Thousands of articles!
B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Saturday,
March 23, 2020
MLB CANCELS APRIL PADRES-D'BACKS MEXICO SERIES
The outbreak of the coronavirus and
the resulting panic that led to the delay of the Major League Baseball
regular
season has unsurprisingly meant the cancellation of a planned two-game
series
between the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks in Mexico City
next
month. The so-called Mexico Series would've pitted the two National
League West
rivals against each other on the weekend of April 18-19 at Estadio
Alfredo Harp
Helu in Mexico City.
Instead, the two contests will be
rescheduled later in the season in Phoenix, as the Diamondbacks had
relinquished two home dates to make room for the Mexico Series. "It
breaks
our heart we won't be playing in front of the incredible fans in
Mexico,"
a statement from the Arizona front office reads, "but health and safety
come first." A tweet from the Padres states, "Our series in Mexico
City has been cancelled do to the delayed start of the 2020 season. We
look
forward to the next time we are playing in front of our beloved fans in
Mexico." MLB also cancelled a planned three-game series between the New
York Mets and Miami Marlins between April 28-30 at Hiram Bithorn
Stadium in San
Juan, Puerto Rico. No decision has been made yet regarding the fate of
this
June's London Series in England between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis
Cardinals.
The Mexico Series would've marked
the first MLB regular season games ever played in Mexico City, where
the
Diablos Rojos' 20,576-seat ballpark (named after their billionaire
owner)
opened a year ago this Monday when the Diablos hosted a team of Padres
minor
leaguers in front of a full house. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador became
the first
Mexico president to throw out a ceremonial first pitch since 1947 and
Mexico
City's Jesus Fabela scored the first run in the new facility, but the
rest of
the contest belonged to the Padres, who won 11-2 in a game that was
overshadowed by the festivities surrounding it. The Diablos went on to
draw
389,641 fans over 54 regular season games last year (an average of
7,216 per
opening) to finish fourth in the LMB in attendance, trailing only
Tijuana
(11,291), Monterrey (9,770) and Yucatan (8,673). The Toros and Sultanes
led all
of Minor League Baseball in average attendance while the Leones
finished fifth.
Mexico City was 18th overall.
The cancellation of the Mexico City
will cause a financial hit to the host Diablos Rojos. Ticket prices for
the two
games started at 450 pesos (US$18.41) for outfield seats and rose to
3,200
pesos (US$130.95) for VIP seats and 2,500 pesos (US$102.30) to sit
behind home
plate. Ticket refunds are being offered to those who already purchased
their
ducats.
MLB
has
previously held eleven regular season games in Mexico, all at Estadio
de
Beisbol Monterrey, home of the Sultanes. The first was a
Padres-Colorado
Rockies game on April 4, 1999, which brought in a ballpark record
27,104
spectators. A pair of two-game series last year (Cardinals-Red and
Angels-Astros) drew in the 16,000-18,000 range per opening.
MEX
PAC NAMES 2019-20 GOLD GOVE AWARD WINNERS
The Mexican Pacific League has
announced the winners of its 2019-20 season Rawlings Gold Glove awards,
given
annually to players considered the best fielder at their respective
positions.
Four of then ten players receiving honors were members of the LMP
champion
Culiacan Tomateros.
Pitcher of the Year Yoanys Quiala of
Los Mochis aided his own cause by handling 18 chances in the field
without a
miscue in 87.2 innings over 14 starts without to earn the Gold Glove
for
hurlers, his second in a row with the Caneros. As a Culiacan postseason
addition, Quiala was perfect on four chances during his lone start in
the
Caribbean Series.
Two catchers also played errorless
ball in 2019-20 to share the Gold Glove. Jalisco's Gabriel Gutierrez,
already
known as a top-notch receiver, burnished his reputation by not
committing an
error on 458 chances behind the plate. He also nailed 25 of 49
base-stealers
for a 51% mark in that category. Another stalwart defensive backstop,
Mexicali's Xorge Carrillo, was awarded after fielding 376 chances
cleanly in 51
games. Carrillo threw out 17 of 46 base-stealers, a 37 percent rate.
Culiacan anchored the right side of
the LMP's defensive dream team. First baseman Joey Meneses committed
two errors
on 454 opportunities to finish with a .996 fielding percentage.
Meneses, who
hit .332 during the regular season, was flawless in 35 chances in four
games at
the initial hassock during the Caribbean Series and hit .417 before
signing with
Boston after the tournament.
Tomateros second baseman Ramiro
Pena, a favorite of manager Benji Gil, earned top honors at the
keystone
position by turning in a .988 fielding percentage after committing just
three
blunders over 256 chances. The former Yankees infielder, who also had
MLB
stints with Atlanta and San Francisco, handled 24 chances without error
in the
Caribbean Series and turned three double plays.
Jalisco veteran Agustin Murillo is
not a newcomer when it comes to winning Gold Gloves at third base in
the Mex
Pac, and 2019-20 was no exception. Murillo turns 38 in May but showed
no sign
of slowing after augmenting his .314 batting average with a .993
fielding
percentage, committing just one gaffe in 139 chances and taking part in
nine
twin-killings.
Daniel
Castro's glovework is what led to MLB opportunities with both Atlanta
and
Colorado between 2015 and 2018, thus it's no surprise that his work at
shortstop for Mexicali has been rewarded. Castro, who also plays second
and
third, was 261-for-266 in fielding chances for the Aguilas to finish
with a
.981 average after splitting the 2019 season between the Mariners and
Dodgers
systems.
Culiacan players also anchored two
of three positions on the LMP's Gold Glove team. Speedy Rico Noel, who
led the
league in steals (30) and runs scored (47), earned the nod in
centerfield with
a .986 fielding percentage, committing five errors in 138 chances
during the
regular season. He handled 18 chances without sin during the Caribbean
and
started a double play from the outfield.
Tomateros teammate Sebastian
Elizalde was named the Gold Glove rightfielder after recording a .983
fielding
average, committing two errors in 115 chances over 54 regular season
contests.
A former Reds farmhand who played for Mexico in the 2017 World Baseball
Classic, Elizalde played three games in the Serie
del Caribe, fielding eight fly balls cleanly before signing with
the New
York Mets.
Navojoa's Alonzo Harris, the 2019
Mexican League MVP, was given a Gold Glove for his play in left field
for the
Mayos. Harris was 133-for-135 in chances for a .985 fielding percentage
and
threw out six baserunners. The Mississippi native broke into pro ball
in 2008
as a second baseman before being converted into an outfielder as a Mets
minor
leaguer during the 2011 season.
MEXICO
HOLDS FIFTH PLACE IN LATEST WBSC BASEBALL RANKINGS
The World Baseball and Softball
Confederation released its first set of global baseball rankings for
2020 last
Friday. There were no changes among the top six teams, which means
Mexico
maintained its number five ranking from the previous rankings released
on
December 31, 2019. In all, 86 nations were listed.
Japan held on to the top spot with
6,167 total points, providing the Baseball Samurai a comfortable lead
over the
second-ranked United States, who came in with 4,676 points. South Korea
is
breathing down the USA's neck with 4,648 points while Taiwan held on to
fourth
place at 4,385. Mexico's 3,375 points was good enough to keep the fifth
slot
but Australia is not far behind in sixth at 3,249. Cuba and Venezuela
leap-frogged past The Netherlands into seventh and eighth place,
respectively,
while the Dutchmen slipped from seventh to ninth. The Dominican
Republic
rounded out the Top Ten with Puerto Rico hanging on to its #11 ranking
while
Panama slipped past Canada into twelfth on the list as Latin American
countries
make up half of the dozen leading nations on the listing. At the other
end of
the spectrum, Bahrain, Haiti and Iraq were tied for 84th and last with
five points
apiece.
In other categories, Japan also led
in the women's baseball rankings, ahead of Canada, Taiwan and
Venezuela, who
bypassed the USA into fourth place while the Americans dropped to
fifth. Mexico
moved past the Philippines into 14th place in women's baseball. In
men's
softball, Japan holds the top slot in those rankings as well after
slipping
past former #1 Argentina in the latest listing. New Zealand, Canada,
Australia
and the United States round out the top six while Mexico moved up one
berth to
eighth, trailing the seventh-place Czech Republic. In the WBSC women's
softball
rankings, the USA preventing Japan from sweeping all the top spots by
holding
the number one position on that table while Japan stayed in second.
Canada,
Puerto Rico and Mexico complete the first five.
Global rankings from the WBSC are compiled on a points system based on how well respective national teams perform at various levels of competition. Baseball rankings are drawn from the World Baseball Classic and Premier12 events as well as Baseball World Cup tournaments at the U-23, U-18, U-15 and U-12 age groups. Continental events such as Europe's CEB Championships or the Pan-American Games are also included, albeit for fewer points in the ranking system, while co-called friendlies between national teams in non-tournament settings (such as last winter's Samurai Series between Japan and Mexico) round out the points system. Rankings are released on an irregular basis, although the WBSC usually compiles them at least once a year.