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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Monday,
July 6, 2020
MEXICAN
LEAGUE CANCELS 2020 SEASON
As reported on BBM last week, the
Mexican League has decided to cancel the 2020 season over concerns due
to the
Wuhan virus. The death toll attributed to the pandemic in Mexico passed
the
30,000 mark over the weekend out of a total of more than 255,000
confirmed
infections. The China-bred virus has been particularly problematic in
Mexico
City, where both the LMB office and the Liga's flagship Diablos Rojos
franchise
are located.
In March, the LMB ordered training
camps for all 16 teams to close while postponing the scheduled regular
season,
which had been scheduled to open April 6 in Monclova with the defending
champion Acereros were to host rival Monterrey. After much subsequent
discussion
among team owners and federal health officials (during which Liga
president
Horacio de la Vega stated more than once that the loop could not afford
to play
games in empty ballparks), an August 7 date was given for an
abbreviated
48-game regular season followed by a 12-team playoff that would last
into
November.
However, speculation in the Mexican
media last week that the season was on the verge of being canceled
became
reality on Wednesday, July 1, when the LMB office issued a statement
calling things
off. Unsurprisingly, reactions were swiftly delivered. The translated
statement
is available in its entirety in the BBM archives.
Two LMB players expressed opinions
on Twitter. A 22-year veteran, Aguascalientes designated hitter Saul
Soto, who
finished the 2019 season with 288 career Mexican League homers, was
philosophical but wishes something more could have been done to help
the people
affected: "If
the decision made by the LMB was 'no' to
play in 2020, I know it would be for the health and good of everyone,
but I
also think that in team meetings, a general plan would have to come out
to help
all of us who depend on this beautiful sport." Soto, who turns 42 in
August, hit .268 and belted 22 homers for the Rieleros last year.
Campeche second baseman Jasson
Atondo, who was entering his sixth Liga season, called out observers he
felt
were happy the circuit decided not to play this year: "There
are many who gloriously celebrate that there will be no LMB. Have you
thought
about how many people will stop receiving a salary for that? Players,
coaching
staff, batboys, writers, umpires, security guards, lockers, vendors,
seat
ushers, janitors and more." The 24-year-old Atondo was the Mexican
Pacific
League's Rookie of the Year playing with Hermosillo in 2018-19.
People like Soto and Atondo were not
the only ones expressing their thoughts. Dos Laredos Tecolotes owner
Jose
Antonio Mansur was quoted on the El Fildeo website as saying
players
need to do a better job of saving money: "With
all my love and respect
for the players, I would say 'gentlemen, learn to save!' They do
very
well. According to the payrolls of the teams, on average they earn
between
150,000 and 200,000 pesos (US$6,700-9,000) a month. It is a good
salary.”
Mansur added that players "should not attack the owners so much on
social
media, as if they did not have interesting salaries." Last week's
official
statement reads, in part, that "The LMB and its 16 teams
agree to provide financial support to the players, as well as to the
umpires," but does not specify any numbers.
The decision
has left players scrambling for teams to earn a living with, with one
in
particular choosing to play in Cuba, which seems an odd choice at first
glance.
Yucatan outfielder Yadir Drake has agreed to suit up for Matanzaz
Cocodrilos of
the Cuban National Series, beginning in August. The 2017 Mexican League
batting
champion is a Matanzas native who will spend two months with his
hometown team
before reporting to the Guasave Algodoneros in October for the LMP
season. Drake
was a catcher from 2009-11 for the Cocodrilos, who won their first CNS
title in
28 years last winter, and is returning home next month to fulfill a
promise to
his grandmother, according to Andy Yan of SwingCompleto.com.
El Fildeo adds
that the Puebla Pericos are looking
into starting their own winterball league for players without a place
to play
in the Mex Pac. According to Pericos vice president Alfonso Lopez, the
proposed
loop would contain three teams with games to begin October 10 at
Estadio Hermanos
Serdan in Puebla, which would host all contests. The Veracruz Winter
League,
long an alternative for players not in the LMP, did not operate last
winter and
does not appear ready to fire back up for 2020-21.
MEX
PAC HOPING TO OPEN
WINTERBALL CAMPAIGN OCTOBER 12
Although the Mexican League will not
play a game in 2020 for the first time in its 95-year history, their
winterball
counterparts in northwest Mexico are planning to start their upcoming
season on
time. Mexican Pacific League president Omar Canizales will hold a
videoconference this week with his ten team owners to confirm October
12 as the
LMP's inaugural date for the 2020-21 season, contingent on health
authorities
giving the green light for games.
Puro
Beisbol editor
Fernando Ballesteros reports that people from three LMP clubs have told
him the
league plans to start up in three months, although all ten teams must
sign off
on the proposal. The Mex Pac's starting date has been a fluid one
because the
Junior Circuit had been waiting to see what the Mexican League was
going to do
before committing to setting their own schedule. With the LMB deciding
last
week to go dark, the calendar opened up for the LMP and allowed them to
plan
the schedule within their traditional timeframe of three months
(October
through December) for the regular season and January for a three-tiered
playoff.
Unlike the Mexican League, which has
no large television presence to help underwrite costs that might have
allowed
them to play in front of empty stands, the LMP signed a contract with
England-based SKY Sports last winter that will help lessen the
financial losses
that Canizales has said will occur this winter, although Ballesteros is
optimistic that teams will break even. SKY Sports is contracted to
stream all Mex
Pac games live this winter. The cost of a SKY subscription is currently
just
over $US42. Puro Beisbol states that
each Mex Pac team is expected to receive between 12 and 15 million
pesos
($US$54,000-67,000) from the league office, an amount that will greatly
benefit
teams in smaller markets with smaller bank accounts like the Navojoa
Mayos, Los
Mochis Caneros and Guasave Algdoneros.
Although the SKY Sports contract
should provide a financial shot in the arm to LMP teams, the debate
continues
over whether only Mexican players should be allowed this season.
Although the
ten owners have been split down the middle over the issue (the more
well-off
franchises want to bring in more expensive extraneros
while the less-affluent clubs prefer more affordable homegrown
talent),
Ballesteros indicates a majority of owners may now be in favor of
allowing
imports. The topic will no doubt be brought up Wednesday.
One more item that will likely be
discussed is the situation in Mazatlan, where a June 30 deadline from
the
Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CBPC) to resolve the
ongoing
dispute between the Venados and the City regarding control of Estadio
Teodoro
Mariscal for the coming season, including the Caribbean Series in late
January.
Ruben Castro of ESPN Deportes writes
that the Venados have sent Mazatlan mayor Luis Guillermo Benitz Torres
what
they call a "very balanced agreement" between the two sides with
advantages to neither in which the team seeks the ballpark "on loan"
through the end of the Serie del Caribe.
The agreement is said to leave all litigation between City and team in
place
until after a judge can hear the dispute in court.
Sinaloa governor Quirino Ordaz
Coppel reportedly assured on radio that the Caribbean Series will be
held in
Mazatlan, but Castro says the LMP Assembly of Presidents are ready to
select
another venue for the Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball if an agreement is
not in
place when they convene their videoconference on Wednesday.
WBSC
U-23 WORLD CUP
POSTPONED UNTIL 2021
The Mexican League was not the only
baseball-related activity south of the border to go by the wayside last
week.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation postponed its Under-23
Baseball World
Cup, which had been scheduled to take place September 30 through
October 9 in
both Obregon and Los Mochis (with the majority of games going to
Obregon's
Estadio Yaquis). The tournament has been rescheduled for September 24
through
October 3, 2021.
The following is adapted from a WBSC
press release of June 20:
The World Baseball Softball
Confederation (WBSC), together with the Mexican Baseball Federation and
respective Local Organizing Committee (LOC), has announced the
postponement of
the 2020 WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup to September 24 to October 3,
2021, in
consideration of the global health and safety measures and travel
limitations
pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic.
The world-championship event had
been set to
take place this year from September 30 to October 9 in the
Mexican cities of Ciudad Obregon and Los Mochis.
“As we continue to monitor the
COVID-19 pandemic, the WBSC, as well as our hosts and all concerned
stakeholders,
consider the rescheduling of the U-23 Baseball World Cup to 2021 to be
the best
and safest course of action,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.
“While today’s decision is
disappointing, I am confident that our Mexican hosts next year will be
able to
deliver the best-ever U-23 Baseball World Cup, where fans can fill the
stadiums
and cheer on their favorite National Teams, building upon the wave of
momentum
for our sport in the weeks following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“The WBSC thanks the local
authorities, PROBEIS and CONADE as well as the baseball officials in
Mexico --
including our colleagues from the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) and the
Mexican
Pacific League (LMP) -- for their support and collaboration.”
The venue plan of the U-23
Baseball World Cup includes the 16,000-seat Estadio Yaquis, which
opened in
2016 and is the home of the Yaquis de Obregon of the Mexican Pacific
League
(LMP), and the recently renovated Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada, home of
the
LMP’s Caņeros de Los Mochis.
The 12 qualified teams
competing for baseball’s world title in the U-23 category will remain
as
follows:
Africa
(1): No. 24 South Africa
Americas (4): No. 5 Mexico, No. 7 Cuba, No. 8 Venezuela, No. 15
Nicaragua
Asia (3): No. 1 Japan, No. 4 Taiwan and No. 22 China
Europe (2): No. 16 Czech Republic and No. 19 Germany
Oceania (1): No. 39 New Zealand
Wild Card (1): No. 3 South Korea
Mexico won the last U-23
Baseball World Cup, which was held in Barranquilla, Colombia, in
October 2018.
It was Mexico’s first-ever official world title in the sport of
baseball.
Previous U-23 Baseball World
Cups have included the top young professional players from clubs
affiliated to
the Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professional Baseball
League
(CPBL), Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Major League Baseball (MLB),
Mexican
Baseball League (LMB), Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League, Nippon
Professional Baseball (NPB), in addition to other leagues around the
world.
The WBSC, together with the
respective Mexican host, will continue to monitor and review the timing
of the
U-15 Baseball World Cup (October 30-November 8) and the Women’s
Baseball World
Cup (November 12-21), both in Tijuana.
