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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Monday,
December 14, 2020
MEXICAN
LEAGUE ADDS 2 TEAMS, TO PLAY 66 GAMES IN '21
At a press conference at the
National Palace in Mexico City last week, the Mexican League announced
the
expected addition of two teams for the 2021 season while unveiling
plans for a
reduced schedule next year with a May 20 opening date. Mexican
president Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador led the event, in which it was announced that both
Veracruz and Guadalajara will be returning to give the circuit a total
of 18 teams.
The Veracruz Aguilas ownership group
is headed by Bernardo Pasquel, grand-nephew of controversial LMB
strongman
Jorge Pasquel (whose story has been touched upon here and elsewhere).
One of
the younger Pasquel's investors is former MLB All-Star Adrian Gonzalez,
who is
expected to be active in bringing ballplayers to the Gulf Coast team,
while the
sports manager will be Jesus “Chino” Valdez, who has filled that role
with the
Mazatlan Venados for several years. Veracruz' 7,782-seat Estadio
Universitario
Beto Avila, which opened in 1992 and underwent renovations in 2006,
will
receive modifications in anticipation of the LMB's return.
The Veracruz entry can trace their
roots to 1903, when the original Aguilas played their first game, and
lay claim
to being an ancestor of Mexico's first formal team. Although Veracruz
has long
been fertile ground for baseball players and the Aguilas have won six
Mexican
League pennants over the years (most recently in 2012), that hasn't
translated
to fans in the stands. LMB teams have come and gone over the decades,
most
recently after the 2017 season when Veracruz' last team moved to Nuevo
Laredo
and was rechristened the Tecolotes. While the Aguilas can proudly point
to
their city's history, they'll still have to convince people to buy
tickets in
2021.
Guadalajara hosted three Mexican
League franchises between 1949 and 1995, all known as the Jalisco
Charros. The
second incarnation won pennants in 1967 and 1971 but the city's LMB
teams had
to play at the substandard Estadio Tecnologico while losing the battle
for fans
to soccer's Chivas team, arguably the most popular sports team in the
country.
The Charros were revived in 2014, but this time it was for the Mexican
Pacific
League, where the team has become popular among locals while winning
the
2018-19 LMP pennant and hosting a number of important baseball events
in the
six years since.
However, the Mariachis are already
encountering difficulties. The team's investors are led by Carlos
"Calo" Valenzuela, a contractor whose Dynamica company has built
ballparks in Mexico City, Obregon and Hermosillo while refurbishing
existing
facilities in Mazatlan and Los Mochis. There appear to be no formal
ties with
their winterball counterparts, although Valenzuela has been a director
with the
Charros. The Mariachis recently received word that the mayor of Zapopan
(where
Estadio Charros sits) is not yet willing to allow them to play at the
16,500-seat facility. Pablo Lemus Navarro told the Mural newspaper
of
Zapopan that he has issues over the Mariachis being named for
Guadalajara and
not Jalisco or Zapopan while the team gave his government no formal
notice
until after the presidential announcement. Lemus says the new club will
have to
go through both City and State governments to modify an agreement that
currently allows the Charros (who own the stadium) to host a maximum of
90
games over five months at the formerly state-owned facility.
Ironically, it was
Valenzuela's own firm that renovated Estadio Charros into a ballpark
prior to
that team's 2014 move from Guasave.
Meanwhile, at the same press
conference, it was announced that the Mexican League will delay its
2021 season
opener to Thursday, May 20 while shortening its regular season schedule
to 66
games due to the pandemic before launching into a twelve-team
postseason after
the season finale on Thursday, August 5. Playoffs will consist of four
stages
in 2021: a First Round, Division Semifinals, Division Championships and
the Serie
del Rey. It's assumed the First Round will involve the third
through sixth
place teams in each division, with the top two teams given a bye to the
Division Semis. The Liga will sport two nine-team divisions next year,
with
Guadalajara entering the North Division and Veracruz joining the LMB
South.
VILLANUEVA
HEATS UP AS CHARROS CLIMB LMP STANDINGS
When Christian Villanueva returned
home to Guadalajara last month after a second difficult season, he was
hoping
to regain his batting eye and batting stroke while playing winterball
for the
Jalisco Charros. Two recent games for the former Mexican Pacific League
MVP
indicate that the 29-year-old third baseman is getting his groove back.
Villanueva went 4-for-9 with a homer
in his first two games of December before a dry spell that saw him
collect two
hits over his next five game as he watched his batting average fall to
.233
after nine games. Then Los Mochis arrived at Estadio Charros for a
three-game
series last Friday and the former Padres starter feasted on the
struggling
Caneros over the next two nights, going 4-for-6 with three homers to
score six
runs and drive in nine as his batting average rose 53 points to .286.
Villanueva's recent resurgence
coincided with the activation of relief pitcher Sergio Romo, a
three-time World
Series winner with San Francisco who is a free agent after pitching for
Minnesota this year. Romo made his season debut for the Charros last
Thursday,
tossing a scoreless tenth inning of a wild 9-8 win at Obregon in which
the
score was tied at 3-3 heading into the eleventh. Both teams scored four
runs
that frame, then Jalisco scored twice in the top of the twelfth and
held on for
the win.
One night later, Jalisco second
baseman Manny Rodriguez homered and doubled twice in a 12-3 thrashing
of Los
Mochis. Rodriguez moved into third place on the Mex Pac's all-time
doubles list
with 215 while his 118th career roundtripper places him twelfth in that
category. After finishing the first half in sixth place with a
desultory 15-14
record, manager Roberto Vizcarra needs top performances from
Villanueva, Romo
and Rodriguez in the second half to move up in the standings and earn
more
playoff points.
Right now, Jalisco is tied with
surprising Guasave for second place with 9-5 records, a game-and-a-half
behind
10-3 Mexicali. While Aguilas catcher Xorge Carrillo is their only
batter raking
among the LMP's Top 20 (he's 19th at .312), Mexicali's pitching has
been
rock-solid and currently is second to Hermosillo's 3.47 team ERA with a
3.51
mark. Eduardo Vera and Miguel Pena have led manager Bronswell Patrick's
mound
staff with identical 3-0 records and 2.11 ERAs while vet Javier Solano
is also
3-0 record with a 2.53 ERA in nine starts.
Hermosillo's Yadiel Hernandez
continues to lead the league with a .353 batting average. Guasave's
Erusbel
Arruebarrena is tied with Leandro Castro of Los Mochis and Monterrey's
Dustin
Peterson with 10 homers apiece. Dariel Alvarez of Jalisco is tops with
36 RBIs
and Obregon's Alonzo Harris continues to lead baserunners with 20
steals
despite not playing for the Yaquis in nearly three weeks. Harris has
been
listed on the Obregon roster again, but still nothing about his status
on the
LMP website.
Among pitchers, Mexicali's
aforementioned Vera and Solano are 1-2 in the LMP with ERAs of 2.11 and
2.53,
respectively. Luis Ivan Rodriguez remained at 6-0 after not pitching
for
Jalisco last week, but Hermosillo's Juan Pablo Oramas moved into a tie
for the
wins lead by beating Culiacan last week to go to 6-2. The Tomateros'
Manny
Barreda leads with 46 strikeouts but was placed on the Reserve List
last
Thursday. In a battle for the saves lead, Fernando Salas of Hermosillo
and
Guasave's Geno Encino are tied with 12 apiece, one more than Alberto
Baldonando
of Culiacan.
PITCHING,
MACIEL HOMER GIVE BARRERAS COPA JUNTOS TITLE
The 2021 Copa Juntos por Mexico
tournament is in the books, with fans watching an exciting championship
game
online as Team Nelson Barrera held off Team Alfredo Ortiz, 3-2, last
Saturday
behind closed doors at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City. The
Ortiz
squad had finished first in the four-team first round with a 16-9
record, three
games ahead of the 13-12 Barreras, to earn an automatic berth in the
title
game. On the other hand, the Barreras had to win a 9-3 semifinal
contest Friday
against third-place Team Daniel Fernandez to advance to Saturday's
final tilt.
The Barreras took a 1-0 lead in the
championship game on Jose Maciel's run-scoring sacrifice fly in the top
of the
second inning, but the Ortizes came back with a pair of counters via
three
doubles off Barrera starter Oscar Valenzuela in the bottom of the third
to go
up by a 2-1 count. At the top of the next frame, Jose Macias hit a
one-out
single off Ortiz starter Eteban Bloch, who then allowed a two-run homer
by
Maciel that barely cleared the left-field wall to put the Barreras back
on top,
3-2. From that point, Valenzuela and relievers Ariel Gracia and Jesus
Navarro
combine to shut down Ortizistas over the final six innings to seal the
win and
the Copa Juntos title.
Valenzuela earned the win after
allowing two runs and striking out six batters over five innings while
Navarro
was awarded the save with a hitless ninth, but the real winners may
have been
the Oaxaca Guerreros. The tournament was a showcase for prospects from
the
Guerreros and Mexico City who'd trained at the Alfredo Harp Helu
Academy in
Oaxaca, but it was the two teams representing the Warriors, who usually
play
second fiddle to the Diablos (both LMB franchises are owned by
billionaire
Harp), playing in the championship game.
In the event's third-place game,
Team Daniel Fernandez topped Team Jose Luis Sandoval, 5-4, as both
teams were
managed by their Salon de la Fama namesakes. Team Nelson Barrera was
managed by
Jose “El Toro” Macias, a former MLB infielder whose son Jose Jr. played
on his
team, while Team Alfrdo Ortiz was led by current Guerreros skipper
Erick
Rodriguez. The Barreras lost six games in a row and were in last place
before a
late surge vaulted them into second heading into the semifinal.
The best all-round batter in the tournament was arguably Omar Zeleny of Team Ortiz, who finished third in batting with a .432 average while leading all hitters with 32 hits, 25 runs scored and nine stolen bases. Team Barrera's Mikell Granberry hit .365 with 31 hits, including 15 doubles and three homers, while driving in 21 runs. Barrera's Gracia had the best ERA at 0.64 while leading in strikeouts with 35 over 28 innings. Bloch of Team Ortiz won three games, finished second with a 1.45 ERA and 31 strikeouts, and was tops in WHIP at 0.84.
