Thousands of articles!
B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Saturday,
March 16, 2020
CORONAVIRUS PANIC DELAYS LMB SEASON FIVE WEEKS
When fears over the coronavirus
grounded every other professional baseball league around the world to a
halt,
the Mexican League still expected to begin their 2020 schedule on April
6 as
planned. That changed Saturday morning when the LMB office ordered all
preseason camps among its 16 teams closed and delayed its season
openers until
Monday, May 11, five weeks after the original date.
The Class A Northern Mexico League suspended
its camps and season one day later.
Virtually every professional and
collegiate sports league in the United States had suspended operations
by the
end last week after the number of COVID-19 cases in the USA rose to
nearly
3,000 over the weekend, with 60 deaths reported. Worldwide, the numbers
stand
at a combined 157,000 active and closed cases and over 5,800 deaths,
with
coronavirus source nation China accounting for more than half of both
figures.
Mexico, on the other hand, has thus far remained relatively untouched
by what
the World Health Organization recently declared a "pandemic." As of
Saturday, there were just 26 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (22 active)
with one
person listed in serious or critical condition, but no deaths thus far.
Mexico's total cases among its
population of over 100,000,000 stands at 0.2 per million residents, one
of the
lowest rates in the world. Conversely, nine countries have over 100
cases per
million (with Italy at 349.6), with South Korea leading nations with
pro
baseball leagues at 159.2 per million with 75 deaths. The United States
is down
the list at 9.0 per million total cases with 60 deaths, Japan is at 6.4
with 22
fatalities and Taiwan (whose Chinese Professional Baseball League is
the most
recent play-for-pay circuit to postpone their openers) shows 2.2 cases
per
million with two deaths. Besides Italy, Europe's other pro loop,
Holland's Hoofdklasse, has suspended operations as
The Netherlands shows 56 cases per million with 12 deaths.
With such relatively low numbers
south of the border, the LMB was the last league standing, although
some teams
had adjusted their training camp venues and/or schedules as a
precautionary
measure. The Tijuana Toros, for instance abandoned their preseason work
at
South Mountain Community College in Tempe, Arizona last Friday in
response to
an alert from the state government ordering (among other things) the
closure of
all schools. The Toros arrived in Tempe on March 1 and planned to spend
the
entire month training in the Phoenix suburb. Instead, they broke camp
after
less than two weeks.
Even so, Mexican League teams were
working their way toward their respective openers, with Monclova
defeating
Leon, 9-5, last Wednesday in the Liga's first exhibition game of the
year at
the LMB Academy near Monterrey as Jeremy Martinez homered for the
defending
champions. Ultimately, however, it appears that governmental pressure
generated
by coronavirus fears led the league office to issue a statement on
Saturday
morning that opened: The
Mexican Baseball League (LMB)
reports that the preseason of all the teams that make up our circuit is
officially suspended and the start of the 2020 season is postponed to
Monday,
May 11, 2020; as long as there is no new notice, in accordance with the
health
authorities of the Federal Government.
The postponement comes at a
difficult time for the Mexican League, which had already shortened its
regular
season schedule to 102 games and are facing the potential loss of 30
games
during their five-week dark period. As outlined in last week's BBM post
of Proceso's Beatriz Pereyra's interview
with new LMB president Horacio de la Vega, the league office is already
cash-strapped (as are many, if not most, of its teams), and the loss of
up to
240 games' worth of revenue will not help matters. However, public
safety
concerns are taking precedence as Mexicans brace themselves for their
country's
first fatality from COVID-19.
LMB
PLAYER UNREST BUBBLING DUE TO SALARY CAP, DQ LIST
Labor relations between the Mexican
League and its players has historically been tenuous at best, with a
1980
midseason strike leading to the creation of a six-team splinter league
that
finished out the year with an abbreviated schedule among the more
obvious
examples of tensions bubbling over. While things have been quieter over
recent
seasons, a pair of issues irritating the players have surfaced and led
to
renewed calls for a players union.
One such issue is the imposition of
an LMB team salary cap of five million pesos per month, equal to
approximately
US$250,000. On the surface, that doesn't appear to be an unreasonable
limit in
a league with teams carrying 35 men (30 of them active) on their
rosters, which
would work out to an average of US$7,143 per player. That's competitive
with
Class AAA salaries north of the border, where first-year players earn a
minimum
of US$2,140 per month, and enough to live quite well south of it.
However, as
is often the case with Mexican baseball, it's not that simple.
In the first place, even though
there's a monthly salary cap of 5,000,000 pesos in place, not all teams
can
afford to pay that much. Wealthier franchises like Mexico City,
Monterrey,
Tijuana and Monclova have no problem coming up with that kind of money
for
payroll, but less prosperous teams like Tabasco, Aguascalientes and
Union
Laguna simply don't generate enough revenue to pay their players as
well as
their richer Liga counterparts. The Durango Generales, for example,
generated
stories during their first LMB season in 2017 when they sometimes went
weeks
without paying players, leading some to force trades by either sitting
out
games or making similar threats; it's how Daniel Mayora ended up in
Monterrey
(winning the batting title) and MVP candidate Yadier Drake landed in
Japan.
Secondly, not every player is going
to be paid the same. While some players, especially extraneros
with major league experience, can command salaries
higher than US$10,000 per month (does anyone think Monclova is paying
Bartolo
Colon less?), many others will earn half that amount or less,
particularly
Mexican-born players with less experience and no option of signing with
an MLB
organization because their rights are owned by their LMB team. The
divide
between the haves and have-nots is creating friction among the latter,
many of
whom may be earning about 50,000 pesos (US$2,500) per month.
Another point of contention has been
the existence of a list of Restricted Players who are disqualified for
the 2020
season because they did not sign a contract with their LMB by a
specified date.
Here is the list of eight Restricted players (each of whom has at least
three
years of experience), released by the Mexican League last week:
Hector
Ambriz, P, Saltillo Saraperos
Leo
German, OF, Dos Laredos Tecolotes
Demetrio
Gutierrez, P, Campeche Piratas
Carlos
Mendivil, C, Saltillo Saraperos
Jorge
Quinones, P, Aguascalientes Rieleros
Alex
Sanabia, P, Aguascalientes Rieleros
Zack
Segovia, P, Leon Bravos
Kenneth
Sigman, P, Dos Laredos Tecolotes
None of the above are considered
stars, although Ambriz, Sanabia and Segovia have pitched in the majors
while
German emerged with a .322 average and 10 homers for the Tecos in 2019
after
several years as a substitute with Monterrey. However, baseball IS how
they
earn a living, they're now in effect blacklisted by the Mexican League
for
missing a signing deadline and some aren't taking it silently.
On
Twitter, German called the Restricted List a "disgrace," adding that
"Mexicans are the ones who get the worst treatment." Mendivil, a
reserve catcher for the past seven years, decried the lack of a players
union
in Mexico, saying "there
is no organization of players who fight
for what is fair for each one as a professional baseball player."
Outrage was not limited to the
affected players. Pitcher Hector Velazquez, an Obregon native
recently
picked up on waivers by Baltimore after going 11-7 over parts of three
years
with Boston, sent out three tweets blasting the listings, saying it was
"outrageous and that it can't be possible that they (LMB) have left the
Mexican players out of work."
Leon first baseman Jesse Castillo, a
two-time Liga MVP, added his voice to Mendivil's in advocating for a
players
union and calling upon Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador,
the
nation's highest-ranking baseball fan, to step in. "If you want to set
a
precedent, Senor Presidente, the moment has arrived," said Castillo.
"The players need to be protected by a union so this does not happen in
our baseball."
FELIX
PIE, EX-ROY ROMARIO GIL SIGN WITH CAMPECHE
Although the Mexican League season
will be delayed until at least mid-May, the Campeche Piratas have made
a couple
of roster moves that figure to make the Walled City nine more
competitive. The
Buccaneers recently signed former Major League outfielder Felix Pie and
2018
Rookie of the Year Romario Gil as free agents under new manager
Francisco
Campos.
The 35-year-old Pie figures to make
an immediate impact in the Campeche lineup once play begins. Once
ranked by Baseball America as the top prospect in
the Cubs' minor league system, Pie made his MLB debut with Chicago as a
22-year-old in 2007. Although the Dominican-born son of Haitian
immigrants went
on to play all or part of six MLB seasons with the Cubs, Orioles and
Pirates,
Pie never fulfilled his early promise although there were occasional
flashes of
brilliance along the way. After his final big league appearance in
2013, he
spent the next year in South Korea and hit .326 with 17 homers and 92
RBIs for
the Hanwha Eagles. He also spent time in Taiwan before coming to Mexico
in 2018
with Leon.
Over the past two years as the
Bravos' leftfielder, Pie hit a combined .356 with 38 homers and 141
RBIs over
192 games. He's expected to jumpstart a Piratas lineup that finished
15th in
the LMB in scoring (5.38 runs per game), 14th in batting (.295) and
11th in
homers (130). He'll round out an outfield that includes speedy CF Jay
Austin
(.329 with 15 homers and 31 steals) and well-traveled veteran RF Olmo
Rosario
(.321 with 12 homers), whose 18-year career has taken him to five
countries,
including a couple of .300+ seasons in Italy.
Expectations aren't quite as high
for the 25-year-old Gil, a 6'1" lefty from Culiacan who made his
Mexican
League debut with five appearances for Monclova in 2017. One year
later, he was
selected as the Liga's top rookie after being loaned to Puebla and
going a
combined 6-2 in 17 starts over two short seasons, including a 4-0
ledger with a
2.47 ERA in the Fall campaign for the Pericos. Sensing that Gil might
be ready
to help his Acereros, Monclova owner Gerardo Benavides brought him back
to
"The Furnace." Although the 221-pounder did go 5-1 for the eventual
league champions, his 5.86 ERA was less than impressive and after
spending July
on the disabled list, Gil was demoted to the bullpen for the rest of
the
season. Things went no better last winter with Gil's hometown Tomateros
even
though he pitched for the Mexican Pacific League champs, as he recorded
a 1-5
record and a 5.92 ERA in six starts for Benji Gil's team.
The bar will be set far lower in Gil's new surroundings as he goes from pitching for two pennant-winning teams to one that last flew a title flag in 2004. He's presently on the Piratas reserve list and was starting out in the bullpen under pitching coach Isidro Marquez (the LMB's all-time saves leader) when training camp was suspended last weekend, and may be given a shot at a spot in the starting rotation when play resumes. He may be an improvement for a team with a collective 6.26 earned-run average last year, although Campeche pitchers miraculously combined for eight shutouts in 2019.