ROMERO OUT AS YAQUIS HELMSMAN AFTER 14 GAMES

Romero (r), Vasquez (c) out in Obregon

    Seventeen days into the 2022-23 Mexican Pacific League season, the Obregon Yaquis board of directors fired manager Willie Romero last Friday. Bench coach Russel Vasquez was also sent packing after the Yaquis had posted a 5-9 record and were one game ahead of last-place Jalisco when the axe fell a little over two weeks into the schedule.

    The Mexican managerial merry-go-round (and the accompanying lack of job security running a baseball team south of the border) has been chronicled here for years, but few helmsmen have been given the pink slip as soon into their first season as Romero. The 48-year-old Venezuelan was spirited away by Obregon last spring from the Magallanes Navegantes, who he'd led to the Venezuelan League title last winter, to replace Sergio Gastelum, the 2020-21 LMP manager of the year.

    Replacing Romero at the helm of the Yaquis will be Luis Carlos Rivera, a former Atlanta and Baltimore pitcher who had been serving as Mazatlan's pitching coach after ironically coaching Romero's mound staff in Magallanes last season. The 44-year-old Rivera has managed Yucatan, Leon and Aguascalientes in the Mexican League but this will be the first time he's run a team in the Mex Pac. If history is any indication, it won't be the last.

    The Hermosillo Naranjeros have lifted their record to 12-5 and opened a three-game lead over six teams tied for second place with identical 9-8 records: Culiacan, Guasave, Los Mochis, Mazatlan, Mexicali and Navojoa. Monterrey and Obregon are tied for eighth at 7-10 while defending champion Jalisco brings up the rear at 5-12.

    One of players Rivera inherited from Romero in Obregon, outfielder Yadir Drake, leads the LMP in batting with a .365 average, ahead of Culiacan's Ramiro Pena (.359) and Leo Heras of Mexicali (.351). Monterrey slugger Fernando Perez, who's batting .323 for the Sultanes is the co-leader with four homers (matched in roundtrippers by Niko Vasquez of Mexicali, Hermosillo's Nick Torres and Sebastian Valle of Obregon). Perez also leads the Mex Pac with 18 RBIs, two ahead of Jalisco's Christian Villanueva. Hermosillo outfielder Jose Cardona has eight steals, topping Randy Romero of Mazatlan by one on the swipes chart.

    Three pitchers are tied at the top of the wins list with three victories apiece: Jalisco's Tyler Alexander, Juan Paul Oramas of Hermosillo and Mexicali's Davis Reyes. The veteran Oramas is third in ERA at 1.10, trailing only Los Mochis' Luis Miranda's 0.00 and Nico Tellache's 1.07 ERA for Guasave. The 2-0 Miranda, a former Atlanta farmhand who was 1-8 with a 9.64 ERA for Guadalajara last summer in the Mexican League, has allowed just seven hits over 13 scoreless innings in three starts for the Caneros. Guasave's Jeff Kinley and Javier Solano of Jalisco are tied for the lead in strikeouts with 21 apiece while Elkin Alcala of Mazatlan and Guasave's Brandon Koch each have eight saves to split the lead in that category.


CARIBBEAN SERIES SCHEDULE RELEASED; CUBA RETURNS

   In conjunction with the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, the Caribbean Series organizing committee has released the nine-day schedule for the 2023 version of the Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball, to be held between Thursday, February 2 through Friday, February 10 in Caracas, Venezuela.

    The 65th Serie del Caribe will feature eight national champions for the first time as Cuba returns following a two-year absence while Curacao makes its initial entry into the competition. Longtime combatants Puerto Rico, Mexico, host Venezuela and the Dominican Republic have taken part almost every winter since the Caribbean Series was revived in 1970 after an 11-year layoff while Panama and Colombia have joined the fray on a conditional basis in recent years.

    Panama hosted the event in an emergency capacity in 2019 after political and economic turmoil forced Venezuela to back out of hosting the tournament weeks before it took place, with the Panamanians surprising the baseball world by winning the CS. Colombia joined the roster of nations in 2020 and after going winless their first two years, they won the championship last February in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

    With eight teams competing in Gran Caracas 2023, four games will be played daily over the first seven dates of round-robin competition. The newer Estadio Rinaconda will host three games per day while venerable Estadio La Guaira will feature one game. On the Thursday, February 2 Opening Day, Cuba and Curaçao will meet at Rinconada Stadium at 10:30 AM. Colombia and Puerto Rico will do battle at La Guaira Stadium at 2:00PM. The final two contests of the day will take place at Estadio Rinconada as Mexico and the Dominican Republic will face each other at 3:00PM and in the official opening match after opening ceremonies, Panama and Venezuela will square off at 8:15PM.

    Game times and venues will remain the same throughout seven days of first-round action, with Venezuela playing in each nightcap as the host team. One semifinal on Thursday, February 9 will be played at Estadio La Guaira while the other semi is slated for Estadio Rinaconda. The following day, both games will take place at Rinaconda with the third-place game scheduled for 2:30PM and the title contest set for 7:30PM

    The calendar proposed by the Organizing Committee was approved by the CBPC Assembly and endorsed by the Confederation of Professional Players of the Caribbean (CONPEPROCA). CBPC commissioner Juan Francisco Puello Herrera said, "We want to congratulate the members of the Organizing Committee and the Venezuelan Baseball League for the tremendous work they have been doing to set up a great Caribbean Series in February 2023."

    The Organizing Committee is also preparing the start of ticket sales for the first days of November.


MLBers LINING UP TO PLAY FOR MEXICO IN WBC NEXT YEAR

 

Julio Urias to pitch for Mexico in 2023 WBC

   The countdown to the 2023 World Baseball Classic has already begun and with it, the assembling of the 20 teams that will play the tournament next March also began. Mexico has not been left behind and some of the names that will see action on the field of play during the international event are already known. Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urías, Tampa Bay Rays infielder Randy Arozarena and Houston Astros hurler Jose Urquidy were all confirmed earlier in October.

    Urías is coming off a historic season in the Major Leagues with the Dodgers, finishing as the National League's ERA leader with a 2.16 mark (becoming the first player born in Mexico to do so) while finishing with a record of 17-7 and an 0.96 WHIP in 175 innings pitched and recording 166 strikeouts in 31 starts.

    Arozarena played 153 games with Tampa Bay, posting a .263 batting average with 20 home runs, 72 runs scored, and 89 RBIs. In April of this year, the man born in Havana, Cuba but now a resident of Merida, Yucatan in the off-season received his Mexican citizenship and reiterated his desire to represent the Verdes Grande in the World Baseball Classic.

    Urquidy was announced as the third member of Mexico's WBC team. The 27-year-old Mazatlan product is currently pithing for Houston in the World Series after going 13-8 wth a 3.94 ERA over 28 starts for the Astros in 2022. Urquidy, who has yet to pitch in the current postseason, won both his starts against Atlanta in last year's World Series.

    Three more major league players join the list of players who have confirmed their interest in participating with Mexico: Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo, New York Mets starter Taijuan Walker and St. Louis Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos, reported the Mexican National Team Commission.

    Verdugo has six seasons of experience in the Major Leagues and is currently with the Red Sox. For his career, he boasts a .286 batting average, 44 home runs and 210 RBIs. He began his big league career as a Dodgers outfielder.

    Walker is a starter for the New York Mets and has 10 years of experience in the Major Leagues, where he has an overall record of 54-50 with a 3.89 ERA and 806 strikeouts. In 2021 he was chosen to participate in the All Star Game as a Mets representative.

    Gallegos has built a six-year MLB career in which he's also worn a Yankees jersey. The 31-year-old Obregon native had 57 appearances in 2022 for the Cards, registering an ERA of 3.05 with 73 strikeouts, a 1.02 WHIP and 14 saves in 20 opportunities.

    Mexico is part of Group C of the World Baseball Classic alongside the United States, Colombia, Canada and Great Britain. The Mexican squad will begin play on Sunday, March 11 against the Colombians at noon local time, followed by games against the USA on March 12, Great Britain on March 14 and Canada on March 15.

    All Group C contests will take place in Phoenix at the Arizona Diamondbacks home ballpark. The top two teams from each of four groups will advance to the quarterfinals in Miami on March 17 and 18 while the final four will continue play at Marlins Park for the semifinals and championship game March 19-21.

NARANJEROS TAKE LMP LEAD, ELIZALDE HITTING .429

Hermosillo OF Jose Cardona

    The Hermosillo Naranjeros are one of the proudest teams in Mexico. Dating back to the 1940's (when the team was known as the Queliteros), Hermosillo has won a total of 19 pennants in four winter leagues, the most recent being in 2013-14 under manager Matias Carrillo, who also led that year's squad to their second Caribbean Series title. Since then, the team has gone through manager after manager seeking another flag for the Orangemen. The latest occupant of the perpetually-hot seat in Hermosillo is Juan Gabriel Castro, a former Dodgers infielder and Mexican National Team manager who has already become very well-aquainted with the vagaries of managing a baseball team south of the border.

    Castro inherited the reins of the Naranjeros from ex-skipper Juan Navarrete during the season last winter and led them to a 36-32 regular season record (21-18 under his command) before a first round playoff loss to Monterrey in seven games. He got the chance to start this season at the helm of the team and thus far has the Naranjeros at 8-3 out the gate to lead the LMP standings, good for a one-game lead over Guasave and two games up on four other teams. Defending champion Jalisco is tenth and last at 3-8.

    The Naranjeros are a veteran outfit with the likes of thirtysomethings Maxwell Leon, Luis Alfonso Cruz, Walter Ibarra and Fernando Salas along with relative youngsters Roberto Ramos, Nick Torres, Jasson Atondo and Jose Cardona. Thus far, Cardona (an eight-year Texas farmhand who hit .389 for Jalisco in last winter's Caribbean Series) is hitting .319 with three doubles, a triple and 11 runs scored in as many games while Ramos and Torres have seven homers and 19 RBIs between them.

    Hermosillo's pitching has been solid, if unspectacular, as Salas has two saves in five appearances and has yet to be scored upon while another vet hurler, Juan Pablo Oramas, is 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA and 11 strikeouts in two starts. While it's far too early to think about the postseason with 58 games and two-plus months left in the regular season, Castro is hoping to be a rarity with the Naranjeros: A manager who lasts two full seasons in orange and black.

    One player who's off to a hot start is veteran outfielder-first baseman Sebastian Elizalde of Culiacan. Now in his 12th Mex Pac season (starting at the tender age of 18 with Hermosillo in 2010-11), Elizalde is the only .400 hitter in the early LMP going with a .429 average, 35 points ahead of Mexicali's Leo Heras at .394. Hermosillo's Torres is tied with Felix Perez of Monterrey with four homers each while Perez, who's also hitting .366, is leading with 14 RBIs, three up on Torres and Navojoa's Ian Sagdal. Justin Dean (Los Mochis) and Jared Oliva (Obregon) are tied at the top of the stolen base charts with six apiece.

    At least eight pitchers are tied with two wins each, among them Guasave's Jeff Kinley, Braulio Torres-Perez of Mazatlan and Navojoa righty Luis Payan (who are all sporting 0.00 ERAs less than two weeks into the schedule). Fabian Cota of Los Mochis had four strikeouts in his last start to raise his total to 14, one more than Kinley. Brandon Koch has been a standout as Guasave's new closer, saving each of the Algodoneros' seven wins to lead the loop, while Mazatlan's Elkin Alcala has five salvados for the Venados.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE Standings: Hermosillo 8-3, Guasave 7-4, Los Mochis 6-5, Mazatlan 6-5, Mexicali 6-5, Navojoa 6-5, Culiacan 5-6, Monterrey 4-7, Obregon 4-7, Jalisco 3-8.

MEXICO FALLS SHORT IN U-23 GOLD CUP BRONZE GAME

Angel Camacho at 13 in 2017

    Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Angel Camacho motored home from third base on a Lee Chen-hsun wild pitch, Mexico went scoreless the rest of the way in a 3-1 loss to host Taiwan in Sunday's Bronze medal game at the World Baseball Softball Confederation's U-23 Baseball Gold Cup tournament in Taipei.

    After surprise starter Nestor Anguamea (who'd been Mexico's closer) pitched a 1-2-3 top of the first, Camacho hit a leadoff single off Lee, took second on an Aldo Nunez bunt and moved to third on a bunt by Jose Zepeda before scampering home when Lee uncorked a wild pitch to Brandon Valenzuela. Lee settled down to end the inning without any further damage and went on to limit the Mexicans to two more singles through the fifth frame, retiring the last eight batters he faced before giving way to reliever Chuang Hsin-yen in the sixth.

    By then, Taiwan had taken the lead after tying the score on Chen Sheng-ping's RBI double in the top of the second and then going up 3-1 one inning later on Chen's two-run single up the middle off reliever Erubiel Armenta, who had just replaced Anguemea with the bases loaded. Armenta and three relievers held Taiwan scoreless for the next four innings while Chuang pitched two perfect entradas for the hosts as 481 onlookers watched at Tianmu Stadium. Besides Camacho, Zepeda and Hugo Sanchez singled for Mexico but no runner reached base after the third inning. Later in the Gold medal game, Japan shut out South Korea, 3-0, as Asian teams took all three medals home.

    It was somewhat miraculous that Mexico got as far as they did. They advanced to the Super Round with five other teams despite being shut out in both of their last two First Round games: a 2-0 loss to Cuba last Tuesday in what had been a scoreless contest until the Cubans pushed two runs across in the top of the seventh, followed by a 1-0 defeat to South Korea in Wednesday's make-up of an earlier rainout. That one was likewise scoreless until the Koreans scored the game's lone run in the top of the eighth on a throwing error by Mexican catcher Valenzeula, who was trying to nail tiebreak lead runner Kim Tae-yun at third after Kim had first advanced from second on a throwing error by reliever Manuel Castro.

    Despite failing to score over their last 15 innings and collecting eight hits over the two shutouts, Mexico was one of five Group B teams to finish 2-3 behind 5-0 South Korea, and was waved to the Super Round along with Australia due to tiebreaker arcana we won't go into here (life is short enough already).

    Mexico then went 2-1 in the Super Round, starting with a 4-3 win over Colombia last Thursday in which they overcame a 3-1 deficit with three fifth-inning runs thanks to a pair of walks and a wild pitch (all with the bases loaded). Camacho and Valenzuela each had two of Mexico's eight hits in the game.

    That was followed by 2-1 Friday shocker over host Taiwan in eight innings. Mexico recorded ten singles for the night, none more important than Ruben Salinas' poke to left field that allowed Zepeda to score from third with the go-ahead run. After getting the last two outs of the seventh, Castro held the Formosans hitless in the bottom of the eighth to nail down the victory.

    Mexico suffered their first loss of the Super Round Sunday in a 4-2 defeat at the hands of 2016 Gold Cup champion Japan. The game wasn't that close, with the Japanese scoring a run in the second inning and three more in the third as Kanta Aiba and Kaido Saida had RBI singles. Mexico finally got on the scoreboard via Salinas' bases-loaded walk in the sixth and Zepeda's double in the seventh bringing in Christopher Escarrega, but manager Che Reyes' team had just three hits overallas Japan's Raiku Katayama tossed five no-hit innings in another Mexican offensive meltdown after two solid games at the plate. Japan advanced to the title game against South Korea with the win while Mexico was sent to the third-place game against Taiwan. Sunday's loss dropped the Mexicans' overall record to 4-5 for a fourth-place finish in the 12-team tournament.

    Mexico hit .203 as a team for the Gold Cup. Camacho's .333 average the only one above .250 among individual players. A California native, Camacho's nine hits led the team, as did his one triple. Valenzuela and Javier Sanchez had three RBIs each while 2021 Mexican Winter League batting champion Oliver Carrillo's four runs scored were tops.

    The pitching was much better, as the squad turned in a collective 1.59 ERA. Castro was 2-1 in relief and one of four hurlers with a 0.00 ERA. Fernando Sanchez had no decisions in two starts but he had a 1.50 ERA while his 15 strikeouts in 9.1 innings led Mexico. Anguamea's ERA went from 0.00 to 3.32 with his rocky start against Taiwan in the Bronze medal game and he finished 0-2, but he also had both saves at the World Cup.

WHERE DO THIS YEAR'S LMP PLAYERS COME FROM?

    

While most of the the 300 players on the Mexican Pacific League's opening night rosters overwhelmingly hail from Mexico, to the surprise of nobody, there are many countries that contribute talent to the Mex Pac's ten teams. Writer Christan Vernet of Mexico's ScoreDeportes website recently took a deep dive into the numbers to find out exactly where these guys DO come from. Here are translated and edited excerpts from his column on the matter (thanks to Carlos Fragoso of Mexico City for forwarding the story):

    Two Mexican locales with a rich history and baseball tradition, Sonora and Sinaloa, top the list of States in Mexico with the largest number of players represented, according to birthplaces listed on the Mexican Pacific league's opening rosters.

    This article shows the distribution of the origin of the 300 baseball players who started in the rosters of the 10 teams for their respective opening games of the 2022-2023 season of the Mexican Pacific League. The players and places of birth were listed by the 10 teams on their respective rosters, which were distributed to representatives of the media.

    There are 234 players born in Mexican territory, or 78 percent of the total of players. In addition, there are 7 other nations represented, led by the United States, which has 52 (17.3%), including players who are regarded as Mexican “nationals.” The overall percentage of foreigners born outside of Mexico is 66 playrs, or 22 percent. Cuba is the second foreign country with the most players with seven (2.3%), followed by Colombia with three (1%) and the rest are Germany, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico with one each (0.3%).

    Now it's time to distribute them by states: Sinaloa is unsurprisingly number one in that category, since of the 234 Mexicans, 67 (28.6%) were born in Sinaloan territory. Sonora is number two with 62 players, or 26.5 percent.

    In total there are 22 states of the Mexican Republic represented. Third place is occupied by Baja California Norte with 31 (13.2%), followed by Jalisco with 12 (5.1%), then Coahuila and Nuevo León with 9 apiece (3.8%). The “Top Ten” is completed by Veracruz with 6 (2.6%), Baja California Sur, Chihuahua and Yucatan with 5 each (2.1%).

    Regarding the distribution by municipalities, Ahome, a suburb of Los Mochis, is the leader of all with a total of 30 players, or 12.8% of the 234 Mexican baseball players. Hermosillo and Cajeme are tied for second place with 19 baseball players (8.1%), followed by Guasave with 14 (6%), Tijuana and Culiacán each have a dozen (5.1%) while Mexicali and Mazatlán both have 10, or 4.3%.

    Looking at the United States, California has 21 players, which could be the fourth best mixed with those in Mexico, just behind Sinaloa (67), Sonora (62) and Baja California Norte (31). California has 40.4 percent of the LMP's American 52 players, followed by Texas with 6 (11.5%), Arizona has 5 (9.6%), Florida and Illinois have 3 each (5.8%) and Indiana has 2 (3.8%). In total, there are 18 US states.

    As for the foreign cities with the largest number of players, they are Cartagena, Colombia; Havana, Cuba; and Dallas, Texas (all with 3), followed by Camagüey, Cuba; Tucson, Arizona; and Anaheim and Long Beach, California with 2 each.

    The Mexcali Aguilas have the most players born outside of Mexico with nine, while Guasave, Obregon and Los Mochis have 8 each followed by Hermosillo (7), Culiacan (6) and Mazatlan, Monterrey, Jalisco and Navojoa with the minimum regulatory amount of 5.

    These are only numbers and statistics of places of origin of the players who started the season. In January, we'll have a second installment to know the origin of all the players who participated during the season.

119,146 ATTEND TEN MEX PAC HOME OPENERS

Opening Night in Mazatlan

    The cellophane has been torn off the Mexican Pacific League's 2022-23 campaign as all ten team began regular season play beginning last Tuesday and hosted their home openers over a six-day period. The sporadic first-week schedule saw most LMP teams playing the usual two-game, home-and-away openers with rival squads that has been a hallmark of the circuit for years, although the Mazatlan Venados and Jalisco Charros played their first four games in Guadalajara before moving to Pearl of the Pacific for a single game on Sunday.

    Home openers in Monterrey, Guasave and Mazatlan all drew fewer than 10,000 spectators while overall attendance was 119,146 for an average of 11,915 for the ten lidlifters. A full house of 20,000 was on hand for Tuesday's premiere in Culiacan's Estadio Charros followed by 16,073 in Hermosillo on Wednesday and 15,982 at Obregon's opener Thursday night. The smallest first-night gathering was the 6,226 on hand in Guasave on Wednesday.

    Let's take a look at each of the ten Mex Pac openers in order of date played. Home teams are in capital letters:

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11

Mazatlan 4, JALISCO 3
(Attendance 13,811 at Estadio Panamericano, Guadalajara)

    Venados starter Casey Harman had a good outing, allowing one run over 4.1 innings while his counterpart, Jalisco opener Javier Solano, struggled in giving up four runs in 4.2 frames, including a two-run homer to Luis Jimenez in the top of the fourth. Ricardo Valenzuela doubled twice and drove in two runs for Mazatlan. The defending champion Charros had three-hit nights from Julian Ornelas, Amadeo Zazueta and Agustin Murrillo.

Mexicali 7, MONTERREY 6
(Attendance 8,941 at Estadio Monterrey)

    Scott Schebler's two-run homer off Sultanes reliever Joe Riley in the top of the ninth gave the Aguilas their come-from-behind victory. Schebler, who hit 30 homers for Cincinnati in 2017, had two hits and a pair of runs for Mexicali, who also got three hits, two runs and an RBI from Leo Heras. Fernando Perez led Monterrey with a 2-for-4 night, including a two-run homer off Aguilas starter Eduardo Vera, and Gilberto Galaviz added two hits and two RBIs.

Guasave 3, CULIACAN 2
(Attendance 20,000 at Estadio Tomateros)

    Algodoneros starter Jeff Kinley, a reliever throughout a pro career that included five years in the Marlins system, tossed five shutout innings for the visitors while two solo homers from Orlando Pina and a solo bomb by Jorge Flores provided the scoring. Sebastian Elizalde, in his seventh winter with Culiacan after five in Hermosillo, hit a two-run single in the eighth off Brandon Koch to prevent a Tomateros shutout.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12

Culiacan 5, GUASAVE 2
(Attendance 6,226 at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon)

    The Tomateros extracted a measure of revenge on Guasave by breaking open a 2-2 game in the top of the tenth, scoring three runs as Jesus Fabela's RBI triple broke the tie. Culiacan reliever Francisco Villegas then tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth to seal the win. Efren Navarro went 3-for-5 and hit a homer in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into overtime. Guasave wasted seven shutout innings from starter Nico Tellache in the loss.

LOS MOCHIS 5, Navojoa 1
(Attendance 10,203 at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada)

    This opener was tied at one run apiece until the bottom of the seventh, when the Caneros touched Mayos reliever Max Kuhns for four runs (including a two-run roundtripper by Lazaro Alfonso). Juan Gamez pitched a scoreless eighth and Conner Greene did likewise in the ninth for Los Mochis. Marco Jaime was 2-for-4 with two runs for the winners while Alan Espinoza's second-inning homer off Fabian Cota accounted for Navojoa's lone run.

HERMOSILLO 5, Obregon 4
(Attendance 16,073 at Estadio Sonora)

    The Yaquis held a 4-3 lead midway through the seventh until Nick Torres' solo homer off reliever Peyton Gray in the bottom of the frame knotted the score. Hermosillo won the game in the bottom of the ninth when Cesar Salazar drew a full-count walk, pinch-runner Angel Ramirez moved into scoring position on Jasson Atondo's sacrifice bunt and then scored the game-winner from second on a wild pitch by Felipe Gonzalez.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13

Hermosillo 7, OBREGON 1
(Attendance 15,982 at Estadio Yaquis)

    Things didn't get any better at home for Obregon, who were tied 1-1 until the top of the fourth, when the Naranjeros' Roberto Ramos poled a solo homer off Yaquis starter Mitch Lively to give the visitors a lead they built on the rest of the game. Ramos went on belt a second homer while Nick Torres went deep a second night in a row. Sebastian Valle's RBI double in the third gave Obregon their only run as Lively (5IP, 2R) took the loss.

NAVOJOA 8, Los Mochis 1
(Attendance 10,473 at Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echeverria)

    The Mayos put this one in their hip pockets early, chasing ex-Arizona starter Edgar Gonzalez with a six-run second inning that featured six hits, including a two-run double by Moises Gutierrez and a two-run single by newcomer Ian Sagdal, a three-time Organization All-Star while playing in the Washington system. Edgar Robles' sacrifice fly off winner Raul Carrillo (5IP, 1R) in the fourth brought Bruce Maxwell in for Los Mochis' sole score.

MEXICALI 15, Monterrey 3
(Attendance 10,402 at El Nido de los Aguilas)

    After Monterrey scored a run in the top of the first, the Aguilas plated three of their own in the bottom of the frame (as Anthony Giansanti contributed a two-run double) and went on to a 15-3 laugher over the Sultanes. Mexicali's six-run eighth saw 12 Eagles went to the plate, six of them driving in a run. Leo Heras went 4-for-4 with three runs and three ribbies as Mexicali had 22 hits, going 13-for-26 with runners in scoring position.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16

MAZATLAN 7, Jalisco 5
(Attendance 7,035 at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal)

    After winning three of four games in their opening series at Guadalajara, the Venados lifted their record to 4-1 Sunday in unusual fashion. A 5-5 tie was broken in the sixth when Jalisco reliever Luis Rodriguez balked Leo German home from third. Mazatlan got an insurance run in the eighth when a Randy Romero fly ball to right was muffed by Agustin Ruiz, allowing Daniel Castro to score from third on one of five Charros errors in the contest.

MEXICO 2-1 AT U-23 WORLD CUP IN TAIWAN

Mexico LHP Alemao Hernandez

    On the heels of a Gold medal in 2018 and a Silver in 2021, Mexico's U-23 National Baseball Team and manager Enrique “Che” Reyes flew to Taiwan in the hopes of bring home more hardware from this month's World Baseball Softball Confederation U-23 Baseball Gold Cup. Mexico is in Group B of the 12-nation event along with Australia, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Cuba and The Netherlands.

    The tournament is the WBSC's third most important in terms of global rankings points, trailing only the World Baseball Classic and Premier12 event. Professional players are allowed in the U-23 World Cup under cooperation with organizations such as Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, the Korea Baseball Organization and the Mexican League. Mexico entered the tournament ranked fourth in the world.

    Reyes' charges opened tournament play last Friday with a tight 3-2 win over #10 Australia in eight innings at Tianmu Baseball Stadium. Left fielder Angel Camacho delivered in the clutch twice late for Mexico, first with a spectacular two-out catch of a deep Solomon Maguire fly ball in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on second to send the game into overtime. Then, in the top of the eighth as the lead tie-break runner, Camacho came in to score the go-ahead run on Javier Sanchez' single. Closer Nestor Anguamea held the Aussies scoreless in the bottom of the frame to save the win.

    Saturday's game against #3 South Korea in Taipei was postponed as all three games scheduled for Tianmu Stadium were rained out. They'll be made up on Wednesday before the Super and Placement rounds begin Thursday. The top three teams in each group will advance to the Super Round while both sets of bottom three contestants will do battle in the Placement Round to determine the 7th through 12th place teams.

    Following their unexpected day off, the Mexicans put on what a WBSC story called a hitting and pitching clinic in a 4-0 shutout of The Netherlands (#8) at Dou-liu Stadium. Mexico starter Alemao Hernandez was superb over five innings, scattering three hits and striking out six Dutchmen for the win. Jose Reyes pitched a perfect sixth and Alan Mundo took care of the last three outs in the seventh. Mexico took the lead in the second when Oliver Carrillo singled and scored on Christopher Escarrega's RBI double to the right. Camacho's double to left plated Escarrega to make it 2-0 and the Mexicans never looked back.

    The two promising wins were followed by Monday's disappointing 3-2 loss in eight innings to #16 Puerto Rico. The game began as a pitcher's duel between between starters Bryan Marrero of Puerto Rico and Mexico's Jordan Suarez, who worked four scoreless innings in less than 45 minutes. The Boricuans broke the spell in the bottom of the fifth when Kenen Irizarry touched Suarez for a double and later scored on Glenn Santiago's single up the middle. Mexico knotted the score via the smallball route in the top of the sixth as Elmer Lopez singled, stole second, reached third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Camacho. 

    The 1-1 score carried into the eighth, when Mexican lead tie-break runner Sanchez scored on an Osvaldo Barrios wild pitch. Closer Anguamea was two strikes away from the save but Puerto Rican DH Ricardo de la Torre sliced a blooper to center that Lopez had to chase after, scoring both tie-break runners to end a contest that deserved a far larger crowd than the 45 spectators dotting the 15,000 seats in Dou-liu Stadium.

    Mexico will only have a few hours to regroup before facing Cuba in Taipei's Tiamnu Baseball Stadium at 10:00AM Tuesday local time. The time and venue for Wednesday's rainout makeup against South Korea have not been announced. Catcher Brandon Valenzuela leads Mexican regulars with a .333 batting average, two doubles and three RBIs as the team is batting just .183 after three games. Fortunately, the pitching has more than held up their end with a sparkling 0.91 ERA and allowing just 13 hits over 23 innings. Neither Hernandez nor any of the five relievers used have allowed an earned run thus far.

TUCSON TO HOST LMP SERIES IN NOVEMBER

Kino Stadium in Tucson

    After serving as a Mexican Pacific League training camp site as well as the primary facility of the Mexican Baseball Fiesta for over a decade, Tucson will host a three-game LMP regular season series at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium next month.

    The Mexicali Aguilas and Obregon Yaquis will square off for three games between Friday, November 11 and Sunday, November 13 in what will be the first time in the Mex Pac's decades-long history that the loop has played games that count in the standings outside Mexico. Mexicali will serve as home team for the series but both clubs and their fans have made the trek over the border crossing at Nogales and 63 miles north on Interstate 19 to the Old Pueblo ever since the Fiesta was first played in 2011.

    Tucson was first represented in professional baseball whe the Old Pueblos were in the Class D Rio Grande Association in 1915 but the league folded that July. Tucson re-entered the play-for-pay ranks in 1928 with a team in another Class D loop, the Arizona State League, and would sporadically field clubs in six leagues (none above the Class C level) until both the Cowboys and Arizona-Mexico League folded after the 1958 season.

    The AAA Pacific Coast League Toros began play in 1969 and the PCL would stay in Tucson for 40 seasons. After the team was sold for $15 million and moved to Reno prior to the 2009 season, Tucson had a team in the independent Golden League for three years and returned to the PCL for a three-year stay as temporary home for the eventual El Paso Chihuahuas between 2011 and 2014. The Tucson Saguaros began play in the independent Pecos League in 2016, winning three pennants since, and are now the current summer tenants at Kino Stadium.

    Although the LMP has made no mention of Tucson as a potential franchise site, the city's metropolitan population of just over a million residents includes a 45 percent Hispanic demographic, a team there would be a natural league travel partner with Mexicali, Kino Stadium and its 11,500 seating capacity would be a good fit in the Mex Pac and new LMP president Carlos Manrique has made expanding his league's profile north of the border a priority. Many baseball teams in both Mexico and the USA have far less to build on.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE 2022-23 SEASON DIRECTORY

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Telephone: (33) 38 17 0768
Fax: (662) 310-9715
Email: medios@lmp.mx
Website: www.lmp.mx
Facebook: @lmpbeisbol
PRESIDENT: Carlos Manrique Gonzalez

CULIACAN TOMATEROS
Phone: 667 758 3400
Email: comunicacion@tomateros.com
Website: www.tomateros.com.mx
Facebook: @clubtomateros
President: Hector Ley
Sports Manager: Mario Valdez
Manager: Benji Gil
Ballpark: Estadio Tomateros (20,000)

GUASAVE ALGODONEROS
Phone: 687 138 4323
Email: contacto@losalgodoneros.mx
Website: www.losalgodoneros.com
Facebook: @AlgodonerosdeGuasavemx
President: Alfredo Aramburo
Sports Manager: Alejandro Ahumada
Manager: Oscar Robles
Ballpark: Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon (10,000)

HERMOSILLO NARANJEROS
Phone: 662 260 6932
Email: contacto@naranjeros.com.mx
Website: www.naranjeros.com.mx
Facebook: @ClubNaranjeros
President: Enrique Mazon
Sports Director: Derek Bryant
Manager: Juan Gabriel Castro
Ballpark: Estadio Sonora (16,000)

JALISCO CHARROS
Phone: 331 562 0485
Email: contacto@charrosjalisco.com
Website: www.charrosjalisco.com
Facebook: @CharrosBeisbolOficial
Chairman: Jose Luis Gonzalez Inigo
Sports Director: Ray Padilla
Manager: Roberto Vizcarra
Ballpark: Estadio de Beisbol Charros (13,000)

LOS MOCHIS CANEROS
Phone: 668 818 6323
Email: prensa@caneros.net
Website: www.caneros.net
Facebook: @verdesxsiempre
Chairman: Joaquin Vega
Sports Manager: Carlos Sosa
Manager: Jose Moreno
Ballpark: Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada (12,000)

MAZATLAN VENADOS
Phone: 669 158 4002
Email: contacto@venados.com
Website: www.venados.com
Facebook: @VenadosdeMazatlan
President: Ismael Barros
Sports Manager: Jesus Valdez
Manager: Sergio Gastelum
Ballpark: Estadio Teodoro Mariscal (16,000)

MEXICALI AGUILAS
Phone: 686 800 4000
Email: info@aguilasdemexicali.mx
Website: www.aguilasdemexicali.mx
Facebook: @aguilasdemxli
President: Dio Alberto Murillo
Sports Manager: Jose Amador
Manager: Gil Velazquez
Ballpark: El Nido (19,500)

MONTERREY SULTANES
Phone: 812 270 2000
Email: info@sultanes.com.mx
Website: www.sultanes.com.mx
Facebook: @sultanesoficial
President: Jose “Pepe” Maiz
Sports Manager: Jesus Valdez, Jr.
Manager: Gerardo Alvarez
Ballpark: Estadio Monterrey (21,909)

NAVOJOA MAYOS
Phone: 642 422 1433
Email: mayosbeisbol@mayosbeisbol.com
Website: www.mayosbeisbol.com
Facebook: @OficialMayosBeisbol
President: Victor Cuevas
GM: Lauro Villalobos
Manager: Homar Rojas
Ballpark: Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echeverria (11,500)

OBREGON YAQUIS
Phone: 644 413 7766
Email: prenso@yaquis.com.mx
Website: www.yaquis.com.mx
Facebook: @YaquisdeObregon
President: Rene Arturo Rodriguez
Sports Manager: Manuel Velez
Manager: Willie Romero
Ballpark: Nuevo Estadio Yaquis (16,000)

MEXICAN BASEBALL FIESTA BEGINS 11TH YEAR

Beto Coyote and friends in Nogales

    The Mexican Baseball Fiesta will return to Tucson for an eleventh year for four nights, beginning this Thursday. The international event mainly comprised of teams from the Mexican Pacific League began in 2011 and completed its ninth year in 2019 before shutting down operations in 2020 due to Wuhan virus health restrictions.

    The MBF involves a partnership with Mexican Pacific League teams, many of which journey to the US for preseason training camps. The event is overseen by Mike Feder, a 30-year minor league general manager (15 of those in Tucson) as President of the MBF, and founder/partner Francisco Gamez, who played ten winters in the Mex Pac, which annually draws many more fans per game than any minor league north of the border.

    Mexican Baseball Fiesta games have an electricity in the air not seen during MLB spring training in February and March with music playing all the time, mascots on the field, fans dancing in the stands and authentic Mexican food like tacos, tortas and burritos instead of hot dogs and peanuts (although those are available at concession stands. Fans follow their teams across the border with such fierce loyalty and pass their love of the game on from generation to generation. It’s not uncommon to see three generations of families enjoying a game together, all wearing replica jerseys of their favorite team.

    From its roots in Tucson, the Mexican Baseball Fiesta has grown throughout Arizona and occasionally into California, Nevada and New Mexico. This year, the Fiesta increased its stay in the Phoenix area with an extra day in Maryvale, where the Hermosillo Naranjeros played single games against a team of Obregon, Navojoa and Guasave players at the Brewers spring ballpark September 23 and 24. That was followed by three doubleheaders in Mesa over the just-concluded weekend at Sloan Park, training camp home of the Cubs.

    The event now moves to Tucson (known to some as “Optics Valley” due to the 150 Tucson companies are involved in the design and manufacture of optics and optoelectronics systems) for seven games between Thursday and Sunday, beginning with an October 6 doubleheader featuring Obregon and Navojoa in the 5:05PM opener followed by a nightcap between Hermosillo and the University of Arizona. 

    In all, four LMP teams (Hermosillo, Obregon, Navojoa and Mexicali) will play in Tucson at Kino Stadium, an 11,500-seat former spring home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox as well as a Tucson Pacific Coast League team. The facility, which opened in 1998, is now used by the Tucson Saguaros, three-time champions of the independent Pecos League.

    Past ticket sales indicate that about 20 percent of the crowd is from Mexico. A few years ago, the Visit Tucson tourism organization did an economic impact study of the event and determined that the MBF generates over $1.5 million to Tucson's local economy. “We’re excited to partner with this great event for the eleventh year to bring Mexican baseball back to Tucson,” said Felipe Garcia, President/CEO of Visit Tucson. “The popularity of this event continues to grow, and we are proud to be a part of something that both locals and visitors look forward to every October. The Mexican Baseball Fiesta is the true definition of a quality cultural event and a boon to our community and economy.”

MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE TO OPEN SECOND SEASON

     The Mexican League will operate the Mexican Winter League for a second consecutive season in 2022. This year, the LIM will be split into three divisions: North, Central and South. Its objective, according to the LMB, is to promote the young talent of participating clubs.

   LMB president Horacio de la Vega Flores said in a press release, “We applaud the efforts of the organizations that are part of the LIM in 2022. Likewise, we thank the authorities of the Yucatan State government, their host municipalities, as well as the municipality of Poza Rica, Veracruz, promoters of the development of our young talents.

    “Alejandro Kirk, today a baseball star in the Major Leagues, was forged in this circuit a few seasons ago. Fans will appreciate the players who will shine in the near future, players who will be a source of inspiration, zeal and professionalism of those who came before them and who are currently figures of Mexican baseball.”

    The LIM's ten teams (including four combining players from two LMB clubs) and their home venues for the upcoming campaign are:

North Division
Monclova Acereros (Monclova Stadium), Monclova, Coahuila
Monterrey Sultanes (Estadio Monterrey), Monterrey, Nuevo León
Unión Laguna Algodoneros (Estadio de La Revolución), Torreón, Coahuila

Central Division
Mexico City Diablos Rojos/Oaxaca Guerreros (Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú), Mexico City, DF
Puebla Pericos (Estadio Hermanos Serdán), Puebla, Puebla
Veracruz Aguilas/Leon Bravos (Estadio Heriberto Jara Corona), Poza Rica, Veracruz

South Division
Aguascalientes Rieleros/Tijuana Toros (Campo Aureliano Centeno), Valladolid, Yucatan
Durango Generales (Campo Juan Rivero Alonzo), Tizimín, Yucatan
Guadalajara Mariachis/Tabasco Olmecas (Parque Miguel Hidalgo), Progreso, Yucatan
Yucatan Leones (Parque Eliseo Gómez), Umán, Yucatan

    Games in the North and Central divisions will begin on October 12 and one day later in the South. The regular season will close on November 27 in the South while in the North and Central, the schedule concludes on November 28. North and Central division clubs will play 24 games each while those of the South play a total of 28 contests.

    Central Division games will be played from Wednesdays through Sundays, with the exception of the fial game between Puebla and the Veracruz/Leon team on Monday, November 28. Games in the South will be held Thursdays to Sundays while in the North Division, games will be played without a set pattern with a maximum of two days of rest per team.

    In the Serie del Principe (Prince's Series) the champion will be defined and the best of five games will be crowned between December 3 and 8, closing at the ballpark of the highest-ranked seed. The title matchup will be determined by the top two teams based on the percentage of wins and losses, regardless of which division they belong to. In case of a tie, a run-differential formula will be used. If a team from the South Division reaches the Serie del Principe, they would play in Merida's Kukulcán Park, home of the 2022 King's Series (Serie del Rey) champion Yucatan Leones.

    The rosters will be made up of a maximum of 28 players from the LMB Reserve Lists, as well as players authorized by the Liga office and in the process of signing. The age limit is 25 years, with a maximum of six free agents, among which there may be three foreigners.

    The current defending champions of the LIM (Liga Invernal de Mexico) are the Monclova Acereros, who defeated the Puebla Pericos in five games for the 2021 pennant.

SALON DE LA FAMA 2023 BALLOT ADDS 11 NAMES

    The Salon de la Fama's Pre-candidate Nomination Assembly was held last Friday to implement the voting ballots for the Election of the new immortals of Mexican baseball for its 2023 induction ceremonies in Monterrey.

    Eleven baseball players to be added to the final ballot were announced together with eight unnamed candidates who are being carried over from the last vote in 2020, thus integrating a ballot with fourteen candidates in the Mexican Baseball Players Category and a new Card with five candidates in the Mexican Players Category with a minimum of 7 seasons in Major Leagues. Of the 19 names on the ballot, a maximum of five will be elected.

The eleven ballot newcomers selected were:

Players in Mexican Baseball Leagues: Miguel Flores, Germán Jiménez, Noe Munoz, Miguel Ojeda, Mike Paul, Roberto Ramirez, Javier Robles.

Mexicans with 7+ Years in the Major Leagues: Juan Gabriel Castro, Karim Garcia, Rodrigo López, Ismael Valdez.

    The Nomination Assembly was made up of Electoral Committee president Antonio de Valdes, Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega, Mexican Pacific League president Carlos Manrique, Salon de la Fama director Francisco Padilla Davila and Salon historian Horacio Ibarra.

    Results of the balloting will be announced in February 2023. The most recent election resulted in a Class of 2021 that included players Matias Carrillo, Vinny Castilla, Eduardo Jimenez, Isidro Marquez and Jose Luis Sandoval; veteran William “Bonnie” Serrell and journalist Jorge Menendez Torre.