THUNDER STRUCK: CANEROS WIN MEX PAC PENNANT

Los Mochis RHP Nick Struck

    A superb performance by pitchers Nick Struck and Fabian Cota and a bases-loaded double by Most Valuable Player Yasmany Tomas on Saturday keyed a 5-0 Los Mochis win at home over Guasave to give the Caneros a 4-games-to-2 Mexican Pacific League championship series win, the fourth pennant since the city's entry into winterball in 1947 and the first since 2002-03. In winning the flag, the Caneros will represent Mexico at the 2023 Caribbean Series beginning Thursday in Venezuela.

    The 33-year-old Struck began the winterball season in the Dominican Republic before joining the Caneros in December for five starts, going 1-2 but turning in a sparkling 1.64 ERA. A two-time Cubs organizational All-Star as a farmhand, the Oregon native native is now 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA in five postseason starts after limiting the Algodoneros to a first-inning single by Jesse Castillo over seven innings of work, striking out four and throwing 61 strikes in 93 pitches. Cota, who represented Oaxaca in last summer's Mexican League All-Star Game, took over in the eighth and held Guasave scoreless on one hit over the last two frames to close out the title-winning game.

    Tomas gave the Caneros all the runs they'd need with a two-out, three-run double off Cottoneers starter Jeff Kinley in the bottom of the third to send the sellout crowd of 11,770 at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada into a paroxysm of joy one day after chaos erupted outside the ballpark when fans stampeded the team office to buy tickets for Game Six. Los Mochis added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth when Isaac Rodriguez scored on Rudy Amador's sacrifice fly and a Fernando Villegas single plated Roberto “Tito” Valenzuela. Kinley took the loss and was charged for all five Caneros runs on eight hits before being yanked following Valenzuela's one-out single in the fifth.

    Juan Uriarte was named MVP of the championship series after batting .410 (10-for-21) with a homer, six RBIs and three runs scored for first-year manager Jose Moreno's Caneros. Thousands of Los Mochis fans celebrated the team's championship after the game and a parade through the streets of downtown was scheduled for Monday at 3:00PM local time.

    The team will travel to Caracas, Venezuela in preparation for their first Caribbean Series game against Dominican champion Licey at noon Thursday in the first-ever game at Estadio La Rinconada, a new 36,500-ballpark being inaugurated during the Serie del Caribe. The facility will be hostile to right-handed power hitters, given its dimensions of 442 feet to the center field wall and 351 feet to left, although the right-field foul line is a more approachable 338 feet away from home plate. Estadio La Rinconada has taken ten years for construction, indicative of Venezuela's unsteady economy.

    Los Mochis held off Guasave in the series opener, 9-6, on Saturday, January 21 behind Uriarte's three hits and four RBIs (including a three-run homer); then won a Game Two thriller the following night by a 3-2 count as Amador launched a two-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Caneros a 2-games-to-0 lead before the two teams traveled to Guasave for three midweek games.

    The Algodoneros bounced back with a 10-0 home thrashing over Los Mochis at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon on Tuesday, January 24. Guasave starter Matt Poberyko dominated the visitors over six innings as the LMP strikeout king allowed just one Uriarte single and one walk while striking out nine, including Justin Dean for his final out in the sixth.

Los Mochis fans celebrating LMP title

    Conversely, the Cottoneers sent Pitcher of the Year Luis Miranda to the showers with one out in the third after the Caneros opener let in five runs on seven hits and two walks. Guasave scored in each of the first four innings to enter the fifth with a 5-0 advantage and continued pulling away thereafter. Jesse Castillo had a triple and homer, scoring twice and driving in two runs for the winners while Alejandro Ortiz singled and tripled in two at-bats to score two times and drive in two more counters.

    Los Mochis bounced back with a 4-1 Game Four win Wednesday, January 24 to take a 3-games-to-1 lead in the series. The Caneros took a 2-0 lead right out the gate in the top of the first on RBI singles from Valenzuela and Uriarte, but Guasave cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth when Joey Terdoslavich singled in Castillo. That would be all the scoring that night for the Algodoneros, however, as an RBI one-bagger by Amador in the top of the fifth gave Los Mochis their two-run lead back and Edgar Robles' solo homer to right off Cottoneers starter Geno Encino on a full count one inning later gave the Caneros their final margin of victory.

    Starting pitcher Darel Torres took the win for the visitors by tossing five innings of one-run ball and scattering three hits. Reliever Cota, who was awarded the Game One win out of the bullpen, followed Torres and contributed 3.1 frames of two-hit scoreless pitching. Encina was saddled with the loss after being touched for four runs (three earned) over 5.2 entradas before being pulled following Robles' roundtripper in the sixth.

    Game Five on Thursday, January 26 in Guasave began as a pitcher's duel between Los Mochis' Manny Barreda and Nico Tellache of the Algodoneros. The two teams traded zeros through four innings until a two-out Amador single up the middle off Tellache plated Valenzuela with the game's first run to give the Caneros a 1-0 lead. Guasave's Castillo erased that edge with one swing in the bottom of the sixth, launching a 2-1 Barreda over the right field wall for a solo homer to tie the tilt at one run apiece. The score remained knotted at 1-1 as Tellache was replaced after six innings by reliever Rafael Cordova and Barreda was lifted for 40-year-old veteran Tomas Solis two outs into the bottom of the seventh.

    Solis got the final out and after a scoreless top of the eighth for the Caneros, Los Mochis skipper Jose Moreno brought Daniel Duarte (who made his MLB debut for the Reds last summer) in from the bullpen. Duarte got the first two outs but his 1-1 delivery to Julian Ornelas was sent sailing over the right field wall for a homer to put Guasave up 2-1. Algodoneros closer Brandon Koch, who gave up two ninth-inning homers in their Game Two loss to the Caneros, came in and held the visitors scoreless on 13 pitches to end the game, cutting Los Mochis' series lead to 3-games-to-2 and bringing Guasave within a game of tying up the finals, which moved to Los Mochis for Saturday's Game Six.


FIELD NEARLY SET FOR 65th SERIE DEL CARIBE

Caracas' new Estadio La Rinconada

    The competition has almost been set for the start of this week's Caribbean Series as eight winterball national champions will converge on the greater Caracas, Venezuela region, where four games will be played for seven days at two ballparks, followed by two semifinal contests on Thursday, February 9 and the championship game Friday, February 10. Seven of the pennant-winners had been determined by the end of the weekend, with only the title series between Caracas and La Guaira for the host Venezuelan League title still in doubt. The Leones lead by a 3-games-to-2 margin.

    Curacao will send a team for the first time while Cuba is back after a two-year ban to join holdovers Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Colombia's Barranquilla Caimanes won last year's title in Santo Domingo after teams from that nation had been winless over the two previous Caribbean Series, their first after entering the competition in 2020.

    The Caimanes topped Dominican champions Cibao, 4-1, in the title game as this season's Reliever of the Year in the Mexican Pacific League for Mazatlan, Elkin Alcala, earned the victory. Surprisingly, only one Colombia, player, first baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez (who spent this winter in Mexicali), was named to the CS Dream Team along with Barranquilla manager Jose Mosquera. The lone player from Mex Pac champion Jalisco to make the team was outfielder Felix Perez, who was a teammate of Alcala's in Mazatlan in 2022-23.

    Here is a list of the eight national champions who will be battling for Serie del Caribe supremacy this year:

COLOMBIA – Monteria Vaqueros (Won second LPB title since 2019 formation; went 0-5 in 2020 Caribbean Series in San Juan, including 5-4 loss to eventual champ Este Toros)
CUBA – Bayamo Agricultores (Combined team of Las Tunas and Granma players from Cuban National Series, now a summer league, won first Elite League championship)
CURACAO – Willemstad Wildcats KJ74 (Have won last three Curacao National Championship AA League pennants and 17 overall since 1975; Dutch League affiliate)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Licey Tigres (Debuted in 1907; 23 LiDom pennants and 10 Caribbean Series; alumni include Bob Gibson, Mike Piazza and Pedro Martinez)
MEXICO – Los Mochis Caneros (First pennant in 20 years, seeking initial CS title; past Caneros include Aurelio Rodriguez, Jose Valverde and Andres Mora)
PANAMA – Chiriqui Federales (Went 16-4, beat Bocas Atlanticos in playoff to win flag; won twice at 2021 Serie del Caribe in Mazatlan despite canceled regular season)
PUERTO RICO – Mayaguez Indios (19 pennants, 2 Caribbean Series crowns; Denny McLain, Lance Parrish, Luke Easter and Dave McNally played for Mayaguez)
VENEZUELA – TBD (Caracas Leones beat LaGuaira Tiburones, 7-2, Saturday to take a 3-games-to-2 lead in LVBP championship series; Game 6 set for Monday in Caracas)

MEXICO FALLS TO NUMBER 5 IN WBSC RANKINGS

    The World Baseball and Softball Confederation has revealed the end-of-the-year World Rankings for men's baseball with Japan leading' the way (a position it has held since 2014) with 4,179 points to top a list of 81 baseball programs worldwide. Mexico fell one slot from fourth to fifth place after the United States jumped two places into third in the rankings, which measure National Team performances from U-12 to the top level in WBSC-sanctioned international competitions over a four-year period. The end-of-the-year rankings reflect the expiration of all points earned in 2018.

    Japan and Taiwan (3,819 points) retained the top two positions in the rankings while the United States became the baseball program which improved the most among the top 10 thanks to its title triumphs at the WBSC's U-12, U-15 and U-18 Baseball World Cups last year to move from fifth to third position with 3,449 points.

    South Korea and Mexico both dropped a position and rank now fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Venezuela, the Netherlands and Cuba. The latter three programs each gained one place. With their 7th place ranking, the Netherlands lead the European programs. The Dominican Republic lost three positions and is now in ninth while Australia remained stable in rounding out the Top Ten.

    Positions from 11 to 20 are split between American and European programs. Puerto Rico is now at number 13, gaining three places to became the most improved of the baseball programs in the Top 20. Canada (14th) and Nicaragua (17th) both lost two positions. Seven of the nations with winter champions competing at next month's Caribbean Series in Venezuela finished among the top 13 in the rankings. The eighth participant, Curacao (playing in their first Serie del Caribe) ranks 33rd in the world, representing a leap of eleven slots from the last rankings released.

    Nicaragua has sought to send its winterball champion to the tournament for the past few years and is ranked 16 places higher than Curacao but has never been invited by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, led since 1991 by Dominican commissioner Juan Francisco Puello. A communist government headed by Daniel Ortega has been cited as the reason for Nicaragua's exclusion by Puello, who has been more forgiving of Cuba and its own one-party communist rule since 1959 as initial Elite League champions Bayamo are expected to be in Caracas later this week.

LOS MOCHIS LEADS GUASAVE 2-0 IN LMP TITLE SET

Rodolfo Amador, Los Mochis Caneros

    The Los Mochis Caneros continued their surprising quest for a Mexican Pacific League pennant with a pair of weekend home wins over Guasave heading into three scheduled midweek games at the Algodoneros' Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon. The Caneros finished last in the LMP playoff points race in 2020-21 and 2021-22 prior to this winter, where they stand poised to win just their fourth title since their 1947 formation and first since the 2002-03 season. For their part, Guasave seeks the second pennant of that city's existence as an LMP franchise site beginning in 1965 (their first came in 1971-72).

    Saturday's Game One was a 9-6 slugfest during which the Caneros broke open a 1-1 contest with six runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a three-run homer by DH Juan Uriarte off Guasave starter Nico Tellache, who'd pitched one-run ball through three frames but did not survive the Los Mochis onslaught in the fourth. Tellache absorbed both the beatdown AND the loss, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks in 3.1 entradas, striking out four.

    Manny Barreda only fared slightly better as the Caneros opener, tossing four innings of one-run ball himself (the one run coming on an Esteban Quiroz solo homer in the second) before being chased during a four-run Algodoneros fifth that saw Sebastian Elizalde take him deep for another three-run bomb on what proved to be the last pitch the veteran lefty would throw. Fabian Cota came in and registered the third out. The Caneros scored twice more in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 9-4 lead that was never threatened. Uriarte finished with a 3-for-4 night for four RBIs and two runs scored. Elizalde went 3-for-5 for the Cottoneers in a losing cause as Cota's one inning of relief work was enough to be awarded the win.

    Things were a little tighter for Sunday's Game Two as the Caneros scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 walkoff win over the visitors. Longballs factored in this one, starting with Joey Terdoslavich's line-drive roundtripper off Caneros starter Nick Struck in the top of the second to give Guasave a 1-0 lead. It would prove to be the only run Struck allowed in four innings and when he left after six inning, the game was tied at 1-1 thanks to a run-scoring Uriarte single in the bottom of the fourth that knotted the score. That was the only run Guasave starter Jeff Kinley gave up in seven innings as the former Marlins minor leaguer continued to show his move out of the bullpen after ten years as a reliever is working.

    The score remained at 1-1 until the top of the ninth, when the Algodoneros nudged ahead on an Alejandro Ortiz double off Carlos Vazquez scored Juan Carlos Gamboa from second. However, fate proved a cruel mistress to Guasave closer Brandon Koch, whose third pitch to leadoff batter Roberto Valenzuela was redirected over the wall in left-center for a homer that brought the Caneros back even at 2-2. Then, with two down and a 1-0 count on Rudy Amador, the veteran third sacker smoked a Koch offering for a line-drive circuit clout to left that ended the game and sent a second straight sellout crowd of 11,662 at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada home with smiles on their faces.

    Game Three is slated for Tuesday night at 8:30PM local time. Pitcher of the Year Luis Miranda will open on the mound for Los Mochis while Guasave will send Geno Encina to the hill. Miranda is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in four playoff starts for the Caneros while Encina has won one of three starts with a 3.60 ERA for the Algodoneros.

    The two teams reached the LMP title series with respective Game Six wins last Wednesday. Los Mochis topped Obregon, 5-2 at home behind the solid pitching of Miranda, who allowed one run on one hit with six strikeouts over six innings. The Yaquis opened the scoring in the top of the third when Dariel Alvarez launched a solo homer off Miranda, but the Caneros fought back to take the lead with a three-run fifth during which Wagner Lagrange singled in Uriarte with the go-ahead run and later scored on Isaac Rodriguez' safety.

    Obregon scored a single tally in the seventh when Yadir Drake scored from second on a Victor Mendoza one-bagger but Los Mochis put the contest away one inning later when reinforcement Valenzuela, the LMP batting leader, belted a two-run homer. Miranda got the win for the Caneros while Braulio Torres-Perez took the loss after letting in three runs over five innings.

    Strong pitching made all the difference in Wednesday's other Game Six, this time a 2-0 Guasave shutout in Hermosillo that closed out that series, 4 games to 2. Mex Pac strikeouts champion Matt Pobereyko tossed seven beautiful innings, allowing just two hits and no walks with five strikeouts to take the win home for the Algodoneros, who qualified for their first LMP championship series since 2011-12.

    Jesse Castillo socked a two-run homer to center in the top of the seventh off Hermosillo starter Elian Leyva as the Cottoneers pitching staff held the potent Naranjeros scoreless over the final 18 innings of the series. Leyva, a two-time Pitcher of the Year, absorbed the loss despite a strong start himself in which he took a shutout of his own into the seventh before Castillo broke the scoreless tie.

    At the conclusion of the Guasave-Hermosillo series, Naranjeros pitcher Wilmer Rios (who led the Mex Pac with nine wins) was removed from the reinforcement draft pool by signing a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds. Rios' Mexican League rights remain with the Monclova Acereros, for whom his nine wins last summer were tied for the LMB lead with Veracruz' Luis Marquez.

    In the subsequent third installment of the reinforcement draft, the Caneros picked first after some arcane proceedings and selected Obregon pitcher Manny Barreda, who himself had been picked by the Yaquis from Culiacan in the first reinforcement draft. Barreda had gone 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA in four starts for Obregon. In the second round, Los Mochis picked another Obregon starting pitcher in Torres-Perez, who we mistakenly identified as Brazilian last week. Torres-Perez, who pitched for Mazatlan during the regular season, actually hails from the tropical paradise of Auburn, Washington.

    Choosing second, Guasave fortified their infield by choosing Obregon's Juan Carlos Gamboa in the first round and Jasson Atondo from Hermosillo in the second. Neither have distinguished themselves during the current postseason (Atondo was batting just .216 at the conclusion of the semifinals while Gamboa's average was only .146), but Gamboa is a former Mets farmhand who was MVP of the 2014 Serie del Rey in Mexico City's last Mexican League title-winning season while Atondo is a former Mex Pac Rookie of the Year who can play several positions.


CANEROS' YASMANY TOMAS NAMED MEX PAC MVP

LMP MVP Yasmany Tomas

    After two consecutive last-place finishes in the playoff points standings, the Los Mochis Caneros are the surprise team in this winter's Mexican Pacific League championship series after finishing second in both the regular season combined standings and points race. One of the prime movers for that turnaround is Cuban-born outfielder Yasmany Tomas, who has been named the LMP's Most Valuable Player for 2022-23.

    Tomas finished tied for the league lead with 10 homers while topping the tables with 57 RBIs. He also hit for a .328 average (4th), a .383 OBP (6th), a .510 slugging percentage (3rd), an .893 OPS (4^th) and 27 extra-base hits (2nd). That regular season plate success hasn't yet carried over into the playoffs, where Tomas was batting .245 with just one homer and five ribbies over 13 games through Sunday, but Los Mochis wouldn't be where they are today without him.

    Nicknamed “El Tanque,” the 32-year-old Havana native spent five winters playing for his hometown Industriales between 2008 and 2014 in the Cuban National Series, batting a composite .290 with 39 homers and 151 RBIs over 272 games. He defected to Haiti after the 2013-14 season and after some legal maneuvering, the 6'2” 260-pounder was able to audition in the Dominican Republic for various MLB teams and eventually signed with Arizona to a six-year, $68.5 million contract. He made his MLB debut in 2015 and one year later clubbed 31 homers for the Diamondbacks, although he had the dubious distinction of finished in the National League's top five in errors committed by both left fielders and right fielders that year.

    Tomas appeared on his way to stardom but injuries in 2017 and a 2018 incident that resulted in speeding and reckless driving charges after he was clocked driving 105 mph in Tempe, Arizona led to a demotion to the minor and his eventual release in late 2019 despite two strong years for AAA Reno. He had only played 26 games for AAA Rochester in 2021 since prior to his arrival in Los Mochis last fall.

    Now primarily a first baseman, Tomas becomes the seventh player from the Caneros to win the Héctor Espino Trophy and the first since Brian Burgamy in the 2013-14 season. The ballot vote that prioritized members of all ten LMP team front offices, the specialized media and the fans gave 45 percent of the votes to Tomas so it wasn't really close among the six candidates to choose from.

    Other finalists included Monterrey's batting champion Roberto Valenzuela (21 percent), Hermosillo pitcher Wilmer Rios (16 percent), Caneros outfielder Justin Dean (11 percent), Obregon first baseman/DH Victor Mendoza (5 percent) and Los Mochis pitcher Luis Miranda (2 percent). While Miranda edged out Rios for Pitcher of the Year honors in the balloting for that award, Rios led Miranda by an 8-to-1 margin in MVP voting.


SULTANES TO REOPEN BASEBALL ACADEMY

El Carmen Baseball Academy

    After three years of inactivity, the former Mexican League Baseball Academy in El Carmen, Nuevo Leon will come back to life in 2023 with the support of the Monterrey Sultanes. Team's president Jose Maiz García made the anouncement, according to Septima Entrada writer Tomas Lopez. Interviewed on the Bateo Libre radio program, Maiz stated that an agreement has been reached with the Mexican League to once again develop players at the facilities.

    “Monterrey is going to continue training Mexican baseball players,” Maiz declared, “especially now that no other team in the league wanted to participate in El Carmen. Possibly we are just going to participate. It has already been arranged with the league. The other 17 teams did not want to take part in the El Carmen Academy. The Sultanes have already sent people to see the facilities and in about two or three months we will be working in El Carmen. Sultanes only.”

    Maiz, a member of Monterrey's Little League World Series champions along with future big league shortstop Hector Torres and Mexican League star Angel Macias, added that it may be called Academia Cerro de la Silla or Academy Cerro de Las Mitras.

    The academy was inaugurated in 1996 as the brainchild of then-LMB president Pedro Treto Cisneros, Mexico City Tigres owner Alejo Peralta and Mexico City Diablos Rojos president Roberto Mansur to develop prospects for future play in the Mexican League. In more than two decades of operation, thousands of young players called the dormitories home as such future MLB players as relievers Roberto Osuna and Joakim Soria plus infielder Ramiro Pena cut their teeth on the diamonds in El Carmen, as did eventual LMBers like shortstop Heber Gomez and first baseman Japhet Amador.

    The academy's expenses (which included housing, dining and education in addition to baseball development) were shared for years by all Liga teams at approximately US$500,000 each. LMB organizations would send teenage signees for some seasoning before bringing them up to the LMB if they were good enough, although the contracts of many were sold to Major League organizations while they were still at the facility.

    However, as many teams were struggling to pay the bills at home while others began building academies of their own (especially after MLB determined that teams cannot sell players to its organizations but academies can), support faded for the El Carmen operation and it was shut down in 2019. It has remained closed since.

LOS MOCHIS WINS SECOND HALF, PLAYOFFS UNDERWAY

Caneros celebrate playoff win

    It took a 1-0 win on the last day of the regular season and a little mathematics, but Los Mochis emerged as the champion for the second half of the Mexican Pacific League's 2022-23 season. Despite having an identical record as the Caneros over the final half, Hermosillo was awarded second place because in head-to-head competition, Los Mochis had a better record than the Naranjeros.

    The Caneros sealed the second half title by holding off archrival Guasave, 1-0, on Thursday night in front of 7,923 fans at the Algodoneros' Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon. The game was a scoreless tie going into the top of the fifth when Los Mochis' Alejandro Urias hit a one-out single, advanced to third on a Justin Dean single and then came in to score on an Ivan Izaguirre wild pitch to Rudy Amador. Omar Araujo pitched three innings of scoreless relief to earn the win as seven Caneros hurlers combined on the four-hit shutout. Izaquirre took the loss for Guasave, who likewise brought seven pitchers to the mound including starter Jesus Broca, who'd tossed three scoreless frames with four strikeouts. With the win, Los Mochis finished the second half with a 22-11 record.

    Hermosillo likewise ended the half at 22-11 after blanking visiting Mexicali, 2-0, while 16,065 spectators looked on at a packed Estadio Sonora. Although this one was another pitcher's duel, it was decided on one swing of the bat when Alejandr Mejia launched a two-run homer (only his second of the season) to score Angel Camacho in the bottom of the third of Aguilas starter Onelki Garcia, a former Dodgers and Royals pitcher who otherwise had an exemplary outing over five innings but fell to 0-3 with the loss. Although Naranjeros starter Jose Samayoa pitched two perfect innings, it was reliever Anibal Cervantes who got the win after tossing three scoreless entradas himself and allowing no hits and one walk.

    Even though the Caneros won the second half on a tiebreaker to collect the 10.0 playoff points that go with their first-place finish, don't feel too sorry for Hermosillo. The Orangemen did pick up 9.0 points of their own for finishing in the runners-up position and their season playoff points total of 19.0 (on an LMP-best 43-25 record) were enough to ensure the number one seed in the playoffs. Los Mochis finished with a 41-27 overall record and 17.0 points to snag the second seed. Tiebreakers were applied to three other ties in the final standings.

    Here is a look at the second-half standings and points, followed by the overall standings and points for the ten teams, both determined by points:

LMP SECOND HALF STANDINGS (POINTS)
Los Mochis 22-11 (10.0), Hermosillo 22-11 (9.0), Obregon 19-14 (8.0), Monterrey 16-17 (7.0), Guasave 16-17 (6.0), Mexicali 15-18 (5.5), Navojoa 15-18 (5.0), Jalisco 14-19 (4.5), Mazatlan 14-19 (4.0), Culiacan 12-21 (3.5).

LMP 2022-23 OVERALL STANDINGS (POINTS)
Hermosillo 43-25 (19.0), Los Mochis 41-27 (17.0), Obregon 38-30 (16.0), Guasave 36-32 (15.0), Monterrey 32-36 (11.5), Mexicali 31-37 (10.5), Navojoa 31-37 (10.5), Mazatlan 33-35 (10.0), Jalisco 29-39 (8.5), Culiacan 26-42 (7.0).

    With defending champion Jalisco and defending runners-up Culiacan both on the outside looking in, the four first round playoff series got underway Sunday night:
    #1 Hermosillo held off #8 Mazatlan, 2-1, as a Luis Alfonso Cruz double tied the score in the bottom of the seventh and a sacrifice fly by the next batter, Irving Lopez, pushed Angel Ramirez in with the go-ahead run.
    A throwing error by reliever Edwyn Valle in the top of the eleventh allowed Brayan Mendoza to score the game-winner from third as #2 Los Mochis snuck past #7 Navojoa, 2-1.
    #3 Obregon scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth as Carlos Sepulveda stroked a three-run double en route to a 9-4 win over #6 Mexicali.
    Francisco Hernandez singled in Joey Terdoslavich in the bottom of the tenth to hand #4 Guasave a 2-1 win over #5 Monterrey.
     All four series are set for their respective Game Twos on Monday at the home ballparks of the higher seeds.

    As expected, Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela won the batting title with a .365 average, well in front of Justin Dean of Los Mochis (.343) and Jalisco's Francisco Villegas (.337). The home run derby ended in a three-way tie with 10 apiece for Yasmany Tomas (Los Mochis), Anthony Giansanti (Mexicali) and Jese Castillo (Guasave) as none of the trio went deep over the final two weeks of the regular season. Tomas won the RBI crown with 57, ahead of Victor Mendoza of Obregon's 50 and the 42 apiece for three players: Fernando Perez (Monterrey), Christian Villanueva (Jalisco) and Yadir Drake (Obregon). Jose Cardona of Hermosillo won the stolen base race with 29, three up on Mazatlan's Randy Romero (26) while Dean finished with 16 swipes for the Caneros.

    Wilmer Rios of Hermosillo won his final start of the regular season to finish with a 9-2 record and the wins title while three pitchers (Obregon's Faustino Carrera, Hermosillo's Elian Leyva and Mazatlan's Juan Tellez) recorded seven wins each. Luis Miranda of Los Mochis closed out his season-long dominance in the ERA race with a 1.07 mark, trailed by Mazatlan's Braulio Torres-Perez (1.49) and Rios' 1.84. The strikeout battle was entertaining and when the smoke cleared, Guasave's Matt Pobereyko (73) had beaten out Manny Barreda of Culiacan (71) for the title while Javier Solano of Jalisco (67) placed third. There was another close races for the saves leadership, with Mazatlan's Elkin Alcala (20) nudging Brandon Koch of Guasave (19) for the title while Monterrey's Joe Riley finished third with 15.


16 PLAYERS PICKED IN LMP REINFORCEMENT DRAFT

Manny Barreda, daughter after first MLB win

    At the conclusion of the Mexican Pacific League regular season, the first annual Reinforcement Draft was held via teleconference during which the eight LMP playoff qualifiers were allowed to select up to two players each off the rosters of the two non-postseason teams, Culiacan and Jalisco.

    While the teams still playing will add both players they chose to their respective rosters (LMP rights to those selected remain with the clubs they were picked from), only one can be added to an active roster at each stage of the postseason. A similar draft will be held each stage of the playoffs.

    The first Reinforcement Draft was carried out Friday among the presidents of the qualified teams and chaired by Mex Pac president Carlos Manrique and LMP sports director Christian Veliz. The picks were said to be taken in order of team positions in the general standings, although the draft order would suggest other considerations were taken, since overall leader Hermosillo had the sixth pick in the first round.

1 - OBREGON
    The Yaquis chose first and took Culiacan starting pitcher Manny Barreda, who was second in the LMP in strikeouts with 71, finishing with a 3-6 record and a 2.93 ERA. Barreda, who made his first MLB start with Baltimore in 2021 after 15 years in the minors, is a much better pitcher than his record would suggest and he'll solidy the Obregon rotation.
    The second pick of the Yaquis was Tomateros left-handed reliever Óliver Pérez, a cagey 41-year-old middleman with 20 years of MLB experience.

2 - MAZATLAN
    The Venados chose Jalisco infielder Christian Villanueva, who tied for third in RBIs with 42 to augment a .288 average with 6 home runs and a .794 OPS number. Villanueva hit 20 homers for San Diego as a rookie in 2019 and also spent two seasons in Japan. The 31-year-old will likely split between first base and designated hitter for Mazatlan.
    In the second round, the Deer took reliever Luis Iván Rodríguez, also of Jalisco. Like Villanueva, Rodriguez is a Guadalajara native. He can throw strikes as a setup man.

3 - MEXICALI
    The Aguilas reinforced their outfield with Culiacan's Sebastián Elizalde, the winner of the Héctor Espino Trophy as MVP for 2020-21. Elizalde had an off year (.264/1/25) for the Tomateros but he hit .385 for Monterrey in the LMB last summer and remains a dangerous man at the plate capable of getting hot.
    The second selection of the Eagles was Culiacan third baseman Emmanuel Ávila, who also had a down season (.244/2/7) but is a career .322 hitter in ten LMB summer seasons.

4 - LOS MOCHIS
    Further addressing their solid Mexican base, the Cañeros acquired Rookie of the Year candidate Fernando Villegas, who finished third in batting at .337 for Jalisco with five homers. Calling Villegas a “rookie” is a bit of a stretch, however, since he spent two years in the Pirates system and had played 48 games in three previous winters for the Charros.
    The second reinforcement is reliever Karch Kowalczyk, a five-year Dodgers minor leaguer who was 0-0 and 3.31 in 34 appearances for Jalisco.

5 - NAVOJOA
    The Mayos reinforced their bullpen with reliever Sasagi Sánchez, who turned in 7 holds and 5 saves for Culiacan this campaign with a 1.73 ERA while allowing just three walks in 26 innings. Sanchez only had five saves in nine years prior to the current LMP season but may serve as a closer for Navojoa's bullpen by committee
    The Mayos also took another reliever, David Gutiérrez, who was 0-2 with one save for the Tomateros but also had a 1.96 ERA after helping Yucatan win the LMB pennant in 2022.

6 - HERMOSILLO
    The leaders of both points and general standings opted for Jalisco lefty Tyler Alexander, who finished third in wins with six and had 49 strikeouts in 64 innings. However, the former Brewers farmhand had a 5.20 ERA for the Charros and will need to step it up in joining a rotation already featuring Wilmer Rios, Elian Leyva and Juan Pablo Oramas.
    Hermosillo took Jalisco reliever Jared Wilson as a second option. Wilson was just 1-5 for the Charros but had a solid 1.95 ERA with four saves in 22 appearances.

7 - GUASAVE
    The Algodoneros broke the trend for pitching and chose two outfielders, including Jalisco's Julián Ornelas in the first round. Ornelas hit .292, led the Charros with eight homers, was third on the team with 28 RBIs and held down center field. He's capable of playing all three outfield slots and can steal a base for you as well.
    Guasave's second pick was Jalisco gardener, José Juan Aguilar, a 32-year-old who's lost a step after 13 seasons but hit .296 as a part-timer, strikes out rarely and gets on base.

8 - MONTERREY
    The Gray Ghosts chose Culiacan starting pitcher Kurt Heyer with the eighth pick. A former Cardinals minor leaguer out of Arizona, Heyer was 2-4 with a 4.09 ERA for the Tomateros, allowing just six walks (but also six homers) in 61.2 innings pitched. Nothing spectacular but Monterrey needs pitching.
    Which is why the Sultanes also picked Jalisco's vet righty Javier Solano in the second round. Solano was 2-6 and 3.80 this winter but is 55-44 lifetime and knows how to win.


MEXICAN WBC TEAM ADDS FIVE MORE COACHES

Mexico coach Rigo Beltran

    While names of players have been trickling in regarding Mexico's entry in March's World Baseball Classic, the Naitonal Selection Commission has been busy filling out the coaching staff for manager Benji Gil. Late last month, team general manager Rodrigo Lopez announced the addition of five members to Gil's coaching staff, including a pair of fellow ex-MLBers as pitching coaches. The commission consists of Lopez along with representatives from both the Mexican Baseball Federation (FEMEBE) and the Mexican League.

    Rigo Beltran and Elmer Dessens will pair up in handling Gil's mound staff while brothers Ever and Bobby Magallanes will be joined by Jacob Cruz as batting coaches in Phoenix, where the Verdes Grande will play first-round games in Group C over five days beginning March 11 at the Arizona Diamondbacks' home stadium.

    Beltran was a lefty pitcher who spent all or part of five seasons in the majors between 1997 and 2004 with St. Louis, the New York Mets, Colorado and Montreal as well as a stint in Japan with Hiroshima and with the LMB's Saltillo Saraperos (for whom he was 13-4 in 2005). After retiring as an active player, the Tijuana-born Beltran has coached in Minor League Baseball and was pitching coach with AAA Columbus the past two years and he'll be Terry Francona's bullpen coach in Cleveland next season. He was also pitching coach for Mexico in the 2017 WBC.

    Dessens spent 14 seasons in MLB between 1996 and 2010, pitching for nine teams along the way and going 52-64 with a 4.44 ERA in 441 appearances (including 140 starts), winning 21 games for Cincinnati between 2000 and 2001, pitching for Mexico in both the inaugural WBC in 2006 and in 2009. The Hermosillo product also spent 1999 in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants and hurled four winters with his hometown Naranjeros before wrapping up his playing career in the LMB with Mexico City in 2011. He's spent the past two summers as pitching coach for the Reds' Arizona Complex League rookie team.

    Bobby Magallanes spent three years as an infielder in the Mariners system between 1990 and 1992, never batting higher than .216 for a season, then played several campaigns in independent leagues and in the Mexican League before wrapping up his playing career with the Mexico City Tigres and Puebla of the Liga in 2001. His coaching experience includes time with the Mexican National Team at the Central American & Caribbean Games at Veracruz in 2014, serving with Mexico along with Beltran in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and as an assistant batting coach for the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves.

    Ever Magallanes managed Mexico in the 2014 Central American & Caribbean Games while serving as a coach for Mexico in both the 2009 and 2013 editions of the WBC while managing several years in MiLB (including last summer with the Angels' Indland Empire affiliate in the Class A California League). As a player, the elder Magallanes attended Texas A&M before embarking on a pro career in 1987 that would last 19 seasons, the last 11 in the Mexican League. He went hitless in three plate appearances for Cleveland in 1991.

    Jacob Cruz hit .241 with 19 homers over 409 games for five teams in bits and pieces of nine MLB seasons between 1996 and 2005. The well-traveled Oxnard, California native also played in South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico before retiring after the 2010 season. Over the past five years, Cruz has been an offensive coordinator with the Chicago Cubs (2018), an assistant batting coach in Pittsburgh (2019), an assistant hitting coach in San Francisco (2020) and has served as the Giants' minor league batting coordinator over the past two summers.

    The five join Vinny Castilla, Tony Perezchica and Gil Velazquez, who were named to Gil's coaching staff earlier in December. Mexico will open Pool C play on March 11 against Colombia at 12:30PM local time. They'll also face the host United States, Great Britain and Canada that week.

ORANGEMEN UP 2 GAMES WITH 5 GAMES LEFT

Mazatlan RHP Juan Pablo Tellez

    With only five games left over the final four days of the Mexican Pacific League season (including a slate full of Monday night doubleheaders), the Hermosillo Naranjeros continue to lead the second-half standings with a 19-8 record. Even if the Orangemen lose all five of their games against Los Mochis and Mexicali, they would finish no worse than tied for fourth place and have assured themselves a berth in next month's eight-team playoffs thanks in part to their ten first-half playoff points.

    Right behind Hermosillo are another three teams who are near-locks for postseason action. Los Mochis (17-10), Obregon (15-12) and Guasave (14-13, tied for fourth with Mexicali) would've finished with 16 points apiece if the season had ended Christmas night while the Aguilas would've completed the regular season with 11 points. The rest of the table gets very interesting at that point as Mexicali would nudge out Navojoa (12-15) for fifth seed by a half-point while both Monterrey (12-15) and Mazatlan (11-6) would take the final two playoff berths with 10.0 points each over two halves.

    That would leave a pair of surprises with their noses pressed against the glass while watching the other kids play inside. Defending champion Jalisco (11-16) is tied with Mazatlan and projects to a season total of 8.5 playoff points and a ninth-place seed. Culiacan (10-17) is last in both the second-half standings and in playoff points with just 7.0 overall. The Tomateros will almost have to sweep all five of their remaining games to have a shot at avoiding postseason contention as both teams from last winter's LMP Championship Series may end up missing the first round altogether, something almost unheard of even in the wild world of Mexican baseball.

    In Monday's twinbills, Jalisco is at home in Guadalajara to play a pair against Mazatlan while Culiacan will welcome Obregon at Estadio Tomateros for a crucial doubleheader. Then the midweek series will put the Charros on the road in Obregon and the Tomateros occupying the visitors' dugout in Monterrey. The Yaquis, holders of a season record of 35-28 (third overall) are in the position to play kingbreakers in their five games against two teams desperate for wins.

    In the battle for individual glory, Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela (.358) is on his way to a first batting title with an 18-point lead over Fernando Villegas of Los Mochis (.340) while Los Mochis's Justin Dean (.335) is in third. Heading into the final week of the schedule, there's a three-way tie for the home tun crown as Jesse Castillo (Guasave), Anthony Giansanti (Mexicali) and Yasmany Tomas (Los Mochis) each have ten roundtrippers. 

    Tomas has dropped out of contention for a rare triple crown but his 54 RBIs put him in the drive-in seat (pun intended) to win at least one title as Obregon teammates Victor Mendoza (48) and Yadir Drake (42) may be too far back to catch up. Hermosillo's Jose Cardona literally ran wild in Sunday night's 3-2 loss at Los Mochis by stealing four bases in four attempts against Caneros catcher Juan Uriarte to raise his season total to 25, three more than Randy Romero's 22 for Mazatlan. Dean (Los Mochis) and Nick Torres (Hermosillo) are tied for third with 15 swipes each.

    Among pitchers, Luis Miranda's 1.07 ERA for Los Mochis make him a shoo-in to finish with the lowest number in that category, although Mazatlan's Braulio Torres-Perez' 1.49 gives him a puncher's chance if Miranda gets blown apart in his final start at Guasave later this week. Wilmer Rios of Hermosillo is third at 1.98. Rios leads the Mex Pac with eight wins, one more than teammate Elian Leyva and Mazatlan's Juan Tellez. The latter is a Rookie of the Year candidate despite pitching 14 games (including six starts) last winter for the Venados.

    Manny Barreda of Culiacan struck out nine Obregon batters in six innings on Christmas night to take over the LMP lead in K's with 71, ahead of Guasave's Matt Pobereyko (67) and Javier Solano's 60 for Jalisco. Elkin Alcala (Mazatlan) and Brandon Koch (Guasave) are tied at the top of the table with 18 saves apiece, ahead of the 13 of Joe Riley (Monterrey) and Jake Sanchez (Mexicali).

    After the regular season ends on Thursday night, all four first round playoff series will get underway next Sunday. All best-of-seven postseason series will use the classic 2-3-2 format with travel days following Games Two and Five (if needed)


FANS TO HELP PICK MEX PAC AWARD WINNERS

Los Mochis RHP Luis Miranda

    The Mexican Pacific League is going to allow fans to cast online ballots and help determine five postseason award winners for the 2022-23 season. The special ballots will augment selections made by members of the press covering the LMP's ten teams.

    Each category will have an average of 5 participants to win their respective prize and online voting is open until Friday, December 30. The following nominees include player statistics through December 22:

MANAGER OF THE YEAR (BENJAMÍN "CANANEA" REYES TROPHY)
José Moreno, Los Mochis: 36 wins, 26 losses
Juan Gabriel Castro, Hermosillo: 40 wins, 22 losses
Luis Carlos Rivera, Obregon: 28 wins, 17 losses (Rivera took over on October 30)
Oscar Robles, Guasave: 34 wins, 28 losses

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (BALDOMERO "MELO" ALMADA TROPHY)
Fernando Villegas, Jalisco: .342 AVG./ 5 HR/ 30 RBI/ .931 OPS (Hitting .420 with RISP).
Luis Márquez, Hermosillo: 31 G/33.0 IP/1-1 W-L/0.82 ERA/39 K/0.76 WHIP/16 HLD.
Faustino Carrera, Obregon: 12 G/59.1 IP/6-5 W-L/3.75 ERA/39 K/1.23 WHIP.
José Carlos Medina, Obregon: 23 G/ 31.2 IP/3-0 W-L/1.99 ERA/18 K/1.20 WHIP/1 HLD.
Juan Pablo Tellez, Mazatlan: 12 G/57.2 IP/7-4 W-L/2.81 ERA/39 K/1.21 WHIP.

RELIEVER OF THE YEAR (ISIDRO MÁRQUEZ TROPHY)
Elkin Alcalá, Mazatlan: 31 G/31.0 IP/1-1 W-L/1.45 ERA/29 K/1.06 WHIP/18-20 SV-SVO.
Luis Márquez, Hermosllo: 31 G/33.0 IP/1-1 W-L/0.82 ERA/39 K/0.76 WHIP/16 HLD.
Jake Sánchez, Mexicali: 19 G/18.2 IP/0-0 W-L/1.45 ERA/26 K/0.75 WHIP/13-14 SV-SVO.
Brandon Koch, Guasave: 35 G/32.2 IP/4-2 W-L/1.72 ERA/39 K/1.17 WHIP/17-19 SV-SVO.
Samuel Zazueta, Obregon: 30 G/35.1 IP/3-2 W-L/2.04 ERA/35 K/0.99 WHIP/11-12 SV-SVO.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR (VICENTE ROMO TROPHY)
Luis Miranda, Los Mochis: 11 G/61.2 IP/5-1 W-L/1.02 ERA/54 K/0.84 WHIP.
Matt Pobereyko, Guasave: 12 G/65.1 IP/6-2 W-L/2.07 ERA/67 K/1.03 WHIP.
Wilmer Ríos, Hermosillo: 12 G/77.1 IP/8-2 W-L/1.98 ERA/44 K/0.93 WHIP.
Geno Encina, Guasave: 12 G/72.1 IP/3-4 W-L/2.61 ERA/56 K/1.01 WHIP.
Eduardo Vera, Mexicali: 12 G/61.1 IP/4-2 W-L/2.20 ERA/38 K/0.93 WHIP.
Braulio Torres-Pérez, Mazatlan: 11 G/47.1 IP/3-1 W-L/1.33 ERA/41 K/ 0.99 WHIP.
Elián Leyva, Hermosillo: 9 G/47.2 IP/7-2 W-L/1.70 ERA/52 K/1.24 WHIP.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (HÉCTOR ESPINO TROPHY)
Yasmany Tomás Los Mochis: .325 AVG./10 HR/53 RBI/.888 OPS.
Roberto Valenzuela, Monterrey: .355 AVG./6 HR/27 RBI/.988 OPS.
Justin Dean, Los Mochis: .335 AVG./2 HR/31 RBI/.883 OPS.
Victor Mendoza, Obregon: .282 AVG./7 HR/48 RBI/.808 OPS.
Luis Miranda, Los Mochis: 61.2 IP/5-1 W-L/1.02 ERA/54 K/0.84 WHIP (36.1 shutout innings to start season).
Wilmer Ríos, Hermosillo: 77.1 IP/8-2 W-L/1.98 ERA/44 K/0.93 WHIP.

    To cast a ballot for awards, go to https://votaciones.lmp.mx/los-mas-valiosos/aficion


DURANGO PICKS ROBLES AS MANAGER IN 2023

New Durango manager Oscar Robles

    The Durango Generales have tabbed former major league infielder Oscar Robles as their manager for the 2023 Mexican League season. The Generales named Robles to replace Alvaro Espinoza at the helm after Durango finished eighth in the nine-team North Division last season with a 37-53 record while coming in dead last in the LMB attendance derby, as just 70,771 fans clicked the turnstiles for an average of 1,573 per opening.

    A 46-year-old Tijuana native, Robles broke into baseball in 2004 after signing a free agent contract with Houston. He spent five years in the Astros' system, peaking in 1997 with Class AAA New Orleans of the American Association, where he batted 1-for-3 in two games, but spent the vast majority of his time at the Class A level. Robles then played for the LMB Mexico City Diablos Rojos between 2000 and 2005 and topped the .300 mark five times in six seasons before the team sold him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

    He spent the majority of the 2005 season as a starter in LA, batting .272 in 110 games splitting time between shortstop and third base. He bounced between the minors and the Dodgers and later San Diego the next three years before returning to Mexico for good in 2009 and playing in both the Liga and Mexican Pacific Leagues until his retirement as a player in 2017 as a member of Tijuana's pennant-winning team. In 15 truncated seasons in the LMB, mostly with the Diablos, Robles batted .332 with 238 doubles and 64 homers over 1,180 games. His 12-year winterball totals (primarily with Mexicali) show a .284 average with 50 homers in 709 games as he appeared in six Caribbean Series between 2009 and 2015.

    Robles' managerial career has had its ups and downs, hardly uncommon in Mexico. He did well in Tijuana between 2018 and 2019, going 110-66 and finishing second twice in the LMB North, but a division championship playoff series loss in seven games to eventual champion Monclova sealed his fate with the demanding Uribe family which owns the Toros.

    Robles later managed Quintana Roo in 2021 (32-33 and a wild card playoff series loss to the rival Diablos Rojos) and began last season managing in Union Laguna, where a 9-20 start was enough for the Algodoneros front office to make a change at the helm, accompanied by the usual platitudes on his way out. Five days later he was hired to manage Oaxaca for the rest of the season but was not invited back. Now it's on to Durango, one of the perennial LMB have-nots where Robles will have his work cut out for him at Estadio Francisco Villa.

    The Generales had no problem hitting the ball in 2022, turning in a scorching .341 team average to lead the Liga (including a pair of .400 hitters in Alberth Martinez' .416 mark and Alfredo Lopez at .404 mark), but Durango's pitching was awful at best as the mound staff combined for a 7.83 ERA as only Nico Tellache (6-3/5.65 in 15 starts) earned more than four wins for the season. Only Leon at 8.62 allowed more runs in 2022. When your team averages 6.8 runs per game and still finishes 25 games out of first in a 90-game schedule, your problems are not at the plate. Durango also finished next-to-last in the 18-team circuit in fielding percentage while their collective 95 errors were the second-most in the loop (Leon committed 109 on-field gaffes).

    Currently, Robles is managing the Guasave Algodoneros in the Mexican Pacific League, where he has the team at 34-28 overall and in a solid position for a postseason berth when the LMP playoffs begin in January.

NARANJEROS HOLD FIRST, YAQUS MOVE UP

Hermosillo RHP Wilmer Rios

    It seems like the Hermosillo Naranjeros have led the Mexican Pacific League standings most weeks in both halves of the current season and this week is no exception, but the Obregon Yaquis have started to move up in the second-half tables and now trail the Orangemen with just two weeks left in the regular season.

    Despite losing a 3-2 decision at Guasave Sunday after shutting out the Algodoneros twice in a Saturday doubleheader, Hermosillo has a one-game lead over Obregon with a 13-5 mark while the Yaquis are right behind at 12-6. Saturday was a pitcher's dream for the Naranjeros as Wilmer Rios went all seven innings in a 5-0 win, scattering six hits anstriking out six Cottoneers batters as Luis Alfonso Cruz went 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI to pace the offense. Then it was Jose Samayoa and two relievers who allowed just two singles in a seven-inning 2-0 whitewash for the nightcap with Isaac Paredes socking a solo homer in the sixth for the winners.

    Guasave avoided the sweep Sunday thanks to a Ramon Ramirez walkoff single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Cesar Vargas that scored pinch-runner Ciro Norazgary from with the game-winning run. Although he didn't the the win, it was Algodoneros starter Gino Encina's turn to shine on the hill with seven scoreless innings on two hits and seven strikeouts.

    Meanwhile over the weekend, Obregon swept three games in Navojoa and likewise shut out the Mayos in the first two games. Friday's result was an 8-0 blanking with starter Dallas Martinez and four relievers combining on an 8-hitter. Yordanys Linares doubled twice and tripled to score two runs and drive in two more for the Yaquis. Saturday was more of the same with Obregon taking a shutout with as Arturo Lopez tossed a two-hitter over five innings and Carlos Sepulveda was 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI.

    The Yaquis broke out the brooms in Sunday's 3-2 win but they had to wait until the top of the ninth to start sweeping after Victor Mendoza and Jose Carlos Urena led off the frame with back-to-back homers, erasing a 2-1 deficit. Samuel Zazueta then retired the Navojoa side to nail down the win. Fans had lots of room to take in the action as fewer than 10,000 watched the three contests at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon, with two games attracting fewer than 3,000 spectators.

    In all, it was a pitcher's showcase in games on Friday and Saturday nights, with with eight of the ten games played ending in shutouts, unusual even for the Mex Pac. The bats woke up Sunday with nobody being kept off the scoreboard as 36 runs were scored over the five games. Not exactly Murderer's Row stuff, but not exactly Hitless Wonders material either.

    Los Mochis finished the weekend in third place with an 11-7 second-half record after dropping two of three to Culiacan, one game ahead of 10-8 Mexicali, who took two of three over defending champion Jalisco (who scored four runs in the series). It then becomes a logjam for the final six slots on the table, as 8-10 Mazatlan and Culiacan are just a game ahead of four teams with identical 7-11 records: Guasave, Jalisco, Monterrey and Navojoa.

    All four clubs tied for seventh finished at the bottom of the standings in the first half and need to start making a move to avoid missing the eight-team playoffs next month. Defending champ Jalisco and Culiacan, who've won four titles in six years under skipper Benji Gil, are tied for the worst overall record in the circuit at 22-31 each.

    Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela still leads the batting race with a .350 average but things are tightening up as Los Mochis' Justin Dean is now only ten points back at .340 while his Caneros teammate Yosmany Tomas is third with a .325 mark. No real changes in the home run derby as Jesse Castillo (Guasave) and Anthony Giansanti (Mexicali) are tied at the top with 10 dingers each while Sebastian Valle (Obregon) ad Niko Vasquez (Mexicali) are tied for third at eight apiece. Victor Mendoza (Obregon) leads in RBIs with 43, ahead of Los Mochis' Tomas' 41 and Yadir Drake of Obregon with 39. Randy Romero of Mazatlan has reached 20 stolen bases for the season, Hermosillo's Jose Cardona is second with 17 swipes and three other players are tied for third with 14 each.

    With his shutout win Saturday over Guasave (assuming the LMP awards him a shutout by holding the Algodoneros scoreless over the league-allotted seven innings, unlike MLB refusing to recognize its own rules in denying Madison Bumgarner a no-hitter in 2020 because he didn't pitch an extra two innings that Rob Manfred ruled weren't required), Wilmer Rios of Hermosillo became the Mex Pac's first seven-game winner this winter. Mexicali's David Reyes and Juan Tellez of Mazatlan are tied for second with six win apiece. Los Mochis' Luis Miranda allowed six earned runs over his last two starts after letting in one over his first eight outings but still has a 1.15 ERA for the season, well below the 1.89 of Juan Pablo Oramas (Hermosillo) and 1.90 of Manny Barreda (Culiacan).

    Barreda's 60 strikeouts lead the lead, with Luis Payan's 55 for Navojoa and Matt Pobereyko's 53 for Guasave the next-highest totals. Mazatlan closer Elkin Alcala's string of consecutive saves ended at five after he didn't get the save Sunday against Monterrey, but the Colombian's 15 salvados still lead the loop. Brandon Koch of Guasave is second with 13 saves while Josh Lueke is tied for third at 12 saves with Mexicali closer Jake Sanchez, who got his 84th career LMP save Saturdfay against Jalisco to tie another former Aguila, David Cardenas, for second on the all-time list. Well ahead in first on the list is Salon de la Fama member Isidro Marquez with 134.

     Among the five upcoming midweek series beginning Tuesday, the most notable will involve third-place Los Mochis at second-place Obregon for three games. Next weekend, a couple of proud franchises will meet in a must-win series as Culiacan visits Guadalajara to take on the Jalisco Charros.

    Also, Justine Siegal is in the middle of her annual peripatetic tour of Mex Pac cities during which she spends a couple days coaching for the local LMP teams and holding clinics for young female players. Siegal has already done short stints in Hermosillo, Jalisco and Guasave and is currently spending a couple days in Mexicali.


PUEBLA SWEEPS MONCLOVA IN LIM'S SERIE DEL PRINCIPE

Puebla celebrates LIM pennant

    After winning the first two games of the Mexican Winter League's Prince Series, including one marathon match that lasted into a second day, the Puebla Pericos returned home to complete their sweep over defending champion Monclova with a 14-6 win Wednesday against the Acereros at Estadio Hermanos Serdan. Monclova had defeated the Parakeets in last year's Serie del Principe, the first since the Mexican League resuscitated its Liga Invernal Mexicana for prospects and some veterans after shutting it down following the 2017 campaign.
 
    The Pericos clinched the LIM pennant last Wednesday night by breaking open a 5-5 game with four-run outbursts in both the fifth and sixth innings. Raudel Meraz' two-run homer in the bottom of the fith gave Puebla a 9-5 lead while Luis Cossio's two-run single and a homer by Victor Landeta made it a 13-5 contest in favor of the hosts. Meraz and Rogelio Cobos both had two hits and a homer while Cossio finished with a pair of hits and two ribbies. Aldo Nunez scored on Dominic Bethancourt's two-run singleton in the top of the first to give Monclova a quick 2-0 and later belted a solo homer for the Acereros.

    The opening game of the series on Saturday, December 3 saw Puebla outlast the Acereros, 2-1, in a pitcher's duel at Estadio Monclova. Hector Sepulveda pitched five shutout innings for the Pericos, allowing just two hits for the win. Monclova starter Isaac Esqueda took the loss despite a great outing of his own over five frames, letting in one run on a Herman Alvarado RBI single in the second while scattering six hits. Puebla reliever Jose Hernandez sparkled by striking out all five Steelers batsmen he faced.

    Game Two was no less thrilling, although the 11-8 Puebla win took considerably longer to finish. While pitchers took center stage in the opener, this one featured batters and Mother Nature in a late Sunday night appearance delayed the contest until Monday night. Monclova raced off to a 7-0 lead that featured a nightmarish first inning for Parakeet pitchers, who gave up seven walks in the entrada, five with the bases loaded. 

    The Pericos fought back and even took an 8-7 lead in the top of the sixth on Giancarlo Servin's two-run homer off Acereros reliever Jonathan Lopez. Monclova tied it up in the bottom of the sixth on a solo blast by pinch-hitter Edgar Salazar off Hernandez. The score stood at 8-8 until fog stopped play in the top of the eleventh at 11:11PM. After the game resumed Monday, Armando Aguilar's three-run roundtripper in the top of the twelfth gave Puebla an 8-7 that held through the end of the game, after which the two teams disembarked for the third (and final) game in Angelopolis.


MEX PAC, LiDOM CALL FOR CHANGES TO CARBBEAN SERIES

   We've called the annual Caribbean Series the “Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball” for years here on BBM and while some of its luster has diminished in recent winters due to fewer major league players and smaller attendance, the Serie del Caribe remains the most important baseball tournament among most countries involved, with national pride remaining a common denominator among fans.There is still no other event like it in the sport.

    In recent seasons, Mexico and the Dominican Republic have staged the best-attended Caribbean Series and now leagues from both nations have come together to create a protocol called the Miami Agreements in which they seek improvements to the event, which is scheduled to resume in Venezuela in February.. What follows is a translated story from ESPN Deportes by writer Juan Arturo Recio, who concludes that while the LiDOM and Mex Pac state a shared desire for changes to the CS, those changes weren't spelled out while the scarcity of financial details makes it impossible to determine what their points of contention are:

    A recent agreement between the Dominican and Mexican winter leagues indicates that both circuits want improvements in terms of the economic aspect of the international event.

    On Tuesday, November 29, the Professional Baseball League of the Dominican Republic (LiDOM) and the Mexican Pacífic League (LMP) announced the signing of a "collaboration protocol" which they called "The Miami Agreements." The press release through which the announcement was made does not go into much detail about what is being sought, but it does give hints regarding aspects of cooperation between the Latin American winterball circuits.

    The joint statement published by the leagues talks about fostering ties to work together for the benefit of baseball in the region, but the most interesting point is that they will seek to promote joint initiatives within the Caribbean Baseball Confederation. Among several aspects mentioned in the press release, it talks about the economic aspects of the tournament.

    The agreement states that the two leagues want to "promote the definition of a business model that allows the Caribbean Confederation and its main product, the Caribbean Series, to be placed commercially at its fair value and at efficient levels of profitability."

    Said wording brings up the question of how profitable it is to hold a Caribbean Series and if the event creates a profit for all involved.

    Based on the words used by the leagues in their own statement, it can be inferred that the current business model is one that they consider deficient. Unfortunately, the little access there is to the monetary information of the event makes it extremely difficult to access the data in this regard. However, for the year 2020, according to MB Sport president Antonio Muñoz Grajales, whose company is in charge of assembling the event in Puerto Rico, its economic impact would be closely related to the creation of two thousand jobs and a hotel occupancy of five thousand rooms.

    Muñoz himself indicated during an interview in 2015, when the event was held on the Caribbean island, that the profits generated were about four or five million dollars but with indirect jobs, the sum could quadruple.

    Without more information in this regard, doubts remain as to whether the member countries of the Caribbean Baseball Confederation see a real benefit in staging and holding the event. For several years, Mexico has been the nation with the most venues since, at least in terms of ticket sales, it surpasses other countries while the Dominican Republic is coming off what is considered its best Caribbean Series in decades. However, it is clear that both leagues see room to grow, at least financially.

    We will only have to wait to see what will be the best joint ventures that will be proposed in the future by Mexico and the Dominican Republic in search of a "better" Caribbean Series.

JALISCO TOPS CULIACAN IN 7, ON TO CARIBBEAN SERIES

The Mexican Pacific League’s championship series came down to a seventh and deciding game for the third year in a row but instead of Culiacan winning the rubber match as they did in 2020 and 2021, the Jalisco Charros crushed the Tomateros, 8-2, Saturday night in Guadalajara. The win punched the Charros’ ticket to the Caribbean Series in Santo Domingo, where Jalisco will represent Mexico in a Friday opener against the host Liga Dominicana champion Cibao Gigantes at 8PM local time. 

After Jalisco won the first two games in Guadalajara, the series shifted north to Culiacan for the next three contests. The Tomateros took a series lead last Monday by trimming the Charros, 7-3. Manager Benji Gil’s defending champions exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the first inning to chase Jalisco starter Brennan Bernardino. Jesus Fabela closed out the scoring with a two-run triple off Manuel Flores. The Charros scored in the third when ageless Manny Rodriguez hit a solo homer off Manny Barreda and again in the eighth when Feliz Perez crunched a two-run roundtripper off reliever Alejandro Chavez. Barreda got the win, the 10th of his LMP playoff career, by tossing six innings and allowing one run on two hits and a walk, striking out six.

Culiacan tied the series at two games apiece by slipping past the Charros, 3-2, in Tuesday’s Game Four. Starters Irwin Delgado of Jalisco and Tomateros opener Jose Bravo swapped zeros on the scoreboard until the bottom of the fourth when Alexis Wilson and Emmanuel Avila contributed RBI singles to give Culiacan a 2-0 lead. Jalisco scored their first run in the top of the fifth when Missael Rivera barely beat Sebastian Elizalde’s throw to the plate from right field on an Esteban Quiroz single. The Charros tied the game in the top of the eighth when Christian Villanueva singled home Jose Juan Aguilar, but the Tomateros went again for good in the bottom of the frame when Elizade came in from third on a Stevie Wilkerson infield single. Culiacan closer Alberto Baldonado struck out three batsmen in the ninth for the save.

Jalisco regained the series lead in Game Five by trouncing the Tomateros, 8-2, Wednesday night in Culiacan. The hosts went up, 2-0, in the bottom of the first on Victor Mendoza’s two-run double off Charros starter Orlando Lara, but the 36-year-old lefty settled down and allowed no more runs over his winning six-inning stint. Jalisco went ahead in the top of the second on an RBI double by Villanueva and a two-run single from Amadeo Zazueta. Villanueva’s two-run homer in the sixth made it a 5-2 game and a three-run bomb from Perez one entrada later closed the scoring for the night. The Charros outhit Culiacan by a 12-to-4 margin as Dariel Alvarez singled three times and scored thrice. Anthony Vasquez suffered the loss in his last start for the Tomateros after announcing his pending retirement, giving up four runs on six hits over five innings. Lara has yet to allow an earned run in the postseason.

After Thursday’s travel day, the title series resumed Friday with Game Six in Guadalajara as the visiting Tomateros stayed alive with a 5-3 win over the Charros. The two teams were knotted up at 3-3 in a see-saw battle before the defending champs went ahead for good in the eight when Efren Navarro led off with a grounder to Jalisco third baseman Agustin Murillo, who made a diving stop but threw the ball into foul territory, allowing Navarro to advance to second. Pinch-runner Randy Romero took third when Alexis Wilson singled and came home on an Avila sac fly to right. A Joey Meneses RBI single in the ninth closed the scoring for both teams as Tomateros closer Baldonado held Jalisco scoreless in the bottom of the inning to earn the save. Reliever Oliver Perez got the win while Jared Wilson suffered his second series loss out of the bullpen for Jalisco.

The deciding Game Seven was played Saturday in Estadio Charros and there was little doubt in this one after four innings. Jalisco broke open a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second with consecutive run-scoring doubles from Zazueta, Flores and Aguilar, then batted through the order in the fourth for four tallies, including consecutive RBI singles by Quiroz, Japhet Amador and Alvarez to make it a 7-0 game. Culiacan broke into the scoring column with a solo homer by Meneses in the top of the seventh but the hosts plated one more run in the eighth when Flores and Aguilar hit back-to-back doubles off Tomateros reliever Derrick Loop. Charros starter Bernardino tossed eight innings, allowing four hits (including Meneses’ roundtripper) and striking out four. Culiacan opener Barreda was racked up for six runs on eight hits and a walk in 3.1 frames as the Charros outhit the visitors by a 15-to-4 margin, with Aguilar contributing two doubles and a single.

Manager Roberto Vizcarra’s troops will load up on reinforcements prior to heading to the Dominican Republic, where the six league champions will likely reflect de facto all-star teams more than the rosters they ended their regular seasons with. 

AGUILAS’ SANCHEZ NAMED LMP MVP, RELIEVER OF THE YEAR

Mexicali closer Jake Sanchez has capped an extraordinary season by being voted the Mexican Pacific League’s Most Valuable Player, earning the Hector Espino Trophy. The 32-year-old righty from Brawley, California was also awarded the Isidro Marquez Trophy as the LMP Reliever of the Year.

By recording 26 saves for the Aguilas in as many opportunities (setting another Mex Pac record for consecutive saves) to augment a 1.69 ERA, Sanchez earned a measure of redemption after some relatively lean years following a 2016-17 season during which he led the LMP with 21 saves and posted a remarkable 0.28 ERA, then earned a pair of salvados during that winter’s Caribbean Series. He then bounced around the A’s minor league system for a couple years before landing in the Mexican League with Tijuana for the Fall 2018 season. In three years with the Toros between 2018 and 2021, Sanchez has only turned in 13 saves and a 3.54 ERA over 76 trips from the bullpen (although he was a member of TJ’s pennant-winning team last summer). 

Sanchez suffered through a tough 2020-21 season for Mexicali as well by finishing with five saves and a 4.24 ERA in 19 outings before taking a blunt instrument to the LMP record book this winter. He becomes the first hurler to win MVP honors since Mazatlan’s Francisco Campos won the pitching Triple Crown in 2002-03 and the first reliever ever to cop top honors. Sanchez won 36 percent of the vote among media members, ahead of Navojoa outfielder Tirso Ornelas’ 19 percent and the 16 percent of votes cast for Obregon’s Victor Mendoza as six players received at least 12 percent support as Most Valuable Player.

Sanchez had an easier time fending off competitors for Reliever of the Year, pulling down 91 percent of that vote while only Jalisco’s Alejandro Tovalin (8 percent) and Carlos Stiff Rodriguez of Monterrey (1 percent) joined him as vote-getters. The 6’1” product of Iowa Wesleyan College added an 0.84 WHIP and 48 strikeouts in 32 innings to rise to fifth in Mex Pac history with 72 career saves, four behind Oscar Villareal.

Hermosillo starter Elian Leyva staged his own comeback season by winning the Vicente “Huevo” Romo Trophy as Pitcher of the Year. Over 12 starts for the Naranjeros, the Cuban-born Leyva led LMP openers in four categories: wins (7), ERA (1.54), WHIP (0.99) and lowest opponent batting average (.205). He also posted a rare so-called “immaculate inning” when he struck out Los Mochis’ Jorge Rivera, Edgar Robles and Isaac Rodriguez on nine pitches during his first start on October 8. Leyva, who won the Romo Trophy two years ago after winning the Pitching Triple Crown with Jalisco, received 80 percent of the vote, well ahead of teammate Wilmer Rios (6%).

Ornelas received a measure of consolation by earning the Baldomero “Melo” Almada Trophy as Rookie of the Year. The Navojoa outfielder clinched that win by leading the league with a .353 batting average in 60 games on 77 hits, including 16 doubles and a pair of homers. The Padres prospect collected 84 percent of votes cast, well ahead of Mazatlan’s Randy Romero’s 12 percent. Ornelas becomes the ninth Mayos player to be chosen as Rookie of the Year.

To nobody’s surprise, Navojoa helmsman Matias Carrillo was named Manager of the Year after piloting the Mayos to the best regular season record (40-28) and top playoff seed after the team went 23-36 last winter and missed the playoffs. It marks the third time Carrillo, who was inducted into the Salon de la Fama as a player a year ago, has taken home the Benjamin “Cananea” Reyes Trophy after doing it in 2011-12 with Guasave and 2016-17 with Navojoa before Mayos owner Victor Cuevas fired him three months after suffering a first-round playoff loss. Carrillo won 73 percent of the media vote, followed by Guasave’s Oscar Robles at 13 percent.

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Cornelio Garcia, 1B (1984-07)

The first player out of Mexico’s baseball academy near Monterrey to sign with an MLB organization, Cornelio Garcia went on to fashion a notable career in both the Mexican League and Mexican Pacific League as a good-hitting, fleet-footed outfielder and first baseman over 24 seasons.

Cornelio Garcia Chaidez was born January 23, 1955 in Ensenada, Baja California Norte, where he was a star track runner as a youth.  After playing in the Academia and batting .225 in 19 games for Yucatan as a 19-year-old in 1984, Garcia signed on with the White Sox that summer. He played minor league ball for seven seasons in their organization, including three stints at AA Birmingham. Garcia hit .277 with 20 homers, 134 stolen bases and 254 RBIs over 570 games while turning in an OBP of .324 or higher every season before returning to the Leones during the 1990 campaign.

 

After hitting .290 in 40 games for Yucatan in 1990, Garcia went on a tear during which he never hit below .300 for the next 16 seasons to set a Liga record. The 5’11” 154-pounder joined Monterrey in 1995, leading the LMB in 1997 with 171 hits and a .382 batting average.  He also led in stolen bases with 45 for Yucatan in 1993 and triples with 11 for the Sultanes in 1995. 

 

When he retired after one final turn with the Sultanes in the 2007 season, Garcia had a total of 2,095 hits for an LMB career batting average of .345, which is tied for fourth all-time with Teo Acosta and Oswaldo Olivares and is the highest among all Mexican-born players. His 1,174 runs scored are 14th among all Liga batsmen while Garcia’s 340 stolen bases rank fifth.

Garcia was also a hitting machine over his 20 winters for Hermosillo. While he never won a MexPac batting title, he did lead the LMP with 79 hits and 47 runs in 1993-94 and topped the circuit with 18 doubles in 1999-2000 en route to a Mex Pac career .288 hitting mark, fourth all-time. His 151 stolen bases in 1,010 LMP games ranks eighth all-time, while his 568 runs scored are sixth on the list.

Although never regarded as a power hitter, especially for a first baseman over his latter years (his career-high in homers was 15), Cornelio Garcia made his mark in Mexican baseball as a good instinctive hitter who was aggressive at the plate and on the bases plus a quality glove man in the field. Carlos Fragoso, who has scouted in Mexico for both the Yankees and Red Sox, compares Garcia to Vic Davalillo. He was selected to the Salon de la Fama in 2013.