HIRED, FIRED, REHIRED: GIL'S MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR

Past, present Culiacan manager Benji Gil

    Benji Gil had a most interesting month in November, even by Mexican baseball standards. First, the former Rangers and Angels infielder was picked to manage Mexico in next year's World Baseball Classic. Then he was fired as manager of the Mexican Pacific League's Culiacan Tomateros, only to be reinstated and back in the dugout within hours of being sacked. Even for someone like Gil, as voluble as he is volatile, that's a head-spinning series of events. Ready? Here we go...

    After leading Mexico to a sixth-place finish at last year's Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Gil will manage the Verdes Grande at the World Baseball Classic 2023. The 50-year-old Gil served as a coach with the Los Angeles Angels last summer under managers Joe Maddon and Phil Nevin after managing Guadalajara's expansion team in the Mexican League in 2021, earning Manager of the Year honors that season. As a player, Gil participated in the World Baseball Classic 2006. He played eight MLB seasons as a utility infielder and was on the 2002 World Series-winning Los Angeles Angels roster.

    "Benji Gil is a winner," commented National Team general manager Rodrigo Lopez, a starting pitcher and Gil teammate for Mexico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. "As a player, he is on the list of World Series winners; as a manager, he's shown leadership, attitude and passion. He is fluent in English and Spanish and knows the Mexican Leagues as well as the Big Leagues."

    Ranked fourth in the world, Mexico will compete in Group C of the WBC and face host USA (ranked fifth), Colombia (#11), Canada (#12) and Great Britain (#23) in Phoenix from March 11 through 15 next year. So far, so good but as November drew to a close, things got weird.

    First, he was fired last Monday as helmsman in Culiacan, where he had managed the Tomateros to four pennants (but no Caribbean Series titles) in six winters. However, the team had a cumulative 16-25 record this current season, including a last-place finish in the first half with 14 wins over 35 contests. Bench coach Noe Munoz was also let go as the team's board of directors issued the usual thanks for professionalism to both as the door was hitting them on the way out. While MLB fans may be shocked over the dismissal of a manager who had been one win away from a fifth pennant since 2014 last season, as Culiacan lost the LMP championship series to Jalisco in seven contests last January, it's a common occurance south of the border. What happened next, though, is a bit rarer.

    In officially announcing the ouster of both Gil and Munoz last Tuesday at noon, a press release from the team stated that Tomateros bullpen coach and former pitching star Francisco Campos (who also manages Campeche in the Mexican League) would be Gil's replacement in the dugout beginning with that night's home game against Guasave. This brought an immediate response from the Culiacan players, who let the board know in no uncertain terms during an impromptu meeting that afternoon that they supported their deposed skipper. After the meeting ended, it was announced by Campos himself (alongside sports manager Mario Valdez) that both Gil and Munoz would be back that night.

    "Upon arriving at the stadium, the boys approached me and told me that it's nothing against me, that I shouldn't take it in that way, but they wanted to talk to Benjamín to let him know that they want him to return," said Campos, who remains as bullpen coach.

    "They asked for an opportunity to show that they can make a difference and that they can make positive results to obtain victories, they wanted Benjamin to return, Mr. Héctor (Ley, executive president) said that they should talk to him and if I accepted, go ahead."

    The Tomateros indeed went ahead and split their first six games after Gil's reprieve.


NARANJEROS WIN, PULL ONE GAME AHEAD OF LOS MOCHIS

Monterrey OF Roberto Valenzuela

    With just over three weeks remaining in the Mexican Pacific League's regular season schedule, there has not been a lot of separation between teams twelve games into the second-half standings. Los Mochis was in the driver's seat a week ago but first-half champion Hermosillo was never far behind and the two teams found themselves in a tie for first on Saturday before the Naranjeros pulled into a one-game lead by virtue of their 12-5 win at home over Monterrey while the Caneros dropped a 5-1 decision to visiting Jalisco Sunday.

    The Orangemen had to overcome an early 3-0 deficit after Ricardo Serrano socked a three-run homer off starter Jose Samayoa in the top of the first, but knotted the game up at 3-3 in the bottom of the frame, thanks in part to a two-run roundtripper by Luis Alfonso Cruz off Sultanes opener Frank Duncan.

    The two teams went back and for the the next few innings and the score was 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth when Cruz singled in Jasson Atondo and Scott Schebler scored on a fielding error by Monterrey second baseman Alberto Carreon to make it a 7-5 game. A five-run outburst in the eighth put the game away for Hermosillo as Ramon Mendoza stroked an RBI double and Cesar Salazar, Roberto Ramos (who'd homered earlier) and Atondo chipped in with run-scoring singles to end the scoring as 11,395 spectators watched at Estadio Sonora.

    Hermosillo now leads the LMP second half with a 9-3 record, just ahead of 8-4 Los Mochis. The Caneros fell at home to Jalisco Sunday, 5-1, as Julian Ornelas scored on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third to give the Charros a 1-0 lead that they'd build to 5-0 until Brayan Mendoza plated the Caneros' lone run of the night on a Justin Dean single. Ornelas went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, adding a two-run homer off reliever Daniel Duarte in the top of the seventh.

    Jalisco starter Brennan Bernardino and four relievers scattered 10 hits and four walks as Los Mochis went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 on base. Nick Struck did not pitch badly for the Caneros, allowing one earned run on three hits in four innings, but his offense just couldn't put together enough support.

    Just off the Mex Pac pace are Mexicali and Obregon, who are tied for third with identical 7-5 records. The Aguilas lost a tough 6-5 game in Navojoa Sunday after trailing 6-0 heading into the seventh. Reynaldo Rodriguez (a former twins farmhand) just missed hitting for the cycle, delivering a double, triple and two-run homer for Mexicali. Likewise, Obregon fell a game back by losing on the road in Guasave, 4-2, Sunday. The Yaquis could only gather seven hits, two by Victor Mendoza, as Nico Tellache won his fifth for the Algodoneros.

    Tellache is one of five pitchers tied for second in wins in the LMP, one behind the six of Hermosillo's Wilmer Rios. Rios has won five games in a row with one no-decision since November 4, lowering his ERA from 7.84 to 2.24 in his last eight starts. Los Mochis' Luis Miranda, who'd given up one earned run in his first seven starts, allowed four against Jalisco last Friday and saw his ERA jump from 0.20 to 0.92 but that still leads the Mex Pac. Juan Pablo Oramas of Hermosillo is second at 1.28 while Mazatlan's Casey Harman's 1.83 ranks third. Two strikeouts separate the three league leaders as the 50 K's of Matt Pobereyko (Guasave) and Manny Barreda (Culiacan) lead the 48 by Luis Payan (Navojoa). Mazatlan's Elkin Alcala has recorded three saves since the start of December to bring his season total to 15, three more than the 12 each of Josh Leuke (Jalisco) and Brandon Koch (Guasave).

    Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela saw his batting average drop from .380 to .363 over his last six games but he still enjoys a comfortable lead over Justin Dean (.339) and Yosmany Tomas (.330), both of Los Mochis. Mexicali's Anthony Giansanti belted a homer against Mazatlan last Tuesday to pull into a lead with Jesse Castillo of Guasave at 10 apiece. Obregon's Sebastian Valle is third with eight dingers. The Caneros' Tomas now leads in RBIs with 37, ahead of Obregon teammates Victor Mendoza (36) and Yadir Drake (35). A nice race in stolen bases (so to speak) has developed between Randy Romero of Mazatlan and Hermosillo's Jose Cardona, who have 18 and 17 swipes, respectively. Justin Dean (Los Mochis) and Jared Oliva (Monterrey) are tied with 14 each.


LIM: YUCATAN SOUTH CHAMP; MONCLOVA, PUEBLA IN FINALS

Puebla LIM P Hector Sepulveda

    In restructuring the Mexican Winter League for a second season after its revival last winter, the Mexican League created a somewhat-unwieldy circuit with ten teams representing 14 LMB clubs (including four combined squads) spread out over three divisions: Monclova, Monterrey and Union Laguna in the North; Mexico City/Oaxaca, Veracruz/Leon and Puebla in the Central; and Durango, Yucatan, Tabasco/Guadalajara and Tijuana/Aguascalientes in the South.

    The format made for uneven scheduling and at least one team sitting out every day during the regular season between October 12 and November 28. Teams in the LIM North and Central played 24 games each while LIM South clubs, all playing in Yucatan towns, took the field 28 times. It was determined at one time that the South Division playoff winner would serve as a stand-alone champion among their larger group of teams while North and Central playoff winners would meet in the Serie del Principe for the nominal LIM championship, which was won by Monclova last winter.

    Yucatan earned the LIM South title by defeating the combined Tijuana/Aguascalientes club in three playoff games, including last Thursday's 7-6 win in Uman. Leones starter Cesar Cervantes pitched seven innings to earn the win while closer Anhuar Garcia got the save. Garcia was the LIM's leader in salvados during the regular season. Toros prospect Porfirio Guerrero was tagged with the loss.

    "I'm very happy and very proud of the boys,” said Leones sports manager Santos Hernandez. “We're sure that they will continue to show great capacity for this sport and I'm very grateful to all those fans who have been supporting these future stars from day one."

    Meanwhile, Monclova and Puebla have already begun their Serie del Principe rematch from last season, which was won by the Acereros in dramatic fashion on Shawon Dunston, Junior's walkoff homer in the bottom of the tenth in the fifth and deciding game. Monclova is managed by Matias Carrillo while Hector Hurtado, who spent 22 seasons as a catcher in the Mexican League, is dugout boss for the Pericos, who he led to an LIM-best 16-7-1 record during the regular season.

    The first two games took place in Estadio Monclova, where Puebla won Saturday's opener in a 2-1 pitcher's duel. Pericos starter Hector Sepulveda contributed five shutout inning to earn the win while Parakeets reliever Jose Hernandez sparkled by striking out all five Acereros batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings. Puebla took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on Herman Alvarado's RBI single and the visitors added a run in the eighth on a run-scoring one-bagger by Giancarlo Servin. With runners at the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, the Acereros pulled off a double steal that brought Evan Carrillo home from third to break the shutout bid and narrow Puebla's lead to one. That was as good as it would get as Caleb Perez ultimately grounded to Luis Medina at third for the final out.

MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Final 2022 Standings
North: Monclova 14-8-2, Monterrey 10-12-2, Union Laguna 9-13-2.
Central: Puebla 16-7-1, Mexico City/Oaxaca 14-10-0, Veracruz/Leon 5-18-1.
South: Yucatan 14-10-2, Tijuana/Aguascalientes 15-11-1, Tabasco/Guadalajara 12-12-2, Durango 9-17-1.

MEXICO KO’D IN SEMIS, FINISH 3-3 AT CARIBBEAN SERIES

  After dropping their first two games at the Caribbean Series, Mexico bounced back with consecutive shutout wins over Colombia, Puerto Rico and Panama to qualify for the semifinals. However the magic ended last Wednesday in Santo Domingo as the host Dominican Republic eliminated the Mexicans, 2-1,at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal to advance to Thursday’s title game against surprising Colombia, who’d lost all their games in two prior Serie del Caribe appearances before going 3-2 in this year’s first round and crushing Venezuela, 8-1, in the first semi game.

Following their 1-0 victory over Colombia last Sunday for their first win of the 2022 Serie del Caribe, last Monday featured a 5-0 triumph over Puerto Rico that evened Mexico’s first-round record at 2-2 while eliminating the Boricuans from final four contention. Nick Struck whitewashed the Puerto Ricans over 5.2 innings, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out two. Struck and four relievers got all the support they’d need when Esteban Quiroz belted a two-run homer off Oscar de la Cruz in the first inning after Jose Cardona led off the game with a single. Mexico scored twice more in the third when Victor Mendoza doubled Cardona home and then came in on a Japhet Amador single. Felix Perez scored the final run of the game in the sixth when he touched home plate on an Agustin Murillo single.

Mexico then set a Caribbean Series record with their third straight shutout last Tuesday when they blanked Panama, 1-0, punching their ticket to the knockout stage in the process. This time it was longtime veteran righty Javier Solano who got the start (and win) with six solid frames, allowing just two hits and two walks as Mexico ran their consecutive scoreless innings total to 29, another Serie del Caribe record. After Jose Cardona hit a two-out single and stole second in the bottom of the fifth, Quiroz stroked a single to left off reliever Luis Ramos that saw the speedy Cardona motor in with what would be the winning run. Roberto Osuna struck out Rodrigo Orozco to end the game and earn the save, his second of the tournament.

Mexico then faced the host Dominicans in the Final Four Wednesday night. Although Brennan Bernardino had a good outing, scattering seven hits and allowing one run in 5.2 innings, the game belonged to Dominican starter Tyler Alexander. The Detroit Tigers swingman carried a perfect game into the ninth inning and threw 71 strikes among 88 pitches before being pulled after allowing a leadoff double to Isaac Rodriguez. Last year’s LMP batting champion eventually scored on a Cardona groundout but reliever Juan Minaya retired Quiroz on a 4-3 grounder to end the game. DR rightfielder Moises Sierra singled in Henry Urrutia in the bottom of the second inning for the first run of the game (breaking Mexico’s record string of scoreless at 30) and a Sierra sacrifice fly in the eighth brought Robinson Cano from third to make it a 2-0 contest. Urrutia and Cano combined for five hits, four of them doubles.

The Dominicans then fell in the Serie del Caribe title game, a surprising 4-1 loss to Colombia, a country which had failed to win a single game in their two previous appearances at the tournament. Perhaps in anticipation of a Dominican championship, journalists named six players from the host country as part of a 12-man Dream Team before the final game while including just two Colombians. One Mexico player, leftfielder Felix Perez, was named to the team. Perez hit .263 with one homer and one RBI over six games. 

CARIBBEAN SERIES FIRST ROUND STANDINGS:Dominican Republic 4-1, Colombia 3-2, Venezuela 3-2, MEXICO 3-2, Puerto Rico 1-4, Panama 1-4.
SEMIFINALS: Colombia 8, Venezuela 1; Dominican Republic 2, MEXICO 1.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Colombia 4, Dominican Republic 1

FOUR MEXICAN LEAGUE TEAMS NAME MANAGERS

With the 2022 Caribbean Series in the history books, attention south of the border has shifted to the Mexican League’s upcoming season, which will get underway on April 22 this year. The later start means later openings of spring training for the LMB’s 18 teams but most have been busy signing players and, in the case of four franchises, naming new managers. Quintana Roo, Guadalajara, Veracruz and Monclova have all announced new skippers since the first of the year.

In Cancun, the Quintana Roo Tigres are bringing in Luis Antonio “Tony” Rodriguez as dugout boss, replacing Oscar Robles (who took over when Adan Munoz was fired early during the 2021 campaign despite a winning record. A 51-year-old native of Puerto Rico, Rodriguez was signed by the Red Sox as an infielder in 1991 and played 27 games for Boston in 1996, batting .239 with one homer. He ended up playing seven years in the Bosox system and one as a Mariners minor leaguer before spending eight years with Nashua and Bridgeport in the independent Atlantic League, plus short stints in Taiwan and Puerto Rico.

After retiring as a player in 2005, Rodriguez has been an assistant GM with Puerto Rico’s Santurce Cangrejeros as well as a third base coach in Nicaragua for the Chinandega Tigres over the past three winters. Remarks made during his introductory press conference suggest that fans in Cancun might see their share of smallball this summer. “I am a person who likes to play the game as it should be,” he said. “I was a baseball player and I played the basic game: touch, sacrifice, move the runners, move the base and that is what will be seen in the team this year.” Rodriguez, who has never managed a professional team, will wear number 13 this season.

Meanwhile, the Guadalajara Mariachis have hired a familiar face to replace Benji Gil, who resigned as manager to take a coaching job with the Los Angeles Angels. Sergio Gastelum, a former All-Star second baseman over a 22-year playing career who has had success as a manager, will take over the second-year team. Gastelum was a .316 batter and won multiple pennants as a player over 1,675 games before retiring. His first job as a manager was with Oaxaca in 2018, when he took the chronic underdog Guerreros to the Serie del Rey in the Fall season before losing to Monterrey. After another winning season in Oaxaca in 2019, team owner Alfredo Harp Helu hired him to manage the Mexico City Diablos Rojos (who Harp also owns). That’s when things got weird.

     Gastelum led the Diablos in their 2020 training camp until the Mexican League canceled the season in reaction to the Wuhan virus. Then the Diablos did some shuffling that resulted in Miguel Ojeda being bumped from the front office to manager and Gastelum being bumped from the ranks of the employed without ever managing a regular season game in Mexico City. He did manage in Monterrey in 2021 after Homar Rojas was fired 15 games into the season. The Sultanes had a 26-25 record and made the playoffs but Gastelum was sent packing after Roberto Kelly (who’d managed the Fall 2018 champs) agreed to return to Monterrey. Gastelum also managed Obregon in the Mexican Pacific League and won Manager of the Year twice, but was let go after the Yaquis lost their opening round playoff series last month. 

Another second-year Liga team, the Veracruz Aguilas, have picked Emmanuel Valdez as their new helmsman, replacing Leo Rodriguez III. A 43-year-old Tijuana native nicknamed “El Peque” (“The Little One”), the 6’3” 230-pound Valdez spent 19 LMB seasons as a catcher-first baseman for five teams. He was a steady hitter in the .280 range who hit 224 homers, including a career-high 25 longballs for Saltillo in 2013. Valdez also played eight winters in the Mexican Pacific League between 2005 and 2013, batting .241 with 43 homers in 302 regular season games for Mexicali and Culiacan.

Like Rodriguez in Quintana Roo, Valdez has never managed a team but he brings impressive credentials as a former player to Jalisco. He was a regular on LMB pennant-winning teams for both the Tigres and Campeche and was a silver medalist for Mexico at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico. Valdez was part of a select group of Mexicans certified by MLB to train coaches around the world, he’s been an instructor in the national ProBeis program and most recently served as a catching coach with Guasave in the MexPac.

Finally, Mickey Callaway has been elevated to manager of the Monclova Acereros’ Mexican League squad after leading the Steelers to the Mexican Winter League championship last year. Callaway was a 1996 Tampa Bay draft pick out of the University of Mississippi and made his MLB debut with the Rays three years later. He eventually spent all or part of five seasons pitching in the Majors, three years in South Korea and one year in Taiwan, where he was a member of the 2009 Taiwan Series champion Uni-President Lions.

After retiring following the Taiwan Series, Callaway became a pitching coach in the Indians system and served manager Terry Francona in that role for Cleveland between 2013 and 2017, including the Tribe’s American League title season of 2016. Callaway then managed the New York Mets in 2018-19 (leading them to a 163-161 record over two years) and was hired to be the Los Angeles Angels pitching coach for 2020 before an investigation into sexual harassment allegations led to his suspension by MLB through the upcoming seasons and his firing by the Angels.

MITRE FOUND GUILTY OF MURDERING 1-YEAR-OLD GIRL

(Warning: This is not a story for the faint of heart)

Sergio Mitre, who pitched in parts of eight major league seasons and won a World Series ring with the 2009 New York Yankees, likely will spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of the murder of his ex-girlfriend’s infant daughter.

Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post reports that Mitre was convicted in Saltillo (where he last pitched for the Mexican League Saraperos in 2019) and sentenced to 50 years in prison for the July 2020 sexual assault and killing. An autopsy showed the 22-month-old, who is identified only as Ines by authorities, had been sexually assaulted before her death, according to the report, as the result of hypovolemic shock, in which severe blood loss prevents the heart from pumping enough blood through the body. 

Prosecutors said Mitre punched Ines in her lower back after an argument between him and the girl’s mother. The girl’s mother rushed her to Saltillo Children’s Hospital after she began vomiting and fainting, and she was later declared dead.

Mitre was born in Los Angeles and raised in Tijuana. He was drafted in 2001 out of San Diego City College and debuted with the Cubs in 2003. He had stints with the Marlins, Brewers and Yankees, with whom he pitched from July through September of their title-winning 2009 club. The now 40-year-old posted a 6.79 ERA in 51 ⅔ innings that season and was left off the postseason roster.

Mitre last pitched in MLB with the Yankees in 2011 after compiling a career 13-30 record with a 5.21 ERA over 143 games, 64 of them starts, between 2003 and 2011. He then pitched for teams south of the border, including stints with Leon, Tijuana, Dos Laredos and Saltillo in the Mexican League (going 17-8 with a 5.10 ERA in three seasons) as well as Mexicali in the Mexican Pacific League, where he went 9-10 and 3.38 over three winters. 

The 6’3” right-hander, who had a 12-5 record in 2019 for the Tecos and Saraperos, was on the Saltillo roster during the suspended 2020 LMB campaign at the time charges were filed and he was taken to jail. Mitre had been arrested the previous season on domestic violence charges at a Quality Inn in Saltillo and while he was suspended “indefinitely,” the team quietly reinstated him prior to the 2020 season and even included him in promotions for the campaign, which was eventually canceled.

     Mitre, who earned an estimated $5.2 million as a Major League pitcher according to Spotrac, was ordered by the Saltillo court to pay $66,429 in restitution damages related to the sexual assault and murder case. He is far from the first recent Mexican League player or manager to have run afoul of the law on domestic violence or sexual assault charges, as we will learn next week in a translated column by Beatriz Pereyra for Mexico City’s Proceso magazine.

JALISCO TAKES 2-0 LEAD IN TITLE SET OVER CULIACAN

  If the Mexican Pacific League’s two-time defending champion Culiacan Tomateros hope to make a run at a 3-peat (trademark held by Pat Riley), they’ve got a two-game hole to dig out of first after dropping the first pair of LMP finals contests to Jalisco. Manager Roberto Vizcarra’s Charros are seeking a return to the Caribbean Series after a two-year absence and they’re two wins away from doing just that.

The Charros won the first two games of the series at home in Guadalajara, starting with Friday’s 2-1 thriller over Culiacan in 12 innings. Jalisco struck first in the bottom of the first when Jose Juan Aguilar hit a leadoff double and later scored on Japhet Amador’s two-out single. Charros starter held the Tomateros scoreless on three hits over 5.1 innings, but Culiacan broke through for the tying run in the seventh when Jose Guadalupe Chavez’ single off David Richardson brought in Stevie Wilkerson. The score remained at 1-1 into the bottom of the 12th, when Amador lofted a sacrifice fly that allowed Esteban Quiroz to scamper home and end the game.

No extra innings were required Saturday night but the Horsemen were able to pull off another one-run victory, 3-2, over the visitors at Estadio Charros. Culiacan took an early lead in the top of the first when Emmanuel Avila singled home reinforcement Victor Mendoza, who made it a 2-0 tilt with a solo homer off Jalisco starter Javier Solano in the fourth. Tomateros starter Nick Struck carried a shutout into the bottom of the sixth, when Christian Villanueva singled two outs before Dariel Alvarez launched a two-run homer to knot the score at 2-2. The Charros took the lead for good one frame later when Jared Serna’s sac fly scored Amadeo Zazueta from third on a disputed play.

The series now shifts to Culiacan for Game Three on Monday night.

Jalisco reached the finals by outlasting Monterrey, 4 games to 3, in one semifinal series. The Sultanes crushed the Charros, 15-5, last Tuesday in Guadalajara. Jalisco held a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth before Solano allowed three Monterrey runs to give the visitors a 4-2 advantage, but it was a nine-run Sultanes outburst in the fifth that decided the game for all intent and purposes. Fernando Perez and Anthony Giansanti combined for four hits, two homers and four RBIs for the winners.

The Charros won Wednesday’s Game Seven, 3-0, as Jalisco starter Brennan Bernardino blanked Monterrey on two hits until he was replaced with two out in the sixth inning. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Zazueta punched a single off Sultanes starter Mike Devine to bring home Missael Rivera. Amador made it a 2-0 contest when the Mulege Giant lined a homer off Luis Gamez in the seventh and Rivera scored a second time on Fernando Flores’ double to right in the same frame. Rivera, Amador and Flores combined for six hits, two runs and two ribbies as Monterrey went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners stranded.

Culiacan had an extra day’s rest after topping Guasave, 4-0, last Tuesday on the road at Estadio Francisco Carranzo Limon to win that semi set, 4 games to 2. Manny Barreda tossed six shutout innings to earn the victory for the defending champs, allowing two hits and striking out six Algodoneros although he did issue five walks. Jesus Fabela gave the Tomateros all the scoring they’d need by doubling off Guasave starter Jordan Kipper and later scoring on Sebastian Elizalde’s sac fly. Mendoza drove in runs in the fourth and sixth innings while Wilkerson’s RBI double completed the scoring in the eighth.

TWO-TIME LMP MANAGER OF YEAR GASTELUM FIRED

Nowhere does the time-worn phrase “What have you done for me lately?” apply more than in managing a Mexican baseball team. It’s something commented upon endlessly on this blog but one of the biggest object lessons in that fact of life south of the border recently came to pass in Obregon, where “the decision was made to end the employment relationship with manager Sergio Omar Gastelum,” according to a Yaquis press release issued last Monday.

The decision to cut the 43-year-old loose might have been curious if only the current season was examined. The Obregon-born Gastelum was a star infielder for 22 seasons in the Mexican League with the well-traveled Tigres franchise, Laguna and Mexico City as well as Culiacan and Mazatlan in the Mexican Pacific League before retiring after the 2017 LMB season (during which he hit .273 over 59 games for the Diablos Rojos). Gastelum hit .310 over his Liga career with 82 homers and 1,054 runs scored while playing on five pennant winners.

Gastelum made his managerial debut in the LMB’s Fall 2018 season when he replaced Joe Alvarez at the helm in Oaxaca. The Guerreros lost their first six games under Gastelum to fall to 14-22 before going 12-8 the rest of the short season, squeaking into the playoffs with a wild-card game win over Leon to kick off an amazing postseason run that saw Oaxaca reach the Serie del Rey before losing to Monterrey.  

He piloted the Guerreros to a 68-51 record and a second-place finish in the LMB South in 2019 before falling to eventual champion Yucatan in the first round of the postseason and was rewarded that December with a “promotion” to manager of the Diablos Rojos by Alfredo Harp Helu, who owns both teams. Gastelum led the Red Devils in training camp during 2020 before the season was canceled before being surprisingly fired in January 2021 without managing the team in a regular season game. He was replaced three days later by Miguel Ojeda, who managed Mexico City and was working in the Diablos’ front office before a shakeup landed him back in the dugout.

Gastelum was hired as skipper for his hometown Yaquis in 2018, replacing Oscar Robles, and led Obregon to a 37-19 overall record that winter, reaching the LMP finals before losing to Jalisco. He was named Mex Pac Manager of the Year for his work. The 2019-20 season brought more of the same, as the Yaquis had an LMP-best 42-21 overall record and reached the semifinals before losing to Mazatlan in seven games, earning Gastelum his second straight Manager of the Year award. The Yaquis had the best overall record in the winterball loop again last season, going 47-22 before falling to Culiacan in the semifinals. 

This winter’s 36-32 mark and first-round loss to Guasave was enough for Obregon president Rene Rodriguez to jettison Gastelum despite a composite 162-94 record and .633 won-lost percentage, four consecutive winning season and playoff berths and the aforementioned pair of MOY trophies. Given his credentials, Gastelum shouldn’t be out of work for long but he’s already become familiar with the Mexican manager’s mantra: “Rent, don’t buy.”

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Miguel Suarez, OF (1971-87)

While Miguel Suarez does not immediately leap to mind as one of the great batsmen in Mexican League history, his record indicates that he was consistently productive over his 17-year career. While he had neither power nor great speed on the basepaths, Suarez was nonetheless a perennial .300 batter as one of the best leadoff hitters ever in Mexico.

Miguel Suarez Lopez was born September 29, 1952 in Guasave, Sinaloa. The tiny 5’4” 140-pounder began his pro career with Tampico in the Class A Mexican Center League as a 16-year-old in 1969. He played two years in Tampico, batting .314 in 1969 and followed up with a Liga-best .393 in 1970. He showed surprising power, knocking out 26 homers over those two seasons, but the longball was not his style as Suarez would go on to hit only 23 circuit clouts during his LMB career (and never more than three in one season).

Suarez debuted with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos in 1971, and led the Liga with 188 base hits en route to a .372 average and a selection as the LMB Rookie of the Year.  That would set a pattern for his career, as Suarez only failed to hit .300 once in his first eleven seasons, when he batted .297 in a strike-split 1980 season for Reynosa and the Mexico City Tigres. He came back with a .303 mark for the Tigres in 1981 and later turned in .320 and .332 campaigns for Tabasco and Nuevo Laredo in the early 1980’s.  After consecutive .259 seasons for Veracruz in 1985 and Monterrey in 1986, he called it quits at the age of 33.

Suarez ended his Liga playing days with 2,444 career hits for a .323 average, including a .345 mark in eight seasons with the Diablos.  While he only had 63 stolen bases (and was actually caught stealing 96 times), he did swat 86 triples, reaching double figures in three-baggers four times between 1973 and 1979. Suarez is the only player ever to top the circuit in hits three times, including a record 227 safeties in 1977 when he hit .370 for the Red Devils, and led the Liga in triples with 13 in 1973.  He was not nearly so successful in the winter, with a career mark of .259 in 14 Mexican Pacific League seasons, mostly with his hometown team in Guasave.

Nicknamed “Mister Hit” during his playing career, Suarez was inducted into the Salon de la Fama in 1994. He died at age 65 in 2017.

CULIACAN SWEEPS MAYOS; LMP SEMI MATCHUPS SET

Usually when a top-seeded team draws the lowest seed in the playoffs, the former is confident that they have a good chance of advancing to the next round. However, as the Navojoa Mayos learned last week, drawing the two-time defending champion Culiacan Tomateros was anything but a ticket to the Mexican Pacific League semifinals.

Coming off a regular season in which they finished with the most points among the ten LMP clubs, the Mayos were swept in four straight games by the Tomateros. After Culiacan won the first game of the quarterfinal set, 8-5, on Christmas day, manager Benji Gil’s troops took a Game Two win at Navojoa last Sunday, 6-4, in a contest that lasted 12 innings. Jose Guadalupe Chavez opened the top of the 12th with a single, moved to second on a Randy Romero sacrifice and then scored the eventual game-winner on Ramiro Pena’s single. Culiacan reliever Carlos Baldonado, who singled in Pena with the Tomateros’ sixth run during a rare plate appearance, then held the Mayos scoreless in the bottom of the frame for the win.

The series then shifted to Culiacan, where the Tomateros won twice to close out the series. Last Tuesday’s game resulted in Gil’s 50th postseason victory as manager as Culiacan pulled out a 5-3 triumph, thanks in part to a four-run seventh during which a Joey Meneses single plated the go-ahead run. The brooms were brought out last Wednesday as the Tomateros completed the sweep with a 9-6 win. Former Orioles utilityman Stevie Wilkerson swatted two homers, one of them a walkoff three-run bomb in the bottom of the ninth to break a 6-6 tie and end both game and series.

The Tomateros will be joined by Guasave and Jalisco in the semifinals. The Algdoneros followed a 3-1 series opener loss at home to Obregon on Christmas by defeating the Yaquis in four straight to move to the next round. Yadir Drake’s three-run double in the bottom of the sixth was the difference-maker in the Cottoneer’s 5-2 win over the visitors last Sunday to knot the series at a game apiece. The two combatants shifted to Obregon, where Guasave shocked the Yaquis with three straight road wins.

Last Tuesday’s Game Three saw seven Guasave pitchers combine for a 6-0 shutout over Obregon as Jesse Castillo contributed a two-run double while Esteban Quiroz capped the scoring with a solo homer in the ninth. One night later, the Algodoneros took a 3-1 victory behind starting pitcher Luis Miranda’s six shutout innings as Drake poked a two-run single during a three-run fourth for the winners. Guasave closed out the Yaquis in Game Five last Thursday, 5-4, in ten innings. Alan Lopez opened the tenth with a single, advanced to second on a Miguel Guzman sacrifice and scored on Marco Jaime’s single off Yaquis reliever Carlos Machorro.

Jalisco nailed down one of the other two semifinal berths with a 4-games-to-2 win over Mexicali. After outlasting the Aguilas, 10-9, in a 12-inning Game One win on Christmas, the Charros took a 6-3 win over the visitors last Sunday in Guadalajara after Felix Perez’ two-run single keyed a four-run rally in the seventh to erase a 2-0 deficit. The series then shifted to Mexicali with the Charros up 2-games-to-0.

Last Tuesday’s Game Three ended with a 7-3 Mexicali win at El Nido as Yeison Acensio singled in Daniel Castro in the bottom of the first to give the Aguilas a lead they’d never relinquish. The Eagles tied the series one night later with a 4-3 triumph in eleven innings as Reynaldo Rodriguez’ RBI single ended Game Four in walkoff fashion. Jalisco won, 6-2, last Thursday as Charros starter Javier Solano allowed two runs in seven innings against his former teammates and Missael Rivera stroked a two-run double. The set returned to Estadio Charros for Game Six and Jalisco emerged victorious, 5-0, to end the series. Starter Brennan Bernardino blanked Mexicali over seven entradas while Juan Jose Aguilar tripled, homered and scored twice.

Jalisco moves on to face Monterrey, who was extended seven games in their quarterfinal series before shutting out Hermosillo, 5-0, Sunday night at Estadio Sonora. Michael Devine got the win with seven scoreless innings and Fernando Perez crushed a two-run homer in the fifth for the Sultanes. Monterrey won the series opener, 5-4, on Christmas in Hermosillo but the Naranjeros bounced back for a 10-4 win last Sunday behind a 17-hit attack that included a two-run homer by number nine batter Cesar Salazar in the fifth. The series then shifted to Estadio Monterrey, where the Naranjeros took the series lead with a 3-2 Game Three win last Tuesday as Rusney Castillo’s sacrifice fly brought Nick Torres in from third with the eventual game-winner in the top of the eighth.

The Sultanes then won the next two games in Monterrey to regain the series lead. A 6-3 Game Four win last Wednesday featured a four-run outburst in the seventh during which Aldo Flores doubled in Ricardo Serrano with the tying run before scoring the go-ahead run on Roberto Valenzuela’s single. In Thursday’s Game Five, Monterrey won a 6-5 thriller when Carlos Figueroa scored from third on a Perez walkoff single in the bottom of the 12th. Hermosillo roared back Saturday with a 9-2 home win as vet Luis Alfonso Cruz crashed a two-run homer and added an RBI single to aid Orangemen starter Ryan Verdugo (2 runs, 7 innings) and send the series to Sunday’s seventh and deciding game.

The Mex Pac semifinals will begin Tuesday night when Culiacan visits Guasave for Game One of their series while Jalisco will host Monterrey in Guadalajara in their Final Four opener. 

MEXICAN LEAGUE RELEASES 2022 SCHEDULE

The Mexican League has released its 2022 season schedule. The LMB office announced that their next campaign will open on Thursday, April 21 in Tijuana when the defending champion Toros host the Mexico City Diablos Rojos. All 18 Liga teams will be in action one night later. Here’s a link to the entire Mexican League schedule for 2022: https://img.mlbstatic.com/milb-images/image/upload/milb/c1q8gubhaqm7q07pu1ns.pdf

As speculated, each LMB team will play 90 regular season games this year, the shortest full-season schedule the league has had since 1954, when the loop’s six clubs played 80 games each before joining the National Association one year later. The Mexican League is no longer considered part of the Minor League Baseball system. In all, a total of 810 regular season contests are scheduled between April 21 and August 7, with Mondays continuing a longtime tradition as travel days (although a press release from the league office states that Monday games will be played in 2022).

The four-tiered LMB postseason will open Tuesday, August 9 with the top six finishers from each division qualifying for a berth. Once again, the three first-round series winners per division will be joined in their Division Semifinals by a “lucky loser” team that won the most games in their opening-round defeat, a format used in the Mexican Pacific League for years prior to the LMP’s playoff expansion from six to eight teams in 2019-20. The Serie del Rey (or King Series) between respective division champions will be held between September 9 and 17 to cap the five-week postseason. All playoff series will follow a best-of-7 format.

The Mexican League All-Star Weekend, which was canceled in 2021, will return on June 17-19 in Monclova.

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Ronnie Camacho, 1B

 

Ronaldo Camacho Duran was born October 26, 1935 in Empalme, Sonora. Although he was only 5'9" and 170 pounds at the height of his career, Camacho was nicknamed "The Rock" for both his reliable batting and glove work. He was one of the top power hitters in the Mexican League during the 1960's, winning titles twice each in homers, runs scored and RBIs between 1962 and 1969.

 

Camacho began his career as a 17-year-old second baseman in 1953, signing with the St. Louis Cardinals and landing in Fresno. He spent parts of four seasons in the Cards' system, batting .276 with 16 homers and 77 RBIs for Fresno of the Class C California League in 1954 and a year later was a member of a Fresno team which finished 104-43 and was #79 among the All-Time Top 100 teams in minor league history, according to a 2001 ranking commissioned by Minor League Baseball.

 

Camacho returned to Mexico for good in 1956 with Nuevo Laredo. After four seasons on the border, Camacho and the Tecolotes moved to Puebla in 1960, where he would shift to first base and spend most of the next ten years. In 1963, the Pericos won their first Mexican League pennant as Camacho led the loop with 39 homers and 108 RBIs after he led the LMB with 25 roundtrippers in 1962. After leading the Liga with 116 RBIs in 1969, "The Rock" moved to Yucatan for 1970 to begin a tour that saw him bounce around the circuit before retiring after spending the 1975 season with Aguascalientes.

 

In 20 LMB seasons, Camacho hit .272 with 317 homers and 1,273 RBIs.  He batted .300 four times, topped 20 roundtrippers nine times and cleared 100 RBIs four times, with career highs of 39 bombs and 116 ribbies.  He stands sixth on the Liga's all-time home run list and 8th in RBIs even though he retired 20 years ago.  Camacho managed six LMB teams between 1971 and 1979.

 

The right-handed hitting Camacho also played 13 seasons of winter ball in what is now known as Mexican Pacific League, hitting .256 with 139 homers playing for Guaymas and his hometown of Empalme.  He was the first Triple Crown winner of the league in 1958-59 and he set a still-standing record of 27 homers over 81 games in 1963-64. As a manager, he won LMP titles with Guaymas in 1966-67 and Mazatlan in 1973-74.

 

Ronnie "The Rock" Camacho was elected as a member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. He turned 86 on October 26 last year.