LMB HONORS AMADOR'S NPB SUSPENSION FOR 2018

Japhet Amador during happier times in Mexico City

The Mexican League will recognize hulking slugger Japhet Amador's suspension from Japanese baseball by not allowing Amador to play over the remainder of the Liga's regular season and throughout the Fall playoffs.  Earlier this month, the Mulege Giant was ruled ineligible for six months from Nippon Professional Baseball after testing positive for chlorthalidone and furosemide, both banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).  Amador has said he plans to appeal the ruling.

There was speculation that the LMB would allow Amador to suit up for the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, a flagship franchise who presently holds third place in the South Division with a 22-19 record and a likely postseason qualifier.  The Red Devils own Amador's Mexican League rights and billionaire majordomo Alfredo Harp Helu is the Liga's richest owner and a power among his peers.  However, last Thursday the LMB office in the nation's capital issued this Google-translated statement (with corrections for grammar only):

The Mexican Baseball League informs that it does not accept the movement by which the Meixco City Diablos Rojos sought the incorporation of Japhet Amador to their roster.  This is in support of the Japanese Baseball League (sic), which determined to suspend for six months after finding an adverse result in an anti-doping test for prohibited substances while playing for the Rakuten Golden Eagles team.

Amador tested positive for chlorthalidone and furosemide, according to a report by the Japanese League, chemical substances that are considered prohibited because they conceal the existence in the human body of other substances that improve physical performance.

The LMB promotes fair play and ethics on and off the field. Based on this premise, this decision was made. The league is still waiting for the investigation to end in the case of Japhet Amador.

The last time Amador played in Mexico City was in 2015, when he won MVP honors after batting .346 with 41 homers and 117 RBIs in 103 games. He'd certainly have provided a large boost to the Diablos, who beat Yucatan, 6-5, Sunday night at home on Daniel Jimenez' walkoff single that drove Jesus Fabela in from second with the winner.

The loss dropped Yucatan into second place at 24-18, a half-game behind 24-17 Puebla. The Pericos broke a tie with the Leones at the top of the standings by splitting a doubleheader in Campeche Sunday, losing the opener by a 3-2 count before winning the 4-1 nightcap thanks to Bernardo Heras' three-run homer in the top of the ninth. Leon has lost their last four games and seven of their last ten to fall from the LMB South lead into fourth place at 20-20, three games ahead of 18-24 Campeche in fifth.

The Monclova Acereros have won seven in a row to go to 32-9, best in the Liga and six-and-a-half games ahead of Dos Laredos. The 26-16 Tecolotes are a game up on Monterrey (25-17) while Tijuana (24-17) is right behind in fourth. Aguascalientes is three games out of playoff certainty with a 21-20 mark while Durango, Saltillo and Union Laguna all may as well be looking ahead to 2019.

While none of the upcoming midweek series are particularly compelling (Monclova at Aguascalientes looks the best), a potential dandy next weekend will be when Puebla visits Mexico City for three. The Pericos currently are two games ahead of the Diablos with fifteen games remaining in the regular season.

Yucatan's Leo Heras leads the LMB with a .429 average, 22 points ahead of Oaxaca's Yuniesky Betancourt's .407. Felix Perez of Monterrey is tops with 13 homers, and Puebla's Delmon Young continues to head the RBI list with 48. Tony Campana of Aguascalientes is still best with 19 stolen bases but Dos Laredo's Johnny Brown and Cade Gotta of Monclova are closing the gap with 17 swipes each.

Although the Mexican League is upholding its reputation as a hitter's circuit, five starters have ERA's of 2.03 or lower, four of them under 2.00. Monclova's Andre Rienzo (3-0) continues to head the list at 1.08, well below the 1.67 of veteran Jose Oyervides (also 3-0), who signed as a free agent with Dos Laredos for the Fall season after being released by Monclova following the Spring campaign. Mexico City's Patrick Johnson leads in wins with a perfect 7-0 record, Enrique Oquendo of Puebla's 54 strikeouts over 46 innings leads all pitchers while Monterrey's Wirfin Obispo and Josh Lueke of Monclova have 11 saves apiece.


LORENZO BUNDY SUCCEEDS BENJI GIL AS CULIACAN MANAGER

Former Culiacan manager Benji Gil in a quieter moment

Former big league infielder Benji Gil has unexpectedly resigned as manager of the defending Mexican Pacific League champion Culiacan Tomateros.  Longtime LMP skipper Lorenzo Bundy, presently managing Puebla in the Mexican League, was tabbed as Gil's successor in the Tomateros dugout.

The 45-year-old Gil was born in Tijuana and was the first Mexican to be picked in the first round of the MLB draft by Texas.  He went on to play all or part of eight Major League seasons between 1993 and 2003 with the Rangers and Angels, batting .237 with 32 homers over 604 games.  He was a member of Anaheim's 2002 World Series champions, going 4-for-5 with a double and scoring one run in the Halos' seven-game triumph over San Francisco.  Gil spent another eight years playing in the Mexican League for Tijuana, Monterrey and Chihuahua before retiring after spending a partial season with Oaxaca in 2011.

Gil also played 13 winters with Culiacan during his 19-year MexPac career during which he hit .263 with 64 homers in 669 games while winning four pennants and two Caribbean Series with the Tomateros.  He first became manager in Culiacan for the 2014-15 season and led the Tomateros to the LMP pennant before getting fired a year later after the club failed to reach the playoffs.  Gil was brought back to the Sinaloa city last fall and piloted the Tomateros to another pennant.  Although his ability to manage has been largely proven, Gil has also proven to be a volatile sort not averse to challenging his own players in the dugout or making obscene gestures after clinching a title on the road, but his departure from the Tomateros managership is for familial, not temperamental, reasons,  His son Mateo was chosen in the third round by St. Louis in the June draft and Benji said during a press conference that he wants to concentrate on Mateo's playing career in the Cardinals organization.  The elder Gil will take a consultant position in the Culiacan organization but his resignation two months before the LMP season begins drew consternation among Tomateros fans, who rank among Mexico's most devoted aficianados, as to who would replace him.

Enter Lorenzo Bundy.  The Philadelphia native was named as Culiacan's manager within days of Gil's resignation last week.  Bundy is no stranger to the MexPac.  He was let go in Hermosillo earlier this year after five seasons in his second stint managing the Naranjeros.  This winter will be Bundy's 25th season managing an LMP team after playing six years in the loop.  He's won pennants in Navojoa, Mazatlan and Hermosillo and won his 700th regular season game last winter, second only to Francisco "Paquin" Estrada's record 856 victories over 27 campaigns.  Bundy is currently in his first year managing the Mexican League's Puebla Pericos and has the Parrots leading the LMB South with a 24-17 record.  He's also coached in MLB with Colorado, Arizona, Miami and the Los Angeles Dodgers.


ENSENADA WINS SECOND STRAIGHT LIGA NORTE FLAG

LNM Finals MVP Yousamot Cota of Ensenada

A single by Ensenada's Yousamot Cota in the fifth inning drove in Luis Diego Rodriguez with the go-ahead run as the Marineros went on to beat San Quintin, 3-1, last Tuesday night at Ensenada's Antonio Palacios Sports Stadium.  The win gave the Mariners a 4-games-to-2 triumph over the Freseros in the Northern Mexico League championship series and a repeat pennant for the Liga Norte AA affiliate of the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and Oaxaca Guerreros, both owned by Alfredo Harp Helu.  Former MLB and Diablos catcher Geronimo Gil collected the title as Ensenada's first-year manager after replacing another former Mexico City star, Victor Bojorquez, in the dugout.

San Quintin took an early 1-0 lead in Game Six when Mario Cabrera scored on Fernando Inzunza's second-inning single but the Marineros knotted the score at a run apiece two frames later after Ramon Sesteaga's sacrifice fly to center field brought in Uriak Marquez from third.  Cota's RBI safety put Ensenada ahead for good in the fifth and a bases-loaded walk to Marquez in a later inning pushed Rodriguez across with an insurance run for the eventual winners.  Marineros starter Jesus Yave Estrada pitched one-run ball over five innings to earn the win while Luis Ramirez got the save.  Irving Machuca, who gave up the Cota single, was tagged with the loss for San Quintin.  Cota, a native of Hermosillo, was named the LNM Finals MVP after going 3-for-4 for Ensenada in Game Six while Italo Mota paced the Freseros attack with a pair of hits. 

The pennant is Ensenada's third in the Liga Norte, with the Sailors joining San Luis as the only two teams to never miss the postseason in the circuit's seven season.  The Marineros also won the LNM title after the loop was formed in 2012 following a split among teams in the Northern Sonora League, which dated back to 1944.  The LNS lasted another three seasons before going on hiatus after the 2014 campaign, a break that stretched into its fourth year in 2018.  Current LNM teams in Puerto Penasco and Caborca shifted to the Liga Norte following the LNS shutdown.

OAXACA PULLS INTO LMB SOUTH LEAD

Oaxaca catcher Erick Rodriguez with Alfredo Harp Helu

While the Monclova Acereros continue to dominate the Mexican League North Division, the Oaxaca Guerreros have ascended to the rare air of first place in the LMB South after sweeping a three-game weekend series at home over Saltillo.

The Guerreros have traditionally been one of the Liga's weak sisters, winning just one pennant (in 1998) since their 1996 inception.  Oaxaca rarely qualifies for a playoff berth and when they have, it's usually led to an early exit as the Warriors have only advanced from the first round once since 2005.  The team finished last in the LMB South with a 22-35 record for the Spring 2018 season and little was expected going into the current Fall schedule under new manager Joe Alvarez, who replaced Jose Luis Sandoval at the helm during the break between seasons.

Instead, Alvarez has led the Guerreros to an 8-4 record two weeks into the Fall season, giving Oaxaca a one-game lead over defending champion Yucatan and Campeche (both are 7-5) and a three-game bulge over Tabasco, Puebla and Leon, who are tied for fourth at 5-6.  The Guerreros capped their sweep of Saltillo with an 8-3 win Sunday after trailing 2-0 in the second inning.  The Guerreros reached Saraperos starting pitcher Arnold Leon for six runs on nine hits before Leon was yanked three batters into the fourth without retiring a batsman.  Jaime Brena had two singles, driving in a pair of runs and scoring once to lead Oaxaca's 14-hit attack as every Guerreros starter recorded at least one hit.  Angel Castro got the win after allowing three Saltillo runs in six frames as 2,885 watched at Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos.

Oaxaca has shown well early with decent work in both hitting (a team .295 average, sixth in the LMB) and pitching (a 3.91 ERA, good for seventh in the circuit).  The batting order has been led by 38-year-old catcher Erick Rodriguez, a six-time All-Star who was MVP of the 2015 game.  Now in his 18th season of wearing a Guerreros jersey, Rodriguez is hitting a robust .438 over 10 games to trail only Campeche outfielder Azael Sanchez (.500) and Yucatan shortstop Everth Cabrera (.460) in the early stages of the batting race.  Another longtime LMB vet, first baseman Adan Munoz, is batting .356 while former Cubs infielder Arismendy Alcantara is third on the Guerreros with a .314 mark.  Among pitchers, Irwin Delgado is 2-0 after three starts with a 1.59 that ranks eighth in the MXL and Castro's Sunday win over Saltillo gives him a 2-0 record, although his ERA rose to 2.37.  Closer Josh Judy (3.60), who came to Oaxaca from Tabasco last winter, has three saves in five outings.  While it would be unlikely to see the Guerreros remain at the top of the South standings, Alvarez has his players believing for now and fans in Mexico can at least hope to see someone new in the playoffs when the postseason arrives in September.

As mentioned, Monclova is pulling away in the LMB North with an 11-1 record.  The Acereros finally lost a game after winning their first seven, a 6-4 home defeat to Leon last Wednesday despite back-to-back fourth inning homers from Francisco Peguero and Cesar Tapia and a fifth inning solo shot by Jose Flores off Bravos starter Dustin Crenshaw.  The Steelers bounced back to win the rubber match with Leon before sweeping a three-game weekend set against Mexico City at home.   Peguero and teammate Rudy Amador are tied for fourth in the MXL bat derby with identical .432 averages and top pitcher Josh Lowey tops the loop in wins with a 3-0 record, although Lowey's 4.00 ERA is a bit high (for him) and his 17 strikeouts in 18 innings only ranks fifth.  New manager Carlos Garcia, who was brought in after Dan Firova was canned last month, has to be in the good graces of Acereros management for the time being, but volatile owner Gerardo Benavides has pretty much shown that nothing short of a pennant for his hometown team will satisfy him.  We'll check on Garcia's status when the playoffs are done.

While Campeche's Sanchez sits atop the batting table (that .500 average is likely to drop at some time), Monterrey's Ricky Alvarez has swatted six homers in nine games to take the lead in that category after going deep in all three games at Yucatan over the weekend as the Leones won twice.  Aguascalientes first baseman Felix Perez is tops in RBIs with 19 after 12 games.  A former Reds farmhand, Perez hit 40 homers in three seasons for Monterrey before being sent to the Rieleros prior to the Spring 2018 campaign, during which he hit 15 longballs to lead the MXL.  Another Aguascalientes newcomer, former Cubs outfielder Tony Campana, leads in stolen bases with nine swipes in ten attempts.

Among pitchers, Monclova's Lowey's three wins tops the MXL, one more than ten other hurlers with two wins each.  Tabasco's Adrian Garza has yet to allow a run after two starts and 11 innings while Andre Rienzo of Monclova has an 0.59 ERA in three starts and 15.1 frames.  Oaxaca's Castro and Enrique Oquendo of Puebla are tied for the lead in strikeouts with 22 apiece.  The early saves leader is former Mariners closer Tom "The Bartender" Wilhelmsen, now toiling for Tijuana.  The Tucson native, who pitched last summer for the Diamondbacks before sitting out the 2018 season until signing with the Toros for the Fall schedule, has five saves in eight trips from the bullpen.

The top upcoming midweek series appears to be in Monterrey, where the defending LMB North champs take a 6-6 record into a home series against 8-4 Oaxaca starting Tuesday.  The marquee weekend matchup will see the Guerreros' road trip take them to Tijuana, where they'll face a Toros team opening the week with an 8-4 ledger.  The six games will go a lot towards establishing whether Oaxaca is a genuine playoff contender or a pretender.  After the job manager Alvarez did with Durango last year, when the Generales played .500 ball for a month on the road before their first home game, one shouldn't count out the Guerreros just yet.


MEXICAN NATIONALS TOP COLOMBIA IN PRE-GAMES TUNEUP

Mexican Nationals celebrate Saturday win over Colombia

The Mexican National Team scored four runs in both the third and sixth innings Sunday and went on to beat Colombia, 8-3, at Estadio Monterrey in the second of a two-game tuneup series prior to the upcoming Central American and Caribbean Games, set to open later this week in Barranquilla, Colombia.  Mexico also won Saturday's opener in Monterrey, 8-7.

The Colombians led the second game early when a solo homer by Edwin Pomare gave the visitors a 1-0 advantage in the second inning.  However, Mexican starter Javier Solano settled down after that in an outing in which he earned the win by going four frames and allowing the lone run while scattering six hits and striking out three.  A Ricky Alvarez groundout in the bottom of the third brought in Amadeo Zazueta from third with the tying run and manager Enrique "Che" Reyes' squad plated three more tallies before being retired to take a lead they'd never relinquish.

Saturday's opener between the two countries ended up being much closer by the end as Colombia roughed up Mexico reliever Juan Noriega for five runs in the eighth inning, with Gerson Jimenez socking a grand slam and Pomare contributed a solo shot, but the host's lead proved insurmountable to the visitors as Raul Barron hurled a scoreless ninth for the save.  Mexican starter Jose Samayoa went four innings for the win, giving up no runs on three hits with three strikeouts.  Amadeo Zazueta and Christian Zazueta each drove in a pair of runs for the victors, with Christian Zazueta belting a fifth-inning homer (the only roundtripper for Mexico in the two games).

Following Sunday's contest, Reyes told the press, "After these two games, I see that the Mexican team is ready for the Central American Games.  We just have to fine-tune some details and be prepared."  Mexico's opening game is slated for Thursday when they face Cuba, with Solano penciled in by Reyes as his starter.  Mexico will reportedly be the only country in the baseball competition to bring professional players to Barranquilla.


ENSENADA SEEKS TOP LNM PLAYOFF SEED, REPEAT PENNANT

Ensenada Marineros infielder Edgar Duran

The Ensenada Marineros have a 26-13 record to top the Northern Mexico League second standings with nine games remaining in the regular season, hoping to make a clean sweep of both halves for the defending Liga Norte champions and the top seed for the upcoming playoffs.  Managed by former MLB catcher Geronimo Gil, the Marineros have a comfortable five-game lead over San Quintin and Caborca, who are 21-18, heading into a three-game home series against Puerto Penasco opening Tuesday night.  Ensenada will close out the schedule with road series at Tecate (July 20-22) and Puerto Penasco (July 24-26) before the playoffs open.  The Marineros won the LNM's first half title and the accompanying eight points by finishing 26-20.

Ensenada is led offensively by infielder Edgar Duran, whose .353 average is third in the LNM behind Caborca's Edgard Enrique Munoz (.363) and Josuan Hernandez (.359) of San Luis.  Among offensive leaders in the Liga Norte is longtime minor league infielder Jermy Acey of Puerto Penasco, who has 14 homers to lead Osniel Maderas of San Quintin by two.  Acey spent three years in the Blue Jays system between 2003 and 2005 before embarking on a 13-year odyssey that's taken him to independent leagues across the globe along with Mexican League stints in Minatitlan, Tabasco and Veracruz as well as an 11-game run with Obregon of the Mexican Pacific League last winter, hitting .175 for the Yaquis.  Caborca's Munoz tops the Liga Norte with 82 runs scored and a remarkable 19 triples (his nearest competitors have five three-baggers) and San Quintin's Maderas is first with 77 RBIs. 

Santiago Valdez of San Quintin has a 10-2 record to lead Liga Norte pitchers in wins despite a 4.24 ERA that won't impress many.  That's a category led by Caborca's Misael Silverio, whose 1.71 ERA augments his 8-2 record after 17 starts.  Silverio's Rojos moundmate, Jorge Luis Castillo, has the most strikeouts with a dominant 123 whiffs over just 96 innings, or 12.7 K's per nine innings.  Castillo is 6-1 in 14 starts.  Among LNM closers, San Quintin's Luis Castillo tops the table with 19 saves, two more than Ensenada's Luis Ramirez.

The Northern Mexico League consists of six teams with players and coaches supplied by two Mexican League teams apiece, and is considered the top Class AA league within the country's baseball system.  The current incarnation of the LNM was formed in 2012 after a split amongst teams from the states of Sonora and Baja California.  Ensenada won the pennant last year (its first since 2012) by defeating the San Luis Algodoneros in seven games in the league championship series.  The Marineros are co-affiliated with the LMB's Mexico City Diablos and Oaxaca Guerreros, who themselves are both owned by billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu.

LNM Finals: 10th inning doubles give Ensenada Game 7 win

Back-to-back doubles by Alberto Querales and Edgar Duran with one out in the bottom of the tenth inning gave the Ensenada Marineros a 3-2 win over the San Luis Algodoneros Wednesday night in Game 7 of the North Mexican League championship series, ending the season with the LNM flag going to the Pacific coast city for the first time since 2012.

The Marineros drew first blood in the bottom of the third when Orlando Pina lofted a leadoff homer against Cottoneers starter Daniel Bloch, one of two hits Bloch would allow in three-and-two-thirds innings of work.  Ensenada took a 2-1 lead three innings later when Querales led off the sixth with his first double of the night, moved to third via a Duran sacrifice and scored on a single from 37-year-old Barbaro Canizares.  Canizares is a former Cuban National Series star who had a cup of coffee with Atlanta in 2009 and led the Mexican League with a .396 average in 2011 for Oaxaca before setting a Mexican Pacific League record with 20 homers in 2011-12 for Obregon (who won three consecutive LMP titles while Canizares played there).

Ensenada's two-run advantage was quickly erased in the top of the seventh when, with two out, Juan Carlos Torres singled and Jackson Valera crashed a two-run homer for San Luis against Marineros starter Arturo Florentino, who'd been working on a no-hitter until Torres broke his spell.  The 2-2 tie carried into extra innings.  Lazaro Leal's two-out double in the top of the frame put the go-ahead run on second for the Algodoneros, only to see the threat die when Jesus Caporal's fly ball was caught for the third out.  After Roman Sesteaga grounded out to open the bottom of the tenth for Ensenada, Querales doubled off veteran hurler Francisco Cordoba, a San Luis native who spent 12 seasons in the LMB (mostly with Quintana Roo) and compiled a 63-63 Liga career record.  Cordoba then served up a walkoff double to Duran that plated Querales with the pennant-winning run.

It was a fitting way to close the season for Ensenada, a team that won both halves of the Liga Norte schedule to finish the regular season with a 52-31 overall record before sweeping Puerto Penasco in the first round of the LNM playoffs.  Duran had an MVP-worthy season for the Marineros, leading the circuit in both runs scored (81) and RBIs (77) while finishing second in homers (16) and sixth in batting (.334).  For his part, Querales gave Ensenada another solid bat in the order by finishing fourth in batting (.339) and third in RBIs (67) while Canizares hit .369 with ten homers (tied for sixth) in just 44 games as the Marineros hit .296 as a team while scoring 6.3 runs per game.

Puerto Penasco infielder Jermy Acey, a longtime veteran of independent leagues north of the border, led the LNM with a .358 average while Marcos Vecionacci of San Quintin edged Duran for the home run crown with 17 longballs.  Caborca's Carlos Colmenares and Randy Reyes of Puerto Penasco tied for the lead in stolen bases with 22 swipes each, with Colmenares caught stealing twice while Reyes was gunned down eleven times.

Elian Leyva of Puerto Penasco turned in an 11-3 record to lead the Liga Norte in wins while Ensenada's Wanel Vasquez (who was rocked by San Luis in Tuesday's Game 6) came in second with 10 triumphs.  Leyva also had a league-best 1.18 WHIP.  Vasquez topped the loop with 92 strikeouts in 96 innings, but he also gave up 43 walks and unfurled 14 wild pitches en route to a 3.66 ERA.  Marineros starter Alexis Lara also had a standout season on the mound, going 9-2 and leading the LNM with a 2.96 ERA.  Ensenada closer Rafael Cova, who did not pitch in Wednesday's Game 7, was easily tops in saves with 20.

Each of the North Mexican League's six teams receive the majority of their players from two Mexican League teams.  The Marineros, managed by former LMB star Victor Bojorquez, are affiliated with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos (Bojorquez' former team) and Oaxaca Guerreros, both owned by billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu. Another Diablos-Guerreros affiliate clinched the Academy AA League pennant in late July but the parent clubs are in danger of missing the Liga postseason.

Ensenada wins both Liga Norte halves, playoffs open Saturday

Jermy Acey, interviewed by actor Branscombe Richmond

The Ensenada Marineros parlayed a four-run eighth inning into an 8-5 comeback win over Puerto Penasco Thursday night to clinch the North Mexico League's second-half championship with a 25-17 record, one game ahead of the 24-18 San Quintin Freseros.  Alberto Querales went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs for the Marineros while Miguel Rodriguez slashed a two-run double in the decisive eighth, giving the home team a final season record of 52-31 and winning both halves to collect 16 total points toward playoff seeding.  Defending champion San Quintin (48-36) finished second in both halves to come in at 14 playoff points.  San Luis (40-43) came in third with 10.5 points and Puerto Penasco (41-43) rounds out the playoff field as the Tiburones picked up 11.5 points.  Caborca (37-45) and Mexicali (31-51) will both miss the postseason.

The Liga Norte is considered as Class AA within Mexico's pro baseball structure, with each of the circuit's six franchises sharing affiliations with two Mexican League teams.  The LNM is one of two AA leagues in the Mexican system; the other plays at the Mexican League Academy campus near Monterrey.  Ensenada is a farm team for the Mexico City and Oaxaca that (unlike their all-Mexican LMB parent clubs) has ten non-Mexican players on their 29-man roster, including San Diego-born infielder Nick Guerra, considered "nationals" via his Mexican-American status.  Guerra hit .250 in 25 games for the Marineros.

A minor league veteran outfielder from Texas had a banner year at the plate in the LNM this summer. Puerto Penasco outfielder Jermy Acey, a former Blue Jays farmhand who's played independent ball since 2006, led the Liga Norte in batting with a .358 average and 106 hits, finished third in RBIs (63) and tied for sixth in homers (10).   San Quintin's Marcos Veccionacci's 17 roundtrippers were tops in the loop while Edgar Duran of Ensenada led in RBIs with 77.  Vecchionacci had an MVP-type year for the Freseros, finishing third in the batting derby at .344 and coming in second to Duran (81) with 72 runs scored.  Duran was another standout, hitting .334 (sixth in the Liga Norte batting derby) and coming in second with 16 homers.

There are several LNM Pitcher of the Year candidates for 2017.  Elian Leyva of Puerto Penasco went 11-1 to lead the circuit in wins, followed by the 10 victories of Ensenada's Wanel Vasquez.  The latter registered 92 strikeouts to tie San Quintin starter Yeiper de Jesus Castillo and matched San Luis' Daniel Bloch for fourth on the ERA table at 3.66.  Leyva was also first with a 1.18 WHIP, finished third in ERA with a 3.34 mark (Ensenada's Alexis Lara was first at 2.92) and fourth in strikeouts with 78 ponches.  Ensenada closer Rafael Cova's 20 saves topped the chart, followed by Caborca's Loiger Luis Padron's 15.  Cova had a 1.87 ERA with 40 strikeouts over 33.2 innings.

The Liga Norte held its All-Star Weekend at Puerto Penasco, culminating with a June 10 Sonora win over Baja California by a 3-1 score.  Cuban Lazaro Leal of San Luis was named Game MVP.  Before the All-Star contest, Leal's Algodoneros teammate, Juan Carlos Torres, won the Home Run Derby.

The Liga Norte playoffs will open Saturday with a pair of semifinal games.  Top-seed Ensenada will host #4 Puerto Penasco while second-ranked (and 2016 titlist) San Quintin hosts San Luis.  The winners of the best-of-seven series will collide in the North Mexico League's Championship Series in another set scheduled for seven games, starting July 25.

Liga Norte's 2017 season underway

While the Mexican League receives the lion's share of attention of baseball fans during the spring and summer as the nation's top professional loop, Mexico's "second circuit" has quietly gotten its 2017 season underway in the northwest corner of the country.

The Liga Norte de Mexico (or Northern Mexico League) serves as a de facto Class AA league for the LMB, with each of the LNM's six teams sharing affiliations with two Liga teams.  Although the league has only been around in its present form since 2012, it dates back to the 1940's under the name of Liga Norte de Sonora, from which current LNM teams broke away five years ago.  The San Quintin Freseros (Campeche, Quintana Roo) are the defending Liga Norte titlists after defeating the San Luis Algodoneros (Monclova, Puebla) in seven games in last year's championship series.  After the Tecate Toritos dropped out following the 2016 season, the LNM roster includes the following teams for the current campaign:

Caborca Rojos
LMB affiliates: Laguna, Yucatan
President: Jesus Leon Garcia
Manager: Leo Arauz
2016 record: 24-50 (no playoffs)
Pennants: 1966, 1975, 2004, 2011
Ballpark: Estadio Heroes de Caborca (5,000)
Website: somosrojosdecaborca.com.mx

Ensenada Marineros
LMB Affiliates: Mexico City, Oaxaca
President: Juan Manuel Arellano
Manager: Victor Bojorquez
2016 record: 42-32 (lost to Tecate in first round)
Pennants: 2010, 2012
Ballpark: Estadio Deportivo Antonio Palacios (5,000)
Website: marineros.com.mx

Mexicali Centinelas
LMB Affiliates: Aguascalientes, Monterrey
President: Jose Luis Rodriguez
Manager: Ruben Estrada
2016 record: 42-32 (lost to San Quintin in semifinals)
Pennants: 2015
Ballpark: Estadio B'Air (17,000)
Website: none

Puerto Penasco Tiburones
LMB Affiliates: Saltillo, Tijuana
President: Alcalde Kiki Munro
Manager:  Alejandro Lizarraga
2016 record: 34-40 (lost to San Quintin in first round)
Pennants: 1974, 1978, 2013
Ballpark: Estadio Francisco Leon Garcia (3,500)
Website: www.tiburonesdepensaco.com

San Luis Algodoneros
LMB Affiliates: Monclova, Puebla
President: Francisco Ochoa
Manager: Tim Johnson
2016 record: 39-35 (lost to San Quintin in championship series)
Pennants: 1998, 2000, 22002, 2003
Ballpark: Estadio Andres Mena Montijo (2,500)
Website: algodonerosdesanluis.com.mx

San Quintin Freseros
LMB Affiliates: Campeche, Quintana Roo
President: Vicente Garcia
Manager: Benito Camacho
2016 record: 42-32 (defeated San Luis for league championship)
Pennants: 2016
Ballpark: Estadio Dr. Miguel Valdez Salazar (2,200)
Website: freseros.com.mx

Undoubtedly the most-recognizable name on the above directory is San Luis manager Tim Johnson, a former major league shortstop who managed the Toronto Blue Jays to a third-place finish in the American League with an 88-74 record in 1998.  However, after Johnson admitted that stories he'd told Toronto players about his Vietnam War battle experience (when he'd really been a reservist who never left the country) led to his dismissal in the offseason.  He has since managed teams in the Mexican and Mexican Pacific leagues as well as a number of independent clubs in the States, the apparent victim of a blackball in organized baseball north of the border.

The Liga Norte's 84-game regular season opened April 4 and will conclude July 13, with an LNM All-Star Weekend slated for June 9-11 in Puerto Penasco.  Heading into the current midweek series, defending champs San Quintin sits atop the standings with a 15-9 record, one game ahead of 14-10 Ensenada and three up on 12-12 Ensenada and Puerto Penasco.  Jeremy Acey of Puerto Penasco leads the batting tables with a .393 average, San Quintin's Osniel Maderas has five homers while Juan Carlos Torres of San Luis
is tops with 21 RBIs.  Yeiper de Jesus Castillo of San Luis has the most wins among LNM pitchers with four victories, Castillo's Algondoneros staff mate Miguel Ruiz has a league-leading 34 strikeouts and Ensenada hurler Wanel Vazquez' 1.01 ERA is the lowest among starters.

CABORCA TOPS ENSENADA IN 7 GAMES, WINS LIGA NORTE TITLE

A bases-loaded triple by Adan Velazquez (pictured) in the seventh inning pushed the eventual winning runs across the plate as the Caborca Rojos went on to defeat the Ensenada Marineros, 5-3, in Game 7 of the Mexican Northern League championship series on August 16. The Marineros built a 3-0 lead until the fateful seventh, when the Rojos plated all five of their runs en route to dethroning Ensenada as the kings of the Liga Norte. Ramon Cairoz had tossed six frames of scoreless ball for the Marineros, but Caborca teed off on relievers Marlon Arias, Florencio Bustillos and Francisco Butto, a former Caribbean Series MVP.

Tijuana won the regular season title with a 48-30 record, 1.5 games ahead of the 46-31 Rojos. However, Caborca beat the Truenos 4 games to 3 in one semifinal series while Ensenada eliminated Puerto Penasco in six games, setting up the title set.

Jeremy Acey of Caborca led the LNM in batting with a .427 average and his 99 RBIs were tops in the league. Another Rojos extranero, Jason Bass, hit a Norte-best 20 homers.

Daniel Perez, who won the final game for Caborca led Liga Norte pitchers in wins with an 11-2 record, Wington Concepcion of Tijuana had a 1.71 ERA and Agua Prieta’s Santos Hernandez topped all hurlers with 125 strikeouts in 84 innings.

MEX PAC CONSIDERS, TABLE EXPANSION

The Mexican Pacific League held their monthly assembly April 28 in Mexicali, including league chairman Omar Canizales, league manager Oviel Dennis and directors of all eight Mex Pac teams. There were a number of topics for discussion, including possible future expansion of the circuit into Tijuana and Ensenada.

Tijuana is no stranger to the Mex Pac, having had teams in the league in the past. Though the city would be the LMP’s largest, it has also had a spotty history in baseball with teams coming and going at an alarming rate. A Tijuana entry in the independent Golden League had to move to Yuma, Arizona in the middle of last season due to problems. The Mex Pac has held preseason tournaments there with some success.

Ensenada does not have the population base Tijuana does, but its Marineros are one of the stronger franchises in the Class A Northern League (in which Tijuana also has an entry, the Potros) as well as funding for a new ballpark. The addition of either city would lessen the isolation of the Mexicali Aguilas, who are almost 500 miles away from Navojoa, the closest other LMP rival. Both Tijuana and Ensenada have applied for LMP franchises.

Expansion was ultimately tabled for later discussion but it’s not likely to go away soon in the Mex Pac, although attendance problems in Navojoa may have to be dealt with first.  While the other seven LMP teams drew 5,000 or more fans per game last winter, the Mayos averaged fewer than 2,000.

LIGA NORTE TO OPEN SEASON ON APRIL 14

The Mexican Northern League is slated to open its 2011 season on Thursday, April 14 with a lineup of eight teams on the league rostrum. The defending champion Ensenada Marineros will host the Tijuana Truenos in the first of a 72-game regular season schedule that will last into mid-July, followed by a six-team playoff.

There had been concern in the offseason that both Ensenada and Tijuana might be forced to withdraw from the LNM because the two Baja California cities represented costly road trips that some of the remaining league teams in Sonora could not afford to make, but at a January meeting, it was determined that they would be back in the fold for 2011. However, Tecate has dropped out of the league and been replaced by the Magdalena Membrilleros this year. Groups from Mexicali and Puerto Penasco have applied for membership but the requests were tabled until a later date.

The LNM is considered a “Class A” league and affiliated with the AAA Mexican League. Liga Norte teams will be allowed to carry 28 players, including four imports, but only two players age 30 or more (one Mexican and one extranero). The circuit began in 2000 as the Liga Norte de Sonora, but changed its name after the later addition of teams in Baja California.

BASEBALL FEST HELD IN ENSENADA

A four-team baseball festival was held in the Baja California city of Ensenada in early October on the heels of a similar event in Tijuana. The Ensenada fest consisted of three daily doubleheaders, a home run derby and autograph signings.

The Ensenada Marineros of the Mexican Northern League were the home team for the three-day round-robin tournament held October 5-7, hosting the Mexicali Aguilas, Obregon Yaquis and Hermosillo Naranjeros of the Mexican Pacific League. The Marineros won the LNM pennant last summer by defeating Guaymas in the title series in five games.

Marineros president Juan Arellano, who organized the festivities, said, “We spent one year trying to bring a baseball event for the people of Ensenada with teams from the Mexican Pacific League.” Mexicali manager Dave Machemer added, “I’m very happy to be here in Ensenada.”

ENSENADA TOPS GUAYMAS FOR LIGA NORTE CROWN IN FIVE-GAME FINALS

The Ensenada Marineros defeated the Guaymas Ostioneros, 4-0, on August 9 to cop the Mexican Northern League championship series in five games over the defending champions. Dominican pitcher Alexis Candelario went seven shutout innings for Ensenada to win the LNM title clincher while Jose Alexis Galician took the loss after allowing three runs in 6.1 frames.

Ensenada finished with the second-best record in the LNM at 49-21, but the Marineros were third in points behind 40-26-2 Caborca in points, 6.5 to 7.0, because (for whatever reason) the league decided not to award points for the second half in which Caborca went 11-16-1 while Ensenada was 20-10.

Tijuana finished first both halves with an overall record of 54-14-2, but was bounced from the playoffs by Guaymas in the first round in seven games. Ensenada eliminated Caborca, 4 games to 1.