Viva Beisbol

by Bruce Baskin
Published on July 29, 2005 under Mexican League (ML)

The Tijuana Potros and Angelopolis Tigres put exclamation points on their impressive second halves in Mexican League baseball by wrapping up division titles as the Liga geared up for its four-tiered playoffs which will occupy most of the month of August. While the Potros led the LMB North practically wire to wire, it took the Tigres a 7-4 win over Veracruz and a 3-1 Oaxaca loss to Puebla on July 27, the last day of the regular season, to barely beat the Guerreros (by .004 percentage goints) to sneak away with the LMB South's second-half crown in a knucklebiter of a race.

Tijuana broke away from the pack early and fairly coasted to the Northern Division crown, although first-half champs Saltillo closed the gap a bit at the end. Although the Colts lost the services of ex-big league first baseman Randall "Hot Dog" Simon to Japan and steady veteran outfielder Luis Landaeta to injury, the Tijuana pitching staff settled down while second baseman Carlos Valencia and import infielder George Arias picked up the slack offensively to aid a tremendous season from outfielder Derrick White to cruise to the LMB North crown.

While the Tigres bolted off to a 9-0 start in the second stanza and built a good early lead before surprising Tabasco made a real dogfight out of things down the stretch, Oaxaca rode the hot bat of Felix Jose past both clubs to briefly hold the lead and nearly win the LMB South at the wire. Jose hit .375 with 30 homers and 113 runs batted in for the Guerreros, and is a legitimate MVP candidate. First-half champs Campeche faded badly in the second half to finish sixth after cruising through their schedule over the season's first ten weeks in March, April and May.

And how can we not pass along an incident which fairly characterized the season for the LMB South tailenders, the Cancun Langosteros. On July 20, the hapless Lobstermen were forced to forfeit both ends of a home doubleheader with the Puebla Pericos because they didn't have proper official baseballs to play the twinbill with. The story is that the Langosteros' supply of baseballs was waterlogged after being left outside during hurricane conditions the night before. Given the poor Cancun offensive performance this season, it's possible that nobody but the umpires would've noticed the difference had they gone ahead and played.

Now, to explain the playoffs (read this slowly): The top six teams in each division qualify for the playoffs. As with the first half, teams will be given points according to their finish in the standings. Scoring goes on an 8.0-7.0-6.5-6.0-5.5-5.0-4.5-4.0 basis, so as Northern Division champions, Tijuana picks up eight points. By finishing in the LMB South basement, conversely, Cancun gets just four points. Points for the two halves are added up and teams are seeded for the postseason by virtue of their overall point totals.

Thus, in the first round (slated to begin Saturday), Saltillo plays Aguascalientes, Tijuana plays Monclova and Mexico City plays Monterrey in the North. In the South, Angeleopolis plays Veracruz, Campeche plays Tabasco and Oaxaca plays Yucatan. Each series winner will move on to the quarterfinals, as will a so-called "wild card" team from each division. Wild card teams qualify by forcing the highest number of games in their opening best-of-seven series; e.g., if two series in the North are determined in five games and the other goes six games, the team that LOST in six games still moves on to the next round, creating a pool of eight teams whittled down from the original twelve. Still with us? From that point, the playoffs continue a normal path of best-of-seven sets until a champion is crowned in late August.

Now uncross your eyes and enjoy the Liga postseason!

NORTHERN DIVISION

1) TIJUANA POTROS (35-19)

Leading Batters: Derrick White (.368/26/97), Julio Hernandez (.322), Carlos Valencia (32HR)

Leading Pitchers: Alonso Beltran (8-6/3.45), Hugo Castellanos (7-4/4.82)

First Round Opener: vs. Monclova, July 30

2) SALTILLO SARAPEROS (31-23)

Leading Batters: Jayson Bass (.370), Mario Valenzuela (.360/31/103), Jose Munoz (.337)

Leading Pitchers: Rigo Beltran (13-4/3.40), Steve Bourgeois (8-4/3.58)

First Round Opener: vs. Aguascalientes, July 30

3) MEXICO CITY DIABLOS ROJOS (27-24)

Leading Batters: Robert Saucedo (.340/35/114), Roberto Mendez (.336), Ray Martinez (.325)

Leading Pitchers: Claudio Moreno (10-10/5.76), Roberto Ramirez (10-8/6.12)

First Round Opener: at Monterrey, July 30

4) AGUASCALIENTES RIELEROS (27-25)

Leading Batters: Rontrez Johnson (.363), Jose Nieves (.358), Eduardo Rios (.319/31/111)

Leading Pitchers: Ignacio Montano (8-3/4.76), Edgar Perez (7-6/5.28)

First Round Opener: at Saltillo, July 30

5) SAN LUIS TUNEROS (25-27)

Leading Batters:Darryl Brinkley (.376), Sharnol Adriana (25HR/32SB), Carlos Villalobos (.355)

Leading Pitchers: Humberto Montemayor (7-7/5.65), Gabe Molina (7-9/5.86)

First Round Opener: Did not qualify for playoffs

6) MONCLOVA ACEREROS (25-27)

Leading Batters: Gonzalo Meza (.335), Ricardo Saenz (.319), Guillermo Garcia (.318/29/99)

Leading Pitchers: Bryan Ward (6-8/4.84), Bill Simas (4-6/2.82/21SV)

First Round Opener: at Tijuana, June 30

7) MONTERREY SULTANES (24-26)

Leading Batters: Demond Smith (.333), Edgar Quintero (.330/19/70), Bubba Smith (21HR)

Leading Pitchers: Pablo Ochoa (9-8/5.61), Maximo de la Rosa (2-5/2.41/25SV)

First Round Opener: vs. Mexico City, July 30

8) LAGUNA VAQUEROS (16-37)

Leading Batters: Ramon Espinosa (.352), Cornelio Garcia (.348), Jose Amador (.307/14/68)

Leading Pitchers: Oswaldo Verdugo (5-2/4.28), Martin Gomez (4-8/7.67)

First Round Opener: Did not qualify for playoffs

SOUTHERN DIVISION

1) ANGELOPOLIS TIGRES (32-19)

Leading Batters:Javier Robles (.392/28/101), Jorge Vazquez (.380), Carlos Gastelum (.375)

Leading Pitchers: Alejandro Armenta (13-3/5.50), Pablo Ortega (8-5/4.45)

First Round Opener: vs. Veracruz, July 30

2) OAXACA GUERREROS (31-20)

Leading Batters: Felix Jose (.375/30/113), Christian Quintero (.359), Angel Pena (.333/25/97)

Leading Pitchers: Carlos Pulido (7-7/4.72), Eleazar Mora (73/5.83)

First Round Opener: at Yucatan, July 30

3) TABASCO OLMECAS (29-23)

Leading Batters: Carlos Sievers (.357/17/96), Mario Santana (.307), Donzell McDonald (53SB)

Leading Pitchers: Joel Vargas (9-5/3.81), Juan Delgadillo (9-5/4.09)

First Round Opener: at Campeche, July 30

4) YUCATAN LEONES (26-25)

Leading Batters: Willie Romero (.366/19/89), Pedro Castellano (.332), Scott Bullett (25HR)

Leading Pitchers: Juan Palafox (10-5/4.30), Alfredo Aceves (9-8/4.32)

First Round Opener: vs. Oaxaca, July 30

5) PUEBLA PERICOS (26-27)

Leading Batters:Darrell Sherman (.337), Lorenzo Buelna (.332), Manny Martinez (.329/22/83)

Leading Pitchers: Eric Knott (14-4/3.25), Jason Jacome (6-6/5.31)

First Round Opener: Did not qualify for playoffs

6) CAMPECHE PIRATAS (24-25)

Leading Batters: Roberto Vizcarra (.347), Ruben Rivera (.342/21/71), Bill Selby (.318/25/93)

Leading Pitchers: Francisco Campos (11-4/2.84/170K), Isidro Marquez (3-2/1.85/25SV)

First Round Opener: vs. Tabasco, July 30

7) VERACRUZ ROJOS AGUILAS (23-30)

Leading Batters: Willis Otanez (.376/30/123), Luis Garcia (.353), Omar Ramirez (.305/20/66)

Leading Pitchers: Aaron Acosta (9-9/3.72), Emigdio Lopez (8-3/3.78)

First Round Opener: at Angelopolis, July 30

8) CANCUN LANGOSTEROS (15-39)

Leading Batters: Jose Amado (.340), Rudy Pemberton (.337), Liu Rodriguez (.331/11/63)

Leading Pitchers: Eduardo Salgado (6-11/5.48), Lino Urdaneta (4-3/3.49/13SV)

First Round Opener: Did not qualify for playoffs

MEXICAN BASEBALL ROAD TRIP: Monterrey

Monterrey is the leading city in northern Mexico, and the industrial center of the nation. While many visitors will not be impressed by the accompanying factories, traffic and smog, Monterrey's city center is actually quite pleasant, with a combination of colonial elegance and modern architecture and statues. The heart of Monterrey, many say, lies in the Plaza Zaragosa (also known as the "Macroplaza"), which was created by the demolition of six complete city blocks in downtown Monterrey. The crown jewel of the Macroplaza is the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, or MARCO, a museum that is considered a "don't-miss" experience for art lovers visiting Monterrey. While not as beautiful on an overall basis as some of the more colonial cities in Mexico's south, Monterrey has much to offer those willing to look past the industrial congestion that creates the city's wealth.

Monterrey is also perhaps the center of Mexican baseball. It is home of the Salon de la Fama, the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame, which is located at the Cuauhtemoc Brewery (Note: Mexican beer is uniformly excellent, and Tecate, Bohemia and Carta Blanca are all brewed here). The Salon, an impressive structure built in 1971, inducted five new members just last month. Also in the area is the Baseball Academy of the Mexican League, where all 16 LMB teams share funding for the 100 young Mexican players hoping to develop into pro ballplayers. Structured along the lines of the old Kansas City Royals Baseball Academy, the complex consists of 56 dorm rooms, four baseball fields, four batting cages, a computer room, a weight room, an infirmary and a plaza where players can congregate. The Academia runs a six-team Class A league during the spring, and its players are subject to an annual Liga draft of young talent. It is run by Angel Macias, a national hero who tossed a perfect game for Monterrey's Little League World Series champs in the 1957 title game and later went on to a fine career in the LMB in the 1960's and 1970's. For more in-depth stories about the Salon and the Academia, Jesse Sanchez (a VIVA BEISBOL subscriber) has written a number of excellent articles for MLB.com that are worth checking out.

NEXT VISIT: Monclova

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Vicente Romo, Pitcher (1963-66, 1975-86)

While Vicente Romo is mostly remembered by North Americans as an occasionally-effective relief pitcher in the major leagues during the 1960's and 1970's, he is a Hall of Famer in Mexico after a sterling career as a starter over three decades in both the Liga and the winter MexPac. He won 182 games in each league and took a total of 372 victories in Mexican pro baseball, including a year of Class A ball.

Vicente Romo Navarro was born on April 12, 1943 in Santa Rosalia, Baja California. The 6'0" 185-pound righty broke in with Aguascalientes of the Class A Mexican Center League in 1962. Despite a mediocre 8-9 record and 4.47 ERA, he was with the Mexico City Tigres in 1963 and went 28-18 the next two seasons. After a wasted season with Portland of the Pacific Coast League in 1965 (2-5/4.50 in just 66 innings), Romo was back with the Tigres in 1966, going 17-7 with a 2.41 ERA and 206 strikeouts over 220 innings. He was back in Portland the following year and eventually went on to pitch in the majors from 1968 through 1974 with Los Angeles, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago White Sox and San Diego. Romo was 32-33 with a 3.36 ERA in 335 appearances as he was rarely given a starting assignment.

After a 5-5 season with the Padres in 1974, Romo was back in Mexico in 1975 with Cordoba, turning in a 13-6 record for the Cafeteros. He was one of the Liga's most dominant pitchers, winning 98 games between 1975 and 1981 with an ERA of 1.97 or less the last four years. He started the 1982 season for Coatzacoalcos with a 7-0 mark and an ERA of 1.55 in eight starts before the Dodgers picked the 39-year-old up for one last run in the bigs. Again shunted to the bullpen, Romo was 1-2 and 3.00 for Los Angeles before heading back to Mexico for good in 1983. He won 24 games in two years before wrapping up his Liga career with Cordoba and Yucatan as a part-timer pitcher in 1985 and 1986. He has the LMB's best-ever career ERA (2.49), and posted a record ten shutouts in 1979 for Coatzacoalcos, remarkable given that he recorded a 14-13 mark that season (despite a 1.97 ERA). He won the Liga's ERA title with Coatzacoalcos in 1981 by allowing just 1.40 earned runs per nine innings.

Romo was no less impressive in winter ball. He is the Mexican Pacific League's career leader in wins (182), ERA (2.38), strikeouts (2,038), complete games (178) and starts (364) over 24 seasons. He won an incredible (for winter ball) 17 games for Guaymas in 1963-64, and had a microscopic 1.07 ERA in 1967-68. He pitched the first perfect game in MexPac history (for Ciudad Obregon), and was considered a better prospect than Luis Tiant when both were signed to their first pro contracts in 1961.

Vicente Romo was known as "a talented, fierce and consistent pitcher" (according to BaseballGuru.com's "Latin Insider" Carlos Fragoso (a friend of Romo's for decades), while Liga all-time great Jesus Sommers called Romo "the best pitcher I ever faced...a guy who had it all." Romo is understandably a member of Mexican baseball's Salon de la Fama.

NEXT MAESTRO: Andres Mora, Outfielder

VIVA BEISBOL TRIVIA QUIZ

This issue's Quiz: Can you name the Mexican League manager who is minor league baseball's all-time games leader among catchers (with 2,703), but played only one major league game for the Mets before being sent along with Nolan Ryan to the Angels in a trade for infielder Jim Fregosi in 1972?

Answer to last issue's Quiz: Portly pitcher George Brunet played organized baseball for 32 consecutive seasons, beginning in 1953 with Shelby in the Tar Heel League and including all or part of 15 major league seasons (including a stint with the ill-fated Seattle Pilots in 1969) before going to Poza Rica in the Liga in 1973. Brunet played 13 seasons in Mexico, recording a 132-127 record with 55 shutouts and three full seasons with an ERA of less than 2.00. He is the all-time minor league strikeout king with 3,175 punchouts to his credit. Overall, Brunet's record in pro baseball was 313-335 before retiring after the 1985 season at the age of 50. He is in the Mexican baseball Hall of Fame.

NOTE TO READERS:

Viva Beisbol is produced for OurSportsCentral.com, and is the only regular source of information on Mexican pro baseball written in the USA. It is available free of charge to online subscribers by e-mailing us at vivabeisbol@hotmail.com. Carlos Fragoso from BaseballGuru.com contributed to this issue.

OTHER GOOD SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON MEXICAN BASEBALL:

www.baseballguru.com (Featuring Carlos "The Latin Insider" Fragoso's column)

www.hitazos.com (A smorgasbord of links to Mexican baseball websites)

www.ligadelpacifico.com/mx (The official Mexican Pacific League website)

www.lmb.com/mx (The official Mexican League website)

www.minorleaguebaseball.com (Featuring Mexican League statistics)

www.mlb.com (Including stories on Mexican pro baseball from Jesse Sanchez)

www.planeta.com (Not a baseball site, but has good stories on Oaxaca baseball by Jon Clark)

Mexican League Stories from July 29, 2005

• Viva Beisbol - 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.