LMB REGULAR SEASON ENDS: TJ, DIABLOS TOP SEEDS

Mexico City OF Julian Ornelas

The Mexican League’s 2022 regular season came to a close Sunday as defending champion Tijuana finished one game ahead of Dos Laredos (59-27) to finish in first place in the Northern Division with an Liga-best 62-28 record. The Mexico City Diablos Rojos similarly outlasted Tabasco in the LMB South at 50-34, three games up on the 47-37 Olmecas. 

Those four teams will be joined by eight more in the postseason, beginning with three games Tuesday night involving the six qualifying LMB North teams. The six LMB South playoff teams will open their respective first round series Wednesday night. Monterrey (51-39) will be in Monclova (54-31) for an 8:35ET contest Tuesday, Dos Laredos hosts Union Laguna (48-40) at the same time and Tijuana welcomes Aguascalientes (42-46) at 10:35ET.

On Wednesday, the LMB South first round begins as Mexico City will host ancient rival Veracruz (41-48), the Quintana Roo Tigres (44-48) play Tabasco in Macuspana and Yucatan (46-43) will be at Puebla (48-39). The LMB will use the “lucky loser” system employed for decades during the Mexican Pacific League’s winterball season, in which all three series winners advance to their division semifinals along with the team that fared the best in losing their opening round matchup.

The Toros closed out their 90-game schedule Sunday with a 13-4 drubbing of Laguna on the road at Torreon’s historic Estadio Revolucion. Felix Perez cracked a pair of homers while starter Arturo Reyes tossed five innings and allowed just one run on an Alan Cordoba RBI single in the bottom of the first that gave the Algodoneros a 1-0 lead. 

The Toros roared back with six runs in the second, keyed by a 2-run Junior Lake double off Laguna reliever Josh Lueke, who allowed all six counters on five hits, one walk and an error by Cordoba at third base. The Bulls lead stretched to 9-1 in the top of the seventh as the defending champs never looked back. The Tijuana win rendered Dos Laredos’ 4-1 win over Aguascalientes in Nuevo Laredo moot. The Tecolotes got homers from Kennys Vargas and Arturo Rodriguez in support of a great start from Gabino Avalos (5 IP, 1 H, 0 R) in 100-degree heat at Parque La Junta. 

Meanwhile, Mexico City doubled up, 14-7, on little sister Oaxaca Sunday in front of 11,509 fans at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in the nation’s capital. The Guerreros jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first but the Diablos came back with big innings of five runs in the third, four in the fourth and five more in the seventh to wear down the Oaxaca pitchers. Leadoff hitter Julian Ornelas had a banner day for the Red Devils, going 4-for-6 with four RBIs, including a pair of two-run homers. Moises Gutierrez, Alejandro Gonzalez and Emmanuel Avila combined for nine of Mexico City’s 18 hits, scoring eight runs and driving in two more. Bryan Araiza crushed a three-run homer for the Guerreros in the fourth while former Diablos center fielder Carlos Figueroa was 3-for-5 with two doubles and a pair of runs for Oaxaca.

Tabasco topped Puebla, 9-6, Sunday to edge out the Pericos by one-and-a half games for second place in the LMB South. Puebla had built a 5-1 lead, thanks in part to Peter O’Brien’s two-run homer in the top of the second, but the Olmecas took the lead with six runs in the sixth frame as both Edwin Garcia and Herlis Rodriguez stroked two-run doubles to stake reliever Francisco Moreno a 7-6 lead. Maikel Serrano’s two-run homer to left made it a three-run Tabasco advantage and the Olmecas held on for the win as 4,750 looked on at Estadio Angel Toledo Meza in Macuspana, their temporary home while Villahermosa’s Parque Centenario 27 de Febrero undergoes a major facelift 34 miles away.

ROSARIO WINS HR, RBI TITLES; MENDEZ (7-0) COPS ERA CROWN

Saltillo OF Rainel Rosario

Although Saltillo slugger Rainel Rosario fell short in his bid for the Mexican League Triple Crown after contending in all three categories, the 33-year-old Dominican outfielder still tied for the home run crown, won the RBI title and finished tenth in the batting race. He was one of the few bright spots in a disappointing season for the Saraperos, who finished five games behind Aguascalientes for the sixth and final LMB North playoff slot.

Rosario, a former Cardinals farmhand who spent 2014 and 2105 in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp, tied Tijuana’s Felix Perez for the lead in homers with 38 each (a good total for a 90-day schedule). Rosario and Perez were 1-2 in the RBI race, ending the campaign with 116 and 109 ribbies, respectively. 

Rosario also finished seventh in the batting race as his Saltillo teammate, Cuban-born first baseman Henry Urrutia, won the batting title with a .420 average, ahead of Durango’s Alberth Martinez (.416) and Tabasco’s Roel Santo (.411). A second Durango player, Alfredo Lopez, rounded out the quartet of .400 hitters with a .404 average of his own. Urrutia, who hit .350 over five years for La Tunas in the Cuban National Series before defecting in 2010, has never hit below .361 in four years playing in the Mexican League.

Quintana Roo outfielder Tito Polo led the circuit with 35 stolen bases in 44 attempts, one more swipe than Cade Gotta of Dos Laredos. Longtime Yokohama outfielder Tomo Otosaka made a successful conversion to Mexico after eight years in NPB by batting .367 and finishing third with 26 steals while splitting the season with Leon and Saltillo. The Saraperos hit .316 as a team with 154 homers, but their collective 7.67 ERA doomed them to their seventh-place finish at 38-52.

Saltillo was hardly the only LMB team with pitching woes. Batting averages were a combined .304 league-wide as 10 of 18 teams finished at .300 or better (with Durango topping the list at .341). Conversely, Mexican League pitchers allowed 6.11 earned runs per game, with Leon bringing up the rear at 8.62. Even so, there were some solid individual performers among all the mound carnage in 2022. Monterrey starter Yohander Mendez, a Texas Rangers hurler between 2016-19, was awarded the ERA title after turning in a sparkling 2.78 mark over 15 starts and 74.1 innings en route to a 7-0 record for the Sultanes. 

Longtime Tijuana starter Carlos Hernandez, working out of the bullpen this summer, was one of eight pitchers with eight wins at 8-0, but the wins title was shared at nine apiece by Veracruz reliever Luis Marquez (9-1) and Monclova starter Wilmer Rios (9-4), the latter tossing a pair of shutouts and three complete games (both best in the Liga). Marquez had an excellent year with a 2.38 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 53 innings for the Aguilas. Just three starters finished with 100 or more strikeouts in the shortened schedule: Quintana Roo’s Pedro Fernandez (103), Tijuana veteran Manny Barreda (102) and another vet, Erick Leal of Aguascalients (100).

The saves crown went to Monterrey closer Neftali Perez, who was the 2010 American League Rookie of the Year for the Texas Rangers and selected to that year’s MLB All-Star Game. Perez, in his first Mexican League season after spending all or part of 10 campaigns in the big leagues, finished with 24 saves to beat another former MLBer, Tijuana’s Fernando Rodney, by two salvados.

TOROS WIN ATTENDANCE DERBY; LMB DRAWS 3.56 MILLION

Estadio Nacional, Tijuana

It’s become commonplace for the Tijuana Toros to finish at or near the top of the Mexican League attendance tables and 2022 was no exception. While the Uribe family has sometimes made what could charitably called capricious decisions in running their franchise in the border city, there’s no question that they’ve made the right moves in bringing fans into Estadio Nacional consistently over the years.

The recently-concluded regular season showed the defending champions with both the best record in the LMB at 62-28 and the most backsides in the stands at 453,961 clicking the turnstiles at their 17,000-seat ballpark, an average of 10,088 that was the highest in all of minor league baseball this year. The Yucatan Leones, always a strong draw in Merida over the decades, finished second with 440,165 attending games in their fortieth season at Parque Kukulkan.

Overall, a total of 3,564,524 people went to 792 Mexican League games during the regular season, an average of 4,501 per opening. The numbers represent an increase in average attendance from 2021. Crowds went up 2,015 per opening over last year, a gain of 81 percent over the previous average of 2,486. Overall attendance naturally took an upward spike after the schedule was increased from 66 to 90 games per team. Still, it’s hard not to be impressed with the LMB more than doubling their total attendance of 1,446,929 in 2021, the circuit’s first year back as a fully-independent loop after more than seven decades as a member of Minor League Baseball.

The hike in league-wide numbers does not hide the fact that several, if not most, of the 18 Mexican League franchises are struggling financially, some mightily. Although five teams averaged over 5,000 per game in attendance (with Monterrey, Saltillo and Mexico City joining Tijuana and Yucatan at the top of the derby), another five clubs drew fewer than 100,000 over an average of 44 home games. Tabasco (81,656), Guadalajara (78,910), Aguascalientes (74,606), Oaxaca (71,916) and Durango (70,771) drew fewer attendees combined than Tijuana, Yucatan and Monterrey each did alone while averaging just over 1,700 per opening.

ESPN TO STREAM MEXICAN LEAGUE GAMES IN 2021

Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega

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

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

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

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

Diablos executive president Othon Diaz

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

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

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

PURO BEISBOL: PACHO FIRED AFTER BACKING MAZATLAN MAYOR

Ex-Venados manager Juan Jose Pacho

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mazatlan mayor Luis Benitez Torres

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

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

SALON DE LA FAMA MEMBER JORGE FITCH DIES AT 87

Jorge Fitch as Puebla shortstop

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

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

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

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

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

Fitch passed away at 87 last week

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

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

MARIACHIS HIRE GIL AS MANAGER, "EL TITAN" SIGNED

New Mariachis bench boss Benji Gil

    After weeks of speculation among Mexican baseball media that Guadalajara's new Mexican League team would hire former MLB infielder Benji Gil as their first manager, the Mariachis finally confirmed last week that Gil would indeed be the expansion team's dugout boss for the 2021 season. He is the last manager named for the upcoming Liga season. One day before that announcement, the team verified the signing of former MLB all-star first baseman Adrian “El Titan” Gonzalez to a playing contract.

    Gil, who was born in Tijuana in 1972, went to high school in Chula Vista, California and was the Rangers' first round draft pick in 1991. After only two years in the minors, Gil was Texas' Opening Day shortstop in 1993, going 0-for-3 with a walk in a 7-4 win at Baltimore on April 5 that year. Though the 20-year-old was sent down to the minors for more seasoning after batting .123 in 22 games, he returned in 1995 and was a Rangers' starter that year, batting .219 with nine homers in 130 games. Gil was eventually traded away and spent time in the White Sox and Marlins systems before landing in Anaheim in 2010. He was a top reserve and part-time starter for the Angels for the next four years, playing for the Halos in their 2002 World Series win over San Francisco (batting 4-for-5 with a double in three games).

    Following his 2003 release from the Angels, Gil spent time with five MLB organizations over the next two years but never appeared in a big league game again. He then played in the Mexican League between 2006 and 2011, suiting up for Monterrey, Chihuahua and Oaxaca (winning the 2007 pennant with the Sultanes and representing the Dorados in the 2008 and 2009 LMB All-Star Games). After going 1-for-3 in one game for independent Fort Worth in 2012, Gil retired as a player at age 39.

    The Mariachis will mark Gil's first shot as an LMB helmsman, but he is no stranger to running a professional team in Guadalajara. The 48-year-old has spent three winterball seasons managing the Mexican Pacific League's Jalisco Charros. Although his teams have won four LMP titles in his six years, the volatile Gil's reign has rarely been quiet and he's had run-ins with the LMP office, the Charros' front office and even his own players, nearly getting into a fistfight with Jalisco centerfielder Rico Noel in the middle of a game. He's come under some criticism for failing to win a Caribbean Series title in his last three tries, but you still have to win your league pennant to get that far and he DID lead Mexico to the 2015 Serie del Caribe crown.

MEXICAN LEAGUE 2021 MANAGERS
    Northern Division: Aguascalientes-Luis Carlos Rivera, Durango-Felix Fermin, Guadalajara-Benji Gil, Union Laguna-Omar Malaves, Dos Laredos-Pablo Ortega, Monclova-Pat Listach, Monterrey-Homar Rojas, Saltillo-Roberto Vizcarra, Tijuana-Omar Vizquel.
    Southern Division: Campeche-Francisco Campos, Leon-Tim Johnson, Mexico City-Miguel Ojeda, Oaxaca-Erick Rodriguez, Puebla-Carlos Gastelum, Quintana Roo-Adan Munoz, Tabasco-Pedro Mere, Veracruz-Leo Rodriguez III, Yucatan-Geronimo Gil.

Adrian Gonzalez in his new uniform

    One of Gil's main men in Guadalajara will be the aforementioned Gonzalez, a Tijuana-raised player who likewise attended high school in Chula Vista before becoming a first-round draft pick. “El Titan” has played for Mexico in every World Baseball Classic since its 2006 inception and is hoping his time with the Mariachis will be a springboard to a roster spot with the Verdes Grande in this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

    His resume as a major leaguer (317 homers and 1,220 RBIs over 15 seasons) after being the first pick of the 2001 MLB draft is probably more impressive than any player vying for a berth on manager Juan Gabriel Castro's team. Gonzalez has also spent several Mexican Pacific League seasons playing alongside older brother Edgar with the Mazatlan Venados, though his last foray into winterball was more than a decade ago.

    However, the five-time All-Star will turn 39 next month and has not played in a competitive game since his release from the New York Mets during the 2018 season. Castro himself has opined that he already has plenty of qualified candidates at first base and designated hitter for the six-team baseball Olympiad, and that “El Titan” should not look at a place on the team as a given.

    With a scheduled May 20 opening date for the Mexican League this year and a July 28 first game in Olympic competition, Gonzalez will not have much time to shake off nearly three years of inactivity. Since Guadalajara also signed another veteran first baseman, Saul Soto, last month, Gil will likely alternate the two between duties at DH and the initial hassock because both are expected to bring potent bats with power to the fledgling team's lineup this summer.

MONCLOVA BRINGS IN EX-CUBS SS ADDISON RUSSELL

Addison Russell during his Cubs days

    The defending Mexican League champion Monclova Acereros have strengthened their infield with the signing of former Chicago Cubs all-star shortstop Addison Russell to a one-year contract for the 2021 season. The Steelers are hoping Russell will help fill the void in their batting order created when catcher Bruce Maxwell signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets last year.

    Now 27, Russell was taken out of Pace High School in Floriday by Oakland with the 11th overall pick of the 2012 draft. He was the 2013 Rookie of the Year in the Class A California League and that year's Arizona Fall League All-Prospects team while considered one of the top prospects in the A's system. However, with Oakland fighting for a playoff berth down the stretch of the 2014 campaign, GM Billy Beane included the rights to Russell in a multiplayer trade to the Cubs for pitchers Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija.

    Prior the 2015 season, Baseball America listed Russell as the third-best prospect in MLB. He made his big league debut with Chicago on April 21 of that year and went on to play 142 games at shortstop and second base for the Cubs, batting .242 with 13 homers and 54 RBIs. He also appeared in the postseason, breaking up a no-hitter by St. Louis' John Lackey with a sixth-inning single in Chicago's NLDS series with the Cardinals.

    Russell then stepped up the following season by cracking 21 homers and driving in 95 runs as the Cubs won their first pennant since 1945 and first World Series since 1908. Russell blasted a third-inning grand slam off Cleveland's Dan Otero during Chicago's 9-3 Game Six win on the road after slashing a two-run double in the top of the first. He also started at shortstop for the National League in that year's All-Star Game, going 0-for-2.

    The 2016 season proved to be Russell's highwater mark in the majors. He missed six weeks of the 2017 schedule with a strained right foot and finished with a .239 average, hitting 12 homers and 43 RBIs over 110 games. He had another disappointing year in 2018, turning in a .250 average with five roundtrippers and 38 RBIs before being placed on administrative leave September 19 due to an an investigation into domestic abuse allegations.

    Russell's last season with the Cubs in 2019 got off to a late start due to MLB's determination that he had abused his wife. After completing a 40-game suspension that began the previous season, he played for AAA Iowa before a May 8 callup to Chicago. Switched to second base, he went 0-for-3 against Miami and was mostly booed by the Wrigley Field faithful. He had another three-week stint at Iowa that summer and finished the season with a .237 average, nine homers and 23 ribbies over 82 games. He was non-tendered by the Cubs that December, becoming a free agent.

Russell as a Kiwoom Hero in 2020

   Russell then signed with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization on June 19 of last year. After a quarantine period, he debuted on July 28 against the Doosan Bears and went on to play 65 games for the Heroes, registering a .254 average with a pair of homers and 31 RBIs. The team decided not to bring Russell back for 2021, leaving him a free agent until last week's signing with Monclova.

    Where Acereros manager Pat Listach puts Russell in the field is a question. Second baseman Noah Perio, a 29-year-old former Marlins prospect, was MVP of the 2019 Serie del Rey and later played that winter for Mexico's Premier12 team that qualified for the Olympics. At shortstop, Erick Aybar is a 12-year MLB veteran who hit .319 and played in the 2019 Mexican League All-Star game, but Aybar is ten years older than Russell and spent time on both the Injured and Reserve lists for the Acereros in 2019. Then there's middle infielder Oscar Sanay, a 5'7” former Cal State-Bakersfield star who topped .300 four times between 2016 and 2018 and hit .395 in 16 games for the Steelers in 2019 after coming over from Union Laguna that July.

DIABLOS INK 2020-21 CUBAN MVP LISBAN CORREA

1B Lisban Correa is coming to Mexico

    The Mexico City Diablos Rojos are bringing in the current Cuban National Series Most Valuable Player for the 2021 Mexican League season. First baseman Lisban Correa has agree to terms with the capital city club and will play for manager Miguel Ojeda this summer.

    Reportedly 32 years of age, Correa had a breakout year for the Havana Industriales in 2020-21, batting .320 and leading the CNS with 28 homers, 82 RBIs and a .692 slugging percentage. He struck out just 34 times while drawing 63 walks. Correa finished nine homers ahead of Las Tunas' Rafael Vinales in setting a CNS longball record for a 75-game season.

    According to Diablos sports manager Jorge del Valle, Correa's profile fits perfectly with what was being sought to reinforce a team built around the Mexican talent forged in the Red Devils' organization. “We were looking for a bat of power and experience, and that is Lisbán Correa,” said del Valle. “He comes from a strong baseball league that is played at sea level and that interests us, considering that we are going to play in the South Zone. Today, Lisbán Correa is a benchmark in Cuban baseball and we see him with a great opportunity to mark a great story in the ranks of the Red Devils."

    Correa's journey to Mexico is an interesting one, to say the least. The 6'2” 192-pounder debuted in the CNS as a 16-year-old catcher with the Havana Metropolitanos in 2005-06, batting .281 in 55 games. He went on to spend ten years in the league, topping the .300 mark three times and reaching double figures in homers three times as well.

    Correa was caught up in controversy during the 2009-10 season by chasing Sancti Spiritus pitcher Yanier Sosa into center field after Sosa had intentionally thrown at him during a game. The chase precipitated a bench-clearing brawl that eventually involved police in what a writer for Cubalite.com terms “as one of the three most violent of Cuban baseball.” While Sosa was suspended for three games, Correa was handed a six-month sanction and had to watch his teammates win the pennant that season from a distance.

    Then, in 2015, Correa (whose father Ivan had been a slugger in the CNS years before) had defected from Cuba for Haiti, where he hoped to make contact and sign with an MLB organization. Before leaving his homeland, he was told by smugglers that a big league team was ready to sign him, which proved a lie after he spoke to a lawyer at the Dominican consulate in Port-au-Prince.

Correa is Cuba's MVP for 2020-21

    Correa then made a rugged trip across the island into the Dominican Republic, where an alleged “investor” asked him to sign a contract in which the player would have to pay for his own rent, food and gym privileges. Correa refused to sign and as an undocumented alien without money or a place to live, he was in a tough spot. He was able to cobble together the equivalent of US$100, which he used to travel much of the Dominican Republic over two weeks searching for someone who would help him sign a playing contract, but failed.

    Correa didn't want to return to Cuba and be seen as a failure, the Cubalite writer says, but he did go back as a “visitor” for the 2019-20 season in the fading hope that returning to the Industralies team he played for since 2009-10 after a trade with the Metropolitanos would earn him notice from an MLB organization or another foreign team.

    Now, after a banner season that earned him an MVP award, Correa will be crossing the Caribbean again, this time to Mexico. While it's highly unlikely he'll be able to make the jump to MLB from Mexico City, he'll be earning a far higher salary with the well-playing Diablos Rojos than he would ever make in Cuba, where the best players in the CNS might make US$300 a month during the season. As an import, Correa might make at least ten times that amount in the LMB.

    More to the point, Lisban Correa has a new lease on life in Mexico, something that can't always be quantified in dollars or pesos.

DIABLOS, PUEBLA SLIP PAST OAXACA IN LMB SOUTH

Mexico City infielder Emmanuel Avila

After leading the Mexican League South Division for the first month of the season, the Oaxaca Guerreros have faltered a bit, giving both the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and Puebla Pericos the opportunity to sneak past the Guerreros into first place in what is turning into a three-team race for LMB South supremacy five weeks into the campaign.

The Diablos have won seven of their last ten games to go to 20-13 (tied with Puebla for first, one game ahead of Oaxaca), including four of six road games last week in Aguascalientes and Durango.  Despite losing Sunday's game to the Generales, 13-10, Mexico City scored 31 runs over three games at Estadio Francisco Villa. Red Devils third baseman Emmanuel Avila played the last two games of the weekend set after missing the previous four contests (including the entire Aguascalientes series) by going a combined 5-for-10 Saturday and Sunday with a homer in each game and five RBIs.  

A former White Sox minor leaguer, Avila carried a relatively low profile into his tenth Liga year in 2019 despite playing in Mexico's capital and largest city, but the 30-year-old Los Mochis native has quietly crafted a .306 career batting average with All-Star Game appearances in 2013-2015 and 2018.  Avila is hitting .394 with six homers over 27 games and may serve as an object lesson of sorts.

This season has seen the Mexican League switch from using a Rawlings ball to a Franklin variety, with pitchers thus far coming out on the short end of the exchange. Five teams batted above .300 in the LMB's 56-game Fall 2018 season while 14 clubs are above the .300 mark 33 tilts into the 2019 schedule.  As well, while six teams averaged at least one homer per game last autumn, 14 of the Liga's 16 franchises are topping that figure this year. As with Major League Baseball to the north, there are not-so-quiet whispers that the Franklin ball used in the LMB has been juiced to raise offensive numbers for Mexico's senior circuit.  The murmuring had to get louder after Sunday's game in Aguascalientes, where the Rieleros combined with visiting Oaxaca to hit 13 homers in the Railroaders' 22-6 win over the Guerreros.

In the LMB North, the Monclova Acereros are holding on to first place with a Liga-best 24-9 record, one game ahead of 23-10 Tijuana and four up on 20-13 Monterrey and Dos Laredos.  The Steelers have won eight of their last ten outings, copping two of three games apiece in road series at Quintana Roo and Yucatan last week. The Tigres snapped Monclova's 10-game win streak last Thursday, 7-4, scoring all seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning (thanks in part to Brandon Villareal's three-run homer), but the Acereros have otherwise been literally batting opponents into submission with a .341 team average and 56 homers while scoring over eight runs per game.

Veteran pitcher Josh "The Mayor" Lowey has benefitted the most from the cushion his batting order has provided him with a perfect 6-0 record this season.  Lowey had a rough outing during a no-decision start in Merida Sunday, allowing four earned runs on six hits and three walks over six innings in a 6-4 loss to the Leones, but he was sharp in last Tuesday's series opener at Cancun, allowing just one run and striking out five Tigres batsmen in a 6-3 Acereros win.  Lowey's win over Quintana Roo edged him past Monterrey's 5-0 Edgar Gonzalez for the LMB lead in that category. He's now tied for second with Alex Delgado of Oaxaca with 42 strikeouts, trailing only Yasutomo Kubo's 53 whiffs for Leon.

After Kubo's great opening start for the Bravos against Aguascalientes on April 5, holding the potent Rieleros scoreless with ten K's in seven frames, the 38-year-old former Rookie of the Year in Japan's Pacific League has struggled to a 2-3 record and 5.72 ERA in seven starts.  Unheralded Raul Carrillo of Saltillo has gone the opposite route, following a rugged first start at Monclova (4 innings, 3 runs) with a string of six good outings to lower his ERA to an LMB-low 1.79, well below the 2.40 mark of Tijuana's James Russell and Jose Samayoa of Yucatan.  Monclova closer Carlos Bustamante is back home in Mexico after two years in the Diamondbacks system and the Navojoa product is leading the Liga with ten saves in ten opportunities. Bustamante has 21 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.

Aguascalientes 3B Jose Vargas

Among batters, Aguascalientes third sacker Jose Vargas was already one tough hombre for pitchers when the LMB was using a Rawlings ball, but the Ventura (CA) College alum has become a total beast since he started swinging at the Franklin.  Vargas is second only to Tabasco's Ronnier Mustelier (.439) in the batting race while his 18 homers and 44 runs batted in both lead the loop. Chris Carter of Monclova is second with 17 roundtrippers while Vargas' Rieleros teammate Michael Wing is third at 16 (Wing's 42 ribbies are second to Vargas).  Dos Laredos outfielder Johnny Davis stole three bases last week, two of them on May 9 in Yucatan, to bring his season total to 19 swipes. Quintana Roo's Alonzo Harris is second with 11 steals.

One major deal was enacted last Tuesday when the Quintana Roo Tigres loaned star second Manny Rodriguez to Saltillo.  The 36-year-old Rodriguez spent his first ten Liga seasons with the Saraperos and earning three All-Star Game berths before being dealt to Puebla for third baseman Rolando Acosta after the 2015 season.  He was a member of the 2016 pennant-winning Pericos before the former Puebla-Monclova shuttle operated by Gerardo Benavides (who owned both teams) landed Rodriguez with the Acereros for 2017. Frustrated with what he felt was bad team chemistry, Rodriguez left the Acereros two weeks into last year's Spring season and sat for another two weeks until his rights were assigned to the Tigres.  He never really adjusted to playing in Cancun, however, leading to his loan back to the drier climes of Saltillo. Thus far, the move seems to agree with the Guasave product. After suffering to a .202 average with one homer in 25 games with the Tigres, Rodriguez is hitting .370 after six games with the Saraperos.

LMB ALL-STAR WEEKEND SET FOR MEXICO CITY, TIX ON SALE

Javier Salinas, Alfredo Harp Helu, Othon Diaz

The Mexican League has formally announced the schedule of events and ticket prices for their mid-June All-Star Weekend in Mexico City's Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu.  LMB president Javier Salinas led a press conference last week with Diablos Rojos owner (and ballpark namesake) Harp and Diablos team president Dr. Othon Diaz also at the dais.

All-Star Weekend will convene Friday, June 14 with a Media Day featuring players from both the North and South teams available at Estadio AHH (venue for all All-Star events) from 5-7PM local time.  Saturday, June 15 will include a celebrity softball game, the Double Play Derby and a formal presentation of awards from the 2018 seasons before the Home Run Derby closes festivities.

The All-Star Game itself will take place Sunday, June 16 at 6PM local time following an opening ceremony, presentation of All-Star rings to players and coaches and salutes to 27-year veteran pitcher Francisco Campos (fourth all-time in the LMB with 2,169 strikeouts and two victories away from his 200th career win) and umpire Humberto Saiz, who's in his 31st season as a Liga arbiter after working 16 All-Star Games, 25 Serie del Reys. and four Major League spring games in four different seasons.

Monterrey manager Roberto Kelly will head the North All-Stars as a reward for taking the Sultanes to their tenth pennant last September, capping his first year managing in Mexico.  A two-time All-Star during his 14-year MLB career, Kelly was a coach for three World Series champions in San Francisco and managed several seasons in the Giants system before coming to Mexico in 2018.  

Leading the South will be Oaxaca skipper Sergio Gastelum, who brought the Guerreros to their first Serie del Rey since 1998 (the only campaign to produce a Oaxaca title) last September.  Gastelum, an LMB infielder for 23 years before his 2017 retirement, then was voted Manager of the Year in the Mexican Pacific League after coaxing Obregon to 34 wins in 57 outings and the Yaquis' first postseason in three winters.

Two-day tickets for Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 16th went on sale Monday, May 13.  Prices range from 870 pesos (about US$46) for VIP seats to 160 pesos (US$8.42) for reserved outfield seats, while some grass berm space will be sold for 120 pesos (US$6.24).  Tickets can be purchased at either Diablos Rojos team offices in Mexico City or via TicketMaster, with the latter's ubiquitous services fees undoubtedly added for your mandatory convenience.

Cuarto Bat WRITER'S TOP 6 MEXICAN BALLPARKS (PART 3)

A writer for Mexican baseball website Cuarto Bat, Yasser Trujillo, posted a column in April about his picks for the top six ballparks in the Mexican and Mexican Pacific leagues.  Here is the third part of a series in which we bring you a translated version. Although it was reported last week in BBM that Cuarto Bat's site had since apparently been suspended, according to a Google search, we're glad to report that it is back online at CuartoBat.com and that you can download a free copy of their February magazine.

4. Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, Mexico City

In a similar case to the Mazatlán Venados, this is a stadium that, once finished, will surely climb several rungs on this list.  However, at the moment it still lacks those "small details" that would put it in a more privileged place.

Finally, after four years of waiting, the fans of the Mexico City Diablos Rojos have a property worthy of the size and importance of the most winning team in this country.

Located inside a huge park known as Ciudad Deportiva de la Magdalena Mixhuca, the newly-opened Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in 2019 has already earned the status of the most modern, comfortable and functional stadium in all of Mexico City.  It is a facility that has one of the most original exterior designs of Mexican baseball: a huge roof like a trinche resting on several pyramids that make reference to the great Tenochtitlan.

It has a huge internal corridor of 270 degrees. They do not allow you access to the outfield seats unless you have a ticket for that section. It has a spectacular store with two levels, elevators and ramps, a food area with a wide offer for all tastes, offers an impressive view from any point, and even an ATM exists inside.

It is a majestic scenario endorsed by the MLB and that in 2019 will host official games of Major League Baseball.

The museum of fame is still under construction and expected to be inaugurated in mid-2019.  On the other hand, the installation of television sets in the corridors remains unknown. Walking through the lobby or standing in the long concessions lines without knowing what is going on in the field while listening to everyone chant is frustrating. It is said that there will also be a restaurant, and that over time maybe the internal rules will be more friendly.

At the moment, treatment of the visitor is very limiting and annoying, something that contrasts with the friendly rules that characterize most baseball parks. It is a very important test year for the Harp Helú Stadium. The ones in charge of this beautiful property must transcend and attract people once the inaugural fashion disappears, but these are the same directors with their vision of how to treat the fan. Only time will render a verdict.

DIABLOS OPEN NEW BALLPARK WITH LOSS TO PADRES

Full house at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu opener

While it's rarely fun to lose a lopsided exhibition baseball game to a team of prospects, players with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos may be forgiven if they were smiling after such a result last Saturday in the nation's capital.  The Red Devils were pounded, 11-1, by a collection of San Diego Padres minor leaguers but the game itself took second billing to its environs as over 20,000 fans packed the stands at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, the Diablos' brand-new home.

The man for whom the ballpark was named (after he provided all funding for its construction) was the Man of the Hour during pregame ceremonies.  Also known as Don Alfredo, Harp addressed the capacity crowd by thanking the people who built the stands they were sitting in.  "I want to thank the more than nine thousand people who participated in the construction of this dream, the construction of the home of the Diablos Rojos," Harp said.  "With this, we show that we can do great things together.  Mexico is a championship country and we will continue to be a championship country.  I hope that together, we will enjoy our new home."

Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has practically become a ubiquitous presence at baseball events south of the border as a power-broker in the sport and an ally of billionaire Harp.  AMLO was on hand for Saturday's opener and took part in the pregame ceremony.  Although Puro Beisbol reports that many in the crowd booed the country's new leader, Lopez Obrador revelled in the moment, telling those in attendance, "We will support baseball, a sport that requires intelligence, heart and a lot of passion."

The game itself was almost anticlimactic and, for all intent and purposes, settled somewhat early.  The Diablos took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Jesus Fabela (back from his trip to Japan with the Mexican National Team) scored the stadium's first run from third base on an Adonis Garcia sacrifice fly, but the Padres roared back with four scores in the top of the fourth to take the lead.  San Diego scored four more times in the sixth, with a two-run homer by Michael Gettys giving the visitors an 8-1 lead and effectively salting the contest away.  Despite the final 11-1 score, few (if any) attendees went home disappointed.

Prior to Saturday's game (the first of two played between the two sides over the weekend), a number of Mexican players with the Padres visited with players and coaches from the Liga Olmeca, a Mexico City youth baseball organization and Little League Baseball affiliate headed by Carlos Fragoso, who has scouted for both the Red Sox and Yankees over the years while building strong ties within Mexican baseball.  In his Septima Entrada column for Solo Beisbol, writer Gilberto Ruiz Razo said that Esteban Quiroz and Luis Urias were among those San Diego players expected to spend time at the Liga Olmeca facility.  Ruiz added that Fragoso is a longstanding friend of Monterrey Sultanes co-owner Jose "Pepe" Maiz, who was a member of Monterrey's 1957 Little League World Series champions (along with Hector Torres and Angel Macias) and instrumental in Liga Olmeca's later inclusion as an LLB affiliate.


LMP LEADERS DISCUSS EXPANSION DRAFT, PLAYOFF FORMAT

Guasave ballpark will see extensive renovations

Executives from the Mexican Pacific League met in Culiacan recently to talk about developments regarding the LMP's two new teams as well as a potential change in next winter's playoff format (including the elimination of the "lucky loser" method of advancing teams who lose their first round series to the second stage of the postseason.

According to Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros, MexPac president Omar Canizales was at Culiacan's Fiesta Inn Hotel with LMP league directors Hector Ley of Culiacan and Joaquin Vega from Los Mochis Caneros to confer with representatives from the league's two new franchises, the Monterrey Sultanes and Guasave Algodoneros.  Although the Monterrey entry will be owned by the same Multimedios group that oversees the city's Mexican League club (along with part-owner Jose "Pepe" Maiz), the LMP version of the Sultanes will be operated separately from their summer LMB counterpart.  Rosters will not carry over from one team to the other, although it's possible that some players may perform double duty without changing cities.  Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador facilitated Monterrey's entry into winter baseball to partner with Guasave, where AMLO promised the return of the MexPac during his campaign last year.

 The Algodoneros are partly owned by a group of Guasave businessmen who will operate the team, but they will be largely underwritten by Mexico City Diablos owner Alfredo Harp Helu.  Harp will be funding the majority of an offseason renovation of Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon for 120 million pesos, which is approximately US$6 million.  The ballpark was completed when Guasave joined the LMP along with Navojoa in 1970 and was used for 44 seasons (with some 2002 upgrades) before the original Algodoneros were sold to moved to Guadalajara in 2014.  It'll be expanded from 8,000 to 10,000 seats in time for October's opener.  The facility's traditional playing surface was smallish: Both foul lines are 305 feet away from home plate while the centerfield wall is a chummy 375 feet away.

Franchise fees for the respective new entries were considered with Guasave, the loop's smallest market, expected to have received a price break.  An expansion draft was also discussed and a format comparable to when Arizona and Tampa Bay joined Major League Baseball was decided upon.  Each existing Mexican Pacific League team will be allowed to protect 18 players on their current rosters.

Finally, the LMP playoffs were restructured into a three-stage competition involving the top eight teams. The league opted to align as a single entity of ten teams rather than split into two five-deam divisions while the 68-game regular season schedule was retained for 2019-20.


TOROS P BARREDA COMPLAINS ABOUT LMB'S NEW FRANKLIN BALL

Manny Barreda celebrates no-hitter for Caneros

The Mexican League is switching to Franklin baseballs this season after decades of using Rawlings balls.  The Liga announced the signing of a multiyear agreement with Franklin in February that also includes the manufacture and public sales of licensed team products and merchandise.  Franklin's new OL4000 baseball will be used.

It didn't take long for one of a group of people whose success depends on what they throw to register his concerns.  Tijuana pitcher Manny Barreda was quoted on the Hitazo site last Tuesday as saying the Mexican League had not sent the new balls to the Toros training camp in Tucson, Arizona yet.  "It's difficult.  It's not long before the season and we haven't really tested them," Barreda said.  "We don't know how they look and we don't know how it'll feel in our hands.  We don't know how it's going to work, like how our pitches will break."

A 30-year-old Arizonan who spent eight years as a reliever in the Yankees organization before becoming a starter with Los Mochis in 2016-17, Barreda subsequently authoring two no-hitters months apart in both the LMB and LMP (using 138 and 135 pitches, respectively).  He was 5-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 11 starts for Culiacan over winter after splitting last summer between the rotation and the bullpen with Tijuana.  The 5'11" righty does seem certain in advance of one likely feature of the new ball:  "We do know it'll fly farther.  It's the show that they (the Liga) want to give to the fans and we as pitchers will be affected.

Barreda doesn't think his fellow pitchers will easily adapt to the Franklin ball.  "It's something very different," he said.  "We've been pitching all our career with the Rawlings ball.  It's thrown in the minor leagues, in winter and summer.

"Now that we have to change it, we're not very happy about that."