Pelotero: Mexican League Baseball News

by Bruce Baskin
April 1, 2005 - Mexican League (ML)

LIGA OPENS ‘05 CAMPAIGN, OTANEZ OFF TO BLISTERING START

The Mexican League opened the 2005 season the weekend of March 19-21 as all 16 teams swung into action with two-game, home-and-away series. Although there's a long way to go until the playoffs get underway in July, both Liga divisions are fairly tight from top to bottom in the standings as none of the teams has gotten off to a dominant start. Aguascalientes is in the lead in the LMB North with a 7-3 record after the Rieleros topped Tijuana 16-5 March 30. Tabasco is on top of the South ladder, also with a 7-3 record, one game up on Yucatan.

A number of players are off to hot starts in the early going, but one would be hard-pressed to top Willis Otanez. The Veracruz infielder has shot out of the gate with a .439 batting average, blasting an LMB-high eight homers and 25 RBIs in just 10 games. The 6-1, 215-pounder turns 32 in April, and is in his 16th year of pro ball (including time with Baltimore and Toronto in 1998 and 1999). Otanez was signed to play ball for the University of Miami in 1990, but ended up signing with the Dodgers as a 17-year-old free agent instead. After bouncing around the pro ranks over the years, he came to Veracruz last season from Bridgeport in the independent Atlantic League and proceeded to bat .387 for the Reds.

While this year marks the 51st season for the Liga as an official member of the National Association, the LMB can trace a straight line back to 1946 when Jorge Pasquel (with his brother Bernardo) formed the league after the conclusion of World War II. Pasquel was not a cheap man, and he made headlines throughout North American sports pages when he offered open contracts to Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams to play in the Liga. While DiMaggio and Williams stayed in the USA, Pasquel did lure such major league players as Sal Maglie and Max Lanier south of the border to play ball in Mexico for more money.

Things didn't go Pasquel's way after that, however. The large contracts he signed the North American players were a financial strain, and he became embittered after Maglie, Lanier and the others made their way back north. By the time Pasquel died in a plane crash in 1955, he had ended his association with baseball and the Liga was on life support. That year, the LMB reorganized itself and became a member of the NA and has remained under the Minor League Baseball umbrella ever since.

NORTHERN DIVISION

AGUASCALIENTES RIELEROS

The Railroadmen are as hot as the proverbial water, topping the LMB North tables with a 7-3 record. One reason is veteran Eduardo Rios, who went 3-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs March 30 against Tijuana. Rios trails only Willis Otanez in the LMB with six homers. Bobby Lara has swung a big bat with a .450 average to go along with two homers and 10 ribbies. Juan Pena is pitching well with an 0.69 ERA in 13 innings.

LAGUNA VAQUEROS

It's been a tough go for the Vaqueros lately as Laguna holds last in the LMB North along with San Luis with a 3-7 record after starting out reasonably well at 3-3. The Cowboys are a good-hitting team, batting an aggregate .321 over the first ten games. Raul Lopez leads the men from Torreon with a .405 average as eight Laguna players are at .306 or better. Too bad they haven't gotten any pitching: The Vaqueros team ERA is 7.14.

MEXICO CITY DIABLOS ROJOS

One of two clubs in the LMB to go with an all-Mexican team in 2005 (the Tigres are the other), the lack of import power hasn't hurt the Red Devils too much as the club started the season at 5-4. Victor Bojorquez is off to a strong start with a .412 batting average and two triples, while some pop has been supplied by Saul Soto's eight extra-base hits and Roberto Mendez' .781 slugging percentage. The pitching has been inconsistent, however.

MONCLOVA ACEREROS

Monclova is treading water with a 4-6 mark and three games off the pace. The batting has been okay with ex-Oakland outfielder Felix Jose hitting at a .400 clip and Guillermo Garcia off to a .395 start to go with 14 RBIs. The pitching hasn't been anything special as the Steelers sport a team ERA of 5.36. Jason Jacome is 1-1 with a 3.18 and reliever Bill Simas is 1-0/2.70, but Edwin Hurtado has been lit for a 9.31 ERA in four appearances.

MONTERREY SULTANES

With an 8-0 shutout over Cancun, the Sultanes headed to the end of March in third place at 6-4. A big reason is Heber Gomez' .405 average and Adan Amezuca's .485 mark. Bubba Smith has hit well, batting .359 with three homers and 11 ribbies. Pitching has been decent, but not great. Fernando Hernandez is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two starts, while Fernando Villalobos is 1-0 with a save and a 1.74 mark out of the pen.

SALTILLO SARAPEROS

The Sarape Men are off to an early good start with a 6-4 record. Sergio Guerrero is sixth in the league with a .433 average, although he has driven in only one run with his 13 hits. Pedro Valdez has been making his hits count, trailing only Veracruz' Otanzes among LMB batters in extra-base hits with nine. Pitcher Steve Bourgeois has been sharp for Saltillo with a 1.59 ERA in 11 innings, while Miguel Gonzales checks in at 2.45.

SAN LUIS TUNEROS

It's far too early to know, but it could be another long year for the Tuneros, who are tied with Laguna at the bottom of the LMB North with a 3-7 ledger. The only San Luis player getting much notice is Pat O'Sullivan, who sits fifth in the LMB batting tables with a .444 average. He hasn't had much help, although reliever Miguel Angel Lopes is tied for the LMB lead with seven appearances on the mound. Don't ask about saves, though.

TIJUANA POTROS

The Colts are off to a 5-5 start as Tijuana has shown some flashes of being a winner, but have not done it on a regular basis. Ex-major leaguer Randall Simon is off to a good start with 15 RBIs to trail only (guess who?) Otanez on the LMB leaderboard. Pitcher Yovani Lugo has the dubious distinction of leading the Liga with 11 walks allowed. Sadly, the wife of Potros president Belisaro Cabrera, Justina, passed away at the end of March.

SOUTHERN DIVISION

CAMPECHE PIRATAS

The defending Liga champions aren't impressing a lot of observers early by playing .500 ball after the team won 16 of 22 games in the playoffs last summer to take the flag. Omar Ramirez is batting well enough with eight extra-base hits and reliever Isidro Marquez has three saves, but the Pirates are only batting .238 as a team. Expectations are high in Campeche this spring after last year's surge to the crown.

CANCUN LANGOSTEROS

The Lobstermen have had decent pitching performances from Eduardo Salgado and Ignacio Montano, but light hitting has left Cancun at 5-5 at the 10-game mark of the first half. Salgado is only 1-1, but is fourth in the LMB with a sparkling 1.04 ERA. Montano is 1-1 after 15 innings and also ranks among the Liga leaders in ERA at 2.35. This looks like a better team than the one that finished last in both halves of 2004, but they need batters.

MEXICO TIGRES

Like the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, the Tigres are fielding an all-Mexican club in 2005 in their 50th anniversary season. Mexico is off to a .500 start despite the .429 batting average of Sergio Gastelum. Both Sergio and his brother Carlos have notched 12 runs apiece. The Tigres haven't shown much power, but they can at least run the bases. Carlos Alberto Gastelum leads the LMB with 5 steals.

OAXACA GUERREROS

Oaxaca has struggled so far with just a 3-6 mark and a hold on last place in the LMB South. Don't blame Josmir Romero for that. The Guerrero hurler has been simply fantastic so far, with a 2-0 record and no earned runs allowed over 16 innings. Romero has walked just one batter and scattered six hits in that time. Without him, Oaxaca is 1-6. Jesus Feliciano has two triples, but nobody is mistaking any of the Warrior batters for Babe Ruth.

PUEBLA PERICOS

The Parrots are in the bottom half of the LMB South pack with a 4-6 record, but it's not because they can't hit the ball. Darrel Sherman leads the LMB with an amazing .552 average while teammate Hector Hurtado is right behind at .514. All the hitting in the world won't do any good if you're left on base, though. Puebla could use another bat with power. Pitcher Noe Romo has held up well with a standout 1.94 ERA.

TABASCO OLMECAS

After a mediocre 2004, the Olmecas are the early surprise team of the LMB as Tabasco tops the South Division with a 7-3 record. Julian Yan is showing some strength at the plate with four early home runs, but the real story has been pitching. Ageless Jesus Rios is off to a 2-0 start, while Joel Vargas (like Oaxaca's Romero) has yet to allow an earned run this season. Vargas has not walked a batter in 11 innings.

VERACRUZ ROJOS

While Willis Otanez has deservedly been reaping all the headlines for the Reds, Lino Connell is off to a strong start as well. The import from the USA's world of independent baseball is just ahead of Otanez in the LMB batting race with a .429 average, while underrated Omar Ramirez has five homers and 13 RBIs . Pitching has been another story for Veracruz. They haven't have enough of it to keep up with their good hitters.

YUCATAN LEONES

The Lions are right on the heels of Tabasco with a 6-4 record after a 6-3 win over Monclova March 30. Pitching has long been a hallmark of baseball in Merida, and it's pitching that's kept the team near the top of the standings. No Yucatan hurler ranks among the Top Ten in ERA, but Alfredo Aceves' 12 strikeouts trail only the 14 of Aguascalientes moundsman Juan Pena in the LMB.

MEXICAN BASEBALL ROAD TRIP: Cancun, Quintana Roo

When North Americans think of Cancun, it's usually a mental picture of warm weather and sandy beaches, but there's much more to the story than that. Cancun was a sleepy Quintana Roo fishing village of 120 as recently as 1970 before being picked by a computer as a good site for tourism. Twenty-five years later, about 500,000 people live in Cancun with another two million visitors annually. Smart computer.

Quintana Roo is a tropical state on the Yucatan Peninsula (at the tip of Mexico's "boot"), bordering Guatemala, Belize, Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico. Travelers willing to break away from Cancun's beaches can find Mayan ruins and artifacts predating Columbus back to the 12th Century nearby. It is a region brimming with early Mexican history, and ruins continue to be discovered after being swallowed up for centuries by jungle foliage. It's a birdwatcher's paradise, too, with hundreds of species on hand to observe.

The history of Cancun's baseball team is a little less impressive, however. The club made its Mexican League debut in 1996 as the Quintana Roo Langosteros before taking on Cancun's name two years later. The Lobstermen reached the second round of the playoff in 1997, but they have spent most time near the bottom of the standings since then. Last year, Cancun went 40-60 for the season, finishing eighth in the LMB South in both halves of the campaign while missing the playoffs. Among their players was former MLB outfielder Ruben Rivera, who batted .313 with 10 homers and 60 RBIs.

Cancun's ballpark, Parque Beto Avila, is one of the Liga's smaller stadiums with 7,000 seats. That was more than enough room, however, as the Langosteros drew just 1,650 fans per game (dead last in the Liga and all AAA baseball). Maybe they were at the beach. NEXT VISIT: MERIDA, YUCATAN

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Hector Espino, 1B (1962-84)

The consensus pick among fans as the greatest player in Liga history, Hector Espino was known as "The Babe Ruth of Mexico" during his 23-year LMB career. Playing first base mostly for Monterrey or Tampico between 1962 and 1984, the right-handed Espino retired as minor league baseball's all-time home run king with 484 (453 in the LMB), although he has since been passed by Andres Mora and Nelson Barrera. He led the circuit in homers four times, including a career-high 46 for the Sultanes in 1964. The 5'11" 185-pounder from Chihuahua also drove in 1,573 runs in his LMB career and hung up his spikes with a cool .335 batting mark. He hit .300 or better every year but one in the Liga from 1962 through 1980, winning three straight hitting titles between 1966 and 1968 and four overall. Espino's record in winter ball was no less impressive. In 24 seasons wih the Hermosillo Naranjeros, he won an amazing 13 batting titles en route to a career average of .329 with 299 homers and 1,029 RBIs. He led Hermosillo to Mexico's first Caribbean Series win in 1976, and played in six Series in all.

Interestingly, it was discrimination that pointed the way for Espino. He played briefly for the Cardinals' AAA farm team in Jacksonville during the 1964 season. He did well (hitting .300 with three homers in 32 games), but the homesick Espino was so offended by the racism he encountered while playing in the International League that he went home to Mexico and never returned to play in the United States again despite a number of attractive offers. Needless to say, he is a member of Mexican baseball's Hall of Fame (the Salon de Fama) in Monterrey, where he was inducted in 1988, and he is also enshrine in the Caribbean Hall of Fame as well.

Hector Espino Gonzalez was beloved by fans because he combined his great skills in baseball with a sense of pride and loyalty to country in becoming the face of Mexican baseball. He was a true national hero, and (like Jackie Robinson's number in the United States) his number 21 has been retired by all Mexican professional teams.

NEXT MAESTRO: RAMON ARANO, P

PELOTERO TRIVIA QUIZ

Q) The Campeche Piratas won their second Mexican League pennant last year. When did they win their first championship?

A) To be given in the next Pelota, along with another question.

Our Grand Prize for now is the satisfaction and knowledge that you got it right...and that's priceless!

A NOTE TO READERS

Pelotero will be made available every 10 days during both the Mexican and Mexican Pacific League seasons on the 1st, 10th and 20th of each month, and monthly on the 1st of September, October and March (for a total of 30 issues a year). If you would like a FREE subscription to have Pelotero sent to your email in-box the same day it's sent to OurSports Central, just email VivaBeisbol@hotmail.com and you'll be added to the list. Simple as that.

For those who wish to keep closer track of the teams we are covering, there are two websites that are indispensible. To get up-to-date statistics, check out the Liga website at www.lmb.com. Major League Baseball is overseeing the data in 2005, including box scores, standings and individual and team statistics. For more frequent written coverage, look for Baseball Guru's Carlos "The Latin Insider" Fragoso at www.baseballguru.com (a great website for international baseball fans). Carlos is a SABR member who has been active in the game for some time and does a great job keeping up with Mexico's two leagues and 24 teams throughout the year. It is the best column on Mexican baseball on the internet, and he's very willing to answer any questions readers may have.

Mexican League Stories from April 1, 2005

• Pelotero: Mexican League Baseball News - OSC Original by Bruce Baskin

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.