119,146 ATTEND TEN MEX PAC HOME OPENERS

Opening Night in Mazatlan

    The cellophane has been torn off the Mexican Pacific League's 2022-23 campaign as all ten team began regular season play beginning last Tuesday and hosted their home openers over a six-day period. The sporadic first-week schedule saw most LMP teams playing the usual two-game, home-and-away openers with rival squads that has been a hallmark of the circuit for years, although the Mazatlan Venados and Jalisco Charros played their first four games in Guadalajara before moving to Pearl of the Pacific for a single game on Sunday.

    Home openers in Monterrey, Guasave and Mazatlan all drew fewer than 10,000 spectators while overall attendance was 119,146 for an average of 11,915 for the ten lidlifters. A full house of 20,000 was on hand for Tuesday's premiere in Culiacan's Estadio Charros followed by 16,073 in Hermosillo on Wednesday and 15,982 at Obregon's opener Thursday night. The smallest first-night gathering was the 6,226 on hand in Guasave on Wednesday.

    Let's take a look at each of the ten Mex Pac openers in order of date played. Home teams are in capital letters:

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11

Mazatlan 4, JALISCO 3
(Attendance 13,811 at Estadio Panamericano, Guadalajara)

    Venados starter Casey Harman had a good outing, allowing one run over 4.1 innings while his counterpart, Jalisco opener Javier Solano, struggled in giving up four runs in 4.2 frames, including a two-run homer to Luis Jimenez in the top of the fourth. Ricardo Valenzuela doubled twice and drove in two runs for Mazatlan. The defending champion Charros had three-hit nights from Julian Ornelas, Amadeo Zazueta and Agustin Murrillo.

Mexicali 7, MONTERREY 6
(Attendance 8,941 at Estadio Monterrey)

    Scott Schebler's two-run homer off Sultanes reliever Joe Riley in the top of the ninth gave the Aguilas their come-from-behind victory. Schebler, who hit 30 homers for Cincinnati in 2017, had two hits and a pair of runs for Mexicali, who also got three hits, two runs and an RBI from Leo Heras. Fernando Perez led Monterrey with a 2-for-4 night, including a two-run homer off Aguilas starter Eduardo Vera, and Gilberto Galaviz added two hits and two RBIs.

Guasave 3, CULIACAN 2
(Attendance 20,000 at Estadio Tomateros)

    Algodoneros starter Jeff Kinley, a reliever throughout a pro career that included five years in the Marlins system, tossed five shutout innings for the visitors while two solo homers from Orlando Pina and a solo bomb by Jorge Flores provided the scoring. Sebastian Elizalde, in his seventh winter with Culiacan after five in Hermosillo, hit a two-run single in the eighth off Brandon Koch to prevent a Tomateros shutout.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12

Culiacan 5, GUASAVE 2
(Attendance 6,226 at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon)

    The Tomateros extracted a measure of revenge on Guasave by breaking open a 2-2 game in the top of the tenth, scoring three runs as Jesus Fabela's RBI triple broke the tie. Culiacan reliever Francisco Villegas then tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth to seal the win. Efren Navarro went 3-for-5 and hit a homer in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into overtime. Guasave wasted seven shutout innings from starter Nico Tellache in the loss.

LOS MOCHIS 5, Navojoa 1
(Attendance 10,203 at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada)

    This opener was tied at one run apiece until the bottom of the seventh, when the Caneros touched Mayos reliever Max Kuhns for four runs (including a two-run roundtripper by Lazaro Alfonso). Juan Gamez pitched a scoreless eighth and Conner Greene did likewise in the ninth for Los Mochis. Marco Jaime was 2-for-4 with two runs for the winners while Alan Espinoza's second-inning homer off Fabian Cota accounted for Navojoa's lone run.

HERMOSILLO 5, Obregon 4
(Attendance 16,073 at Estadio Sonora)

    The Yaquis held a 4-3 lead midway through the seventh until Nick Torres' solo homer off reliever Peyton Gray in the bottom of the frame knotted the score. Hermosillo won the game in the bottom of the ninth when Cesar Salazar drew a full-count walk, pinch-runner Angel Ramirez moved into scoring position on Jasson Atondo's sacrifice bunt and then scored the game-winner from second on a wild pitch by Felipe Gonzalez.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13

Hermosillo 7, OBREGON 1
(Attendance 15,982 at Estadio Yaquis)

    Things didn't get any better at home for Obregon, who were tied 1-1 until the top of the fourth, when the Naranjeros' Roberto Ramos poled a solo homer off Yaquis starter Mitch Lively to give the visitors a lead they built on the rest of the game. Ramos went on belt a second homer while Nick Torres went deep a second night in a row. Sebastian Valle's RBI double in the third gave Obregon their only run as Lively (5IP, 2R) took the loss.

NAVOJOA 8, Los Mochis 1
(Attendance 10,473 at Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echeverria)

    The Mayos put this one in their hip pockets early, chasing ex-Arizona starter Edgar Gonzalez with a six-run second inning that featured six hits, including a two-run double by Moises Gutierrez and a two-run single by newcomer Ian Sagdal, a three-time Organization All-Star while playing in the Washington system. Edgar Robles' sacrifice fly off winner Raul Carrillo (5IP, 1R) in the fourth brought Bruce Maxwell in for Los Mochis' sole score.

MEXICALI 15, Monterrey 3
(Attendance 10,402 at El Nido de los Aguilas)

    After Monterrey scored a run in the top of the first, the Aguilas plated three of their own in the bottom of the frame (as Anthony Giansanti contributed a two-run double) and went on to a 15-3 laugher over the Sultanes. Mexicali's six-run eighth saw 12 Eagles went to the plate, six of them driving in a run. Leo Heras went 4-for-4 with three runs and three ribbies as Mexicali had 22 hits, going 13-for-26 with runners in scoring position.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16

MAZATLAN 7, Jalisco 5
(Attendance 7,035 at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal)

    After winning three of four games in their opening series at Guadalajara, the Venados lifted their record to 4-1 Sunday in unusual fashion. A 5-5 tie was broken in the sixth when Jalisco reliever Luis Rodriguez balked Leo German home from third. Mazatlan got an insurance run in the eighth when a Randy Romero fly ball to right was muffed by Agustin Ruiz, allowing Daniel Castro to score from third on one of five Charros errors in the contest.

MEXICO 2-1 AT U-23 WORLD CUP IN TAIWAN

Mexico LHP Alemao Hernandez

    On the heels of a Gold medal in 2018 and a Silver in 2021, Mexico's U-23 National Baseball Team and manager Enrique “Che” Reyes flew to Taiwan in the hopes of bring home more hardware from this month's World Baseball Softball Confederation U-23 Baseball Gold Cup. Mexico is in Group B of the 12-nation event along with Australia, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Cuba and The Netherlands.

    The tournament is the WBSC's third most important in terms of global rankings points, trailing only the World Baseball Classic and Premier12 event. Professional players are allowed in the U-23 World Cup under cooperation with organizations such as Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, the Korea Baseball Organization and the Mexican League. Mexico entered the tournament ranked fourth in the world.

    Reyes' charges opened tournament play last Friday with a tight 3-2 win over #10 Australia in eight innings at Tianmu Baseball Stadium. Left fielder Angel Camacho delivered in the clutch twice late for Mexico, first with a spectacular two-out catch of a deep Solomon Maguire fly ball in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on second to send the game into overtime. Then, in the top of the eighth as the lead tie-break runner, Camacho came in to score the go-ahead run on Javier Sanchez' single. Closer Nestor Anguamea held the Aussies scoreless in the bottom of the frame to save the win.

    Saturday's game against #3 South Korea in Taipei was postponed as all three games scheduled for Tianmu Stadium were rained out. They'll be made up on Wednesday before the Super and Placement rounds begin Thursday. The top three teams in each group will advance to the Super Round while both sets of bottom three contestants will do battle in the Placement Round to determine the 7th through 12th place teams.

    Following their unexpected day off, the Mexicans put on what a WBSC story called a hitting and pitching clinic in a 4-0 shutout of The Netherlands (#8) at Dou-liu Stadium. Mexico starter Alemao Hernandez was superb over five innings, scattering three hits and striking out six Dutchmen for the win. Jose Reyes pitched a perfect sixth and Alan Mundo took care of the last three outs in the seventh. Mexico took the lead in the second when Oliver Carrillo singled and scored on Christopher Escarrega's RBI double to the right. Camacho's double to left plated Escarrega to make it 2-0 and the Mexicans never looked back.

    The two promising wins were followed by Monday's disappointing 3-2 loss in eight innings to #16 Puerto Rico. The game began as a pitcher's duel between between starters Bryan Marrero of Puerto Rico and Mexico's Jordan Suarez, who worked four scoreless innings in less than 45 minutes. The Boricuans broke the spell in the bottom of the fifth when Kenen Irizarry touched Suarez for a double and later scored on Glenn Santiago's single up the middle. Mexico knotted the score via the smallball route in the top of the sixth as Elmer Lopez singled, stole second, reached third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Camacho. 

    The 1-1 score carried into the eighth, when Mexican lead tie-break runner Sanchez scored on an Osvaldo Barrios wild pitch. Closer Anguamea was two strikes away from the save but Puerto Rican DH Ricardo de la Torre sliced a blooper to center that Lopez had to chase after, scoring both tie-break runners to end a contest that deserved a far larger crowd than the 45 spectators dotting the 15,000 seats in Dou-liu Stadium.

    Mexico will only have a few hours to regroup before facing Cuba in Taipei's Tiamnu Baseball Stadium at 10:00AM Tuesday local time. The time and venue for Wednesday's rainout makeup against South Korea have not been announced. Catcher Brandon Valenzuela leads Mexican regulars with a .333 batting average, two doubles and three RBIs as the team is batting just .183 after three games. Fortunately, the pitching has more than held up their end with a sparkling 0.91 ERA and allowing just 13 hits over 23 innings. Neither Hernandez nor any of the five relievers used have allowed an earned run thus far.

TUCSON TO HOST LMP SERIES IN NOVEMBER

Kino Stadium in Tucson

    After serving as a Mexican Pacific League training camp site as well as the primary facility of the Mexican Baseball Fiesta for over a decade, Tucson will host a three-game LMP regular season series at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium next month.

    The Mexicali Aguilas and Obregon Yaquis will square off for three games between Friday, November 11 and Sunday, November 13 in what will be the first time in the Mex Pac's decades-long history that the loop has played games that count in the standings outside Mexico. Mexicali will serve as home team for the series but both clubs and their fans have made the trek over the border crossing at Nogales and 63 miles north on Interstate 19 to the Old Pueblo ever since the Fiesta was first played in 2011.

    Tucson was first represented in professional baseball whe the Old Pueblos were in the Class D Rio Grande Association in 1915 but the league folded that July. Tucson re-entered the play-for-pay ranks in 1928 with a team in another Class D loop, the Arizona State League, and would sporadically field clubs in six leagues (none above the Class C level) until both the Cowboys and Arizona-Mexico League folded after the 1958 season.

    The AAA Pacific Coast League Toros began play in 1969 and the PCL would stay in Tucson for 40 seasons. After the team was sold for $15 million and moved to Reno prior to the 2009 season, Tucson had a team in the independent Golden League for three years and returned to the PCL for a three-year stay as temporary home for the eventual El Paso Chihuahuas between 2011 and 2014. The Tucson Saguaros began play in the independent Pecos League in 2016, winning three pennants since, and are now the current summer tenants at Kino Stadium.

    Although the LMP has made no mention of Tucson as a potential franchise site, the city's metropolitan population of just over a million residents includes a 45 percent Hispanic demographic, a team there would be a natural league travel partner with Mexicali, Kino Stadium and its 11,500 seating capacity would be a good fit in the Mex Pac and new LMP president Carlos Manrique has made expanding his league's profile north of the border a priority. Many baseball teams in both Mexico and the USA have far less to build on.

MEXICAN BASEBALL FIESTA BEGINS 11TH YEAR

Beto Coyote and friends in Nogales

    The Mexican Baseball Fiesta will return to Tucson for an eleventh year for four nights, beginning this Thursday. The international event mainly comprised of teams from the Mexican Pacific League began in 2011 and completed its ninth year in 2019 before shutting down operations in 2020 due to Wuhan virus health restrictions.

    The MBF involves a partnership with Mexican Pacific League teams, many of which journey to the US for preseason training camps. The event is overseen by Mike Feder, a 30-year minor league general manager (15 of those in Tucson) as President of the MBF, and founder/partner Francisco Gamez, who played ten winters in the Mex Pac, which annually draws many more fans per game than any minor league north of the border.

    Mexican Baseball Fiesta games have an electricity in the air not seen during MLB spring training in February and March with music playing all the time, mascots on the field, fans dancing in the stands and authentic Mexican food like tacos, tortas and burritos instead of hot dogs and peanuts (although those are available at concession stands. Fans follow their teams across the border with such fierce loyalty and pass their love of the game on from generation to generation. It’s not uncommon to see three generations of families enjoying a game together, all wearing replica jerseys of their favorite team.

    From its roots in Tucson, the Mexican Baseball Fiesta has grown throughout Arizona and occasionally into California, Nevada and New Mexico. This year, the Fiesta increased its stay in the Phoenix area with an extra day in Maryvale, where the Hermosillo Naranjeros played single games against a team of Obregon, Navojoa and Guasave players at the Brewers spring ballpark September 23 and 24. That was followed by three doubleheaders in Mesa over the just-concluded weekend at Sloan Park, training camp home of the Cubs.

    The event now moves to Tucson (known to some as “Optics Valley” due to the 150 Tucson companies are involved in the design and manufacture of optics and optoelectronics systems) for seven games between Thursday and Sunday, beginning with an October 6 doubleheader featuring Obregon and Navojoa in the 5:05PM opener followed by a nightcap between Hermosillo and the University of Arizona. 

    In all, four LMP teams (Hermosillo, Obregon, Navojoa and Mexicali) will play in Tucson at Kino Stadium, an 11,500-seat former spring home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox as well as a Tucson Pacific Coast League team. The facility, which opened in 1998, is now used by the Tucson Saguaros, three-time champions of the independent Pecos League.

    Past ticket sales indicate that about 20 percent of the crowd is from Mexico. A few years ago, the Visit Tucson tourism organization did an economic impact study of the event and determined that the MBF generates over $1.5 million to Tucson's local economy. “We’re excited to partner with this great event for the eleventh year to bring Mexican baseball back to Tucson,” said Felipe Garcia, President/CEO of Visit Tucson. “The popularity of this event continues to grow, and we are proud to be a part of something that both locals and visitors look forward to every October. The Mexican Baseball Fiesta is the true definition of a quality cultural event and a boon to our community and economy.”

MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE TO OPEN SECOND SEASON

     The Mexican League will operate the Mexican Winter League for a second consecutive season in 2022. This year, the LIM will be split into three divisions: North, Central and South. Its objective, according to the LMB, is to promote the young talent of participating clubs.

   LMB president Horacio de la Vega Flores said in a press release, “We applaud the efforts of the organizations that are part of the LIM in 2022. Likewise, we thank the authorities of the Yucatan State government, their host municipalities, as well as the municipality of Poza Rica, Veracruz, promoters of the development of our young talents.

    “Alejandro Kirk, today a baseball star in the Major Leagues, was forged in this circuit a few seasons ago. Fans will appreciate the players who will shine in the near future, players who will be a source of inspiration, zeal and professionalism of those who came before them and who are currently figures of Mexican baseball.”

    The LIM's ten teams (including four combining players from two LMB clubs) and their home venues for the upcoming campaign are:

North Division
Monclova Acereros (Monclova Stadium), Monclova, Coahuila
Monterrey Sultanes (Estadio Monterrey), Monterrey, Nuevo León
Unión Laguna Algodoneros (Estadio de La Revolución), Torreón, Coahuila

Central Division
Mexico City Diablos Rojos/Oaxaca Guerreros (Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú), Mexico City, DF
Puebla Pericos (Estadio Hermanos Serdán), Puebla, Puebla
Veracruz Aguilas/Leon Bravos (Estadio Heriberto Jara Corona), Poza Rica, Veracruz

South Division
Aguascalientes Rieleros/Tijuana Toros (Campo Aureliano Centeno), Valladolid, Yucatan
Durango Generales (Campo Juan Rivero Alonzo), Tizimín, Yucatan
Guadalajara Mariachis/Tabasco Olmecas (Parque Miguel Hidalgo), Progreso, Yucatan
Yucatan Leones (Parque Eliseo Gómez), Umán, Yucatan

    Games in the North and Central divisions will begin on October 12 and one day later in the South. The regular season will close on November 27 in the South while in the North and Central, the schedule concludes on November 28. North and Central division clubs will play 24 games each while those of the South play a total of 28 contests.

    Central Division games will be played from Wednesdays through Sundays, with the exception of the fial game between Puebla and the Veracruz/Leon team on Monday, November 28. Games in the South will be held Thursdays to Sundays while in the North Division, games will be played without a set pattern with a maximum of two days of rest per team.

    In the Serie del Principe (Prince's Series) the champion will be defined and the best of five games will be crowned between December 3 and 8, closing at the ballpark of the highest-ranked seed. The title matchup will be determined by the top two teams based on the percentage of wins and losses, regardless of which division they belong to. In case of a tie, a run-differential formula will be used. If a team from the South Division reaches the Serie del Principe, they would play in Merida's Kukulcán Park, home of the 2022 King's Series (Serie del Rey) champion Yucatan Leones.

    The rosters will be made up of a maximum of 28 players from the LMB Reserve Lists, as well as players authorized by the Liga office and in the process of signing. The age limit is 25 years, with a maximum of six free agents, among which there may be three foreigners.

    The current defending champions of the LIM (Liga Invernal de Mexico) are the Monclova Acereros, who defeated the Puebla Pericos in five games for the 2021 pennant.

SALON DE LA FAMA 2023 BALLOT ADDS 11 NAMES

    The Salon de la Fama's Pre-candidate Nomination Assembly was held last Friday to implement the voting ballots for the Election of the new immortals of Mexican baseball for its 2023 induction ceremonies in Monterrey.

    Eleven baseball players to be added to the final ballot were announced together with eight unnamed candidates who are being carried over from the last vote in 2020, thus integrating a ballot with fourteen candidates in the Mexican Baseball Players Category and a new Card with five candidates in the Mexican Players Category with a minimum of 7 seasons in Major Leagues. Of the 19 names on the ballot, a maximum of five will be elected.

The eleven ballot newcomers selected were:

Players in Mexican Baseball Leagues: Miguel Flores, Germán Jiménez, Noe Munoz, Miguel Ojeda, Mike Paul, Roberto Ramirez, Javier Robles.

Mexicans with 7+ Years in the Major Leagues: Juan Gabriel Castro, Karim Garcia, Rodrigo López, Ismael Valdez.

    The Nomination Assembly was made up of Electoral Committee president Antonio de Valdes, Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega, Mexican Pacific League president Carlos Manrique, Salon de la Fama director Francisco Padilla Davila and Salon historian Horacio Ibarra.

    Results of the balloting will be announced in February 2023. The most recent election resulted in a Class of 2021 that included players Matias Carrillo, Vinny Castilla, Eduardo Jimenez, Isidro Marquez and Jose Luis Sandoval; veteran William “Bonnie” Serrell and journalist Jorge Menendez Torre.

Guerreros playing exhibition games in Cuba

The Oaxaca Guerreros are spending a portion of their 2018 training on a trip to Cuba, where manager Jose Luis "Borrego" Sandoval has had his Warriors go up against one Cuban National Series team and among a number of exhibition games.  Oaxaca opened the island portion of their preseason schedule last Friday with a 1-1 tie against Matanzas of the CNS.  Raymundo Torres went 3-for-3 for the Guerreros, driving in Carlos Paulino all the way from first with a single in the third with his team's lone run of the game. 

A former Twins farmhand, Paulino had a 2-for-2 game for Oaxaca, who started Patrick Johnson on the mound after team owner Alfredo Harp Helu decided in the offseason to drop his "Mexicans-only" player policy after both his Guerreros and Mexico City Diablos Rojos failed to make the playoffs in 2017 while finishing near the bottom of the league attendance tables.  Johnson tossed three scoreless innings, walking one Cocodrilos batter and striking out three before he gave way to relievers Luis Payan, Rodolfo Aguilar and Axel Rios.  The Matanzas roster features longtime veteran Yoandy Garlobo, who finished second to the USA's Ken Griffey, Junior among batters in the 2006 World Baseball Classic with a .480 average en route to being named to the All-WBC Team that year.

The Guerreros then took on Occidentales, a team comprised of 25 players from CNS West Division clubs, Saturday in Havana.  Occidentales took a 5-1 victory over the guests as Oaxaca didn't score until the ninth, with Iker Franco singling in Manuelo Cruz from third.  The Westerners roster includes outfielders Yoelkis Cespedes and Frederich Cepeda.  The Guerreros came back Sunday by walloping Orientales (25 CNS East players, including several National Teamers) by an 8-0 count as Oaxaca's batters collected 12 hits to support aptly-named starter Daniel Guerrero and five relievers in their shutout effort. 

After an off-day Monday, the Guerreros will meet Occidental again Tuesday in Matanzas as starting pitcher Salvador Valdez makes his debut in a Oaxaca uniform.  The Guerreros will open the Mexican League's 2018 first season on March 23 at Leon.


Toros meet KBO, CPBL clubs in Tucson

The Tijuana Toros are conducting their training camp in Tucson, Arizona for the fourth year in a row and the 2017 Mexican League champions have spiced up their stay in Optics Valley with preseason games against visiting teams from the Korea Baseball Organization and Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Manager Pedro Mere's champions first met the CPBL's Chinatrust Brothers, a Taichung-based squad managed by former major leaguer Cory Snyder, last Wednesday afternoon.  The game was a reunion of sorts between Mere and Snyder, who last managed on the same field during the 2016 LMB title series between Tijuana and Snyder's Puebla Pericos, who won the series and pennant.  Snyder has been joined in Taiwan by two other ex-MLBers, pitching coach Rick Waits and batting coach Tommy Cruz, brother of Jose and Hector.  The Brothers are in their 29th season, winning seven CPBL titles.

The Toros came from way back Thursday to top Chinatrust, 7-6, thanks to Pedro Arenas' tiebreaking single in the eighth.  The win went to reliever Fabian Williamson while the save was credited to Jesus Pirela.  The contest was notable for a remarkable Tijuana comeback after the Toros were behind, 6-1, in the fifth inning.  Things culminated in the eighth when Gabriel Gutierrez singled Juan Kirk in with the tying run and Gutierrez scored the game-winner on Arenas' safety.

One day later, Tijuana met the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, making it two wins in a row by beating the Heroes, 6-1, at Kino Stadium as the Toros plated four runs in the bottom of the second and scored two more in the fifth in what turned out to be an easy win.  Ageless reliever Rafael Diaz, entering his 21st season at age 47 as the only hurler in LMB history with more than 100 wins and 100 saves, earned the win by tossing a scoreless fifth.

The Toros and Nexen, whose roster includes 2-time KBO MVP and former Twins first baseman Byung-Ho Park plus 2017 KBO Rookie of the Year Jung-Hoo Lee (who hit .324 last year at age 19) met again last Thursday.  This time, the Heroes were victorious, 10-5, to earn the split.  Joe Munoz swatted a two-run homer for Tijuana, but not before Nexen had already built a commanding 6-1 lead by the time Munoz clobbered his panoramic shot to left in the seventh frame.  Alex Sanabia absorbed the loss for the Toros, but he was hardly the only pitcher touched up by the Koreans.

The Toros then played the Quintana Roo Tigres, also training in Tucson, in a three-game series at Kino Stadium over the weekend starting with a 7-1 win over manager Tim Johnson's Cancun nine on Saturday.  The two teams then played to a scoreless draw Sunday before the third and final game Monday before the Toros start playing MLB teams this week.  Rumor has Angels prodigy Shohei Ohtani pitching against Tijuana on Friday.


Fernandez out in Mazatlan; Gil fined 100K pesos

It's already been a busy offseason in the Mexican Pacific League, whose season officially ended less than a month ago when Guadalajara hosted the Caribbean Series at Estadio Charros.  The Mazatlan Venados have said "adios" to manager Daniel Fernandez, Culiacan manager Benji Gil was fined 100,000 pesos by the LMP after he celebrated his team's Game Seven win in the championship series at Navojoa with an obscene gesture and speculation is that three-time pennant-winning manager Eddy Diaz is returning to Obregon, but not as dugout boss.

Let's begin with Fernandez, one of the all-time great batters of Mexican baseball (representing the Mexico City Diablos Rojos in 15 All-Star Games) and the LMB's Manager of the Year with Veracruz in 2008.  Fernandez also excelled for Mazatlan as a player, and he was brought back to the Pearl of the Pacific in 2016 to replace Juan Jose Pacho at the Venados' helm.  Although the Deer appeared in the postseason both seasons under Fernandez, they were first-round casualties each time.  Mazatlan improved eight games last winter to a composite regular-season record of 37-31, but owner Jose Toledo and GM Jesus "Chino" Valdez will be looking for a manager with a "smallball" philosophy of creating runs from scratch instead of one swing.

Now we move on to Gil, already known as a combustible sort during his first stint in Culiacan, where he won a title in 2014-15 but also nearly came to blows in the dugout with outfielder Rico Noel during a game and essentially wore out his welcome with the Tomateros and the Ley family, who has owned the franchise since its 1966 inception.  The former Angels shortstop was brought back this winter and rewarded the Leys and Culiacan with a second pennant, but made a gesture (think PeeWee Herman in an adult theater) during a celebration after the Tomateros won the LMP Championship Series deciding game in Navojoa in January.  Gil's rewards were a verbal rebuke from league president Omar Canizales and a fine of 100,000 pesos (about $5,300 in US dollars).  A statement signed by Canizales states that Gil violated Article 36 of Mexico's federal labor laws "based on maintaining respect and discipline."  Gil faces suspension or outright expulsion from the LMP if he commits any further transgressions.

Finally, there's Diaz, who managed Obregon to three consecutive LMP titles in 2011, 2012 and 2013 (the only skipper in MexPac history with a three-peat), winning the Caribbean Series in 2011 and 2013.   Things have gone south with the Yaquis after promised player bonuses tied to that 2013 CS title were never given, resulting in a lawsuit from former MLB pitcher Luis Ayala, a five-year suspension handed to then-GM Francisco Minjarez by the LMP and Diaz' eventual exit from the franchise.  The Yaquis missed the playoffs last winter while attendance at 15,000-seat Nuevo Estadio Yaquis was noticeably down.  Diaz has visited Obregon in recent weeks, leading to speculation that he may replace manager Juan Navarrete (who will not return next winter) or even move into the front office as GM.  Then again, Minjarez' suspension has been completed and the current Diablos Rojos general manager, embroiled in the "Rookiegate" scandal at present, may return to his old post in the Sonora city.

Culiacan wins LMP pennant on Amezaga RBI single in 12th

Veteran Culiacan Tomateros infielder Alfredo Amezaga

Alfredo Amezaga's bases-loaded single with one out drove in Joey Meneses from third base broke a 4-all tie as the Culiacan Tomateros went on to top the Navojoa Mayos, 6-4, Sunday night in Navojoa to win Game Seven of the Mexican Pacific League championship series.  The win gives manager Benji Gil's Tomateros their eleventh MexPac pennant and a berth in the upcoming Caribbean Series in Guadalajara.  Culiacan has won two Serie del Caribes, in 1996 and 2002.  The Mayos were looking for their third LMP title since the team's inception in 1959-60 and their first since 1999-2000.

Navojoa got off to an early 1-0 lead when Leo Heras' second-inning single off Culiacan starter Sergio Mitre brought in Fernando Flores, but the Tomateros struck back in the top of the fourth when Meneses belted a Tyler Alexander delivery for a two-run homer to take a 2-1 lead.  Not do be outdone, Jesse Castillo returned the favor with a two-run blast of his own off Mitre in the bottom of the fifth to put the Mayos back ahead, 3-2, but Culiacan drew even in the top of the seventh when Justin Greene hit a bases-loaded pitch from reliever Esteban Haro off the glove of Navojoa third baseman Jovan Rosa to plate Ronnier Mustelier from third.

Castillo crunched his second longball of the night in the bottom of the eighth (this one off Derrick Loop) to push the hometown Mayos back on top, 4-3, but Sebastian Elizalde lofted a sacrifice fly with the sacks full in the top of the nine to send Jose Guadalupe Lopez home to knot the game back up and in effect send it into overtime.  After two scoreless innings, Amezaga's safety broke the deadlock for good and the visitors added an insurance run when Andy Wilkins scored on Jonathan Aceves' sacrifice fly to center, a play that drew an appeal from Mayos skipper Willie Romero on Wilkins' tag-up that was turned down by the umpires to give the Tomateros their eventual 6-4 margin.  Culiacan closer Chad Gaudin pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to earn the save for Casey Coleman's relief win.  Carlos Bustamante, who served up the ageless Amezaga's fateful safety, took the loss for the Mayos, who used eleven pitchers in the must-win game.  The Tomateros used six hurlers themselves as a full house of 11,500 at Estadio Manuel "Ciclon" Echeverria watched a game that went 5 hours and 11 minutes.

After opening the title series with two losses at home last weekend, the Mayos stayed alive by winning two of three contests in Culiacan to bring the finals back to Navojoa and the last remaining old-school ballpark in the MexPac, now that facilities in Mazatlan and Los Mochis are being modernized.  The Mayos won last Tuesday's first game at Estadio Tomateros, 4-2, as the Mayos' 13-hit attack was keyed by a two-run Rosa homer and a solo blast from Alejandro Gonzalez.  The visitors then knotted the series up at two games apiece one night later with a 5-3 triumph led by Paul Leon's two-run homer and run-scoring single.

The Tomateros fought back Thursday by topping Navojoa, 5-3, as Leon scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh on a Flores single.  Wilkins contributed two hits (including a solo longball) and two RBIs for the Tomateros, raising his average in the title series to .462.  Three consecutive sellouts drew 56,130 to the ballpark in Culiacan before the series moved back north to Navojoa for Game Six with the Tomateros holding a 3-games-to-2 lead.

Back home to end the series one way or another, the Mayos took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on Saturday's Game Six when Alejandro Gutierrez socked a solo homer to straightaway center off Tomateros starter Edgar Gonzalez and made it 2-0 one frame later on a bases-loaded walk to Heras that brought in Max Ramirez from third.  The Mayos lead held until the top of the eighth when a Fernando Perez solo homer put Culiacan on the board and a subsequent two-run single from LMP batting champion gave the visitors a 3-2 lead, but Leon's homer in the bottom of the ninth knotted the game up and Randy Arozarena's walkoff single ended the game with a Navojoa win to force Sunday's deciding game.

Meneses was named Finals MVP after Game Seven. The Culiacan-born first baseman, a free agent after seven years in the Braves system, had a quiet regular season for the Tomateros with a .248 batting average to go with five homers and 32 RBIs in 66 games before turning in a standout postseason by batting .348 with five longballs and 13 ribbies in 18 games over three stages.  The 6'3" 25-year-old hit .370 with a pair of homers, six runs and five RBIs in the title series.

The Tomateros will be joined in Guadalajara by the Anzoategui Caribes of Venezuela, who beat Lara in six games for the crown, and the defending champion Caguas Criollos, who won their second straight Roberto Clemente League title in Puerto Rico by topping Santurce, 2 games to 1, in their final series capping a season abbreviated by Hurricane Maria.  Two more teams will be determined this week.  The Granma Alazanes took a 3-games-to-2 lead over Las Tunas in the Cuban National Series finals with a 3-2 win Sunday night.  In the Dominican League championship series, the Cibaenas Aguilas have won two of three games against Licey in their best-of-7 set.

The Caribbean Series will open Friday.


Tucson, El Paso interests explore potential Mexican League franchises

Mexican League president Javier Salinas

Citing his league's return to Laredo, Texas via the newly-moved Dos Laredos Tecolotes, Mexican League president Javier Salinas says there's interest in bringing LMB teams to at least three more cities in the USA.  According to Puro Beisbol, Salinas said "Cities like Tucson, San Ysidro, California and El Paso want to have a Mexican League team, on both borders, and there is a history between us and Laredo that was formed in 1930.  I think this will be a watershed and I think that together, we are going to be able to make a very good story out of this."

Tucson would seem a natural location for ann MXL beachhead in the States.  The southern Arizona city has a metropolitan population of one million people (of whom about 40 percent are Hispanic), no viable in-season competition for the sports entertainment dollar after the popular University of Arizona baseball team finishes their home schedule in May and TWO ballparks (Hi Corbett Field and Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium) that have both hosted MLB spring training games and AAA teams.  Mike Feder, who organizes the Tucson Baseball Fiesta every October, is a two-time Pacific Coast League Executive of the Year and knows how to operate a team.  From this standpoint, Tucson is the best open market north of the border for the Liga, although baseball historically has received lukewarm interest there.

El Paso would certainly rate as prime territory for Mexican League expansion.  While similar in population to Tucson, with a million people residing in El Paso's metropolitan area, the market swells to more than 2 million when Greater Juarez is factored in.  Arguably a better baseball town that Tucson, minor league ball has been a constant part of El Paso's summer fabric since 1930 and 9,725-seat Cohen Stadium is available.  The problem?  El Paso's already got a AAA team, the PCL's Chihuahuas, playing at a newer facility, Southwest University Park (7,500 capacity).  That team finished fourth in the PCL attendance derby with 544,668 fans attending 69 games, an average of 7,894 per opening.  Does anyone imagine MiLB president Pat O'Connor doing nothing if an LMB team comes to El Paso?  Neither do I.  The answer might be to set up across the border at 15,000-seat Estadio Juarez Vive with a heavy marketing effort in Texas, but I'm not convinced that O'Connor would allow that, either.

That leaves San Ysidro, which sits across the Mexico-California border from Tijuana and has a population of 28,000 with neither a history of pro ball or a suitable ballpark for even a Rookie league team.  While San Ysidro has easy access to the lucrative San Diego market to the north, one could expect Tijuana Toros owner Alberto Uribe to raise a hand at an Assembly of Presidents meeting and say, "Hey, wait a minute!" if San Ysidro is even considered in jest for an MXL franchise.  Not gonna happen at this point.

After all is said, Tucson would appear to be the clearest destination for the Mexican League as their second set of footprints in the fertile-but-untapped Southwest USA market.  It's obvious that Salinas is willing to listen but it'll ultimately be up to investors anywhere to blaze that trail first.


Tim Johnson named new Tigres skipper for 2018

New Quintana Roo Tigres manager Tim Johnson

It's been quite a year for Tim Johnson.  After starting 2017 as manager for the San Luis Algodoneros, a Puebla Pericos affiliate playing in the Class AA North Mexico League (or LNM), the former Brewers infielder and Blue Jays manager found himself summoned to Puebla in early June to replace Von Hayes as the Pericos helmsman with the team holding a 26-28 record.  He went on to take the defending champions to a 30-26 mark the rest of the way for a second-place finish in the LMB South, a division playoff title and a berth in the Serie del Rey against eventual winners Tijuana for the second year in a row.  Johnson did this with a roster decimated when owner Gerardo Benavides transferred most top players on the 2016 champions to his hometown Monclova Acereros, who were eliminated in the first round by Monterrey.  His reward?  Being let go in favor of Lorenzo Bundy during the offseason.

Johnson has shown he's nothing if not a survivor, however, and Quintana Roo Tigres owner Fernando Valenzuela was obviously impressed enough when Johnson's Pericos eliminated the Tigres in the playoffs last August to hire him in Cancun for 2018.  Johnson will take over the reins from Hector Hurtado, a former MXL catcher for 22 years who himself had assumed team leadership during last season when manager Roberto Vizcarra (who led the Tigres to two pennants, including their 12th and last flag in 2015) was sacked.

Johnson takes over a team with a glorious past but an uncertain future.  The Valenzuelas are locked in battle with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos over five prime Tigres prospects who were transferred to the Diablos while sales negotiations with former owner Carlos Peralta were ongoing, a move former Tigres exec and current Diablos GM Francisco "Pollo" Minjarez called a "gentleman's agreement.  Two of those prospects were subsequently sold to the Texas Rangers for a combined US$2.7 million, money the cash-strapped Valenzuela's could use in Cancun.  A complaint has been filed with Minor League Baseball and Fernando has said that he would consider putting the Tigres back up for sale if he is not given restitution.  The Diablos have reportedly offered US$500,000 but were turned down.

On the field, the Tigres are a team in transition, too.  Many veterans have been shown the door over the past two years to make the team younger.  Still, some longtime LMBers like Carlos Gastelum, Sergio Contreras and Pablo Ortega are still on the roster.  Johnson will not have the communication problems with players that helped sink Wally Backman as manager in Monclova (Johnson was considered as Backman's replacement at the time) and he has the luxury of playing in the weaker LMB South, although Mexico City swapping places with Leon make it a tougher division.  On the other hand, he takes over a heritage franchise that has never caught on in either Puebla or Cancun since moving out of Mexico City in 2002 and is now operating with precarious finances since the Valenzulas' two partners bailed on them not long after the sale, leaving the former Cy Young winner solely responsible for a team no longer receiving the sort of largesse from the State of Quintana Roo that Peralta enjoyed.

Again, Johnson has shown resilience since tall tales of service in Vietnam led to his firing in Toronto after a winning 1998 season.  He has bounced between Mexican and independent teams in the US ever since, always finding work.  He's shown he can win south of the border, copping a Mexican League title with Mexico City in 1999 and Mexican Pacific League titles leading Hermosillo in 1989-90 and 1991-92.  Winning either MXL pennant in 2018 with the Tigres is highly unlikely and the snake-bitten franchise may have to be willing to settle for some resilience themselves.

Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta: Snapshots

I made it back home to the Pacific Northwest from Tucson Monday night, with a layover in Phoenix where I experienced my first-ever flight delay.  Only a half-hour late, nothing to complain about.  The little bag of mini-pretzels were wonderful.

Since you’ve already waded through four days and thousands of words from the Mexican Baseball Fiesta,  I’ll wrap up BBM’s coverage with 15 pictures taken with a Kodak C-195 during Sunday’s doubleheader.  I’m not a picture-taker by nature and it shows, but I do think they at least give a glimpse of what went on for four days.  One thing you’ll see consistently are smiles.  Lots of them.  These were taken from pregame warmups for the opener between Mexicali and Obregon to the end of the Hermosillo-Los Mochis nightcap.  I’ll just post them in the order they were taken, without captions.  None needed.  It’s Mexican baseball.  

Enjoy.

Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta: Day Four Report

It’s Monday morning, which means it’s time to finish packing my bag, check out, head to Tucson International Airport and fly back to Portland so I can drive home to the small town my wife Linda and I live in halfway between Portland and Seattle.  The Mexican Baseball Fiesta concluded Sunday as the Mexicali Aguilas bombed the Obregon Yaquis 15-5 in the opener and the Hermosillo Naranjeros topped the Los Mochis Caneros, 7-2, in the second game, marking the last of four days and four doubleheaders at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium with four Mexican Pacific League teams providing the centerpiece to a weekend of entertainment.  Although I began these missives with game reports that were drier than the Arizona air, I finally realized that I was missing the point: The MBF is more about attitude and atmosphere than balls and strikes.  It was worth the trip on a number of levels.

Before I go any further, I should mention that THIS particular missive was intended for a Tuesday posting because I spent Sunday afternoon and evening moving around Kino Stadium with a camera instead of my Chromebook to take photos of numerous things to augment the Day Three Report.  There is only so much a word picture can do for a reader, so I thought I’d give both my fingers and your sense of delirium from reading my text a break and despite having almost zero experience as a photog, I came away with what I think are 14 or 15 pretty good pictures to share.  Unfortunately, my Kodak C195 camera and Chromebook aren’t playing nice with each other so I’ll have to wait to get home and use another laptop so I can post the pictures Tuesday instead.  Sigh. If you're wondering why I have no game reports today, there you are. Consider it a blessing barely disguised.

Traveling to Tucson was not necessary, but I decided a few weeks ago that it would be a good chance to watch some of the teams and players I’ve been writing about off and on about since April 2005, when I covered the Mexican League for the OurSports Central website.  It was only going to be for that one season but, obviously, it’s lasted a little longer than that.  So I finally got to watch Mexican players like Pablo Ortega, Carlos Gastelum, Luis Alfonso Garcia, Carlos Valencia and Sergio Contreras, who were all active in 2005 when I first started writing about Mexican baseball along with others who’ve made their marks in recent years such as Jose Amador, Javier Solano, C.J. Retherford and Jason Bourgeois.  As a baseball fan, it was a blast seeing guys I’d heretofore only read and written about over the past dozen years and I was rarely disappointed. These are good ballplayers, many of whom have played in the majors.

After a little initial confusion when I first arrived at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium last Thursday, I was able to get my media credential and attendant lanyard and headed up to the press box for my first night of covering Mexican baseball in person.  At this point, I should say that Kino Stadium is a very nice facility, definitely AAA in quality.  I was able to get a good location next to a television booth and did my writing on the first two nights from that vantage point.  There isn’t a traditional roof over the main grandstand, so the press box is set above the concourse running behind the box seats behind home plate and above the concessions stands, meaning you’re set farther back from the playing field than the old-school press boxes you see atop grandstand roofs in older ballparks.

As far as attendance goes, I often saw what might be 200 people sprinkled through Kino Stadium at the start of the opening games (which always featured the champion Mexicali Aguilas throughout the weekend), with the stands filling gradually as the second game approached.  Saturday night’s game between rivals Hermosillo and Obregon was easily the best-attended, with what I’d guesstimate as at least 5,000 people in the ballpark.

While play was going on, there were plenty of other things for attendees to take part in.  While an actual ballgame in Mexico isn’t all that much different from what you’ll see in the States, the presentation in the stands can be a little different.  While there was music pumped through the PA system throughout all the games, much like in the USA, the music consisted mostly of Mexican artists (as you’d expect) while English was rarely heard over the loudspeakers, mainly when “The Star-Spangled Banner” was sung.  

What REALLY separated things were the live bands that would play after the games on the concourse next to the main grandstand on the first-base side.   Although teams in the States often do a good job of creating a festive atmosphere during ballgames, they’ve got nothing on our neighbors south of the border.  These folks know how to enjoy themselves.  I’m hoping that more Tucsonans catch on to the Mexican Baseball Fiesta in the future because it goes beyond baseball and is well worth attending.

All in all, I’m glad I was able to make it down to Tucson to watch players I’ve become more familiar with over the years than their MLB counterparts in an atmosphere that reflects the culture of people who like to have a good time and know how to do it.  Thanks to MBF co-founder and president Mike Feder for giving me press credentials so I could come in and describe this event to Baseball Mexico’s readers and a special thanks to Steve Rivera, a writer for the AllSportsTucson website and all-around good guy, for giving me a lift back to the Quality Inn I was staying at after the games.  And kudos to the people in Tucson I had the chance to meet the past four days, from cab drivers to Quality Inn employees and the great staff at Kino Stadium.  I can truthfully say that I didn’t meet one crabby person here in Tucson and that reflects well on the city.  It’s a nice place to visit.  But now it’s time to head home, where I can hopefully get those promised photos online Tuesday.

Then there are those Mexican Pacific League season openers next weekend to gear up for.  As I’ve said many times before, Mexico represents Baseball Heaven because there’s never an offseason, and I'm glad I was able to indulge in a slice of it this weekend.

Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta: Day Three Report

After sitting in the press box at Kino Stadium through four games over the first two nights of play at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta, I decided to write tonight’s entry while sitting in the stands.  My on-field focus has taken my attention away from what makes the MBF an “event” rather than just another set of ballgames and it’s the event that drew me to travel from Portland to Tucson in the first place.  So rather than bring you the dry summaries you’ve been getting so far, I’m hoping to convey more of the atmosphere here in Tucson at the expense of tracking runs, hits and errors (although I’ll throw in some random observations of play and players).  Right now I’m sitting in a section on the third base side of the upper level of Kino Stadium extending out from either side of the press box.  What follows will be spontaneous bursts of no particular train of thought:

It’s 5:35PM, the first game pitting Los Mochis against defending Mexican Pacific League champion Mexicali has just gotten underway and already the crowd is larger than either of the first two nights.  I think the crowd tonight is going to be...WHOA!  I just had a foul tip rattle around among the shading right above my head before spitting out to the concourse below.  One wrong bounce and this report is finished, as is the Chromebook I’m writing it on.  

C.J. Retherford is batting for Mexicali with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the first. He’s become a year-round player in Mexico and I’ve noticed him playing with his very young son on the field during warmups all three nights, a charming sight you’d never see prior to a major league game but things are different in Mexican baseball.  Apparently they take the phrase “family-friendly” to heart. C.J.’s son didn’t come close to catching one of the tosses that I witnessed, but he has plenty of time to learn.  Despite the threat, the Aguilas failed to score before being retired.

At about a quarter after 6  with the sun going and an accompanying breeze, we’re settling into what should be a pleasant evening for some baseball.  Temperatures have reached the mid to upper 90’s every day since I arrived Wednesday night, something I rarely see at home midway between Seattle and Portland, but the low humidity has kept it from being bothersome.  The old saw, “It’s a DRY heat” is really true in Tucson.  

How’s this for prescience?  The first game is now in the bottom of the third (they’ve been playing seven) and Retherford just broke up a scoreless tie by smoking a double against Mochis starter Roy Merritt off a chain link fence atop the 8-foot high wall in the left field corner, driving in Walter Ibarra from third to put Mexicali up, 1-0.  Merritt was able to escape the inning without further damage.

Top of the fourth now and the Caneros have tied the game.  Ramon Urias, whose brother Luis is a top shortstop prospect in the Padres system, took first after being hit by a Sergio Mitre pitch and then flew around the bases on a Mitchell Walding double.  Urias had a terrific summer at shortstop for Mexico City was Baseball Mexico’s Summer 2017 MVP.  Tough choice this year but the kid kept the Diablos in the playoff race.  He doesn’t look big enough to hit 19 homers in a season but neither does Jose Altuve and the ball DOES tend to carry well in Mexico City’s 7,382-foot elevation.

People continue to file in to Kino Stadium, likely for the Hermosillo-Obregon nightcap (although a live performance by popular Mexican musical artist Freddy Vegas is no doubt at least an added draw).  Looking above and beyond the berm in right field, I can see a long string of cars making their way to the Kino parking lot.  Yep, it’ll definitely be the biggest crowd of the three nights I’ve been here. I’d guess there are upwards of three thousand people in the stands already.  Not impressive at first blush until the independent  Tucson Saguaros’ average attendance of 279 for three Pecos League playoff games earlier this year adds a sense of perspective.  

Top of the fifth with the score still tied, 1-1.  Mexicali manager Roberto Vizcarra has replaced ex-Yankee Sergio Mitre, who allowed one run on two hits in four innings, with Nicolas Heredia, who gives up a leadoff single to left by hulking Mochis veteran Saul Soto.  Soto is one of those guys who always hits well north of .300 with power, and it was a measure of respect in the summer of 2016 when he was named player-manager in Aguascalientes late in the season.  He did a credible job with the Rieleros before returning to player-only status after Homar Rojas was brought in and led the Railroaders to a fourth-place finish in the Mexican League’s North Division this year.

What had been a quickly-played game started dragging a bit, what with all the Caneros baserunners circling the sacks for three runs in the fourth and another three in the fifth to take a commanding 7-1 lead.  Mexicali has had six hits of their own but only that one run in the third to show for them.  Merritt pitched through the sixth, although I can make out some soft-tossing going on behind some signs obscuring the Caneros bullpen behind the left field fence and suspect skipper Luis Sojo will make a change for the seventh.

And so Sojo did, bringing in Lenix Osuna to close out the win for Merritt.  After getting the first two outs, Osuna ran into trouble and allowed a pair of last-gasp Aguilas runs to narrow the Caneros lead to 7-3 before inducing Retherford to ground out with runners at the corners to end both the surge and game.

Not having eaten for hours, I went down to the concourse for some late (8:00PM) dinner.  This weekend the house specialty is Mexican food and although there were several tempting items to choose from, I bought a bean-and-cheese burrito.  Along with concerns about eating something that would put me in a state of discomfort at 2 tomorrow morning, I’ve been a gringo pollo when it comes to spicy food ever since I bought a two-star item at a Thai restaurant near Seattle years ago that delivered a five-alarm fire with every bite.  I never DID taste the dish.  The mediocre-tasting burrito cost US$7.25, proving that you’ll overspend for ballpark food pretty much anywhere in any language.

Back at my perch next to the suites in time for introductions of players and coaches as well as the singing of both Mexican and USA national anthems by a lovely young lady.  At the end of the Mexican anthem (which itself is a longish but lovely song), I heard a male voice in the crowd shout “Viva Mexico!” followed by a loud cheer from the stands.  Loved it.

Just moments away from the first pitch of the nightcap and the stands are well over half-full.  It seems definitely a pro-Hermosillo gathering, if the number of cheers accompanying the on-field announcer’s mention of the Naranjeros as one of the two teams is any indication.  Lots of orange shirts and replica jerseys to be seen.  It reminded me of my first visit to Lambeau Field in Green Bay (I’m a lifetime Packers fan) for a night game, when I saw a large number of orange jackets in the stands.  Puzzled because the Packers colors are green and gold, I asked a local about the orange.  “Hunting vests,” he replied.

Not to be outdone, Obregon fans in attendance had their chance to roar approval on the second pitch of the game when former Orioles outfielder Felix Pie launched a delivery from Naranjeros starter Jose Samayoa to near the top of the berm in right-center field to stake the Yaquis a quick 1-0 lead.  Hermosillo came right back with the tying run in the bottom of the first when Domonic Brown ripped a run-scoring double to the wall in right-center to send speedy Jason Bourgeois flying in from first.  The Naranjeros then took the lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run double by Roberto Ramos and added another one later in the inning to go up 4-1, but Obregon’s Alex Liddi erased it with a three-run bomb into the left field bullpen in the top of the third to tie things up and the Yaquis pushed two more runs across to grab the lead back at 6-4.

As in the States, mascots play a large role in Mexican baseball, perhaps even more than their Yanqui counterparts.  Two of the MexPac’s most-popular mascots, Hermosillo’s Beto Coyote and Tigre Chaco of Obregon, are on hand and started working the crowd early.  As I type this, Chaco is dancing in the third-base coach’s box as the Yaqui partisans chant in unison from the stands.  Whatever the cause, the fairly reserved crowd in the opening game has been taken over by a boisterous gathering of what appears to be at least 5,000 aficionados in the stands for this one.

It’s now the top of the fifth with the Yaquis lead cut to 6-5 and Barbaro Canizares batting for Obregon.  Canizares is an interesting case.  A Cuban exile who’d been a teammate of Kendrys Morales with the Havana Industriales, Canizares defected with two other players in early 2004 after receiving a lifetime suspension from Cuban baseball for selling his jersey to a member of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.  After a few seasons in the Braves system (including a five-game cup of coffee with Atlanta in 2009), Canizares spent time with both the Yaquis and in Oaxaca of the Mexican League, batting .396, .438 and .378 for the Guerreros between 2011 and 2013 before going to Japan.  He only played 38 games in three injury-plagued years with the Softbank Hawks and returned to the LMB this summer, but was cut by both Veracruz and Quintana Roo after hitting .244 in 34 games, ending up in the Liga Norte.  Approaching his 38th birthday, the 6’3” first baseman is trying desperately to regain some of his old magic and found some in his bright red bat by blooping an RBI single in center to stretch Obregon’s lead to 7-5..

Well, here’s something you don’t always see at a ballpark: A guy just came out onto the field behind home plate and proposed to his girlfriend on the mic (in English and with the gentle prodding of Chaco the mascot).  She said yes, thankfully for the guy.

Music is as ever-present at Mexican ballgames as it is in the USA and this weekend has been no different.  As might be expected, nearly all the songs pumped out over the PA system between innings and during at-bats is from south of the border and greatly add to the atmosphere.  There were mariachi bands playing close enough to the action to conspire with the loudspeaker music to create a bit of a cacophony at times the past two nights, but I can hear strains of live music (Freddy Vega?) emanating from the parking lot without battling the PA system for decibel supremacy.  Good move, although it looks like some of the crowd is heading toward the parking lot for some dancing.  Beisbol con salsa!

While the stands were mostly full three hours ago, they’re gradually emptying with almost as many cars streaming out of the parking lot as were coming in earlier as the clock atop the left field scoreboard approaches 11:00.  The number of people occupying the berms is far fewer.  The gathering on the left-field foul territory berm appears to be mostly adults, but the outfield berms are the domain of kids.  The  right-field berm seems especially popular with the younger set, particularly for rolling down the slope on their sides toward the back of the outfield wall.  Sliding on their, uhh, backsides is another favorite, sort of like sledding without either a sled or snow.  It’s been a while, but I remember that as a kid, we made things like that work whether we had the proper accoutrements or not.  The younger you are, the more expansive your imagination.

Well, this one is finally in the books, with Obregon taking an 9-6 win as the final out was recorded at 11:46.  It’s been a long night at the ballpark, but a good one.  I’d been in a down mood all day, wondering whether what I’ve been doing with this blog (and Viva Beisbol before it) all these years has made the slightest bit of difference.  That’s still as debatable as it was this morning and something I’ll have to confront after I get home, but my blue funk has lifted significantly and these games have been the difference.  If the goal of baseball promoters is to surround a ballgame with a party, MBF organizer Mike Feder and the great, friendly ballpark staff have succeeded.  Well played.

Now it’s back to my room at the Quality Inn for a late-night discussion with that burrito.