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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Monday,
May 27, 2 0 1 9
RIELEROS’ VARGAS
AT 26 HOMERS AFTER 3-HR GAME
Aguascalientes Rieleros third baseman Jose Vargas
has
opened a sizeable lead in the Mexican League’s home run title chase
after a
recent stretch during which the Californian crashed seven longballs in
a
six-game stretch last week, including three homers in a four-inning
span against
Leon last Saturday night in a wild 15-11 Railroaders loss to the Bravos.
A gathering of 1,866 at Estadio Alberto Chavez Romo in Aguascalientes
looked on
at the Ventura College product and former White Sox farm hand socked a
solo
shot off Leon veteran Walter Silva in the fifth frame, followed by
three-run
dingers against Normand Mendoza in the sixth and Nicolas Heredia in the
eighth,
respectively, to run his season total to 26 homers to augment a .390
batting
average with 50 RBIs over the first 44 games of the season as the Liga
passed
the first 1/3 of its 2019 schedule.
Former Orioles five-tool prospect Felix Pie socked a pair of homers and
drove
in five runs for the Bravos, who won despite allowing 11 runs on 14
hits (which
indicates exactly why the Bravos are just 19-25 on the season despite a
starting lineup that boasts .300+ batters at all nine slots in the
order.
Pie ended the weekend with a .461 average to top the LMB, his 16 homers
are
tied with teammate Matt Clark and two others for fourth in the circuit
and his
57 RBIs are third in the league behind co-leaders Vargas and Clark.
Leon’s
.330 team batting average trails only Monterrey’s .336 mark
among the 16 Liga teams but the Bravos’ 8.15 team ERA is dead last and
suggests
that manager Tony Aguilera might be better served replacing his
pitchers with a
batting tee atop home plate while sending out a fourth outfielder
instead (on
either side of the wall. The most effective Leon hurler thus far
has been
38-year-old Manny Acosta, a onetime Braves and Mets pitcher whose 3-1
record
and three saves suggest he’s throwing a little better than his 5.60 ERA
indicates.
It’s
been that kind of year in the LMB, which has apparently
resurrected its longstanding reputation as a hitter’s have with 12
teams
batting .304 or more and al but Tabasco averaging at least one homer
per
opening. The offensive explosion has meant pitchers are proving
Newton’s
Third Law (“For every action…”) with 13 teams allowing five or more
runs per
game. Even traditionally pitching-rich Yucatan has not been
immune from
the Curse of the Franklin Ball. The Leones are usually hovering
just
above a 3.00 team ERA but this year the Merida club is showing a 5.38
ERA, and
it’s a sign of the times that they’re still fourth in the
circuit. Fans
who love 1-0 pitcher’s duels haven’t had much to cheer about in the
2019
version of the Mexican League.
MONCLOVA,
OAXACA TAKE
LEADS IN TIGHT LMB DIVISION RACES
As the Mexican League approaches its ninth week of the current season,
we’re
starting to see some separation between contenders and pretenders for
its eight
playoff berths, with a couple of spirited battles for the LMB’s regular
season
division titles to spur fan interest.
The
32-13 Monclova Acereros stumbled a bit on the first leg of
their six-game road trip in the South by losing two of three to Tabasco
in
Villahermosa before winning two of three in Campeche, including a 4-3
loss in
the Walled City as Jay Austin’s walkoff single in the bottom of the
ninth plated
Jose Guadalupe Chavez with the game-winning run. Despite the
tough loss,
the Steelers sport the Liga’s best record at 32-12 to hold a 1.5-game
lead over
31-14 Tijuana in the LMB North. Defending champion Monterrey sits
two
games behind the Toros at 29-16 while 26-19 Dos Laredos is fourth, four
games
up on 22-23 Saltillo.
The 27-18 Oaxaca Guerreros have won five in a row
(including three-game weekend sweep in Saltillo) to sneak past Mexico
City in
the LMB South to lead the 26-18 Diablos by a half-game. Mexico
City won
two of three games apiece in series at Saltillo and Laguna during last
week’s
northern road trip but Friday’s defeat in Torreon was enough to drop
the Red
Devils out of first. Puebla (25-20) sits two games out of the top
slot
and a nice battle has developed for the fourth and final playoff slot
between
21-24 Yucatan and 20-25 Leon.
Felix Pie of Leon is batting .461 to hold a commanding 52-point lead
over
Mexico City’s Emmanuel Avila. Jason Vargas’ 26 homers for
Aguascalientes
are tops in the loop, four head of Monclova slugger Chris Carter’s
22.
The former NL home run champ went long once in both Tabasco and
Campeche last
week. Leon’s Matt Clark has 61 runs batted in to lead Vargas by
one. Dos Laredos outfielder Johnny Davis has a good lead in
stolen bases
with 28, 12 more than Alonzo Harris of Oaxaca. A darkhorse in the
SB race
is Leon outfielder Jeremias Pineda. The speedy Dominican has only
played
17 games for the Bravos after missing a month of the season, but he’s a
perfect
12-for-12 in swipes over the 17 games he has played in to tie
Campeche’s Jay
Austin for fourth and Pinedas is a player who can pile up the SBs in a
hurry.
Both Josh Lowey of Monclova and Monterrey’s Edgar Gonzalez have eight
wins to
tie for the Liga lead in that category. Lowey shut out Campeche
over 5.1
innings in last Friday’s 4-2 Acereros road victory to go to 8-0 to
match
Gonzalez, who’d improved to 8-0 two nights earlier for the Sultanes in
Cancun
with a 4-2 triumph over the Tigres. Yucatan’s Cesar Valdez is
right
behind the co-leaders with a 7-0 record. James Russell of Tijuana
blanked
the Tigres over six frames in Cancun last Friday to lower his ERA to
1.94,
making the son of ex-MLBer Jeff Russell the lone Mexican League starter
at less
than 2.00 while improving to 5-1. Oaxaca’s Ruddy Acosta is 34
points back
in second at 2.28, a rather remarkable figure for a starter with a 1-2
record
for a division-leading team. In fact, Acosta didn’t win his first
game of
the season until his 14-3 victory in Saltillo last Saturday, 44 games
into the
schedule. Yasutomo Kubo of Leon still leads the LMB with 69
strikeouts,
13 more than Alex Delgado of Oaxaca. Monclova’s Carlos Bustamante
leads
Saltillo’s Rafael Martin in saves, 13 to 12.
Cuarto
Bat WRITER'S TOP
6 MEXICAN BALLPARKS (PART 5)
A writer
for Mexican baseball website Cuarto Bat, Yasser
Trujillo, posted a column in April about his picks for the top six
ballparks in
the Mexican and Mexican Pacific leagues. Here is the fifth part
of a
series in which we bring you a translated version. You'll find their
site at
CuartoBat.com, where fans can download a free copy of their February
magazine.
2.
NUEVO ESTADIO
YAQUIS, OBREGON
Possessing an impressive and original external metal design, it
immediately
refers to the one used at Estadio BBVA, home of Liga MX soccer’s
Monterrey
Rayados. The front of the Tribe’s lair consists of eight columns
that
symbolize the seven Yaquis peoples of the region and the proud eighth:
The
Yaquis Nation.
It has an internal corridor of 270 degrees, in which access to the
outfield is
not allowed unless you have a ticket for that section. It has a
huge
official store where you can almost anything to do with the local team.
To access the ballpark, there are automated turnstiles to present
your
physical ticket or via your cell phone. There are televisions in
each
column, a free Wi-Fi network, and a huge screen with 4K
definition. It
also has a large food court consisting of about 30 stores with varied
offerings, including two a la carte bars/restaurants overlooking the
playing
field. There is also a Hal of Fame with legendary trophies and
uniforms,
luxury boxes and even a gym on the second floor.
Obregon has in their ballpark a beautiful scenario endorsed by Major
League
Baseball where, win or lose, the team has hired a musical group for
after each
game. So what happens on the ground will always stay there, while
the
dancing and parties always accompanies everywhere. A serious
candidate to
be the best stadium in Mexican baseball.
NOTE: I'm in The Philippines until June 20 and the internet here is
spotty,
so BBM may be interrupted sometimes over the next three Monday.
However,
as no less than Douglas MacArthur said a few years ago, "I shall
return."
