JALISCO TOPS CULIACAN IN 7, ON TO CARIBBEAN SERIES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AGUILAS’ SANCHEZ NAMED LMP MVP, RELIEVER OF THE YEAR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

JALISCO TAKES 2-0 LEAD IN TITLE SET OVER CULIACAN

  If the Mexican Pacific League’s two-time defending champion Culiacan Tomateros hope to make a run at a 3-peat (trademark held by Pat Riley), they’ve got a two-game hole to dig out of first after dropping the first pair of LMP finals contests to Jalisco. Manager Roberto Vizcarra’s Charros are seeking a return to the Caribbean Series after a two-year absence and they’re two wins away from doing just that.

The Charros won the first two games of the series at home in Guadalajara, starting with Friday’s 2-1 thriller over Culiacan in 12 innings. Jalisco struck first in the bottom of the first when Jose Juan Aguilar hit a leadoff double and later scored on Japhet Amador’s two-out single. Charros starter held the Tomateros scoreless on three hits over 5.1 innings, but Culiacan broke through for the tying run in the seventh when Jose Guadalupe Chavez’ single off David Richardson brought in Stevie Wilkerson. The score remained at 1-1 into the bottom of the 12th, when Amador lofted a sacrifice fly that allowed Esteban Quiroz to scamper home and end the game.

No extra innings were required Saturday night but the Horsemen were able to pull off another one-run victory, 3-2, over the visitors at Estadio Charros. Culiacan took an early lead in the top of the first when Emmanuel Avila singled home reinforcement Victor Mendoza, who made it a 2-0 tilt with a solo homer off Jalisco starter Javier Solano in the fourth. Tomateros starter Nick Struck carried a shutout into the bottom of the sixth, when Christian Villanueva singled two outs before Dariel Alvarez launched a two-run homer to knot the score at 2-2. The Charros took the lead for good one frame later when Jared Serna’s sac fly scored Amadeo Zazueta from third on a disputed play.

The series now shifts to Culiacan for Game Three on Monday night.

Jalisco reached the finals by outlasting Monterrey, 4 games to 3, in one semifinal series. The Sultanes crushed the Charros, 15-5, last Tuesday in Guadalajara. Jalisco held a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth before Solano allowed three Monterrey runs to give the visitors a 4-2 advantage, but it was a nine-run Sultanes outburst in the fifth that decided the game for all intent and purposes. Fernando Perez and Anthony Giansanti combined for four hits, two homers and four RBIs for the winners.

The Charros won Wednesday’s Game Seven, 3-0, as Jalisco starter Brennan Bernardino blanked Monterrey on two hits until he was replaced with two out in the sixth inning. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Zazueta punched a single off Sultanes starter Mike Devine to bring home Missael Rivera. Amador made it a 2-0 contest when the Mulege Giant lined a homer off Luis Gamez in the seventh and Rivera scored a second time on Fernando Flores’ double to right in the same frame. Rivera, Amador and Flores combined for six hits, two runs and two ribbies as Monterrey went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners stranded.

Culiacan had an extra day’s rest after topping Guasave, 4-0, last Tuesday on the road at Estadio Francisco Carranzo Limon to win that semi set, 4 games to 2. Manny Barreda tossed six shutout innings to earn the victory for the defending champs, allowing two hits and striking out six Algodoneros although he did issue five walks. Jesus Fabela gave the Tomateros all the scoring they’d need by doubling off Guasave starter Jordan Kipper and later scoring on Sebastian Elizalde’s sac fly. Mendoza drove in runs in the fourth and sixth innings while Wilkerson’s RBI double completed the scoring in the eighth.

TWO-TIME LMP MANAGER OF YEAR GASTELUM FIRED

Nowhere does the time-worn phrase “What have you done for me lately?” apply more than in managing a Mexican baseball team. It’s something commented upon endlessly on this blog but one of the biggest object lessons in that fact of life south of the border recently came to pass in Obregon, where “the decision was made to end the employment relationship with manager Sergio Omar Gastelum,” according to a Yaquis press release issued last Monday.

The decision to cut the 43-year-old loose might have been curious if only the current season was examined. The Obregon-born Gastelum was a star infielder for 22 seasons in the Mexican League with the well-traveled Tigres franchise, Laguna and Mexico City as well as Culiacan and Mazatlan in the Mexican Pacific League before retiring after the 2017 LMB season (during which he hit .273 over 59 games for the Diablos Rojos). Gastelum hit .310 over his Liga career with 82 homers and 1,054 runs scored while playing on five pennant winners.

Gastelum made his managerial debut in the LMB’s Fall 2018 season when he replaced Joe Alvarez at the helm in Oaxaca. The Guerreros lost their first six games under Gastelum to fall to 14-22 before going 12-8 the rest of the short season, squeaking into the playoffs with a wild-card game win over Leon to kick off an amazing postseason run that saw Oaxaca reach the Serie del Rey before losing to Monterrey.  

He piloted the Guerreros to a 68-51 record and a second-place finish in the LMB South in 2019 before falling to eventual champion Yucatan in the first round of the postseason and was rewarded that December with a “promotion” to manager of the Diablos Rojos by Alfredo Harp Helu, who owns both teams. Gastelum led the Red Devils in training camp during 2020 before the season was canceled before being surprisingly fired in January 2021 without managing the team in a regular season game. He was replaced three days later by Miguel Ojeda, who managed Mexico City and was working in the Diablos’ front office before a shakeup landed him back in the dugout.

Gastelum was hired as skipper for his hometown Yaquis in 2018, replacing Oscar Robles, and led Obregon to a 37-19 overall record that winter, reaching the LMP finals before losing to Jalisco. He was named Mex Pac Manager of the Year for his work. The 2019-20 season brought more of the same, as the Yaquis had an LMP-best 42-21 overall record and reached the semifinals before losing to Mazatlan in seven games, earning Gastelum his second straight Manager of the Year award. The Yaquis had the best overall record in the winterball loop again last season, going 47-22 before falling to Culiacan in the semifinals. 

This winter’s 36-32 mark and first-round loss to Guasave was enough for Obregon president Rene Rodriguez to jettison Gastelum despite a composite 162-94 record and .633 won-lost percentage, four consecutive winning season and playoff berths and the aforementioned pair of MOY trophies. Given his credentials, Gastelum shouldn’t be out of work for long but he’s already become familiar with the Mexican manager’s mantra: “Rent, don’t buy.”

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Miguel Suarez, OF (1971-87)

While Miguel Suarez does not immediately leap to mind as one of the great batsmen in Mexican League history, his record indicates that he was consistently productive over his 17-year career. While he had neither power nor great speed on the basepaths, Suarez was nonetheless a perennial .300 batter as one of the best leadoff hitters ever in Mexico.

Miguel Suarez Lopez was born September 29, 1952 in Guasave, Sinaloa. The tiny 5’4” 140-pounder began his pro career with Tampico in the Class A Mexican Center League as a 16-year-old in 1969. He played two years in Tampico, batting .314 in 1969 and followed up with a Liga-best .393 in 1970. He showed surprising power, knocking out 26 homers over those two seasons, but the longball was not his style as Suarez would go on to hit only 23 circuit clouts during his LMB career (and never more than three in one season).

Suarez debuted with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos in 1971, and led the Liga with 188 base hits en route to a .372 average and a selection as the LMB Rookie of the Year.  That would set a pattern for his career, as Suarez only failed to hit .300 once in his first eleven seasons, when he batted .297 in a strike-split 1980 season for Reynosa and the Mexico City Tigres. He came back with a .303 mark for the Tigres in 1981 and later turned in .320 and .332 campaigns for Tabasco and Nuevo Laredo in the early 1980’s.  After consecutive .259 seasons for Veracruz in 1985 and Monterrey in 1986, he called it quits at the age of 33.

Suarez ended his Liga playing days with 2,444 career hits for a .323 average, including a .345 mark in eight seasons with the Diablos.  While he only had 63 stolen bases (and was actually caught stealing 96 times), he did swat 86 triples, reaching double figures in three-baggers four times between 1973 and 1979. Suarez is the only player ever to top the circuit in hits three times, including a record 227 safeties in 1977 when he hit .370 for the Red Devils, and led the Liga in triples with 13 in 1973.  He was not nearly so successful in the winter, with a career mark of .259 in 14 Mexican Pacific League seasons, mostly with his hometown team in Guasave.

Nicknamed “Mister Hit” during his playing career, Suarez was inducted into the Salon de la Fama in 1994. He died at age 65 in 2017.

CULIACAN SWEEPS MAYOS; LMP SEMI MATCHUPS SET

Usually when a top-seeded team draws the lowest seed in the playoffs, the former is confident that they have a good chance of advancing to the next round. However, as the Navojoa Mayos learned last week, drawing the two-time defending champion Culiacan Tomateros was anything but a ticket to the Mexican Pacific League semifinals.

Coming off a regular season in which they finished with the most points among the ten LMP clubs, the Mayos were swept in four straight games by the Tomateros. After Culiacan won the first game of the quarterfinal set, 8-5, on Christmas day, manager Benji Gil’s troops took a Game Two win at Navojoa last Sunday, 6-4, in a contest that lasted 12 innings. Jose Guadalupe Chavez opened the top of the 12th with a single, moved to second on a Randy Romero sacrifice and then scored the eventual game-winner on Ramiro Pena’s single. Culiacan reliever Carlos Baldonado, who singled in Pena with the Tomateros’ sixth run during a rare plate appearance, then held the Mayos scoreless in the bottom of the frame for the win.

The series then shifted to Culiacan, where the Tomateros won twice to close out the series. Last Tuesday’s game resulted in Gil’s 50th postseason victory as manager as Culiacan pulled out a 5-3 triumph, thanks in part to a four-run seventh during which a Joey Meneses single plated the go-ahead run. The brooms were brought out last Wednesday as the Tomateros completed the sweep with a 9-6 win. Former Orioles utilityman Stevie Wilkerson swatted two homers, one of them a walkoff three-run bomb in the bottom of the ninth to break a 6-6 tie and end both game and series.

The Tomateros will be joined by Guasave and Jalisco in the semifinals. The Algdoneros followed a 3-1 series opener loss at home to Obregon on Christmas by defeating the Yaquis in four straight to move to the next round. Yadir Drake’s three-run double in the bottom of the sixth was the difference-maker in the Cottoneer’s 5-2 win over the visitors last Sunday to knot the series at a game apiece. The two combatants shifted to Obregon, where Guasave shocked the Yaquis with three straight road wins.

Last Tuesday’s Game Three saw seven Guasave pitchers combine for a 6-0 shutout over Obregon as Jesse Castillo contributed a two-run double while Esteban Quiroz capped the scoring with a solo homer in the ninth. One night later, the Algodoneros took a 3-1 victory behind starting pitcher Luis Miranda’s six shutout innings as Drake poked a two-run single during a three-run fourth for the winners. Guasave closed out the Yaquis in Game Five last Thursday, 5-4, in ten innings. Alan Lopez opened the tenth with a single, advanced to second on a Miguel Guzman sacrifice and scored on Marco Jaime’s single off Yaquis reliever Carlos Machorro.

Jalisco nailed down one of the other two semifinal berths with a 4-games-to-2 win over Mexicali. After outlasting the Aguilas, 10-9, in a 12-inning Game One win on Christmas, the Charros took a 6-3 win over the visitors last Sunday in Guadalajara after Felix Perez’ two-run single keyed a four-run rally in the seventh to erase a 2-0 deficit. The series then shifted to Mexicali with the Charros up 2-games-to-0.

Last Tuesday’s Game Three ended with a 7-3 Mexicali win at El Nido as Yeison Acensio singled in Daniel Castro in the bottom of the first to give the Aguilas a lead they’d never relinquish. The Eagles tied the series one night later with a 4-3 triumph in eleven innings as Reynaldo Rodriguez’ RBI single ended Game Four in walkoff fashion. Jalisco won, 6-2, last Thursday as Charros starter Javier Solano allowed two runs in seven innings against his former teammates and Missael Rivera stroked a two-run double. The set returned to Estadio Charros for Game Six and Jalisco emerged victorious, 5-0, to end the series. Starter Brennan Bernardino blanked Mexicali over seven entradas while Juan Jose Aguilar tripled, homered and scored twice.

Jalisco moves on to face Monterrey, who was extended seven games in their quarterfinal series before shutting out Hermosillo, 5-0, Sunday night at Estadio Sonora. Michael Devine got the win with seven scoreless innings and Fernando Perez crushed a two-run homer in the fifth for the Sultanes. Monterrey won the series opener, 5-4, on Christmas in Hermosillo but the Naranjeros bounced back for a 10-4 win last Sunday behind a 17-hit attack that included a two-run homer by number nine batter Cesar Salazar in the fifth. The series then shifted to Estadio Monterrey, where the Naranjeros took the series lead with a 3-2 Game Three win last Tuesday as Rusney Castillo’s sacrifice fly brought Nick Torres in from third with the eventual game-winner in the top of the eighth.

The Sultanes then won the next two games in Monterrey to regain the series lead. A 6-3 Game Four win last Wednesday featured a four-run outburst in the seventh during which Aldo Flores doubled in Ricardo Serrano with the tying run before scoring the go-ahead run on Roberto Valenzuela’s single. In Thursday’s Game Five, Monterrey won a 6-5 thriller when Carlos Figueroa scored from third on a Perez walkoff single in the bottom of the 12th. Hermosillo roared back Saturday with a 9-2 home win as vet Luis Alfonso Cruz crashed a two-run homer and added an RBI single to aid Orangemen starter Ryan Verdugo (2 runs, 7 innings) and send the series to Sunday’s seventh and deciding game.

The Mex Pac semifinals will begin Tuesday night when Culiacan visits Guasave for Game One of their series while Jalisco will host Monterrey in Guadalajara in their Final Four opener. 

MEXICAN LEAGUE RELEASES 2022 SCHEDULE

The Mexican League has released its 2022 season schedule. The LMB office announced that their next campaign will open on Thursday, April 21 in Tijuana when the defending champion Toros host the Mexico City Diablos Rojos. All 18 Liga teams will be in action one night later. Here’s a link to the entire Mexican League schedule for 2022: https://img.mlbstatic.com/milb-images/image/upload/milb/c1q8gubhaqm7q07pu1ns.pdf

As speculated, each LMB team will play 90 regular season games this year, the shortest full-season schedule the league has had since 1954, when the loop’s six clubs played 80 games each before joining the National Association one year later. The Mexican League is no longer considered part of the Minor League Baseball system. In all, a total of 810 regular season contests are scheduled between April 21 and August 7, with Mondays continuing a longtime tradition as travel days (although a press release from the league office states that Monday games will be played in 2022).

The four-tiered LMB postseason will open Tuesday, August 9 with the top six finishers from each division qualifying for a berth. Once again, the three first-round series winners per division will be joined in their Division Semifinals by a “lucky loser” team that won the most games in their opening-round defeat, a format used in the Mexican Pacific League for years prior to the LMP’s playoff expansion from six to eight teams in 2019-20. The Serie del Rey (or King Series) between respective division champions will be held between September 9 and 17 to cap the five-week postseason. All playoff series will follow a best-of-7 format.

The Mexican League All-Star Weekend, which was canceled in 2021, will return on June 17-19 in Monclova.

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Ronnie Camacho, 1B

 

Ronaldo Camacho Duran was born October 26, 1935 in Empalme, Sonora. Although he was only 5'9" and 170 pounds at the height of his career, Camacho was nicknamed "The Rock" for both his reliable batting and glove work. He was one of the top power hitters in the Mexican League during the 1960's, winning titles twice each in homers, runs scored and RBIs between 1962 and 1969.

 

Camacho began his career as a 17-year-old second baseman in 1953, signing with the St. Louis Cardinals and landing in Fresno. He spent parts of four seasons in the Cards' system, batting .276 with 16 homers and 77 RBIs for Fresno of the Class C California League in 1954 and a year later was a member of a Fresno team which finished 104-43 and was #79 among the All-Time Top 100 teams in minor league history, according to a 2001 ranking commissioned by Minor League Baseball.

 

Camacho returned to Mexico for good in 1956 with Nuevo Laredo. After four seasons on the border, Camacho and the Tecolotes moved to Puebla in 1960, where he would shift to first base and spend most of the next ten years. In 1963, the Pericos won their first Mexican League pennant as Camacho led the loop with 39 homers and 108 RBIs after he led the LMB with 25 roundtrippers in 1962. After leading the Liga with 116 RBIs in 1969, "The Rock" moved to Yucatan for 1970 to begin a tour that saw him bounce around the circuit before retiring after spending the 1975 season with Aguascalientes.

 

In 20 LMB seasons, Camacho hit .272 with 317 homers and 1,273 RBIs.  He batted .300 four times, topped 20 roundtrippers nine times and cleared 100 RBIs four times, with career highs of 39 bombs and 116 ribbies.  He stands sixth on the Liga's all-time home run list and 8th in RBIs even though he retired 20 years ago.  Camacho managed six LMB teams between 1971 and 1979.

 

The right-handed hitting Camacho also played 13 seasons of winter ball in what is now known as Mexican Pacific League, hitting .256 with 139 homers playing for Guaymas and his hometown of Empalme.  He was the first Triple Crown winner of the league in 1958-59 and he set a still-standing record of 27 homers over 81 games in 1963-64. As a manager, he won LMP titles with Guaymas in 1966-67 and Mazatlan in 1973-74.

 

Ronnie "The Rock" Camacho was elected as a member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. He turned 86 on October 26 last year.