LMB REGULAR SEASON ENDS: TJ, DIABLOS TOP SEEDS

Mexico City OF Julian Ornelas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saltillo OF Rainel Rosario

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TOROS WIN ATTENDANCE DERBY; LMB DRAWS 3.56 MILLION

Estadio Nacional, Tijuana

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

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

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

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

FERNANDO RODNEY TO PITCH FOR TIJUANA IN 2021

Rodney: "I shot an arrow in the air..."

    One of Major League Baseball's most prominent relief pitchers of the past two decades will be shooting his virtual arrows south of the border in 2021. Fernando Rodney has signed a one-year contract to pitch for the Tijuana Toros this summer.

    Rodney is coming to the Mexican League of the heels of 17 seasons in MLB, although he didn't pitch during the 2020 season. His 2019 campaign (an 0-5 record with two saves and a 5.66 ERA for Oakland and Washington) was nothing to write home about, although the Nats did win the World Series that fall, but the 5'11” right-hander had 25 saves and a 3.09 ERA in 43 outings for Minnesota in 2018 before a trade that August sent him to the A's, who used him as a setup man for Blake Treinan.

    Rodney made his major league debut for Detroit on May 4, 2002, tossing the final 1.1 innings of a 3-2 loss at Minnesota. He pitched for the Tigers through the 2009 season, when he was elevated to the closer role by manager Jim Leyland after bouncing between MLB and Class AAA the previous seven years. While his 2-5 record and 4.40 ERA were unimpressive, he posted 37 saves in 72 outings and finally had a foothold in the big leagues at age 31. However, his odyssey was just beginning.

    Since signing as a free agent with the Angels for $11 million over two years, Rodney pitched for ten MLB teams between 2010 and 2019. He appeared in three All-Star Games (2012, 2014 and 2016), led the American League in saves with 48 for Seattle in 2014 and averaged 25 saves per season during the decade while appearing in the postseason five times, so there were definitely successes along the way.

Fernando Rodney with 2019 champ Nats

    However, Rodney and the strike zone have not always seen eye-to-eye (a career 4.5 walks per 9 innings) and breaths in the stands were often held because a Rodney appearance was like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates: Fans never knew what they were gonna get. His saves were accompanied by his pantomime archer's motion sending an imaginary arrow skyward, along with thousands of sighs of relief from home crowds.

    Drama and walks aside, Rodney's overall body of work in 951 games as a major league pitcher has been generally positive. He compiled an unimpressive career record of 48-71, but his 327 saves rank 17^th all-time among MLB hurlers, his 3.80 earned-run average was creditable and he averaged just under one strikeout per inning (8.8 K's per 9). He won't be landing in Cooperstown, but the Dominican has been of of baseball's most effective and entertaining relief pitchers over the past decade. And now he's taking his talents south of the border.

    The Toros open training camp in Tijuana on April 20 while their regular season begins May 21 at Parque La Junta in Nuevo Laredo against the Dos Laredos Tecolotes.

VIRUS “TRAFFIC LIGHTS” TO BE USED FOR UPCOMING LMB SEASON

 

   With the Mexican League season a little more than 10 weeks aways, both league and team officials are keeping close tabs on the federal government's virtual Wuhan Virus-related “traffic light” system to plan game presentations for the 2021 schedule. At this point, only one of the Liga's 18 teams could be considered in the clear to proceed full speed ahead for their home schedule.

    According to Miguel Boada Najera of the Septima Entrada website, neither the LMB nor any of its teams have announced whether fans will be allowed in their respective ballparks (or what percentage of seats may be occupied) after the season opens May 20. The silence is understandable, given the fluid nature of the pandemic, but the unsettled situation is making it nearly impossible for teams to make plans moving forward. Instead, each club is having to create several different scenarios to address whatever limitations they'll have to deal with during the season.

    The “traffic light” system is based on four stages: A Red light means that only essential activities will be allowed in states or cities with that designation, meaning there will be no baseball played. An Orange light will allow limited non-essential activities, meaning that baseball games might be played but behind closed doors with no fans in ballparks. A Yellow light allows all activities to resume with limited public participation, so a set percentage of seats would be allowed to be occupied in stadiums during games. Finally, a Green light lifts all restrictions on activities and numbers allowed to watch live games, although some precautionary measures would remain in place.

    The good news for the Mexican League is that as of March 1, none of its teams are in a Red Light zone, meaning all scheduled games could take place if the season were to start today. The bad news is that only one franchise, the Campeche Piratas, are operating in a Green light zone and able to play at home in front of full capacity at Estadio Nelson Barrera, one of the Liga's smallest facilities with 6,000 seats.

A past large crowd in Campeche

    That means the other 17 LMB franchises are within Yellow or Orange light zones. The eleven Yellow light zone teams are Aguascalientes, Dos Laredos, Durango, Guadalajara, Leon, Monclova, Quintana Roo, Saltillo, Tijuana, Union Laguna and Veracruz. The six Orange light zone franchises facing tighter restrictions at home are Mexico City, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tabasco and Yucatan. However, all those franchises are operating in conditions apart from each other and each will have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

    Despite the overall uncertainty, the Mexican League has to be somewhat heartened over the possibility of all of its 18 teams playing their full 66-game regular season schedules even if no (or limited numbers of) fans are allowed in the stands, which the LMB says will not prevent games from taking place this year.

    In 2020, the LMB said that paying fans were necessary for many, if not most, of their teams to operate without drowning in seas of red ink. While statements from the league office in Mexico City can often be taken with a grain of salt, it's hard to dispute that one. Most Mexican League franchises are unprofitable and without any large-scale sponsorships or media contracts, attendance at home games is critical because such teams generate the vast majority of their revenue from in-park ticket, concessions and merchandise sales. Whether it's opening the gates and not making enough money for expenses or keeping the gates closed and not making any money at all, neither option is an attractive one.

MEX PAC ANNNOUNCES 2020-21 SEASON GOLD GLOVE WINNERS

Mexicali pitcher Javier Solano

    The Mexican Pacific League office in Guadalajara has announced the nine winners of its Gold Glove Awards for the recently-concluded 2020-21 season. Three of the players played for Hermosillo while two others toiled for two-time champions Culiacan. Mexicali, Obregon, Guasave and Monterrey each placed one member among the LMP's leading leather men.

Pitcher: JAVIER SOLANO (Mexicali)

    To look at him, few would expect veteran Javier Solano to be a top fielder. Although he's been one of the Mex Pac's most effective pitchers for years, Solano bears a physical resemblence to former Detroit Tigers hurler Mickey Lolich or Salon de la Fama member George Brunet (neither of whom were considered svelte).

    Still, Solano helped himself by handling all 23 chances that came his way over 12 starts last winter for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Three other pitchers were flawless as well, but Solano got the nod by leading the quartet with 86 innings pitched.

Catcher: ALEXIS WILSON (Culiacan)

    The Los Mochis native spent six years in the St. Louis organization and was invited to the Cardinals training camp last spring, but was never a starter before his release from Class A Peoria last May. When the 24-year-old Wilson took over for injured vet Ali Solis last winter, there were questions as to whether he was up to the task.

    Although Wilson only hit .231 for Culiacan in 46 games, he turned in a .997 fielding percentage with one error in 352 chances behind the plate while reportedly earning interest from MLB organizations, so at least some questions were answered.

First Base: EFREN NAVARRO (Culiacan)

    A former MLBer who appeared with the Angels, Tigers and Cubs between 2011 and 2018 (as well as NPB's Hanshin Tigers) after some solid minor league seasons in which he was a PCL All-Star in 2013, Navarro gave the champion Tomateros a .246 average with 13 doubles and six homers last winter.

    He gave Culiacan solid defense at first base over 50 games as well, with just two errors in 426 chances for a .996 fielding percentage. Navarro also won a PCL Gold Glove in 2011 while playing for Salt Lake.

Second Base: CARLOS SEPULVEDA (Obregon)

    Sepulveda is a former Cubs farmhand who was signed by the Dodgers and assigned to AA Tulsa heading into spring training this year. The Monclova native has not been a strong hitter north of the border but hit .305 with 13 doubles and 12 steals for Obregon last winter.

    However, it was his glovework that garnered him the most attention in the Mex Pac. Sepulveda committed only one error in 231 chances over 51 games for the Yaquis for a .996 fielding percentage, turning 35 double plays along the way, after eight miscues with a .964 percentage in 2019-20.

Third Base: EMMANUEL AVILA (Guasave)

    Avila spent his first four years of pro ball in the White Sox farm system before debuting with his hometown Los Mochis Caneros in 2009-10. He's since been an infield mainstay in both the LMP and LMB, where he topped the .300 mark every year between 2013 and 2019 and played in four All-Star Games during that span.

    Avila hit .279 last season for Guasave, his fourth Mex Pac stop. In the field, the 32-year-old led all LMP third sackers with a .964 fielding average, handling 134 of 139 chances cleanly. He's also a proficient shortstop and played second base early in his career.

Hermosillo shortstop Jasson Atondo

Shortstop: JASSON ATONDO (Hermosillo)

    Ever since debuting at 19 with Campeche of the Mexican League in 2015, Atondo has been a guy who can be plugged in at second, third or shortstop and give his team a good performance. After playing sporadically for Hermosillo over three winters, he hit .351 and was the LMP's Rookie of the Year in 2018-19, then batted .331 for the Piratas in 2019.

    Playing 52 games at shortstop for the Naranjeros in 2020-21, Atondo had four errors in 228 chances for a .982 fielding percentage to augment his .268 batting average.

Left Field: NORBERTO OBESO (Hermosillo)

    Obeso was an outfielder in the Blue Jays system for five years (and a 2015 All-Star pick with Toronto's Dominican Summer League affiliate), but elected free agency earlier this winter. He became a starter for his hometown Orangemen in 2018-19 and had his best winterball season yet last season, batting .329 with 10 doubles under manager Juan Navarrete.

    Able to play both corner outfield slots, Obeso had a .994 fielding percentage in 81 chances over 44 games in left field for the Naranjeros.

Center Field: JOSÉ CARDONA (Hermosillo)

    Cardona turned a lot of heads for his play in the Caribbean Series with Culiacan last month, but he'd been playing well all season before the Tomateros picked him up as a reinforcement. The speedy ex-Rangers minor leaguer hit .279 for Hermosillo and stole 16 bases in 17 attempts during the regular season.

    He was just as good in center field, with just one bobble in 154 chances over 52 games for a .994 fielding percentage. Possessed with a good arm, Cardona added five assists and took part in three double plays. He'll play for Leon in the LMB this summer.

Right Field: PAULO ORLANDO (Monterrey)

    One of five Brazilians to appear in MLB, the member of the 2015 World Champion Royals is better known for his hitting (.302 with 24 doubles for Kansas City in 2016) and backed that up with a .308 average and eight homers this winter, including a .323 mark for the Sultanes after coming over in a trade with Obregon.

    Orlando, a former soccer player who began playing baseball at 12, turned in a solid season on defense as well. He played 50 games in right field and went 120-for-121 on total chances to finish with a .992 fielding percentage. He'll play for Dos Laredos this summer.

GUASAVE ALGODONEROS TO PLAY IN SPAIN TOURNEY

    The Guasave Algodoneros are planning to make a trip across the Atlantic Ocean this fall to play in a tournament involving European teams and perhaps an Asian squad as well. The Cottoneers announced last week that they'll be taking part in the Barcelona Baseball Cup between September 26 and October 3, thus making them the first professional team from Mexico to play on the European continent.

    Taking part in the virtual press conference were three event organizers (Catalan Federation of Baseball and Softball president Jordi Valles Mestres, Barcelona Baseball Cup CEO Rafaael Llames Cabrera and Base Internacional SA managing director Miguel Pazcabrales) along with Guasave general director Luis Fernando Garcia and team sports manager Alejandro Ahumada. According to a press release from the Algodoneros, Valles explained that the inclusion of a Mexican team in the tournament will cause a huge impact, since there is “a large Latino population that likes baseball.”

    The Barcelona Baseball Cup will be played in two venues: The first is Estadio Carlos Perez de Rozas (home of the Division of Honor's BC Barcelona), while other games will take place at the C.B. Viladecans' ballpark, which was used for baseball during the 1992 Summer Olympics. Training will take place in Sant Boi, site of another Spanish League team.

    Besides the Algodoneros, teams from Italy, The Netherlands and host Spain will take part in the tournament, while efforts are being made to include at least one team from Asia. Depending on which (if any) team comes over from Asia, Guasave may be the tournament favorite going in due to both Mexico's fifth-ranked status in the latest World Baseball Softball Confederation ratings as well as the comparatively higher level of play in the Mexican Pacific League.

    The Netherlands (#9) and Italy (#17) are long established as Europe's premier baseball-playing nations (although the #16 Czech Republic has passed Italy in the rankings) and both have played in multiple World Baseball Classics, but neither the Dutch Major League nor Italian Serie A1 are regarded as competitive as the LMP. Spain (#20) is among the second tier of European baseball countries along with Germany (#19), France (#25) and Belgium (#26). The Division of Honor is one of the top leagues in Europe but professional players are in the minority and the only advantage any chosen host team will have in the Barcelona Baseball Cup is home-field advantage.

BORDER BOUNCE: GARCIA OUT IN MEXICALI, ROMERO FIRED IN TJ

Luis Alfonso Garcia at work in Mexicali

    For years, Baseball Mexico has chronicled the so-called “Mexican managerial merry-go-round,” in which field managers are hired, fired and recycled at a rate unseen in professional baseball north of the border. Case in point: The Quintana Roo Tigres last week parted ways with helmsman Adan Munoz and replaced him with another ex-catcher, Hector Paez. Munoz was hired to replace Jesus Sommers as skipper of the Cancun team on May 9, 2019 and led the Tigres to a 62-57 regular season record and a playoff berth. Paez had served as Munoz' bench coach.

    While the revolving door may not spin quite as fast in the front offices, being a general manager of a Mexican baseball franchise is still not the most stable way to warn a living. Two of the most difficult teams to work sit less that 100 miles from each other on the border with the United States in Baja California Norte and both are seeking to replace their respective GMs after departures of two respected former players last week.

    Luis Alfonso Garcia's “separation from the position of Sports Manager” was announced by the Mexicali Aguilas of the Mexican Pacific League. Garcia took over as GM in Mexicali in February 2019 and while the team did reach the playoffs each of the past two seasons, the Aguilas failed to make it past the first round both times and that was enough for owner Dio Alberto Murillo to make a change.

    Garcia, a 42-year-old Guadalajara native who spent a couple seasons as a first baseman in Japan during a 21-year career that saw him belt a combined 395 homers on both sides of the Pacific, released a statement thanking the Aguilas “for the opportunity they gave me to perform this role. It was a great experience where I was able to develop in a different and new facet for me, applying my knowledge within baseball.”

    In a press release, the team said they “appreciate the dedication and professionalism shown by Luis Alfonso García during the time he was in charge of this important position, wishing much success in his professional career and personal projects.” The Aguilas earlier announced that field manager Bronswell Patrick will be back for the 2021-22 season, or at least the start of it.

Ex-Toros' sports manager Oscar Romero

    Meanwhile, the Mexican League's Tijuana Toros announced last week “that as of this date, Óscar Romero will leave the position of sports manager in the organization,” adding that the move “is generated by mutual agreement.” Romero was hired by the Toros in September 2016, shortly after their loss to Puebla in the Serie del Rey championships, 4 games to 2. Replacing former MLB pitcher Jorge Campillo, Romero served as Tijuana's sports manager for the next four-plus years, during which the team has had a quartet of managers (Pedro Mere, Lino Rivera, Oscar Robles and now Omar Vizquel) while winning the 2017 LMB pennant under Mere.

    However, in the “What-have-you-done-for-me-lately?” environment under the Uribe family (who are every bit as expectant of titles as Murillo in Mexicali), the Toros have since failed to reach the Serie del Rey in either of two truncated 2018 seasons or in 2019, which could not have made the job easier for Romero, who spent 13 years in the Liga as an infielder for eight teams before retiring as a player in 2003. His son, Oscar Junior, is a 19-year-old third baseman in the Toros organization who led the National League of Prospects (LNP) in 2019 with a .434 batting average.

    The team released a standard statement about Romero similar to the one above regarding Garcia: “The board of the Club de Beisbol Toros de Tijuana appreciates the effort, work and professionalism of Óscar Romero Tirado throughout more than four years and wishes him the best of success in future projects.”

    Before he left, Romero did sign outfielder Johnny Davis as an import player for 2021. The 30-year-old speedster from California spent six years in the Brewers system before coming to the Mexican League for the Fall 2018 schedule. In two seasons, the Compton Comet hit over .300 and led the LMB in stolen bases both campaigns before he was signed by Tampa Bay and made his MLB debut later that year.

    It's not known what effect the ouster will have on current manager Vizquel, a Hall of Fame candidate who Romero brought in prior to the abandoned 2020 season but has since been charged with domestic violence by his second wife, which led to a drop in votes among baseball writers for enshrinement in Cooperstown this winter.

BEISBOL PURO INTERVIEWS MARIACHIS' TEAM PRESIDENT

Mariachis team president Rafael Tejeda

    They have a shortlist of possible managers but have never included names such as Benjamin Gil or Sergio Gastélum; Adrián “El Titán” González is someone they'd like to add as a player; they're looking for stellar players who enhance the arrival of the franchise to the Mexican League...these are some of the plans of the Mariachis de Guadalajara.

    In a telephone conversation with Beisbol Puro editor Roberto Espinosa, Mariachis president Rafael “Fayo” Tejeda points out that the management is on the right track to make the Pan American Stadium (aka Estadio Charros) their home, and reveals that the Mariachis already have a roster of more than 30 players. On the other hand, Tejeda says that neither he nor his partner Carlos "Calo" Valenzuela had in mind to have a baseball franchise in the summer, but was something that the LMB office offered them and that they did not hesitate to to accept.

    Here is Beisbol Puro's translated interview with Tejada:

Why has so little officially been known about the Mariachis?

    “It's that just last month we participated in the Assembly of Presidents with owners of the Mexican League. There we were officially accepted and from then on, we are already an expansion franchise in the league.

    “We have not done many official things for the same reason. We are very respectful of the times and had not wanted to give so many statements until we were authorized. It was one thing that the president of the republic (who loves baseball) had announced us, and another that the LMB would authorize us to enter, and that just happened last week in the Assembly.”

Pablo Lemus, mayor of Zapopan, where the Pan American Baseball Stadium is located, declared in early December that the Guadalajara Mariachis should look for a stadium to play in Guadalajara and made it clear that the Mariachis would not be able to play there in the summer. what do you think of that?

    “We are in a process so the Mariachis have everything legal so that we can use the Pan American Stadium. That is an issue that our legal team is already addressing...we are young businessmen who somehow did not know the whole process to be able to use the stadium, so we have already been talking with them and everything is on the right track. We are trying to do everything necessary to legally comply and be able to use the stadium.”

    How ambitious is the Mariachis project?

    “We have an important project not only for the city, but for the entire metropolitan area of Guadalajara, and this project will benefit the entire state because there will be jobs and everything that generates a show.

    “We come from an atypical year like 2020, and for young entrepreneurs to come to invest in this beautiful sport, I think it should be valued, and the government people have already told us that we have all their support, and they only asked us to do what pertinent on the legal issue so that everything works. We have really received a very kind treatment from all of them, always looking for a way to make everything possible.”

What can your fans expect?

    “We want Guadalajara to continue with the quality it deserves in all aspects, so we seek to have an office, a technical body and a team that is in accordance with what the city deserves.

    “We seek to have an experienced team, although we will also give young people the opportunity, but we want people who come to capitalize, to give us quality and experience.

    “We are thinking that any type of name can come to the Mariachis. We want great players, whatever their names are. We have foreign players on the table who have played in the Major Leagues and who want to play in the summer in Mexico, which we can probably hire. We are looking for a 'Ronaldinho' of baseball ”.

    Adrián 'El Titán' González has been mentioned as a probable contract to play with Mariachis. How likely can it be that this is achieved, especially considering that the Veracruz Aguilas have announced him as a partner?

    “What I can tell you is that in the part that we learned about, Adrián was not coming with Veracruz as a partner. We would all love to have a figure with the stature of Adrián. I looked for Adrián to tell him that we have not announced anything about him and that we were not misusing his image. He told me that the only thing he could tell me was that he had prepared to play the 2020 Olympic Games but now with this issue of the pandemic, he no longer knows what is going to happen.”

We learned that you already have people working in the front office like Francisco Minjárez and Luis Alonso Mendoza...

    “Yes, in the office the sports director is Francisco Minjárez and we have Luis Alonso Mendoza as sports manager, who is already retiring as a player and is now undertaking a new role with us. It was not easy to offer him the position and ask him to retire, but he discussed it with his family and decided that it was a good option to stop playing and start another facet.

    “As a hitting coach we will have Wilie Romero, who is a very well-known person in Mexican baseball. For now, they are the people we have defined.”

What about the manager? Much has been said about Benjamín Gil and Sergio Omar Gastélum as options to direct the Mariachis...

    “We haven't talked to Benji Gil at all. Sergio is not an option. He has to digest this moment first (his departure from Diablos Rojos del México), and later he will be able to see his work options, but with us for now he is not contemplated.

    "At the table we have Mexican and foreign managers, but neither Benji nor Sergio Omar is there."

Do you already have players contemplated for your roster?

    “We already have a base of more or less 30 players, but it will be announced when the moment is right.”

Has it been difficult to negotiate to get players from the other teams?

    “No, I would say that it is something normal in the market of purchases, sale and trades. It was just knocking on the doors of the other teams and talking to them. The owners have been very accessible and inclusive.”

By the way, how did the idea of having a baseball franchise in the LMB come up?

    “We did not seek the franchise, we did not see this panorama. This opportunity opened up for us and we did not think twice about it, but this was in early December when we knew we were going to enter it.

    “Neither I nor my partner (Carlos Valenzuela) had asked for a summer baseball franchise but when the opportunity arose, we entered it for the taste of baseball. The Liga looked for us. They told us that Guadalajara could not stay without summer baseball and, knowing that we are baseball people, they offered it to us and we joined them.”

LMP TO OPEN PLAY THURSDAY AMID VIRUS CONCERNS

Inspection at Los Mochis ballpark

    Despite ongoing worries about possible effects the ongoing pandemic might have on both the playing field and in the stands, the Mexican Pacific League is preparing for the opener of its 76th season of winterball on Thursday night, when five games are slated to be played. While the LMP expects to become the first professional baseball league across the globe to start their season on time and (mostly) with people in the stands, things could be running a little smoother.

    On the positive side, the Los Mochis Caneros have gotten the okay from local government to open Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada seating to 40 percent capacity for home games this winter. The leader of the Municipal Health Directorate in Ahome, Dr. Francisco Espinoza Valverde, and Civil Protection director Salvador Lamphar toured the ballpark with Caneros owner Joaquin Vega to verify that protocols are being followed and subsequently gave the green light for fans to witness games in person. Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada is located in Ahome, a community of over 10,000 within the municipality of the same name in which Los Mochis is the seat, thus local officials have jurisdiction for such decisions.

    Since the stadium seats 12,000 under normal circumstances, the adjusted capacity to start the season will drop to 4,500 for the start of the season. There will be signage indicating which seats may or may not be used, with no more than three seats allowed to be purchased together. Tickets for Caneros home games are due to go on sale Monday. The decision brought the number of Mex Pac teams being allowed to host games with people in the seats to six: Culiacan, Guasave, Hermosillo, Los Mochis, Mazatlan and Mexicali.

    On the other hand, Septima Entrada reports that Jalisco governor Enrique Alfaro has confirmed that due to conditions related to the pandemic, the public will not be allowed to attend sporting events in the state, including Jalisco Charros home games in Guadalajara. “This is an endurance race and it is not known how long it will last,” Alfaro said on Twitter. “We are all tired, with exhaustion from not being able to go out, of not being able to celebrate in the stadiums, of not celebrating our traditions, but it is not time to relax things.”

    Alfaro noted that Jalisco is one of many states in the country designated with a virtual orange traffic light, which reflects the second-highest stage of alert in Mexico. “For now, there are no conditions to advance in the opening of new activities. We still cannot allow the return of people to the stadiums or the opening of clubs or any type of massive activity," added the governor.

Seats to remain unfilled in Culiacan

    To complicate things even further, Sinaloa (where four of the five LMP teams planning to allow fans play) is one of seven states in which their virtual traffic lights have been downgraded from yellow to orange, which has the potential to force those teams to rescind their decisions and play behind closed doors. The state of Sonora, which has Mex Pac teams in Hermosillo, Navojoa and Obregon, is still under a yellow traffic light but ironically none of those three clubs had said they'd be playing in front of limited capacity crowds until the Naranjeros made a statement to that effect on Saturday. Monterrey, in the virus-ravaged state of Nuevo Leon, will also be playing before empty seats.

    Last week, the LMP office in Guadalajara announced that 669 tests for the Wuhan virus had been carried out in two stages. “The first stage showed that 25% of the players had already contracted the virus prior to arrival at the training fields and that they already had antibodies,” the press release states. “7.7% of the players and coaches were positive at that time in the first stage. 6.2% of the players and coaches were positive in a second stage.”

    The press release adds that both stages of the tests were applied to the same people, showing that the LMP protocol has “generated a downward result in infections” and that the number of positives has been lower than the average of each state where games are played. More to the point, the league says “the results to date to not represent a threat for the season to take place.” Teams will be allowed to use players from extended 70-man rosters to allow for more flexibility in case the virus hits any of them harder than anticipated.

    Thursday's schedule has Jalisco at Monterrey to take the cellophane off the season at 5:00PM EDT, followed by Guasave at Culiacan (9:00PM EDT), Mazatlan at Los Mochis (9:30EDT), Mexicali at Obregon (10:10 EDT) and Hermosillo at Navojoa (10:30 EDT).

TIGRES TO MOVE FROM CANCUN, HOPE TO LAND IN SONORAN CITY

Tigres appear done in Cancun

    One of the Mexican League's flagship franchises will be moving for the third time in less than 20 years years after Quintana Roo Tigres owner Fernando Valenzuela notified the league office of his intention to shift the team out of Cancun after 14 years in the resort city. While nothing is firm yet, the former Cy Young Award winner and his wife Linda are planning to move the Tigres to the border city of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.

    Formed in 1955, the Mexico City Tigres (first under founder Alejo Peralta and then his son Carlos) formed an intense rivalry with the Diablos Rojos as the two teams shared the beloved Social Security Park for 45 years before it was razed and replaced by a shopping center. After playing the 2000 and 2001 seasons and winning pennants both years at Foro Sol (a larger facility but ill-suited for baseball), the younger Peralta moved the club to Puebla in 2002 and renamed them the Angelopolis Tigres. They shared Estadio Hermanos Serdan with the Pericos for five years and won the LMB pennant in 2005, but Carlos Peralta moved the team again, this time in 2007 to Cancun. Now known as the Quintana Roo Tigres, the team won three pennants between 2011 and 2015 but never really caught on with locals or tourists, who were more interested in spending time at the beach or in the bars.

    Carlos Peralta was a competent owner by LMB standards, but his passion never came close to his father's and he was ready to sell the Tigres after ten seasons in Cancun. Enter Fernando Valenzuela, who had pitched against the team in Mexico City when he was a teenager pitching for Yucatan in 1979. Valenzuela and his wife bought the Tigres franchise from Peralta in February 2017 and immediately began having problems.

    After partners bailed out to leave the Valenzuelas as the sole owners, five Tigres prospects who'd been on a list of players they were given while negotiating for the team had been transferred to the Diablos Rojos before they assumed ownership. The Rookiegate scandal, which resulted in two of those prospects being sold to the Texas Rangers for over $2 million, soured the Valenzuelas (who could've used the money to counteract the meager crowds at Estadio Beto Avila) and they had to run the once-proud franchise on a frayed shoestring over the next three years. The canceled 2020 season likely sealed the Tigres' fate in Cancun.

    When Proceso writer Beatriz Pereyra tweeted less than a month ago that the Tigres would be moving, the team categorically denied her but Pereyra stood her ground and repeated what she'd heard. As it turns out, she was correct. Although many people have clamored for years to have the Tigres back in Mexico City and others in Veracruz have been trying to bring an LMP team back to the port city, Valenzuela is said to be planning to move the ballclub to San Luis Rio Colorado, a city of 200,000 sitting on the Mexico-Arizona border that has never had a team in either the Mexican League or Mexican Pacific League.

 

Ballpark awaits in San Luis Rio Colorado

   San Luis Rio Colorado (commonly known as simply "San Luis") has been a member of the North Mexico League. The Algodoneros, who can trace their own beginnings to 1946, won their third LNM pennant in seven years in 2019 but the future for that club, classified as Class AA in the Mexican system, is in doubt. The city has refurbished Estadio Andres Mena Montijo from 2,500 seats into a new-look facility that can hold 7,000 spectators, and the Algodoneros were reportedly refused the opportunity to lease the updated ballpark this year before the Liga Norte shut down anyway due to the Wuhan virus.

    Although San Luis would be one of the smallest markets in the Mexican League, it's located in the baseball-crazy state of Sonora, a proven breeding ground for players and fans. San Luis has hosted games for past editions of the Mexican Baseball Fiesta with good turnouts, so crowds may be above the LMB average at worst. The city is located less than 300 miles from Valenzuela's home base in Los Angeles, a much shorter commute than Cancun has been. The Tijuana Toros would have a natural travel partner, although one never knows how the Uribe family would react to a team that could draw fans from Mexicali or even Yuma who've been going to El Nido for ballgames. While San Luis can get scorching hot in the summer, so does Monclova and all the Acereros did was win the last MLB pennant. San Luis mayor Santos Gonzalez already has a good relationship with president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Both Fernando and his son, Tigres GM Fernando Junior, have visited San Luis and toured the ballpark. The stars seem to all be aligned.

    In other words, barring fireworks at the next Assembly of Presidents meeting, we'll be seeing the San Luis Tigres in 2021. Then again, what would a Mexican League Assembly of Presidents meeting be without fireworks?

TOROS SKIPPER VIZQUEL ACCUSED OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

    A nasty divorce just got nastier after Tijuana Toros manager (and Cooperstown candidate) Omar Vizquel's soon-to-be ex-wife accused him of domestic violence during a session on Instagram Live.

    “I am in a divorce process,” Blanca Vizquel said last week, according to Puro Beisbol. “It is a hard process where the man wants me to shut my mouth. That is his request: That I keep my mouth shut so as not to damage his career, so as not to damage his Hall of Fame chances, but he never thought of me nor my well-being. I was his trophy. It cut off all my hopes and dreams."

    Omar Vizquel's first wife, Nicole, was a Seattle native the Venezuelan had met as a young player with the Mariners, leading to their 1992 marriage and two children before their.divorce a few years later. Blanca Garcia, a Colombian fitness trainer 20 years younger than the 53-year-old ex-shortstop, married the 11-time Gold Glove winner in 2014.

    After retiring as a player in 2012 following a 24-year MLB career in which he played in three All-Star Games and collected 2,877 hits, Vizquel has gone into coaching. After spending time as a roving instructor for Angels minor leaguers and as Detroit's infield coach for four years between 2014 and 2017, he moved to the Chicago White Sox system in 2018, leading Winston-Salem to an 84-54 record in the Class A Carolina League and then 64-74 with Class AA Birmingham for 2019 before the Chisox let him go. Vizquel also managed Venezuela to a 2-5 record in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

    Vizquel was hired to manage Tijuana in 2020 but saw the season end before it got started after the Mexican League canceled its schedule. Now his future with the Toros may be in doubt due to these allegations.

The Vizquels in apparently happier times

    Blanca Vizquel also said on Instagram, “He demanded that I go everywhere with him so in order to not bother him and for not pay the consequences, I had to agree to smile, be well-dressed and well-groomed with makeup, when all I wanted was to cry…but it wasn't an option for me.” In a story posted on the en24.com website in Venezuela, she claimed that Vizquel lost his job with the White Sox for this reason and that he only gave her “crumbs of money” because he did not stop financially supporting his ex-wife. She said she couldn't elaborate on the case at the suggestion of her lawyers but details about her troubled relationship with Vizquel would soon be revealed. No details of actual physical violence have been given.

    Besides the threat to his current job status, the allegations are also a setback for Vizquel's chances at joining another slick-fielding shortstop, Luis Aparicio, as the only Venezuelans in the Hall of Fame. He earned 36.9 percent of the vote in 2018, his first year on the ballot) then saw his support rise to 4.8 percent in 2019 and 52.6 this year. It takes being on 75 percent of BBWAA ballots for induction and Vizquel was looking like a good bet to get in before his ten-year ballot limit was reached. Whether these allegations hinder his chances or not, they certainly won't help.

CITY OF MAZATLAN OKAYS 2021 SERIE DEL CARIBE

Estadio Teodoro Mariscal, Mazatlan

Several weeks after evicting the Mazatlan Venados from Estadio Teodoro Mariscal for violations of their lease, the City of Mazatlan has announced that the Mexican Pacific League team will be allowed to use the ballpark for the upcoming 2020-21 season, including hosting the 2021 Caribbean Series in early February.

The City physically escorted Venados front office employees out the stadium in early April, locking the facility up after it had been cleared out. The government claims the team had violated a number of conditions of their ballpark lease, including sponsorship of local basketball players and boxers and delivering Venados game tickets to senior citizens. The team was also asked to let the City use the ballpark to deliver services to seniors in relation to the Wuhan Virus outbreak, but refused the request.

The imbroglio led to concerns that the Caribbean Series would be moved out of Mazatlan if things were not resolved soon, with the Pan American Baseball Confederation (COPABE) giving the Mex Pac until the end of this month to broker a truce between the warring sides.

On Saturday, the Mazatlan City Council released this (translated) statement promising cooperation in allowing the Venados to return for the LMP season and that the Caribbean Series, which brings tourism money to host cities, may go ahead as planned:

The Municipal Government and Mayor Luis Benitez Torres express their commitment to guarantee all the facilities and the granting of permits for the 2020-2021 season of the Mexican Pacific League and the Caribbean Series 2021 at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal.

The City Council and the Mayor know the importance of sports culture and the economic and tourist impact that both baseball tournaments represent for the Mazatlan fans and for the municipality itself.

For this reason, this Government is open to communication with the company "Espectaculos Costa del Pacifico" and with the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation to reach agreements for the holding of the two sporting events here in Mazatlán.

The Municipal President expresses our will to grant the right to use, enjoy and enjoy the facilities of Estadio Teodoro Mariscal as well as any authorization for local activities, thereby guaranteeing that there is no impediment to holding such tournaments.

These measures are considered convenient for the benefit of society between the exploitation of a property in the public domain and the social, sports and tourist benefit of Mazatlecos.

Although the statement appears to give the go-ahead for business as usual at the ballpark, it's also notable for what it DOESN'T say. There is no mention of resumption of the lease between the Venados and the City, nor is anything said about a contract pulled by the City from team owner Jose Antonio Toledo that has allowed his family control of ballpark concessions since 1980 before purchasing the team 25 years later. While there does seem to be a truce, it promises to be an uneasy one.

Relations between the Venados and Mazatlan leaders soured quickly after Estadio Teodoro Mariscal reopened in October 2018 following a US$18 million renovation, when drinking water to the facility was shut off in the wake of a discovery that the team had created a clandestine drinking system there.


TOROS PLAN TO RE-OPEN CAMP JULY 15 IN OAXACA

Tijuana Toros to resume training next month

With an August 7 date tentatively set for finally beginning the 2020 Mexican League season, the Tijuana Toros were planning to re-open their training camp on July 15 in the southern state of Oaxaca. The Toros were training in Tempe, Arizona in mid-March when the LMB office ordered all 16 teams to close their camps and put the regular season on hold after the Wuhan virus appeared in Mexico and started claiming lives. As of last weekend, the number of confirmed cases of the Wuhan virus topped 139,000 nationwide, with over 16,000 deaths attributed to it (over 4,000 of them in Mexico City alone).

Toros sports director Oscar Romero, a former LMB pitcher whose son (Oscar Junior) is an 18-year-old third baseman in the Tijuana organization, said that Oaxaca was the most logical place for the team to spend three weeks prepping for the delayed season.

"This is more or less how the panorama is and all the teams are making the maximum effort so that we have the season with the necessary protocols," the elder Romero was quoted as saying on the El Fildeo website. "Our number one option is to train in the city of Oaxaca and it's for several reasons. The first is that they have the proper facilities there to do a good workout."

Besides being home to the Guerreros of the LMB, Oaxaca is also the site of a baseball academy owned and operated by Alfredo Harp Helu, who owns both the Guerreros and Mexico City Diablos Rojos. All three teams are expected to use the facility for training and warmup games until the regular season opens.

Tijuana is considered one of the preseason favorites to win the LMB North Division championship and a contender for copping the Serie de Rey. First-year manager Omar Vizquel will field a veteran outfit including everyday players like first baseman Ricky Alvarez, second baseman Isaac Rodriguez and outfielder Jesus "Cacao" Valdez with catching tandem Xorge Carrillo and Gabriel Gutierrez receiving pitches from Yoanys Quiala, Manny

Academia de Beisbol Alfredo Harp Helu, Oaxaca

Barreda, James Russell and closer Jake Sanchez.

Vizquel takes the reins in Tijuana from Oscar Robles, who managed the Toros to a 75-45 record in 2019 to tie Monclova for the LMB's best regular season record before falling to the Acereros in the LMB North Championship Series in seven games. Monclova went on to win their first pennant by beating Yucatan in the Serie del Rey. After a playing career likely to land him in Cooperstown as a sweet-fielding shortstop and timely batter, Vizquel managed two seasons in the Chicago White Sox system before parting ways with the Chisox after serving as dugout boss in AA Birmingham last year and is no doubt aware that Tijuana ownership will likely not accept anything short of the city's first pennant since 2017.

Meanwhile, Romero allows that the August 7 target for inaugural Liga games is a tentative one. "The first days of July are contemplated approximately to define whether or not there will be a 2020 season," he told El Fildeo, "and all this is conditioned on improving the difficult situation that we are going through with this pandemic."

KBO HOMER LEADER RAMOS SHELVED WITH ANKLE, BACK PAIN

Roberto Ramos raising eyes (and arms) in Korea

Hermosillo native Roberto Ramos' sensational debut season in the Korea Baseball Organization has been placed on hold after the LG Twins slugger was placed on the injured list last week with ankle and back problems. Ramos had played both games of a doubleheader on Thursday before the decision was made to sit him down for at least a three-game home series last weekend with the Busan Lotte Giants.

At the time he was shelved by the Seoul-based team last Friday, Ramos was leading the KBO with 13 homers while sitting in third place in both batting average (.391) and runs batted in (31). His .777 slugging percentage and 1.226 on-base plus slugging percentage both ranked second as Ramos was a prime reason the Twins were tied for second with the defending champion Doosan Bears in the standings at 21-12, four games behind the 25-8 NC Dinos.

"He had some discomfort in his right ankle after the double header, and he woke up this morning with a sore back," Twins manager Ryu Jong-Il said about Ramos in his pregame media availability Friday. "He took an injection in his back. We'll see how his recovery goes, but it looks like he won't be available this weekend." In Ramos' absence, the Twins called up first baseman Kim Ho-Eun from the minors. A 2016 sixth round draft pick, Kim made his KBO debut over the weekend.

Ramos going deep for LG Twins

The KBO has instituted a new procedure for injuries in 2020. Previously, whenever the league removed a player from their active roster due to an injury, they were required to sit for at least ten days before being reactivated. Now, there is no minimum number of days to remain out of the lineup, theoretically allowing a player placed on the IL on Friday night to sit one one game on Saturday before returning to the lineup Sunday afternoon.

Born in Hermosillo, the 25-year-old Ramos was a 2014 draft pick of the Colorado Rockies out of College of the Canyons in California. He spent six years in the Rockies farm system, socking 98 homers and batting .292 (including 30 longballs and 105 RBIs with a .309 average last season for AAA Albuquerque in the Pacific Coast League). Ramos signed a one-year free agent contract with the Twins in the offseason for $400,000 with a $50,000 signing bonus.

Ramos has played parts of six winterball seasons with his hometown Hermosillo Naranjeros, but without the same level of success that he's seen during the summer. Over 175 Mexican Pacific League games, he's hit .253 with 26 roundtrippers and 88 ribbies.