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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Monday,
March 29, 2021
LMB
ANNOUNCES RULES CHANGES FOR 2021 SEASON
The Mexican League has announced
that some rule changes will be implemented during the upcoming 2021
season,
which will begin on May 20 and will consist of 66 regular season games
for each
club prior to commencing a four-tiered, 12-team playoff in August.
One of the rule changes will be
regarding the intentional walk, which will again require four pitches
to the
plate. According to an LMB press release detailing the rule changes,
this is
due to the fact that an evaluation was carried out as to whether the
elimination of the four pitches reduced the duration of the games. The
study
determined that there was no relevant impact. Because of this, leaders
of
Mexico's senior circuit determined that since a traditional intentional
walk
involves four pitches in which the ball is alive and in play, there are
many
possibilities of plays that can arise from each one. Thus, it will be
returned
to the obligation to pitch the batter.
Each club will be entitled to six
visits to the mound without changing pitchers during a nine-inning
game.
Regarding any extra innings that are played, teams will be entitled to
an extra
visit to the mound each frame without changing pitchers.
In another measure meant to help
speed up the games for the 2021 season, pitchers will be required to
face a
minimum of three consecutive batters, including a batter in the midst
of a
plate appearance (or any pinch-hitter). The three-batter minimum will
apply until
said batters are put out or reach base, or until the team's offensive
opportunity runs out. An exception will be granted if the starting
pitcher or
reliever suffers an injury that (in the judgment of the main umpire)
makes them
unable to continue in the game.
Last Friday, sports managers and
managers around the loop began four seminars on updating the game
rules. LMB
chief umpire Luis Alberto Ramírez will teach these courses in which
they will
also address rules regarding the infield fly, balk, obligation of
pitchers to
face three consecutive batters and visits of managers, coaches or
player to the
pitcher's mound.
One unrelated element of the press
release from the LMB head office in Mexico City was that the text
referred to
“16 clubs” instead the 18 teams playing
this season. A typo, perhaps, but a further look at the Mexican
League's
website shows only 16 teams in the directory, with neither expansion
Guadalajara nor Veracruz mentioned even though the two franchises were
announced by Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at a press
conference in the National Palace in the capital city nearly four
months ago.
The virtual gathering included no
personnel from the Liga office, including LMB president Horacio de la
Vega,
which suggests that de la Vega was not on board with an expansion that
may have
been Lopez Obrador's idea. The Mexican League Board of Presidents did
approve
both new teams in late January, a month after the press conference.
Both new LMB teams WERE included in
the master 2021 season schedule, although the name “Jalisco” is used
instead of
“Guadalajara.” While the change may have made it easier to include the
Mariachis within the space allotted in the schedule, the team's name
has been
at least a minor issue with the mayor of Zapopan, Pedro Lemus, who said
in
December that in order for the Mariachis to play at Estadio Charros
(owned and
operated in the suburban municipality by Jalisco's Mexican Pacific
League
franchise), they would be required to change their name from
“Guadalajara” to
“Jalisco” to reflect the state's identity.
Although Veracruz appears to be
moving along towards their May opener, from the naming of manager Leo
Rodriguez
and the signing of players to renovations on Estadio Beto Avila, things
are
moving at a slower pace in Guadalajara. A deal on the use of the
ballpark has
still not been signed less than two months away from the start of the
season
while the Mariachis are the only team in the league to not have a field
manager
in place.
MEX
PAC MANAGERS: NAVARRETE TO STAY, ORTEGA OUT
Both Hermosillo and Mazatlan front
offices have made decisions regarding their respective managers for the
2021-22
Mexican Pacific League season. The Naranjeros will open play next
winter with
Salon de la Fama member Juan Navarrete at the helm for the start of his
second
campaign, but the Venados have announced that they will be replacing
interim
skipper Pablo Ortega.
Given the impatience for a pennant
from ownership in Hermosillo, it may have been somewhat surprising that
Navarrete will be back after a season that was somewhat similar to the
one his
predecessor, Vinny Castilla, turned in for 2019-20 before he was shown
the door
with thanks for closing it behind him after crossing the threshold. The
former
Rockies slugger, who was enshrined in Monterrey last winter, led the
Orangemen
to a 38-27 record (third-best in the LMP) before falling to Mazatlan in
the
first round of the playoffs in his only season as dugout boss.
Navarrete was hired last spring
after some postseason confusion regarding Castilla's job status and
took
Hermosillo to a 33-23 regular season mark (slightly better than the
previous
year and second overall in the Mex Pac) before the Naranjeros reached
the
championship series, where they lost in seven games to Culiacan for the
LMP
pennant, a playoff performance that may have been the deciding factor
in the
former second baseman's return for another season. However, the
longtime
Oakland A's minor league instructor has been around long enough to know
that
anything less than a pennant may not be enough to save his job under
demanding
team president/GM Enrique Mazon.
In Ortega's case, he took over in
Mazatlan last November with the team showing an 8-14 first-half record
under
Juan Jose Pacho, who was on his third tour of duty as Venados manager
after
previously leading the team to four pennants and two Caribbean Series
titles.
Ortega, a longtime star pitcher in both Mexican Leagues for 20 seasons
after
four years in the Tampa Bay system, was able to coax a 20-16 record out
of the
Deer the rest of the regular season to secure a playoff berth, but fell
in six
games to Hermosillo in the first round.
A press release from the Venados
front office announcing that the 44-year-old Ortega would not be back
in
2021-22 said that a new manager would be named “later,” and thanked the
former
right-hander for his work as interim skipper.
Ortega, who had been Pacho's
pitching coach prior to his ascension to Mazatlan's field boss, will
have
little time to lick any wounds over his dismissal. The Nuevo Laredo
native is
slated for a second year as new manager for his hometown Tecolotes.
Ortega had
been hired for that post prior to last season and led the team during
training
camp before the ongoing pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020
Mexican
League season. This year's late-starting camp will open next month.
VET
SLUGGER SOTO SIGNS WITH MARIACHIS FOR 2021
When a veteran athlete sports the
nickname “El Jefe” (“The Boss”), it's logical to assume that he's
gained
respect as a team leader over the course of his playing career. That
would
certainly be the case with longtime Mexican baseball slugger Saul Soto,
who'll
bring his nickname with him to the expansion Guadalajara Mariachis for
the 2021
Mexican League season after playing for Aguascalientes since 2015.
The 6'4” 235-pound native of Los
Mochis would carry a commanding presence regardless of his on-field
bonafides,
but the 42-year-old Soto has a playing resume that matches him in
physical
size. Since debuting in 1998 as a catcher with Reynosa, Soto has played
22
seasons in the LMB. In 1,938 career games (mostly with Mexico City,
Monclova
and Aguascalientes), the right-handed batter has hit .306, topping the
.300
mark 13 times, including a six-season run between 2014 and 2018. He's
contributed
422 doubles, 288 homers and 1,177 RBIs while scoring 1,084 runs on
2,075 hits.
Although the Rieleros' last season
in 2019 was otherwise forgettable as usual, Soto reached personal
milestones of
2,000 hits, 400 doubles and 1,000 runs scored. While his batting
average dipped
below .300 for the first time since 2013, he socked 22 homers and added
24
doubles among his 117 hits while only missing four games, driving in 85
runs en
route to a .268 average and playing in his eleventh LMB All-Star Game
since
2006.
During his time in Aguascalientes,
Soto became the last Mexican League player-manager after replacing
Marco
Antonio Romero on July 8, 2016 (the eleventh LMB manager fired at that
point)
with the Railroaders showing a 38-41 record at the time. Although Soto
didn't
fare badly at the helm, turning in a 15-17 record the rest of the way
while
batting an even .300 with ten homers for the year, then-Liga president
Plinio
Escalante made him return to a player-only role after the season.
Soto is coming off his 21st
winterball season in the Mexican Pacific League, all with his hometown
Los
Mochis Caneros. He had a tough year with the last-place club, batting
.153 with
two homers and 11 RBIs, but has a fair career .244 average in the
pitching-strong league with 146 homers and 512 RBIs over 1,132 games.
Soto has
not caught a game since 2016 and is now primarily a designated hitter
and
backup first baseman.
Although former MLB All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has been touted by some as a future player-manager in Guadalajara while Jalisco Charros skipper Benji Gil is said to be a front-runner for the job, it would not be shocking if the Mariachis front office makes an attempt to convince the LMB and president Horacio de la Vega to allow Saul Soto to take the reins of the first-year team this summer. After all, there's a reason he's called “The Boss.”