STATE GOVERNMENT BARS CHARROS FROM BALLPARK

Estadio Charros in 2019

    Much attention over the past few months has been given to whether or not the Mexican League expansion club Guadalajara Mariachis would be allowed to play their home games at Estadio Charros in neighboring Zapopan, a bizarre turn of events has led to the team that owns the facility bearing their name was recently denied entry to the ballpark by the Jalisco state government.

    After front office staff of the Mexican Pacific League's Jalisco Charros were turned away at the entry gates by State officials, the government released a statement that read, “It is not an eviction. Under the Code, administrators of the site and the State Government took possession of the property to supervise and review its infrastructure.”

    After an ownership group led by Armando Navarro and Salvador Quirarte bought the LMP's Guasave Algodoneros franchise in April 2014, they moved the team into the 8,500-seat Estadio Panamericano, which had been built to host baseball and track & field events during the 2011 Pan American Games. Remodeling was performed that summer to include the expansion of permanent seating to 11,500 spectators in time for the renamed Charros' inaugural 2014-15 season. Another stadium remodel in 2015 increased capacity once again to 13,000 seats while a third renovation in 2017 brought capacity up to its present 16,000 seats in order to accommodate both the 2018 Caribbean Series and the 2019 World Baseball Classic. In all, 705 million pesos (US$35 million) in State money has been invested in the stadium's construction and renovation costs.

Estadio Panamericano in 2011

    While the stadium is named after the Charros, who are in charge of the facility (including maintenance and upkeep), it is owned by the State of Jalisco. The statement from the government also read that “It is important to remember that at this time, it is the off-season of the Mexican Pacific League (LMP), a competition in which the Jalisco Charros participate. Therefore, there is no right to use the stadium at this time.” If the statement is taken at face value, the State is keeping the Charros out while they inspect the ballpark structurally while also announcing that an official record will be drawn up regarding the events that are being carried out there.

    However, one prominent Mexican baseball writer appears skeptical that those are the only factors in the Charros' being barred from the ballpark. Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros called the move an “eviction” and that it was related to the ongoing legal dispute between the aforementioned Navarro and Quirarte. The latter was dismissed from the organization last November amid allegations of financial irregularities in his role as team president, and lawyers for both men have since hurled brickbats at each other in dueling press conferences. The dispute appears headed for a courtroom and has hurt the image of both the Charros and the league.

WOMAN DEBUTS IN TOP SINALOA MEN'S SEMIPRO LEAGUE

RHP Rosi del Castillo

    A star pitcher on Mexico's Women's National Baseball Team made her debut Sunday in the Clemente Grijalva League, a fast-paced semipro circuit one month into its 64th season in Sinaloa. Rosi del Castillo started for the VP El Fuerte squad against Ejido Mexico Abarroteros in Los Mochis, going 2.1 innings and allowing two runs on one hit and three walks with one strikeout before exiting the contest with a blister on the middle finger of her pitching hand.

    Del Castillo became part of Mexican baseball history when she tossed five innings of hitless ball in Mexico's 16-0 no-hit win over Nicaragua at the Pan Am Women's Baseball Championship on August 18, 2019 at Aguascalientes' Estadio Alberto Romo Chavez in what was the international debut for both teams. She won awards for Best Starter, Most Wins and Lowest ERA as Mexico went on to qualify for the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup, which will hopefully be played later this year in Tijuana.

    Although she's gained some notoriety pitching in the women's game, del Castillo is no stranger to men's baseball. The 23-year-old right-hander from Puebla, who's been clocked at 78 MPH on the radar gun, pitched for the four-time champion Dolores Hidalgo Rookies in a Puebla men's league as a teen and also has spent 2015 and 2016 in the Yucatan-based Meridan League semipro circuit with the Tamanche Azulejos under manager Oswaldo Morejon, a former Mexican League infielder. Although del Castillo has almost only been the only female in any men's league she's played in, she's never been intimidated.

Del Castillo with 2019 awards

    Del Castillo told Linea Directa writer Armando Baldenebro prior to her first LCG start last weekend that she hopes to get support while encouraging other women ballplayers. “Well, I hope they support me a lot,” she said with a laugh, “and for my part I'm going to leave everything on the field. I want to play a good role to all those people who like baseball and, more than anything else, to continue inspiring the girls to practice this sport because we too can play it.”

    She described her pitching style as “passionate, dedicated and very disciplined. I feel that on the mound, I'm very calm. I like to always keep the rhythm of the game in each pitch more than anything and, well, always enjoy being there on top of the mound.”

    As one of Mexico's top semipro loops, the Clemente Grijalva League has eleven teams playing five games every Sunday (with one bye) and features many ex-pros as well as current professional players making unpaid appearances in the league in order to stay sharp for the upcoming Mexican League season. Two Guadalajara Mariachis veterans, Saul Soto and Jesse Castillo, have played this spring, as has longtime LMB third baseman Abel Martinez. Former major league pitcher Luis Ayala won his club's opening game on April 11 by a 5-2 score, with Ayala tossing five innings of four-hit ball and belting a homer en route to driving in all five of his team's runs.

LMP PRESIDENT CANIZALES REVIEWS DIFFICULT 2020-21 SEASON

Mex Pac president Omar Canizales

    Although the Mexican Pacific League and its predecessors have experienced hard times over 76 years as the country's leading winterball circuit, it's hard to imagine any of them being more difficult to navigate than a 2020-21 season that saw empty stands, game postponements and a work stoppage all caused by the Wuhan virus.

    LMP president Omar Canizalez, who just concluded his 12th season at the helm of the 10-team league, was interviewed by Septima Entrada's Carlos Meza Banuelos after the conclusion of the Caribbean Series in Mazatlan. The following is an edited Google translation:

    How did the Mex Pac do in the face of challenges brought on by the pandemic as well as changes in broadcasts of LMP games via SKY Sports of England?

    "I catalog it as extraordinarily positive. When so many leagues in the world could not carry out their tournaments while the scenarios were so uncertain, the fact that the 10 organizations of the league were able to conclude the season is a great achievement as was still receiving an international event like the Caribbean Series. I consider it extraordinarily positive.”

    On November 6, play was suspended in the league schedule for 11 days. Was it the breaking point of the LMP?

    "The uncertain scenarios and lack of knowledge about the virus taught us that, despite the protocol of more than 108 pages, that doing a weekly PCR was not enough. We had to find a test that gave the best results sooner. When we understood that this was happening, we stopped the league and we cut the chain of contagion. The decision to have stopped was the best. It was not on our stage, but it was key to concluding the season successfully.”

    What is the infection report?

    "We are collecting those reports. We have a general one, but there are many missing. In the last report, we had around 2,700 tests at the end of the season but the playoff results are missing."

Sparse attendance in Culiacan

    Was it the hardest year ever at LMP?

    "As far as I can remember, it was the most difficult, definitely. I do not have very distant information about any other situation that has put playing at risk and we have been playing continuously for 76 years. In economic terms, in losses that we ended up having, we expected lower losses. As we were not aware of the virus, we hoped that in October it would have already dropped to give the possibility of filling a quarter of the stadium in all the ballparks, but finally it could not be done in six of the ten ballparks."

    What did the year leave to improve for 2021-2022?

    "It left us many things to learn, such as the opportunity to make costs more efficient; and not necessarily to do everything in person. We understand that in the face of complicated scenarios, if we stick together, we can move forward with whatever challenge we face, strengthening relationship between players and management.

    “With the great effort that was made, plus the possibility of improving the topics of the broadcasts, there are always many things to improve.”

ADRIAN GONZALEZ TO PLAY IN GUADALAJARA IN 2021?

Adrian Gonzalez wants to play in Olympics

     Former MLB All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is reportedly interested in playing for the expansion Guadalajara Mariachis this summer after not appearing in a game since 2018. Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros cites sources as saying that “El Titan” has reached a verbal agreement to suit up for the Mexican League team and is training for the upcoming season with hopes of appearing for Mexico in the Tokyo Olympics.

    Gonzales, who was born in San Diego to Mexican parents and grew up on both sides of the border, was the first overall pick of the 2001 MLB draft by the Marlins out of Eastlake High School in suburban Chula Vista and went on to play 15 seasons in the big leagues. He played in five All-Star Games (representing three teams in both leagues), won four Gold Gloves at the initial hassock and reached the playoffs five times after his 2004 debut with the Rangers.

    However, after four strong seasons with the Dodgers between 2013 and 2016, Gonzalez' 2017 campaign was cut short by back problems and he landed with the Mets as a free agent in 2018, when he hit .237 with six homers in 54 games before being released on June 11 of that year. He hasn't played in a game since. Gonzalez' career MLB totals include a .287 batting average with 2,050 hits, 317 homers and 1,202 RBIs.

    Although he is not a Mexican by birth certificate, Gonzalez (who turns 39 on May 8) has represented the county in every World Baseball Classic since its 2006 inception while playing in a number of Caribbean Series with the Mexican Pacific League champions. Although Gonzalez has never played in the Mexican League, he played winterball for Mazatlan alongside brother Edgar in the LMP for several seasons.

    His past flirtation with returning to the Mex Pac as a member of the Jalisco Charros and his preference for the Mariachis as an LMB landing spot are both logical, given that wife Betsy is a Guadalajara native. Earlier news stories stating that Gonzalez was a partner in the LMB's other expansion team, the Veracruz Aguilas, have been denied, since playing for the Mariachis would create an obvious conflict of interest.

El Titan as prep star

    Guadalajara team president Rafael Tejeda has said he'd be happy to have the ex-MLB star on his roster. The club has not yet named a manager for the upcoming season, although Charros skipper Benji Gil's name has been floated in several media outlets, and Gonzalez has been mentioned as a possible player-manager. The LMB office frowns on such arrangements, however, and forced respected veteran Saul Soto to step down as manager in Aguascalientes to concentrate on his playing duties in recent years.

    Even if/when Gonzalez suits up for the Mariachis this year, his pathway to a berth on Mexico's Olympic roster will be a harder one to follow. Verdes Grande manager Juan Castro, who coached under Dave Roberts in Los Angeles when Gonzalez was a Dodgers player, has publicly stated that he already has several good options for first basemen (arguably Mexico's deepest position), including the likes of Efren Navarro, Matt Clark, Japhet Amador and Jesse Castillo. Castro stressed that Gonzalez' two-plus years away from the diamond and the LMB's late start may make it tougher for him to regain his timing at the plate in time for the Olympics, which begin in late July, two months after the Liga season opens.

    On the other hand, Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a baseball lover who handpicked Edgar Gonzalez to oversee the PROBEIS organization, directly intervened to keep four Mexican League teams from shutting down in 2019, forced the Mexican Pacific League to expand into Guasave and Monterrey that year and was behind the LMB's addition of both Veracruz and Guadalajara this season. As long as AMLO occupies the national palace in Mexico City, baseball and politics south of the border will never be far apart.

FOUR LMB TEAMS TO PLAY “BATTLE OF LEGENDS” IN PUEBLA

Pericos to host preseason tourney

    In a virtual press conference from Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City, the Mexican League's Puebla Pericos, Veracruz Aguilas, Oaxaca Guerreros and Mexico City Diablos Rojos announced a "Battle of Legends" preseason tournament scheduled take place from May 11-16 at Estadio Hermanos Serdán in Puebla. The event will consist of six doubleheaders among the LMB South rivals, although there will be no championship game. All contests will be broadcast live on social media for all four teams.

    The Battle of Legends will be carried out following sanitary measures prescribed by authorities in accordance with Mexico's “traffic light” system of dealing with the ongoing pandemic. The Mexico Daily News website on Saturday showed Puebla as one of eight states with “Orange Light” status, which means that limited activities with small or no public gatherings allowed. Conversely, Sonora joined Campeche and Chiapas as the three states with Green Light designations.

    Representatives of all four teams commented during the press conference. Pericos Sports VP Alfonso López said, “We're very proud of the work we've done. Hosting this tournament means that we've been doing things well in sports and administrative matters and we'll continue with the commitment to offer the fans the show they deserve.”

    Veracruz Sports Director Jesús “Chino” Valdez (who holds a similar role with the LMP's Mazatlan Venados) stated that “Without a doubt it will be a great test and very important for what we are doing in Veracruz...we hope to meet expectations and experience a competitive, joyful tournament and celebrate the return of the Mexican League.”

Estadio Hermanos Serdan, Puebla

    Mexico City GM Jorge Del Valle said, “The objective is to see these four great teams of our baseball heading towards the 2021 season. We are immensely grateful to all participants for making this a reality. You can be sure that the Diablos are going to take ourselves very seriously in this tournament.”

    And former second baseman Jaime Brena, Sports Manager of Oaxaca, said that, “We are very happy about participating in this tournament. It'll give us the opportunity to know which players we'll have in the regular season so we will take it as seriously as possible. We will bring a roster made up of 50 players.”

2021 BATTLE OF LEGENDS SCHEDULE
Tuesday, May 11: Oaxaca vs. Puebla, Veracruz vs. Mexico City
Wednesday, May 12: Mexico City vs. Veracruz, Puebla vs. Oaxaca
Thursday, May 13: Oaxaca vs. Puebla, Veracruz vs. Mexico City
Friday, May 14: Oaxaca vs. Veracruz, Mexico City vs. Puebla
Saturday, May 15: Puebla vs. Mexico City, Veracruz vs. Oaxaca
Sunday, May 16: Mexico City vs. Puebla, Oaxaca vs. Veracruz
GAME TIMES: First game 10:00AM, Second game 2:00PM

SEPTIMA ENTRADA REPORT: YEAR OF BASEBALL DURING PANDEMIC

    Ever since Mexico's first known positive case of the Wuhan virus was announced on February 27, 2020, the nation has been deeply affected by the subsequent pandemic, as have most of the world's countries. Baseball has been no exception, as Septima Entrada writer Irving Furlong details in this translated report noting the one-year mark of the virus:

Mexican Baseball League (LMB)

    The number of infections began to grow at the beginning of March, the same days that the teams of the Mexican League were starting the preseason, with some others beginning with their preparation games for the 2020 campaign.

    On March 14, the LMB office communicated its decision to postpone the start of the 2020 season to early May. As time passed and when conditions did not improve, league management decided to suspend the start of the campaign again until further notice. After several weeks of uncertainty, the Mexican League canceled its 2020 season on June 1.

    Now, the sights of the Mexican League are set on holding the 2021 season, with or without fans, and scheduled to start on May 20 with a schedule of 66 games per team.

Mexican Pacific League (LMP)

    Just a week after the summer league announced the cancellation of its season, the Mexican Pacific League confirmed its launch for the 2020-21 season, an edition that would be carried out "under the best possible conditions." Days before starting the regular season, the president of the circuit, Omar Canizales, announced a strategic alliance for five years with the gasoline company ARCO, thus transforming the name of the circuit to Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico.

    Three cities in Sonora and Mexicali received the green light to open stadiums with limited attendance, yet the decision was reversed after the first weekend. Sinaloa was the only state that remained with its four stadiums open, and thus began the LMP's journey to determine a champion for the 2020-21 season.

    After just two weeks, different teams began experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks inside their locker rooms. Before conditions got even more complicated, the LMP decided to suspend the season for 11 days. The recess allowed all the organizations to finish the season with the coronation of the Culiacan Tomateros as the two-time champions of the league.

2021 Caribbean Series in Mazatlan

    The winter leagues made every effort to start their tournaments and crown their respective champions except for Panama, which decided to put together a squad with players from the rosters of the participating teams. After fighting several adversities, the Caribbean Series 2021 could be held in Mazatlán, a tournament in which the Dominican Republic won the championship for the second consecutive season, making the Cibaenas Águilas the first undefeated championship team with a 7-0 record.

Suspension of the 2020 Olympic Games

    After a historic qualification to the Tokyo Olympics in November 2019 by achieving third place after beating the United States for the second time during the Premier12, a tournament that brings together the twelve best baseball teams in the world, the appointment of the Mexican Baseball Team with the Olympic dream had to be postponed with the suspension of the tournament.

    A few months after Tokyo rescheduled the largest multi-sport event of the planet for 2021, the Mexican squad was surrounded by uncertainty as its general manager and manager both decried of lack of resources to put together the roster to send the national team to the Olympics for the first time.

    Despite that, Adrián González, the best Mexican hitter in MLB history, has said that he will seek a place on some LMB team while looking to get in shape to represent Mexico in the Olympics. Juan Castro, manager of the Mexican team, responded to the message by warning that four months before the trip to Japan, it is difficult to consider a player who has been out of professional activity for two years.

Mexico won 2018 WBSC U-23 World Cup

WBSC World Cups in Mexico

    The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) was scheduled to hold five baseball world championships in Mexico during 2020, with the Women's Baseball World Cup and the U23 Baseball World Cup being the most important events of the world calendar.

    In the first, Mexico's women's team had qualified for the first time in history while in the men's tournament, Mexico is the defending champion after winning the title in Barranquilla, Colombia in 2018, the country's first world championship in the WBSC.

    Regarding the Baseball5 world championships, the WBSC did not even announce the dates on which they would be played. The U15 World Cup and the Women's World Cup were postponed to March 2021, but the two tournaments to be played in Tijuana were postponed indefinitely and the Confederation is still reviewing a final decision on rescheduling.

    The U23 World Cup, also delayed for a year, is expected to be held in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, and Ciudad Obregón, Sonora as announced in November 2021.

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST LMB PREZ RATIFIED

LMB president Horacio de la Vega

    Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros reports that the Mayor's Office in a Mexico City borough has confirmed the filing of a criminal complaint against Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega for his alleged "fraudulent administration" in the Magdalena Mixihuca Sports City of the nation's capital, when he was Director of the Sports Institute during the period between 2013-2018.

    Puro Beisbol obtained the copy of the original document with the complaint filed on July 30 with the Territorial Investigation Prosecutor's Office in Iztacalco against de la Vega and two other former officials, in addition to confirming its ratification on February 10 with new elements contributed by the affected party.

    The complaint was presented by Enrique Escamilla Salinas, Executive Director of Legal Affairs and legal representative of the Iztacalco mayor's office. De la Vega, who assumed the presidency of the LMB on November 26, 2019, has not declared anything about the criminal complaint against him.

    As part of the alleged "fraudulent administration," the current head of the LMB has been accused of awarding all contracts directly in the Sports City with millions of pesos that do not coincide with the works that were carried out. The documents point to one of these direct award contracts dating to 2017 with the minor maintenance of the baseball fields, whose company Pastos y Juegos Deportivos invoiced the amount of 15,037,906 pesos.

    On the other hand, the Mayor of Iztacalco considers the construction of a lake within the Sports City as one of the biggest frauds, which led to the destruction of five soccer fields and four basketball fields. The lake has been inoperative and is considered one of the most "fraudulent" works in Horacio de la Vega's administration at Indeporte.

    Another act that has aggravated Iztacalco authorities who now administer the Ciudad Deportiva is that the Mexico City Diablos Rojos built their new Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú ballpark within the complex but they have yet to pay a single peso since it opened on March 23, 2019. De la Vega awarded the team room for the stadium as administrator of the Sports City, and Ballesteros notes that it was the Red Devils who promoted him for the LMB presidency of the LMB with the support of the Monterrey Sultanes after his term as leader of Indeporte ended in 2018.

    Sources have informed Puro Beisbol that the Diablos have sought to negotiate these irregularities with Iztacalco mayor Armando Quintero Martínez. It's unknown if they have already reached an agreement with the team but in the case of de la Vega, what the Mayor's Office did was ratify the criminal complaint against him. "We are going to go to the end of the day," said an official for Quintero, who will seek re-election for another term as mayor.

SAN LUIS POTOSI TO HOST LMB PRESEASON EVENT

Estadio 20 de Noviembre

    The central Mexico city of San Luis Potosi is returning to the Mexican League (sort of) with a four-week series of weekend exhibition games between late April and mid-May. At this point, five LMB teams have signed on for at least one three-game series to be played at the 6,500-seat Estadio 20 de Noviembre. Organizers are hoping the San Luis Potosi Cup serves as a launching pad for future use of San Luis Potosi as a spring training site.

    The tournament, which will include Mexican League umpires officiating 12 single games, will be held to an as-yet-determined capacity in the stands. Game times will be at 7PM on Fridays, 6PM on Saturdays and 5PM on Sundays. “It is going to be a great, unprecedented event,” said SLP Cup organizing committee director Patricio Perez. “For a month, we want San Luis Potosi to be one of the main focuses of the LMB preseason, with a quality show on and off the field of play.”

    Perez envisions the competition leading to his city becoming a magnet for multiple Liga teams to conduct their training camps and exhibition games: “The idea is ambitious. We want to turn San Luis Potosí into something similar to what Arizona or Florida is for Major League clubs; that is, the base of training camps for clubs that wish to join in the future.”

    San Luis Potosi is a city of more than 2.8 million residents (19th-largest in Mexico) that serves as capital of the similarly-named state north of Mexico City and south Monterrey. The region was once of the country's most prominent mining areas and it remains a leading industry there, although agriculture employs a large percentage of people and the service sector is growing.

    SLP has had five previous runs in the Mexican League. After fielding a team from late 1925 until early 1927 (during which the name Tuneros was first adopted) and again in 1934, when the team finished second, a third version of the Tuneros inaugurated Estadio 20 de Noviembre in 1946 and played there until moving to Mexico City early during the 1952 season. Another Tuneros squad played in the Class A Mexican Center League from 1960 through 1962 and again in 1971 before the LMB returned in 1986 to provide six more seasons in AAA ball (they were known as the Reales in 1991, the final season of SLP's second Liga stint). One more Tuneros squad played between 2004 and 2006 before the Liga and baseball left the city for good.

    Among the more prominent players to represent San Luis Potosi over the years have been Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo, Hector Espino, Leon Durham and Luis Tiant, Sr. Depite the array of talent, the Tuneros turned in just three winning records and one playoff appearance in 15 full LMB seasons .

    After the last incarnation of the Tuneros moved to Chihuahua for the 2007 campaign, conditions at Estadio 20 de Noviembre deteriorated to the point where only occasional concerts were being held there. The ballpark was remodeled in 2018 and hosted a preseason series between Mexico City and Oaxaca one year later. The SLP Cup will open on Friday, April 23 with a game between Monterrey and an undetermined opponent and wrap up Sunday, May 16 when Aguascalientes meets Guadalajara. Durango and Leon are the other teams scheduled to play.

SAN LUIS POTOSI CUP 2021 Schedule
April 23-24-25: Monterrey Sultanes vs. TBD
April 30-May 1-2: Durango Generales vs. Aguascalientes Rieleros
May 7-8-9: Monterrey Sultanes vs. Leon Bravos
May 14-15-16: Aguascalientes Rieleros vs. Guadalajara Mariachis

CASTRO ACCUSES CONADE OF BLOCKING OLYMPIC FUNDS

Olympic team manager Juan Castro

    After defeating the United States along the way and qualifying via the 2019-20 WBSC Premier12 tournament to play in the Olympic Games for the first time, Mexico's national team is standing still and without funding towards the Summer Games scheduled to be held this July and August in Tokyo. In an interview with Mexico City's Proceso, Mexican manager Juan Gabriel Castro and GM Kundy Gutiérrez launched a call for help and publicly denounced that CONADE, led by Ana Guevara, has kept the resources that the federal government had already assigned them.

    Guevara and CONADE (an acronym for National Commission on Physical Culture and Sports) have come under withering criticism in the past several months for their handling of various sports at the national level. According to Proceso writer Beatriz Pereyra, five months prior to the start of the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Mexican Baseball National Team was “ruined” after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador left the project in the hands of Guevara, CONADE's General Director. She has since been accused of corruption, poor monetary practices, involvement with bribes and other irregularities during her first year in that office in a recently released162-page audit.

    In Mexico's first Olympic baseball commitment in history, the national representative must arrive in the capital of Japan no later than the end of June to comply with the 14 days of isolation required by the protocol for the covid-19 pandemic, allowing the players and coaches to get used to the time change and play a series of preliminary games. Pereyra says that means the baseball team has only four months to be ready, but so far there isn't even a working shortlist of an itinerary.

    In an interview with Proceso, Castro and Gutiérrez called for assistance so CONADE will begin to disperse the budget assigned by the federal government and they can start hiring and working with a team of scouts, statistical analysts, physical therapists, nutritionists, specialists in doping and psychology.

CONADE director Ana Guevara

    “We wanted to keep quiet because we were waiting for what was going to happen,” said Castro. “We can no longer be silent and we have to be honest with people. I don't want to lie. The project had already been in place for a year, the Olympic Games were postponed and everything stopped. Last October, they told us that we were going to start and four months have passed and everything is still stopped.”

    Gutierrez adds that the allocated money amounts to 28 million peso to be used to form a pre-selection of 150 players which will be refined until there are 28 players: 24 for the active roster and four reserve players. Then there the services of the coaching body and the salaries of the aforementioned personnel, as well as the costs of accommodation, food, logistics in Japan and requirements related to the Wuhan virus. From Gutierrez' point of view, it is urgent to be certain when the resources will begin to flow, since the people they have contacted to work with the Verdes Grande are already being hired by other teams.

    Six nations are slated to compete in Olympic baseball this summer. In addition to Mexico, host Japan, South Korea and Israel occupy four of the berths, while two more qualifying tournaments are due to determine occupants of the final two slots.

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.

SULTANES, CULIACAN PLAYERS POSITIVE FOR VIRUS

Sultanes players at Estadio Monterrey

    With less than two weeks remaining until the scheduled start of the Mexican Pacific League's regular season, Puro Beisbol reports that a number of players on two of the LMP's ten teams have tested positive for the Wuhan virus in their respective camps.

    According to columnist David Braverman, Monterrey Sultanes team members (seeking anonymity) said that about ten players, coaches and staff members tested positive for the virus last Tuesday at the city's Swiss Hospital. Results were reported Thursday and Friday. Among those alleged to have tested positive were pitchers Freddy Quintero and Norman Elenes, infielder Ricardo Serrano, two coaches (including Placido Pinto), a batboy and four others whose names were not disclosed.

    Braverman says that despite the significant number of positive cases, neither the Sultanes nor the LMP office provided information in the matter while the team continued its preseason training camp at Estadio Monterrey. Braverman cites reports from staff members at the Fiesta Inn where the team is concentrated as saying “the players circulate throughout the facilities without restrictions, including those who tested positive, and only rearranged the allocation of rooms to host pairs who were infected.”

    Several Monterrey players are “extremely concerned” after recent months in which they've taken great care with their families but now feel that Sultanes' upper management, led by executive president Guillermo “Willie” Gonzalez and sports manager Jesus Valdez, has not handled the problem seriously. Gonzalez has reportedly rarely been seen at either the ballpark or hotel due to his commitments to radio programs dedicated to soccer.

Tomateros players in training camp

    Meanwhile, Puro Beisbol editor Francisco Ballesteros reports that Culiacan Tomateros players tested positive for the virus, leading the defending Mex Pac champions to cancel their exhibition series in Guasave over the weekend. The team says a total of eight players and five staff members were affected, including Tomateros manager Benji Gil. Incoming pitcher Manny Barredas had tested positive prior to reporting to Culiacan last Thursday, according to the Cronica website in Jalisco. Mazatlan Venados players have reportedly also turned up in positive testing.

    The Mexican Pacific League season is due to begin Wednesday of next week with games in five different ballparks including Estadio Tomateros, which is being allowed to let in up to 40 percent of the stadium's 20,000 seating capacity (or about 8,000 fans) to start the season. The LMP is hoping to be the only professional baseball league in the world to open its season on time and with fans in the stands this year despite the pandemic.

PERICOS WIN COVETED GOLDEN STEVE AWARD FOR SPORTS PROMOTION

Puebla Periocos owner Jose Miguel Bejos

    Despite not being able to play a game in 2020 after the Mexican League canceled its schedule due to the Wuhan virus, the Puebla Pericos were still able to garner off-field accolades by winning a so-called Golden Stevie Award, an international business award handed out annually to organizations for effective promoting and marketing of their product. The Pericos won in the category of Communications and Public Relations in Sports for their “Bringing Back the Love of the Game” campaign over the past two seasons after the franchise was purchased by new owner Jose Miguel Bejos.

    An entrepreneur who heads both the Mota-Engil Mexico contracting firm and Grupo PRODI construction company, Miguel Bejos purchased the Parakeets after it was announced they would be one of four LMB franchises going dark for the 2019 season prior to Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordering the Liga to allow them to play.

    While the other three teams (Aguascalientes, Leon and Union Laguna) continued to struggle on and off the field, Puebla saw its attendance rise from an average of 2,712 per game over two 2018 seasons to 4,693 in 2019, an increase of 73 percent. In addition, the team has been active building their brand in the community, including the publication of manuals given to nascent fans to help teach them various aspects of baseball.

Manuals for potential Pericos fans

    A colonial-era city with a metropolitan population of 3.2 million people, Puebla has a long history in the Mexican League but support for teams has run hot and cold over the decades. The Golden Stevie Award at least implies that the Pericos are turning up the temperature. According to the Septima Entrada website, team spokesperson Ramon Ramirez said in a statement that “This confirms that with the Pericos fo Puebla, we are sure that this city is flying to the top of Mexican baseball because we offer innovative experiences for our fans both inside and outside the stadium. We also respond on the diamond by promoting young Mexican talent and we promote values through sports.”

    The Pericos, who follow the 2019 Golden Stevie sports award-winning Turkish Professional Soccer League, were chosen from more than 3,800 nominations from over 60 countries. More than 150 executives from the communications industry made the selection. The StevieAwards.com website says, “The Stevie Awards are the world's premier business awards. They were created in 2002 to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide. In short order the Stevie has become one of the world's most coveted prizes.

    “Past Stevie Award winners including Apple, Ford Motor Company, Procter & Gamble and Samsung.” And now the Puebla Pericos.

BASEBALL EQUIPMENT: MEXICAN BRANDS GAINING GROUND

    Most attention given to Mexican baseball is focused on the playing field, where the country has made enough strides globally to currently rank sixth in the World Baseball Softball Confederation's global rankings. However, Mexico is also gaining prestige (and business) from the manufacturing of baseball equipment like batting gloves, bats and fielders' mitts.

    The ElJonronero.com website ran a story last weekend regarding the growth of equipment manufacturers in Mexico. This is a translated version:

Jesse Castillo using Demon Slugger gloves

    Mexican baseball has had an important evolution in recent years from new stadiums, teams with a comprehensive professionalization, greater diffusion at the national and international level, to higher impact hires.

    In this context, various Mexican brands for baseball have been part of this growth and some of them have a higher preference even than foreign and popular companies for being of great tradition. Mexico has strong companies in baseball bats, mitts, gloves and other tools and accessories.

    Mexico is an important market, having professional baseball all year round, as well as great practice of this sport throughout the republic by young men and women of all ages.

The King of the Gloves

    Pablo López, a young businessman from Ciudad Obregón, heads Demon Slugger, a company specializing in gauntlets and grips for bats, the latter being the popular tapes that some players attach to their timbers to gain better grip.

    “This was born with the objective of providing better tools to hitters. We realized that the market for 'Bats Grips' was neglected by Mexican brands, that is why our focus has been to create products that help players to have greater control and grip at the bat, ” he commented.

    "The products have been widely accepted by the professional player, this due to the quality of the materials we use, the grip they provide and the design that they liked."

    In two years of existence, the Demon Slugger company has managed to position itself as one of the favorites by professionals, players like Jesse Castillo, Edson García, Carlos Sepúlveda, are some of the many players who connect with them.

The World of Bats

Ricky Alvarez eyeing a Valma bat

    Winning a place in the world of bats is quite a complicated task, with internationally positioned brands such as Marucci, Lousville, Hickory, etc., but the Mexican company Valma succeeded.

    "The experience has been very good, within the context there are many variants, because to get everything to be good there must be complications and sacrifices.", said Miguel Valle, founder of the company.

    In four years Valma was fully positioned in the national market, having working agreements with most of the Mexican professional baseball teams, as well as in semi-professional and amateur leagues and university events.

    The product has been so accepted by the baseball community that it has become an export material, both in Caribbean leagues and in Europe. Valma, has important international certifications, even his bats have been used in the Major League Baseball.

    “We have come into the hands of Mexican baseball and players who have been idols. It has been an experience that I will continue working to continue breaking more borders than those we have overcome. We have a quality product.”

Gloves that Follow a Legacy

    Ramón Montoya Enríquez, son of the legendary Ramón 'Diablo' Montoya, follows his father's legacy in baseball, but from another facet. The 'Diablo Montoya' brand of fielding gloves has been strongly positioned in recent years as one of the most satisfactory for the player.

    “It is a product that began with my father, Ramón “El Diablo” Montoya, precisely so that his legacy would continue within the field. For him, the colors red with white was his life. My father could spend 24 hours in the field,” commented the son of “El Diablo.”

    “We base ourselves on three points: quality, which is the most important thing. Hence the designs and that our brand is on par with a foreign glove,” he added.

    Based in Mexico City, but shipments throughout the Mexican Republic, these gloves have already been used by figures such as Iván Terrazas, Jorge Cantú, among others.

    Each of the brands have their social media platforms where they interact with their followers, in addition to their official sites where they offer their products, designs and colors.