MEXICO BLASTED BY ISRAEL, 12-5; KO'D FROM OLYMPICS

Isaac Rodriguez against Dominicans

    The Mexican Olympic baseball team lost to Israel by a 12-5 count Sunday in Yokohama to be eliminated from their first appearance in the Summer Games after losing all three contests they played. The Verdes Grande had dropped a 1-0 knucklebiter to the Dominican Republic and a 7-4 decision to host Japan last week to finish 0-2 in Group A.

    In Sunday's loss, Israel took a 6-0 lead and never looked back in winning their first Olympic game after turning in an 0-2 record in Group B. Mexico starter Manny Barreda gave up six runs on four hits and three walks over two-plus innings to take the loss. The ex-Yankees prospect was trailing 1-0 after two innings before the roof caved in top of the the third, when he walked Israel's first two batters before giving up a three-run homer to former MLBer Danny Valencia, who drilled a fastball ten rows deep into the Yokohama Baseball Stadium's left-field seats. Barreda allowed two more baserunners without recording an out before being yanked for reliever Sasagi Sanchez, who then gave up a two-run Nick Rickles single to make it a 6-0 game.

    To their credit, the Mexicans fought back to make it a one-run game by scoring four times in the bottom of the third. Braves farmhand Ryan Goins doubled to deep left to plate Jonathan Jones with Mexico's first run and then came in when Israel starter Jonathan Zeid uncorked a wild pitch during a walk to Isaac Rodriguez. Rodriguez scored on a Sebastian Elizalde double to left and then Elizalde crossed the plate when Joey Meneses singled to shallow left to narrow the deficit to 6-4. Adrian Gonzalez singled in Meneses in the bottom of the sixth to close to gap to 6-5, but a horrible top of the seventh put the game out of reach.

    In that fateful frame, Israel sent ten batters to the plate and scored six runs on as many hits, keyed by consecutive two-run singles from Mitch Glasser and Zach Penprase, a pair of longtime indyball players. Former MLB hurler Oliver Perez allowed all six runs, although the first two were charged to fellow Mexican reliever Fernando Salas. Israel allowed one Gonzalez double over the last three frames to cement the win.

    Mexico dropped their first game last Friday, 1-0, to the Dominican Republic. Starter Angel Sanchez (5 IP) and four relievers combined to limit the Mexicans to four singles and three walks while Mexican starter Teddy Stankiewicz battled admirably through 4.2 innings, striking out five Dominicans but allowing the game's lone run when ex-MLBer Melky Cabrera single in Charlie Valerio in the bottom of the fifth. Diamondbacks minor leaguer Luis Castillo turned in a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.

    The Verdes Grande's best chance came in the top of the sixth when Isaac Rodriguez laid down a bunt single, advanced to second on a passed ball by catcher Valerio while Elizalde was up and then tried to score on a Meneses single to left but was cut down at the plate by a throw from Jose Bautista.

    Things were a little less dramatic one day later, when Japan bopped Mexico by a 7-4 score on Saturday. Mexico actually took a 1-0 lead against the host team in the bottom of the first when Meneses singled up the middle off Masato Morishita to score Rodriguez from second. Japan came back to tie it in the second and go ahead in the third with single runs against Mexican starter Juan Pablo Oramas. Eduardo Arredondo relieved Oramas in the fourth and gave up a pair of singles to set up a three-run homer by Tetsuto Yamada to bring Japan's lead up to 5-1.

Joey Meneses hit .500 with HR for Mexico

    Mexico got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when Elizalde scored from third on a Gonzalez double-play grounder to second, but Japan scored singletons in the seventh and eighth to stretch their advantage to 7-2. Meneses crashed a two-run homer off reliever Kaima Taira in the bottom of the eighth, making it a 7-4 game, but Mexico could get no closer before running out of outs.

    All in all, it was a disappointing Olympic baseball debut for Mexico, who was outscored 20-9 over three games. Meneses turned in the top plate performance, going 6-for-12 with a homer and four RBIs, but Gonzalez (.273) was the only other hitter above .250 as the team combined for a .202 batting average. The pitching was little better, although Stankiewicz (1.93) and Oramas (3.00) did fairly well while relievers Sanchez, Carlos Bustamante, Daniel Duarte and Cesar Vargas allowed no earned runs but Barreda and three relievers all had ERAs at 13.50 or above as Mexico finished with a 6.23 team ERA.

    Mexico manager Benji Gil was circumspect in the aftermath of what most baseball observers in the country consider a disastrous performance. “Not even in my worst nightmare did I think this would be the result,” said the former MLB infielder, who was brought in after Juan Castro was unceremoniously fired despite having led the team to the country's-ever Olympic baseball appearance by qualifying in the 2019 Premier12 tournament. Gil pointed to a pitching collapse after allowing just one run against the Dominican Republic.

    “Normally in all these competitions, Mexico always has tremendous pitching,” said Gil. “We compete with that and that is why we are known in baseball. In the last two games, we did battle...not all of them, but as a team we did battle. Allowing 19 runs in 18 innings is something that has never been seen for a Mexican team.”

    Now it has.

SECOND-PLACE TOROS FIRE VIZQUEL AS LMB PLAYOFFS APPROACH

Omar Vizquel tossing BP as TJ skipper

    With the Mexican League playoffs just days away, two teams have made decisions regarding the men managing them. The Tijuana Toros demoted Hall of Fame candidate Omar Vizquel for “personal reasons” last Monday after the team suffered a three-game weekend sweep to Monterrey at home. The Toros were 32-22 at the time and in second place in the LMB North with nine games left in the regular season. There is speculation that Vizquel stepped down due to pressure from Major League Baseball because of an unresolved domestic violence case filed by the wife of the former shortstop, but the team owners (the Uribe family) are rather capricious even by LMB standards and have cut loose a dozen managers despite six consecutive playoff appearances and a 2017 pennant.

    The Tijuana front office issued a statement claiming "the decision that resolves the labor agreement was generated by mutual agreement and is adopted from the highest responsibility between the board of directors and the Venezuelan helmsman." Vizquel will be reassigned to other duties with the Toros while longtime Mexican baseball figure Homar Rojas (who was fired earlier this year as Monterrey's helmsman) becomes the 13th manager in Tijuana since the Toros debuted in 2014 while Bronswell Patrick moves from pitching coach to bench coach. Tijuana won five of their first six games under Rojas, who is managing his sixth LMB team since 2005.

    In Merida, the Yucatan Leones announced a new skipper to replace Geronimo Gil, who was fired on June 22 with a 14-11 record. Salon de la Fama member Chico Rodriguez led Yucatan to a 13-14 mark as interim manager until the Leones named Luis Matos as dugout boss on July 21. Matos spent seven years as an MLB outfielder before playing for Yucatan between 2008 and 2012. He managed Caguas to two Puerto Rican League pennants and Caribbean Series titles in 2017 and 2018 during a four-year stint with the Criollos. Matos split his first eight games at the helm of the Leones going into Sunday's contest with Campeche.

    The expansion Veracruz Aguilas still have Leo Rodriguez III as manager, but they brought in some experienced help last week by hiring former Mazatlan Venados leader Juan Jose Pacho as bench coach. Pacho was fired by the Mexican Pacific League team last winter, allegedly because he made public appearances supporting a political candidate opposed by Venados ownership. The Salon de la Fama shortstop's presence certainly hasn't harmed veteran slugger Jesus “Cacao” Valdez, who swatted a pair of three-run homers and drove in nine runs in an 18-6 blowout in Oaxaca last Thursday as Veracruz clinched a playoff berth.

    Just three games remain in the regular season and most playoff slots have been secured. In the LMB North, Guadalajara has clinched first place while Tijuana, Monclova and Saltillo have also punched their tickets. Aguascalientes is fifth after winning seven of ten games and close to reaching the postseason but Union Laguna, Dos Laredos and Monterrey are in a fairly tight battle for the sixth and final berth. Mexico City has clinched the top of the LMB South while Tabasco has won nine of ten outings to secure a playoff slot. Yucatan, Veracruz and Quintana Roo are also locks, meaning sixth-place Puebla needs one win or one Leon loss for the final postseason berth.

Luis Escobar has starred for Tabasco

    Guadalajara's Leo Heras is batting .415 after 43 games, good enough to top the batting race on the LMB website, ahead of Saltillo's Henry Urrutia (.391) and Tito Polo (.390) of Durango. Leon's Xavier Batista has pulled ahead of Rainel Rosario of Saltillo in the home run derby, 19 to 18, while Tijuana's Leandro Castro's 68 RBIs will likely be enough to hold off Japhet Amador's 57 for Mexico City to take that crown. In stolen bases, Quintana Roo's Reynaldo Rodriguez has 21 while Herlis Rodriguez of Tabasco is one behind at 20.

    Among pitchers, Masaru Nakamura of Guadalajara still has a perfect 8-0 record to lead the Liga in wins, one ahead of five other hurlers. Former Pirates righty Luis Escobar heads the ERA list as the Colombian shows a 2.60 mark after 11 starts, comfortably ahead of Laguna's Rafael Pineda (3.21). There's a battle for strikeout supremacy between Aguascalientes' Erik Leal (66), Puebla's Jose Valdez (66) and Mexico City's Hector Hernandez (65) while another three pitchers have 60-plus K's. Fernando Rodney of Tijuana is tops in saves with 15, one more than Guadalajara's Fernando Cruz.

    Just nine midweek series remain before the regular season closes. The most important may be a crossover set when Aguascalientes visits Leon, with the Rieleros trying to fight off three teams for one of two unsettled LMB North berth and the Bravos needed to win all three games to even have a chance to qualify in the LMB South.

JUAN VENE: JALISCO CHARROS HEADED FOR SALE, NAME CHANGE

    Now in his 90's, Juan Vene has covered Mexican baseball for years and his column “En la Pelota” is carried by 37 newspapers and websites. In a recent column, the Florida-based Vene states that a sale of the Mexican Pacific League's Jalisco Charros to the owners of the Guadalajara Mariachis is pending, as is a change of the team nickname. Puro Beisbol reports that sources from the State of Jalisco confirm the transaction and that the LMP will approve the deal.

    The following is a lightly-edited Google translation of Vene's column:

    The Jalisco Charros, whose name is owned by Armando Navarro, are about to end. The next team for the Guadalajara winters would be called the Jalisco Caballos and owned by José Luis González Íñigo and Carlos Valenzuela Gómez, who also own the Mexican League's Guadalajara franchise.

    "Both González and Valenzuela, co-owners of the Mariachis, are very good people," said a fellow journalist from Guadalajara.

    Navarro had contributed the name of Charros to be a partner of Salvador Quirarte, who invested the necessary money. The two got into a fight under accusations of mismanagement of the team's money. And there is no way to reconcile them.

    Quirarte does not respond to calls and Navarro's cell phone number always get the “beep-beep-beep” busy signal.

    Meanwhile, the Zapopan stadium, in the beautiful metropolitan area of Guadalajara, is owned by the Government of the State of Jalisco. And the governor, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, is a Guadalajara leader who only wants peace and good baseball.

    Alfaro Ramírez likes the name “Jalisco Caballos” and is willing to provide all the necessary support to those who dedicate themselves to organizing the best show for Jalisco and not to fight for two or three pesos of old paper.

    Navarro has accused Quirarte of mishandling the team's money, so I try to contact him to see if he informs me how his partner did something wrong. But I already told you it's a case of “beep-beep-beep” every time I call him.

Name change likely for Estadio Charros, too

    Beautiful Guadalajara and its surroundings are home to hundreds of thousands of frenzied baseball fans, who have always supported it.

    However, there is a kind of gypsy curse on the ball in that sector of the world. The original Charros played in an uncomfortable stadium, built for student baseball and located on the outskirts of the city.

    It was not comfortable to go there. The Charros had to disappear in 1995.

    They returned in 2014, with great enthusiasm to a full stadium in the modern house of Zapopan, until peace ended in 2021. That is why, possibly, the 2021-2022 season will be that of the burial of the Charros and the birth of the Caballos.

    The figure of the caballo (or “horse”) is emblematic in Jalisco, especially for what these beautiful animals mean in the life of the charros.

    It will be a new life for baseball in Jalisco, absolutely better than Navarro and Quirarte pulling their hair out for two or three pesos of old paper.

WILL PROBEIS TAKE OVER ACADEMY FROM LIGA?

A game at El Carmen Baseball Academy

According to Hector Bencomo of the Hitazo website, a proposal has been made to the organization charged by Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador with building baseball interest and participation throughout the country, asking that organization (known by the acronym Probeis) to take the reins of the Mexican League's academy in El Carmen, Nuevo Laredo (near Monterrey) from the LMB.

Bencomo reports that rumors of the academy's "disappearance" have grown stronger since the last LMB Assembly of Presidents Meeting. The facility was the brainchild of Mexico City Tigres owner Alejo Peralta, Mexico City Diablos Rojos team president Roberto Mansur and Mexican League president Petro Treto Cisneros and inaugurated on March 25, 1996. 

Since then literally thousands of homegrown prospects have lived in the dormitories and played on the academy's diamonds, many of whom moved on to long careers in Major League Baseball or the Mexican League, including current Houston Astros closer Roberto Osuna, longtime MLB reliever Joakim Soria, Monterrey infielder Ramiro Pena (who spent time in both MLB and Japan), Diablos Rojos slugger Japhet Amador and shortstop Heber Gomez, who parlayed his academy stint that first year into a 22-year Liga career, mostly with Monterrey.

Prospects eating in Academy dining room

The Mexican League's 16 franchises have traditionally shared the costs of housing and development of academy prospects, typically with eight teams supplied with players from two LMB teams each playing a spring schedule after months of on-site training. Since the fine print in a new agreement between MLB and the Liga agreed to last year all but ended the past practice of big league organizations compensating LMB teams for the rights to young players, the expense of keeping the academy operational has become too burdensome on cash-strapped Liga clubs with little to no prospect of recouping some of those costs through player sales. Annual expenses are between 8 to 12 million pesos (US$400,000-US$600,000) per LMB franchise, bearable for wealthier organizations like Mexico City or Monterrey but a real burden for the likes of Aguascalientes and Campeche.

A team of Tijuana prospects ran away with last year's Academy League title, sporting a 42-16 record to finish 8.5 games ahead of a squad of teenagers owned by Monclova and Saltillo. Unsurprisingly, two top Liga Academia players to emerge were both Toros property: Jared Serna hit .367 with seven homers and 52 RBIs in 52 games while pitcher Victor Sepulveda went 5-1 over seven starts (saving two more games) with a 2.31 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched).

Near futures talking with distant futures

What happens now is anyone's guess. Bencomo says sources have told him a formal proposal has been made to former MLB and NPB infielder Edgar Gonzalez, now director of Probeis, asking that the AMLO-created agency take over operation of the academy. In return for expenses related to housing, feeding and developing top young Mexican ballplayers, Probeis would have the authority to sell them to MLB organizations and keep the proceeds. Whether the same conditions preventing LMB teams from selling players with less than one year on a Liga roster would apply to Probeis because they were not a party to the agreement is a legal grey area that would have to be addressed.

Bencomo says another suggestion was that Probeis broker a deal in which MLB itself takes over the El Carmen facility, which includes four baseball fields with adjacent batting cages and practice pitcher's mounds, a 79-room dormitory for players and coaches, a kitchen and dining room, separate housing for umpires (who also train for future LMB work), two meeting rooms, an administrative offices and a guardhouse at the entry.

The LMB is hoping for a response from Probeis by no later than the April 6 Liga regular season opener. A later answer would likely mean a delay in reporting to El Carmen by young players for this year's session.

MLB, UNION TO ALLOW SOME 40-MAN ROSTER PLAYERS IN OLYMPICS

The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) has reached an agreement with Major League Baseball and its players union allowing players on MLB 40-man rosters to participate in this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. Previously, nobody on a 40-man roster was eligible for Olympic baseball but the new deal allows such players to take part as long as they are not on their big league team's 26-man active roster. The change means up to 420 more players belonging to an MLB organization will be eligible to play in Japan this July and August.

After an absence of twelve years from Olympic competition (South Korea beat out seven other national teams to win the 2008 gold medal in Beijing), baseball is returning as a demonstration sport with six teams competing. Japan is an automatic entrant as host nation

Fukushima's Azuma Stadium

and will be joined by Mexico, South Korea, Israel and two undetermined teams in Yokohama Stadium and Azuma Stadium in Fukushima. 

Mexico will make its first-ever Olympic appearance after qualifying as the highest-finishing Americas team in last winter's Premier12 tournament, South Korea was the highest-placed Asian team not named Japan in the same competition and Israel was the surprise winner of last fall's Africa/Europe qualifying tournament. The final two teams will be determined at an Americas qualifier tourney in Arizona later this month and a Final qualifier in Taiwan in June. Both events will feature teams that didn't make it past either the Premier12 or Africa/Aurope tournaments last year.

Of course, the breakout of the coronavirus has put many public events either on hold, in doubt or on the cancellation list because of public health concerns. Since the virus first appeared in Wuhan, China and has begun to spread across borders, NPB exhibition games in Japan have been held virtually behind closed doors. The New York Times reports the

Mexico celebrates Olympics-clinching win

World Health Organization held a discussion with doctors from various sports federations recently about continuing the policy during the Olympics as a precautionary measure.

If Olympic baseball is played with or without fans, the El Fildeo website claims a preliminary 24-man Mexican team roster has been discovered. Without attributing a source, El Fildeo says the following is the so-called "shortlist" of 24 eligible players targeted to play for the Verdes Grande this summer (with two more players allowed for Tokyo):

PITCHERS (11): Manny Barreda (Tijuana), Brennan Bernardino (Tijuana), Jordan Guerrero (Tijuana), Carlos Hernandez (Tijuana), Kyle Lobstein (Tijuana), Vidal Nuno (Tijuana), Juan Pablo Oramas (Tabasco), Jose Samayoa (Tijuana), Gerardo Sanchez (Tijuana), Teddy Stankiewic (Tijuana), Edgar Torres (Durango).

CATCHERS (2): Xorge Carrillo (Tijuana), Gabriel Gutierrez (Tijuana).

INFIELDERS (6): Japhet Amador (Mexico City), Daniel Castro (Tijuana), Luis Alfonso Cruz (Tijuana), Philip Evans (Pittsburgh), David Jack Mayfield (Houston), Isaac Rodriguez (Tijuana).

OUTFIELDERS (5): Carlos Figueroa (Mexico City), Fabricio Macias (Pittsburgh), Efren Navarro (Tijuana), Juan Perez (Saltillo), Nick Torres (Tijuana).

Nothing against any of the players listed above, who are no doubt good ballplayers and fine fellows one and all, but the presence of nine pitchers and seven position players from Tijuana on this 24-man roster makes it dubious at best.

PROCESO'S PEREYRA TALKS WITH LMB PRESIDENT DE LA VEGA

New LMB leader Horacio de la Vega

One of Mexico's best sportswriters, Beatriz Pereyra of Proceso, recently sat down with new Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega and talked about some of the problems he inherited when he was hired by the LMB last November to replace Javier Salinas.

It's a very long read (the original is posted at www.proceso.com.mx) so BBM is posting excerpts with as little editing as possible, but the issues discussed are vital as the Mexican League approaches its 96th season of operation with a myriad of issues that De La Vega and the Liga's 16 owners will face in 2020:

Horacio de la Vega will begin his tenure as president of the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) with empty coffers, which means that the owners of the 16 clubs will once again have to solve - temporarily at least - the operating expenses while signing trade agreements that allow for the consolidation of finances.

In addition to payroll, the owners of the teams will be responsible again for the payment of baseballs with which the 2020 season will be played, the operating expenses of the Academy of El Carmen, and the air tickets, lodging and travel expenses of the umpires.

In a January interview, De la Vega explains that he had no room to operate because his appointment was at the end of the year (last November 26), when there was no time to manage sponsorships.

“We have guaranteed the operation of the LMB the first three months of the year. We have no risk of stopping but we definitely have to look for trade agreements soon. I trust that we will not stop operating because I have other types of agreements that are not sponsorships to get resources and free the teams from those expenses,” he says. “Javier Salinas did a great job in the commercial end because the LMB for years generated nothing. He started very well, had ups and downs, but failed to make commercial projects that integrated with those of the teams. That did not allow for growth.”

De la Vega says that in the desire for clubs to stop making economic contributions and the LMB to become self-sustaining, former president Salinas took away the commercial assets from the teams and was in charge of selling them to raise that money. This means that, for example, in a baseball stadium there are spaces that can be marketed, such as the mound. Before Salinas was president, each team sold those spaces.

“When you take away the commercial assets, you harm them,” said de la Vega. “On the other hand, if you do not do so, then the LMB does not have to sell and they have to contribute the money to operate the league.

New sponsorship opportunities are sought

“The question is how do we make it so that the clubs do not continue financing the LMB, it is strengthened, collects more money and can be self-sufficient. Right now there are few commercial assets. If the LMB had five spaces per team, the dugout or the mound in the fences, I would have more to sell. Right now I can't do it.”

One of the most urgent issues to address is the famous clause of the agreement for the sale of Mexican baseball players that the MLB office signed in March 2019, with the LMB teams receiving an additional bonus equivalent at 35% of the amount each player will receive. The objective of that percentage was to financially compensate the clubs that invested in the development of the prospects, but Clause III.C contravenes the nature of the agreement and, because of its deceptive wording, refuses to hand over compensation to Mexican teams. The signing of this agreement, among other factors, triggered the departure of Salinas as president.

“I do not rule out making a renegotiation specifically of that clause so as not to have to give away to our players,” states de la Vega. “The agreement is in force for this year and we must comply with it, but I don't see it as a one hundred percent loss. I will travel to New York (headquarters of the MLB office) to make a proposal. The position of club owners is that you have to unlock this,” he says.

Horacio de la Vega details that he wants to improve that agreement because there is a legitimate interest to continue exporting players to the majors. However, that cannot undermine the finances of the teams. He says he intends to reach a broader agreement that allows more regular season games to be held in Mexico and for the fan base to grow.

The president of the LMB was asked whether in this scheme the only winner is the Big Leagues, a business that generates around 10 billion dollars annually, and that has no interest in helping the development of Mexican baseball or in growing the LMB, but it is obvious that there can be no distancing or conflict with such a powerful entity?

"I agree,” de la Vega replied. “The autonomy of the Mexican League must be protected. You're right: Here there are no options of where to sell players, the most viable is the MLB. It is monopolistic. The strategy cannot be such a negotiation. You have to understand that they are a business and have their interests. The LMB wants more Mexicans in the majors.”

It is abusive that there is a clause that goes against the payment of a percentage for the clubs that develop the players. Should we make MLB see what they are doing?

“Totally. You have to face it like this. It is not a subject of interpretation of the clause. The international players' signature is a business for them. Period.

“We cannot fight with a giant of that size. That is why the negotiation will be interesting. We aim to sell, not to give players away. We are in a position of openness and understanding.”

If you fail to cancel that current agreement, and MLB offers to pay less than 35%, as they did at the beginning, would you accept it?

“When you have nothing, to rescue something is a breakthrough. That contract has a direct impact on the teams and that cannot happen again.”

De la Vega seeks more fans in the stands

The most important project that de la Vega says he will promote will be to standardize the production of baseball games, in order to sell them to all those interested in transmitting them, insisting that it is essential to improve the lighting in the stadiums. All parks must have the same light intensity. In addition, he will generate a production notebook that clubs must agree on together, such as how many cameras there should be, where they should be placed and what angles or shots they should cover.

“I am very clear that it is urgent to achieve the standardization of production,” de la Vega insists. “If we don't have a homogeneous product, I can't sell it.”

How can it be achieved if not all teams have money to invest in that facet?

“It is part of my job to see how to get public resources.  Most of the stadiums are owned by state or private governments with local or foreign entities. I have to generate that system.

“I am not convinced to sell it to a single television station. I am skeptical of that. I prefer a model with many outputs for content distribution. You will remember that last year Facebook had a contract (the social network paid 500 thousand dollars and not the 2 million dollars that were announced), made its selection of games and stayed with the best. That type of system must be changed. I don't know, give Facebook one day and that day only they broadcast. ”

Can you confirm that 2020 will see continued transmissions on Facebook?

“The contract is not signed yet, but we are very advanced. This year will be trial and error. There are also Twitter, Twitch and other social networks. We are going to analyze what suits the league in economic terms, scope and penetration.

“We must also insist that people go to the stadiums and have the best experience. We have to turn out children and young people, because we are interested in them being fans of the LMB clubs. We have to provoke that. How do we do it? By massing baseball with the children in the schools. One strategy is the world championships that we will have in Mexico this year, one of them is Baseball 5, and baseball being promoted in schools.”

The president of the league sets out the example of skateboarding as an Olympic sport: “I would never have imagined seeing skateboarding as an official sport in the Olympic Games, but I understand that it is a youth sport, which is very attractive for television coverage and there are a lot of people who consume that product.

“You have to turn into that or you die.”

YAQUIS WIN LMP FIRST HALF, EARN 10 PLAYOFF POINTS

Obregon players celebrate their 10-point first half

Despite dropping the final two games of a midweek series in Culiacan to wrap up the first half of the schedule, the Obregon Yaquis were able to hold on to first place in the Mexican Pacific League at the midway point of the season and pick up the ten playoff points accompanying their finish.  Obregon opened the set with a 4-3 win over the Tomateros last Tuesday as Carlos Sepulveda singled twice and drove in a pair of runs while starter Carlos De Leon allowed two runs on as many hits over five innings on the mound to go to 3-0 on the season.  Although Culiacan came back to win on Wednesday and Thursday, the visiting Yaquis finished the stanza with a 22-13 record to outlast second-place Hermosillo (21-13) by a half-game while Jalisco ended a game back in third at 21-14.

With two new franchises in the MexPac this season, the loops playoff points system has changed from past seasons.  Where first-place finishers used to earn eight points per half, now the top team is awarded ten points while the second-place club picks up nine points.  Eight points now go to the third-place team as the old points system is applied to the rest of the teams, with last-place Navojoa (11-23) coming away with just 3.5 points.  Points accrued over the two halves of the season determine seeding for January's LMP playoffs, which will now include the top eight teams (meaning the former "lucky loser" system, where the team with the most wins in a first-round loss still advanced to the semifinals,  has been shelved).

Speaking of Navojoa, the Mayos have named longtime MexPac manager Lorenzo Bundy as their new skipper.  Veteran catcher Adan Munoz was fired November 6 after leading the Mayos to a 6-14 record in his first season at the helm.  Pitching coach Hector Heredia filled in for the rest of the first half and fared a little better, turning in a 5-6 mark before Bundy's arrival last Monday.  Bundy is no stranger to Navojoa, having led the Mayos to their second (and most recent) LMP pennant in 1999-2000 when they swept Hermosillo in the title series.  Navojoa was swept in Mazatlan to start off their new era under the 60-year-old Philadelphia native, who has managed seven teams in the MexPac over his career, but the Mayos recently activated Red Sox hurler Hector Velazquez (the MexPac's 2016-17 Pitcher of the Year) and outfielder Juan Perez, who hit .335 with 11 homers and 12 steals for Monclova and Aguascalientes in the Mexican League last summer, so Bundy will have two more tools at his disposal along with outfielder Alonzo Harris, third baseman Christian Zazueta and infielder Jovan Rosa.  Harris, who had a banner summer with Quintana Roo, is expected to improve his current .242 batting average.

Lorenzo Bundy managed Navojoa's last title team

Los Mochis outfielder Noel Cuevas is leading the LMP in batting with a .371 average, twenty points ahead of Jalisco speedster Carlos Figueroa.  Monterrey's Michael Choice has 10 homers to top the circuit, one more than Stephen Cardullo of Jalisco and Culiacan's Sebastian Elizalde.  Choice's 27 RBIs ties him for second with two other players behind the 28 of Jalisco's Dariel Alvarez.  Rico Noel of Culiacan is 16-of-19 in stolen base attempts and leads the MexPac in swipes while teammate Elizalde is second with 12 steals.

Yoanys Quiala of Los Mochis is 6-1 for the Caneros (who have a 16-20 overall record) to lead the league in wins, two more than five pitchers with four victories apiece.  Mexicali's Jon van Meter is only 1-2 after sevens starts for the Aguilas but his 1.86 ERA tops the loop ahead of the 1.91 of Navojoa's Raul Carrillo while Obregon's Arturo Lopez and Juan Pablo Oramas of Hermosillo are tied for the lead in strikeouts with 40 each.  Hermosillo's Trey McNutt tops the table with ten saves and the holds leader is Monterrey reliever Nick Struck with 10.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE
Final 2019-20 First Half Standings
Obregon 22-13 (10.0 points), Hermosillo 21-13 (9.0), Jalisco (21-14 (8.0), Culiacan (19-16 (7.0), Monterrey (18-17 (6.0), Mazatlan 17-18 (5.5), Los Mochis 15-20 (5.0), Guasave 15-20 (4.5), Mexicali 15-20 (4.0), Navojoa 11-23 (3.5).


CASTRO TO MANAGE MEXICO IN 2020 OLYMPICS

Sweeping Group A and then qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics by finishing third in this month's World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament was enough for Mexico manager Juan Gabriel Castro to keep his job for the Olympics in Tokyo nest summer.  It's been quite a month for the retired infielder, who spend 17 seasons playing in the majors.  While managing the Verdes Grande in the Premier12, he was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies as a coach for the 2020 campaign under new manager Joe Girardi.  Now it's on to Japan and managing Mexico's first Olympic baseball team, assuming the Phils allow him to leave the team for the Olympics, which will take place between July 24 and August 9 next year.

Although Mexico was defeated by Japan and South Korea in the Premier12 Super Round after winning all three of their Group A games in Guadalajara and topping Taiwan and Australia in the second stage, their win over the United States in the Bronze Medal game at the Tokyo Dome punched their ticket to the Olympics as the highest-placing team from the Americas in the Premier12.  "Our thought in this tournament was to be champions," Castro told Beatriz Pereyra of Proceso.  "We did not succeed and we are left with that little thorn, but I think that Mexico has the possibility of winning the gold medal in the Olympic Games.  I'm proud to have been present, to be part of the history of the Mexican National Team in the Olympics...I hope it is a big step for the Mexican baseball team to continue growing, keep improving."

Castro told Pereyra that he regretted questions about members of the national team who have dual citizenship in Mexico and the United States, an issue he said generated annoyance not only among the player but their families as well.  "I gave them a personal example," explained Castro, who was born in Los Mochis in 1952.  "My children were born in the United States.  They are American by birth, but they are also Mexican...My oldest son was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico bus I think he feels more Mexican than me. He even just had an Emiliano Zapata tattoo on his arm.  I think that was a reason for the boys to feel more proud and give extra for the team, and I'm very proud of them."  Castro stressed that he still down know what the process will be for putting together an Olympic team, noting that while he was able to carry 28 players for the Premier 12, he'll be limited to a 24-man roster in Tokyo.

Mexican players after Olympics-clinching win

Mexico is one of four teams to clinch a berth in the Olympic field, which will consist of just six nations in 2020.  Japan automatically qualified as host team, South Korea earned their slot by reaching the Premier12 title game against the Baseball Samurai and Israel (like Mexico) will make their Olympic baseball debut after a surprise win in September's Europe/Asia qualifying tournament in Italy.  Israel and The Netherlands tied for the lead in the round-robin tourney with identical 4-1 records and earned the nod by virtue of their 8-1 win over the Dutchmen on September 19 in Parma.  The final two berths will be determined at an Americas qualifier in Arizona next March and a Final qualifying Tournament in Taiwan next April.  The Olympics will consist of a 16-game schedule with two round-robin pools followed by a rather convoluted double-elimination bracket.


2020 CARIBBEAN SERIES SCHEDULE IN PUERTO RICO SET

San Juan's Bithorn Stadium to host 2020 CS

The Caribbean Series will return to Puerto Rico next February and the schedule for the six-team field had been announced.  Panama returns to the Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball after being a surprise winner last winter as a late entry, meaning the event will feature five days of round-robin tripleheaders between February 1 and 5, followed by a pair of semifinal games on February 6 and the championship game on February 7.  Colombia and Nicaragua were expected to join the competition this winter, bringing the number of nations involved to eight, but their entry will apparently be delayed at least one season.

Puerto Rico last hosted the Caribbean Series in 2015, when Cuba's first CS entry since 1960, the Pinar del Rio Vegueros, went 3-3 in the first round before winning the title.  San Juan's 18,264-seat Hiram Bithorn Stadium (home of the defending Roberto Clemente League champion Santurce Cangrejeros) will host the event.  The venue served as "home" field for the MLB Montreal Expos for 22 games in both 2003 and 2004 before the Expos were moved to Washington and renamed the Nationals in 2005 and has also hosted World Baseball Classic group play in 2006 and 2013.  A number of Major League exhibition games have been played at the facility, which was opened in 1963 and received a major overhaul prior to the Expos' two-year stint there.

The Serie del Caribe will mark the first large-scale baseball event to be staged in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria devastated the island in September 2017.  The storm resulted in over three thousand fatalities and over US$90 billion in damages, from which the country is still recovering in many areas.  The host Roberto Clemente League, which dates to 1938, was struggling financially for several years prior to Hurricane Maria, which exacerbated things to the point that the LBPRC was limited to a one-month schedule of daytime games in 2017-18 with only four teams.  The adverse conditions did not prevent the Caguas Criollos from repeating as league and Caribbean Series champions that winter.

Tickets for the 2020 Serie del Caribe range in price from US$7.50 to US$56.00 and are on sale at the Ticketpop.com website.

2020 CARIBBEAN SERIES SCHEDULE
Saturday, February 1:  Cuba vs. Venezuela (10:00AM), Mexico vs. Dominican Republic (2:30PM), Panama vs. Puerto Rico (8:00PM).
Sunday, February 2:  Cuba vs. Panama (11:00AM), Puerto Rico vs. Mexico (3:30PM), Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela (8:30PM).
Monday, February 3:  Panama vs. Mexico (10:00AM), Dominican Republic vs. Cuba (2:30PM), Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela (8:00PM).
Tuesday, February 4:  Dominican Republic vs. Panama (10:00AM), Mexico vs. Venezuela (3:30P), Cuba vs. Puerto Rico (8:00PM).
Wednesday, February 5:  Panama vs. Venezuela (8:00AM), Cuba vs. Mexico (2:30PM), Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico (8:00PM).
Thursday, February 6:  Semifinal 1 (2:30PM), Semifinal 2 (8:00PM).
Friday, February 7:  Championship Game (8:00PM).

All games played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico.  All times local.