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M e x i c o
Monday,
July 27, 2020
SALTILLO
P MITRE CHARGED WITH RAPE, MURDER
Saltillo Saraperos pitcher Sergio
Mitre, a California native who spent all or part of eight seasons in
Major
League Baseball, was arrested and jailed earlier this month on
suspicion of the
rape and murder of the 2-year-old daughter of his teenage live-in
girlfriend.
Mitre was initially arrested in downtown Saltillo early Monday, July 13
by
members of the Criminal Investigation Agency, who booked him into the
Strategic
Operations Center for possession of two bags of marijuana, according to
Saltillo's El Zocalo newspaper. The
rape and murder charges were brought forth two days later.
The 39-year-old Mitre had been
romantically involved for three months with with a 19-year-old woman,
who had a
two-year-old daughter from a prior relationship. Fansided's
David Hill reports that the toddler was taken to a
doctor due to excessive vomiting. She continued vomiting throughout the
day,
when it was discovered during an examination that she also had a
rupture of her
renal artery. The rupture caused the toddler to go into shock before
she died
on July 12, one day before Mitre was first arrested. A subsequent
investigation
by authorities resulted in the added charges on July 15.
Hill adds that this was not the
first time Mitre (who was born in Los Angeles and raised in the San
Diego area)
has run afoul of the law. In August 2019, while pitching for the
Saraperos,
Mitre was arrested on an attempted femicide charge after allegedly
trying to kill
a former girlfriend in a hotel. He was suspended by the team, who'd
signed
Mitre three months earlier following his release from the Dos Laredos
Tecolotes. Local law enforcement authorities eventually set him free
with
orders to wear an electronic tracking bracelet after Mitre paid a fine
of
20,000 pesos (about US$1,000).
The Saraperos issued an official
statement at the time of Mitre's release decrying domestic violence,
but the
team brought him back for 2020 and had the 6'3" righthander making
autograph-signing
appearances and even a promotional video as one of their "faces"
before his July 13 arrest. This time, both the Saraperos and Mexican
League
suspended Mitre shortly after the rape and murder charges were filed.
The Septima Entrada website says "the
Mexican League sent a statement explaining that 'based on the current
regulations of the Mexican Baseball League, the pitcher Sergio
Mitre is
suspended indefinitely while he is under investigation for his alleged
involvement in a serious crime.' In addition to that, in a brief
statement the
squad from Saltillo explained that they disapprove of any act of
violence and
atypical and unacceptable conduct against the values and principles of
society."
Mitre pitched scholastically for
Chula Vista's Montgomery High School (which also produced future MLB
infielder
Oscar Robles, who'll manage Guasave for a second Mexican Pacific League
season
this winter) and San Diego City College before being a seventh round
draft
choice by the Chicago Cubs in 2001. He debuted in MLB two years later
and went
on to post a 13-30 record with a 5.21 ERA in 143 outings (including 64
starts)
for the Cubs, Marlins, Yankees and Brewers between 2003 and 2011. He
appeared
in the 2010 playoffs for New York, pitching in three ALCS games against
eventual champions Texas and turned in a 10.13 ERA over 2.2 innings of
relief
work.
Mitre made his LMB debut with Leon
in 2017 and subsequently bounced to Tijuana and Dos Laredos before
landing in
Saltillo in May 2019. He had an impressive combined record of 12-5 in
19 starts
last year, going 9-3 for manager Roberto Vizcarra's playoff-bound
Saraperos,
but only had a 6.10 ERA to go along with it.
SULTANES
TO PLAY IN MAZATLAN, PEREZ WANTS RELEASE
After weeks of speculation whether
more far-flung Mexican Pacific League teams would choose to play
designated
"home" games closer to the LMP's traditional base near the Sea of
California as a response to expected financial losses due to the Wuhan
virus,
the Monterrey Sultanes announced that they will indeed play half their
2020-21
games in Mazatlan's Estadio Teodoro Mariscal. And they may not be the
last team
to share a ballpark this winter. Monterrey is located in the
northeastern state
of Nuevo Leo, 446 miles by air to Culiacan, the Sultanes' closest Mex
Pac
rival.
The El Jonronero website reports that the
Sultanes stand to save
4,000,000 pesos (US$179,488) in air travel expenses alone by setting up
their
winterball shop in the Pearl of the Pacific, where the hometown Venados
only
recently put their ongoing dispute with the City of Mazatlan on hold in
order
to use the 16,000-seat ballpark for the upcoming Mex Pac season and
2021
Caribbean Series. Monterrey's front office determined they would be
better off
cutting down travel costs should they only be allowed to play home
games in
front of 30% of Estadio Monterrey's 22,000-seat capacity, let alone if
no fans
will be let into ballparks this winter.
Estadio Teorodo Mariscal will get
quite a workout with the Sultanes and Venados combing to use it six
days a week
throughout the regular season. A schedule is reportedly being worked
out to
avoid any conflicts on dates from the October 13 LMP opener through the
end of
December, but things could get interesting if the two teams qualify to
play on
the same side of the bracket for the January playoffs (e.g., both teams
gain
home-field advantage during simultaneous series).
According to Puro Beisbol editor Fernando
Ballesteros, the Mexicali Aguilas may
try to move home games from the border city to Hermosillo and share
Estadio
Sonora with the Naranjeros while the Guadalajara-based Jalisco Charros
may
attempt the same and shift home dates to Culiacan, splitting dates at
that
ballpark with the defending champion Tomateros. Ballesteros adds that
Charros
ownership is less likely to seek such a move, given their commitments
to
Guadalajara and support the team has already received from the state in
order
to stay put.
Like all LMP franchises, the
Sultanes are looking to save money where they can, and that includes on
player
payroll. One of Monterrey's best hitters from last winter's inaugural
Mex Pac
season, outfielder Felix Perez, is already balking at a pay cut for
2020-21 and
has asked the team to release his rights so he might be able to seek a
better
deal somewhere else. Perez, who hit .270 with 10 homers and 48 RBIs in
69 games
last winter, may have a hard time doing that in Mexico since most teams
are
hoping to slash salaries from 40 to 60 percent this season to help make
up for
the expected revenue shortfall. "Unfortunately, we are not on the same
page," Perez told the Monterrey Board of Directors. "My family comes
before money. If you don't respect that, I'm sorry to tell you that I
decline
the offer you made to me and await my release. You can find another
player.
Blessings."
A former Cincinnati Reds farmhand
who played for the NPB Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2016, Perez may not
have many
options after originally accepting the Sultanes offer. The 35-year-old
veteran
is a native of Cuba, where salaries are guaranteed to not be on a par
with even
a slashed LMP paycheck, and other winter leagues in Puerto Rico, the
Dominican
Republic and especially Venezuela were dealing with their own financial
struggles and declining attendance even before the panicdemic began
earlier
this year.
ALONZO
HARRIS TO OBREGON AS LMP TRADING HEATS UP
As Mexican Pacific League teams gear
up for an anticipated 2020-21 season set to open October 13, the
reigning
Mexican League Most Valuable Player was one of four recognizable names
involved
in trades last week. Outfielder Alonzo Harris, who had a 2019 season
for the
ages with Oaxaca, was shipped by the Navojoa Mayos to Obregon for first
baseman
Xavier Scruggs, who can also play outfielder.
The 31-year-old Harris was named MVP
for the LMB after batting .343 for the Guerreros with 39 homers, 45
stolen
bases, scoring 135 times and driving in 117 runs over 119 games,
narrowly
failing to become the first player in Liga history with 40 homers and
40 steals
in the same season. Harris did not do nearly as well for the Mayos last
winter,
posting a .237 average with four homers and 14 RBIs in 67 contests,
although he
did score 37 runs and swipe 19 bases. He's currently playing for St.
Paul in
the American Association, which just got its season underway last week.
Scruggs, 32, spent parts of three
MLB seasons with St. Louis and Miami between 2014-16, batting .227 with
one
homer in 50 games. He had much more success in the Cardinals and
Marlins minor
league systems, belting a career 169 homers over nine seasons, topping
20
homers six times in seven years. Scruggs also played two seasons in
South Korea
with the NC Dinos, averaging 30 homers and 104 ribbies between 2017 and
2018
before joining the Mexican League's Yucatan Leones last year, posting
.262/11/31
numbers over 57 games. Last winter, playing for both Mexicali and
Obregon,
Scruggs hit .208 with 8 homers and 18 RBIs in 45 outings.
In the other high-profile Mex Pac
swap last week, the Monterrey Sultanes dealt infielder Michael Wing to
Culiacan
for left-handed pitcher Romario Gil. A 31-year-old Californian, Wing
played
with the Angels and Padres systems between 2007 and 2012 before
spending
another three summers playing independent ball in Frontier League and
American
Association. He was out of organized basaeball in 2016 before heading
south of
the border and hitting stride with the Mexican League's Aguascalientes
Rieleros. In three years as the Railroaders' third baseman, Wing has
hit .368
with 51 homers and 211 RBIs in 217 games while playing in last year's
LMB
All-Star Game. He struggled with the Sultanes last winter, batting .223
with
four homers, and will go to Culiacan on loan while his rights are
retained by
Monterrey. Wing can also play second base and shortstop.
The only "youngster" involved in the two swaps, the 25-year-old Gil was traded by his hometown Tomateros after a disappointing 2019-20 season during which he only won one of six starts with an ERA of 5.92. He did not pitch for the LMP champions during the Caribbean Series in Puerto Rico, completing a remarkable drop in effectiveness after having been the Mexican League's 2018 Rookie of the Year for the Puebla Pericos. Gil was a combined 4-2 for the Parakeets over two short seasons that year. As happened with so many Pericos players when Gerardo Benavides owned both the Puebla and Monclova teams, Gil found himself with the Acereros last year. He had a winning record at 5-1 for Monclova and was named to the All-Star Game, but his ERA ballooned to 5.86 after being under 3.00 in 2018, he was placed on the Steelers' reserve list four times during the season and was dealt to Campeche during the offseason.
