MEXICAN LEAGUE, ESPN 3-YEAR DEAL FORMALIZED

ESPN to stream LMB games for 3 years

    With days to go before the 2021 season opens, the Mexican League has reached an historic agreement with ESPN which includes the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. ESPN's carriage of LMB games will reach millions of fans in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a joint press release. Terms were not announced and there was no mention regarding availability of of Mexican League games to viewers in North America. ESPN gave exposure to Korea Baseball Organization games last year while Major League Baseball's season was placed on hold until late July due to the Wuhan virus.

    LMB president Horacio de la Vega said, “We are very proud to have reached this agreement so that the Mexican League can be seen on ESPN's multi-platform screens, which will bring us closer to the most fervent fans and will also allow us to conquer new followers and (why not?) inspire the next generation of baseball players in Mexico.”

    The head of the LMB highlighted the visibility that ESPN gives to the largest baseball league in Latin America, where hundreds of Mexican, American, Dominican, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, Panamanian, Colombian and many other nationalities take the field.

    "At ESPN, we are very happy to be part of this new stage of baseball in Mexico," said Gerardo Casanova, Head of Sports for the Walt Disney Company in Mexico. "We are proud to expand our relationship with the LMB, home to many of the best players in Mexico and Latin America, and as a brand, ESPN is leading the way in bringing baseball content from the region to fans across the continent."

ESPN executive Gerardo Casanova

    ESPN's coverage will include both regular season and playoff matchups. In all, 150 regular season games will be broadcast on ESPN's signal, including 14 games per week: Two on “online channels” every Thursday and Saturday, and 12 carried digitally via the ESPN app during the regular season. In the final phase of the campaign, there will be full series of Playoffs, including the opening rounds, Division Championships and the Serie del Rey in September.

    “Our alliance with ESPN is a home run with the bases loaded because today, it is essential to reach beyond people television,” concluded de la Vega. “The way of consuming sports content has evolved and that's how we've understood it. We want to reach a large audience through the different platforms that ESPN offers us.”

    The Mexican League season opens Thursday night when the defending champion Monclova Acereros host rival Monterrey in a single game. The rest of the LMB will begin play on Friday.

ROBERTO OSUNA, OLIVER PEREZ TO PITCH IN LIGA

Roberto Osuna returns to Diablos

    A number of players with years of MLB experience will be playing in the Mexican League this summer, and two more veteran pitchers have come to terms with LMB teams while a former All-Star infielder may also appear south of the border in 2021.

    Right-handed closer Roberto Osuna will be back in Mexico City on the team he made his pro baseball debut with as a 16-year-old in 2011. Osuna appeared in 13 games for the Diablos Rojos that year, mostly as a reliever, and went 0-1 with a 5.49 ERA. He was signed by Toronto in September 2011 for $1.5 million, of which all but $375,000 went to the Diablos (the signing bonus rules have since been changed by MLB more in favor of the player).

    The nephew of former MLB reliever Antonio Osuna made the jump from Class A to the Jays' 2015 opening day roster as a 20-year-old and went on to be named to the American League All-Rookie team that season. The younger Osuna posted 30 or more saves three times between 2016 and 2019, appearing for the AL in the 2017 All-Star Game and leading the junior circuit in 2019 with 38 salvados.

    Osuna was not controversy-free during his six-year MLB career, however. He was unavailable for a game with Toronto in 2017 due to an anxiety disorder, for which he received counseling from a psychologist. One year later, he was arrested and charged in the assault of the mother of his 3-year-old child. MLB handed down a 75-game suspension retroactive to the day of the alleged incident, during which the Jays traded the closer to Houston. Osuna went on to pitch for the Astros in their 2019 World Series loss to Washington, but arm problems shortened his 2020 season and he could not find any takers on the free agent market during the last off-season despite holding a showcase event in the Dominican Republic.

    Another reliever born in Sinaloa, Oliver Perez, has signed with the Tijuana Toros after earlier turning down an assignment to Class AAA by the Cleveland Indians. Perez made five appearances from the bullpen for the Tribe this season and allowed no earned runs, although he lost his only decision on April 17 in Cincinnati when he entered a 2-2 game in the bottom of the tenth and gave up an RBI single to Tyler Stephenson that plated automatic runner Sean Doolittle from second base.

    The 39-year-old lefty's time with Cleveland marked his 19th season in MLB, a record for Mexican-born players. Like Osuna, Perez cut his teeth in the Mexican League, although his 11 games with Yucatan in 2000 (going 3-2 with a 4.36 ERA for the Leones) came a year after he'd signed a contract with San Diego as a 17-year-old and appeared in 15 games for the Padres' Arizona Rookie League club.

Oliver Perez in World Baseball Classic

    Perez eventually reached the majors with San Diego in 2002 and went on to a star-crossed career in which he's pitched for eight teams, reaching the double-digit mark in wins three times, going 2-0 over 11 games in four postseasons and earning over $67 million during his MLB career (including a three-year, $36 million contract with the Mets signed in 2009). However, he's also battled control problems and injuries and was unconditionally released by the Mets before the 2011 season despite having another year and $12 million left on his contract. At that point, Perez' career was at a crossroads and he signed a minor-league deal with Washington and essentially started over with Class AA Harrisburg that year.

    At the suggestion of Nats' pitching coordinator Spin Williams, Perez reinvented himself as a relief pitcher after having been a starter in 196 of his 205 MLB games. He worked his way back to MLB with Seattle in 2012 and has exclusively been a middleman ever since. Perez is expected to come out of the bullpen for Tijuana manager Omar Vizquel and is being mentioned as a potential candidate for Mexico's Olympic team at the Tokyo Summer Games this year.

    One more former big leaguer who may play in the Mexican League is three-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Phillips, who recently uploaded an image of the Oaxaca Guerreros presenting him as a new team member on his Instagram account. Phillips spent part of the 2019 LMB campaign with the Guerreros' “big brother, the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, for whom he hit .267 with three homers and 15 RBIs over 36 games.

    A Georgia native, Phillips debuted in MLB with Cleveland in late 2002 after spending several seasons in the Montreal system. He played sporadically with the Indians and spent much time in the minors before being traded to Cincinnati at the beginning of the 2006 campaign. He became a mainstay in the Reds lineup for the next eleven seasons, averaging 17 homers and 17 steals and batting .279 en route to All-Star Game selections in 2010, 2011 and 2013 as well as four Gold Gloves at second base.

    The Reds traded Phillips to Atlanta prior to the 2017 season, picking up $13 million of the $14.5 million he was owed on the last year of his contract. Phillips was dealt that September to the Angels and signed as a free agent with Boston in February 2018. However, he only played nine games with the Red Sox, spending most of the year in the minors, and was let go following the season. After playing with the Diablos in 2019, he played eight games last year with the Baseball Brilliance team in something called the Yinzer Baseball Confederacy (a four-team collection of players from independent leagues playing all games in Washington, Pennsylvania) as well as a trio of exhibition games with the Frontier League Lexington Legends.

PIONEER LEAGUE TEAM TO CARRY ACEREROS PROSPECTS

Monclova to send prospects to Colorado

    A Pioneer League team in Colorado Springs, the Rocky Mountain Vibes, has entered an agreement with the Mexican League's Monclova Acereros to host some Acereros' minor leaguers this season. The Pioneer League was initially formed in 1939 and operated continuously operated from 1946 until last year, when the pandemic caused the suspension of the schedule. During the offseason, Major League Baseball decided they'd be better off without 42 minor league teams as affiliates, after which the Pioneer League (which had been a Rookie circuit since 1963) being forced into Independent status, although they have the dubious honor of being an MLB “partner.”

    The Vibes were created by an earlier shakeup of minor league teams owned by the Elmore Sports Group in 2019, who shifted the AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox to San Antonio after 30 years in the Pacific Coast League and then moving the Helena Brewers to Colorado Springs to fill the void in the city of 478,221. A Name the Team contest was held, but “Rocky Mountain Vibes” was chosen despite not being one of the five finalists (among which were Rocky Mountain Oysters, Colorado Springs Happy Campers and Colorado Springs Punchy Pikas). The Vibes went 32-43 their first season in 2019, drawing 137,296 to finish second to Ogden in the PioL attendance derby.

    Acereros owner Gerardo Benavides called the player-sharing arrangement with the Vibes a necessary step. “From the moment I made the decision to buy a Mexican League team, I knew what was needed to maintain it,” he said. “It was very clear to me that to win championships, it was necessary to develop talent. That is why we bet and trust in this challenge of exporting our prospects to a high-level league such as the Pioneer League.”

Colorado Springs baseball stadium

    Monclova sports manager Jose Melendez echoed Benavides' sentiments. “We as a club always have the vision of growth and of supporting prospects in their development,” said Melendez. “With the break of last season and the current one in our development leagues, we were fortunate to find the opportunity to play them in this renowned league partnered with Major League Baseball.”

    For his part, Vibes team president Chris Jones said in a press release, “We are beyond excited to begin a historic and what we all hope to be a very long affiliation and relationship with the Acereros of Monclova. Big thanks to Jose Melendez with the Acereros, the Elmore Sports Group and the great Colorado Springs community.”

    The Pioneer League will serve as a laboratory for MLB in 2021 with experimental rules in place for the coming season, including a home run derby to decide winners of games that are tied after nine innings.

ESPN TO STREAM MEXICAN LEAGUE GAMES IN 2021

Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega

    According to The Economist, ESPN is among the networks that will broadcast Mexican League games this summer. The LMB hopes to increase their audience spectrum and improve the economic conditions of all 18 teams. The announcement was made during a virtual league press conference last week, but no specific dates were given for ESPN live coverage. Other channels involved in 2021 will be TV Azteca, Multimedios and Canal 1.

    In an Assembly of Presidents meeting held in San Diego more than a year ago, it was determined that in 2021 the LMB will for the first time control the broadcasting rights of all member teams that comprise it to commercialize them collectively. One of the plans in the management of league president Horacio de la Vega is to increase its reach to spectators and promote teams beyond their local market.

    "Leagues like the NFL have managed to improve a lot in production issues to create a more competitive league," de la Vega says, "so that the teams can have better conditions when making a global negotiation. For that reason, this agreement has been made. "

    The Mexico City Diablos Rojos and Monterrey Sultanes were among the most affected franchises, since they already had lucrative contracts with SKY Sports, an ESPN competitor. The Proceso website detailed that the economic blow for the Diablos will exceed five million pesos (about US $ 250,000) with this decision.

Diablos executive president Othon Diaz

    According to information provided at a press conference by the Diablos' executive president, Othon Díaz, the process consists of packaging the games to sell them at three levels (A, AA and AAA). Each television station is assigned a certain number of games, depending on the amount that has paid, so that in the end all teams are on different channels

    In addition, Diaz pointed out that in conjunction with the league, it will allow local television stations to carry important games.

    “In the case of local television stations, especially at the state level,” says Diaz, “they have normally broadcast the teams' games. There is a matter of negotiation where through the sale of the rights for those cities, the local television station only has the possibility of broadcasting in the city or state where it has been negotiated with the league.”

PURO BEISBOL: PACHO FIRED AFTER BACKING MAZATLAN MAYOR

Ex-Venados manager Juan Jose Pacho

    Juan Jose Pacho has apparently been given an object lesson in the perils of bringing politics into the workplace. According to Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros, Pacho was fired by the Mexican Pacific League's Mazatlan Venados organization after appearing in a photograph standing next to current Mazatlan mayor Luis "El Quimico" Benitez Torres at a recent campaign event. Benitez stepped down as mayor in March to take a three-month leave until June 7 to focus on his re-election campaign.

    Benitez and the City have been at loggerheads with Venados owners Jose Antonio Toledo and his family ever since Estadio Teodoro Mariscal reopened in time for the 2018-19 LMP season after undergoing US$18 million worth of renovations. The first dispute involved three clandestine water lines discovered by the City at the facility early that season. 

    After the state-owned Jumapam water utility determined that the Venados owed them 12.9 million pesos, water to the ballpark was shut off in late November and city staffers closed the ballpark to fans in the stands until the bill was paid. The imbroglio lasted into December before an uneasy settlement was arrived at and the stadium opened back up to ticketbuyers.

    Differences between the City and the team flared up again last year when employees of the municipality evicted the Venados staff from their ballpark offices and padlocked the 16,000-seat facility in April after violations of the signed lease were cited. The Toledo family also had their concessions contract at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal terminated. That was a particularly hard pill to swallow for the Toledos, who had managed concessions there since 1980 and were able to build up enough wealth to purchase the team from the Mazatlan-based Pacifico brewery in 2005.

    The team was forced to operate out of temporary offices away from the ballpark and while Mazatlan had been awarded last winter's Caribbean Series by the Pan American Baseball Conferation (COPABE), the standoff carried into June and COPABE head Juan Francisco Puello was threatening to move the tournament elsewhere if his organization was not given access to the stadium during the event. Eventually, Benitez relented and the Venados were allowed to occupy Estadio Teodoro Mariscal for the 2020-21 season and the Serie del Caribe, but the dispute concerning the ballpark lease has still not been resolved.

    With that as back story, it had to come as a shock to the Toledos when the picture of Pacho and Benitez at a rally surfaced in early April. The former shortstop was relieved of his managerial duties during last season (the third time he's managed the club) but had remained on the payroll as a consultant while supervising a children's baseball school.

Mazatlan mayor Luis Benitez Torres

    A Salon de la Fama member as a player, Pacho first became the Venados skipper after replacing Dan Firova amid the 2004-05 season and led the squad to the LMP pennant and a Caribbean Series title, Mazatlan's first, that season. The Deer also copped the 2005-06 Mex Pac flag but Pacho was eventually let go with thanks, as all managers in Mexico experience. He replaced Miguel Olivo at the helm during the 2015-16 campaign and once again led them to the pennant and CS crown that winter but was eventually let go again. This time around, he was brought in to replace Joe Alvarez after the latter left with the team in first place during the 2018-19 season and held the post until he was sent back to the front office last winter.

    Now, however, the 59-year-old Pacho (who was fired shortly after his birthday) has apparently crossed a bridge too far by appearing to support a mayor that has been anathema to his team owners for the past two years. He will likely hop on the Mexican managerial merry-go-round and find a new job as dugout boss elsewhere because nobody seems to be out of work for long as long as they've had past success, and there may have been a lesson learned in what can happen when you back a politician who has been the bane of your employers' existence.

SALON DE LA FAMA MEMBER JORGE FITCH DIES AT 87

Jorge Fitch as Puebla shortstop

    Sinaloa native Jorge Fitch, one of the best shortstops in Mexican baseball history, died last Thursday due to health problems. His son of the same name reported in a statement on social networks that the senior Fitch had passed away after turning 87 on March 30.

    The former player and manager had battled serious problems for a long time after suffering a stroke. One of Fitch's last public appearances was two years ago in Reynosa at the reunion of the 1969 Mexican League champion Broncos.

    A member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame since 2001 (when he was inducted along with catcher Rudy Sandoval, first baseman Jack Pierce and utilityman/pitcher Pedro Ramirez), Fitch was considered the Mexican League's best shortstop during a playing career that lasted from the late 1950's into the mid-1970's, especially with Puebla and Reynosa. Playing winterball in the Mexican Pacific League, he also stood out in the middle infield with Hermosillo, Obregon and Navojoa.

    Born in Novalato, Sonora on March 30, 1934, Fitch broke into pro baseball at age 22 with the Fresnillo Mineros of the Class C Mexican Center League in 1956. Despite only batting .203 with five homers and 39 RBIs over 87 games while committing 25 errors at shortstop, he was acquired by the Mexico City Tigres for 1957 and spent three seasons with the team, socking 10 homers and stealing 25 bases under manager George Genovese in 1958. However, it wasn't until after Fitch was dealt to Puebla in 1960 that he hit his stride.

    Fitch topped the .300 batting mark in each of his first two years with the Pericos, for whom he spent eight summers and won one pennant (1963) while finishing second twice (1964, 1965). In the timespan, Puebla put together one of the strongest infields in LMB history with 1B Ronnie Camacho, 2B Moises Camacho, SS Fitch and 3B Jose “Zacatillo” Guerrero. Fitch and Moi Camacho (no relation to (Ronnie) formed an airtight keystone combo and all four are members of the Salon de la Fama.

Fitch passed away at 87 last week

    By 1969, Fitch was member of the Reynosa Broncos, who won the Liga pennant despite batting just .259 and hitting 44 homers as a team (pitcher Salvador Sanchez' 22-12 record and 1.84 ERA might have had something to do with their first-place finish). Fitch played one more year with the Broncos and spent 1971 in Tampico, where he was teammates with the legendary Hector Espino and a 22-year-old pitcher named Adan Munoz, whose yet-to-be-born son Adan caught 21 years in the LMB and is now manager in Quintana Roo. After that season, Fitch retired as a player at age 37, although he came out of the dugout to play 21 more games for Reynosa in 1974 and 1975 when he was managing the Broncos.

    Fitch played 1,670 games in his LMB career, collecting 1,676 hits for a .272 average. He spent nine winters playing in the Mexican Pacific League with Hermosillo, Obregon and Navojoa, batting .250 on 469 hits to give him a total of 2,145 safeties in both leagues. In addition to his managerial experience in the Mexican League, where he went an overall 525-518 with two flags over seven seasons, Fitch managed the Mex Pac's Tijuana Potros for several winters during the 1980's and won the LMP pennant in 1987-88.

LMP OPENS SEASON, FANS IGNORING PROTOCOLS

Monterrey Sultanes veteran Jose Amador

    The Mexican Pacific League opened its 2020-21 season last Thursday with a full slate of five games, four with fans in the stands. Two more teams received approval to allow a limited amount of seats to be sold at home games to bring the number to eight of ten LMP franchises. The only two clubs being required to play behind closed doors are Monterrey and Jalisco, where governors of their respective states have ruled out audiences at sporting events.

    In Monterrey, the Sultanes trounced the visiting Jalisco Charros, 14-4, with no paid onlookers at Estadio Monterrey behind the big bat of veteran Jose Amador. The 41-year-old Mexicali native crashed a pair of doubles and a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning off Jalisco starter Elian Leyva en route to a seven RBIs for the night. Another veteran, ex-Diamondback pitcher Edgar Gonzalez, was far from sharp on the mound (10 hits and 4 runs over 5 innings) but he didn't have to be as his Monterrey mates chased Leyva after three frames (9 hits, 3 walks and 8 runs) and cracked 19 safeties for the contest. Henry Urrutia had a good night in a losing cause for the Charros by collecting three hits, including a double and homer.

    The largest crowd among the four games with people in the seats was in Obregon, where 7,982 fans witnessed a 7-5 Yaquis win over Mexicali. Carlos Sepulveda had three hits, including a two-run double, and drove in three counters for the winners, but it was Tirso Ornelas' sixth-inning solo homer off Aguilas reliever Nicolas Heredia that broke a 5-5 tie in what proved the game-winning hit. Mike Choice belted a solo homer for the Eagles, who also two hits from Balbino Fuenmayor, including a double and two RBIs.

    While the home team won both above games, visitors were victorious in the other three contests. One of those were the Mazatlan Venados, who came away with a 5-2 triumph in Los Mochis. A crowd of 4,251 looked on as Ramon Rios stroked a two-run single for the Deer while Issmael Salas singled twice and drew a walk. Francisco Rios posted a strong start for the winners, allowing two hits over five shutout innings for the win. Eddy Martinez was 2-for-4 at the plate for the Caneros but Los Mochis starter Daniel Duarte was touched for five runs in five entradas, allowing five hits and walking another four to absorb the loss.

    Hermosillo took a 5-0 shutout win in Navojoa Thursday night, giving 3,107 (mostly) Mayos fans little to cheer about. Naranjeros starter Juan Pablo Oramas was sharp in the opener, sprinkling two hits and striking out eight batters over five innings for the win, sharing the whitewash with three relievers. Yadiel Hernandez socked a pair of solo homers for the Orangemen while Francisco Peguero and Luis Alfonso Cruz each went deep. Mayos opener Hector Velazquez took the defeat, but deserved a better fate. The former Red Sox hurler gave up Hernandez' first homer with two out in the bottom of the first, the only hit he would allow in five frames. Jorge Flores singled and doubled for Navojoa in the loss.

    Finally, Guasave pulled out a 6-4 road win over Culiacan in front of 7,349 spectators at Estadio Tomateros. Yadier Drake gave Algodoneros starter Thomas Dorminy offensive support with a grand slam while newcomer Erisbel Arruebarrena knocked out a roundtripper. Ramiro Pena led the Tomateros with three hits, including a two-run longball. Dorminy, a former Padres farmhand who went 7-1 for Chicago in the independent American Association this summer after stints in Australia and Taiwan, turned in five innings of two-hit scoreless ball for the Cottoneers to earn the win.

What's wrong with this picture?

    Fans in Culiacan were understandably happy to see their defending LMP champions back in action, albeit minus manager Benji Gil (who is out after testing positive for the Wuhan virus), but a few too many were willing to take being allowed to be in attendance for granted. Several were watching the games while not wearing masks and not maintaining safe distancing protocols, much of it caught on camera and later posted on social media.

    One particularly overheated Tomateros fan chose to bathe himself in beer as fans in the above tier of seating poured their cups on him as well, then doused nearby fans with beer from the bottom of one of the cups he was holding. The scene brought team owner Hector Ley down from the boxes for a chat and it's assumed that the fan is one of two who've been banned for the rest of the season after violating protocols so egregiously.

    Estadio Tomateros was not the only LMP ballpark where people in the seats were shown on social media and live television not wearing masks and sitting closer than procedures permit. Aurelio Vargas of El Fildeo reports “stadiums violating the limit of allowed capacity, no respect for healthy distances, fans without masks, small children, crowds in the entrance lines and a couple of scandalous drunks were the balance of this experiment.”

    The Mex Pac office in Guadalajara issued a press release on Friday denouncing the behavior in Culiacan and urging “all fans not to replicate this type of act and point out who is breaking protocols,” but opening night was not a good look for a circuit walking on eggshells in order to play games with live crowds during a pandemic.

MEXICAN LEAGUE TO SIGN NEW WORKING AGREEMENT WITH MLB

    As the clock ticks towards the expiration of a two-year working agreement between the Mexican League and Major League Baseball that likely cost former LMB president Javier Salinas his, job, the two sides are reportedly working on a similar document that will hopefully be on more equitable terms for the Mexican teams.

    Luis Miguel Vasavilbaso of ESPN reports that Liga president Horacio de la Vega is heading negotiations with MLB on the new pact. Although ten Mexican players were on playoff team rosters when the playoffs began earlier this month, the country is lagging behind fellow Latin American nations Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic in overall representation in MLB despite placing higher than all of them in the latest World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings released in February.

    Much of that has been due to a smaller talent pool due to baseball's secondary status to soccer in Mexico, where the latter has become the more popular sport in comparison to the other countries mentioned. MLB teams in the past have found it more expensive to sign prospects south of the border because they've had to negotiate with Mexican League teams who developed top young players (and whose rights they owned), paying the LMB team directly with a portion of the agreed-upon amount going to the player as a sort of bonus.

    According to Vasavilbaso, part of the new MLB/LMB working agreement is that all major league franchises will be able to sign Mexican players directly without restrictions. The LMB team who owns the player's rights in Mexico will be paid a percentage of the contract, essentially a reversal of the old policy. 

    What likely led to Salinas' ouster as LMB president was subsequently found in the fine print of the expiring agreement, especially one stipulation requiring a player to have been on the Mexican League team's roster for two years before the team could receive a portion of the contract the player signs with an MLB team. That policy will reportedly be dropped in the new arrangement.

MLB may play more games in Mexico

    Vasavilbaso adds that decreased tensions between the two bodies as a result of the new agreement could lead to more MLB exhibition and regular season games played in Mexico. While Monterrey has received the lion's share of such contests in the past, Mexico City's Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu was set to host a two-game regular series between Arizona and San Diego in April before the Wuhan Virus ended professional baseball across the Western Hemisphere. It's likely that MLB will make another effort to play in the capital city, while the Jalisco Charros owners have made no secret of their desire to land games in Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city.

    Big league clubs might even consider holding part of their training camps at sites in places like Sonora, a baseball hotbed state bordering Arizona to the north. Mexican League teams have often trained in the Phoenix and Tucson areas in the past (including this past spring), so the concept of crossing borders for spring training is hardly new.

    Vasavilbaso said the new contract between MLB and the LMB was expected to be signed this month, but no specific date was given. The Mexican Pacific League is not part of the negotiations.

AMLO ANNOUCES TWO BASEBALL ACADEMIES IN SINALOA    

Estadio Hector Espino, Hermosillo

    Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has formally announced that two of the country's proposed federally-funded baseball academies will be in the state of Sonora. El Fildeo's Alejandra Gonzalez writes that the academies are “part of ProBeis' initiative of positioning baseball as one of the recreational and professional options for young Mexicans.”

    One of the two academies in Sonora will be located at Estadio Hector Espino in Hermosillo while the other will be in Obregon at Estadio Tomas Oroz Gaytan. Both are former longtime Mexican Pacific League ballparks that were replaced in the 2010's. The other three ProBeis facilities are slated to be in Campeche, Veracruz and Texcoco (a municipality of 259,000 located 16 miles northeast of Mexico City.

    In a statement, Lopez Obrador said, “The selection of young players will be made and in addition to receiving accommodations and food, they will be granted scholarships.” While there are a number of baseball academies in Mexico operated by teams or the Mexican League itself in such places as Monterrey, Oaxaca, Mazatlan, Monclova and Tijuana, the ProBeis academies would mark the most concerted effort by the federal government to develop young players aged 10-18.

    The plan got off to a rocky start since the March 2019 formation of ProBeis (formally titled the Office of the Presidency for the Promotion and Development of Baseball in Mexico) because of funding issues. Executive director Edgar Gonzalez experienced the labyrinthian process of how money winds its way through the corridors of government. According to Proceso, he even paid one million pesos of his own money to fund his own office until 350 million pesos via the Ministry of Public Education finally arrived months after ProBeis was formed. This year, the allotment of 280 million pesos (a pandemic-induced 20 percent reduction) made its way through the Civil Ministry's Physical Education Excellence program.

Estadio Tomas Oroz Gaytan, Obregon

    A good chunk of that money has gone towards the purchase of the old Mex Pac ballparks. The Hermosillo facility, which housed the Naranjeros from 1972 through 2012, is costing the government 511.7 million pesos while the Obregon ballpark (used by the Yaquis between 1971 and 2016) comes with a 548.7 million peso pricetag. “What I hope is that before the government is finished, the first generation will come out and if we now have many good players in the major leagues, we are going to have many more so we made the decision to buy the two stadiums,” said Lopez Obrador about the project.

    While the physical academies are being developed, ProBeis has leased existing facilities for some of its activities. The most noteworthy may be the Mexican Prospect League, which completed its second season late last month in Guadalajara with the Juan Gabriel Castro team defeating the Joakin Soria team in the playoff finals. Three LPM youngsters signed contracts with major league organizations during the course of the short season: Outfielder Alex Osuna inked a deal with Texas, pitcher Roque Gutierrez came to terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers and fellow hurler Jose Reyes signed with San Diego. Four Prospect Leaguers signed with MLB franchises in 2019.