MEXICAN BASEBALL FIESTA BEGINS 11TH YEAR

Beto Coyote and friends in Nogales

    The Mexican Baseball Fiesta will return to Tucson for an eleventh year for four nights, beginning this Thursday. The international event mainly comprised of teams from the Mexican Pacific League began in 2011 and completed its ninth year in 2019 before shutting down operations in 2020 due to Wuhan virus health restrictions.

    The MBF involves a partnership with Mexican Pacific League teams, many of which journey to the US for preseason training camps. The event is overseen by Mike Feder, a 30-year minor league general manager (15 of those in Tucson) as President of the MBF, and founder/partner Francisco Gamez, who played ten winters in the Mex Pac, which annually draws many more fans per game than any minor league north of the border.

    Mexican Baseball Fiesta games have an electricity in the air not seen during MLB spring training in February and March with music playing all the time, mascots on the field, fans dancing in the stands and authentic Mexican food like tacos, tortas and burritos instead of hot dogs and peanuts (although those are available at concession stands. Fans follow their teams across the border with such fierce loyalty and pass their love of the game on from generation to generation. It’s not uncommon to see three generations of families enjoying a game together, all wearing replica jerseys of their favorite team.

    From its roots in Tucson, the Mexican Baseball Fiesta has grown throughout Arizona and occasionally into California, Nevada and New Mexico. This year, the Fiesta increased its stay in the Phoenix area with an extra day in Maryvale, where the Hermosillo Naranjeros played single games against a team of Obregon, Navojoa and Guasave players at the Brewers spring ballpark September 23 and 24. That was followed by three doubleheaders in Mesa over the just-concluded weekend at Sloan Park, training camp home of the Cubs.

    The event now moves to Tucson (known to some as “Optics Valley” due to the 150 Tucson companies are involved in the design and manufacture of optics and optoelectronics systems) for seven games between Thursday and Sunday, beginning with an October 6 doubleheader featuring Obregon and Navojoa in the 5:05PM opener followed by a nightcap between Hermosillo and the University of Arizona. 

    In all, four LMP teams (Hermosillo, Obregon, Navojoa and Mexicali) will play in Tucson at Kino Stadium, an 11,500-seat former spring home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox as well as a Tucson Pacific Coast League team. The facility, which opened in 1998, is now used by the Tucson Saguaros, three-time champions of the independent Pecos League.

    Past ticket sales indicate that about 20 percent of the crowd is from Mexico. A few years ago, the Visit Tucson tourism organization did an economic impact study of the event and determined that the MBF generates over $1.5 million to Tucson's local economy. “We’re excited to partner with this great event for the eleventh year to bring Mexican baseball back to Tucson,” said Felipe Garcia, President/CEO of Visit Tucson. “The popularity of this event continues to grow, and we are proud to be a part of something that both locals and visitors look forward to every October. The Mexican Baseball Fiesta is the true definition of a quality cultural event and a boon to our community and economy.”

MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE TO OPEN SECOND SEASON

     The Mexican League will operate the Mexican Winter League for a second consecutive season in 2022. This year, the LIM will be split into three divisions: North, Central and South. Its objective, according to the LMB, is to promote the young talent of participating clubs.

   LMB president Horacio de la Vega Flores said in a press release, “We applaud the efforts of the organizations that are part of the LIM in 2022. Likewise, we thank the authorities of the Yucatan State government, their host municipalities, as well as the municipality of Poza Rica, Veracruz, promoters of the development of our young talents.

    “Alejandro Kirk, today a baseball star in the Major Leagues, was forged in this circuit a few seasons ago. Fans will appreciate the players who will shine in the near future, players who will be a source of inspiration, zeal and professionalism of those who came before them and who are currently figures of Mexican baseball.”

    The LIM's ten teams (including four combining players from two LMB clubs) and their home venues for the upcoming campaign are:

North Division
Monclova Acereros (Monclova Stadium), Monclova, Coahuila
Monterrey Sultanes (Estadio Monterrey), Monterrey, Nuevo León
Unión Laguna Algodoneros (Estadio de La Revolución), Torreón, Coahuila

Central Division
Mexico City Diablos Rojos/Oaxaca Guerreros (Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú), Mexico City, DF
Puebla Pericos (Estadio Hermanos Serdán), Puebla, Puebla
Veracruz Aguilas/Leon Bravos (Estadio Heriberto Jara Corona), Poza Rica, Veracruz

South Division
Aguascalientes Rieleros/Tijuana Toros (Campo Aureliano Centeno), Valladolid, Yucatan
Durango Generales (Campo Juan Rivero Alonzo), Tizimín, Yucatan
Guadalajara Mariachis/Tabasco Olmecas (Parque Miguel Hidalgo), Progreso, Yucatan
Yucatan Leones (Parque Eliseo Gómez), Umán, Yucatan

    Games in the North and Central divisions will begin on October 12 and one day later in the South. The regular season will close on November 27 in the South while in the North and Central, the schedule concludes on November 28. North and Central division clubs will play 24 games each while those of the South play a total of 28 contests.

    Central Division games will be played from Wednesdays through Sundays, with the exception of the fial game between Puebla and the Veracruz/Leon team on Monday, November 28. Games in the South will be held Thursdays to Sundays while in the North Division, games will be played without a set pattern with a maximum of two days of rest per team.

    In the Serie del Principe (Prince's Series) the champion will be defined and the best of five games will be crowned between December 3 and 8, closing at the ballpark of the highest-ranked seed. The title matchup will be determined by the top two teams based on the percentage of wins and losses, regardless of which division they belong to. In case of a tie, a run-differential formula will be used. If a team from the South Division reaches the Serie del Principe, they would play in Merida's Kukulcán Park, home of the 2022 King's Series (Serie del Rey) champion Yucatan Leones.

    The rosters will be made up of a maximum of 28 players from the LMB Reserve Lists, as well as players authorized by the Liga office and in the process of signing. The age limit is 25 years, with a maximum of six free agents, among which there may be three foreigners.

    The current defending champions of the LIM (Liga Invernal de Mexico) are the Monclova Acereros, who defeated the Puebla Pericos in five games for the 2021 pennant.

SALON DE LA FAMA 2023 BALLOT ADDS 11 NAMES

    The Salon de la Fama's Pre-candidate Nomination Assembly was held last Friday to implement the voting ballots for the Election of the new immortals of Mexican baseball for its 2023 induction ceremonies in Monterrey.

    Eleven baseball players to be added to the final ballot were announced together with eight unnamed candidates who are being carried over from the last vote in 2020, thus integrating a ballot with fourteen candidates in the Mexican Baseball Players Category and a new Card with five candidates in the Mexican Players Category with a minimum of 7 seasons in Major Leagues. Of the 19 names on the ballot, a maximum of five will be elected.

The eleven ballot newcomers selected were:

Players in Mexican Baseball Leagues: Miguel Flores, Germán Jiménez, Noe Munoz, Miguel Ojeda, Mike Paul, Roberto Ramirez, Javier Robles.

Mexicans with 7+ Years in the Major Leagues: Juan Gabriel Castro, Karim Garcia, Rodrigo López, Ismael Valdez.

    The Nomination Assembly was made up of Electoral Committee president Antonio de Valdes, Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega, Mexican Pacific League president Carlos Manrique, Salon de la Fama director Francisco Padilla Davila and Salon historian Horacio Ibarra.

    Results of the balloting will be announced in February 2023. The most recent election resulted in a Class of 2021 that included players Matias Carrillo, Vinny Castilla, Eduardo Jimenez, Isidro Marquez and Jose Luis Sandoval; veteran William “Bonnie” Serrell and journalist Jorge Menendez Torre.

AMID VENUE DOUBTS, CARIBBEAN SERIES TIX ON SALE

Tickets here being sold for '21 Caribbean Series

Even though the organization that oversees the Caribbean Series has threatened to move the event elsewhere in 2021 if an ongoing dispute involving the ballpark where it would be played isn't resolved soon, the host Mazatlan Venados have begun selling prime tickets for the weeklong Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball.

Last week, the Venados announced prices for seven-day tickets in prime seating at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal, with five days of doubleheaders between Sunday, January 31 through Thursday, February 4 for first round games preceding a semifinal twinbill on Friday, February 5 and the title game on Saturday, February 6.

The highest prices for the 13-game event are 28,600 pesos (US$1,187) for Deluxe Supreme seats in the ballpark's lower level behind home plate. The next tier involves Diamond seats, where patrons will pay 22,580 pesos (US$936) per lower-level seat from above both dugouts into shallow left and right fields, respectively. Finally, there are the Platinum seats at 19,570 pesos (US$811), which span all the second level of seats above the interior walkway from shallow left past home plate and into shallow right right. No tickets for upper deck, foul territory or outfield seats have been put up for sale. Online ticket broker Boletomovil says seats can be reserved for a deposit of 1,000 pesos (US$41), with the remainder to be paid by October 15.

In comparison, when Mexico hosted the 2018 Serie del Caribe in Guadalajara, the top price for a weeklong ticket was 19,500 (US$809) for lower level seats between third and first bases.

While putting premium CS tickets on sale in May would be standard operating procedure for both the Mexican Pacific League and the Venados, the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (COPABE) recently issued a press release stating that if the ongoing dispute between the Venados and City of Mazatlan is not resolved in short order, the Caribbean Series could potentially moved from the Sinaloa city to another venue. Citing various violations of the ballpark lease, officials from the City last month physically evicted the Venados from Estadio Teodoro Mariscal, placing padlocks on the facility, and terminated a concessions contact team owner Jose Antonio Toledo and his family have held since 1980.

Although the imbroglio is being called "political" on several Mexican baseball websites, where writers expect things to be resolved in time, a May 12 story on El Fildeo was headlined, "Don't Buy the Tickets Yet!" and detailed how COPABE will convene a meeting next month where if a signed letter from the Mazatlan City Council granting the Venados (and, by proxy, the LMP and COPABE) full control over the stadium for the Caribbean Series is not presented, the tournament may be moved to another city.

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC CANCELLED FOR 2021

WBC qualifiers in Tucson were already cancelled

Major League Baseball has cancelled next year's World Baseball Classic and a New York Post writer says it may not be played until 2023. The cancellation was first reported by Enrique Rojas on ESPN Deportes.

Joel Sherman of the Post says the WBC may be moved to 2023 amid the current Wuhan virus panic. The 2021 edition had been scheduled for March 9-23 with games in Taiwan, Tokyo, Phoenix and Miami. The postponement comes as no surprise, according to Rojas, because WBC qualifier events in March were called off indefinitely as MLB and other baseball organizations throughout the world placed their seasons on hiatus in reaction to the spread of the Wuhan virus. "It's not a priority right now," a source reportedly told Rojas.

Despite their close proximity to source country China, however, Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League opened their season on April 11 as scheduled while the Korea Baseball Organization began their schedule a few weeks later. Both circuits played early games in front of empty stands before the CPBL allowed up to 1,000 spectators per opening recently and are poised to increase that number to 2,000 live fans soon.

The delay of the World Baseball Classic puts the future of the event in doubt, Rojas says. He notes that the event was negotiated in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB (which oversees the WBC) and the MLBPA players union. However, the CBA will expire in December 2021 and the WBC would have to be renegotiated.

Mexico manager Juan Castro to focus on '21 Oympics

The two sides are at odds over an MLB proposal to slice player salaries in half because a proposed shortened season that would begin in July would include about half of the 162 games usually played in a full schedule. American League 2018 Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell of Tampa Bay articulated, "Y'all gotta understand, man, for me to go, for me to take a pay cut, is not happening...No, I gotta get my money. I'm not playing unless I get mine, OK? And that's just the way it is for me." Snell signed a guaranteed five-year, $50 million contract extension last year that is scheduled to pay him $7.6 million in 2020.

Mexico has played in all four previous World Baseball Classics (2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017), winning seven of 18 games, reaching the second round twice and defeating the United States in both 2006 and 2013. Cancellation of next year's WBC means National Team manager Juan Gabriel Castro will devote his full attention for the Verdes Grande on the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, which were rescheduled for next year after being postponed for 2020 due to the Wuhan virus.

PROBEIS BUYS BALLPARKS IN HERMOSILLO, OBREGON 

Estadio Hector Espino will need renovations

"Psssst...hey, buddy...wanna buy a used ballpark?"

While it's certain that such a sales pitch never took place, Mexico's federal government has indeed purchased a pair of former longtime Mexican Pacific League facilities for a combined 1.075 billion pesos (US$44.2 million) with an eye to using them as baseball academies in the future. Lots of numbers and currency conversions coming in this story, so be prepared:

According to Septima Entrada, Sonora's State Treasury Secretary Raul Navarro announced that Estadio Hector Espino in Hermosillo has been bought by federal agency Probeis for 511.7 million pesos (US$21.4 million). The ballpark served as home to the LMP Naranjeros between 1972 and 2012 before the team moved into the new, state-of-the-art Estadio Sonora in 2013. The older facility, renamed in 1976 after Mexican baseball legend Hector Espino (who played 24 winters in Hermosillo), seats 15,000 spectators and was the first ballpark in Latin America with a big screen and LED scoreboard, although the site has fallen into some disrepair. It was the site of six Caribbean Series tournaments and hosted a number of Arizona Diamondbacks exhibition games. The Naranjeros won 11 of their 16 Mex Pac titles playing there.

Probeis previously agreed to purchase Obregon's Estadio Tomas Oroz Gaytan for 548.7 million pesos (US$22.9 million) in May of last year. Funded by the Sonora state government (as was Estadio Hector Espino) and opened in 1971, the 13,000-seat Estadio Tomas Oroz Gaytan was home of the Obregon Yaquis for 45 years until Estadio Yaquis was christened in 2016. The older ballpark was named after a longtime baseball figure who served as Sonora's state treasurer from 1967 until his death in a car accident in 1973. The Yaquis, who won six of their seven LMP pennants playing at their former stadium, have not been able to recreate the magic at their new ballpark, where high ticket prices, a less accessible location and a less-competitive team on the heels of Obregon's three-time pennant winners between 2011 and 2013 have resulted in lower attendance figures.

Estadio Tomas Oroz Gaytan, Obregon

Probeis' stated purpose in acquiring the older facilities is to create regional baseball schools, in keeping with their mission of developing domestic interest and players for the sport, but they are not necessarily getting a bargain in either case. According to an April 20 story in El Heraldo de Mexico, Estadio Tomas Oroz Gaytan was given an overall value of about 221 million pesos (US$9.2 million) a year ago, which suggests the government paid 347 million pesos (US$14.3 million) more than the ballpark was worth. In an April 17 story, on the other hand, El Sol writer Enrique Hernandez says the federal government saved nearly 118 million pesos (US$4.9 million) in the purchase of Estadio Hector Espino, which was valued last year at 626.5 million pesos (US$26.2 million).

When the numbers are added up, that's a net loss of 229 million pesos (US$9.6 million) for the feds, who are paying for the ballparks out of a National Infrastructure Trust Fund created by former president Felipe Calderon in 2008 as an investment vehicle in several areas, including the "operation and transfer of projects with social impact or economic profitability." Current president (and Mexico's Number 1 baseball fan) Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is seeking to make the fund "disappear," Hernandez says.

Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta: Snapshots

I made it back home to the Pacific Northwest from Tucson Monday night, with a layover in Phoenix where I experienced my first-ever flight delay.  Only a half-hour late, nothing to complain about.  The little bag of mini-pretzels were wonderful.

Since you’ve already waded through four days and thousands of words from the Mexican Baseball Fiesta,  I’ll wrap up BBM’s coverage with 15 pictures taken with a Kodak C-195 during Sunday’s doubleheader.  I’m not a picture-taker by nature and it shows, but I do think they at least give a glimpse of what went on for four days.  One thing you’ll see consistently are smiles.  Lots of them.  These were taken from pregame warmups for the opener between Mexicali and Obregon to the end of the Hermosillo-Los Mochis nightcap.  I’ll just post them in the order they were taken, without captions.  None needed.  It’s Mexican baseball.  

Enjoy.

Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta: Day Four Report

It’s Monday morning, which means it’s time to finish packing my bag, check out, head to Tucson International Airport and fly back to Portland so I can drive home to the small town my wife Linda and I live in halfway between Portland and Seattle.  The Mexican Baseball Fiesta concluded Sunday as the Mexicali Aguilas bombed the Obregon Yaquis 15-5 in the opener and the Hermosillo Naranjeros topped the Los Mochis Caneros, 7-2, in the second game, marking the last of four days and four doubleheaders at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium with four Mexican Pacific League teams providing the centerpiece to a weekend of entertainment.  Although I began these missives with game reports that were drier than the Arizona air, I finally realized that I was missing the point: The MBF is more about attitude and atmosphere than balls and strikes.  It was worth the trip on a number of levels.

Before I go any further, I should mention that THIS particular missive was intended for a Tuesday posting because I spent Sunday afternoon and evening moving around Kino Stadium with a camera instead of my Chromebook to take photos of numerous things to augment the Day Three Report.  There is only so much a word picture can do for a reader, so I thought I’d give both my fingers and your sense of delirium from reading my text a break and despite having almost zero experience as a photog, I came away with what I think are 14 or 15 pretty good pictures to share.  Unfortunately, my Kodak C195 camera and Chromebook aren’t playing nice with each other so I’ll have to wait to get home and use another laptop so I can post the pictures Tuesday instead.  Sigh. If you're wondering why I have no game reports today, there you are. Consider it a blessing barely disguised.

Traveling to Tucson was not necessary, but I decided a few weeks ago that it would be a good chance to watch some of the teams and players I’ve been writing about off and on about since April 2005, when I covered the Mexican League for the OurSports Central website.  It was only going to be for that one season but, obviously, it’s lasted a little longer than that.  So I finally got to watch Mexican players like Pablo Ortega, Carlos Gastelum, Luis Alfonso Garcia, Carlos Valencia and Sergio Contreras, who were all active in 2005 when I first started writing about Mexican baseball along with others who’ve made their marks in recent years such as Jose Amador, Javier Solano, C.J. Retherford and Jason Bourgeois.  As a baseball fan, it was a blast seeing guys I’d heretofore only read and written about over the past dozen years and I was rarely disappointed. These are good ballplayers, many of whom have played in the majors.

After a little initial confusion when I first arrived at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium last Thursday, I was able to get my media credential and attendant lanyard and headed up to the press box for my first night of covering Mexican baseball in person.  At this point, I should say that Kino Stadium is a very nice facility, definitely AAA in quality.  I was able to get a good location next to a television booth and did my writing on the first two nights from that vantage point.  There isn’t a traditional roof over the main grandstand, so the press box is set above the concourse running behind the box seats behind home plate and above the concessions stands, meaning you’re set farther back from the playing field than the old-school press boxes you see atop grandstand roofs in older ballparks.

As far as attendance goes, I often saw what might be 200 people sprinkled through Kino Stadium at the start of the opening games (which always featured the champion Mexicali Aguilas throughout the weekend), with the stands filling gradually as the second game approached.  Saturday night’s game between rivals Hermosillo and Obregon was easily the best-attended, with what I’d guesstimate as at least 5,000 people in the ballpark.

While play was going on, there were plenty of other things for attendees to take part in.  While an actual ballgame in Mexico isn’t all that much different from what you’ll see in the States, the presentation in the stands can be a little different.  While there was music pumped through the PA system throughout all the games, much like in the USA, the music consisted mostly of Mexican artists (as you’d expect) while English was rarely heard over the loudspeakers, mainly when “The Star-Spangled Banner” was sung.  

What REALLY separated things were the live bands that would play after the games on the concourse next to the main grandstand on the first-base side.   Although teams in the States often do a good job of creating a festive atmosphere during ballgames, they’ve got nothing on our neighbors south of the border.  These folks know how to enjoy themselves.  I’m hoping that more Tucsonans catch on to the Mexican Baseball Fiesta in the future because it goes beyond baseball and is well worth attending.

All in all, I’m glad I was able to make it down to Tucson to watch players I’ve become more familiar with over the years than their MLB counterparts in an atmosphere that reflects the culture of people who like to have a good time and know how to do it.  Thanks to MBF co-founder and president Mike Feder for giving me press credentials so I could come in and describe this event to Baseball Mexico’s readers and a special thanks to Steve Rivera, a writer for the AllSportsTucson website and all-around good guy, for giving me a lift back to the Quality Inn I was staying at after the games.  And kudos to the people in Tucson I had the chance to meet the past four days, from cab drivers to Quality Inn employees and the great staff at Kino Stadium.  I can truthfully say that I didn’t meet one crabby person here in Tucson and that reflects well on the city.  It’s a nice place to visit.  But now it’s time to head home, where I can hopefully get those promised photos online Tuesday.

Then there are those Mexican Pacific League season openers next weekend to gear up for.  As I’ve said many times before, Mexico represents Baseball Heaven because there’s never an offseason, and I'm glad I was able to indulge in a slice of it this weekend.

Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta: Day Three Report

After sitting in the press box at Kino Stadium through four games over the first two nights of play at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta, I decided to write tonight’s entry while sitting in the stands.  My on-field focus has taken my attention away from what makes the MBF an “event” rather than just another set of ballgames and it’s the event that drew me to travel from Portland to Tucson in the first place.  So rather than bring you the dry summaries you’ve been getting so far, I’m hoping to convey more of the atmosphere here in Tucson at the expense of tracking runs, hits and errors (although I’ll throw in some random observations of play and players).  Right now I’m sitting in a section on the third base side of the upper level of Kino Stadium extending out from either side of the press box.  What follows will be spontaneous bursts of no particular train of thought:

It’s 5:35PM, the first game pitting Los Mochis against defending Mexican Pacific League champion Mexicali has just gotten underway and already the crowd is larger than either of the first two nights.  I think the crowd tonight is going to be...WHOA!  I just had a foul tip rattle around among the shading right above my head before spitting out to the concourse below.  One wrong bounce and this report is finished, as is the Chromebook I’m writing it on.  

C.J. Retherford is batting for Mexicali with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the first. He’s become a year-round player in Mexico and I’ve noticed him playing with his very young son on the field during warmups all three nights, a charming sight you’d never see prior to a major league game but things are different in Mexican baseball.  Apparently they take the phrase “family-friendly” to heart. C.J.’s son didn’t come close to catching one of the tosses that I witnessed, but he has plenty of time to learn.  Despite the threat, the Aguilas failed to score before being retired.

At about a quarter after 6  with the sun going and an accompanying breeze, we’re settling into what should be a pleasant evening for some baseball.  Temperatures have reached the mid to upper 90’s every day since I arrived Wednesday night, something I rarely see at home midway between Seattle and Portland, but the low humidity has kept it from being bothersome.  The old saw, “It’s a DRY heat” is really true in Tucson.  

How’s this for prescience?  The first game is now in the bottom of the third (they’ve been playing seven) and Retherford just broke up a scoreless tie by smoking a double against Mochis starter Roy Merritt off a chain link fence atop the 8-foot high wall in the left field corner, driving in Walter Ibarra from third to put Mexicali up, 1-0.  Merritt was able to escape the inning without further damage.

Top of the fourth now and the Caneros have tied the game.  Ramon Urias, whose brother Luis is a top shortstop prospect in the Padres system, took first after being hit by a Sergio Mitre pitch and then flew around the bases on a Mitchell Walding double.  Urias had a terrific summer at shortstop for Mexico City was Baseball Mexico’s Summer 2017 MVP.  Tough choice this year but the kid kept the Diablos in the playoff race.  He doesn’t look big enough to hit 19 homers in a season but neither does Jose Altuve and the ball DOES tend to carry well in Mexico City’s 7,382-foot elevation.

People continue to file in to Kino Stadium, likely for the Hermosillo-Obregon nightcap (although a live performance by popular Mexican musical artist Freddy Vegas is no doubt at least an added draw).  Looking above and beyond the berm in right field, I can see a long string of cars making their way to the Kino parking lot.  Yep, it’ll definitely be the biggest crowd of the three nights I’ve been here. I’d guess there are upwards of three thousand people in the stands already.  Not impressive at first blush until the independent  Tucson Saguaros’ average attendance of 279 for three Pecos League playoff games earlier this year adds a sense of perspective.  

Top of the fifth with the score still tied, 1-1.  Mexicali manager Roberto Vizcarra has replaced ex-Yankee Sergio Mitre, who allowed one run on two hits in four innings, with Nicolas Heredia, who gives up a leadoff single to left by hulking Mochis veteran Saul Soto.  Soto is one of those guys who always hits well north of .300 with power, and it was a measure of respect in the summer of 2016 when he was named player-manager in Aguascalientes late in the season.  He did a credible job with the Rieleros before returning to player-only status after Homar Rojas was brought in and led the Railroaders to a fourth-place finish in the Mexican League’s North Division this year.

What had been a quickly-played game started dragging a bit, what with all the Caneros baserunners circling the sacks for three runs in the fourth and another three in the fifth to take a commanding 7-1 lead.  Mexicali has had six hits of their own but only that one run in the third to show for them.  Merritt pitched through the sixth, although I can make out some soft-tossing going on behind some signs obscuring the Caneros bullpen behind the left field fence and suspect skipper Luis Sojo will make a change for the seventh.

And so Sojo did, bringing in Lenix Osuna to close out the win for Merritt.  After getting the first two outs, Osuna ran into trouble and allowed a pair of last-gasp Aguilas runs to narrow the Caneros lead to 7-3 before inducing Retherford to ground out with runners at the corners to end both the surge and game.

Not having eaten for hours, I went down to the concourse for some late (8:00PM) dinner.  This weekend the house specialty is Mexican food and although there were several tempting items to choose from, I bought a bean-and-cheese burrito.  Along with concerns about eating something that would put me in a state of discomfort at 2 tomorrow morning, I’ve been a gringo pollo when it comes to spicy food ever since I bought a two-star item at a Thai restaurant near Seattle years ago that delivered a five-alarm fire with every bite.  I never DID taste the dish.  The mediocre-tasting burrito cost US$7.25, proving that you’ll overspend for ballpark food pretty much anywhere in any language.

Back at my perch next to the suites in time for introductions of players and coaches as well as the singing of both Mexican and USA national anthems by a lovely young lady.  At the end of the Mexican anthem (which itself is a longish but lovely song), I heard a male voice in the crowd shout “Viva Mexico!” followed by a loud cheer from the stands.  Loved it.

Just moments away from the first pitch of the nightcap and the stands are well over half-full.  It seems definitely a pro-Hermosillo gathering, if the number of cheers accompanying the on-field announcer’s mention of the Naranjeros as one of the two teams is any indication.  Lots of orange shirts and replica jerseys to be seen.  It reminded me of my first visit to Lambeau Field in Green Bay (I’m a lifetime Packers fan) for a night game, when I saw a large number of orange jackets in the stands.  Puzzled because the Packers colors are green and gold, I asked a local about the orange.  “Hunting vests,” he replied.

Not to be outdone, Obregon fans in attendance had their chance to roar approval on the second pitch of the game when former Orioles outfielder Felix Pie launched a delivery from Naranjeros starter Jose Samayoa to near the top of the berm in right-center field to stake the Yaquis a quick 1-0 lead.  Hermosillo came right back with the tying run in the bottom of the first when Domonic Brown ripped a run-scoring double to the wall in right-center to send speedy Jason Bourgeois flying in from first.  The Naranjeros then took the lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run double by Roberto Ramos and added another one later in the inning to go up 4-1, but Obregon’s Alex Liddi erased it with a three-run bomb into the left field bullpen in the top of the third to tie things up and the Yaquis pushed two more runs across to grab the lead back at 6-4.

As in the States, mascots play a large role in Mexican baseball, perhaps even more than their Yanqui counterparts.  Two of the MexPac’s most-popular mascots, Hermosillo’s Beto Coyote and Tigre Chaco of Obregon, are on hand and started working the crowd early.  As I type this, Chaco is dancing in the third-base coach’s box as the Yaqui partisans chant in unison from the stands.  Whatever the cause, the fairly reserved crowd in the opening game has been taken over by a boisterous gathering of what appears to be at least 5,000 aficionados in the stands for this one.

It’s now the top of the fifth with the Yaquis lead cut to 6-5 and Barbaro Canizares batting for Obregon.  Canizares is an interesting case.  A Cuban exile who’d been a teammate of Kendrys Morales with the Havana Industriales, Canizares defected with two other players in early 2004 after receiving a lifetime suspension from Cuban baseball for selling his jersey to a member of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.  After a few seasons in the Braves system (including a five-game cup of coffee with Atlanta in 2009), Canizares spent time with both the Yaquis and in Oaxaca of the Mexican League, batting .396, .438 and .378 for the Guerreros between 2011 and 2013 before going to Japan.  He only played 38 games in three injury-plagued years with the Softbank Hawks and returned to the LMB this summer, but was cut by both Veracruz and Quintana Roo after hitting .244 in 34 games, ending up in the Liga Norte.  Approaching his 38th birthday, the 6’3” first baseman is trying desperately to regain some of his old magic and found some in his bright red bat by blooping an RBI single in center to stretch Obregon’s lead to 7-5..

Well, here’s something you don’t always see at a ballpark: A guy just came out onto the field behind home plate and proposed to his girlfriend on the mic (in English and with the gentle prodding of Chaco the mascot).  She said yes, thankfully for the guy.

Music is as ever-present at Mexican ballgames as it is in the USA and this weekend has been no different.  As might be expected, nearly all the songs pumped out over the PA system between innings and during at-bats is from south of the border and greatly add to the atmosphere.  There were mariachi bands playing close enough to the action to conspire with the loudspeaker music to create a bit of a cacophony at times the past two nights, but I can hear strains of live music (Freddy Vega?) emanating from the parking lot without battling the PA system for decibel supremacy.  Good move, although it looks like some of the crowd is heading toward the parking lot for some dancing.  Beisbol con salsa!

While the stands were mostly full three hours ago, they’re gradually emptying with almost as many cars streaming out of the parking lot as were coming in earlier as the clock atop the left field scoreboard approaches 11:00.  The number of people occupying the berms is far fewer.  The gathering on the left-field foul territory berm appears to be mostly adults, but the outfield berms are the domain of kids.  The  right-field berm seems especially popular with the younger set, particularly for rolling down the slope on their sides toward the back of the outfield wall.  Sliding on their, uhh, backsides is another favorite, sort of like sledding without either a sled or snow.  It’s been a while, but I remember that as a kid, we made things like that work whether we had the proper accoutrements or not.  The younger you are, the more expansive your imagination.

Well, this one is finally in the books, with Obregon taking an 9-6 win as the final out was recorded at 11:46.  It’s been a long night at the ballpark, but a good one.  I’d been in a down mood all day, wondering whether what I’ve been doing with this blog (and Viva Beisbol before it) all these years has made the slightest bit of difference.  That’s still as debatable as it was this morning and something I’ll have to confront after I get home, but my blue funk has lifted significantly and these games have been the difference.  If the goal of baseball promoters is to surround a ballgame with a party, MBF organizer Mike Feder and the great, friendly ballpark staff have succeeded.  Well played.

Now it’s back to my room at the Quality Inn for a late-night discussion with that burrito.

Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta: Day Two Report

Hermosillo pitcher Cesar Vargas

Day Two of the 2017 Mexican Baseball Fiesta in Tucson’s Kino Stadium on Friday saw a reasonably close first game in which the defending Mexican Pacific League champion Mexicali Aguilas held off a Cincinnati Reds Arizona Instructional League team, 4-3, as Yuniesky Betancourt singled, doubled and drove in two runs.  The much-anticipated nightcap between Hermosillo and Obregon, two longtime LMP rivals, ended up being an 8-1 Naranjeros romp as starting pitcher Cesar Vargas tossed three innings of one-hit scoreless ball while veterans Jason Bourgeois, Carlos Gastelum and Jose Amador evenly split six hits and scored four runs between them.  Throughout the evening, however, a festive mood prevailed in the ballpark as live bands played on the concourse, mascots took parts in between-innings skits and fans from Arizona and Mexico got to enjoy an evening of baseball, Mexican-style.

In the opener, Cincinnati opened the scoring in the top of the second inning when Morgan Lofstrom redirected a Javier Solano offering off and over the top of the wall in right-center for a leadoff homer.  Solano then bore down and struck out the next three Reds batters.  Mexicali came back in the bottom of the frame with a pair of runs.  C.J. Retherford led off with a single and came around to score on Ricky Alvarez' double against the center field wall to tie the game.  After Josh Romanosky struck out, Ramon Rios punched a single to left to bring Alvarez in with the go-ahead run.

The defending MexPac champion Aguilas added to their advantage in the bottom of the third with two more runs.  With one out, Yordanys Linares and Walter Ibarra hit back-to-back soft singles, bringing up Yuniesky Betancourt.  After Linares and Ibarra successfully pulled off a double steal, Betancourt smoked a Luis Alecis pitch down the third-base line into left field, scoring both baserunners and bringing about Alecis' exit.  Reds reliever Tanner Rainey struck out both Retherford and Alvarez to end the inning, but Mexicali had themselves a 4-1 lead after three.

Cincinnati got two runs back in the top of the fourth, both after the first two batsmen were retired by Solano. Lofstrom rapped a single to right and then scored when Mark Kolozsvary doubled into the gap in right-center. Leandro Santana then singled up the middle to bring in Kolozsvary, but was gunned down trying to take second on Linares' throw to the plate after catcher Francisco Cordoba's subsequent throw barely beat Santana to the bag on a close call.  That ended both the inning and the night for Solano, who finished his four entradas of work after allowing three runs on four hits with six strikeouts.

From that point on, it was up to Mexicali’s bullpen to hold the Reds scoreless over the last three frames of the seven-inning contest.  After Marco Quevedo retired the side in order in the fifth, newcomer Nolan Becker, who led the independent Can-Am League with 24 saves for champion Quebec this summer, ran into some trouble in the top of the sixth by walking the first two Cincy batsmen he faced (Jeter Downs and Taylor Trammell) before getting the next two hitters out, although Montrell Marshall sacrificed both runners to third and second, respectively.  Aguilas manager Roberto Vizcarra then brought in another fresh face, Victor Capellan, to strike out Kolozsvary and end the inning.

Capellan, who went 4-4 with a 1.25 ERA for Winnipeg in the indy American Association, went on to post a 1-2-3 seventh for the save as the Aguilas mound staff combined to hold the Reds to three hits on the night.  Solano earned the win for Mexicali while Alecis took the loss for Cincinnati after giving up four runs on six hits in 2.1 innings. Betancourt had two of Mexicali's seven hits with two RBIs while Linares and Rios both reached base twice.  Lofstrom singled, homered and scored two runs for the Reds.

In the second game, Hermosillo and Obregon swapped zeros through the first two innings before the Naranjeros put three runs on the board in the top of the third.  Carlos Gastelum led off with a single, then came around from first base on a Domonic Brown double. Obregon manager Miguel Ojeda took out starting pitcher Irwin Delgado and brought in Martin Sotelo to pitch to veteran slugger Luis Alfonso Garcia.  The move paid immediate dividends as Sotelo got Garcia looking for a strikeout.  Things looked even brighter after Brown was caught stealing third while Jose Amador was batting on a terrific throw by Yaquis catcher Jose Felix for the second out of the inning, and it didn't seem to matter much at the time when Amador singled.  Ojeda then brought in Adrian Ramirez to pitch to Fernando Perez, who promptly doubled and moved Amador to third.  Jose Cardona came up and rapped a single that scored both Amador and Perez to give the Naranjeros a 3-0 lead before Ramirez got Arturo Rodriguez to fly out to right to end the inning.

The Naranjeros broke the game wide open with three more runs in the top of the fourth.  After Jorge Flores popped out to the catcher to open the inning, the next five Hermosillo batters either singled or walked, with Roberto Ramos' bases-loaded walk pushing Jason Bourgeois across with one counter and a sharp Amador single bringing in both Gastelum and Brown to make it a 6-0 Hermosillo lead over their bitter rivals (a Naranjeros-Yaquis matchup is the MexPac's version of the Yankees and Red Sox in terms of intensity).

The Yaquis finally broke their scoreless spell after Hermosillo starter Cesar Vargas was taken out after three innings.  Reliever Sergio Alvarado struggled in the fourth, starting with Carlos Valencia’s leadoff double into the left field corner.  Valencia advance to third on an infield single by Paul Leon and scored on Jonathan Aranda's flyout to left, breaking up Hermosillo's shutout bid.  Jose Felix added a single to put Leon in scoring position but Felix Pie's groundout to second ended the threat.

Not that it really mattered, as Hermosillo plated two more runs in the top of the fifth when Flores singled in pinch-runner Ciro Norzagaray and Flores scored on Irving Lopez' groundout to second, bringing the rout to its final 8-1 count as neither team scored the rest of the way..

Bourgeois, Gastelum and Amador each had two singles, combined to score four runs and drive in four more for the victorious Naranjeros, who outhit Obregon, 11-6.  Nobody had more than one safety for the Yaquis, with Valencia and Irving Falu contributing doubles on a night that clearly belonged to Hermosillo.  Vargas' three innings of work earned him the win, but it almost seems unfair that the loss should be hung on Delgado, whose two-plus innings (in which he gave up one run on three hits and as many walks) was probably the Yaquis’ pitching highlight, which sort of says it all right there.

Saturday's Day Three schedule at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta will begin with a 5:30PM PDT contest between Mexicali and Los Mochis, with the Caneros making their 2017 Tucson debut by taking CIncinnati’s place in the foursome.  That game will be followed by an Hermosillo-Obregon rematch.