MINATITLAN HIRES CUBAN LEGEND MESA AS MANAGER FOR 2011

The Minatitlan Petroleros of the Mexican League have brought in Cuban manager Victor Mesa to lead the Oilers in 2011. Mesa replaces Salon de la Fama member Jesus Sommers at the helm. Sommers became the Petroleros skipper on May 1, replacing Manuel Cazarin.

Mesa takes over a Minatitlan team that has had its problems on the field and at the box office. The Petroleros finished the 2010 season with a 44-60 record, well out of the playoff picture. Despite coming in 16 games under .500, those 44 wins are the most ever for the Oilers since the team came to Minatitlan in 2007. The Petroleros also entertained just 74,529 fans at Parque 18 de Marzo de 1939, outdrawing only Nuevo Laredo among the 16 Liga teams.

In Mesa, the Petroleros have a manager who was a player and manager in Cuba’s highly-successful amateur baseball league. He led the league in stolen bases 14 times during his 15-year playing career, and was a mainstay on the Cuban National Team between 1981 and 1995. After retiring, he led Santa Clara to a record eight consecutive 50+ win seasons before moving to Mexico. Mesa, known as “El Loco” for his temper and flamboyance, managed Veracruz to a 27-35 record in 2010 before being fired.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: VERACRUZ FIRES MANAGER MESA

While there have been no managerial changes in the major leagues this season (yet), the carousel has been getting a good workout south of the border. The latest firing occurred last Thursday when the Veracruz Rojos del Aguila cut skipper Victor Mesa loose and replaced him with Bernardo “Bernie” Tatis.

Hopes were high for the 2010 season in Veracruz under Mesa, a flamboyant star in Cuban baseball during his playing days who led all batters in the 1992 Olympics with a .516 average and winning a gold medal in the process. However, Mesa’s past success as a player did not translate to wins for the Red Eagles, who finished 14 games behind Puebla in the Zona Hidalgo first-half standings with a 24-29 record. Veracruz was off to a 3-6 start to the second half when the tap on the shoulder came.

Tatis was a renowned speedster during his playing career, stealing over 800 bases in summer ball between 1981 and 1999. He played seven years in the Liga, batting .298 with 221 steals over 718 games (mostly for the Mexico City Diablos Rojos). Veracruz marks Tatis’ ninth Liga managerial stop.

Six Mexican League managers have now been fired since the season opened March 16.

VERACRUZ TEAM TRAINING IN CUBA

The Veracruz Rojos del Aguila are spending a month’s worth of training camp in Cuba. Aguilas president Jose Antonio Mansur says he was pleased with negotiations that took place between Cuban officials and Veracruz state governor Fidel Herrera, who he said has always had good relations with leaders of the island nation.

The Aguilas began training in Cuba on February 22 and are scheduled to remain there until returning home next month to play a preseason game with the Yucatan Leones on March 9. Veracruz will play exhibition games against Cuban teams prior to returning to Mexico.

Veracruz will play their 2010 Mexican League schedule under manager Victor Mesa (pictured), himself a native of Cuba.