LMP PLAYOFFS OPEN; FIRST REINFORCEMENT DRAFT HELD

  The 2021-22 Mexican Pacific League playoffs began on Christmas Day. All eight teams battled it out in four first-round series openers, with the visiting team coming away victorious in three of them.

In a series that may capture the most attention among observers, defending champion Culiacan (who were the eighth and lowest postseason seed this winter) won at top-seed Navojoa, 8-5, on Saturday. The Tomateros knocked out Mayos starter Octavio Acosta with four runs in the top of the second inning and never looked back.  Culiacan was holding a 5-3 lead when they scored three more times in the eighth, including a two-run single by Jose Guadalupe Chavez with the bases loaded. 

Asael Sanchez rapped a two-run homer for Navojoa in the bottom of the frame to make it a two-run game, but that would end the scoring for both teams. Manny Barreda got the win for Culiacan despite a less-than-sterling five innings of work (three runs on four hits and five walks) while Acosta was tagged for the loss as over 10,000 were in the stands at Navojoa’s Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echeverria, the largest gathering among the four openers.

Elsewhere, Monterrey pulled out a road win at Hermosillo, 5-4, in eleven innings to open their set on Saturday night. With the score knotted at 4-4 after ten frames, Anthony Giansanti opened the top of the eleventh for the Sultanes by getting on base after an error by Naranjeros shortstop and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Andres Martin, setting the stage for a Miguel Torrero single to put the visitors ahead by a run. Nathanael Santiago, who tossed a scoreless tenth for Monterrey, came out and pitched an unblemished eleventh to seal the win.

The Obregon Yaquis traveled to Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon for their series opener at Guasave and came away with a 3-1 win on Christmas. The Yaquis drew first blood in the top of the third when Ian Miller scored on Alonzo Harris’ sacrifice fly and Victor Mendoza later singled in reinforcement Isaac Rodriguez with the second run of the entrada. The Algodoneros closed the gap to 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Yadir Drake singled in Jhoan Urena but Obregon scored the final run of the night for both teams two frames later when Michael Wing and Juan Carlos Gamboa hit back-to-back doubles off Gusave starter Jordan Kipper, who lasted one more batter before being pulled. Kipper took the loss while Obregon starter Jake Thompson earned the win with five innings of four-hit, one-run pitching.

Jalisco became the only home team to win their series opener after outlasting visiting Mexicali, 10-9, in 12 innings at Guadalajara. The Charros had built a 7-2 lead (aided by a trio of solo homers from Christian Villanueva, Japhet Amador and Agustin Murrillo in the bottom of the fourth) before the Aguilas plated one run in the top of the eighth and four more in the top of the ninth as Luis Jimenez stroked a two-run double and later scored on a Aneuty Tavarez double to even the score at 7-7. Both teams scored twice in the tenth but the night’s heroics belonged to Charros shortstop Missael Rivera, who led off the 12th with a double and advanced to third before coming in with the game-winner on Villanueva’s sacrifice fly to right to end a game that featured a combined 28 hits and 11 walks.  

Fifteen minutes after the final regular season game concluded, the eight playoff teams held a so-called reinforcement draft of players from Mazatlan and Los Mochis, the two clubs that didn’t advance. With the first pick, Obregon chose Los Mochis second baseman Isaac Rodriguez. Guasave followed by plucking another second sacker, Mazatlan’s Ramon Rios, while Hermosillo took Venados infielder Isaac Paredes with the third pick. In all, 16 Los Mochis and Mazatlan players were selected over two rounds, nine of them pitchers.

A similar draft will be held prior to the semifinals and finals. The eventual champions will be able to load up on more reinforcements before heading the the Caribbean Series in Santo Domingo with a roster that bears little resemblance to their regular season lineup. A similar process is carried out in other winter leagues, making the Serie del Caribe more a tournament of all-star teams than league champions.

PADRES SIGN MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE MVP CARRILLO

After being named Most Valuable Player of the Mexican Winter League this season, Yucatan Lions outfield prospect Oliver Carrillo, has been signed by the San Diego Padres.   

A 5’11” 210-pounder, Carrillo caught the attention of the San Diego organization after leading the LIM in several offensive departments playing for a team of players from the Yucatan, Veracruz and Durango LMB organizations. He came very close to obtaining the Triple Crown by being champion with 8 home runs and 46 RBIs, plus a .586 on-base percentage and an .806 slugging percentage,  finishing second in batting percentage at .441.

Nicknamed “Chanito,” Carrillo was one of the young players to make their debut this year in the Mexican League with the Leones, playing one inning in right field and going 0-for-1 in his lone plate appearance as a pinch-hitter for Luis Juarez during a June 6 game against Quintana Roo. 

The veteran Juarez took the youngster under his wing and has said “It’s a pleasure and a pride that young people like him get to have these kinds of opportunities and it is a case of perseverance of someone who did not give up. Many times they told him no and he did not get tired. He gave himself to baseball as he should and received a very large reward.”.

Carrillo’s training began after he was signed by Yucatán at the Academia de Beisbol del Pacífico. "The process has always been strong. I lasted three years at the Pacific Baseball Academy, then they sent me to the Monterrey Academy to continue with my training and thank God the results were good," said the right-handed batter who’ll turn 20 on January 19.

During his stay as a Leones recruit, Carrillo has also shone in different national and international tournaments, being the champion and best hitter in the International Series of Prospects organized by PROBEIS and managed by Yucatan’s incoming sports manager, Santos Hernandez.

The native of Rosario, Sinaloa, signed in the presence of Padres scout Emmanuel Rangel and was accompanied by Leones co-owner Erick Arellano, who commented that he feels proud and excited by the signing of the Sinaloan player, since he had to look at the process within the academy. "Several organizations had been following him,” said Arrellano, “but what really motivated this team (the Padres) was the season he had in the Winter League. He is a healthy boy and while I am happy with all the signatures, this one has a special feeling." 

Through their Pacific Baseball Academy in Mazatlan, the Leones have managed to place a total of 38 players with Major League Baseball organizations in six years.

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Miguel “Pilo” Gaspar, C

A defensive genius, Pilo Gaspar was recognized internationally as one of the best receivers in Mexican baseball and a consistent batter who could get a hit off any pitcher at the most opportune moment.

  

In 1949, he began playing professionally in the old Pacific Coast League with Guaymas and was the Rookie of the Year that winter.  The 6’1” 178-pound Gaspar went on to play minor league ball for eight seasons in the United States, including three years in the Orioles farm system and one with the Dodgers. The earliest part of his summer career was spent with Laredo, where he hit 44 homers between 1950 and 1951 (including four in one April 1951 game against Texas City.  Ironically, he only whacked 29 more roundtrippers over the final 26 years of his pro career.

 

Gaspar played 11 games in 1951 for Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican League but did not come home to play for good until 1958, when he played 81 games for both the Tecolotes and Yucatan and hit .282 with five homers.  He eventually settled in behind the plate for Veracruz in 1959, and played 11 seasons for the Aguilas, topping the .300 mark four times (including a career-best .330 in 1961).  Pilo was in his 40’s when he moved on to Union Laguna for two years beginning in 1970, hitting .292 and .269. 

After a .250 campaign with Tampico in 1972, Gaspar went on to play two more years with Chihuahua before hanging up his catcher’s mitt following the 1974 season at the (reported) age of 45.  He singled and doubled in two pinch-hit opportunities for Chihuahua in 1976, and went 2-for-9 in five more games in 1977, even attempting to steal a base (he got caught) before stepping down for good. 

Over his long professional career, Pilo played in 2,604 games, totaling 2,419 hits, 346 doubles and 1,062 RBIs and hitting .288. In the Mexican Pacific League, Gaspar spent several winters with Guaymas, Navojoa and Hermosillo, connecting for 503 hits and an average of .262. Gaspar, who managed Mexican League teams in Veracruz, Chihuahua and Quatzocoalcos, was elected to the Salon de la Fama in 1994.

Gaspar was mentioned in Bill Heward’s 1974 gem of a book, “Some Are Called Clowns,” a diary of Heward’s 1973 season with the barnstorming Indianapolis Clowns.  The book touched on Mexican baseball in one chapter, including this passage quoting one of Heward’s teammates who spent time south of the border: “Our catcher was a guy named Pelo (sic) Gaspar, out of Sonora, Mexico. Some say he’s 42. Other guys who’re in the know say he’s 50. What a baseball head!  I never saw him blow a popup.  Pelo had a fabulous arm.  I never saw a guy steal on him. Pelo’s right index finger was broken and bent sideways about 45 degrees. The players who didn’t know him would thumb their noses and say, ‘Aw, crooked finger.’ But when he threw out two or three of them they forgot about his finger.”

LMP PLAYOFFS SET: MAZATLAN, LOS MOCHIS MISS CUT

    The eight-team field for the first round of the upcoming Mexican Pacific League playoffs was in doubt all the way until the last week of the regular season, as nine of the LMP’s ten clubs were within close proximity throughout the second half of the 2021-22 campaign. However, all doubts as to who reaches the postseason were dispelled after two games played Tuesday night.

    The defending two-time champion Culiacan Tomateros had been candidates for elimination before they shut out the Jalisco Charros, 2-0, in Guadalajara behind a strong start by starter Manny Banuelos, the Mex Pac’s most recent Pitcher of the Week. At the same time, the Mazatlan Venados were being blanked in a 6-0 road shocker by Kyle Friederichs and tailenders Los Mochis, knocking the nine-time champions out of the postseason for the first time since their 26-40 season in 2013-14.

    It has to be a shocker for the Venados and their fans, who last February witnessed the Caribbean Series at Mazatlan’s Estadio Teodoro Mariscal (which Major League Baseball declared as the most beautiful place in the world to play baseball on its TikTok account) but now will have no more games at the 16,000-seat ballpark until next October. 

    On the other hand, Culiacan manager Benji Gil and his Tomateros are breathing a collective sigh of relief over avoiding elimination. Gil in particular has faced mounting criticism in Culiacan for failing to win the Caribbean Series in fourth try at the crown jewel of Latin baseball since 2015 by fans failing to note that to get that far, you have to win your league pennant. 

    Gil then received heat on a nationwide basis for managing Mexico to an 0-4 record at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, breaking protocol along the way by having Culiacan players who’d been chosen to the team pose wearing their Tomateros jersey in the Olympic Village.

    No such worries in Mexicali, where the Aguilas and interim manager Gil Velazquez have clinched the second half title after defeating first half champion Navojoa, 2-1, Tuesday night in Navojoa despite only collecting three hits on the night (including RBI singles by Victor Ruiz and Gilberto Vizcarra in the seventh. Even though Mexicali closer Jake Sanchez was touched for the Mayos’ lone run on two hits and a walk in the bottom of the ninth, he got the final out for his LMP record 26th save.

    After a 14-18 first half that ended in a ninth-place finish that cost then-manager Bronswell Patrick his job, Velazquez has led the Aguilas to a 21-13 ledger in the second half (two games up on 19-15 Navojoa with one game left) and a probable return to start the 2022-23 season with the Eagles, but let’s face it: the term “interim manager” is a redundancy in Mexicali.  

    Navojoa will be the top seed entering the playoffs whether they finish second or third in the second half. Skipper Matias Carrillo’s Mayos will finish with 19.0 playoff points for the season should they win Wednesday night, well ahead of Guasave’s projected 14.5 points. After a day off Friday, the quarterfinals will open on Christmas Day, The Mayos appear to be on a course to host defending champion Culiacan in the first two games, their “reward” for a first-place finish.

    Wherever playoff games will be held, veteran umpire Humberto “El Lobito” Saiz won’t be working any of them. Saiz was reportedly drunk and was physically removed from the field while working third base during the third inning of Sunday’s game in Mazatlan between the Venados and Navojoa after making obscene gestures at fans and confronting players and coaches. He was suspended indefinitely by the LMP on Monday. The son of Salon de la Fama umpire Victor “El Lobo” Saiz was also suspended by Mex Pac president Omar Canizales ten years ago for alleged drug use.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE Second Half standings (through December 21)
Mexicali 21-13 (4.0), Navojoa 19-15 (10.0), Hermosillo 18-16 (5.5), Obregon 18-16 (7.0), Monterrey 17-16 (5.0), Guasave 17-17 (9.0), Jalisco 16-17 (8.0), Culiacan 16-18 (6.0), Mazatlan 15-19 (4.5), Los Mochis 12-22 (3.5)  First Half playoff points in parentheses

LMP OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Batting: Victor Mendoza (OBR) .349, Tirso Ornelas (NAV) .346, Ramon Rios (MAZ) .328
Homers: Kyle Martin (NAV) 17, Victor Mendoza (OBR) 10, Felix Perez (JAL) 10
RBIs: Jesse Castillo (GUA) 44, Joey Meneses (CUL) 44, 2 players tied with 43
Stolen Bases: Dairon Blanco (CUL) 21, Alonzo Harris (OBR) 17, 2 players tied with 16

LMP PITCHING LEADERS
Wins: Elian Leyva (HMO) 7, 5 pitchers tied with 6
ERA: Elian Leyva (HMO) 1.54, Wilmer Rios (HMO) 2.39, David Holmberg (NAV) 2.43
Strikeouts: Octavio Acosta (NAV) 66, Ryan Verdugo (HMO) 60, Many Banuelos (CUL) 56
Saves: Jake Sanchez (MXI) 26, Fernando Salas (HMO) 12, 2 pitchers tied with 11


NEW LMB MANAGERS NAMED IN PUEBLA, LAGUNA

    As the Mexican Pacific League prepares to open their first round of playoffs this weekend, their summerball counterparts are making offseason moves in anticipation of their 2022 season. Two Mexican League teams announced managerial hirings with a pair of familiar faces named to take over.

    The Puebla Pericos announced that Venezuelan Willie Romero will be their new skipper next season. Romero has a long history in Mexican baseball,  making his managerial debut during the 2012 campaign with Yucatan. Later, he directed the Monclova Steelers in 2013 and coached for Quintana Roo in 2014 before returning to Yucatan, where he was named Manager of the Year in 2015 and 2016, earning the same distinction in the LMP with the Navojoa Mayos in 2017-2018.

    Currently, Romero manages the Magallanes Navegantes in the Venezuelan Winter League after serving last summer in the LMB as a hitting coach for expansion Guadalajara under Benji Gil, as the Mariachis had the number one offense in the League. He also has experience coaching in American minor league baseball with the San Francisco Giants organization. Like Gil, Romero has been a winning manager while also a volatile sort who can raise the ire of umpires and opposing players, coaches and fans while raising blood pressure among directors of clubs he’s worked for. The Pericos, who finished 33-33 under Carlos Gastelum and Gerardo Sanchez last summer, promise to be entertaining under Romero one way or another. 

    Meanwhile, as expected, the Union Laguna Algodoneros have elevated bench coach Oscar Robles to manager after the tragic suicide of former skipper Omar Malave. A former MLB infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego, Robles played in the Mexican League between 2009 and 2017, retiring after his birthplace Tijuana Toros won their lone LMB pennant that summer. He stayed on with the team as a coach in 2018 and was named manager midway through the season. Robles compiled a 110-66 record through the 2019 season before he was fired, as all managers in Tijuana are, because he failed to win a title either season.

    Robles has managed the past two winters in Guasave and is a major reason the Algodoneros have risen from a 26-37 expansion team in 2019-20 to a playoff contender with an overall 66-56 record in the Mexican Pacific League’s smallest market. He was named the LMP Manager of the Year last winter after leading the Cottoneers to a five-game improvement, a third-place finish in the overall standings and stretching their first round playoff series with eventual champion Culiacan to six games. 


MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Alfredo Ortiz, P (1963-87)

    Comparable to former Philadelphia Athletics star Bobby Schantz, Alfredo Ortiz overcame a slight frame (5’7” and 135 pounds) with pinpoint control and crafty pitching to become the best left-hander in Mexican League history.  

    Born January 12, 1944 in Medellin de Bravo, Veracruz, Ortiz played Class A ball in the Mexican Center League for three years prior to debuting with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos as a 19-year-old in 1963. He went on to pitch 25 years in the Liga, playing on five LMB pennant winners in Mexico City as he and righty Ramon Arano formed the best 1-2 pitching combo in Mexican annals.

    Ortiz averaged 15 wins a year between 1966 and 1975 for the Red Devils, with an outstanding 1969 campaign in which he went 23-9 with a 2.26 ERA, including five shutouts and 27 complete games. Even when he pitched for poor teams he was effective, as Ortiz turned in a 2.77 ERA despite a 2-13 record for Tabasco in 1977. His last big year was in 1979 as he went 16-10 with a 2.44 ERA for Nuevo Laredo, although he did pitch six shutouts for Tabasco in 1982 and went 10-7 with a 3.70 ERA and just 20 walks in 139 innings as a 40-year-old in 1984. Ortiz wrapped up his career in 1987 by pitching three games for Puebla.

    For his career, Ortiz went 255-210 (second in wins to Arano) with a 3.13 ERA and 51 shutouts, fifth on the all-time list in the latter category. Despite his lack of size, Ortiz was a workhorse, tossing 256 complete games among his 3,841 innings. Not a power pitcher by any means, he was a master of location who struck out 1,824 batters (eighth all-time) while walking just 830 batters over 25 seasons.  He reached double figures in wins 14 times while turning in an ERA below 3.00 ten times. Ortiz could also swing a bat well enough to appear as a first baseman at times when he wasn’t on the mound and hit .261 with 11 homers for the Diablos in 405 at-bats between 1967-69.

    Ortiz was almost as successful in 19 winter seasons in the Mexican Pacific League, although he set a still-standing LMP record with 23 strikeouts in a 13-inning game in January of 1965. The man nicknamed “Zurdo” (or “Lefty”) was 104-96 (7th in all-time wins) with a 2.98 ERA (17th) and 925 strikeouts (11th) for his winterball career.  He went 0-1 for Hermosillo in the 1971 Caribbean Series, the first time a Mexican team appeared in that competition after leading the LMP with 13 regular season wins.

    Ortiz was a player-manager for Tabasco, Cordoba and Veracruz as well as a bench manager with the Mexico City Tigres and Aguascalientes.  He also managed the Mazatlan Venados to the LMP title and the Caribbean World Series in Venezuela during the 1976-77. 

    Nicknamed El Zurdo de Oro (“The Golden Southpaw”), Alfredo Ortiz was selected to the Salon de la Fama in 1993. He still played amateur baseball in Mexico City into his 60’s, taking turns at first base and the outfield as well as on the mound. He turns 78 next month.

JUSTINE SIEGAL TO COACH FOR THREE LMP TEAMS

In what is her fourth time teaching at the Mujeres en el Diamante (“Women of the Diamond”) clinics with the teams of the Mexican Pacific League, baseball coach Justine Siegal has returned to the LMP this week to don the uniforms of the Hermosillo Naranjeros, Mexicali Aguilas and Guasave Algodoneros.

In a virtual press conference with the presence of the president of the circuit, Lic. Omar Canizales, United States Public Affairs Consul in Tijuana Kim Scrivner presented the agenda that the American will have from December 12 to 17 in the three stadiums of the clubs involved.

Siegal started his activities in Hermosillo yesterday with the tossing of the ceremonial first pitch and her activation as a Naranjeros coach for the game. She will give her Mujeres en el Diamante clinic today in the capital of Sonora. She will perform similar dual duties Tuesday and Wednesday in Mexicali before finishing up Thursday and Friday in Guasave.

"It’s a dream come true,” Siegal said during the virtual press conference. “I’m very excited to be with three organizations and wear their uniform. I am anxious that the time comes to participate again in this high-level league," said the 45-year-old Siegal, a coach with experience in organizations such as the Oakland A’s, Cleveland Indians and the Israel Men's National Team.

The Mexicali Aguilas are trying to overcome a ninth-place finish in the first half by collecting enough points to earn a playoff berth with a strong second half. So far, so good, as the Eagles have taken the Mex Pac lead with a 16-10 record, one game ahead of 15-11 Obregon. Although it’s been a tale of two seasons for the border team, one constant for the Aguilas throughout the campaign has been closer Jake “Checkmate” Sanchez.

The 32-year-old righty from Brawley, California now has 23 saves for the year after closing Mexicali’s 2-0 shutout against the defending champions in Culiacan, tying the LMP record set by Obregon’s Mark Zappeli in 1990-91 and matched in 2015-16 by Andres Avila of Los Mochis. Sanchez, who saved 21 games for the Aguilas in 2016-17 (a season that included a microscopic 0.28 ERA in 30 appearances), becomes the first pitcher in LMP history with two 20-save seasons.

Although Hermosillo is just a hare’s breath out of the lead, the Naranjeros haven’t had the easiest of times battling for second half supremacy. First, they lost former Chicago Cubs All-Star infielder Addison Russell went down with an injury when he strained a muscle in his left thigh legging out a ground ball in a November 23 game at Guasave. Russell began his rehab in Hermosillo before heading home to Florida, where he’s said to be working with his personal trainer with no timetable for his return.

As a result, the Naranjeros placed Russell on their Reserve List and signed Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo. Castillo spent the summer season in Japan, where he hit .225 with a homer and three RBIs in 33 games for the Rakuten Golden Eagles, but is probably best known on this side of the Pacific for signing a contract with the Boston Red Sox that paid him $72.5 million over seven years, including $14.3 million in 2020 for the last year of the pact. In return, Castillo played 99 games for the Red Sox between 2014 and 2016, hitting .262 with seven homers. The 28-year-old batted .250 with no longballs and six RBIs in 22 games for Mexicali last winter.

Also, Hermosillo is on their third manager over the past month. After replacing Juan Navarrete following a so-so first half, former Mexican National Team skipper Juan Gabriel Castro was sidelined early last week after being the only person on the Orangemen squad to test positive for Covid-19 just prior to a midweek series in Navojoa. Castro was sent back to Hermosillo for quarantine purposes while bench coach Chico Rodriguez fills in on an interim basis. Unlike Navarrete, Castro is expected back.

Another Rodriguez got some press last week when Jalisco second baseman Manny Rodriguez drove in Alejandro Osuna (younger brother of Charros closer Roberto Osuna) with a run in the first inning of a 3-1 win over Los Mochis. The RBI was the 594th of the 39-year-old Rodriguez’ Mexican Pacific League career, which is in its 16th season, putting him one ahead of former slugger Andres Mora in fifth place among the LMP’s all-time leaders in that category. The late Hector Espino tops that list with 1,097 RBIs over 24 winters, 418 more than his nearest competitor, Matias Carrillo.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE standings (as of December 12)
Mexicali 16-10, Obregon 15-11, Guasave 14-12, Hermosillo 14-12, Navojoa 14-12, Mazatlan 13-12, Culiacan 13-13, Jalisco 12-13, Monterrey 11-13, Los Mochis 6-20

LMP OFFENSIVE LEADERS

Batting: Tirso Ornelas (NAV) .361, Victor Mendoza (OBR) .350, Sebastian Elizalde (CUL) .332

Home Runs: Kyle Martin (NAV) 16, Felix Perez (JAL) 10, Nick Torres (HMO) 9

Runs Batted In: Jesse Castillo (GUA) 41, Kyle Martin (NAV) 40, Felix Perez (JAL) 40

Stolen Bases: Dairon Blanco (CUL) 21, Alonzo Harris (OBR) 17, 3 players tied at 14

LMP PITCHING LEADERS

Wins: Six pitchers tied at 6

ERA: Elian Leyva (HMO) 1.69, Wilmer Rios (HMO) 2.37, Arturo Lopez (OBR) 2.53

Strikeouts: Octavio Acosta (NAV) 60, David Reyes (MXI) 54, 3 pitchers tied at 51

Saves: Jake Sanchez (MXI) 23, Fernando Salas (HMO) 11, 2 pitchers tied at 11

MONCLOVA OVERCOMES 2-0 DEFICIT, WINS LIM PENNANT

Shawon Dunston, Junior’s solo homer in the bottom of the tenth inning Friday night completed an improbable comeback for his Monclova Acereros, who lost the first two games to Puebla in a best-of-five Mexican Winter League championship series before roaring back with three straight wins to cop the LIM’s Prince Series (Serie de Principe) and the AA winter league’s first pennant since the league suspended operations after its 2017 season. The Mexico City Diablos Rojos won all three LIM titles from 2015-17.

Dunston’s blast gave Monclova a 9-8 victory in the deciding game of a series in which the home team won every game. The first two contests were played in Puebla before the series moved to Coahuila for the final three games, although after the Pericos took a 2-games-to-0 lead, it didn’t seem likely that they’d need that many to clinch the title after defeating Veracruz-Yucatan in the LIM South Finals to advance to the Serie de Principe against the Acereros, who’d beaten Monterrey for the LIM North crown.

Puebla opened the LIM title set last Sunday with an 8-6 home win over the Acereros as Jesus Cordova made the most of his one hit by driving in two runs and scoring two more for the Pericos while Ahmad Galaz collected two hits and as many RBIs on the night. Despite allowing five runs in 6.1 innings, Puebla starter Joel Paula benefited from the 7-4 lead his offense had given him going into the seventh and was awarded the win.

The Parakeets took a two-game lead last Monday in a 9-8 knucklebiter over the Steelers that lasted eleven innings. Cordova was the man of the moments by lining a walkoff single against Monclova reliever Rolando Mora that drove in the game-winning run. Cristian Alvarado, who earned the save on Sunday, tossed the final three innings for Puebla and got the win out of the bullpen while Mora absorbed the loss.

After Tuesday’s travel day, the series resumed at Estadio Monclova with the Acereros’ collective backs against the wall. The Blue Fury responded with a pair of blowout wins to set up the deciding game, starting with Wednesday’s 9-3 laugher during which veteran third baseman Rodolfo Amador went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs while another vet, first sacker Ricky Rodriguez, had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run. Monclova starter Jassiel Ochoa, who enjoyed the 9-0 fifth inning lead his mates had built for him, got the win after tossing 5.2 frames and allowing three runs (all coming in the top of the sixth after the winner had pretty much been decided).

Monclova got an even bigger win last Thursday, 13-4, as the Acereros did all their scoring in a three-inning stretch: four runs in the second, three in the third and six in the fourth. Dunston belted the first homer of the series for both teams in the second and ended up with two runs scored and three ribbies. Lost in the onslaught was the mound work done by 18-year-old Steelers starter Jose Miguel Martinez, who went seven entradas and allowed two runs on three hits, striking out nine Pericos and walking none.

That led to Friday’s deciding Game Five. The hosts were leading 4-2 after seven innings before Puebla put up four runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth to take an 8-4 advantage with three outs to go for the title. Instead, Monclova scored four of their own in the bottom on the ninth, including a Roberto Castro homer, to send the tilt into overtime. After Acereros reliever Jesus Valenzuela struck out the side in the top of the tenth, Dunston stepped up in the bottom of the inning and blasted a roundtripper to end the game, the series and the season for Monclova and manager Mickey Callaway, a former Mets skipper who earlier pitched in MLB, Korea and Taiwan.

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Epitacio Torres, OF

Baseball fans in the USA are likely more familiar with shortstop Hector Torres, a Little League World Series hero in 1957 who went on to play Major League Baseball, his father was arguably the better player. Epitacio Torres was a right fielder comparable to Roberto Clemente (although Torres lacked Clemente’s power) and is considered by many to be Mexico's best-ever at that position. He had a rifle arm that few runners dared test and was a consistent .300 hitter for nearly twenty seasons.

Nicknamed “La Mala” (“The Bad”) as a player, Torres was born September 19, 1921 in Villaldama, Nuevo Leon and made his Liga debut as a 17-year-old in 1939 with the Monterrey Sultanes, for whom he would play 18 seasons. He hit .316 (with a .381 OBP) and was named Rookie of the Year that season.

Over his 19 Mexican League seasons, Torres topped the .300 mark twelve times, was awarded nine Gold Gloves in right field and had the highest career fielding percentage (.982) among all past and present LMB outfielders when he retired. The left-hander became the first player in league history to reach the 1,000 hit threshold and finished his career with 1,823 safeties, scoring 933 runs and driving in 855 more (despite only clubbing 46 career homers).

Torres helped the Sultanes win four pennants, including three in a row between 1947-49, and played in 13 All-Star Games between 1943 and 1956. Despite his usual lack of power, he struck the game-winning homer in the bottom of the tenth inning at the 1954 All-Star Game, giving the Mexican League a 1-0 win over the Texas League All-Stars in front of his home fans in Monterrey. He completed his final Mexican League season with two games for Nuevo Laredo (batting 1-for-7) in 1958, the year after son Hector led Monterrey to the Little League World Series title.

La Mala also played eight seasons of winter ball with Mazatlan, batting .300 or better five times (winning the 1947-48 batting title of the old Pacific Coast League), and is a member of the Mex Pac’s all-time team. Torres played one winter with future Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford in Mazatlan and in his book “Slick,” Ford called Torres “the best player I’ve ever seen in my career.”

Torres was picked for the Mexican Salon de la Fama in 1964, one of the earliest players to be so honored. He died at age 49 on April 21, 1971 in Monterrey.

3.5 GAMES SEPARATE TOP NINE LMP TEAMS

   As the Mexican Pacific League’s regular season heads into its final month, the second half standings are very tight, with only three-and-a-half games of daylight between the top two teams and the ninth-place squad and only one club apparently out of contention for a postseason berth in January.

Navojoa and Mexicali have both won six of their last ten games to remain tied for the lead with 12-8 records, one game ahead of 11-9 Hermosillo and Mazatlan while 10-9 Monterrey sits in fifth place. Obregon and Guasave are tied for sixth at 10-10, two games out of the top slot, defending champion Culiacan is three games back in eighth at 9-11 while Jalisco is a half-game behind the Tomateros at 8-11. The only team that looks to be out of the running is Los Mochis, who are following up their last-place finish in the first half (finishing five games out of ninth at 9-23) with a 6-14 ledger for the second half.

Navojoa is firing on all cylinders under manager Matias Carrillo, with five batters hitting .302 or above and a solid, if not invincible, pitching staff featuring a five-man rotation with an aggregate 21-12 season record and a respectable 3.65 ERA plus one of the Mex Pac’s top closers in Carlos Bustamante. The Mayos, who have the LMP’s top overall record at 32-20, swept a three-game midweek series in Los Mochis before splitting two games at home against Obregon. 

Mexicali is likewise doing well in winning 12 of their first 20 games under new manager Gil Velazquez, who replaced Bronswell Patrick in the dugout after the Aguilas came in ninth in the first half with a 14-18 record. The Eagles dropped two of three tilts in their midweek series at Hermosillo before taking two weekenders over Guasave at home in El Nido. Despite their strong second half showing, Mexicali is last in the LMP with a .232 team batting average so Alex Liddi and his .215 average with seven RBIs over 29 games was placed on the Reserve List and former MLB first baseman Ryon Healy was brought in. Healy hit .257 with seven homers over 67 games  for Hanwha in the Korea Baseball Organization this summer after belting 69 longballs in five major league seasons. So far, he’s hit .389 in his first five games for the Aguilas.

Hermosillo is a game off the pace in third under another new manager, former Mexican National Team helmsman Juan Gabriel Castro. Castro, who was fired as leader of the Verdes Grande shortly before the Olympics after leveling criticisms about funding and leadership against CONADE (Mexico’s national sports commission) and director Ana Guevara, a former Olympic track athlete and an ally of president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. He was replaced by current Culiacan manager Benji Gil, who took the team to an 0-3 record in Tokyo.  

While Monterrey is a competitive 10-9 under second-year manager Gerardo Alvarez, who now has the aforementioned Bronswell Patrick on his staff as bench coach, the Sultanes made more news off the field last week by announcing that Roberto Kelly would be back as manager of their Mexican League team. Kelly, who went 143-89 in 2018 and 2019 (winning the LMB’s Fall 2019 pennant along the way), chose not to return to Mexico last season due to pandemic concerns and a stated desire to work with a son who had aspirations of entering pro ball. Homar Rojas began the 2021 season as Monterrey’s manager but was fired eight games into the season after the Sultanes had lost their first five games en route to a 2-6 start and replaced by Sergio Gastelum, who went 26-25 over the rest of the schedule before losing to Guadalajara in the first round of the playoffs. 

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE Second Half Standings

Mexicali 12-8 (4.0), Navojoa 12-8 (10.0), Hermosillo 11-9 (5.5), Mazatlan 11-9 (4.5), Monterrey 10-9 (5.0), Guasave 10-10 (9.0), Obregon 10-10 (7.0), Culiacan 9-11 (6.0), Jalisco 8-11 (8.0), Los Mochis 6-14 (3.5). First Half playoff points are in parentheses

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

Batting: Tirso Ornelas, NAV (.369); Victor Mendoza, OBR (.368); Yadir Drake, GUA (.331) 

Home Runs: Kyle Martin, NAV (15); Felix Perez, JAL (10); two players tied with 8 each

Runs Batted In: Felix Perez, JAL (39); Kyle Martin, NAV (37); Joey Meneses, CUL (36)

Stolen Bases: Dairon Blanco, CUL (21); Alonzo Harris, OBR (15); Ramon Rios, MAZ (14)

PITCHING LEADERS

Wins: Raul Carrillo, NAV (6); nine pitchers tied with 5 each

Earned Run Average: Elian Leyva, HER (1.17); Arturo Lopez, OBR (2.08); Hector Velazquez, OBR (2.42)

Strikeouts: Octavio Acosta, NAV (49); three pitchers tied with 47 each

Saves: Jake Sanchez, MXI (19); Fernando Salas, HER (12); Carlos Bustamante (NAV (11)

MONCLOVA, PUEBLA CLASH FOR LIM CROWN

The rebooted Mexican Winter League is holding its Prince Series (Serie del Principe) after the Monclova Acereros and Puebla Pericos won the North and South division playoffs, respectively, last week. Game One of the best-of-five set was slated for Sunday afternoon at Puebla’s Estadio Hermanos Serdan.

The two four-team divisions played intramural schedules with no crossover games. Monclova finished first in the LIM North with a 16-7 record, four games ahead of 11-10 Monterrey, who nudged out 12-12 Union Laguna for second place. Saltillo came in a distant fourth at 6-16. The Acereros are managed by former New York Mets dugout boss Mickey Callaway, who was suspended by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred through the 2022 season earlier this year after an investigation into Callaway regarding sexual harassment. 

Acereros owner Gerardo Benavides saw no problem bringing in the former pitcher, who played in South Korea and Taiwan (including the 2009 CPBL champion Uni-President Lions) after pitching for three MLB teams between 1999 and 2004, and was rewarded when Callaway led Monclova to a three-game sweep over Monterrey in the LIM North Finals. 

The Steelers won Game 3 last Thursday with a 9-0 blowout as the winners scored four first-inning runs and never looked back. Ethan Lopez had three hits for Monclova while another four Acereros had two safeties each, including LMB veterans Rodolfo Amador and Ricky Rodriguez. Obregon native Jasiel Ocosta aided the mound cause with four shutout innings on three hits. Another Mexican League vet, pitcher Carlos Teller, took the loss for the Sultanes after allowing five runs on nine hits.

Puebla defeated Veracruz-Yucatan, four games to one, to win the LIM South playoff title after finishing the regular season in first at 18-13, one game ahead of the 17-12 mark of Veracruz-Yucatan (who played their home games in Xalapa and also had players from Durango on the roster). Mexico City finished third in the South at 15-15 while Oaxaca, with Guerreros regular season skipper Erick Rodriguez at the helm) was dead last at 9-20. 

In their series-clinching win last Monday night, the Pericos outlasted Veracruz-Yucatan, 12-11, in Xalapa. Puebla went up 1-0 in the top of the first but Oliver Carrillo knotted the game up for the home side with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame. 

The Parakeets exploded for five runs in the third, including a tiebreaking two-run single by Armando Aguilar and a two-run double from Miguel Gamboa to make it a 6-1 contest. Puebla’s lead eventually reached 12-5 before Veracruz-Yucatan scored five times in the bottom of the seventh and a Carrillo solo homer in the eighth made it a one-run game before Pericos closer Cristian Alvarado shut the door on the series in the ninth.

Carrillo, a Yucatan prospect, was named the LIM’s Most Valuable Player after leading the South with eight homers and 46 RBIs while finishing second to Mexico City’s Pedro Castellano in batting with a .441 average. Castellano topped the division with a .448 average and 47 hits. A 19-year-old outfielder who played two games for the Leones last summer, Carrillo has spent time at the team’s academy in Mazatlan and also played in various national and international tournaments.  He was also named the LIM South MVP while Monclova’s Roberto Castro won similar honors for the LIM North.

MEX PAC ROAD TRIP (Stop #10): Guadalajara, Jalisco

The final jump on our virtual road trip to all ten Mexican Pacific League cities is also the longest. From Mazatlan, Sinaloa, we’ll drive 300 miles for about six-and-a-half hours south on Highway 15 through the state of Nayarit into Jalisco, curving inland until reaching Guadalajara, home of both the LMP’s Jalisco Charros and the Guadalajara Mariachis of the Mexican League.

Guadalajara has a metropolitan population of 5.3 million, making it Mexico’s third-largest metro area. It’s a far cry from the city’s humble beginnings in 1542, when conquistador Cristobal de Onate founded it as part of what was then called New Spain. By the 18th century, Guadalajara had already become Mexico’s second-largest city. During the Mexican War of Independence in the early 1800’s, Miguel Hidalgo established a revolutionary government there and Guadalajara later flourished between 1876 and 1911 under the three different presidencies of Porfirio Diaz, whose harsh methods created hardships among the people but also built the country’s economy and infrastructure.

Present-day Guadalajara is an international business and cultural center. It’s home to Mexico’s largest U.S. expat population, drawn by its relatively temperate climate, low cost of living and lively cultural scene. It’s home to numerous landmarks, including Guadalajara Cathedral, the Teatro Degollado, the Templo Expiatorio, the Hospicio Cabañas, and the San Juan de Dios Market (the largest indoor market in Latin America). Guadalajara hosts the most important film festival in Mexico as well as the International Book Fair, the largest such event in the Western Hemisphere. Two of the country’s most highly-rated colleges, the University of Guadalajara (founded in 1792) and the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, are here.

Professional baseball made its debut in Guadalajara when the Jalisco Charros played in the Mexican League in 1949 and lasted three seasons. After the Charros folded following the 1951 season, the Guadalajara Blue Sox entered the old Pacific Coast League in 1952-53 and also lasted three years. The city later fielded LMB teams on three different occasions between the 1960’s and 1990’s, winning two titles, but baseball never really built a local following until the Mexican Pacific League’s Guasave Algodoneros were bought and moved to Guadalajara in 2014. Named the Jalisco Charros, the franchise has become one of the Mex Pac’s most valuable. The Mariachis LMB team was formed last winter and played its first season in 2021, finishing first in the North Division, but crowds for the Liga side failed to approach their winterball counterparts.

Both teams play at 16,500-seat Estadio Charros, also known as Estadio Panamericano because it was built for track and field events at the 2012 Pan American Games. Although the design of the facility makes for less-than-desirable sightlines for baseball, even after a number of renovations over the past decade, Estadio Charros has hosted the Caribbean Series, World Baseball Classic and WBSC Premier12 tournament while the Charros have been among the top-drawing LMP teams since their arrival.