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M e x i c o
Monday,
October 11, 2021
MEX
PAC SEASON BEGINS; 80K ATTEND TEN OPENERS
The Mexican Pacific League lifted
the lid off the 2021-22 season last week to improved overall attendance
at its
traditional two-game, home-and-away opening series. Last winter's
turnouts were
severely curtailed fan turnout across the loop due to severe protocol
restrictions due to the Wuhan virus outbreak, which had earlier caused
the
cancellation of the Mexican League's 2020 campaign.
Things are less tight than a year
ago and it showed at the turnstiles, as a combined 80,177 aficionados
attended the ten LMP openers over three days between Tuesday and
Thursday. The
largest crowd was in Mexicali, where 12,867 were in the stands at
Estadio
Aguilas to watch a 5-1 win over Hermosillo on Thursday. One night
earlier,
there were 11,289 onlookers at Estadio Monterrey to witness an 8-5
Sultanes
loss to visiting Jalisco. The smallest home opener gathering was in
Guasave,
where just 3,325 fans got their money's worth last Wednesday when the
Algodoneros topped Los Mochis, 4-2, in eleven innings at Estadio
Francisco
Carranza Limon.
Let's take a look at all ten Mex Pac
home openers:
TUESDAY,
October 5
Agustin Murillo went 2-for-4 with a
homer and two RBIs to lead the hometown Jalisco Charros past Monterrey,
4-2, as
6,712 were on hand at Estadio Charros in Guadalajara. After teasing the
locals
over the past two winters about perhaps joining the Charros, former MLB
All-Star Roberto Osuna made his debut by tossing a scoreless ninth
inning to
earn the save.
Hermosillo's Juan Pablo Oramas had a
great first start of the winterball season, tossing six innings of
scoreless
ball with seven strikeouts in the Naranjeros' 8-0 shutout over
Mexicali.
Nicolas Torres slammed a pair of homers and drove in three runs and
Jose
Cardona went 4-for-5 with a solo blast while 8,731 watched at
Hermosillo's
Estadio Sonora.
Culiacan took a 7-6 thriller in ten
innings over Mazatlan in front of 9,529 at Estadio Tomateros. Emmanuel
Avila
got on board in the bottom of the tenth after being hit by a pitch,
moved to
second on Alfredo Hurtado's bunt and then beat Leo German's throw from
right on
a Mateo Gil sacrifice fly for the game-winner. Jesus Fabela homered
twice for
Culiacan.
WEDNESDAY,
October 6
Jalisco made it two wins in as many
nights, this time sending 11,289 at Estadio Monterrey home disappointed
with an
8-5 triumph over the Sultanes. Japhet Amador and former Monterrey
outfielder
Felix Perez each belted two-run homers for the winners while slugger
Danny
Ortiz (42 longballs for Puebla in 2019) went deep for the Sultanes.
It took eleven innings, but Guasave
finally bested visiting Los Mochis, 4-2, as 3,325 watched at Estadio
Francisco
Carranza Limon. Jhoan Urena walked before Jesse Castillo slammed a
walkoff
homer off Caneros reliever Daysbel Hernandez to end it. Urena socked a
roundtripper for the Algodoneros while Josuan Hernandez hit a two-run
bomb for
Los Mochis.
Ricardo Valenzuela's two-run triple
in the bottom of the seventh broke a 2-2 tie as Mazatlan went on to
trip
Culiacan, 4-2, with 5,447 at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal. Mitch Lively
pitched six
frames of two-run ball and eight Venados batters had a hit in a game
where a
brawl among fans from both teams occurred at the concession stands
under the
grandstand.
Luis Escobar scattered four hits
over five innings and contributed eight strikeouts to combine with
three
relievers on a 2-0 shutout for visiting Obregon at Navojoa's Estadio
Manuel
“Ciclon” Echeverria as 6,496 fans watched. Reynaldo Rodriguez belted a
solo
homer in the top of the first and Alonzo Harris had an RBI single in
the second
for the Yaquis.
Friday,
October 8
Jesse Castillo struck again for
Guasave, this time with a three-run homer in the top of the first off
Los
Mochis starter Carlos Viera as the Algodoneros went on to a 7-2 road
win with
6,860 witnesses at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada. Castillo and Alejandro
Ortiz
each had three hits for the Cottoneers; Isaac Rodriguez and Jorge
Rivera had
RBI singles for the Caneros.
Mexicali and Hermosillo were tied at
2-2 until Daniel Castro rocked a three-run homer in the bottom of the
seventh
as the Aguilas went on to a 5-2 victory. A crowd of 12,867 at Estadio
Aguilas
saw Enrique Burgos and Jake Sanchez toss scoreless innings to seal with
win for
the Eagles. Addison Russell doubled and scored on Nic Torres' single
for
Hermosillo.
At home in front of 8,921 observers
at Estadio Yaquis, Obregon made it two shutouts in a row with a 5-0
blanking of
Navojoa. Hector Velazquez combined with three relievers to extend the
Mayos'
season-opening scoreless streak to 18 entradas. Carlos Sepulveda
homered and
Kristian Delgado singled, doubled and had two RBIs for the winners.
The Mayos' streak of futility
extended another four innings to 22 before scoring their first run of
the
season in the fifth frame of a game in Mazatlan they ended up winning,
6-2, by
scoring four times in the top of the ninth (including Tirso Ornelas'
two-run
double) and then getting a 1-2-3 entrada from Carlos Bustamante
to save
their first triumph.
LMB REBOOTS MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE
After an absence of four seasons,
the Mexican Winter League is making a return in 2021, albeit with a
different
look than in the past. This time, the LIM (Liga Invernal Mexicana)
will
feature two four-team divisions playing six weeks each between
mid-October and
late November with no crossover contests, followed by division
championship
series between the top two regular season finishers.
As before, the LIM will serve as a
Class AA affiliate circuit for the Mexican League, who announced the
reformation of the loop early this month. LMB president Horacio de la
Vega was
on hand, as was Mexican League sports director Gabriel Medina. The LIM
will
feature young players on LMB contracts who are not playing in the
Mexican
Pacific League or any other winterball league.
The Mexican Winter League's North
Division will include the Monclova Acereros, Monterrey Sultanes,
Saltillo
Saraperos and Union Laguna Algodoneros of Torreon while the South
Division will
be comprised of the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, Oaxaca Guerreros, Puebla
Pericos
and a combined team of Veracruz Aguilas and Yucatan Leones prospects.
All games will be played in the same
ballparks used during the LMB season between April and September,
although the
Veracruz venue for the Aguilas-Leones squad hadn't been finalized when
the
press conference was held. The Aguilas Mexican League team plays home
games at
Estadio Beto Avila.
The LIM North regular season (with
games played on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays) will run 28
games
per team from Tuesday, October 12 through November 28, followed by a
best-3-of-5 championship series between the top two teams from November
30
through December 4, if needed.
The LIM South schedule has each team
playing 30 games between Tuesday, October 19 through November 21,
followed by a
best-4-of-7 championship series beginning November 23. A Mexican Winter
League
title series between the two division champions is slated for early
December.
All teams will be made up of 28
players, with an age limit of 26 for 25 players and no limitations on
three
players per club. Tie games will extend for a tenth inning before
they're
considered completed.
An earlier version of the LIM
operated from 2015 through 2017, with teams in places like Celaya,
Salamanca,
Guanajuato and Moroleon as well as LMB cities such as Puebla,
Aguascalientes,
Oaxaca and Mexico City. The Mexico City Diablos Rojos won all three
pennants
under two managers (Jose Luis Sandoval in 2015-16, Victor Bojorquez in
2016-17
and 2017) before the league closed due to financial difficulties.
MEX
PAC ROAD TRIP: Hermosillo, Sonora
From our second road trip stop in
Mexicali, we'll take Highway 2 eastbound until heading south on Highway
150 for
a total drive of 439 miles (or eight hours) to Hermosillo, the capital
of
Sonora and a city of 812,239 residents, Mexico's 16th-largest.
Hermosillo is in
a rather unique setting, a landlocked desert city surrounded by various
rock
formations and crowned in its center by a tall outcrop lit at night by
several
radio towers.
Besides serving as a political
center, Hermosillo is very much an agriculture-oriented city,
especially cattle
ranching. It is also an important place
for industry, with car-making one of the leading local occupations.
Many early
figures of the revolutions in the early 20th century called Hermosillo
home,
including General Alvaro Obregon, Plutarco Elias Calles and Abelardo
Rodriguez.
However, the relatively recent boom over the past sixty years has all
but
obliterated anything that may have survived from the old days.
While Hermosillo is very spread out
and not the best place for visitors who like to walk around, there are
some
interesting things on hand for tourists to check out. The Plaza
Zaragosa is
very pleasant with many trees and a lacy white bandstand, while on its
edge
sits a 19th century cathedral featuring twin towers and a dome with
crosses
atop each. A mostly neo-classical structure, the cathedral took over a
century
to build.
Also nearby is the similar
Government Palace, most notable for its courtyard murals painted by
three
artists in the 1980’s. Another interesting spot is the Museo de Sonora,
a
beautifully-restored former prison (which maintains vestiges of its
past life) now
serving a museum. South of town is the
Centro Ecological de Sonora, a zoo and botanical garden.
Hermosillo is home to the Mexican
Pacific League’s Naranjeros, or “Orange Growers.” The
Naranjeros are considered one of the Mex
Pac’s flagship franchises, capable of tracing their roots to 1944 and
raking in
a total of 20 pennants in three leagues, including 16 LMP
championships.
Their last flag was won in 2013-14
under manager Matias Carrillo, who took the team to their second
Caribbean
Series title (the first was in 1976 with Ben “Cananea” Reyes at the
helm).
Mexican baseball legend Hector Espino spent 24 winters playing in
Hermosillo.
The right-handed batting Espino won 13 batting titles and seven home
run crowns
in the Mex Pac and still holds most LMP career hitting records.
The Naranjeros play their home games at 16,000-seat Estadio Sonora, which was opened on February 1, 2013 and is still considered one of Mexico's top ballparks eight years later, having won two international awards for architecture. Estadio Sonora hosted the Caribbean Series upon its opening and has been the scene of MLB exhibition games between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies in 2015 as well as the WBSC U-23 Baseball Gold Cup last month.
