diablos were on the brink of elimination after five games before winning twice at home to send the rival Tigres home to Cancun (for now).  Last Tuesday's game at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu saw the home team come from behind with four runs in the bottom of the ninth, the last coming an a single up the middle by Carlos Figueroa off reliever Juan Noriega that was followed a throwing error by Tigres centerfielder Yordanys Linares, scoring two runs to seal a 5-4 walkoff win.  Quintana Roo starter Javier Solano had allowed run run in eight entradas before giving way to Noriega.  Game Seven on Wednesday was a slugfest, with the Diablos outlasting the Tigres, 13-11, behind Japhet Amador's 4-for-5 performance that included two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored.  Ex-Twins minor leaguer Alex Robles had a great night in a losing cause for Quintana Roo, going 4-for-5 himself with a homer and seven RBIs, but an eight-run seventh for the Diablos gave the home team a 13-7 lead and the Tigres' four runs in the ninth weren't enough to catch up. 

Quintana Roo's defeat closes their season amid speculation that the Tigres may not be long for Cancun, a popular place for tourists but not so much for baseball fans (think Florida).  Owner Fernando Valenzuela got off to a rocky start shortly after buying the heritage franchise in February 2017 when five prospects who'd belonged to the Tigres before Valenzuela and wife Linda bought the team magically appeared on Mexico City's reserve list after the sale, a move that eventually became the Rookiegate scandal.  However, Cancun has never warmed to the team and rumors are that the Valenzuelas may move them to their historic home of Mexico City even though that could mean using 5,000-seat Estadio Fray Nano, which proved inadequate for AAA baseball over the five years the Diablos used it before opening their new state-of-the-art facility this spring.

MONCLOVA, TIJUANA ADVANCE TO LMB NORTH FINALS

Tijuana pitcher James Russell

It took them seven games to do it, but the Monclova Acereros finally knocked defending champion Monterrey out of contention for a repeat pennant by winning Game Seven of their LMB North semifinal series, 5-2, last Thursday in Estadio Monclova.  By reaching the division championships, the Steelers are facing Tijuana, who needed six games to dispatch a pesky Saltillo team few were receiving few playoff projections prior to the regular season but parlayed a second-half title into the fourth and final division seed.  

The Toros then began the division title series with two wins against Monclova over the weekend, including a 5-1 victory Sunday night in Tijuana that was a scoreless tie until the Bulls exploded for all five runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by a two-run single by Ricky Alvarez and a two-run homer by Jesus "Cacao" Valdez.  Francisco Peguero got one run back for the Acereros with a solo shot in the top of the seventh but Monclova was unable to catch up before their 27 outs were used up.  Tijuana starter Horacio Ramirez, a former Mariners hurler, got the win by pitching 6.1 shoutout innings and allowing just three hits. 

The division title set began Saturday night in Tijuana as the host Toros shut out Monclova, 4-0, with TJ starter James Russell turning in a standout effort on the mound.  A reliever during his big league days with the Cubs, Braves and Phillies between 2010 and 2016, Russell (son of former MLB All-Star closer Jeff Russell) was signed by the Toros as a free agent in April and inserted into the starting rotation.  Although he pitched into the seventh inning three times in 18 starts and didn't compile enough innings to qualify for the ERA title, Russell had a solid campaign for Tijuana by going 8-4 with a 3.26 ERA (which would've ranked third in the LMB), striking out 66 and walking just 11 in 88.1 innings.  Facing a potent Monclova lineup that averaged .320 and a Liga-best 7.46 runs per game, Russell limited the Acereros to three hits in 6.1 shutout innings, whiffing 11 batsmen (including Chris Carter three times) and walking one before being pulled after 100 pitches.  Maxwell Leon and Isaac Rodriguez each had two hits and one run in support of Russell for the winners.

Monclova's Francisco Peguero and Chris Carter

Like Mexico City in their series with Quintana Roo, Monclova went into Game Six of their series with Monterrey trailing 3-games-to-2 after losing to the Sultanes, 5-4, last Monday as Yamaico Navarro's walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth drove in Tony Campana with the game-winning run.  Campana had two singles and a double as the ex-Cub scored twice for the winners.  The two teams then moved to Monclova for Wednesday's 10-1 Acereros' drubbing of the Fall 2018 champs, with Francisco Peguero clobbering two homers en route to a three-hit night in which he scored four runs and drove in three.  Monclova starter Conor Harber let in one Monterrey one by scattering eight hits and a walk over seven frames.  That brought things to a Game Seven last Thursday and Acereros slugger Chris Carter came up big with two homers and three ribbies as Monclova clinched the series with a 5-2 win.  The former National League HR champion lofted six circuit clouts in the series.  Former Rangers prospect Adam Quintana pitched six innings of scoreless ball for the Acereros, giving up three hits and striking out five.  Quintana finished the regular season with an 8-4 record after pitching out of the bullpen until new manager Pat Listach added him to the rotation in early July for the rest of the schedule. 

Tijuana had a slightly easier time of it in their series with Saltillo, who surprised observers with their second-half title under first-year helmsman Roberto Vizcarra, who has won wherever he's worked during his short managerial career.  The Saraperos trailed the Toros 3-games-to-2 after winning Game Six at home last Monday with a 5-0 shutout over the potent border team.  Former Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront blanked TJ over 7.2 innings on six hits for the win while Juan Perez gave Saltillo a 4-for-4 night at the plate with a homer and three RBIs.  The series shifted to Tijuana for Game Six last Wednesday, and the Bulls responded with a clinching 6-4 win as Maxwell Leon, Jesus Valdez and Leandro Castro combined for six hits, two runs and four RBIs.  The Saraperos had a wide advantage in baserunners over the game, but the Toros went 5-for-7 with runners in scoring position while Saltillo were just 3-for-12 in similar situations.

While both Monterrey and Saltillo were knocked out of the playoffs last week, their respective managers may face entirely different perceptions from their team owners.  Saltillo's new managing partner Cesar Cantu has to be thrilled with both his team's unexpected on-field success and attendance increase from 4,439 per game last fall to 6,398 this year, so Vizcarra is as secure as any manager in the LMB, although skippers in Mexico may have the shortest leashes in baseball.  On the other hand, even though Sultanes skipper Robero Kelly is only a year removed from his team's first pennant since 2007 and coming off a 72-46 regular season (third-best in the Liga), co-owner Jose "Pepe" Maiz is not known for his patience in the best of times and the former Yankees outfielder may find himself on the hot seat, deserved or not.

MEX PAC TRAINING CAMPS OPEN; MEXICALI BALLPARK RENAMED

Guasave players on first day of training camp

While the Mexican League playoffs are entering their third week with four teams still playing, training camps for the Mexican Pacific League's 75th winterball season have been opening in September in preparation for next month's season openers.  The number of players and even managers reporting when camps open is typically low, but their ranks will swell in the days and weeks to come.  The revived Guasave Algodoneros, one of two new LMP franchises to join the league since last season, joined the Hermosillo Naranjeros as the first teams to open camp on September 9 at the Arturo Peimbert Camacho sports complex in the Sinaloa city.  

The Mex Pac's other expansion team, the Monterrey Sultanes, are coming into their first season with a long history in the summer game, a strong ownership in Grupo Multimedios, a veteran manager in Homar Rojas (Roberto Kelly will not manage winterball in Monterrey) and the country's largest ballpark to play in.  The Cottoneers, on the other hand, have been scrambling to assemble a team in the front office and on the playing field ever since the city of 271,196 (smallest in the LMP) was awarded a franchise after Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador leaned on league president Omar Canizales to help fulfill a campaign promise to return baseball to "The Agricultural Heart of Mexico."  

So far, so good with the Algodoneros as current Durango Generales owner Alfredo Aramburo was recruited to own the team and is said to be seeking to divest all interests in his Mexican League franchise, Rigo Beltran has been settled upon as field manager for the fledgling team, 20 players reported for the first day of training (including six catchers) and work continues to prepare 8,000-seat Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon in time for Guasave's October 13 home opener against Los Mochis.

Jalisco (and Mexico City) slugger Japhet Amador

Meanwhile, defending champion Jalisco's hopes for a repeat were dealt a blow when it was announced that slugger Japhet Amador will not be available to play for the Charros this winter.  The Mulege Giant is still playing for Mexico City in the Mexican League postseason, but will undergo surgery for an Achilles tendon injury at the conclusion of the Diablos' season and require six months to recover.  Amador hit .283 with six homers and 23 RBIs in 27 games for the Guadalajara team last season after being suspended from organized baseball for testing positive for a banned substance while playing in Japan for the Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Another massive longball hitter many had hoped would play in the LMP this winter, Chris Carter, may also end up skipping the Mex Pac campaign.  Carter was originally planning to spend the winter in Venezuela but conditions in that country have made that prospect unlikely.  Carter was picked by Obregon in July's foreigner draft and it was thought he might suit up for the Yaquis this season, but Monclova's MVP candidate (after leading the Mexican League with 49 homers and 119 RBIs) has not signed with Obregon and his LMP rights are thought to be up for trade.  The 6'4" Californian is reportedly drawing interest from teams in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball and could be held out from playing winterball if he signs with an NPB franchise for 2020. 

17,000-seat La Nida ballpark in Mexicali

Finally, the Mexicali Aguilas' ballpark has a new corporate name.  Known casually as La Nida ("The Nest") since its 1976 LMP debut, the 17,000-seat facility will be hosting Aguilas baseball for a 43rd season this winter and has been the scene of the 1985 LMP All-Star Game, the 2009 Caribbean Series and qualifying games for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.  La Nida originally held 9,000 seats but was expanded to its current configuration after remodeling in 2008.  The stadium has been named at times after a fan manufacturer, a housing development firm and (for the upcoming season) a pharmacy.  Since corporate stadium and arena naming rights payments are not extended to media covering the teams playing in them, the media is under no obligation to use those corporate names so, as a formal policy, Baseball Mexico won't...La Nida it is from this point forward.

LEONES BOUNCE OAXACA, MOVE TO LMB SOUTH FINALS

The 2019 Mexican League playoffs opened with four games last Tuesday and less than a week later, the Yucatan Leones have eliminated Oaxaca in the division semifinals.  The Quintana Roo Tigres are one win away from knocking out Mexico City in the other LMB South semi while Tijuana is on the verge of ending Saltillo's season in the LMB North semis.  The Toros and Saraperos are scheduled to play Game Five in Saltillo Monday night while defending champion Monterrey and Monclova are also playing their deadlocked LMB North matchup in Estadio Monterrey. The Tigres-Diablos series will resume Tuesday night in Mexico City.

Let's take a look at each series through Sunday night's action:

Yucatan defeats Oaxaca, 4 games to 1

Yucatan 1B Xavier Scruggs

Yucatan opened their LMB South semifinal series last Tuesday with a 6-5 win in Oaxaca by scoring four runs in the top of the ninth inning as ex-Cardinals first baseman Xavier Scruggs belted a three-run homer off former St. Louis teammate Miguel Socolovich and Leones closer Josh Lueke had a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.  Luis Juarez went 3-for-4 with two runs for the Leones.

Yucatan won again one night later, 7-0, behind the two-hit pitching over seven frames of starter Yoanner Negrin as Leo Heras and Sebastian Valle hit back-to-back homers in the top of the third off Guerreros opener Ryan Kussmaul.  Alex Liddi went 2-for-5 for the Leones, scoring two runs and driving in two more for the winners.

The series shifted to Merida Friday night, where the visiting Leones won, 6-2, thanks to a four-run Yucatan fifth keyed by a Julian Ornelas homer and a two-run Alejandro Gonzalez double. Oaxaca right-hander Andres Meza, a six-time All-Star with Puebla between 2008 and 2015 who was released by Yucatan in May, got the win after allowing two runs in five innings. 

The home side finally broke through Saturday when the Leones took a dramatic 5-4 win when Scruggs victimized Socolovich again with a two-out, bases-loaded walkoff single to bring in Liddi from third in the bottom of the ninth.  MVP candidate Alonzo Harris socked solo homers off Yucatan's three-time All-Star pitcher Jose Samayoa in the first and third frames for Oaxaca.

Yucatan won Sunday at Estadio Kukulkan, 3-1, to eliminate the defending LMB South champion Guerreros and punch their ticket to the LMB South Finals.  Leones starter Cesar Valdez, the likely Pitcher of the Year, limited Oaxaca to one run on two hits over seven innings.  Juarez doubled in one run and scored another in the bottom of the first to give Valdez all the support he'd need.

Quintana Roo leads Mexico City, 3 games to 2

Quintana Roo 3B Brian Hernandez

In the other LMB South semi, Mexico City took an 11-6 home win over Quintana Roo last Tuesday as Japhet Amador's three-run homer put an exclamation point on a Diablos' six-run seventh to obliterate a 3-2 deficit. The Mulege Giant finished the night 4-for-5 with four RBIs as Mexico City gathered 18 hits and five walks while going 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

The Red Devils made it 26 runs in two nights on Wednesday by clobbering the Tigres, 15-8, to go up two games in the series.  Amador homered again (this time a two-run blast off Felipe Arredondo in the fourth.  David Vidal, Juan Carlos Gamboa and Kevin Medrano each had three hits as Mexico City collected 18 hits and eight walks for the game. 

The Tigres broke through Friday with a 6-1 win in Cancun.  Ex-Pirates reliever Wilfredo Boscan tossed 6.2 innings of one-run ball for Quintana Roo and was aided by solo homers by Yordanys Linares and Brian Hernandez.  Mexico City starter Patrick Johnson, who was 10-5 during the regular season, was knocked around for six runs in 4.1 innings to absorb the loss for the Diablos.

On Saturday, the Tigres knotted the series with a 1-0 knuckebiter over the Diablos in extra frames as Hernandez drove in Ruben Sosa with a walkoff single of Grant Sides in the bottom of the eleventh. The two teams combined for just ten hits as starters Arturo Lopez for Mexico City and Jorge Castillo carried their double-shutout duel into the seventh inning.

Quintana Roo took a 3-games-to-2 lead in the series Sunday with a 3-1 win as Henderson Alvarez held the Diablos one run on four hits over five innings.  Reynaldo Rodriguez banged a two-run homer for Q-Roo in the first off Matt Gage while leftfielder Ruben Sosa's throw nailed Mexico City speedster Carlos Figueroa trying to score from first with the potential tying run at the plate in the seventh.

Tijuana leads Saltillo, 3 games to 1

Tijuana OF Junior Lake

James Russell allowed two runs on four hits over six innings last Tuesday to help Tijuana to a 4-2 LMB North semifinal Game One win over Saltillo at home.  Josuan Hernandez homered in the second to give the Saraperos a 2-0 lead, but the Toros came back with a bang in the bottom of the fourth as Junior Lake, Ricky Alvarez and Jesus Valdez all hit solo homers off Saltillo starter Felix Doubront. 

Tijuana won again last Wednesday, 3-1, as 2007 LMB Rookie of the Year Orlando Lara went 5.2 scoreless innings, striking out six Saltillo batsmen while Leandro Castro homered and scored twice for the Toros.  Juan Perez, who hit .322 with 23 homers and 30 steals for the Saraperos during the regular season, homered off Brennan Bernardino in the top of the eighth for Saltillo's lone run of the night. 

After Friday's game in Saltillo was rained out, the Saraperos squeaked out a 1-0 win Saturday to narrow their series deficit to one game.  Raul Carrillo (six innings) and three relievers combined for the shutout as Henry Urrutia broke up a scoreless tie in the bottom of the ninth with a one-out walkoff homer off a Bernardino delivery.

The Toros took a commanding series lead Sunday with a 17-9 battering of Saltillo that saw the visitors rap out 20 hits, including two Lake homers and Alvarez' 4-for-6 night with four RBIs, while the Saraperos hurt themselves in the field with five errors (including three by shortstop Hernandez).  Tijuana's Carlos Hernandez allowed three runs on five hits in 1.2 relief innings for the win. Somehow. 

Monterrey and Monclova tied, 2 games to 2

Monterrey OF Yamaico Navarro

Defending champion Monterrey copped a 12-3 Game One win in Monclova last Tuesday as the Sultanes' Yamaico Navarro went 3-for-5 with a double and homer, driving in four.  Felix Perez and Amadeo Zazueta also contributed longballs for the winners off Acereros starter Danny Rodriguez, who also fed Navarro's gopher. 

The LMB North semi was then held up by rain the next two night before Game Two could be played Friday, when Monclova evened the set with a 4-1 win behind the six-inning shutout hurling of Conor Harber (a native of Coos Bay, Oregon and a nominee for this season's Aptonym of the Year award).  Ricky Rodriguez' solo homer in the fifth off Logan Darnell was one of three Monclova hits. 

The Sultanes regained the series lead Saturday at Estadio Monterrey with a 7-2 triumph.  Monterrey starter Marco Tovar allowed a two-run Chris Carter homer in the top of the first inning before settling down to shut out the Acereros through the fifth and earning the win.  Four Sultanes socked roundtrippers: Navarro, Zazueta, Ramiro Pena and Ali Solis (three of them solo shots).

Monclova kept the see-saw series going Sunday with a 10-5 win to knot the set up once again.  Carter belted two more homers for the Acereros while ex-Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell and Noah Perio each contributed two-run roundtrippers.  Maxwell also doubled twice as Monterrey starter Edgar Gonzalez didn't make it past the second inning.  Perez and Chris Roberson homered for the Sultanes.


ORANTES LET GO AS TABASCO MANAGER

Former Tabasco manager Ramon Orantes

The Tabasco Olmecas have fired manager Ramon Orantes after the team went 45-72 during the Mexican League season and missed the playoffs for the seventh year in a row.  Orantes was hired last winter to replace Alfonso "Houston" Jimenez, who had led Tabasco to a collective 44-68 record over the 2018 Spring and Fall seasons.

Orantes was brought to Villahermosa by new Olmecas owner Juan Carlos Manzur in what was considered a curious hiring after the former corner infielder had managed Union Laguna to a combined 41-73 record over last year's two seasons to finish with the only record worse than Tabasco's.  Perhaps Manzur was looking more at Laguna's surprising 60-49 record under Orantes in 2017, his first year on the job in Torreon.  That year, the Vaqueros somehow finished eleven games over .500 despite having no batter with more than 13 homers or 75 RBI and no starting pitcher exceeding seven wins or a 4.38 ERA, but Orantes' luck has gone sour since then and his record over the past two years is an aggregate 86-148 for a winning percentage of .368 before becoming the tenth LMB manager to feel the axe in 2019, no doubt with the prerequisite thanks from the team after the blade has been swung.

Happier times for Orantes in Los Mochis

It may be premature to call Orantes a poor manager, however.  Laguna and Tabasco have been among the LMB's Have Nots for several years, with both teams lacking resources to develop either players or a fan base while perpetually sitting it out when the playoffs come around.  In Torreon, Orantes managed in the oldest ballpark in Class AAA (Estadio Revolucion was completed in 1932) under an undercapitalized ownership.  Things were a little better in Tabasco, where the ballpark is "only" 44 years old and Manzur represented an improvement at the top from the Olmecas' prior owners, the Dagdug brothers.  Some improvements were made at Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero, average attendance nearly doubled from 1,151 last Fall to 2,107 this summer and the team did improve from 21-39 in the first half to 24-33 in the second half (progress, however measured, still being "progress") but in the end, 45-72 was still the second-worst record in the LMB and Manzur was ready to go in a different direction for the second time in ten months.  Although he'll now have to look for a new city to spend next summer and. given the churn among managers and coaches in Mexican baseball, the well-respected Orantes will likely find a gig elsewhere sooner rather than later.

Orantes will have time to find a new summer job.  He was hired in late August as batting coach for the expansion Guasave Algodoneros of the Mexican Pacific League, where he'll tutor Cottoneer hitters under manager Bobby Magallenes.  Orantes was a popular corner infielder for many seasons with the Los Mochis Caneros, who retired his jersey number last year, and collected more than 1,000 hits in his winterball playing career to go along with his 2,184 total hits in the Mexican League, batting a lifetime .318 from his 1993 debut until his 2016 retirement.


VILLANUEVA WANTS TO PLAY FOR MEXICO IN PREMIER12

Yomiuri Giants 3B Christian Villanueva

After what has been a trying first year in Japanese baseball, Christian Villanueva could be forgiven if he plans to play for his native Mexico in the upcoming Premier12 tournament as a means of seeking some redemption.  Villanueva confirmed his participation last week on social media, according to Puro Beisbol columnist Bambino Sedano.

Villanueva spent seven seasons playing third base in both the Rangers and Cubs minor league systems between 2009 and 2015 before breaking his right fibula during spring training in 2016, missing the entire season as a result.  After the Cubs let him go following the season, the Guadalajara product signed with San Diego as a free agent that winter.  Villanueva began the 2017 campaign with El Paso of the AAA Pacific Coast League and turned in a solid season for the Chihuahuas, batting .296 with 20 homers and 86 runs batted in over 109 games before a callup to the big club at the conclusion of the PCL schedule.  He made his MLB debut on September 18 against Arizona, going hitless in three at-bats.  Villanueva quickly adjusted to big league pitching, however, and ended his short 2017 stint in San Diego with a .344 average over 12 games, belting four homers in a seven-game stretch.

The following spring training, Villanueva beat out 2017 starter Cory Spangenberg and returning veteran Chase Headley (who led the National League with 115 RBIs in 2012 for the Padres) for the third base job under manager Andy Green.  He paid immediate dividends by cracking three homers against Milwaukee in his second game of 2018 on April 3, fashioned an eleven-game hitting streak later that month, brought his average up to .355 at one point and was named the NL Rookie of the Month for his efforts.  Things went sour just as quickly after that, as Villanueva went just 42-for-228 for a .184 average between May and July before turning things around in August (.356 in 15 games) prior to suffering a season-ending fractured finger on August 21.  He finished the 2018 season with a .236 average and a team-leading 20 homers for the Padres, who surprisingly designated him for assignment on November 20 and then sold his rights to the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, who signed Villanueva one day later to a one-year, $2 million contract.

Villanueva as a Padres rookie in 2017

Hopes were high for the Giants and Villanueva coming into the current season, but things have not gone well for the 27-year-old, right-handed hitter.  Over 73 Central League games thus far, he has hit .223 with eight homers and 24 RBIs.  Worse, Villanueva was sent down to Yomiuri's farm team and his batting plummeted to .181 with three longballs in 29 games in Japan's Eastern League.  He was hit by a pitch in his most plate appearance Saturday in the first inning of a minor league game against the Yokohama DeNa BayStars and was replaced as DH afterwards. 

It's been that kind of year for Villanueva, and he is no doubt hoping that a good showing in his hometown Estadio Charros during Premier12 Group A play from November 2 through 5 will raise his stock while ending a frustrating year on a high note.  Although he was in training camp with Yomiuri at the time, Villanueva did not play for the Mexican National Team in their two-game series against their Japanese counterparts last March in Osaka under manager Dan Firova. 

Firova has since been replaced at the helm by former Dodgers infielder Juan Castro, who will lead the Verdes Grande in Group A games against the USA, Netherlands and the Dominican Republic.  The top two teams from the three groups will advance to the Premier12 Super Round, set for Tokyo and Chiba City in Japan.  Mexico was sixth in the World Baseball and Softball Confederation's most recent rankings.

LMB PLAYOFFS OPEN TUESDAY; TJ, DIABLOS TOP SEEDS

Quintana Roo Tigres reach LMB playoffs

It came down to the final week of the regular season, but the eight-team Mexican League playoff field and matchups have been determined.  The Tijuana Toros have earned the number one seed in the North Division while the Mexico City Diablos Rojos are tops in the LMB South heading into Tuesday's Division Semifinal series.  However, most attention last week was focused on whether the Puebla Pericos would finish close enough to the Quintana Roo Tigres in the overall standings to force a wild-card game for the fourth and final berth in the South.

Saltillo won the second-half title in the LMB North by finishing with a 38-21 record to collect eight playoff points, bringing their season total to 12 and clinching the fourth seed in the division.  Monclova was second at 36-24, picking up seven points for the half and earning the second seed with 13 overall points, but it was third-place Tijuana (35-25) who got the top seed in the LMB North with 13.5 points after the Toros tied for first with Monterrey in the first half. Both teams were awarded 7.5 points and while the defending champion Sultanes fell to fourth in the second half with a 32-26 mark, their 12.5 overall points nudged out Saltillo for the third seed.  Monclova and Tijuana tied for the best season won-lost record in the Liga, both finishing at 75-45 over two halves. Dos Laredos (8 points), Aguascalientes (6.5), Durango (4.5) and Union Laguna (2) finished out of the money, although the Rieleros put up a good fight in August by winning 17 of their final 25 games (including a six-game win streak between August 18-24). While the North lacked playoff intrigue over the last week of the regular season, Puebla had a mathematical chance of forcing a wild-card game against Quintana Roo going into their final series in Mexico City while the Tigres wrapped up in Tabasco.  Although the seventh-place Pericos were 21-32 and had no chance of catching up in points, playoff qualifiers occur when a fifth-place team in the overall standings finishes within the fourth-place club. The Parakeets' window was open because their season record of 55-58 was two-and-a-half games behind 59-57 Quintana Roo in fourth, meaning Puebla had a puncher's chance of forcing the extra game.  Both teams won their openers last Tuesday, however, meaning the Pericos' season was in effect over. Puebla lost their final two games in the nation's capital while the Tigres went on to sweep the Olmecas and clinch the division semis cleanly and are the South's #4 seed with 10 overall points.  

The sun sets on Francisco Campos' career

Yucatan followed a tepid first half by winning the second half with a 40-20 record, giving them 12 points for the year.  Mexico City and Oaxaca tied for the points lead with 13 apiece, but the 67-49 Diablos got the nod for #1 seed by posting a better overall record than the 68-52 Guerreros.  Puebla finished fifth with 8 season points, followed by Leon (6), Campeche (5.5) and Tabasco (4.5). Longtime Campeche pitcher Francisco "Pancho Ponches" Campos officially retired as a player after 25 LMB seasons, all but part of one season with the Piratas.  A converted catcher, the Guaymas native was put on the Reserve list one day after his July 2 win over Union Laguna, a 12-5 triumph in which the righty became the 14th hurler to record 200 Liga career wins. Campos is the only man to ever win the Pitching Triple Crown in both the LMB and Mexican Pacific League. The playoffs open with a full slate of games.  In the LMB North semifinals, Monclova will be in Monterrey and Saltillo will visit Tijuana while the LMB South semis have Yucatan playing in Oaxaca and Quintana Roo traveling to Mexico City.  The latter is a resumption of Mexican baseball's most storied rivalry with the added twist of the Tigres reportedly being open to a possible offseason move from Cancun to Mexico City, where they played over four decades and won eight pennants.  Game Two will be played Wednesday at the same venues. All Mexican League playoff series are best-4-of-7 matchups. Home field advantage in the Serie del Rey championship finals will likely go to a North team, as Monclova (75-45), Tijuana (75-45) and Monterrey (72-46) all finished with better regular season records than South leader Mexico City (67-49).  On the other hand, Saltillo (66-53) would've been fourth overall in the LMB South behind the Diablos, Oaxaca (68-51 and Yucatan (66-52). The Tigres finished 62-57 for the year, assuring them a Game Seven away from home at every step.

MAYORA WINS BAT TITLE, HARRIS FALLS ONE HR SHY OF 40/40 CLUB Durango's Daniel Mayora stayed hot at the end of the season while Leon outfielder Felix Pie's slide wrapped up with a 4-for-17 run at the plate over his final five games as Mayora pulled away to win the 2019 Mexican League batting title by ten points over the ex-Oriole.  Mayora went 16-for-31 over his last ten appearances to finish with a .391 average along with a career-high 19 homers and 93 RBIs for the Generales. Conversely, Pie hit .200 in HIS last ten outings to come in at .381 after sporting a .403 average as recently as August 10.  Despite his late-season fade, the 18-year pro veteran (a three-time Futures Game pick while a Cubs minor leaguer) had career highs in batting, homers (22) and RBIs (80). Monclova's Francisco Peguero finished third in the batting table with a .380 average.

Oaxaca's Alonzo Harris dives into home

Monclova first baseman Chris Carter had a monster first year in Mexico, belting 49 homers and driving in 119 runs to lead the LMB in both categories.  The ex-National League home run champ also led in slugging percentage (.709), on-base-plus-slugging-percentage (1.1581), bases on balls (115) and strikeouts (156) and didn't miss a game all season.  Carter also scored 113 runs for the Acereros but saw his average drop to .293 after going 3-for-17 over his last seven games. The massive Californian would be a front-runner for MVP honors if Oaxaca outfielder Alonzo Harris hadn't turned in one of the best all-around offensive performances in recent Liga seasons. A 30-year-old Mississippian who spent six years in the Mets system, Harris hit .343 for the Guerreros while belting 39 homers and stealing 45 bases, just missing becoming the first 40/40 player in Mexican League history.  The 2017 Atlantic League Player of the Year while playing with York, Harris led the LMB with 131 runs scored while his 117 RBIs were second only to Carter in that category.  He also topped the circuit with 324 total bases, his .691 slugging percentage was also second to Carter and his 45 steals trailed only former teammate Johnny Davis' 54 swipes.  Davis' contract was sold to Tampa Bay on August 29 and he finished with the Rays' AA Southern League affiliate in Montgomery. All in all, it was a good year for batters in the Mexican League, even though the bats cooled down a little.  Ten of the LMB's 16 teams hit an aggregate .300 or better (with Mexico City leading the way at .323) and all but two teams averaged at least one homer per game as Monclova, Saltillo and Tijuana hit 190+ homers over 120 games. The Acereros averaged an astounding 7.47 runs per game. Accordingly, LMB pitchers may be forgiven if they started wearing suits of armor on the mound.  Tijuana's 4.41 team ERA was nothing to write home about but it was the lowest in the Liga as eleven teams turned in ERAs of 5.41 or higher as just three pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title were below 4.00.  Union Laguna's staff were particularly battered by the new Franklin ball, as the Algodoneros coughed up 12.18 hits and 8.28 runs per contest, both league highs. Numbers like these, taken in perspective, show just what a great year Yucatan right-hander Cesar Valdez had.

Likely LMB Pitcher of the Year Cesar Valdez

Valdez, who previously spent time in MLB with Arizona, Oakland and Toronto, went 15-2 for the Leones to easily lead the Liga in wins while also taking the ERA title with a relatively-microscopic 2.26 ERA along with an equally-low 1.06 WHIP. also best in the league.  Valdez didn't lose his first game until June 28 (nearly three months into the season) and allowed more than two runs just four times in 24 starts after being shelled for five runs on ten hits over five innings in his first start of the year on April 5 at Monterrey. Beginning with the LMB's Fall season last year, Valdez has gone a combined 23-2 for the Leones and the winterball Licey Tigres of the Dominican League.  He also finished fifth in strikeouts with 122 whiffs in 147.2 innings (Leon's Yasutomo Kubo was tops with 154 punchouts) and is the easy choice for Pitcher of the Year. Roman Mendez of Dos Laredos earned saves in his last two outings to finish with 32 to top Monterrey closer Wirfin Obispo by two for most in the LMB while Tijuana middleman Jesus Pirela's 30 holds easily led in that category. TOROS TOP LMB IN ATTENDANCE, CROWDS UP FROM FALL 2018

Full house at a Diablos game in Mexico City

Following a moribund Fall 2018 season during which Mexican League attendance fell to alarming levels in some markets during the Fall season, 15 of 16 LMB teams witnessed growth at the game this summer as the average per opening snuck over the 5,000 mark.  However, that increase doesn't tell the complete story as several Liga franchises continue to struggle at the gate. Tijuana led the league in attendance for the second season in a row with 677,464 fans clicking the turnstiles for an average of 11,291 per opening, an increase of nearly 2,000 per game from last Fall's 9,358.  The Toros were the only team in Minor League Baseball to average double figures in attendance this year. Defending champion Monterrey was second at 546,804 for the season, averaging 9,593 per game, while Yucatan was third with an 8,673 average for a total of 520,350 over 60 dates.  Mexico City saw a huge increase in ticket sales with the opening of Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu. The Diablos averaged just 2,613 fans per game in Fall 2018 for their final season at Estadio Fray Nano before pulling in 7,156 aficionados at their new state-of-the-art ballpark in 2019, a jump of 274 percent.  

Lots of good seats available in Campeche

Every team but Monclova saw an increase in attendance from last Fall.  The Acereros finished fifth in the league after dipping from a 6,017 average in Fall 2018 to 5,917 this year, a negligible difference.  Even though they finished dead last for the third season in a row (including Spring 2018), Campeche went from a nadir of 855 warm bodies per game last Fall to a 1,743 average over 50 dates this year, more than doubling the number of spectators at Estadio Nelson Barrera.  Across the Liga, attendance totalled 4,603,163 fans over 913 playing dates in 2019 for an average of 5,042 per opening. In comparison to the LMB's average of 3,914 per contest last Fall (1,675,165 over 428 openings in the second short season in 2018), crowds went up 29 percent this year. The LMB office in Mexico City can be justifiably happy with their attendance gains this year, but the 94-year-old loop still has work to do. Overall attendance during the Spring 2018 season was better, with three teams averaging double figures: Monterrey (12,878), Tijuana (10,123) and Yucatan (10,060).  Twelve LMB teams drew better last Spring than they did in the Fall as fan interest plummeted in many Liga cities after the Spring playoffs concluded just days before the Fall season began. The combined attendance numbers for the Spring and Fall seasons in 2018 were 3,785,858 for 920 games, an average of 4,115 per date.  The Spring average of 4,290 shows that while teams at the top were drawing well, those eleven teams pulling in less than 4,000 a night kept the overall totals down. In 2017, the LMB's last full schedule before the two-season format was tried last year, league attendance was 4,042,605 (for an average of 4,695).

Puro Beisbol columnist David Braverman

In his recent Out 27 column posted on Puro Beisbol, David Braverman (one of Mexico's most respected baseball writers) decries the disparity between the Haves and Have Nots of the Mexican League, saying that one result is that fans of Have Not teams have steadily lost interest in spending a night at the ballpark, even in cities with a long history of baseball.  Braverman names Aguascalientes, Durango, Dos Larendos and Union Laguna among LMB North teams as that division's Have Nots, joined by Campeche, Tabasco and Leon in the LMB South. "At the start of the campaign, the owners promise competitive teams, announce hirings and there is optimism," says Braverman.  "But within a few weeks everything changes and fans begin to be absent from the stadiums and, little by little, that communion between team and grandstand is lost...What's next for those losing places?  What's next for a league that can't balance its forces? What follows for those cities where the board has thrown in the towel, putting the franchise on sale?" Braverman points an accusatory finger at embattled LMB president Javier Salinas, saying the Have Nots are "the usual losers in a Mexican League that has refused to progress, that has lived two years in the midst of false promises and cheap verbiage, an absolute baseball illiteracy among the leader and some of his squires."