OBREGON WINS MEX PAC FIRST HALF BY 4.5 GAMES

Obregon's Alonzo Harris is 20-for-22 in steals

    Despite a 16-10 loss at home to Culiacan last Thursday in the final game of an abbreviated first half, the Obregon Yaquis were able to capitalize on their hot start to finish first in the Mexican Pacific League's opening stanza with a 21-8 record, four-and-a-half games ahead of 15-11 Hermosillo and good enough to capture ten playoff points. The Yaquis were just 4-5 after the LMP's unscheduled eleven-day layoff due to the Wuhan virus, but their 17-3 mark before play was halted provided enough padding to make for a soft landing from their fall back to earth. Obregon then opened the second half with a pair of losses to Guasave in Estadio Yaquis, so the road appears to be harder traveling for Sergio Gastelum's squad through the end of the regular season.

Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros provided his readers an analysis of the Mex Pac's first round for each team, of which we present a lightly edited version here:

    OBREGÓN YAQUIS (21-8, 10.0 POINTS): They only lost two of their ten series, one against Hermosillo and the other against Mexicali. OF Alonzo Harris was the offensive spark plug with a .337 average (ninth in the LMP) and 20 stolen bases in 22 attempts, leading the circuit. Sebastián Valle arrived to bring order to the pitching staff as their catcher (LMP leaders in ERA at 3.97), even when they traded their best starter, Octavio Acosta.

    HERMOSILLO NARANJEROS (15-11, 9.0 POINTS): Unimpressive like last year, the multi-champions did enough to take over the runner-up and 9 points. Special mention of OF Norberto Obeso (LMP batting sub-leader at .371), OF Yadiel Hernandez (.341) and 3B Luis Alfonso Cruz (4HR, 19 RBI) as well as starting pitcher Juan Pablo Oramas (4-2 and 3.38) and closer Fernando Salas (7 saves, 0.93 ERA).

    MONTERREY SULTANES (14-12, 8.0 POINTS): With 2B-OF Alejo López as the only one in the league's top ten batting (sixth at .348), the Sultanes surprised in the first half. Dustin Peterson contributed 6 homers and 21 RBIs in his first 23 games while in pitching, Édgar González stands out with a 3-2 record and 4.32 of ERA, ninth in the Mex Pac.

    CULIACAN TOMATEROS (15-13, 7.0 POINTS): If it weren't for OF Sebastián Elizalde, they could've possibly finished in the bottom three. Elizalde has 9 homers and 32 RBIs, leading the LMP in both departments, although he slumped in recent games. 3B Joey Meneses is hitting .275 with 4 HR and 15 RBIs. Without OF Rico Noel and C Alí Solís, Culiacan's goal was one of the first four positions and they succeeded.

    GUASAVE ALGODONEROS (14-13, 6.0 POINTS): They closed the first half with seven wins in their last eight games to reach 6 points. Cuban P Yoenis Yera (3-0, 2.37) arrived to reinforce the starting rotation. Closer Gene Encina has 8 saves while on offense, OF Yadir Drake (.343/6HR/20RBI) and SS Arisbel Arruebarruena (.373/7HR/12RBI) stand out, despite the latter missing 14 games.

    JALISCO CHARROS(15-14, 5.5 POINTS): They have again had serious problems with their pitching, not only releasing Cuban P Elián Leyva (a former Triple Crown winner) but allowing 25 runs in their last three games against Navojoa. 1B Henry Urrutia has stood out for the defending champions with .355/5HR/21RBI numbers while DH Japhet Amador has turned in .342/6/28 numbers over 29 games.

Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros

    MAZATLÁN VENADOS (14-14, 5.0 POINTS): The arrival of Pablo Ortega at the helm rescued them from falling into the basement. The Venados closed with seven consecutive wins and are going to improve a lot in the second half with the arrival of P Mitch Lively and other players. Detroit Tigers IF Isaac Paredes has responded with a .390 average, one home run and 12 RBIs in 12 games.

    MEXICALI AGUILAS(13-16, 4.5 POINTS): After starting 0-8, the team closed with a 13-8 mark under the command of Bronswell Patrick. 1B Balbino Fuenmayor (.273) went home to Venezuela and it's striking that none of Patrick's players hit .300. Even Cuban OF Rusney Castillo has been a disappointment with a .212 average no homers and one RBI in 9 games. P Eduardo Vera is the LMP sub-leader with a 2.64 ERA.

    NAVOJOA MAYOS (10-19, 4.0 POINTS): The Mayos have had a season full of ups and downs. The highlight was their 4-for-1 trade with the Yaquis, although Tirso Ornelas will miss the rest of the season with injury. Individually, C Omar Renteria leads the LMP batting race at .397 and P Felix Dubrount was 3-2 with a 2.32 ERA before (like Fuenmayor) returning to play in his native Venezuela, where the season is just now getting underway.

    LOS MOCHIS CANEROS (9-20, 3.5 POINTS): Their pitching has been a disaster and they continue to suffer from the absence of OF Jonathan Jones, 2B Ramón Urías and, of course, Cuban starter Yoanys Quiala, who last winter fought for the Triple Crown of Pitching. SS Isaac Rodriguez is batting .366 while OF Leander Castro has 8 HR. The panorama in Los Mochis is very difficult, but the postseason is not impossible.

MANSUR SAYS TECOS ARE "VERY HAPPY" PLAYING IN LAREDO

Will Tecos remain at Laredo Ballpark?

    A Mexican baseball website reports rumors the Dos Laredos Tecolotes may be seeking greener pastures, although owner Jose Antonio Mansur gave assurances that the Tecos' current dispute with the City of Laredo, Texas will not result in the Mexican League team moving out of the border region.

    Beisbol Puro says the dispute between the Tecos and City of Laredo centers on control over concessions at Laredo Ballpark, a facility completed in 2012 with naming rights paid for by a local shipping company.* Presently, the Tecos operate concessions at Laredo Ballpark for eight months a year while another company is allowed to organize events and handle concessions over the remaining four months. Mansur wants a year-round concessions contract, something the City has yet to agree to.

    The standoff has led to speculation that Mansur might move the team (which arrived from Veracruz following the 2017 LMB season) out of both Laredo and Nuevo Laredo altogether. “We have some differences in the way in which the renewal of the concession contract for the stadium in Laredo, Texas is being considered,” Mansur told Beisbol Puro in a phone interview, “but that is something that we hope can be resolved. We are very happy and very comfortable playing both in Laredo and in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.”

    The Tecos split their home schedule between the two cities that are separated by the Rio Grande, with games south of the border played at aging Parque la Junta, a 6,000-seater built in 1947 that has housed five LMB pennant-winners since, including a powerhouse Tecolotes squad that played in six Serie del Reys between 1985 and 1993, winning two titles. The current Tecos franchise initially played their Mexican home games at 12,000-seat Estadio Nuevo Laredo in 2018. 

    Despite being a newer (opened in 2008) better facility than Parque la Junta and was one of three LMB ballparks with artificial turf at the time, Estadio Nuevo Laredo sits outside Nuevo Laredo in an area considered unsafe by many fans, leading to poor attendance. The Tecos moved their Mexican home games to the older ballpark in 2019 but while crowds did increase, it is not considered an optimal Mexican League venue moving ahead.

Dos Laredos owner Jose Antonio Mansur

    Laredo Ballpark, which was built for $18 million, has 3,940 permanents seats and can accommodate up to 6,000 spectators for baseball when picnic areas and grass berms are factored in. While it's one of the smallest ballparks in the LMB, it's also one of the more modern ones and affords the Tecos the unique status of being the world's only pro baseball team that considers two nations “home.” Mansur says that while he would prefer to keep things where they are, he's prepared play all home games in Mexico, if not necessarily in Nuevo Laredo.

    “We're not leaving here,” he told Beisbol Puro. “What could happen if we don't reach an agreement is that we don't play in Laredo, Texas but our home would continue to be Nuevo Laredo.” He added that farming some games to other cities might be considered. "It really would be an extreme case, but we could look to play some games in Reynosa, or even play in McAllen, Texas to continue with the idea of being a two-country team, but for now those are only options that we have as a possibility.”

*Like all media outlets, Baseball Mexico is not obligated to recognize naming rights deals that generate no revenue for BBM.

LOOKING FORWARD: MENESES, BANUELOS, VILLANUEVA

Joey Meneses with Red Sox

   With the 2020 baseball season in the rear-view mirror and winterball in full swing, three veteran Mexican players are weighing their options for the 2021 campaign. While one of them has been invited to a Major League Baseball training camp and another appears likely to be returning to Taiwan, one former MLBer among the trio finds himself at loose ends.

    Culiacan infielder Joey Meneses, who is playing third base for the first time this winter to allow Tomateros manager Benji Gil to put Efren Navarro and his .303 average at first base while slugger Japhet Amador is the designated hitter. Meneses has struggled at times on defense, but he's hit .292 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 30 games.

    The Boston Red Sox, who invited the 2018 International League MVP to their training camp last spring, have announced they'll bring the 6'3” 220-pounder back for another look-see as a free agent in February. The 28-year-old Culiacan native struggled with Japan's Orix Buffaloes in 2019, batting just .206 with four homers in 29 games before being suspended by NPB after testing positive for steroids, but the BoSox were intrigued by his breakout performance with the Phillies' AAA affiliate in Lehigh Valley two years and want to see whether his right-handed power can translate to success with Fenway Park's Green Monster.

    Left-handed pitcher Manny Banuelos has already endured a sometimes-bizarre 2019 during which he began the year pitching for Culiacan in the Mexican Pacific League playoffs in January, followed by a start in February as a reinforcement for Jalisco at the Caribbean Series in Puerto Rico and a stint in Arizona as a free agent hurler in the Seattle Mariners spring camp in March before the Wuhan virus shut down baseball north of the border that month. Ranked as high as 13th among all prospects by MLB.com as a Yankees farmhand in 2011, Banuelos was subsequently released by Seattle but eventually signed with the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

    Once he reached Taiwan and cleared quarantine, Banuelos pitched well for the Guardians, going 6-3 with a 2.60 ERA in nine starts and striking out 62 batters in 52 innings for a team that went 54-69 for the year. It's almost a given that the 29-year-old Durango product will be offered a contract by the Taipei-based team for the 2021 season.

Fubon Guardians lefty Manny Banuelos

    The player looking over his options (and perhaps licking his wounds after two tough seasons in Japan) is former San Diego third baseman Christian Villanueva. The 29-year-old from Guadalajara made his MLB debut in September, batting .344 with four homers in 12 games for the Padres. He had a hot start for San Diego in 2018, earning National League Rookie of the Month honors in April after hitting .321 with eight roundtrippers in 23 games. Villanueva hit less than .200 over the next three months before rebounding with a .356 average in 12 August games before suffering a season-ending injury.

    Despite finishing with 20 homers to augment his .236 season average, his contract was sold the following offseason to the NPB Yomiuri Giants. Villanueva struggled with injuries both years, hitting .223 with eight homers for the Giants in 2019 while spending time on their farm team before being let go. He was picked up by the Nippon Ham Fighters for 2020 but moving from the Central to Pacific League had no effect as he hit just .220 with four longballs for the Fighters, spent time with THEIR farm team and was released on November 18. Villanueva began playing for the hometown Jalisco Charros last week, homering in one of his first five games, but he's essentially playing for a spring training invitation at this point. His Mexican League rights were acquired by the Monterrey Sultanes from Yucatan late last year.

MEX PAC TEAMS START OPENING TRAINING CAMPS

Day 3 of Hermosillo Naranjeros training camp

With the scheduled start of the 2020-21 regular season a little over a month away, Mexican Pacific League teams are beginning to open their training camps as players trickle in from across Mexico and elsewhere to start loosening up for their October 15 openers.

The Hermosillo Naranjeros opened camp last Tuesday at Estadio Sonora under new manager Juan Navarrete, a Salon de la Fama member who replaced former MLB star Vinny Castilla at the helm of the Orangmen. After going through preliminary protocols for the Wuhan virus, players broke into groups who worked out under the eye of Navarrete's coaching staff, which includes ex-MLBers Erubiel Durazo, Maximino Leon and Elmer Dessens plus former Mexican League star Cornelio Garcia. Among the players who reported to Hermosillo the first day were veteran pitchers Juan Pablo Oramas and Jose Samayoa, 2018-19 LMP Rookie of the Year infielder Jasson Atondo and outfielder Norberto Obeso, who hit .283 last winter for his hometown Naranjeros after batting .276 over five seasons in the Blue Jays farm system.

Although the Mexicali Aguilas aren't scheduled to open their training camp until this Thursday, three pitchers showed up early for a three-day minicamp over the past weekend. Starters Javier Solano and Eduardo Vera were joined by closer Jake Sanchez. The trio of right-handers performed calisthentics and bullpen sessions under pitching coach Bronswell Patrick after going through virus protocols. They also worked on situation pitching from the mound at La Nida, the Eagles home ballpark.

Mexicali Aguilas P Javier Solano

Solano, a former Dodgers farmhand who physically resembles one-time Detroit hurler Mickey Lolich, is preparing for his eighth winter in Mexicali. The LMP's 2015-16 Pitcher of the Year was only 3-5 last season but otherwise had a strong campaign in the border city, with a Mex Pac-leading 2.23 ERA while tossing the only complete game shutout of the season. The 30-year-old Solano, who spent five seasons with Hermosillo before coming to the Aguilas, has a lifetime 44-30 record and 3.60 in 160 outings over 12 seasons.

Other LMP teams will open their respective camps over the next couple of weeks as various clubs announce their training invitees. Defending champion Culiacan, who'll begin training next Monday at Estadio Tomateros, are requesting the presence of 48 players (28 of them pitchers). Among the invited are infielders Joey Meneses, Efren Navarro, Jose Guadalupe Chavez and Ramiro Pena, all mainstays of last winter's title team, plus newcomer Michael Wing, who was aquired in a trade from Monterrey earlier this summer. Outfielder Sebastian Elizalde will be back, as will pitchers Manny Barreda, Danny Rodriguez, Anthony Vazquez, Aldo Montes and Alberto Baldonado.

The Los Mochis Caneros have likewise announced their 50-player list of camp invitees. Among the more familar names will be third baseman Rudy Amador, infielder Esteban Quiroz, designated hitter Saul Soto, second baseman Isaac Rodriguez (the 2019-20 LMP batting champion), outfielder Leandro Castro and pitchers Andres Avila, who only went 2-6 but whose 2.48 ERA over 10 starts bettered teammate (and LMP Pitcher of the Year) Yoanys Quiala's 2.57. Los Mochis will have a good lineup and pitching staff if everyone comes to play under manager Victor Bojorquez and could be a darkhorse to unseat Culiacan from the throne.

A full slate of five games on Thursday, October 15 will kick off season-opening four-game series: Hermosillo at Navojoa, Mexicali at Obregon, Mazatlan at Los Mochis, Guasave at Culiacan and Jalisco at Monterrey. The Sultanes had earlier announced plans to move their home games to Mazatlan, where they'd have shared Estadio Teodoro Mariscal with the Venados, but have decided to play at home in Estadio Monterrey as usual.

LITTLE LEAGUE HERO MACIAS IN FAILING HEALTH, HELP NEEDED

1957 LLWS hero Angel Macias

Ambidextrous pitcher Angel Macias' 4-0 perfect game win (as a right-hander) for Monterrey over La Mesa, California in the 1957 Little League World Series championship game made the Mexican team the first from outside the United States to win the LLWS title.

It also made an international star of Macias, who was profiled in two subsequent movies, and led to a 13-year professional career in both the Los Angeles Angels farm system and the Mexican League, where he was an outfielder for the Reynosa Broncos and Monterrey Sultanes between 1963 and 1974, when he retired at age 30 after the season. Macias is not a member of the Salon de la Fama in Monterrey despite his heroics and solid professional career, but he was enshrined in Little League Baseball's Hall of Excellence in 2017.

However, Macias (now 76) has been going through difficult times regarding his health due to complications from Alzheimer's Disease, and his family is asking baseball fans around the world for financial assistance.

Monterrey Sultanes owner Jose "Pepe" Maiz was a teammate of Macias' in that historic 1957 run that opened the door for teams and players from Latin America, Asia and Europe to participate in the Little League World Series and often enjoy success (most notably teams from Taiwan that won 17 titles between 1969 and 1996). Maiz explains that Alzheimer's has created extra problems for Macias over the past several months, a sad state for someone who has meant so much to the worldwide growth of Little League Baseball.

"He is the one who most promoted Little League not only at the national level, but at the world level," say Maiz, who presently serves as Mexico's Little League director in addition to his role with the Sultanes. "With his perfect game, Little League Baseball went to the East, with countries like Taiwan, Korea and China, and also to Central and South America." Add to that list Japan, which has won 11 LLWS championships (eight since 1999).

SeptimaEntrada.com says Macias' wife has confirmed that Angel's declining health has forced the family to sell some of their possessions in order to cover his expenses.

During a past interview with Grand Slam's Gaspar Garza Gandara, Macias said he felt no pressure while throwing his perfecto against La Mesa in the championship game (the only time that's happened in a LLWS). "No, no, no, nothing," exclaimed Macias. "It was like a normal game for us. We knew it was an important game but we played it without pressure. We did it and things worked out." Macias struck out 11 batters in six innings.

Macias with display at LLB Hall of Excellence

He added that after recording the final out, the team congregated on the mound to celebrate before heading to the showers because their uniforms were so dirty after not having been washed the whole tournament. Asked if not washing the uniform for 13 games was a team cabal, Macias laughed and said, "Of course it was! It was a cabal!"

Macias said winning the LLWS changed the lives of everyone on the team: "What happened is that in one way or another, the doors were opened everywhere. We had the opportunity to get scholarships in schools. Then we played professional baseball. We had many nice, pleasant things that we enjoyed."

The Aguascalientes-born Macias had mixed opinions regarding the two movies made of the 1957 Monterrey Little League team. He praised the 1960 film, "The Little Giants," saying "The first one is almost 100!" Macias didn't think as highly of "The Perfect Game," which was released in 2010. "It's very different because the approach they gave me didn't seem like me personally. They could've done better than that because it had no impact on people. It went completely unnoticed."

If any Baseball Mexico readers would like to help Angel Macias and his family in a time of needs, an account has been set up for direct deposits at www.SantanderBank.com. The account number is 60-593737105.

FROM TECOS TO TACOS: P OMANA WORKS STAND DURING LMB SHUTDOWN

In the wake of the Mexican League cancelling its 2020 season due to the ongoing pandemic, players and coaches have had to scramble to make up for the lost income until some can perform in the Mexican Pacific League between October and January. Most LMB teams are not paying their players as promised, so people like Dos Laredos Tecolotes pitcher Henry Omana have had to look outside baseball to make ends.

The California-born Omana played two years of college ball at Cal State Fullerton before transferring to Cal Poly Pomona, where the 6'4” right-hander went 6-5 with a 2.48 ERA in 2017. He signed with Monclova of the Mexican League and began his professional career with the Acereros that summer.

The following is a translated feature on Omana from SeptimaEntrada.com:

Henry Omana pitching for Dos Laredos Tecos

He should be on top of the hill pitching for Los Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos, but the 'new reality' has him in front of a grill, making tacos in the United States.

Since there is no season in the Mexican League, many players have had to look for different alternatives to be able to support their family, and pitcher Henry Omaña is one of those responsible for 'Tacos Omaña, a taqueria in Greater Los Angeles, California.

This site started in the 1980s and is a business in which Henry and his brothers David and Christian participate. The pitcher has worked at this site since he was young but when he became a professional player, he could only work there when he was not called up to a winter league.

What activities does Henry do at the taqueria? “I work making tacos...I'm a cook. Whatever my brother David (the manager) needs, I do,” he mentioned. "Also, if they need me to go to the store for meat and different things or if they want me in front (at the checkout), I do it. I am a general assistant."

The taqueria belongs to the father, David acts as manager and Christian is in charge of the administration of the place, which began when his grandfather began selling tacos at a swap meet. The business later settled into a place in South El Monte, 15 miles from Los Angeles. They already have two more restaurants on that site.

The roots of the native of San Dimas, California come from Huatabampo, Sonora with his father Henry, and from Jalisco with mother Yolanda.

These origins favor the taqueria, offering a variety of ingredients and dishes such as a green chili plate, roast beef donkeys, the 'taco perrón', as well as the inevitable shepherd, chicharrón, red chili, tripe, crop and head. “In Pomona there are many taquerías nearby but people like to come with us for the green chili plate and the salsa," answered Henry when questioned how the business is doing in that town. "My brother makes a very good sauce and I think that people come to us more."

Omana making tacos at his family's stand

Although at this moment there is no professional baseball and he is focused on the taqueria, Omaña remains in the practice of baseball, training young people with sessions in batting cages, infields and various exercises. 2020 was to be his fourth season in the Mexican League, in which he arrived in 2017 with the Monclova Acereros before migrating to the Puebla Pericos the following year. It was in the final part of the 2019 campaign that he wore the colors of the Tecolotes. Before coming to Dos Laredos, he had three victories with the Sonoma Stompers of the independent Pacific Association.

"I have three years in this League (LMB) and in 2017 I threw well. I was getting outs with my curve but in 2018 I had problems trowing strikes, I had a bit of a problem pitching in Puebla," he commented on his first stay in Mexico. Meanwhile, Henry assured that he will have patience in all the coming months and that he will continue preparing because he has his sights set on returning to the LMB with the Tecolotes in 2021.

HEIMLICH OFF TO SIZZLING START FOR CANEROS

It's been a long, hard road for Luke Heimlich.  In the wake of revelations in 2017 that he had earlier pled guilty in 2012 to child molestation charges (causing hm to miss the College World Series with his

Luke Heimlich was 2018 National Pitcher of the Year

Oregon State University teammates after leading the nation with an 0.81 ERA and winning the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year award), he came back for his senior season to go 15-1 for the Beavers was named the National Pitcher of the Year in 2018, following in the footsteps of past winners like Stephen Strasburg, Trevor Bauer and Aaron Nola.  Heimlich later disavowed his guilty plea, stating he wanted to spare his family from a long trial.

Ordinarily a left-handed pitcher with his bonafides is a hot property but instead, Heimlich was passed over in all 40 rounds of that June's draft and had to scuffle for a job.  He signed with the Lamigo Monkeys of Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League that August but despite its own scandal-ridden past, the CPBL office disallowed Heimlich's contract three days later because of his background.  An earlier post-draft trial with the Kansas City Royals was also aborted after public pressure.  Although he completed conditions of his plea deal, the Puyallup, Washington native was forced to sit out the rest of the 2018 season while pondering whether his chance would ever come.

That chance arrived this year via the Dos Laredos Tecolotes, who signed him to a contract with a good conduct clause in early March.  After the Mexican League office vetted Heimlich and subsequently allowed the deal to go through, he made his debut on April 9 by allowing two runs on back-to-back solo homers by Viosergy Rosa and Michael Crouse in the second innings during five innings of work against Union Laguna in Torreon.  Heimlich was initially inconsistent after almost a year off, but he got stronger as the season went on and flashed a 2.84 ERA over his final eight starts to finish 8-7 with a 4.58 ERA to tie with Saltillo's Felix Dubrount for eighth in the LMB in that category while coming in ninth with 109 strikeouts in 118 frames, tying Yucatan's Jose Samayoa.  All things considered, it was an encouraging beginning at the AAA level for the 23-year-old hurler, and Heimlich has gotten off to an even better start playing winterball with the Los Mochis Caneros.

Heimlich pitching for the Dos Laredos Tecolotes

Thus far in the young Mexican Pacific League season, Heimlich has yet to allow a run in 12 innings over two starts for the Caneros, allowing six hits and striking out nine opposing batsmen in picking up both wins.  The six-footer has struggled with his control, walking seven, but he's obviously adjusting to pitching south of the border and flashing signs of why he was college baseball's best pitcher a year ago.  After blanking visiting Guasave over six innings in Los Mochis' 5-0 home opener win on October 12, Heimlich tossed three-hit scoreless ball against the Algodoneros last Friday in Guasave (the Caneros won, 2-0) before being pulled after plunking leadoff batter Arturo Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh.  His next start will come this week at home against a stronger Mazatlan team but at this point, Heimlich is tied for the LMP lead in wins with relievers Linder Castro of Jalisco and Mexicali's Edgar Gamez, has the most innings pitched among pitchers who have yet to allow an earned run and is tied with two other pitchers for fourth in strikeouts.

Heimlich has been one of the reasons Los Mochis is second in the Mex Pac with a 5-2 record, trailing only 5-1 Culiacan in the first-half standings.  The Tomateros have been winning by battering opposing pitchers into submission with a team .341 average (no other LMP team is above .296) along with a creditable 3.06 ERA, which ranks fourth in the circuit.  Catcher Ali Solis' .412 average and seven RBIs both rank among individual batting leaders, while third baseman Ronnier Mustelier's nine ribbies are tops in that category.  Obregon's Jose Aguilar leads the Mex Pac with a .500 batting average, his Yaquis teammate Paulo Orlando is the home run leader with three roundtrippers and yet another Culiacan player, Rico Noel, is tops with five stolen bases.  While Heimlich has been the dominant starter in the loop thus far (his seven walks also lead the LMP), Hermosillo reliever Trey McNutt has the most saves with three in as many appearances.  A 30-year-old Oakland farmhand, McNutt has eight strikeouts with one hit allowed over three innings of work.


MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE TO OPEN PLAY TUESDAY IN MAZATLAN

An LIM press conference in Mazatlan last Thursday

After a two-year absence, a reconfigured and trimmed-down Mexican Winter League will begin its 2019 season this Tuesday with a doubleheader in Mazatlan.

The LIM was last seen on the field in 2017, when the Mexico City Diablos Rojos led the six-team field during the regular season with a 29-16 record before holding off fourth-place Salamanca over all five games of their first-round playoff series and topping Oaxaca in the title set, 4-games-to-1.  Current Diablos Mexican League manager Victor Bojorquez, was the helmsman of the LIM champions while another ex-Mexico City star and manager, Jose Luis Sandoval, was the Guerreros skipper.  However, the cost of operating six teams in as many cities proved more than the corresponding fan support could handle and the Liga Invernal ceased operations after the Diablos' December 17 Game Five win at Oaxaca's Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos and the LIM went on a two-year hiatus.

The newest iteration of the Mexican Winter League will feature four teams of mostly rookies and prospects augmented by an occasional veteran representing Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puebla and Monterrey, with all contests played in Mazatlan at the Benito Juarez Sports City.  This time around, managers will include former MLB infielder Jose Macias (a Panamanian) for the Red Devils and yet another former Diablos stalwart, ex-outfielder Ivan Cervantes, leading the Guerreros.  Still one more ex-Mexico City star and manager, four-year big league catcher Miguel Ojeda, will oversee the circuit as an extension of his current position as the Diablos deputy president.

Benito Juarez Sports City, home of the new LIM

Each of the four teams will have 30-man rosters when play opens October 22 with Mexico City taking on Monterrey and Puebla squaring off with Oaxaca.  However, although two games per day will be scheduled through the abbreviated season, they will not be doubleheaders.  Instead, contests will be played concurrently on adjoining fields with game times of 1PM local time.  As with the LMB and LMP, the LIM schedule will run from Tuesdays through Sundays for six weeks for a total of 36 games per team when the schedule concludes December 1.  Since there will be no playoff, the season champion will be determined by the regular season standings.


OSCAR ROBLES OUT AS MANAGER IN TIJUANA

Oscar Robles watches pregame batting practice

In most baseball leagues, when a manager leads his team to the best record in the league and the top playoff seed in his division, he usually receives a contract extension with an accompanying raise.  However, doing that in Tijuana only got Oscar Robles a pink slip with accompanying thanks and well-wishes from the Toros front office.

Such is life for managers in the border city and Mexican baseball in general.  A Tijuana native who started 80 games at either shortstop or third base and pinch-hitting in 21 more for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005 (batting .272) between stints in the Mexican League before his 2017 retirement as a player, Robles took over as dugout boss for the team in the Fall 2018 season after Pedro Mere was fired.  Mere's unforgivable sin after taking the Bulls to the border city's first pennant in 2017?  Finishing second to Monterrey in Spring 2018 with a 33-23 record before losing to the Sultanes in the LMB North championship series.  Mere went on to become manager in Monclova for the Fall 2018 schedule and led the Acereros to a league-best 42-14 record but lost the LMB North title set (also to Monterrey), then was let go by owner Gerardo Benavides on July 1 with Monclova showing a 44-25 season record.  Mere is now manager in Tabasco.

Robles levitates a bat during a 2009 WBC game

Let's get back to Robles.  In his managerial debut less than a year after playing his last game, he led the Toros to a second-place finish in the LMB North during the Fall 2018 season with a 35-21 ledger before falling to Monterrey in the first playoff round in a heated seven-game series.  This year, TJ tied Monterrey for first in the first half with a 40-20 record, then came in at 35-25 for third place in the second half for an overall 75-45 mark to tie with eventual champ Monclova for best in the Liga.  However, the Toros lost to the Acereros in seven games for the division title and that apparently sealed his fate in his birthplace (Robles actually played high school ball in San Diego) despite an overall 110-66 record with the team.  Sic transit gloria.

For his part, the 43-year-old Robles (who is a candidate for Manager of the Year) was measured about losing his job.  "I knew that if I didn't reach the Serie del Rey I would be dismissed, both me and my coaching staff" he told TVC Deportes. "I could say everything I have to say, but I better keep quiet."  In announcing Robles' exit, the Toros press release included the usual platitudes whenever a Mexican team lets its manager go: "The Toros de Tijuana club appreciates and recognizes the work of Oscar Robles both in his career as a player achieving the title in the 2017 season and in his position as manager.  We wish him success in his future projects."

Given how managers in Mexican baseball are recycled to a degree that would bring a smile to the most ardent environmentalist, it's safe to say that Oscar Robles will manage again.  And again.  And again... 

WING OFF TO FLYING START FOR AGUASCALIENTES

Former Los Angeles Angels minor leaguer Michael Wing was not one of the most publicized of Mexican League players during his first two seasons south of the border, but the California-bred third baseman has certainly caught the attention of Liga pitchers during that stretch.  If Wing is hoping to remain in relative anonymity toiling for the Aguascalientes Rieleros this season, he'll have to do less than bat .500 with 7 homers and 21 RBIs over his first eight games with the Railroaders in 2019, leading the LMB in both longballs and ribbies through the first three series of the campaign.

Aguascalientes 3B Michael Wing

Wing posted a trio of two-homer games for Aguascalientes last week, including a pair of longballs (one a grand slam) in a 7-RBI night during a 10-6 home win over defending champion Monterrey on Friday. A 26th round draft pick from Upland (CA) High School in 2007, the 6'1" right-handed batter spent five seasons in the Angels systems and one more in the Padres organization before embarking on a three-year independent ball sojourn in the Frontier League and American Association before it appeared his professional career was over at age 26 following the 2015 season.  He missed the 2016 campaign before receiving a phone call from the Rieleros the next year.

After debuting with Aguascalientes on June 4, 2017, Wing hit a sizzling .432 with five homers in 26 games for the Rieleros the rest of the season.  He returned to play both 2018 seasons, hitting .341 in the Spring and .403 in the Fall with a combined 18 homers and 76 RBIs in 83 contests.  Now 30, Wing has come out the gate smoking for Aguascalientes this year and while there's no way he'll be able to maintain his torrid pace for a full season, the team is hoping he can stay healthy for the whole season and head a Rieleros offense that includes veterans Saul Soto, Carlos Rodriguez, Jose Vargas and ex-Cub Tony Campana to augment a pitching staff that includes 2017 Mexican League Pitcher of the Year Nestor Molina and three-time MLB All-Star Jose Valverde. 

New manager Joe Alvarez, who has had past success (however abbreviated) in both the Liga and Mexican Pacific League, is known as an old-school disciplinarian and while his pitching staff in Aguascalientes may struggle, the Rieleros will be expected to fight towards what they hope will be a return to the playoffs this season after missing the postseason last fall.  The Rieleros are presently tied with Saltillo for fifth place in the LMB North at 4-5 apiece, trailing co-leaders Monterrey and Dos Laredos at 7-2 and two games behind Monclova and Tijuana, both at 6-3.  Durango (3-6) and Union Laguna (2-7) round out the division standings.

In the LMB South, manager Sergio Gastelum's Oaxaca Guerreros are trying to prove last Fall's appearance in the Serie del Rey was not a fluke.  So far, so good as the Warriors top the standings with a 7-2 record following an 8-5 triumph at Yucatan Sunday night as catcher Orlando Pina singled and doubled, scoring two runs and driving in two more.  Jose Medina took a shutout into the fourth inning en route to a five-inning outing in which he gave up three runs to the Leones, who fell to the cellar at 2-7.  Mexico City and Puebla won their weekend closeouts over Quintana Roo and Campeche, respectively to go into Monday's travel day tied for second at 6-3.  Leon has a 4-5 mark for fourth place, leading 3-6 Campeche, Tabasco and Quintana Roo by a game.

Michael Wing photo courtesty of Bob Broughton from CourtesyRunner.com


HEIMLICH AT 0-1, 6.75 AFTER TWO STARTS FOR TECOLOTES

Dos Laredos Tecolotes P Luke Heimlich

After an agonizing 10-month wait to start his first professional baseball game, 2018 NCAA Pitcher of the Year Luke Heimlich finally made his debut last Tuesday night in Torreon.  The former Oregon State ace tossed five innings for the Dos Laredos Tecolotes in a 5-4 loss to the hometown Union Laguna Algodoneros as 7,527 fans looked on at Estadio Revolucion.

Heimlich had a creditable outing for the Tecos, giving up two runs on five hits (including solo homers in the second by Michael Crouse and Luis Perez) with five strikeouts and two walks while facing 21 Laguna batters.  The game ended in the bottom of the tenth when Crouse grounded a bases-loaded walkoff single to Domonic Brown in right to bring in Francisco Ferreiro with the winning tally.

Heimlich had a rougher outing Sunday night in Saltillo, allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits and two walks before being relieved by Antonio Guzman with one out in the fifth as the Saraperos went on to win in a 15-6 rout of the Owls.  Dos Laredos spotted Heimlich a 1-0 lead with Balbino Fuenmayor's leadoff homer against Saltillo starter Jonathan Sanchez, but the Saraperos came back with three runs in the bottom of the third on Juan Perez' third homer of the season, scored again in the fourth after Josuan Rodriguez scored from third when Tecos catcher Luis Flores' throw to nail Alvaro Gonzalez on an attempted steal sailed into center field instead.  Heimlich was pulled by manager Felix Fermin after giving up a leadoff single to Christian Zazueta and a one-out walk to Perez and tagged with the loss to drop to 0-1 for the season while raising his ERA to 6.75.  He did strike out another five batsmen but it was not an epic follow-up performance.

However, Heimlich might be forgiven for being a little rusty after not tossing a pitch in anger since last June's College World Series in Omaha. He finished 15-1 for the Beavers with a 2.42 ERA while earning both national and Pac-12 POY awards (his second consecutive conference honor).  Even so, a 2017 revelation of a sexual charge involving a six-year-old niece when he was 15 made him radioactive when it came time for last year's MLB draft, slipping through the entire event without being picked.  Subsequent attempts at free agent contracts with the Kansas City Royals and a team in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League were unsuccessful and Heimlich saw no further action in 2018.

He remained luckless this year until reaching an agreement with Dos Laredos last month.  Mexican League president Javier Salinas convened an internal investigation shortly after the signing but subsequently okayed the contract on April 6, three days before his first start for the Tecos.  Heimlich's next start is slated for Friday night in Nuevo Laredo against the struggling Yucatan Leones.  The Tecos moved their Mexican home games to the aging Parque La Junta after the club failed to draw fans to the more modern but remote Estadio Nuevo Laredo.


MEX PAC DRAWS 3.1 MILLION FANS FOR 2018-19 SEASON

The Mexican Pacific League set a season attendance record for their 2018-19 schedule by drawing 3,157,535 fans to both regular season and playoff games for the eight-team circuit.  The Mex Pac averaged 9.925 spectators during the season, including a boost of turnstile clicks to 12,912 per opening for the January postseason.

Culiacan led the LMP with a total of 507,002 admissions for the season for an average of 14,912 per game.  Both Hermosillo and Mexicali topped the 400 thousand mark, with the Naranjeros having the higher overall attendance (408,513 to 400,988) but the Aguilas showing the higher average (12,151 to 12,015 per game).  Mazatlan benefitted from a renovation of Estadio Teodoro Mariscal, pulling in 344,872 aficionados at 10,143 per game, an increase of 48.8 percent over the 2017-18 campaign, to finish third in the box office standings.

Jalisco had a strong year at the gate, bringing in 9,794 to Guadalajara's Estadio Charros for a total of 333,005 while Obregon was sixth in attendance at 271,227, an average of 8,219 per outing.  Like Mazatlan, Los Mochis benefitted from a ballpark renovation and saw a 22.3 percent hike to 242,368 fans for the season (averaging 7,128) while Navojoa brought up the rear with an average of 5,053 and a total of 171,815.  The addition of both Monterrey and returning Guasave next winter all but assures a new attendance record with the LMP becoming a ten-team loop.

According to a league press release, the Mexican Pacific League had the fourth-highest attendance in professional baseball leagues around the world over the past year, trailing only Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization.  The MexPac also easily outdistanced their competitors in the Mexican League and all minor leagues (affiliated and independent) at the gate.

MEXICO SPLITS WITH TOP-RANKED JAPAN IN OSAKA

The Mexican National Baseball Team currently sits sixth in the World Baseball Softball Confederation's latest rankings, but they entered the lion's den last weekend when they traveled to Osaka for a two-game series against the number one team in the world, Japan, in the Samurai Series.  The set served as a warmup of sorts for both teams months ahead of November's Premier12 tournament, which will be a qualifier for next year's Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

As host team, Japan will have a berth in the 2020 Games regardless of how they do next winter, but the series was a crucible for the Mexicans and new manager Dan Firova, who replaced Enrique "Che" Reyes at the helm after the Puebla Pericos would not allow their new skipper to make the trip to the Far East.  When the dust settled, Mexico had won one of the two tilts along with an added measure of respect from baseball observers around the globe.

Mexico won Saturday's opener, 4-2, in come-from-behind fashion.  Japan took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Masataka Yoshida singled in Seiji Uebayashi and added another run in the fourth when Takuya Kai pushed Yoshida across with a singleton.  The Verdes Grande put their first score on the board in the top of the sixth after Victor Mendoza crossed home plate on a Luis Juarez single to make it a 2-1 contest but the game really took a turn in the Mexicans' favor one inning later.

An Ali Solis double in the top of the seventh brought in Jose Juan Aguilar to knot the score at 2-2.  Solis then scored Mexico's go-ahead run on a single by Chris Roberson, a naturalized Mexican citizen who was not on manager Dan Firova's original roster.  The Mexicans plated an insurance run in the eighth on a Luis "Cochito" Cruz single that drove home Joey Meneses, who'll be playing his first season in Japan this year with the Orix Buffaloes in Osaka after winning MVP honors in the AAA International League last summer.  Reliever Javier Cota earned the win for Mexico while Jake Sanchez held the hosts scoreless to pick up the save.

Japan turned things around Sunday with a 6-0 shutout over Mexico to earn the series split.  The key blow for the home team came early when Yoshida belted a first-inning grand slam off Verdes Grande starter Manny Barreda as Japan staked opener Juri Hara a 5-0 lead heading into the second frame.  Hara, who got the win, combined with six relievers on the six-hit whitewash and Barreda absorbed the defeat.  Mexico got two-hit nights from Mendoza and Juarez while Roberto Lopez and Xorge Carrillo each contributed one hit apiece.

The Samurai Series was well-attended, with good crowds both nights at the 36,000-seat domed stadium.  Saturday's contest brought in 28,933 spectators while another 28,622 fans clicked the turnstiles Sunday night, very respectable numbers for an exhibition series a month ahead of the regular season.  

According to Puro Beisbol writer Bambino Sedano, one of the off-field highlights for the visitors came when a Japanese fan, 24-year-old Ryu Ishibashi, traveled about 500 miles from Sendai to Osaka to meet Juarez, his Mexican baseball idol who had three hits in the series.  Juarez invited Ishibashi (who hopes his favorite someday plays for his Rakuten Golden Eagles) to have dinner with him and teammates Mendoza and Aguilar. In return, Juarez received a shirt featuring a drawing Ishibashi made of the Yucatan slugger.

EX-NCAA PITCHER OF YEAR HEIMLICH SIGNS WITH TECOS

The NCAA's 2018 Pitcher of the Year, Luke Heimlich, has signed a free agent contract with the Mexican League's Dos Laredos Tecolotes.  While the presence of a left-handed hurler with such bonafides represents a baseball coup of sorts for the Tecos, the Oregon State University product also brings no small amount of controversy to the border team.

On the field, there's little question that Heimlich has the chance to be a Mexican League standout.  After turning in an 11-0 record with a 0.66 ERA as a senior at Puyallup (WA) High School, he was named Washington's 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year.  Playing collegiately for west coast powerhouse Oregon State, Heimlich was selected the Pac 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2017 as a Junior after leading the nation with an 0.81 ERA, and he followed that up with a standout Senior campaign last year in which he was named NCAA Pitcher of the Year on the heels of a 16-3 record with a 2.42 ERA (also winning his second consecutive Pac 12 POY award).

However, Heimlich is bringing considerable baggage to Nuevo Laredo with him.  During the 2017 season, it was discovered that he had pled guilty as a 15-year-old to sexually molesting his six-year-old niece.  The revelation created a firestorm that resulted in Heimlich being left behind in Corvallis when the Beavers travelled to the College World Series in Omaha, where Oregon State was eliminated by Louisiana State in the semifinals.  He did make the trip to the CWS last June, when the Beavers won their third NCAA title, but lost both his decisions to North Carolina and Arkansas, the latter in Game One of the title series (which would prove to be the final competitive game he's pitched to date).

After slipping through the MLB amateur draft in both 2017 and 2018, Heimlich began looking for work as a free agent.  The Kansas City Royals considered signing him last year, but backed off after protests were raised. He did eventually sign a contract with the Latigo Monkeys of Taiwan last August, but the Chinese Professional Baseball League voided the deal due to his criminal record and may be facing the same outcome with the Mexican League office.

LMB president Javier Salinas told the New York Times, "He's not registered in the league.  We have to analyze his case." Salinas added, "It's very difficult to see him registered in the Mexican League."  Tecos owner Jose Antonio Mansur says the Liga took the unusual step of requiring Heimlich to sign a letter vowing good behavior.  "I'm not a judge," Mansur told the Times. "I'm just a businessman and I'll give him an opportunity.  If he was guilty, he's already been judged. I'm just looking from here on forward."

For his part, Heimlich (who has since said he was innocent but pled guilty to spare his family from a drawn-out public legal process) had one of two charges dropped, was placed on two years' probation, took court-ordered classes, wrote a letter apologizing to his niece (now 14) and had to register for five years as a Level I sex offender, in which he is considered a low risk to the community and unlikely to become a repeat offender.

ROCKIES, D-BACKS PLAY TWO EXHIBITION GAMES IN MONTERREY

The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks were south of the border over the weekend for a pair of Major League Baseball exhibition games at Estadio Monterrey, home of the Mexican League Sultanes.

In Saturday's opener, Mike Tauchman went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI singles and a run and Roberto Ramos hit a run-scoring double and a solo homer to lead Colorado to an easy 5-1 win.  Four Rockies pitchers combined on a four-hitter as reliever Jeff Hoffman tossed four scoreless innings to earn the victory, allowing just two hits and striking out five Arizona batsmen.  Diamondbacks starter Taylor Clarke was tagged with the loss after giving up a pair of runs on five hits over 3.1 frames. The game was far from a sellout, as 9,372 fans were in the stands of the 22,061-seat ballpark.

Arizona came back Sunday with a 5-2 triumph.  This time, it was the Snakes' pitchers who shone on the mound as the Rockies were limited to three hits.  D-backs starter Matt Koch allowed one run on one hit in four innings, striking out three with no walks. Nick Green came on for three more strong entradas, giving up one run on two hits while Braden Shipley pitched two perfect innings and struck out four for the save.  The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third when Arizona's Eduardo Escobar lashed a double to right that brought in Tim Locastro with the go-ahead run.  The Diamondbacks picked up a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on Idelmaro Vargas' two-run homer off Rockies reliever Ben Bowden. Koch took the win for Arizona while Colorado starter Tyler Anderson was tagged for the loss.  Attendance was a little better Sunday as 10,746 watched the action.

A pair of Mexican-born former MLB performers served as "ambassadors" for the two teams. Oaxaca native Vinny Castilla, who is currently a special assistant to Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich after a successful playing career as a third baseman and will manage Hermosillo in the Mexican Pacific League next winter, was on hand as the Rockies ambassador.  Erubiel Durazo, born in Hermosillo and a one-time Sultanes first baseman who hit .364 in the 2001 World Series for Arizona's only championship team, represented the Diamondbacks. He was joined by another D-Backs '01 hero, Luis "Gonzo" Gonzalez, a Tampa product who hit .325 with 57 homers and 142 RBIs that year.

The visit of two Major League teams to Monterrey was not all sunshine and lollipops, however.  The Hitazo website (edited by respected Mexican baseball writer Hector Bencomo) says the occasion also served as a platform for about 50 fans who appear to have purchased lifetime passes to events in Estadio Monterrey when the facility was completed in 1990.  Through legal representative Oscar Martinez, the group claims that the contracts they signed 29 years ago gives them free entry to any event held at the ballpark for fifty years, including the Colorado-Arizona series. Instead, they say, the Sultanes, who hosted last weekend's two-game set, are charging them 9,900 pesos (about US$500) for two annual box tickets and another 5,000 pesos (US$250) for parking in 2019.  According to Hitazo, Sultanes co-owner Jose Maiz has refused to comment on the impasse.

Sultanes sweep TJ, Tecos to take commanding North lead

Monterrey Sultanes pitcher Marco Tovar

Leo German and Chris Roberson led off the sixth inning with back-to-back doubles to break a scoreless tie as the Monterrey Sultanes went on to beat Dos Laredos, 4-2, in Mexican League action Sunday to complete a three-game sweep of the Tecolotes.  The Sultanes had a 6-0 week after going into Tijuana last Tuesday and winning all three games against the defending champion Toros and are now a Liga-best 32-13 while holding a five-game advantage over second-place Aguascalientes with just two weeks left in the LMB's Spring 2018 regular season.  Tijuana is third at 24-20 while Monclova holds fourth at 22-22, a game and a half ahead of 21-25 Durango.

Tecos starter Alexis Candelario carried a no-hitter through five innings in search of his first win of the campaign before German broke up the no-no bid and Roberson ruined his shutout.  Roberson eventually came in to score on an Agustin Murillo single while Sultanes newcomer Sebastian Elizalde plated Monterrey's fourth and final run of the frame on a single by Yadir Drake, who ended the inning when he was thrown out trying to stretch his hit to a double.  Dos Laredos did score a pair of runs off reliever Manny Acosta on consecutive hits by Gilberto Galaviz and Gustavo Nunez in the top of the seventh to shave their deficit to 4-2, but the Tecos went hitless the rest of the way as the border team went on to drop their eighth straight game while Monterrey conversely won their eighth straight.  Sultanes starter Marco Tovar tossed six shutout innings to go to 6-2 on the season while Candelario fell to 0-4 for Dos Laredos.

The bigger series for the Sultanes came earlier in the week, when they won all three games in Tijuana.  Tovar was splendid in winning Tuesday's 2-1 opener by scattering five hits and allowing one run for the victory, with Ramon Rios' solo homer in the top of the seventh the difference-maker in that one.  Monterrey won Wednesday's contest, 6-0, in a three-hit shutout as Murillo socked a three-run homer and starter Zach Dodson allowed just two singles over six frames before completing the sweep with a 3-2 win Thursday night as Roberson scored the go-ahead run on a Ricky Alvarez groundout in the top of the tenth.  Despite the high profile of the visitors and importance of the series, fewer than 16,000 fans attended the midweek three-game set at Estadio Gasmart.  The Toros are averaging 10,595 fans over 24 home games to make the relatively low turnout an eye-raiser but, as we'll detail next week, all may not be well in fan relations in Tijuana (at least with one fan in particular).

While Monterrey is five games ahead in the LMB North standings with 12 games left on the schedule, things are considerably tighter in the South.  Yucatan is 31-14 to hold a one-game advantage over 29-14 Quintana Roo while the 28-17 Mexico City Diablos Rojos are three games out of the lead.  Leon remains in fourth place at 23-22, although Puebla swept a three-game home set with Campeche to narrow the Bravos' lead for the final playoff berth to two games after the Pericos were four games out on Friday.

Puebla first baseman Daric Barton has taken over the lead in the LMB batting race with a .418 average, sixteen points ahead of Puebla's Sergio Perez.  Monterrey's Alvarez still leads the Liga with 13 homers despite not hitting a longball in over ten games, allowing Jesse Castillo of Monclova to catch up.  Castillo has homered in three of his last four games and now tops the circuit with 48 RBI's, two more than Alvarez.  Tijuana second baseman Isaac Rodriguez, the league's 2016 Rookie of the Year, has stolen 19 bases in 22 attempts to take the lead in that category over teammate Justin Greene, who's been out of the lineup since May 3.  Rodriguez had stolen a combined 22 bases over 171 games prior to this year.

Carlos Hernandez of Tijuana continued his great season Friday by going six shutout innings in Monclova to post his league-leading seventh win against one loss in a 3-1 Toros triumph.  Hernandez' 2.28 ERA is second on the table only to Yucatan's Jose Samayoa at 2.22.  Josh Lowey on Monclova is running away with the strikeouts title, whiffing 67 batters in 59 innings to take an 18-K lead over Saltillo's Raul Valdes.  Aguascalientes' Anthony Carter and Josh Lueke of Monclova are tied at the top with 11 saves each, one more than closers Maikel Cleto of Laguna and Monterrey's Wirfin Obispo.

A pair of midweek series with playoff implications will start Tuesday when Puebla visits Leon and Tijuana hosts Aguascalientes.  A couple of important sets are slated for next weekend when Aguascalientes visits Monterrey and Yucatan heads to Cancun to take on the Tigres as the top two teams in each division go head-to-head.

Firing season opens: Tecos toss Castro, Olmecas oust Jimenez

Former Dos Laredos Tecolotes manager Eddie Castro

Despite the pressure of winning within an abbreviated 57-game schedule this year, Mexican League owners showed remarkable restraint by not firing any managers during the first month the the Spring 2018 season.  However, no deed (good or bad) goes unpunished for long in the LMB as both the Dos Laredos Tecolotes and Tabasco Olmecas have made changes at the top in May.

Last Monday, the Tecos let veteran skipper Eddie Castro go after the Venezuelan had taken the team to a 15-24 record in the LMB Spring 2018 season.  Former Monterrey manager and big league shortstop Felix Fermin was tabbed to take over.  Castro had managed the club in Veracruz (when they were the Rojos del Aguila) since 2014, leading them to a playoff berth last year but otherwise putting together a less-than-imposing 206-273 record for the perpetually-undermanned team.  Castro has also managed in Tabasco, Puebla and Minatitlan.  Under Fermin, who managed in both Carmen and Monterrey before not being rehired by the Sultanes following last season, the Tecos have gone 0-6 after being swept in Aguascalientes and Monterrey last week and are currently in last place in the LMB North.  

Also on Monday of last week, the Tabasco Olmecas said goodbye to manager Alfonso "Houston" Jimenez.  A former MLB shortstop like Fermin, Jimenez was sent packing after taking the Olmecas to a 14-25 record.  This was the Mexico City native's second go-round with the Villahermosa squad.  He was 48-56 with Tabasco in 2015 and his recently-ended stint with the team was his eleventh managerial job in the Mexican League since he began managing the Saltillo Saraperos in 2009 and his fifth gig since 2014.  As of May 14, one week after he was released, Jimenez is still listed on the Olmecas website as their manager, leading one to wonder if their webmaster wasn't also fired.  Whoever is now managing Tabasco led them to five wins in six games last week, including both ends of a Sunday doubleheader in Oaxaca.  Much more of that and the team might actually release his name.

Female umpire to make Mexican League debut Tuesday

Mexican League debutante umpire Luz Alicia Gordoa

Mexican baseball history will be made Tuesday night when the Mexico City Diablos Rojos open a three-game series against Oaxaca at Estadio Fray Nano.  Luz Alicia Gordoa will be making her debut as a Mexican League umpire, becoming the first distaff arbiter in the LMB's 93-year history.  

The Sinaloa native made her professional umpiring debut last winter when she worked a few games in the Mexican Winter League, the LMB-affiliated winterball circuit, starting with a November 23 contest between Salamanca and Celayo.  The 41-year-old Gordoa's experience lies more in officiating soccer matches, which she did for two decades before giving baseball a shot.  She also played softball for 20 years before turning to umpiring the past five.  She was joined in the LIM by 34-year-old Paulina Barajas Castro of Mexico City, where she worked games in the Liga Olmeca youth baseball organization now headed by Carlos Fragoso as well as the Liga Lindavista and Liga Maya before joining Gordoa at the MLB Academy near Monterrey last fall.  

While Gordoa will be the first woman to umpire a Mexican League game, female umps have worked games in Minor League Baseball since 1972, when Bernice Gera worked one game in the Class A New York-Penn League before quitting after other umpires reportedly said they would not work with her.  A heated discussion with Auburn Phillies manager Nolan Campbell during the game didn't make Gera feel any more welcome.  However, that opened the door for future women umpires in MiLB.  Christine Wren worked in the Class A Northwest League in the mid-Seventies but the most notable was Pam Postema, who began umpiring in the late-Seventies and eventually spent 13 seasons working in the minors, including six seasons at the AAA level.  She umpired an MLB exhibition game in 1989, but was not rehired by the AAA Alliance following that season.  Postema then filed a sexual discrimination lawsuit against Major League Baseball that was settled out of court, but otherwise left the game to work as a trucker, factory worker and welder.  She wrote a 1992 book, You Gotta Have Balls to Make It in This League, in which she said, "I'll never understand why it's easier for a female to become an astronaut or cop or firefighter or soldier or Supreme Court justice than it is to become a major league umpire."