MANNY HOMERS, CHARROS PULL INTO LMP CO-LEAD

After a forgettable two-season 2018 stint in the Mexican League with Monclova and Quintana Roo, Manny Rodriguez may be getting his groove back in Jalisco.

The perennial All-Star second baseman broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning with a solo homer off Los Mochis starter Chris Huffman as the Charros went on to beat the host Caneros, 4-2, Sunday night as 5,932 watched at Mochis' Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada.  Rodriguez had a rocky Spring season in the LMB, leaving the Acereros two weeks into the schedule and forcing a trade to the Tigres, where he played the rest of Spring and the entire Fall campaign.  While he had a power surge with 9 homers in 54 games but only hit .253 and .294 for the two seasons.  Although Rodriguez picked up the pace after landing with the Tigres, it was for all intent a lost summer for the 36-year-old Guasave native.  He's off to a good winterball start with the Charros, however, with a .333 batting average over his first eight games (including a sizzling .467 mark in four home contests).  Rodriguez' homer Sunday night was his second and he now has eight RBIs.  It's early yet, but perhaps Manny's spring of discontent in Monclova has faded from his rear-view mirror.

The win hoisted Jalisco into a three-way tie for the Mexican Pacific League's first-half lead with identical 5-3 records.  Co-leaders Mazatlan and Culiacan both lost Sunday night.  The Venados lost a 3-2 contest at Hermosillo as Bryce Brentz' RBI single gave the Naranjeros a win in walkoff fashion in the bottom of the tenth.  The Tomateros fell, 4-1 in Mexicali as C.J. Retherford singled, doubled and drove in two runs for the victorious Aguilas, who are now a half-game out of the lead in third with a 4-3 record.

Mazatlan's strong start can be attributed to their collective .315 batting average, an unusual trait for a Venados team that has traditionally relied on pitching to win.  Four of the LMP's top seven batters are in the Mazatlan lineup.  While Navojoa's Alonzo Harris tops the list at .472 (Harris' five steals ties Mexicali's Juan Perez for most), the Venados have four hitters inside the Top Ten: Azael Sanchez at .458 (2nd), Anthony Giansanti and Brian Hernandez at .423 (tied for 4th) and Sherman Johnson at an even .400 (7th).  The aforementioned Manny Rodriguez is tied with seven other batsmen for the lead in homers with his two longballs while his eight ribbies are tops in that category as well. 

Although Mazatlan has maintained their strong pitching tradition with a team ERA of 2.59, that figure only ranks fourth among the MexPac's eight teams.  Mexicali and Navojoa are tied with a stingy 2.16 while Culiacan is third at 2.56.  The LMP has long been a pitcher's league, a contrast with summer's hitter-friendly Mexican League, but the hurlers are ahead the hitters more than usual.  Obregon reliever Jesus Anguamea has won twice in four outing to be the only 2-0 man in the league.  Mazatlan's Jose Hernandez has yet to allow a run in 12 innings over two starts (he's 1-0) and Mexicali veteran Javier Solano's 15 strikeouts in 11.2 frames tops that list.  Evan Marshall of Mazatlan is tied with Jalisco's Grant Sides with three saves apiece.  Marshall has not been scored upon in four appearances, giving up two hits and no walks in four innings.


MEXICO WINS 2 OF FIRST 3 GAMES AT U-23 WORLD CUP IN COLOMBIA

A Mexico team consisting of many of the country's top young ballplayers has won two of its first three games at the WBSC's Under-23 World Cup tournament in Barranquilla, Colombia.  Twelve national teams are entered in the competition, with Mexico in the six-team Group A along with host Colombia, Japan, Taiwan, South Africa and The Netherlands.  Group B consists of Australia, South Korea, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and both the Czech and Dominican Republics.

Mexico snuck past Taiwan, 2-1, last Friday in the World Cup opener.  Alan Garcia's two-run single scored Roberto Valenzuela and Julian Ornelas in the bottom of the first inning.  Garcia played outfield three years in the Padres system before debuting for Puebla in the Mexican League fall season, batting .259 in 25 games. That ended up being all the offensive support that starting pitcher Luis Rodriguez and four relievers would need.  Rodriguez, who went 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 21 relief appearances for Quintana Roo this fall, gave up one run on five hits in as many innings to earn the win.  Erick Casillas (Oaxaca) worked a scoreless ninth for the save.

Manager Enrique "Che" Reyes' squad made it two straight Saturday by pounding The Netherlands, 14-7.  The Mexicans scored at least one run in every inning but the second and third as they outhit the Dutchmen by a 16-to-12 margin.  Outfielder Fabricio Macias, who played in the Pirates system this year after two seasons in Saltillo, had three hits (including a homer), three runs and three RBIs for the winners while Bernardo Heras (Puebla) had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run.  Starter Francisco Haro (Campeche) gave up three runs in five innings, but he struck out nine Dutch batters and pitched well enough to win.

Things fell back to Earth on Sunday as Japan knocked Mexico out of the unbeaten ranks by a 7-2 count.  The Japanese got off to a 4-0 lead before Heras put the Verdes Grande on the scoreboard with a solo homer in the top of the fourth, but the only other Mexican run came two frames later when Daniel Mercado (Union Laguna) singled in Roberto Valenzuela from third.  Marco Jaime (Leon) had two of Mexico's six hits while pinch-hitter Walter Higuera (Yucatan) added a seventh-inning double, but this one was Japan's to lose early.  Saul Castellanos (Saltillo) was bombed for five runs on seven hits in ust 3.2 innings to absorb the loss.

As might be expected, World Cup games not involving host Colombia have not been witnessed by large crowds at Barranquilla's Estadio Edgar Renteria.  Only 62 hardy souls attended Mexico's Friday tournament opener against Taiwan.  Although a reported 500 showed up for Saturday's Mexico-Netherlands game, only 250 wandered in for Sunday's Mexico-Japan encounter.  Conversely, crowds of 3,500 came out for each of Colombia's first two games (their Sunday night tilt with South Africa was halted by rain in the second inning).

First round round-robin play is scheduled to conclude Tuesday, weather permitting, with a three-day "super round" commencing Wednesday prior to Saturday's Bronze and Gold medal games.


MENESES LEAVES TOMATEROS, MAY PLAY IN JAPAN NEXT YEAR

Culiacan 1B Joey Meneses: Off to Osaka?

After not getting a callup to parent club Philadelphia despite winning the AAA International League's Most Valuable Player award, Joey Meneses is hoping for a fair shot in Japan next year.  The Culiacan native has reportedly been negotiating with a Nippon Professional Baseball team and has not played for his hometown Tomateros since homering and driving in three runs in a 6-1 Mexican Pacific League win over Los Mochis last Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Meneses was signed by the Phillies as a free agent last winter after seven seasons in the Atlanta system, including MiLB.com Organization All-Star selections in 2014 and 2017.  He'd batted .282 with a career-high 9 homers for the Braves' Mississippi affiliate in the AA Southern League, playing in that loop's All-Star Game in 2017, a good year but not good enough to keep his job.  The Phils signed him to a minor league deal and assigned him to their IL farm club in Lehigh Valley, where he proceeded to hit .311 while leading the circuit in homers (23), RBIs (82), and OPS (.870) while tying with Columbus' Brandon Barnes for most runs scored (75).  The IL named the 26-year-old both MVP and Rookie of the Year for 2018 for his efforts while unsurprisingly placing the first baseman on their postseason All-Star squad.  Lehigh Valley won the Northern Division title with a league-best 84-56 record before falling to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in four games in the first round of the playoffs.

Meneses was never brought up to Philadelphia despite his breakout campaign for the Iron Pigs, even after MLB rosters were expanded to 40 players on September 1.  The 6'3" 220-pounder was on a one-year deal with the Phillies, making him a free agent going into this offseason.  He has reportedly been in contract talks to play for the Orix Buffaloes, who were formed by a 2005 merger between the Pacific League's Orix Blue Wave and Kintetsu Buffaloes.  The Buffaloes finished fourth in the PL with a 62-69 record.  Japanese teams are allowed four foreigners on their 25-man rosters (there are no limits to gaijin in NPB's minor leagues) and while pitchers Andrew Albers (9-2/3.08) and Brandon Dickson (4-6, 3.55) plus outfielder Stefen Romero (.235/23/62) probably played well enough to be brought back in 2019, Chris Marrero (.201/11/26) dropped off noticeably since a good 2017 debut in Osaka and the ex-Nats and Giants first sacker may be considered expendable.

Meneses was batting .417 with a homer and 6 RBIs over four games when he made his last appearance for the defending MexPac champion Tomateros, managed this year by Lorenzo Bundy.  Meneses hit .248 with 6 homers for Culiacan in 66 games last winter.

Laguna OF Chapman penning diary for Christian sports mag

Vaqueros outfielder Ethan Chapman with wife Kylie

Ethan Chapman is hardly the first North American to spend a season playing pro baseball in Mexico.  However, he may be the first to write a weekly diary about his experience for a national sports magazine.

An outfielder for the Union Laguna Vaqueros, the outfielder has certainly had a front-row seat to some interesting times in Torreon.  Even before the season starter, owners Juan Jose and Erick Arellano (who also co-own the Yucatan leones) had their assets frozen as part of a government investigation into possible money-laundering involving two Mazatlan-born brothers.   Then, the Vaqueros were battling for third place in the Mexican League’s North Division when All-Star first baseman Ricky Alvarez, who was the LMB leader in RBIs and a potential MVP candidate, was sent to Yucatan in a one-sided trade clearly swung to benefit the LMB South-leading Leones.  The resulting fallout among fans has resulted in a drop in attendance at Vaqueros home games at Estadio Revolucion (which turns 85 in September).
The Cal State-San Bernardino product, who was drafted by Kansas City in 2012 and spent four years in the Royals and Phillies systems.  Chapman spent last summer with Sioux Falls of the American Association before signing with the Vaqueros last November.  Thus far in 2017, he’s batting .281 (with a .342 on-base percentage), has five homers and 42 runs scored in 87 games for Laguna.  His 18 steals leads Union Laguna, one more than fellow outfielder Welington Dotel.
The 27-year-old Californian has taken the high road while writing weekly dispatches for Sports Spectrum, a Christian sports magazine and website founded in 1985 which also features a website and podcasts.  Instead, Chapman’s contributions concentrate more on how his faith has been a factor during his first Mexican League campaign, which he hopes will lead him back to an MLB organization.  The following is his twelfth diary submission to Sports Spectrum this year, posted on July 26:

This week we played a three game series in Cancun. I thought it would be a good idea to have some family come out to enjoy the beach and watch some baseball.

My wife, dad, sister, mother in-law and friends all took time off from work and paid for flights and hotel rooms. We were all set to go and excited to have them here, until we found out that the team schedule was wrong and we would be playing Cancun three days earlier than expected!! Apparently, this was something that the entire team wasn’t even aware of. We were all thrown off by the wrong schedule so we had to cancel our original flights. Instead we had to drive 5 hours from Torreon to Monterrey, then fly from Monterrey to Mexico City and then another flight from Mexico City to Cancun. This wasn’t what I had in mind when I invited my family to come out to watch me play.  Instead of them watching 3 games and spending all day with me by the beach. They had to rush to the field to catch our last game in Cancun and we were only able to get dinner with them afterward before we took off for the next city. Sometimes our plans and what actually happens don’t align. My plan as a kid and still currently is to play in the Big Leagues. I never would have imagined the route that I would take to get me where I am today. But I know I am right where I am supposed to be right now. Being drafted, released twice, playing independent baseball, barely making any money, long terrible bus rides, early flights, away from my family and friends, good seasons, bad seasons, renting out my house, my wife quitting her job to join me in Mexico, all of it is part of His perfect plan. The sacrifices that so many people especially my wife have made so that I can play baseball professionally have been amazing. Every success would be so much less if it wasn’t for all the roadblocks. I don’t know when my career is going to end but the people I’ve met and the relationships I’ve built through this great game will never be replaced.

Salon de la Fama member Ruben Amaro dies at 81

Former major league infielder and Veracruz native Ruben Amaro passed away last Friday at the age of 81.  A member of Mexican baseball's Salon de la Fama, Amaro was the first Mexican player to win a Gold Glove as a shortstop for manager Gene Mauch's Philadelphia Phillies in 1964.  Following his retirement as a player, Amaro went on to spend over two decades in the Philadelphia organization as a minor league manager, coach and scout.  In a 2009 interview, he said "I would really like very much to be buried with the Phillies uniform."

The following is a profile on Amaro that first appeared about ten years ago in the old Viva Beisbol newsletter:

While baseball in the United States has its Boone and Bell families with three generations of ballplayers, Mexican fans can point to the Amaro family as their own version of a baseball family tripartite.  The Amaros are a little different, though.

First came Santos Amaro, a brilliant Cuban-born outfielder who roamed the gardens of Mexican League ballparks for 17 seasons between 1939 and 1955, batting .317 and eventually being elected to the Salon de la Fama in 1977.  Ruben was born in Veracruz on January 6, 1936.  Of the three ballplaying Amaros, Ruben had perhaps the best career, playing 940 games of major league baseball over 11 seasons.  His son, Ruben Junior, who was born in 1965 at Philadelphia while dad was with the Phils, went on to play in the majors for eight seasons with California, Cleveland and his hometown Phillies (twice), hitting .235 in 485 games between 1991 and 1998.

Ruben Amaro Mora eventually grew to stand 5’11” tall and weigh 170 pounds.  Primarily a shortstop, he was capable of playing at all four infield positions and even played one game in the outfield in 1964 for Philadelphia.  Most of Amaro’s career was spent with the Phillies, although he broke in with St. Louis in 1958, batting .224 in 40 games.  Amaro was traded to the Phils in late 1958 for Chuck Essegian and, after another year of seasoning in the minors, went on to spend the 1960’s in MLB.  He was a favorite of manager Gene Mauch in Philadelphia, and although he didn’t carry a strong bat (his best year was 1964 when he hit .261), Amaro’s versatile glove work gave him steady work as a utility infielder during his six years with the Phils.  He did play 132 games at short in 1961 and hit .257, but he lost his job to the younger Bobby Wine.

After the 1965 season, Amaro was dealt to the Yankees for shortstop Phil Linz.  He spent all or part of the next three campaigns in New York pinstripes, batting .223 as the regular shortstop for Ralph Houk’s Yankees in 1967.  His light bat led Houk to bring Tom Tresh in from the outfield to play short in 1968 and sell Amaro to the California Angels for cash prior to the 1969 season.  Playing all four infield spots for Bill Rigney in Anaheim, Amaro hit .222 over 40 games in 1969 for what proved to be his last season in the majors.  In all, he compiled a career batting average of .234 in the big leagues, with eight career homers and 211 runs scored for his four teams.

While Amaro never played in the Mexican League during the summer, he did spend a few winters in the Mexican Pacific League with Hermosillo, Obregon and Culiacan, and also played winter ball in Veracruz.  After retiring as a player, Amaro stayed in the game as a scout, coach, manager and director.  He won a pennant and Caribbean Series while with the Zulia team in Venezuela.

Ruben Amaro and Ruben Amaro Junior were the first Mexican father-son combination in major league baseball.  Ruben Senior made his MLB debut on June 29, 1958 for the St. Louis Cardinals, but spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies.  Ruben Junior played his first big league game in 1991 for the California Angels.  Like his father, he spent a large part of his playing days with Philadelphia, which was his birthplace on February 12, 1965.

Ruben Amaro will be remembered as a smooth and versatile infielder who was gifted enough to fill a utility role for a number of accomplished managers in the major leagues.  He joined his father Santos in the Salon de la Fama in 1986, becoming part of the first father-son combo to be voted into the Salon.

PHILLIES SIGN CASTRO TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

Los Mochis native Juan Castro has signed a one-year contract with the two-time National League champion Philadelphia Phillies for the 2010 season. The 37-year-old infielder spent the past summer as a utility man for the Los Angeles Dodgers, batting .277 in 57 games.

Castro broke into pro ball with the Dodgers organization in 1991, making his major league debut with Los Angeles four years later. He was traded to Cincinnati in 2000 and spent four years with the Reds before bouncing around the majors after 2004. The Phillies will be Castro’s fifth major league team.

Castro’s agent, Oscar Suarez, says the Dodgers and Phils were the free agent’s top two suitors. The career .230 hitter will likely be a backup to Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Castro has played 538 games at short, 251 games at third base and 241 games at second.