MAYOS HOLD OFF GUASAVE FOR LMP FIRST HALF TITLE

    The Navojoa Mayos entered last week's final Mexican Pacific League series of the first half with a slim lead over Guasave. The schedule favored the Algodoneros, who hosted last-place Los Mochis while Navojoa was visiting a tough Obregon squad.

    However, the Mayos clinched first place last Tuesday with a 3-2 win over the Yaquis behind homers by Kyle Martin and Alan Espinoza while Guasave dropped their opener with the Caneros by an identical 3-2 score as Los Mochis overcame a 2-1 deficit in the top of the ninth when Juan Camacho lofted a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to plate the tying run and Francisco Cordoba's single pushed the go-ahead run.

    The Mayos lost their last two games in Obregon, 5-4 (Michael Wing hit a bases-clearing triple in the 7th) and 10-4 (Wing had a two-run double and Juan Carlos Gamboa contributed a two-run single for the Yaquis), while Guasave won their last two contests, 14-5 (Jhoan Urena and Yadir Drake combined for seven singles and six RBIs) and 11-4 (Angel Erro went 4-for-4 for the Algonoderos with four RBIs), but Navojoa was able to cling to the top of the standings with a 20-12 record, one game ahead of the 19-13 Cottoneers.

    As a result, manager Matias Carrillo's Mayos pocketed 10.0 points going into the second half last Friday while Guasave was awarded 9.0 points for their runner-up finish. Jalisco and Obregon tied for third place with 18-14 records, but the Charros were awarded 8.0 points due to their winning record for the half against the Yaquis, who earned 7.0 points. Defending champion Culiacan was right behind at 17-15, good for 6.0 points, while Hermosillo finished at an even 16-16 for sixth place and 5.5 points. Rounding out the standings were 15-17 Monterrey (5.0 points), 14-18 Mazatlan (4.5), 14-18 Mexicali (4.0), and 9-23 Los Mochis (3.5). The Venados got the nod in points over Mexicali due to their superior record against the Aguilas in the half.

    Somewhat surprisingly, no managers were fired during the first half of the schedule (skippers have been canned less than two weeks into the season in past years), but a couple teams have made amends for their tardiness. Robinson Cancel was sacked as manager in Los Mochis on the heels of the aforementioned pair of drubbings in Guasave to close out the first half schedule. 

    Cancel went 9-23 with the Caneros after replacing Victor Bojorquez, who led the team to two last-place finishes in 2020-21. Luis Carlos Rivera has been named as Los Mochis' new pilot. Rivera has managed Mexican League teams in Leon, Yucatan and Aguascalientes (who he led to a playoff berth last summer), but this will be his first time as a dugout boss in the Mex Pac.

    Meanwhile in Mexicali, where patience has never been a virtue, Bronswell Patrick was fired after the Aguilas' 14-18 first-half showing. Patrick took the reins of the Eagles last winter on an interim basis after serving the team as pitching coach and posted a 30-20 record the rest of the way, earning a playoff berth and coming in second in voting for Manager of the Year honors. He was hired permanently in late January, "permanent" in this case being less than ten months and 32 games. 

    Gil Velazquez, who was sefired as manager of the Aguilas during the 2016-17 LMP season, is being brought back to run the team, at least for now. Pedro Mere is returning for his third tour of duty in Mexicali, this time as Velazquez' bench coach. Mere managed the Aguilas on two previous occasions. Mexicali has now fired their manager in the middle of the season six years in a row.

    Tirso Ornelas of Navojoa leads the batting race with a .388 average, a comfortable 19 points ahead of Jalisco's Christian Villanueva (.369), while Miguel Guzman of Guasave is third at .358. Kyle Martin's homer for Navojoa against Obregon last Tuesday gave him nine for the season in 21 games, three more than six different batsmen. One of those, Jesse Castillo of Guasave, leads Jalisco's Felix Perez (who also has six roundtrippers) in the RBI derby, 30 to 29, while Maikel Serrano of Navojoa and Hermosillo's Luis Alfonso Cruz are tied for third at 27 ribbies apiece. Dairon Blanco of Culiacan is running away in the stolen bases category with 18 swipes in 22 attempts, well ahead of Obregon's Alfonso Harris (13) and Sebastian Elizalde of Culiacan (12).

    Navojoa's Carlos De Leon lost his first game of the season last week, but his five wins still are most in the Mex Pac, with four pitchers on his heels at four victories each. Orlando Lara (4-0) of Jalisco is tops with a 1.13 ERA, ahead of Hermosillo's Elian Leyva (4-0) at 1.29 and Tiago da Silva (3-1) of Obregon's 1.39 mark. Obregon's Luis Escobar leads with 38 strikeouts, followed by Javier Solano of Jalisco (33) and Escobar's Yaquis teammate, former Red Sox hurler Hector Velazquez (32). Jake Sanchez of Mexicali heads the saves table with 11 while Navojoa's Carlos Bustamante has eight and Roberto Osuna of Jalisco is at six.

MEX PAX ROAD TRIP (Stop #7): Guasave, Sinaloa

    The seventh visit on our 24-city Mexican Pacific League Road Trip is Guasave, Sinaloa (also known as “The Agricultural Heart of Mexico”), which can easily be reached by traveling on Highway 15 for 45 minutes to cover the 36 miles from our last stop, Los Mochis.

    A municipality of about 320,000 residents, Guasave has an agriculture-based economy, like the majority of Mex Pac venues. The major crops in the area are corn, wheat, sorghum, soy, beans and cotton. The land around Guasave is generally rocky and the climate is usually very dry and warm, with an average of about 15 inches of rain a year and an annual temperature of 80 degrees.

    While Guasave is only 22 miles east from the Gulf of California, the major source of the city’s water is the Sinaloa River, which starts in the southwest corner of the state of Chihuahua and flows into the gulf. The river includes Navachiste Bay, which is known for aquatic sports and fishing; and San Ignacio Bay, noted for its clean landscape, calm waters and abundance of flora and fauna. Further towards the gulf from Guasave are The Glorias, a very popular stretch of the river known for its beaches and terrific seafood like shrimp meatballs. Along the river, there are many poplars and willows lining the shores.

    Among the more interesting spots for travelers to visit are the 17th century ruins of Guasave’s Old Town, the Nio ruins (which date back to 1767), and Tamazula, a colonial site featuring a museum and church first built in 1820. Guasave is well known for the raising of thoroughbred horses. Guasave is (again like most LMP cities) not a tourist destination, but it is a slice of authentic northern Mexico with its own enjoyments, and the lifestyle there is considered very traditional.

    Guasave is represented in the Mexican Pacific League by the Algodoneros (or “Cotton Growers”). The team originally entered the MexPac baseball in 1970 and won the LMP pennant in only their second season under manager Vinicio Garcia (going 1-5 in the Caribbean Series that winter) but won no further titles, although they reached three subsequent championship series. The Cottoneers were bought and moved in 2014 to Guadalajara, where they were renamed the Jalisco Charros. A second edition of the Algodoners debuted in 2019-20. No uniform numbers have been retired in Guasave.

    The Algodoneros play their home games at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon, which is owned by the Sinaloa state government and now seats 10,000 spectators after extensive remodeling was performed prior to their 2019 return, mostly paid for by Mexico City Diablos Rojos owner Alfredo Harp Helu as well as the federal CONADE sports agency.

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Andres Mora, OF-1B-DH

    Most North American baseball fans only remember him as a sporadic power hitter who shuttled between Baltimore and Rochester for three years in the late Seventies, but Andres Mora is revered south of the border as one of the all-time great sluggers in Mexican League history on par with Hector Espino and Nelson Barrera. When he retired after the 1997 season, only Espino’s 453 homers topped Mora’s 419 dingers among LMB batters before Barrera passed them both in the early part of this century.

    Andres Mora Ibarra was born May 25, 1955 in Rio Bravo, Coahuila. He broke into pro ball at the tender age of 16 in 1971, splitting his season in Class A ball with Zacatecas and Puerto Penasco. He only played a total of 10 games the next two seasons before settling in with Saltillo in 1974, hitting .311 with 14 homers. 

    Mora hit stride the following year when the 20-year-old led the Liga with 35 homers and 109 RBIs while batting .307 for the Saraperos before being signed by the Orioles, beginning a frustrating three-year period. He spent most of his time playing for Earl Weaver’s O’s, hitting 27 homers and driving in 83 runs in 226 games but only batting in the mid-.220’s and never getting a shot to play consistently.

    Mora found himself back in Saltillo in 1979, and hit .344 with 23 homers and 102 RBIs. With the exception of a nine-game stay with Cleveland in 1980, he played the rest of his career in Mexico, mostly with the Dos Laredos Tecolotes. From 1981 to 1993, Mora topped 20 homers ten times, including a career high 41 in 1985. He drove in 443 runs and belted 142 dingers while hitting nearly .370 in a four-year period between 1984 and 1987 as the linchpin for a Dos Laredos offense that was one of the most-feared of the era.

    Ironically, the year the Tecolotes broke through for a pennant in 1989, Mora was playing in Monterrey for the Industriales. He returned to the binational team in 1990 and spent the rest of his career splitting home games between Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and Laredo, Texas. Mora retired from baseball in 1997, ending his 27-year pro career at the age of 42.

    Besides his 419 career Mexican League homers (he hit a total of 471 as a pro), Mora drove in 1,498 runs on 2,259 hits while batting .314. He had 12 Liga seasons at .300 or better, led the loop four times in homers and was RBI champ three times. He is a member of the Salon de la Fama and remembered as a man who could change a game with one swing of the bat.

OBREGON SIZZLES AS MEXICALI FIZZLES, MERE OUT

Obregon's Dallas Martinez pitches to Culiacan  

    One week into the Mexican Pacific League season, the Obregon Yaquis and Mexicali Aguilas are off to opposite starts and one manager is already looking for a new job as a result.

    The Obregon Yaquis shot out the gate with eight consecutive wins before suffering their first defeat, a 7-3 home loss to archrival Hermosillo last Friday. A three-run homer by veteran Luis Alfonso Cruz off Obregon starter Dallas Martinez keyed a four-run outburst in the fifth inning that broke open a 1-1 game. Cruz added a single and double while scoring three times to support Hermosillo opener Ryan Verdugo, who gave up three runs in 5.1 innings to collect the win. Roberto Lopez belted a solo homer for the Yaquis.

    Obregon vaulted to their hot start behind strong pitching and a solid batting order. Through Friday's defeat, ten Yaquis hurlers had appeared in at least one game without giving up a run while the eight wins during the streak were spread among eight pitchers. Despite being tagged with Friday's loss, Martinez (a former Yankees farmhand) still shows a 0.90 ERA, with Cruz' longball the only earned run among five the righty has allowed in two starts.

    The Yaquis offense has been led in the early going by catcher Sebastian Valle and first sacker Lopez. Valle, acquired from Mazatlan in the offseason, was batting .448 with two homers and six RBIs over eight games while Lopez had a .357 average to augment his three homers and seven ribbies. Outfielder Alonzo Harris' .306 average and six stolen bases have been helpful to manager Sergio Gastelum's squad while fellow gardener Tirso Ornelas was hitting an even .400 in limited appearances over six appearances.

    At the other end of the spectrum, the Mexicali Aguilas did a pratfall out the gate by losing their first eight games of 2020-21, tying a record for the start of the season previously shared by Obregon (1960-61) and Navojoa (2010-11) and it cost skipper Pedro Mere his job. The 50-year-old Mere has been one of the most successful managers south of the border over the past decade, winning Mexican League pennants in 2012 with Veracruz and 2017 with Tijuana. He took over the Aguilas last November after they finished ninth in the first half with a 13-19 record and brought Mexicali to a second-place finish in the second half to clinch a playoff berth.

    However, Mere had to wait until June before his return to El Nido for the current season was confirmed, making him one of the last managers in the LMP verified for 2020-21 and hardly the strongest vote of confidence. Last Thursday's 6-1 loss at home to Monterrey was the final straw for Aguilas owner Dio Alberto Murillo, who has never hesitated to pull the trigger on managers not meeting expectations (which is pretty much all of them). Bobby Magallanes learned that lesson when he was canned after losing 10 of his first 11 games in 2007-08. So did Roberto Vizcarra, who led Mexicali to the 2016-17 pennant (and took Jalisco to the title last winter) but was fired the following season after the Eagles were 16-19 in the first half. Vizcarra's replacement? Pedro Mere.

Interim Mexicali manager Bronswell Patrick

    Bronswell Patrick was tabbed as interim manager after Mere's firing. Patrick was brought in as pitching coach last year after managing Hermosillo to a 37-31 record and second overall in points for 2018-19, a good enough showing for him to poll second in Manager of the Year voting before he was replaced by Vinny Castilla one month after the season ended. Patrick put together a journeyman resume that saw him pitch in Milwaukee and San Francisco as well as Korea, Taiwan and Mexico over 18 seasons before retiring in 2006 and going into coaching. The 50-year-old North Carolinian has been around long enough to know that every managerial job in Mexico is “interim” whether the team uses that tag or not.

    Patrick got off to a good start Friday night with a 4-3 win over the Sultanes. Mexicali was trailing 3-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh before exploding for four runs as Michael Choice launched a three-run roundtripper off Daniel Cruz. Aguilas reliever Saul Castellanos was awarded the win while Greg Mahle pitched a scoreless ninth for the save. The loss dropped Monterrey to 7-2 on the season and a second-place tie with Hermosillo one game behind Obregon.

    While the Mex Pac season got underway on time and in full swing, the situation regarding fans attending games remains fluid. After giving the go-ahead allowing patrons to occupy up to 40 percent of seating at Estadio Sonora on October 9, the Hermosillo Naranjeros' board of directors said the state government reversed course last week and notified the team that no fans will be allowed to attend home games until further notice. Meanwhile, in Mazatlan, mayor Luis Guillermo Benitez Torres said earlier this month that while the governor of Sinaloa had okayed fans in the stands for that state's four LMP teams, he hadn't. Benitez did eventually sign off on opening up seating for Venados games at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal (among other sporting events), he lowered the allowed capacity from 40 to 30 percent.

    On a related note, Septima Entrada's Irving Furlong reports the league office has instituted a policy that allows teams to suit up as few as 14 players to avoid having to forfeit a game. Teams typically suit up 25 eligible players per contest. “This is a rule that we put in place this season,” says LMP president Omar Canizales. The policy was put into effect to address the possibility of several players on a single team testing positive for the Wuhan virus, as happened in Monterrey and Culiacan during training camp. Teams are also being allowed to carry more players on their Reserve List in the event that Active List players are required to be quarantined.

CHARROS HOPING TO ADD OSUNA, VILLANUEVA

Roberto Osuna may pitch for Jalisco

    Although the defending Mexican Pacific League champion Jalisco Charros were sitting in seventh place after winning three of their first nine games, there shouldn't be too much concern in Guadalajara about a collapse this season. After all, the Cowboys ARE the defending champions and (more to the point) it appears that considerable help is on the way. Two players that manager Roberto Vizcarra is hoping will join the team are Houston Astros closer Roberto Osuna and Nippon Ham Fighters infielder Christian Villanueva.

    After posting an American League-leading 38 saves for the 2019 American League champions and another save in the World Series, Osuna was placed on the Injured List August 1 after four appearances this year with what the team termed “right elbow soreness.” An initial diagnosis recommended Tommy John surgery but those concerns have lessened to the point that Houston's front office has given the okay for the 25-year-old righthander to pitch in the Mex Pac this season for rehab purposes.

    Osuna joined the Charros last weekend in Los Mochis and is expected to pitch for the team next month. “Expected” is the key word because while Osuna has said in the past that he wants to play in the LMP (and even held press conferences to that effect), he has never thrown a ball in winterball. He has two younger brothers in the Jalisco organization, however, and that may be enough to advance from posturing to pitching this time around. Just in case history repeats itself, MLB veteran hurler Sergio Romo (who HAS pitched for the Charros) says he plans to join the team for the second half while fellow reliever Humberto Castellanos, who made his big league debut with Houston this year, has joined the team.

    Although Osuna's season with the Astros ended when they were eliminated by Tampa Bay in the American League Championship Series, Villanueva is still playing in Japan. While the Fighters are out of playoff contention for all intent and purposes, the ex-Padres third baseman is hoping his final two weeks with the Hokkaido team will rehab his ailing bat. After batting .223 with eight homers over 73 games for the Yomiuri Giants last season, a change of teams and leagues did nothing to improve things as Villanueva has a .220 average and four homers to show for 50 games with the Fighters. Villanueva's plan is to finish the season in Japan and take a couple weeks off for rest before debuting with his hometown team (after playing six previous winterball seasons in Obregon) during the second half of their schedule.

    Once he reports, Villanueva will present Vizcarra with the sort of dilemma most managers hope for: Where to play the onetime Mex Pac MVP? According to Puro Beisbol's Fernando Ballesteros, Jalisco already has longtime star Agustin Murillo holding down third base, veteran Henry Urrurtia has been playing first and is batting .379 for the young season and no less than Mexico's most-feared slugger, Japhet Amador, is the team's designated hitter., although the 38-year-old Murillo is off to a slow start (.230) while Amador (.269) is still adjusting after a year off from playing. There's a possibility that Urrutia could return to the outfield, his normal position during a 13-year career that began with five seasons in Cuba, but the Charros already have Dariel Alvarez, Carlos Figueroa and Julian Ornelas as flychasers with Sergio Perez in reserve.

FOUR-TEAM TOURNAMENT IN MEXICO CITY TO OPEN NEXT MONTH

 

Baseball returns to Mexico City next month

  At a press conference held in Mexico City last Thursday, the Mexico City Diablos Rojos announced that they'd be hosting a tournament consisting of four teams with players drawn from both the Diablos organization and their Mexican League sister team Oaxaca Guerreros. Both franchises are owned by billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu, whose namesake ballpark in the capital city will host all games.

    The Copa Juntos por Mexico (Together for Mexico Cup) will be played Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays over five weeks, with the regular season opening Tuesday, November 10 and ending Thursday, December 10. It appears teams will play doubleheaders of seven-inning games for four games per day, but the schedule was only defined as 56 games. A nine-inning consolation game for third place between teams finishing third and fourth will take place Friday, December 11 while a nine-inning title match involving the top two seeds will be held one day later.

    Games will be played daily on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with afternoon tilts slated for 1PM and nightcaps beginning at 7PM. The four teams will be comprised mostly by prospects, several of whom have already been signed by major league organizations out of the Alfredo Harp Helu Academy in Oaxaca.

    Among team representatives at the press conference were Diablos vice president Miguel Ojeda, a former MLB catcher and onetime Mexico City manager, and Guerreros sports manager Jaime Brena, who played second base on Opening Night of the 2019 season for Oaxaca before officially retiring after appearing in 21 seasons for that club.

    Ojeda told the gathering, “I had to create four teams made up of the 106 players that we have on our Reserve Lists, including players who have already signed with Major League Baseball organizations. The Diablos will have 56 players divided into two teams called Jose Luis Sandoval and Daniel Fernandez, two historical players who will be the managers of those nines.” Oaxaca will be represented by the remaining 50 players on teams named after Alfredo Ortiz and the late Nelson Barrera. Managers for those two teams were not announced.

    Among the prospects who'll be representing Mexico City in the tournament are Javier Sánchez (Royals), Oliver Zepeda (Blue Jays), Brandon Valenzuela (Padres), Carlos Pacheco (Cubs), Hansen López (Athletics), José Ignacio Rodríguez and Hendrick Briones (Dodgers) and Jhoxan Alfaro (Mets).Oaxaca will send MLB signees Yamir Leal and Oscar Valenzuela (Royals), Cristian Pacheco (Padres) and Edgar Zuniga (Phillies).

    While games will be played in bubble conditions with no fans in the stands, watching them shouldn't be a problem. All games will be broadcast live on TVC Deportes and streamed online on MediaTiempo.com plus social media channels (Facebook, YouTube and Instagram) for both the Diablos and Guerreros.

Toros trash Ohtani as TJ tops Angels, 8-7, in Tempe

If the Mexican League champion Tijuana Toros were supposed to be intimidated while facing the pitches of the most-ballyhooed rookie in Major League Baseball this season, they did a lousy job of looking the part.  The Toros traveled north from their Tucson training camp to Tempe last Friday for a contest against the Los Angeles Angels and their Japanese wunderkind, Shohei Ohtani. 

The 23-year-old Ohtani distinguished himself over five seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Pacific League by combining a fastball that could top 100 MPH with a power-laden bat to become a three-time All-Star, an All-PL pick as both a pitcher and designated hitter and the PL MVP during the Fighters' 2016 Japan Series championship season.  After batting .286 with 48 homers and 166 RBIs over 403 games for the Hokkaido team while pitching his way to a 42-15 record with a 2.52 ERA, he was posted as a free agent among MLB teams last fall, bidding for the two-way star's services in the majors was very spirited until Ohtani signed with the Angels for $3.27 million over six years (the MLB minimum, as required by rules) plus a $2.35 million bonus.  Scouts have estimated his "real" value over the course of his Halos' contract as closer to $200 million.

Even with all that preceding him last Friday, the Toros treated Ohtani like any veteran-laden team would treat a rookie pitcher: As rudely as possible by racking up six runs on six hits and one walk over three innings off the 6'4" righty en route to an 8-7 win over the Angels.  Granted, the Tijuana win came in a "B" game against the American League West team, but the victory gives the Toros triumphs over teams from MLB, the Korea Baseball Organization and Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League.  Ohtani did strike out five TJ batsmen but he also struggled with his command (plunking Cyle Hankerd twice), his fastball generally topped out at 95 MPH and he gave up a homer to right field by veteran outfielder Dustin Martin in the first inning.  Former MLBer Jorge Cantu, who decided to NOT retire after all, whacked a pair of doubles off Ohtani, eventually scoring on a Juan Apodaca single after his first two-bagger in the second frame and driving in Martin and Hankerd in the third with another double.

Even with the early offensive outbursts, the Toros were eventually tied with the Angels, 7-7, in the top of the ninth when Eudor Garcia singled in Jose Guadalupe Chavez with the eventual game-winning run.  Jesus Pirela held the Angels scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to save the win for Tijuana reliever Danny Gutierrez, who'd pitched the eighth and gave up the two tying runs.  As for Ohtani, whose outing was witnessed by Angels GM Billy Eppler and pitching coach Charles Nagy along with about 300 in the Diablo Stadium stands?  "I feel like I made a lot of good pitches," he said through an interpreter, "and quite a few bad ones."  Catcher Rene Rivera, a MLB veteran and Ohtani's batterymate on Friday, simply said, "It's going to be a process. It's going in a good direction."

The Toros returned to camp in Tucson after the game to continue preparation for their March 22 season opener against Monclova at home in Estadio Gasmart.


Mexican League to stream 140 games live on Facebook in 2018

After a tumultuous first six months on the job, new Mexican League president Javier Salinas has probably been ready for any good news that comes along.  The former Liga MX soccer marketing executive, who was brought to the LMB in no small part for his background of bringing a sports league into more peoples' homes, had some good news for baseball fans last week when he announced that a total of 140 Liga games will be streamed live on Facebook in 2018.

The plan is two carry 132 games split between the LMB's two regular seasons, plus another four games apiece for the Liga's two playoff tournaments.  Isaura Morales, who heads Facebook's alliances with Latin American sports leagues and teams, says, "This collaboration between the LMB and Facebook is part of our commitment to innovate ways in which baseball fans can watch and follow their favorite team from anywhere.  By offering transmissions through Facebook Live, the LMB can reach new audiences in a truly interactive and social way."

For his part, Salinas says, "We're very excited to become pioneers of live sports broadcasts in the country, since our number one priority is to satisfy our fans.  That's why we signed this agreement with Facebook, because we know it's a platform capable of of offering our audiences a unique experience that can be enjoyed from any device.  We're sure our fans will be very happy with this new way to transmit our games."

The first Facebook stream of a Mexican League game is scheduled for the March 22 season opener in Tijuana between the defending champion Toros and their LMB North rival Monclova Acereros.  The LMB's Facebook page can be accessed at www.facebook.com/LigaMexicanadeBeisbol.



Bronswell Patrick chosen as new skipper in Hermosillo

The Hermosillo Naranjeros have picked a former major league pitcher as their new manager, replacing Lorenzo Bundy at the helm.  Bundy completed his 23rd season as a Mexican Pacific League manager last winter, winning his 700th career regular season game (second only to Francisco "Paquin" Estrada's 856 over 27 campaigns) and taking the Orangemen to the MexPac playoffs before losing to Navojoa in the first round.  The Philadelphia native spent five seasons with the Naranjeros after previously managing six other MexPac teams (the only LMP squad he HASN'T managed is Jalisco).  He's won pennants with Navojoa and Mazatlan and Hermosillo and is beginning his first season managing Puebla in the Mexican League after his contract with the Naranjeros did not renew his contract for 2018-19.

Enter Bronswell Patrick.  The 47-year-old Greenville, South Carolina product was a 23rd round draft pick by Oakland in 1988 out of high school, embarking that summer on an 18-year career in pro ball, reaching the majors in 1998 with Milwaukee (for whom he was 4-1 with a 4.69 ERA in 32 appearances (including three starts) and 1999 with San Francisco (1-0, 10.31 in six trips from the bullpen).  Patrick became the first Brewers pitcher to homer in a game since former infielder Skip Lockwood went deep in 1971, two years before the advent of the designated hitter.  He went on to pitch two years in Mexico City, going 11-7 in 2001 and 13-2 in 2003 for the Diablos to book-end a 2002 season spent in Korea, where he was 5-7 for the Samsung Lions.  Patrick wrapped up his playing career in 2006-07 when he pitched six games that winter for Los Mochis, losing both decisions and posting a 5.75 ERA for the Caneros.

Patrick has coached over the past decade in the San Diego system, starting with the Padres' Arizona Rookie League team in 2008.  This summer, he'll serve as pitching coach for the AAA El Paso Chihuahuas of the Pacific Coast League.  While Hermosillo marks his first managerial job, Patrick served as the Naranjeros pitching coach in the past.  He headed the Hermosillo mound staff during their last championship season of 2013-14 and was Bundy's pitching coach for the 2016-17 campaign.  Upon his appointment to his new post in Hermosillo last week, Patrick said, "Over the last couple years while I was a pitching coach with the Naranjeros, I thought about being a manager.  It was something I wanted to do and in recent years that thought's been in my head, so now I'm happy that the Naranjeros and (owner) Enrique Mazon have given me the opportunity to manage the club."

Joining Patrick's coaching staff will be new batting coach Darryl Brinkley, a longtime minor league outfielder who spent time in the Padres, Orioles and Pirates systems but mostly played for teams in independent leagues as well as in Mexico and Korea before retiring after 16 seasons in 2009 after batting .297 with 13 homers in 97 games for Edmonton in the Golden Baseball League.  Brinkley played all or part of eight seasons in the Mexican League, leading the San Luis Tuneros in 2006 with a .355 batting average for manager Dan Firova (now in Monclova).