CANEROS WIN 2ND HALF; LMP PLAYOFFS OPEN TUESDAY

Los Mochis manager Victor Bojorquez

The Mexican Pacific League's 2018-19 regular season came to an end Sunday and while the second-half standings were tight at the top, Los Mochis won at Mexicali, 8-3, on the final day to hold off both Obregon and Hermosillo by a game to finish in first place and pick up the eight playoff points that go with the first slot, giving them an overall total of 11 points.  Culiacan, Mazatlan and Jalisco have also qualified for the postseason as all six teams will open first round play Tuesday night.

The Caneros scored six runs in Sunday's first inning and cruised to victory as manager Victor Bojorquez' squad completed a remarkable turnaround after coming in last in the first round with a 15-20 record.  Los Mochis stumbled out the second-half gate under dugout boss Ramon Orantes, who was fired with the club at 3-6.  Bojorquez is currently the Mexico City Diablos Rojos helmsman who has managed pennant winners in both the Northern Mexico and Mexican Winter leagues.  He reversed the Caneros' fortunes and led them to an 18-6 mark the rest of the way and bypassed Hermosillo at the top over the final week of the schedule.  Los Mochis will be looking for their first MexPac pennant since 2002-03 (and fourth overall since the team began playing in 1947) and while playoffs are by nature unpredictable, the Caneros are the hottest team in the circuit right now and the reinforcement draft addition of Jaime Lugo and Josh Outman will make a good pitching staff even better.

Defending champion Culiacan won the first-half title by going 21-14 and while the Tomateros finished fifth in the second stanza at 17-16, the 4.5 points they earned gives them 12.5 points overall for the top playoff seeding.  Obregon and Hermosillo were tied for second with 12.0 points but the Yaquis earned the nod for second seed by posting a 37-29 record for the entire season, best in the LMP, while the Naranjeros clocked in at 37-31.  Los Mochis tied Mazatlan with 11.0 points but the Caneros' 36-32 season record was two games better than the Venados, good enough to give them the fourth playoff seed while Mazatlan (who stumbled after manager Joe Alvarez left the team in first place early in the second half and was replaced at the helm by Juan Jose Pacho) takes the fifth.  Jalisco had an unremarkable season in going 32-35 overall and finishing with 8.5 points, but that was good enough to earn the Charros the sixth and final playoff seed by a point over Navojoa and Mexicali.  The Mayos will miss the postseason after reaching the finals last winter while the Aguilas, just two years removed from winning their fourth pennant, had the worst record in the MexPac 26-40 and never really showed signs of life over the course of the season.  Mexicali went through three managers over the eleven-week season (Felix Fermin currently holds that title) and one can expect major changes with the border team during the offseason.

The first round will open with three games Tuesday as Jalisco visits Culiacan, Mazatlan travels to Obregon and Los Mochis will play in Hermosillo.  Game Two will feature those matchups and venues Wednesday before a Thursday travel day precedes weekend action in Guadalajara, Mazatlan and Los Mochis.  As usual, the three series winners will move on to the semifinals along with the "lucky loser" team that wins the most first-round games in a losing effort.


LEYVA WINS PITCHING TRIPLE CROWN; PEGUERO COPS BATTING TITLE

Jalisco's Triple Crown pitcher Elian Leyva

He had to toss one inning on the regular season's final day and record a strikeout to do it, but Jalisco's Elian Leyva earned the Mexican Pacific League's pitching triple crown by either leading or tying for the lead in wins, strikeouts and ERA while registering the lowest WHIP in the circuit to boot.  But it didn't come easily.

The Cuban-born righty was held out to rest for the playoffs following a masterful December 22 performance in Culiacan (6.1IP, 1H, 0R, 10K), but after Mexicali's David Reyes struck out seven Obregon batters last Thursday to pass Leyva in whiffs, 67 to 66, Charros manager Roberto Vizcarra sent Leyva out to the mound against Mazatlan Sunday in Guadalajara.  Leyva struck out Venados leadoff hitter Justin Greene, whose two-strike foul tip was Jalisco's veteran catcher Erick Rodriguez to complete the K and match Reyes' total.  Leyva labored through the rest of the scoreless frame, throwing just nine strikes in 19 pitches, and was taken out of a game eventually won by Mazatlan, 3-1, but the 11,805 fans in the Estadio Charros stands still witnessed MexPac history.

Besides tying Reyes for the LMP strikeouts title, Leyva (who has been a reliever in seven previous Cuban National Series seasons and last summer in the Atlanta Braves system) had a 6-2 record to tie four other pitchers for the league lead in wins.  Los Mochis had two of them, Andres Avila and Jonathan Castellanos, while Hermosillo's Dennis O'Grady and Konner Wade of Mazatlan also recorded six wins.  The 29-year-old Leyva completed the Triple Crown by turning in a 2.02 ERA, well ahead of Culiacan's Manny Barreda (2.65), while his WHIP of 1.08 led in that category.  The Havana native also topped the loop with 14 games started, tying Javier Solano of Mexicali.  About the only positive pitching stat Leyva didn't lead in was saves, where third-generation MLB pitcher Casey Coleman picked up 22 salvados for Hermosillo to break Jose Silva's old team record of 21.  Navojoa setup man Jose Isidro Marquez, son of the Mexican League's all-time saves leader Isidro Marquez, led the LMP with 15 holds.

Jasson Atondo signing in Douglas, Arizona

Among batters, Hermosillo third baseman Jasson Atondo underwent a late-season cooldown during which he hit just .231 over his last ten games to just miss winning the batting title with a .351 average as teammate Francisco Peguero went 2-for-3 against Navojoa Sunday to sneak past Atondo for the batting title by finishing at .352. Peguero, who was the Mexican League's Fall MVP with Monclova, will play in Japan in 2019.  Although the 23-year-old Atondo has been a reserve infielder for four years with the LMB's Campeche Piratas, he had never made more than 53 plate appearances in any of three previous winters with the Naranjeros, technically making him a rookie in the MexPac.  Jalisco infielder Dariel Alvarez (a former Baltimore Oriole) hit four homers in a six-game stretch for the Charros to tie Navojoa's Jovan Rosa for the LMP longball title.  Alvarez also led with a .571 slugging percentage.  Yet another Charros player, Manny Rodriguez, was tops in RBIs with 52 in 66 games.  Rodriguez and Atondo tied for the league lead with 80 hits apiece.  Navojoa's Alonzo Harris led with 51 runs scored and swiped six bases in a nine-game stretch between December 19 and 28 to pull away with the steals title at 28, well ahead of the 20 by Culiacan outfielder Rico Noel.

Other offensive leaders included Mazatlan's Alex Liddi with 18 doubles while Venados teammate Edson Garcia whad four triples. Ramon Urias of Los Mochis led the tables with both a .432 on-base percentage and a .962 OPS percentage.


ROSA TAKEN FIRST BY CULIACAN IN REINFORCEMENT DRAFT

New Culiacan third baseman Jovan Rosa

Third baseman Jovan Rosa was the first player selected in the Mexican Pacific League reinforcement draft Sunday when the defending champion Culiacan Tomateros picked the LMP home run co-champion from the Navojoa Mayos, who were joined by the Mexicali Aguilas on the sidelines for January's playoffs.  Traditionally, teams still alive in the MexPac postseason choose two players from clubs who've been eliminated from contention after every playoff round.

The first three players taken Sunday were all plucked from the Mayos rosters.  Pitcher Jaime Lugo was the second selection by the Los Mochis Caneros while outfielder Alonzo Harris (the LMP runs and stolen bases leader) was taken by the Jalisco Charros with the third pick.  Two Mexicali players went next as relief pitcher Jake Sanchez went to the Hermosillo Naranjeros and second baseman Ramon Rios was selected by the Mazatlan Venados.  Navojoa first baseman Victor Mendoza's name was called by the Obregon Yaquis to round out the first round.

The Yaquis had the first pick of the second round as teams made their selections in reverse order, and Obregon took their second Mayos performer by calling for closer Jesus Pirela.  Mazatlan had the second pick of Round Two and took Mexicali outfielder Chris Roberson.  Aguilas middle reliever Michael Devine went to Hermosillo with the next selection, Mexicali catcher Xorge Carrillo was taken next by Jalisco, Los Mochis chose Navojoa pitcher Josh Outman and Culiacan rounded out the draft by selecting Mexicali starter David Reyes.

Two more reinforcement drafts will take place after the six-team first round and following the semifinals.  The LMP champion will have their pick of any player from the other seven teams to join them for the Caribbean Series, scheduled to take place in early February at Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

VENADOS-UTILITY DISPUTE: STANDS EMPTY TWO GAMES

A disagreement between the Mexican Pacific League Mazatlan Venados and a government utility led to drinking water and drainage being shut off to Estadio Teodoro Mariscal and fans being denied entry to multiple games. Two Venados home games ended up being played in an empty ballpark, causing the team to lose revenue at the gate, concessions stands and merchandise shops at the newly-renovated facility, which now holds 16,000 patrons (an expansion of two thousand seats).

As mentioned last week, the first non-public game was played Friday, November 30 when visiting Mexicali topped the Venados, 7-5. According to Mazatlan's Debate newspaper, city staffers were placing closure seals on box office windows at the conclusion of the previous Sunday's series-ending game against Los Mochis. The City reportedly discovered three clandestine water outlets on the outskirts of the stadium while Debate '  scribe Luis Motta said the team owned the state-owned Jumapam utility 12.9 million pesos, which translates to about 636 thousand US dollars. Water service to and from Teodoro Mariscal was subsequently turned off.

The impasse carried into the first weekend of December, when fans were turned away at the gate for Friday's first game of the Mexicali series. It appeared the dispute had been settle when water service was restored and the stands reopened for the final two contests of the three-game set (which drew crowds of 7,764 and 8,923). However, things apparently weren't settled after all and the first game of a midweek home series with Jalisco last Tuesday was played with no water, closed gates and empty stands. Things were back to normal one night later as 4,926 people cautiously came to that night's game and the following Thursday there were 8,029 fans on hand.

The Venados were in Los Mochis over the past weekend and will be on the road in Navojoa Tuesday through Thursday before opening a home series with Hermosillo on Friday. BBM is not aware if the dispute has been resolved, but it is never wise to play chicken with people wearing government badges and holding clipboards.


BOJORQUEZ REPLACES ORANTES AT HELM IN LOS MOCHIS

Ramon Orantes having his Caneros jersey retired

Former Mexico City Diablos Rojos star outfielder Victor Bojorquez is the new manager in Los Mochis after the Caneros fired Ramon Orantes last week. A Caneros legend as a player whose number 24 was retired two years ago, Orantes becomes the fifth of eight Mexican Pacific League managers to either be fired or quit less than two months into the current 11-week season.

Los Mochis went 15-20 in the first half to come in tied for seventh with Jalisco and picked up 3.5 playoff point, then started the second half 3-6 when Orantes was dismissed December 3 following a three-game sweep at the hand of the Hermosillo Naranjeros. Although he was a beloved Caneros player, the former corner infielder will probably best be remember as a Los Mochis skipper by losing a combined 18 consecutive regular games between the end of last winter's schedule and the opening of the current campaign. Appointed dugout boss on November 17 last year after Luis Sojo was fired, the 45-year-old Orantes (who was canned two days before his birthday) went 25-58 during his tenure with the team.

The Baja California Sur native has also been looking for a summer job since the Mexican League announced the Union Laguna team he'd been managing would suspend play in 2019. One potential LMB landing spot is Villahermosa, where Tabasco Hoy says Orantes is a prime candidate to manage the Tabasco Olmecas next year. New team president Juan Carlos Manzur is seeking a replacement for Eddie Castro, who led the Olmecas to a 20-35 Fall record that was the second-worst in the Liga. The worst? Orantes' Algodoneros went 18-39.

Like the man he replaced, Victor Bojorquez had a long playing career with the Caneros, roaming the outfield for 13 winters in Los Mochis. Known as "El Flamingo" during his active days, the 43-year-old Bojorquez spent 16 of his 17 Mexican League summers with Mexico City before retiring after the 2012 season. He then went into coaching and managing, leading the Diablos' Ensenada affiliate to the AA Liga Norte championship before being named Mexico City manager this year. Bojorquez led the big team to a 67-43 overall record in 2018, with two second-place finishes and one semifinal berth in the LMB South.

The Caneros have won their first six games under Bojorquez, including a midweek sweep in Navojoa and a three-game skunking of Mazatlan at home over the weekend.

LMP Second Half Standings
Hermosillo 11-4, Obregon 9-5, Jalisco 9-6, Los Mochis 9-6, Culiacan 7-8, Mexicali 5-9, Mazatlan 5-10, Navojoa 4-11
LMP Hitting Leaders
BATTING: Jasson Atondo, Hermosillo ( .377)
ON-BASE PERCENTAGE: Ramon Urias, Los Mochis (.432)
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE: Jovan Rosa, Navojoa (.626)
HOMERS: Jovan Rosa, Navojoa (13)
RUNS BATTED IN: Manny Rodriguez, Jalisco (42)
STOLEN BASES : Alonzo Harris, Navojoa (22)
LMP Pitching Leaders
WINS: Jose Samayoa, Hermosillo; Konner Wade, Mazatlan (5)
STRIKEOUTS: Elian Leyva, Jalisco (52)
SAVES: Casey Coleman, Culiacan (17)
HOLDS: Jose Isidro Marquez, Navojoa (11) WALKS + HITS PER INNING: Elian Leyva, Navojoa (1.12)
EARNED RUN AVERAGE: Elian Leyva, Jalisco (2.01)



LLWS CHAMPION, EX-MLBer BOBBY TREVINO DEAD AT 70

A member of Monterrey's 1958 Little League World Series champions who went on to play Major League Baseball eleven years later has died at his home in Monterrey on December 5. Carlos "Bobby" Trevino was 73.

Along with another future big leaguer, shortstop Hector Torres, Trevino was a catcher for the Monterrey team that outscored opponents by a 32-5 margin over three games to bring Mexico its second straight LLWS title in a tournament that featured another pair of MLBers-to -be, pitcher Rick Wise and outfielder Keith Lampard, who both played for Portland, Oregon. Trevino made his professional debut six years later in 1964, when the 18-year-old (by then an outfielder) spent most of the season with San Luis Potosi of the Class A Mexican Center League and played three games with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos . Trevino then hit .301 and .336 for the Diablos before his contract was sold to the California Angels following a 1966 Mexican League season during which he stole home in the All-Star Game.

Assigned by the Angels to Seattle of the AAA Pacific Coast League, the 6'2 "Trevino struggled to an .077 average over 13 games before the Angels dropped him to El Paso of the AA Texas League. He righted himself to bat .268 in 100 games for the Suns in 1967. The following year saw Trevino again overmatched by PCL pitching with Seattle, batting .199 with two homers in 55 contests before another demotion to El Paso (.311 / 3/23 in 34 games). Still, when California centerfielder Jay Johnstone was hurt early that season, Trevino was called up to the Angels and on May 22, 1968, he became the 17th Mexican-born player to debut in MLB by grounding out against Boston's Gary Bell when manager Bill Rigney sent his in as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. He went on to hit.225 in 17 games for the Halos in what would be his lone appearance in the bigs before being sent down to the minors in early July.

After spending all of 1969 in El Paso (.314 / 6/92), starting the season with a record-tying 37-game hitting streak and winning the Texas League MVP award, the Angels sold Trevino back to the Diablos prior to the 1970 season and he would never play north of the border again. Trevino played for Mexico City through 1972 and spent three more years with Union Laguna before bouncing around a bit, playing for six teams (Nuevo Laredo twice) over his final four years before retiring at age 33. He hit .283 in 13 LMB seasons between 1964 and 1979 with 70 homers and 608 RBIs. Trevino's best year was 1972, when he hit .299 with 17 homers and 86 RBIs for Mexico City.

He spent 14 winters in the Mexican Pacific League between 1964 and 1978, batting .269 with 63 homers for four teams, mostly Navojoa and Los Mochis. On December 31, 1968, he became the first LMP player to hit three homers in one game when he turned the trick for Los Mochis against Obregon at the Yaquis' old Estadio Alvaro Obregon.

Trevino also had managerial stints with three teams between 1977 and 1980, going a combined 154-226 as helmsman in Tabasco, Tampico and Toluca. His younger brother Alex played 939 games over 13 MLB seasons as a backup catcher with six teams. Following his retirement, Trevino played recreational baseball and softball and worked as a driver for 28 years in Monterrey. He battled lupus for a year until he died.

LNM Finals: 10th inning doubles give Ensenada Game 7 win

Back-to-back doubles by Alberto Querales and Edgar Duran with one out in the bottom of the tenth inning gave the Ensenada Marineros a 3-2 win over the San Luis Algodoneros Wednesday night in Game 7 of the North Mexican League championship series, ending the season with the LNM flag going to the Pacific coast city for the first time since 2012.

The Marineros drew first blood in the bottom of the third when Orlando Pina lofted a leadoff homer against Cottoneers starter Daniel Bloch, one of two hits Bloch would allow in three-and-two-thirds innings of work.  Ensenada took a 2-1 lead three innings later when Querales led off the sixth with his first double of the night, moved to third via a Duran sacrifice and scored on a single from 37-year-old Barbaro Canizares.  Canizares is a former Cuban National Series star who had a cup of coffee with Atlanta in 2009 and led the Mexican League with a .396 average in 2011 for Oaxaca before setting a Mexican Pacific League record with 20 homers in 2011-12 for Obregon (who won three consecutive LMP titles while Canizares played there).

Ensenada's two-run advantage was quickly erased in the top of the seventh when, with two out, Juan Carlos Torres singled and Jackson Valera crashed a two-run homer for San Luis against Marineros starter Arturo Florentino, who'd been working on a no-hitter until Torres broke his spell.  The 2-2 tie carried into extra innings.  Lazaro Leal's two-out double in the top of the frame put the go-ahead run on second for the Algodoneros, only to see the threat die when Jesus Caporal's fly ball was caught for the third out.  After Roman Sesteaga grounded out to open the bottom of the tenth for Ensenada, Querales doubled off veteran hurler Francisco Cordoba, a San Luis native who spent 12 seasons in the LMB (mostly with Quintana Roo) and compiled a 63-63 Liga career record.  Cordoba then served up a walkoff double to Duran that plated Querales with the pennant-winning run.

It was a fitting way to close the season for Ensenada, a team that won both halves of the Liga Norte schedule to finish the regular season with a 52-31 overall record before sweeping Puerto Penasco in the first round of the LNM playoffs.  Duran had an MVP-worthy season for the Marineros, leading the circuit in both runs scored (81) and RBIs (77) while finishing second in homers (16) and sixth in batting (.334).  For his part, Querales gave Ensenada another solid bat in the order by finishing fourth in batting (.339) and third in RBIs (67) while Canizares hit .369 with ten homers (tied for sixth) in just 44 games as the Marineros hit .296 as a team while scoring 6.3 runs per game.

Puerto Penasco infielder Jermy Acey, a longtime veteran of independent leagues north of the border, led the LNM with a .358 average while Marcos Vecionacci of San Quintin edged Duran for the home run crown with 17 longballs.  Caborca's Carlos Colmenares and Randy Reyes of Puerto Penasco tied for the lead in stolen bases with 22 swipes each, with Colmenares caught stealing twice while Reyes was gunned down eleven times.

Elian Leyva of Puerto Penasco turned in an 11-3 record to lead the Liga Norte in wins while Ensenada's Wanel Vasquez (who was rocked by San Luis in Tuesday's Game 6) came in second with 10 triumphs.  Leyva also had a league-best 1.18 WHIP.  Vasquez topped the loop with 92 strikeouts in 96 innings, but he also gave up 43 walks and unfurled 14 wild pitches en route to a 3.66 ERA.  Marineros starter Alexis Lara also had a standout season on the mound, going 9-2 and leading the LNM with a 2.96 ERA.  Ensenada closer Rafael Cova, who did not pitch in Wednesday's Game 7, was easily tops in saves with 20.

Each of the North Mexican League's six teams receive the majority of their players from two Mexican League teams.  The Marineros, managed by former LMB star Victor Bojorquez, are affiliated with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos (Bojorquez' former team) and Oaxaca Guerreros, both owned by billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu. Another Diablos-Guerreros affiliate clinched the Academy AA League pennant in late July but the parent clubs are in danger of missing the Liga postseason.

LMB "canning season" continues: Three more skippers pink-slipped

Looks like they're getting serious.

In a 2016 season that has already witnessed a number of managerial firings, three more Mexican League skippers have axed days after Noe Munoz was canned in Saltillo on July 1.

Former big league infielder Luis Sojo (pictured during happier times) was fired July 4 as manager of the Tijuana Toros with the team holding fourth place in the LMB North Division at 40-37.  However, the Toros were coming off a three-game sweep in Yucatan and had dropped six of their last seven.  Sojo spent 13 seasons in MLB (11 with the Yankees) as a utility man, batting .261 in 848 games before retiring in 2003.  The Venezuelan later spent seven years between 2006 and 2013 managing the Yankees' Class A farm team in Tampa.  He was hired in Tijuana seven months ago.

Sojo, who was in his first season managing in Tijuana, was replaced by longtime Mexican baseball figure Pedro Mere.  The Veracruz-born Mere was a Mexican League infielder for 22 seasons between 1988 and 2009, batting .261 with 179 homers. He managed Veracruz to a 56-57 record in 2013 but has done far better in winterball, managing the Los Tuxtlas Brujos to six Veracruz Winter League championships in the past eight seasons.  So far, the move is panning out as Mere led the Toros to a three-game sweep of Reynosa and two wins in a set against Monterrey, all at home.  Joining the Tijuana coaching staff was Matias Carrillo, who had recently signed on as coach in Yucatan a month after his surprise firing in Puebla during the All-Star Break after leading the Pericos to the best record in the Liga at that time.

About the same time, the Mexico City Diablos Rojos were replacing a lamb with a flamingo when manager Jose Luis "El Borrego" Sandoval was cut loose in favor of Victor "El Flamingo" Bojorquez.  Ironically, both Sandoval and Bojorquez are natives of Los Mochis and were teammates for years with the Red Devils during their playing careers.  Sandoval was hired last November to replace former LMB catcher Miguel Olivo, who left to manage the Giant's AA Richmond affiliate this year.  Sandoval led the Diablos Rojos' farm team to a Mexican Winter League pennant earlier this year, but was struggling with the big team with a 39-40 record and a tie for fifth with Aguascalientes in the North when he was handed his walking papers July 7 after being swept by Monterrey in a three-game home series. Sandoval spent 23 years at shortstop for the Diablos between 1990 and 2012, batting .295 on 2,186 hits, 244 of them homers.

Bojorquez was brought in from the Diablos' Northern Mexico League affiliate in Ensenada, where the Marineros are currently tied for third in the second-half standings at 18-15 after winning the first-half crown with a 24-14 record.  A former outfielder, Bojorquez led Mexico City to a three-game weekend home sweep of Reynosa at Estadio Fray Nano.  The 41-year-old made his playing debut in 1996 with the Diablos and spent 16 of his 17-year playing career in Mexico City, winning four pennants and batting .310 with 112 homers.  After coaching in Mexico City for three seasons under Olivo, he actually began last winter managing the Red Devils' LIM affiliate before being assigned to the Ensenada job.

Finally, Aguascalientes severed ties with manager Marco Antonio Romero (along with the prerequsite "thanks for your services" line in the press release) last Friday and replaced him with Saul Soto, a 19-year LMB veteran catcher/first baseman still playing for the Rieleros.  Soto was batting .311 with 88 hits for the Railroaders over 79 games when he was elevated to player-manager, the first in the Liga since Willie Romero performed double-duty for Yucatan in 2012.  Yet another Los Mochis product, the 6'4" 245-pound Soto was a 19-year-old rookie for Reynosa in 1998 and (minus two years in the Dodgers system) has played in the Liga ever since.  He's a career .305 batsman south of the border with 222 homers.

Marco Antonio Romero (no relation) had Aguascalientes at 39-41 when he was let go from his first managerial post in the LMB, where he spent 20 years as a first baseman for several teams and hit .292 with 235 homers (leading the Liga with 30 longballs for Dos Laredos in 1994).  Romero's ouster in Aguascalientes is the ninth managerial firing (that we know of) in the Liga this season.  And just in case you were wondering, he's NOT from Los Mochis...he's from Culiacan.


MexPac to hold first All-Star Game since 1997

For the first time in 19 seasons, the Mexican Pacific League will host an All-Star Game.  The contest will be played at Obregon's new ballpark on Sunday, November 27.  The last MexPac Juego de Estrellas was held at Estadio Manuel "Ciclon" Echevarria in Navojoa on November 24, 1997.

According to ESPN Deportes, LMP president Omar Canizales said, "There was an opportunity to wait until next season for an All-Star Game, but we believe there's already a demand and desire among fans and we want to meet them."  Details beyond date and place have not been announced.

Obregon's new 16,500-seater is expected to be completed by September, with a pricetag of approximately US$27 million.  The unnamed facility will replace Estadio Tomas Oroz Gaytan, which seats 13,000 fans and has hosted home games for the LMP Yaquis since 1971.


Puebla creates a little breathing room in LMB South race

The Puebla Pericos won four of five games last week to extend their season record to 57-25 and firming their tenuous hold on first place in the Mexican League's South Division.  Puebla swept a three-game home series over the Carmen Delfines to open the week's schedule and endured two rainouts bracketing a Saturday doubleheader in Campeche to split two contests there.  Chad Gaudin picked up saves in three of the four Pericos triumphs.  Second-place Yucatan had a tougher go of it last week, losing two of three tilts in Tabasco before coming home to Merida and dropping the last two games of three against Veracruz in a pair of series the Leones had high hopes for going in.  Instead, their 55-28 record drops them two-and-a-half games behind Puebla heading into the final weeks of the regular season.  Quintana Roo is third in the LMB South at 50-34 while Campeche has a firm grip on the fourth and final playoff berth at 41-40.

In the North, Monterrey swept Mexico City in three straight games and took one of three games against Tijuana to go 4-2 on the road swing in lifting their season mark to 54-29, five games up on 49-34 Monclova, who broke even by winning once in Saltillo and twice in Aguascalientes between Tuesday and Sunday.Laguna is hot on Monclova's heels at 49-25 while Tijuana is firmly ensconced in fourth with a 45-38 ledger.

Monclova suffered a severe blow to their chances of returning to the Serie del Rey in September when ace pitcher Josh Lowey left the team after receiving an offer to pitch for the KT Wiz in the Korea Baseball Organization.  The Floridian's contract with the Acereros allowed him to accept the offer, rumored to be worth US$220,000 (including a US$50,000 signing bonus), to pitch the rest of the KBO season.  The 5'11" righty was leading the Liga in all three pitching Triple Crown categories with 13 wins, a 1.65 ERA and 131 strikeouts and although Jose Oyervides appears healthy after missing a month to injury, Lowey is not someone easily replaced.  Acereros closer Arcenio Leon leads the circuit with 27 saves, one up on Puebla's Gaudin.

Puebla catcher Cesar Tapia raised his LMB-leading batting average to .373 after going 5-for-12 over the week, but Veracruz outfielder Carlos Lopez has been hitting .419 in July to bring his season average up to .371 after missing most of April before joining the Rojos Aguilas lineup.  Monterrey third baseman Alex Valdez socked two homers in the Sultanes series with Mexico City to take the LMB lead in roundtrippers with 22, two more than Qunitana Roo's Alex Liddi.  Diory Hernandez of Aguascalientes drove in two runs last week to bring his season RBI total to 77, six more than Liddi's 71.  Saltillo outfielder Justin Greene stole a pair of bases, giving him 28 swipes on the campaign while twelve-year veteran outfielder Christian Zazueta has 25, seven more than last year's career high of 18.

Two important series over the coming week will be held in Monterrey, when the Sultanes host Quintana Roo starting Tuesday before Yucatan visits Estadio Monterrey Friday through Sunday.

BBM Winterball 2015-16 Review, Part 2

Mexico’s “second” winter circuit, the Veracruz Winter League, played a short regular season that involved the LIV’s six teams playing 30-game schedules in December before embarking on January’s playoffs.  The Paso de Ovejas Campesino won the season title with a 19-10-1 record, two games up on the Acayucan Tobis at 15-10-1.  The Tobis went on to win the pennant by beating Xalapa in five games in the championship series, breaking the Los Tuxtlas Brujos’ string of four consecutive flags.

After winning their first title in ten LIV winters, Acayucan represented Mexico at the Latin American Series in Managua against champions from Panama, Colombia and host Nicaragua.  The Tobis posted a strong 9-3 opening day win over Colombia’s Barranquilla Caimanes on January 26 before dropping their final two round-robin stages games and losing a 1-0 semifinal play-in game against Barranquilla despite tournament rules clearly stating than in the event of a tie, the nod would go to whoever had won their first-round matchup.  

Veteran baseballist Cristhian Presichi, a longtime Mexican Leaguer, led the loop’s batters with a .407 average for Paso de Ovejas, Tuxtla Gutierrez’ Carlos Rodriguez was tops with 7 homers and 32 ribbies.  Campesinos hurler Angel Araiza and the Tobis' Juan Grijalva topped the loop with 4 wins each, Los Tuxtlas' Joel Payamps turned in an 0.82 ERA and Raul Carrillo of Palenque posted 39 strikeouts.

There are two other winter pro leagues in Mexico.  While the Mexican Pacific League may be considered AAA in quality and the Veracruz Winter League regarded a AA circuit, the Mexican Winter League is the country’s Class A vernal loop while the Mexican League-operated Academy League goes from being an A league in summer to a Rookie league for the winter.

The Mexican Winter League, or LIM, rose from the ashes of the now-defunct Northwest Baseball League, a Nayarit-based confederation that folded last year after eight seasons.  The LIM, also overseen by the Liga (as is every play-for-pay league in Mexico outside the LMP), moved its six-team operation eastward toward Mexico CIty, mainly in the central Mexican states of Guanajuato and Aguascalientes.

The first winter of LIM competition saw the Mexico City Diablos Rojos (augmented by players contracted to the Oaxaca Guerreros) defeat the Salamanca Petroleros, 4 games to 3, in the playoff final.  Former Diablos outfielder VIctor Bojorquez managed Mexico City to a 40-22 record and a first-place finish during the regular season before longtime Red Devils shortstop Jose Luis Sandoval piloted the squad through the playoffs, culminating in Mexico City’s 9-5 Game Seven win over the Petroleros on January 20 in front of 4,669 at Estadio Fray Nano in the nation’s capital.

Guanajuato’s Manuel Cruz led the LIM with a .414 and 12 homers while Mexico City’s Jose Martinez drove in 47 runs.  Diablos hurlers Filiberto Baez and Jesus Anguamea tied for the league lead with 7 wins apiece, teammate Ariel Gracia was tops with 67 strikeouts and a 2.85 ERA.

Finally, there’s the Academy Rookie League, consisting of Mexican League prospects housed together at the LMB’s training facility near Monterrey.  The Academy League runs a more ambitious “Class A” schedule from late March through July, but the LIA, which consists of four shared teams and one solely stocked with youngsters under contract with Saltillo, runs a shorter eight-week slate of doubleheaders between October and December, with teams playing about 27 games each.  As in the LIM, a team shared by the Diablos Rojos and Oaxaca won the LIA crown by going 21-4-2.

Now that the dust has settled on a full plate of winter leagues and games, we can all allow ourselves a breath, but only a short one because spring training is getting underway and Mexico’s five summer pro leagues will be warming up before you know it.  That’s one of the beauties of Mexican baseball:  There is no such thing as an offseason.