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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Monday,
June 15, 2020
CITY
OF MAZATLAN OKAYS 2021 SERIE DEL CARIBE
Several weeks after evicting the
Mazatlan Venados from Estadio Teodoro Mariscal for violations of their
lease,
the City of Mazatlan has announced that the Mexican Pacific League team
will be
allowed to use the ballpark for the upcoming 2020-21 season, including
hosting
the 2021 Caribbean Series in early February.
The City physically escorted Venados
front office employees out the stadium in early April, locking the
facility up
after it had been cleared out. The government claims the team had
violated a
number of conditions of their ballpark lease, including sponsorship of
local
basketball players and boxers and delivering Venados game tickets to
senior
citizens. The team was also asked to let the City use the ballpark to
deliver
services to seniors in relation to the Wuhan Virus outbreak, but
refused the
request.
The imbroglio led to concerns that
the Caribbean Series would be moved out of Mazatlan if things were not
resolved
soon, with the Pan American Baseball Confederation (COPABE) giving the
Mex Pac
until the end of this month to broker a truce between the warring sides.
On Saturday, the Mazatlan City
Council released this (translated) statement promising cooperation in
allowing
the Venados to return for the LMP season and that the Caribbean Series,
which
brings tourism money to host cities, may go ahead as planned:
The Municipal Government and Mayor Luis Benitez Torres
express their commitment to guarantee all the facilities and the
granting of
permits for the 2020-2021 season of the Mexican Pacific League and the
Caribbean Series 2021 at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal.
The City Council and the Mayor
know the importance of sports culture and the economic and tourist
impact that
both baseball tournaments represent for the Mazatlan fans and for the
municipality itself.
For this reason, this
Government is open to communication with the company "Espectaculos
Costa
del Pacifico" and with the Caribbean Professional Baseball
Confederation
to reach agreements for the holding of the two sporting events here in
Mazatlán.
The Municipal President
expresses our will to grant the right to use, enjoy and enjoy the
facilities of
Estadio Teodoro Mariscal as well as any authorization for local
activities,
thereby guaranteeing that there is no impediment to holding such
tournaments.
These measures are considered
convenient for the benefit of society between the exploitation of a
property in
the public domain and the social, sports and tourist benefit of
Mazatlecos.
Although the statement appears
to give the go-ahead for business as usual at the ballpark, it's also
notable
for what it DOESN'T say. There is no mention of resumption of the lease
between
the Venados and the City, nor is anything said about a contract pulled
by the
City from team owner Jose Antonio Toledo that has allowed his family
control of
ballpark concessions since 1980 before purchasing the team 25 years
later.
While there does seem to be a truce, it promises to be an uneasy one.
Relations between the Venados
and Mazatlan leaders soured quickly after Estadio Teodoro Mariscal
reopened in
October 2018 following a US$18 million renovation, when drinking water
to the
facility was shut off in the wake of a discovery that the team had
created a
clandestine drinking system there.
TOROS
PLAN TO RE-OPEN CAMP JULY
15 IN OAXACA
With an August 7 date tentatively
set for finally beginning the 2020 Mexican League season, the Tijuana
Toros
were planning to re-open their training camp on July 15 in the southern
state
of Oaxaca. The Toros were training in Tempe, Arizona in mid-March when
the LMB
office ordered all 16 teams to close their camps and put the regular
season on
hold after the Wuhan virus appeared in Mexico and started claiming
lives. As of
last weekend, the number of confirmed cases of the Wuhan virus topped
139,000
nationwide, with over 16,000 deaths attributed to it (over 4,000 of
them in
Mexico City alone).
Toros sports director Oscar
Romero, a former LMB pitcher whose son (Oscar Junior) is an 18-year-old
third
baseman in the Tijuana organization, said that Oaxaca was the most
logical
place for the team to spend three weeks prepping for the delayed
season.
"This is more or less how the
panorama is and all the teams are making the maximum effort so that we
have the
season with the necessary protocols," the elder Romero was quoted as
saying on the El Fildeo website. "Our number one option is to train in
the
city of Oaxaca and it's for several reasons. The first is that they
have the
proper facilities there to do a good workout."
Besides being home to the
Guerreros of the LMB, Oaxaca is also the site of a baseball academy
owned and
operated by Alfredo Harp Helu, who owns both the Guerreros and Mexico
City
Diablos Rojos. All three teams are expected to use the facility for
training
and warmup games until the regular season opens.
Tijuana is considered one of
the preseason favorites to win the LMB North Division championship and
a
contender for copping the Serie de Rey.
First-year manager Omar Vizquel will field a veteran outfit including
everyday
players like first baseman Ricky Alvarez, second baseman Isaac
Rodriguez and
outfielder Jesus "Cacao" Valdez with catching tandem Xorge Carrillo
and Gabriel Gutierrez receiving pitches from Yoanys Quiala, Manny
Barreda,
James Russell and closer Jake Sanchez.
Vizquel takes the reins in
Tijuana from Oscar Robles, who managed the Toros to a 75-45 record in
2019 to
tie Monclova for the LMB's best regular season record before falling to
the
Acereros in the LMB North Championship Series in seven games. Monclova
went on
to win their first pennant by beating Yucatan in the Serie
del Rey. After a playing career likely to land him in
Cooperstown as a sweet-fielding shortstop and timely batter, Vizquel
managed
two seasons in the Chicago White Sox system before parting ways with
the Chisox
after serving as dugout boss in AA Birmingham last year and is no doubt
aware
that Tijuana ownership will likely not accept anything short of the
city's
first pennant since 2017.
Meanwhile, Romero allows that
the August 7 target for inaugural Liga games is a tentative one. "The
first days of July are contemplated approximately to define whether or
not
there will be a 2020 season," he told El
Fildeo, "and all this is conditioned on improving the difficult
situation that we are going through with this pandemic."
KBO
HOMER
LEADER RAMOS SHELVED WITH ANKLE, BACK PAIN
Hermosillo native Roberto Ramos'
sensational debut season in the Korea Baseball Organization has been
placed on
hold after the LG Twins slugger was placed on the injured list last
week with
ankle and back problems. Ramos had played both games of a doubleheader
on
Thursday before the decision was made to sit him down for at least a
three-game
home series last weekend with the Busan Lotte Giants.
At the time he was shelved by
the Seoul-based team last Friday, Ramos was leading the KBO with 13
homers
while sitting in third place in both batting average (.391) and runs
batted in
(31). His .777 slugging percentage and 1.226 on-base plus slugging
percentage
both ranked second as Ramos was a prime reason the Twins were tied for
second
with the defending champion Doosan Bears in the standings at 21-12,
four games
behind the 25-8 NC Dinos.
"He had some discomfort
in his right ankle after the double header, and he woke up this morning
with a
sore back," Twins manager Ryu Jong-Il said about Ramos in his pregame
media availability Friday. "He took an injection in his back. We'll see
how his recovery goes, but it looks like he won't be available this
weekend." In Ramos' absence, the Twins called up first baseman Kim
Ho-Eun
from the minors. A 2016 sixth round draft pick, Kim made his KBO debut
over the
weekend.
The KBO has instituted a new
procedure for injuries in 2020. Previously, whenever the league removed
a
player from their active roster due to an injury, they were required to
sit for
at least ten days before being reactivated. Now, there is no minimum
number of
days to remain out of the lineup, theoretically allowing a player
placed on the
IL on Friday night to sit one one game on Saturday before returning to
the
lineup Sunday afternoon.
Born in Hermosillo, the 25-year-old
Ramos was a 2014 draft pick of the Colorado Rockies out of College of
the Canyons
in California. He spent six years in the Rockies farm system, socking
98 homers
and batting .292 (including 30 longballs and 105 RBIs with a .309
average last
season for AAA Albuquerque in the Pacific Coast League). Ramos signed a
one-year free agent contract with the Twins in the offseason for
$400,000 with
a $50,000 signing bonus.
Ramos has played parts of six
winterball seasons with his hometown Hermosillo Naranjeros, but without
the
same level of success that he's seen during the summer. Over 175
Mexican
Pacific League games, he's hit .253 with 26 roundtrippers and 88
ribbies.
