TJ SWEEPS RIELEROS IN LMB NORTH FIRST ROUND

Monterrey OF Jose Cardona (r)

It took them a second day to do it, but the defending Mexican League champion Tijuana Toros completed an 11-1 win in Aguascalientes Sunday to complete a four-game sweep over the Rieleros in their first round playoff series, punching a ticket to the LMB North semifinals in the process.

The game was somewhat closer than the final score indicates as Tijuana took a 4-1 lead into the top of the eighth, where they put two more runs on the scoreboard on Leandro Castro’s homer and then put the contest away with five counters in the ninth as Nick Williams and Felix Perez added two-run roundtrippers of their own off Ags closer Ryan Kussmaul. Toros starter Arturo Reyes combined with five relievers on a four-hitter as Carlos Rivero’s solo homer to left off Reyes in the second gave the Railroaders their lone run.

Elsewhere in the LMB North, Dos Laredos defeated Union Laguna in five games while Monterrey did likewise with Monclova. The Tecolotes advanced to the LMB semis with an emphatic 15-2 road win Sunday at venerable Estadio de Revolucion. The Algodoneros actually led 2-1 after five entradas before the visitors posted 14 runs over the next three frames, including a 9-run eighth. Kennys Vargas went 4-for-6 for the borderites, scoring once and driving in four teammates as the Tecos’ 16-hit attack included no extra-base hits. Surprise starter Brandon Brennan, a reliever since 2016, got the win after scattering two runs on nine hits over five innings. Algodoneros reliever Josh Lueke had a nightmarish outing, allowing six runs on three hits and three walks in one-third of the eighth inning.

While Dos Laredos was pummeling Union Laguna, Monterrey needed a run in the bottom of the ninth to top Monclova, 6-5, clinching their 4-1 series win. Keon Broxton homered twice for the Acereros, including a two-run blast in the top of the ninth that pulled the visitors into a 5-5 tie, while longtime Sultanes star Chris Roberson (now playing right and batting eighth for Monclova) socked a solo shot in the fifth. However, the game was won in the bottom of the ninth when speedy Sultanes center fielder Jose Cardona manufactured the winning run the old-fashioned way.

Cardona singled on a bang-bang play via a grounder to Acereros shortstop Addison Russell, stole second, advanced to third on Sebastian Elizalde’s groundout and motored in on a Wirfin Obispo wild pitch to Zoilo Almonte to end the contest. Despite allowing Broxton’s game-tying homer, reliever Neftali Feliz was awarded the win. Although they lost the series, Monclova will stay alive by virtue of the “lucky loser” system, in which the team with the best showing in a first-round losing cause advances to the next round. The Acereros will take on Tijuana in the LMB North semis while the Sultanes face Dos Laredos.

DIABLOS OUST AGUILAS 4-0, REACH LMB SOUTH SEMIS

Mexico City 1B Roberto Ramos

After finishing with an LMB South-best 58-34 record, the Mexico City Diablos Rojos carried their regular season success into the playoffs by bouncing the Veracruz Aguilas out of the postseason in four straight first round games and advancing to the division semifinals.

Mexico City delivered the coup de grace over their ancient rivals, 4-2, Sunday night in front of 6,500 fans in Veracruz. The win was fairly methodical for the Red Devils, who scored single runs in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings and got a solid performance from reliever Francisco Haro, who tossed four innings and allowed one run on four hits to earn the win. 

The Diablos benefitted from a pair of solo homers off the bat of former Rockies farmhand Roberto Ramos, who swatted 38 homers for Korea’s LG Twins in 2020 but was released the following season when he struggled at the plate. Ramos struggled for the Red Sox’ AAA Worcester affiliate this year (a .158 average with 5 homers and 16 RBI in 39 games) but warmed up with Mexico City by batting .272 with 10 homers and 28 ribbies over 26 contests.

In another LMB South first round series, Quintana Roo closed out their series against Tabasco with a 13-4 Game Five win Monday night in Cancun. The Olmecas went up 1-0 in the top of the first when Herlis Rodriguez scored on Francisco Rivera’s sacrifice fly, but the Tigres knotted it up in the bottom of the frame when Olmo Rosario homered to right. Jorge Rivera lined a two-run single to left to give the Tigres a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. 

From that point both teams traded in the fifth and sixth (when Rosario poled his second homer for Quintana Roo), with the Tigres holding a 6-4 head heading into the seventh, when they iced the game and series with a seven-run outburst highlighted by Tito Polo’s grand slam off Tabasco reliever Fernando Salas to end the night’s scoring. Ricky Rodriguez had four hits, missing the cycle by one homer, for the winners while scoring three runs and driving in two. Felipe Arredondo tossed 1.2 perfect innings in relief for the series-clinching win. Both the Tigres and Diablos Rojos are waiting for the third LMB South first round series to conclude so they’ll know who’s next on their respective postseason schedules.

Finally, Game Five of the Puebla-Yucatan series in Merida Monday was scoreless through four innings before Peter O’Brien’s solo homer for the Pericos in the top of the fifth broke the spell and launched a see-saw battle. Art Charles belted a two-run circuit clout in the bottom of the sixth to put Yucatan ahead but the Pericos regained the lead in the seventh on Armando Aguilar’s two-run bomb. Then the Leones took the lead back in the bottom of the eighth, 4-3, on RBI singles by Christhian Adames and Yadir Drake and it was left to Jorge Rondon to hold Puebla scoreless in the top of the ninth for the save as Yucatan took a 3-2 series lead.

Game Six is slated for Wednesday night in Puebla. Game Six is slated for Wednesday night in Puebla. Both teams have qualified for the LMB South semis since both have more wins in this series than either Veracruz (0) or Tabasco (1) earned in their respective sets, meaning the “lucky loser” will emerge from this matchup.

LMP GAMES TELEVISED TO USA BLOCKED BY SKY SPORTS

LMP president Carlos Manrique

The Mexican Pacific League has begun a new era under the presidency of Carlos Manrique, who has replaced Omar Canizales after the latter had served 13 seasons at the helm overseeing tremendous growth in attendance and the building or renovation of all but one of ten LMP ballparks during his reign. By the end of Canizales’ reign, the Mex Pac routinely drew much larger attendance per game than any affiliated minor league north of the border.

 An industrial engineer with over two decades of experience working for large national and international corporations, Manrique had been a general director with the Voit sporting goods manufacturing company for five years prior to replacing Canizales in April. Some things never change no matter who is running the show, however, and Manrique is already facing a challenge involving the availability of MexPac games to TV viewers in the USA.

Septima Entrada writer Irving Furlong reports that while Manrique wants to take viewership of the league to an international level, the agreement that the league has with SKY Sports at this time blocks the LMP from sending its signal to the United States. One of the first points that Manrique touched on in a recent presentation was precisely to internationalize the circuit and take it to the country with perhaps the greatest presence of Mexican people outside the nation’s borders: the USA. 

"The United States market is very important,” said Manrique during his presentation. ”The Hispanic market is one of the fastest-growing markets in the United States and quality content is demanded to serve and reach that market. We are going to find a way to get there first through the media.” 

However, the agreement signed at the beginning of 2020 with the satellite television platform blocks the LMP from accessing the United States by having the live and exclusive broadcast of all their games. "We want to talk with SKY," said Manrique. “We are going to sit down and see what options we have and look for a better scheme that is convenient for all parties and see how we can reach other markets as quickly as possible.” 

For the 2022-23 season, the Mex Pac will begin the third of its four-year contract with SKY Sports, a UK-based television system that at the time boasted a presence in the Dominican Republic and Panama (countries with long histories in baseball) but far from the 37 million Mexicans living in various parts of the United States, according to the US Census Bureau in 2017. 

Under current agreements, Manrique and the LMP office will instead continue to seek to position themselves in the center of Mexico, placing special emphasis on Mexico City.

CANIZALES TOUTS MONTERREY AS POTENTIAL CS SITE

    Although the next edition of the Caribbean Series is slated to take place next February in the relatively stable Dominican Republic, Septima Entrada writer Tomas Lopez says Mexican Pacific League president Omar Canizales is touting a Mexican city that has never hosted the event as a possible future site: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

    "It shouldn't be long before Monterrey can have a Serie del Caribe,” Canizales is quoted as saying. “Indeed, there's an agreement between the owners of the teams where there's a rotation to host this tournament.” Canizales added that Monterrey could be an ideal fill-in in case another scheduled country declines to host the event for some reason because the hometown Sultanes are co-owned by the Multimedios media company that can effectively get the word out on short notice. The Sultanes' 21,906-seat Estadio Monterrey is the largest ballpark in Mexico and third-largest in Latin America.

    Canizales alluded to past Caribbean Series that have had to move weeks before the tournament to alternate sites like Panama City and Guadalajara because of politicial and economic miseries occurring in Venezuela, the planned host site. “Let's remember that eventually eventually, our Caribbean brothers in some countries may have some instability and I think Monterrey can be a good 'pinch-hitter' for this event...I believe Monterrey and Multimedios can be tremendous hosts.”

    Mexico is one of four nations included in the CS rotation along with Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Venezuela is scheduled to host the Serie del Caribe in 2023 while Mexico, which held the event in Mazatlan last winter, is not slated to come up in the rotation until 2025. Mexicali is seen as the front-runner to serve as host that year.

    Meanwhile, on the playing field, only two games separate the top five teams in the Mex Pac standings after last weekend's games. When the dust settled Sunday night, Navojoa had sole possession of first place with a 15-8 record after the Mayos slipped past Obregon, 3-2, in ten innings. Maikel Serrano's bases-loaded walkoff single to left off reliever Alberto Leyva plated Jorge Sesma with the winning run as Obregon fell to a three-way tie for third with Jalisco and defending champion Culiacan.

    Guasave kept pace with Navojoa and remains a half-game out of first after clobbering Mexicali, 11-2, Sunday at Estadio Aguilas. Yadir Drake crushed a three-run homer for the Algodoneros while Jhoan Urena went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs to support starter Jordan Kipper's five shutout inings.

    Jalisco dropped a 5-4 decision Sunday to Los Mochis at home to remain in third a 13-10. Caneros' leadoff hitter Justin Dean and second batter Issac Rodriguez combined for five hits, three RBIs and two runs scored for the winners. Likewise, Culiacan remain tied for third Sunday after losing to Mazatlan, 3-2, at home. The Venados' Ramon Rios stroked a leadoff single, moved to second on a bunt, took third on a Derrick Loop wild pitch and scored the winning run on a Ricky Alvarez sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth.

    Navojoa outfielder Tirso Ornelas is the LMP's only .400 hitter and leads the loop with a .417 average, ahead of Jalisco's Christian Villanueva (.394) and Nick Torres of Hermosillo (.370). Torres' six homers are tops, followed by the five apiece from Monterrey's Danny Ortiz and Kyle Martin of Navojoa (who's hit his longballs over just ten games). Guasave's Jesse Castillo leads Maikel Serrano of Navojoa in the RBI race, 21 to 20. Culiacan's Dairon Blanco heads the list in stolen bases with eight, one more than three other baserunners: Jose Cardona (Hermosillo), Sebastian Elizalde (Culiacan) and Roel Santos (Navojoa).

    On the mound, 2018-19 LMP Pitcher of the Year Elian Leyva is making the decision of the Jalisco Charros to release him last winter appear ill-considered. Now pitching for Hermosillo, the Cuban-born righty gave up one single over seven innings in Monterrey Saturday to run his string of shutout entradas at the start of the season to 32. Needless to say, Leyva's 0.00 ERA is best in the Mex Pac (Jalisco's Orlando Lara has allowed one earned run over 27 frames), his 4-0 record matches Navojoa's Carlos de Leon for most wins and his 0.63 WHIP is also first in the LMP. Leyva's 25 strikeouts are third on that list behind two Obregon hurlers, Luis Escobar (30) and Hector Velazquez (27). Jake Sanchez' strong work for Mexicali continues, with the Californian's seven saves leading Navojoa's Carlos Bustamante's five while striking out 17 batters in just ten innings to augment his 0.90 ERA.

    Looking forward, a pair of midweek series loom large when Jalisco visits Obregon and Navojoa opens a three-game series in Hermosillo on Tuesday. Next weekend, Navojoa will host Guasave while Hermosillo will be in Guadalajara for a trio of games against the Charros as all five teams seek to break up the relative logjam at the top.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE STANDINGS: Navojoa 15-8, Guasave 14-8, Culiacan 13-10, Jalisco 13-10, Obregon 13-10, Hermosillo 12-11, Mexicali 10-13, Mazatlan 9-14, Monterrey 9-14, Los Mochis 6-16.

LMB PLANS APRIL 2022 OPENER, NINETY-GAME SEASON

    The Mexican League has announced that its Assembly of Presidents recently approved a 90-game regular season for 2022 running from late April until early August, followed by an extended postseason in which 12 of the Liga's 18 teams will qualify for playoff berths.

    The anouncement came from the LMB office in Mexico City, in which league president Horacio de la Vega stated, “I appreciate the encouragement and collaboration of all the presidents to define the key dates for the 2022 season in order to have adequate planning that will benefit us all: fans, television stations and sponsors.”

    The Mexican League regular season is slated to open Thursday, April 21, at Estadio Nacional, home of the defending champion Tijuana Toros. The Bulls' opponent was not mentioned. The rest of the LMB will swing into action one night later on Friday, April 22. The regular season, which will consist of a total of 810 games, will conclude on Sunday, August 7, with the playoffs to commence shortly thereafter. The Liga's All-Star Weekend will take place between June 17 through 19 in Monclova. There was no All-Star Game last summer.

    The playoffs will be similar to this year's format, in which the top six teams from each division will advance to the first round, with the three series winners moving on to the Division Semifinals along with a fourth “wild card” club that fared the best among the three opening round losers. The LMB will use a single-season format and discard the two-half look it's had in past seasons and that the Mexican Pacific League still employs during the winter.

    While the 90-game slate represents a 36 percent increase over this year's pandemic-shortened, 66-game schedule, it also marks a 25 percent reduction from 2019's 120-calendar and will be the circuit's shortest regular season since before it was officially brought into the National Association (now Minor League Baseball) as a Class AA league in 1955. The shaving of 30 games off the last full season is partly meant to limit financial losses for the vast majority of LMB teams who lose money every time they throw the gates open. The Liga will now play only 22 more regular games than the Mex Pac.

    The Mexican League is a member of Minor League Baseball but operates as an independent league devoid of any formal affiliations with Major League organizations. The Liga's classification was raised from AA to AAA in 1967 but the loop received no classification for 2021.

    There was also a 3-for-1 trade in the Mexican League last month that saw Monclova send infielder Jose Vargas plus pitchers Ryan Verdugo and reliever Andrew Morales to Saltillo for outfielder Juan Perez in what appears to be an Acereros payroll deduction. Vargas hit .302 with 8 homers and 28 RBIs in 46 games for Monclova last summer, Verdugo was 1-0 with a 14.49 ERA in 11 appearances (including two starts) while Morales went 1-2 and 4.81 in 23 relief outings. Perez hit .233 for the Saraperos in 2021, adding 10 homers and 26 ribbies in 65 games.

MEX PAC ROAD TRIP (Stop #5): Navojoa, Sonora

    From Obregon, we’ll continue our virtual Mexican Pacific League road trip with a short 43-mile hop south on Highway 15 to the fifth of ten stops: Navojoa, Sonora, home of the Mayos and one of the LMP's smaller markets with a 2020 population of 164,387.

    The word “navojoa” comes from the Mayo Indian dialect root “navo” (or “prickly pear cactus”) and “jova” (or “house”), therefore meaning “the house of prickly pear cactus.” Even before the Spaniards arrived, the Mayo tribe had possession of the land including the Rio Mayo and the Mayo Valley. Although Spanish explorer Diego de Guzman arrived in the area in 1536 and Jesuit missionaries began settling locally in the 17th Century, Navojoa dates back to 1825, when it was part of the old State of the West formed after the Mexican Independence War starting in 1810.

    Due to its geographical location, Navojoa has been considered from the start as the center of productivity of this region, combining with Ciudad Obregon to form the Mayo Valley, one of Mexico’s most productive agricultural regions. The most important businesses are concentrated in Navojoa, with the main northbound and southbound state highways and railroads coming through the city as well as highways going to Alamos and Yavaros.

    Known as “The Pearl of the Mayo”, Navojoa is a city of contrasts. In spite of its modern features, the city has preserved an array of important historical monuments in the area well worth visiting, among them the Municipal Palace, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, sculpted monuments such as one erected in memory of General Alvaro Obregon, a plaza with obelisks in honor of the Talamante brothers.

    The Navojoa Mayos started in the Mexican Pacific League in the 1959-60 season and (after a two-year absence between 1960 and 1962) are playing their 60th consecutive season of winterball. After winning three titles in the old Pacific Coast League, the Mayos copped their first Mex Pac pennant in 1978-79 under manager Chuck Goggin and won their second (and last) flag in 1999-20 for skipper Lorenzo Bundy. They are now managed by Salon de la Fama member Matias Carrillo, who led Navojoa to the LMP finals against Hermosillo in 2013-14, one of ten times the Mayos have played the postseason bridesmaids. The team has retired two numbers: the 12 of Jose “Chico” Bojorquez and the 25 worn by Hector Heredia and

    “The Tribe” plays their home games at Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echevarria, an 11,500-seat ballpark named after a locally-born Salon de la Fama pitcher. The ballpark opened in time for the 1970-71 season and is owned by the Sonora state government. Navojoa is the only LMP city that hasn't built a new stadium or performed major renovations to its existing facility over the past decade.

STATE GOVERNMENT BARS CHARROS FROM BALLPARK

Estadio Charros in 2019

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

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

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

Estadio Panamericano in 2011

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

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

WOMAN DEBUTS IN TOP SINALOA MEN'S SEMIPRO LEAGUE

RHP Rosi del Castillo

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

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

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

Del Castillo with 2019 awards

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

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

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

LMP PRESIDENT CANIZALES REVIEWS DIFFICULT 2020-21 SEASON

Mex Pac president Omar Canizales

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

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

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

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

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

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

    What is the infection report?

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

Sparse attendance in Culiacan

    Was it the hardest year ever at LMP?

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

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

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

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

LMP SHUTS DOWN FOR 11 DAYS TO BATTLE VIRUS SURGE

Los Mochis outfielder Leandro Castro

  Following an uptick of Wuhan virus cases that led to series delays and postponements or cancellations of games (including two entire series), the Mexican Pacific League held an emergency Assembly of Presidents meeting late last week, where it was decided to close the season down for eleven days, beginning Friday, November 6. Games are slated to resume on Tuesday, November 17.

    Things began to unravel Tuesday, October 27, when a scheduled series opener in Hermosillo between the Naranjeros and visiting Culiacan was delayed one day "in order to maintain the logistical protocols," according to a press release from the LMP office. The series instead started Wednesday, October 28 with two seven-inning games, the adjusted format for doubleheaders this winter.

    It was determined Monday of last week that two Los Mochis players, pitcher Santiago Gutierrez and outfielder Leandro Castro, were shown to have the virus in a second round of testing after general tests had indicated six "suspicious" results among Caneros players and coaches. Sports manager Carlos Soto said both Gutierrez and Castro had been sequestered in Mexicali hotel rooms and were to be transferred back to Los Mochis while the team awaited further results. 

    A third Caneros player, infielder Isaac Rodriguez, also initially tested positive and was being quarantined in his hotel room until secondary test results on the defending Mex Pac batting champion were received. Rodriguez was eventually cleared and back in the lineup Wednesday night as the Caneros continued playing.

LMP games to return on November 17

    The pandemic trickle then became a river, with the league office cancelling a midweek series between Hermosillo and Monterrey. The floodgates opened with the cancellation last Thursday of a weekend series between the Sultanes and Venados in Mazatlan while the LMP also postponed the third game of a midweek set that night between Mazatlan and Guasave until mid-November with the entire weekend triad of games between Hermosillo and Guasave called off.

    At that point, Mex Pac president Omar Canizales convened the emergency Assembly meeting on Friday, which led to the cessation of all games for eleven days, starting that evening. A press release from the LMP office in Guadalajara states the stoppage, the first in the loop's 76-year history, will be used to intensify testing of all players, coaching staffs and "collaborators" who have contact with them. All team members will need to present negative virus tests before they'll be allowed on the field when play resumes November 17. 

    Lost games will not be made up while the first half will be extended until Thursday, November 26, four days after its original conclusion on Sunday, November 22. The adjusted schedule will mean a reduction of nine games, with a first half of 29 games followed by a second half with a 30-game calendar.

YAQUIS STILL ON TOP, SWING 4-FOR-1 TRADE WITH MAYOS

Victor Mendoza sent to Yaquis for 4 players

    Amid an ongoing flurry of player movement, the Obregon Yaquis continued their red-hot play into the unscheduled work stoppage, maintaining first place in the Mexican Pacific League standings when the league office halted games for eleven days. Culiacan thwarted the Yaquis' attempt to complete a road sweep by topping Obregon, 14-4, Thursday night as Sebastian Elizalde's seventh inning grand slam capped a six-RBI night for the Tomateros rightfielder, but the loss only dropped the Yaquis' record to 17-3 for the season, good enough for a three-and-a-half-game lead over second-place Hermosillo (12-5). The win lifted fourth-place Culiacan to 11-9, a game-and-a-half behind idle Monterrey (11-6).

    Earlier in the week, Obregon completed a blockbuster trade with last-place Navojoa (6-14) by trading four players to the Mayos for first baseman Victor Mendoza, who was in his fifth winterball seasons in Navojoa but was also a two-time playoff reinforcement for the Yaquis. A hometown boy who turns 30 later this month, the Yaquis had sought to get Mendoza from Navojoa for some time, but the price they paid for the 6'2" 205-pounder raised eyebrows among observers throughout the Mex Pac.

    To acquire Mendoza, who was batting .209 with no homers and eight RBIs in 13 games, Obregon gave the Mayos starting pitcher Octavio Acosta (3-0 with a league-leading 2.12 ERA), outfielder Tirso Ornelas (a highly-regarded 20-year-old San Diego Padres prospect batting .267 in part-time duty), infielder Moises Gutierrez (a .250 hitter in his fourth LMP season) and veteran pitcher Francisco Moreno, who had yet to pitch for Obregon after being acquired from Mazatlan in yet another trade. The lefty-batting Mendoza had not suited up for the Yaquis before play was halted but manager Sergio Gastelum will count on him to augment his 19 career homers in 226 games over seven winters when he returns while sports manager Manuel Velez may have even more riding on Mendoza's success.

Navojoa brings in 3B D.J. Peterson

    Navojoa also helped themselves last week by adding a former Major league Baseball first-round draft pick to their roster. D.J. Peterson was selected out of the Unversity of New Mexico by Seattle with the 12th pick of the 2013 draft and went on to play in the Mariners system until the White Sox picked him up on waivers in 2017. He also spent time in the Cincinnati organization before playing the last two summers with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in the Houston area. Able to play third and first base, Peterson hit .264 with 108 homers in 673 games over seven minor league campaigns before batting .293 with 12 homers over 63 games the past two years. He hit .236 with two roundtrippers for Mexicali last winter and was due to play for Quintana Roo this year before the Mexican League canceled its season, returning to Sugar Land instead.

    Speaking of Mexicali, the Aguilas removed the "interim" part of Bronswell Patrick's title as manager of the team. Patrick replaced Pedro Mere on October 23 after the Eagles started the season by losing their first eight games. Since then Patrick led Mexicali to six wins in his first ten games at the helm, including a 4-0 triumph over Los Mochis last Wednesday in which starter David Reyes, a Los Mochis native, tossed both his first complete game and shutout in nine Mex Pac seasons. The Aguilas told Patrick the dugout boss job was his after that game and Mexicali topped the Caneros, 5-4, the next night before the season was halted. It's worth remembering that while the interim status was taken away from Patrick, this is Mexican baseball, where all managers work on an interim basis, one way or another.

CHRIS ROBERSON STEPS DOWN AFTER 16 YEARS OF WINTERBALL

Chris Roberson batting for Mazatlan

    One of the most popular ballplayers south of the border and a fixture in the Mexican Pacific League for years may be calling it good after 16 years of winterball. Outfielder Chris Roberson, who broke into the Mex Pac with Hermosillo in 2005-06 and also performed with Mexicali for nine years before being loaned by the Aguilas to Mazatlan last season, parted company with the Venados last Friday. After 15 games, the California product was batting .170 with one double and eight RBIs and had expressed his desire to leave the club for personal reasons. The LMP's pandemic-driven work stoppage created an opening and Roberson was granted a release last Friday and went home.

    Born in Oakland in 1979, Roberson was picked from Feather River College north of Sacramento on the ninth round of the 2001 draft by Philadelphia. He spent seven years in the Phillies system, earning AA Eastern League MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 on the heels of a .311 season at the plate with 15 homers and 34 steals for Reading. After making his LMP debut with Hermosillo later that year, Roberson played his first MLB game on May 12, 2006 during an 8-4 Philadelphia win in Cincinnati. He went on to appear in 85 big league games, mostly as a defensive replacement, and hit .232 in 72 plate appearances. The Phils sold Roberson to the Orioles in 2008 and he spend that season with Norfolk of the AAA International League before signing as a free agent with the Diamondbacks and playing for Reno in the AAA Pacific Coast League in 2009.

    Roberson spent his fifth winter in Hermosillo in 2009-10 and appeared in his first Caribbean Series, then made his move to Mexico permanent by signing with Monterrey of the Mexican League for the 2010 campaign. He's patrolled the Sultanes outfield ever since, batting .333 (topping .300 nine of ten seasons) with 112 homers and 160 steals while scoring 657 runs from his customary leadoff spot in the batting order while performing in six All-Star Games and playing for the Fall 2018 champions.

    While his .285 average with 68 homers, 168 steals and 548 runs in 16 seasons of winterball mostly don't match his Mexican League marks, Roberson has been a distinctive Mex Pac performer over the years. He played in seven Caribbean Series between 2011 and 2018 and was named MVP of the 2014 Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball after leading Hermosillo to the title while leading all batters with ten hits (including the event's lone triple), six runs, two steals and 19 stolen bases over six games.

Roberson signs cap during 2017 WBC

    Whether Roberson, who turned 41 in August, has retired is partly his choice. While he's now a free agent in the LMP, he's still on Monterrey's Mexican League roster and the Sultanes fan favorite did hit .338 with eight homers and five steals in 72 games for manager Roberto Kelly in 2019. If he decides he's done with Mexican baseball, he's certainly not done with Mexico. Married to Monterrey native Yaneth and father to two daughters, Roberson became a Mexican citizen in 2016 and played for Mexico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic under skipper Edgar Gonzalez.

    Although Chris Roberson may have been born and raised in California, his heart and soul now appear to be firmly planted in Mexico.

LMP SEASON REAFFIRMED, THREE TEAMS WORRIED

LMP teams say they're committed for 2020-21

The Mexican Pacific League held a Board of Presidents meeting last Thursday and while the LMP reaffirmed their intention to play a full schedule in the upcoming 2020-21 season, one website reports that at least three teams broached the possibility of sitting out the campaign due to concerns originating from the Wuhan virus.

Tito Escobar of ElJonronero.com reports sources told the website that three unnamed franchises expressed their concerns over operating at all next winter while discussions were held to address difficulties in securing advertising, contract disagreements and readjustments regarding beer and soft drink brands sold at ballparks and the uncertainty over how many fans will be allowed to attend games (if health authorities allow people in the stands at all).

Another worry brought up among the owners was the status of the Caribbean Series which is scheduled to take place in Mazatlan from late January into early February. Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation president Juan Francisco Puello has already spoken of the possibility of affiliated leagues not playing their season because of the Wuhan virus, which would necessitate a Plan B of sorts if the Serie del Caribe is to be salvaged. One possibility is that a de facto all-star team consisting of players on LMP rosters could be cobbled together, in a fashion similar to how National Teams are formed, to represent Mexico in the Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball.

In the end, all the hesitant teams agreed to move forward, however tenuously, toward playing the upcoming winterball season. Although the Monterrey Sultanes will be playing their home games in Mazatlan, sharing Estadio Teodoro Mariscal with the hometown Venados, no other similar arrangements were announced, even though there's been talk of the Mexicali Aguilas moving to Hermosillo for the season and alternating home series with the Naranjeros. Another rumor involved the less-likely prospect of the Jalisco Charros wintering in Culiacan and playing at Estadio Tomateros. Guadalajara, which also hosts the LMP office, is closer to other Mex Pac cities than either Monterrey or Mexicali while Charros ownership would be loathe to want to ship their team out of town for the season. The LMP was scheduled to announce the regular season schedule on Monday, August 10.

Locker rooms to be empty for player safety

The SeptimaEntrada.com site reported that safety protocols for the season were discussed. LMP president Omar Canizales said during a videoconference that there are a number of steps the Mex Pac and its ten franchises will take to help ensure the health of players, coaches and team staff. The first step, Canizales said, is to talk with players and staffs, asking them to stay away from any risk and to isolate themselves and monitor their health for 15 days before they think they'll report to their teams.

He said the next step would be to test everyone for the Wuhan virus upon their arrival to training sessions, with those testing positive quarantined according to procedure. Finally, players and coaches will be instructed to leave their hotels for games already in uniform, while waiting upon their return to change in order to avoid the use of ballpark dressing rooms, where players would be in close proximity to each other while dressing before and after games.

YOANYS QUIALA SIGNS WITH CPBL FUBON GUARDIANS

Yoanys Quiala pitching for Los Mochis

The Mexican Pacific League's 2019-20 Pitcher of the Year has signed a one-year contract with a team in Taiwan after his anticipated summer with the Tijuana Toros was scuttled when the Mexican League pulled the plug on playing games in 2020.

Cuban right-hander Yoanys Quiala inked a pact last month with the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, who also signed Mexican pitcher Manny Banuelos s an import in June. The CPBL is the only league in the world to begin its season on time in April and play a full schedule (minus rainouts) while other loops have delayed or canceled their seasons altogether due to the Wuhan virus. Quiala will undergo a physical and two-week quarantine in New Taipei City before being activated.

The 26-year-old Quiala was born in Mayari, Cuba but defected from the island nation prior to signing a free agent contract with the Houston organization in time for the 2015 season, when he posted a 2-0 record with a 1.54 ERA in nine appearances (four stats) for

an academy team in the rookie Dominican Summer League.

Quiala as an Astros prospect

Quiala pitched in the Astros minor league system for four years, appearing in the 2017 Carolina League All-Star Game while pitching for Buies Creek. However, his 2018 season with AA Corpus Christi ended early after he received an 80-game suspension for using steroids. Quiala was subsequently released by Houston and signed a minor league free agent contact with San Francisco for the 2019 campaign. He was 6-8 for the Giants' AAA Sacramento affiliate and had a 6.68 ERA for the River Cats before he was released on August 10. The 6'3” righty, who tips the scales at 235 pounds, signed with Tijuana last November.

Expectations weren't high when Quiala reported to Los Mochis last season. He'd pitched for the Caneros in 2018-19 and went 3-5 with a 4.37 ERA as a swingman, which had been his usual role over five professional seasons. However, after he was used solely as a starter with Sacramento, Caneros manager Victor Bojorquez gave Quiala the ball every fifth game and he rewarded Los Mochis with a 9-2 mark (for a 32-36 team), leading the MLP in innings pitched (87.2), wins (9) and WHIP (0.98) while coming in second in ERA (2.57) and strikeouts (71) en route to an easy win as the Mex Pac Pitcher of the Year.

Quiala was set to help fill Tijuana's starting rotation this year before the season was called off and rumors began circulating early last month that he was in talks with Fubon to pitch in Taiwan. The CPBLstats.com website reports that five days later, the Guardians filed a hiring application for a new player with the Ministry of Labor and Quiala was confirmed as that player. At last report, Quiala was awaiting results of a test for Wuhan virus and hoping to arrive in New Taipei City by early August.

LMB TEAMS TO LOSE 1-3 MILLION PESOS MONTHLY IN SHUTDOWN

Yucatan's Estadio Kukulkan sits unused in 2020

According the Beatriz Pereyra of Mexico City's Proceso.com.mx, the Mexican League's sixteen franchises stand to lose between one to three million pesos (US$45,000-135,000) per month now that the LMB has cancelled its 2020 schedule. LMB president Horacio de la Vega called off the season in late June for the first time since its 1925 inception due to ongoing concerns over the Wuhan virus, which has taken a steep toll in confirmed cases and deaths south of the border.

The possibility of playing games behind closed doors was considered until it was determined that most Liga teams could not afford to put teams on the field without ballpark-related revenue. Owner decided that their losses would be reduced by not playing a shortened regular season followed by playoffs. Although there are a handful of franchises like the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, Monterrey Sultanes and Tijuana Toros who have the financial strength to withstand what will be a year's worth of red ink without income generated at their home stadiums, most of the teams were already operating on the margins even before the pandemic arrived last spring, causing an initial delay in the LMB's anticipated April openers.

Empty coffers to devastate LMB teams

Even though the anticipated monetary losses will cause further damage to the league's Have-Nots, LMB franchises will spend money to help finance the league office in the nation's capital, including financial support for ballplayers and the circuit's 36 umpires, because the loop does not have sponsorship resources allowing it to fund itself at the executive level. Pereyra says the league office issued a statement saying, “The LMB and its 16 teams have agreed to provide financial support to the players, as well as to the corps of umpires.”

As a result, each team will analyze what percentage of salaries for their rostered players as well as coaching staff members. Pereyra states that the average player in the Mexican League is paid US$6,700-7,600 per month, although there are novice players earning US$2,000-2,250. At the higher end of the payroll, star players may receive up to US$22,500 per month during the season, although the range for them is usually closer to US$13,500-18,000 every 30 days.

With the 2020 campaign abandoned, the LMB is moving ahead with plans to open their next season in April 2021 and using their extended offseason to invest in a “digital and technical transformation,” as the league office says, while addressing a television and media infrastructure that de la Vega considers a “weakness.”

IT'S OFFICIAL: MAZATLAN OK'D FOR CARIBBEAN SERIES

Although Mazatlan was selected several months ago as host of the 2021 Caribbean Series, the ongoing controversy involving the Mexican Pacific League's Venados and the City of Mazatlan over an alleged breach of contract by the team made the event an up-in-the-air proposition. Until last Wednesday.

During a four-way videoconference last Thursday featuring Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation president Juan Francisco Puello, Mex Pac president Omar Canizalez, Venados executive president Ismael Barros and Mazatlan Mayor Luis Guillermo Benitez, Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros reports that it was Mayor Benitez who made the official announcement that his city will indeed be the site of the Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball next winter as the other three indicated their agreement.

There was doubt that the Serie del Caribe would be played in Mazatlan until last week's announcement. Puello had given the LMP a June 30 deadline to confirm issues in the coastal city had been resolved or run the risk of the tournament being moved to another Mex Pac city or even out of Mexico. For their part, Canizales warned the Venados that the LMP would move the Caribbean Series elsewhere themselves if matters had not been settled by the time the videoconference was convened.

The simmering controversy between the City and the Venados erupted on the morning of Monday, April 6 when a contingent of people from the Mazatlan Legal Department led by city council secretary Jose de Jesus Flores entered publicly-owned Estadio Teodoro Mariscal and physically removed team employees from the ballpark with orders to retrieve their belongings by the end of that week, then padlocked the ballpark shut with security placed on the premises.

The move was the culmination of a dispute in which the City accused the Venados of breach of their lease of the 16,000-seat facility. Among the charges were that the team failed to deliver free game tickets to local seniors, withheld promised support to local basketball players and boxers and refused to allow the City to use the stadium to deliver Wuhan virus relief services to seniors.

Perhaps the most crippling blow to the Venados was the City's removal of the ballpark's concessions contract from team owner Jose Antonio Toledo, whose family has controlled that activity for four decades. Although details of any tentative agreement between the City and ballclub have been announced, it can be presumed that none of the issues have been resolved (including the concessions contract) and that pending lawsuits are expected to move ahead upon the conclusion of the Serie del Caribe.

Tensions between the City and Venados go back at least as far as November 2018, a month after the ballpark was officially reopened following an offseason renovation costing 416 million public pesos (US$18 million), when a clandestine drinking system was discovered and water to Estadio Teodoro Mariscal was shut off by by municipally-owned Jumapam, who also stated the team owed over a million pesos in unpaid water bills. That imbrogio was eventually resolved but relations have remained shaky ever since.

Differences have been set aside for the time being, however, and Puello predicts a successful Caribbean Series next February. “We are going to have a very good Serie del Caribe,” he said. “The Covid is there but, by the grae of God, we are going to overcome it.”

Mazatlan last hosted the Caribbean Series in 2005, when the hometown Venados won the championship, marking the only time that a Mexican host team has won the tournament.

LMP CONFIRMS PLAN TO PLAY IN 2020-21, 3 FOREIGNERS PER TEAM

Sinaloa governor Ordaz and Omar Canizales in Guasave

During a virtual Assembly of Presidents meeting last Wednesday, the Mexican Pacific League reaffirmed plans to move forward with a full schedule for the upcoming 2020-21 winterball season despite concerns presented by the ongoing Wuhan virus panicdemic. LMP president Omar Canizales had made a similar statement in late June after the Mexican League officially announced the cancellation of their 95th season.

In a press release from the league office in Guadalajara, Canizales stated, “I thank the owners of the teams for the degree of commitment they show in this complex scenario. Their commitment to the players, staff, collaborators and the communities where they participate have inspired them to make extraordinary efforts to carry out our next season, even at the cost of having economic losses.” He added that strict health-related protocols will be put into place to ensure the safety of everyone in the stands and on the playing fields.

Canizales earned a marketing degree at Universidad Regiomontano in Monterrey and spent five years as a Cuauhtémoc brewery executive in the state of Chihuahua before becoming the Mex Pac president in 2009 following the death of Renato Vega. He has since overseen the circuit's remarkable growth ever since but admitted in June that the LMP and its teams all expect to lose money over the coming season if they play behind closed doors, a likely scenario. A schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

Baseball to return to Navojoa, LMP in October

A potentially contentious debate among the ten LMP owners was resolved with a compromise when it was announced during the videoconference that each team will be allowed up to three foreign players on their active roster next season. Last year, franchises were allowed to carry as many as 12 extraneros each but with the pending financial crunch and the relative expense at bringing in non-Mexican players, opinions were split down the middle as to whether teams should be allowed to suit up imports at all this winter.

That's if there IS a winterball season in 2020-21, of course, although Canizales says his office and member teams will do everything they can to make it happen, with a targeted Opening Day of October 12: “We have reached the conclusion and with the importance that it represents for Mexican baseball, for families and for society, that we will play the 2020-2021 season of the Mexican Pacific League."

"The owners have stuck out their chests to be responsible and despite the uncertainty that this pandemic represents, the commitment with players, the coaching staff and many people who work within baseball is confirmed, it has been decided to start in October with the season."

SULTANES REPLACE ROJAS AS MANAGER WITH GERARDO ALVAREZ

In as Monterrey manager: Gerardo Alvarez

After months of silence regarding the status of their Mexican Pacific League team manager, Homar Rojas, the Monterrey Sultanes have finally announced that Rojas is out and Pittsburgh Pirates minor league manager Gerardo Alvarez will be in charge for the team's second winterball season in 2020-21. The Sultanes finished their inaugural LMP campaign with a 26-41 record and missed the eight-team postseason.

A native of Oceanside, California who played collegiately at Texas Tech, the 40-year-old Alvarez was Baltimore's 16th round draft pick in 2002 and went on to play infield for six seasons in the Orioles system, batting .236 with 32 homers while getting as far as AAA Norfolk, for whom he played five games in 2007. Alvarez then hit .178 for Somerset of the independent Atlantic League in 2008, his final year as a player. Known more for his versatility than his bat, Alvarez played every position on the field but catcher.

Alvarez made his debut as a manager with the Oakland County Cruisers of the Frontier League in 2010, leading the Michigan-based indy team to a 53-43 record and third place in the East Division. He then managed Pittsburgh's Dominican Summer League affiliate two years later as the Rookie-level Pirates went 44-26 in the regular season and went on to win the DSL pennant. Alvarez has remained in the Pittsburgh farm system since, managing Bradenton of the Class A Florida State League in 2017 and 2018 before taking the Pirates Gulf Coast League squad to an 18-26 mark last year

During that time, he was also coaching during the winter in the LMP with both Mexicali and Mazatlan, with whom he was the third base coach for the 2016 Caribbean Series champion Venados. Alvarez' hiring marked final confirmation of which ten managers would open the Mex Pac season in October.

Although he has a decent background on both sides of the foul lines, Alvarez' hiring might have raised some eyebrows in Monterrey, where team co-owner Jose “Pepe” Maiz' virulent opposition to Mexican-Americans led to a near-split of the Mexican League in recent seasons. It's not unreasonable to believe that Alvarez' managerial leash will be even shorter

Out as Monterrey manager: Homar Rojas

with the Sultanes than it would be would be elsewhere and that the team's press release telling him “Together with you in search of victory, supporting you in every decision” can be taken with a grain of salt.

As for Rojas, who spent over 20 years as a catcher before starting his managerial career in 2005, the 56-year-old Nuevo Leon native was not given the almost perfunctory thanks for his professionalism and best wishes for his future projects by the Sultanes. Although he is currently without a job in either summer or winter baseball in Mexico, his vast experience (including LMP pennants with Obregon in 2007-08 and Hermosillo in 2009-10) and the high turnover of managers south of the border practically ensures that Rojas will find work sooner rather than later.