Viva Beisbol

by Bruce Baskin
Published on September 28, 2005 under Mexican League (ML)

While the Mexican League season is in the books and the major leagues head into their postseason, the Mexican Pacific League is gearing up for its 2005-06 campaign, which opens October 11. One of four recognized winter leagues (the others are in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic), the MexPac has been entertaining fans in northwest Mexico for decades. Last winter's LMP champion Mazatlan Venados went on to win the Caribbean World Series, where pennant winners from all four nations come together in February in what is perhaps the most-anticipated baseball event of the year in those countries.

The MexPac draws most of its players from the Liga, Mexico's Baseball Academy in Monterrey, and from major league organizations looking to get some added seasoning for their prospects, or to rehab players returning from injuries or subpar seasons. Unlike spring training in Florida or Arizona, this is very serious baseball. Fans will let players know if they think a less than stellar effort is being put out on the field, and the "country club" atmosphere that generally marks minor league baseball crowds up north is absent here. People do not come to LMP games to be entertained by bat-spin races.

The eight teams in the LMP (for Liga Mexicana del Pacifico) play 70-game regular season schedules broken into two halves between mid-October until early January. Then the MexPac goes into a six-team playoff similar to the Mexican League in which the three opening round series winners are joined by a wild card team which (from among the three losers) fared the best in stretching their series the furthest number of games. LMP cities stretch south from Mexicali at the U.S. border down to Mazatlan, and teams play in ballparks considered AA to AAA in size and quality. There is a great range among MexPac towns, from the tourism-oriented coast city of Mazatlan to the tiny farming village of Guasave. While it's a bit of a drive to Mexicali, the other MexPac teams are fairly close to each other and some heated rivalries along the lines of Yankees-Red Sox intensity exist among them.

With that in mind, let's take a look at how things went last winter in the LMP:

CULIACAN TOMATEROS (42-23)

The Tomato Growers were the class of the LMP regular season, coming away with the best record in the league. Pitcher Jorge Campillo dominated the circuit, going 10-1 with a 2.05 ERA to lead the MexPac in both wins and best ERA. Catcher Adan Munoz was equally as dominant at the plate, topping the LMP with a .367 batting average and belting 21 homers in 57 games. Hurlers Alfredo Aceves (8-2/3.67) and Sergio Lizarraga (8-4/3.90) gave Culiacan a solid pitching staff, but the Tomateros (who also had OFs Ruben Rivera and Karim Garcia in the lineup) were eliminated by Mazatlan in the semifinals.

GUASAVE ALGODONEROS (33-31)

Guasave finished third in the first half with an 18-15 record, but tailed off in the second half before becoming a first round playoff casualty. C Noe Munoz was second in the LMP with a .359 average and OF Demond Smith (.308/15HR/11SB) had a solid season for the Cottoneers. Beyond Munoz and Smith, however, this was a singles-hitting team that lacked speed once they got on base. There was not much going in the pitching department as the Algodoneros never really established a solid rotation. Only Rodolfo Gonzalez (6-2/3.17) won more than five games while Tetsu Yofu (5-3/4.07) did well at times.

HERMOSILLO NARANJEROS (28-38)

The 2004-05 season was not a good one for Hermosillo, as the Orangemen had the second-worst record in the MexPac and missed the playoffs. C Iker Franco (.297/20/57) had a good year, and 1B Dan Johnson showed some power with 12 homers in 47 games, but the Naranjeros didn't have a strong lineup (although 2B Dave Doster did finish sixth in the LMP batting race at .307). A weak pitching staff didn't help. Swingman Jonathan Castellanos (4-1) led the staff in wins and tossed the team's only complete game. Vet Angel Moreno was 3-4 but showed an ERA of 5.74, which won't win many games even with a good-hitting team.

LOS MOCHIS CANEROS (34-32)

The Sugar Cane Growers had a great first half, finishing a game behind winner Obregon, but tied for sixth with Hermosillo in the second stanza before suffering a semifinal ouster at the hands of Mexicali. 1B Carlos Sievers (.327/14/60) had a excellent campaign, while OF Rontrez Johnson (.307 with 12 homers) led the MexPac with 18 steals. Ramon Orantes (.336/13/33 in 41 games) and Jeff Cirillo (.312) gave the Caneros good work at third base, but the rest of the lineup had holes in it. The pitching was horrendous, as the team ERA was 5.62. Closer Carlos Chavez (2-4/4.40 with 8 saves) was the best of a bad lot, and he wasn't exactly bulletproof.

MAZATLAN VENADOS (34-30)

After a mediocre first half and better second half, the Deer caught fire and went on to take the Caribbean World Series. This was a poor-hitting team (.263) that finished last in the MexPac with 57 homers. SS Heber Gomez (.302) and 2B Miguel Flores (.300) were the only regulars to top the .300 mark, although 3B Joe Dillon did hit .323 in 33 games. The Venados won by strong pitching (an LMP-best 4.13 ERA with six shutouts), defense (a MexPac low of 44 errors) and speed (56 steals). Pablo Ortega (9-3/2.88) was second in the league in wins and third in ERA, while Francisco Campos (7-2/3.29) was also among MexPac pitching leaders.

MEXICALI AGUILAS (30-33)

After a poor first half, the Eagles had a winning record in the second half and made it to the LMP finals before bowing to Mazatlan. OF Johnny Gomes was sensational, going .364/17/45 in only 31 games to lead the Aguilas into the postseason. 2B Sergio Gastelum (.333) did well as a midseason pickup, and OF Rick Short (.364) was super before leaving the team after just 32 games. Starting pitching was not a strong point, but the bullpen was as Julio Parra and Kevin Toler combined for an 11-1 record and David Cortes had 15 saves. The season was marked by an unsuccessful comeback attempt by Fernando Valenzuela (2-2/6.75).

NAVOJOA MAYOS (21-43)

The Mayos were just plain awful last winter, finishing last in both hitting and pitching en route to ending their 64-game campaign 22 games under .500. Believe it or not, there was a bright spot, and that was the batting of 1B Morgan Burkhart. The vet slugger hit .304 and led the LMP with 23 homers and 64 RBIs, making one shudder to think how bad things would have been without him. DH J.J. Davis hit .313 before leaving his team in December, but Burkhart had no protection and was walked routinely. Pitching? Julio Valerio (2-2/2.81) and Mauricio Lara (1-1/2.74) did good work out of the bullpen, but that's about it.

OBREGON YAQUIS

After a super 21-13 record and a first half crown, the Yaquis faded to 16-16 in the second half and were bounced in the first round of the playoffs. SS Javier Robles (.336/12/53) had a great season, as did C Chris Coste (.303/15/49), 1B Andy Tracy (.310/17/32) and DH Mario Valdez (.327 with 9 homers in 29 games). Obregon had some fine pitching, too, especially from Ariel Prieto (8-1/2.09), who was the league's best pitcher next to Culiacan's Campillo. However, the Yaquis had no complete games and went through 25 pitchers despite a team ERA of just 4.38, and the staff never really jelled as a unit.

2005 LMB "VIVA AWARD" WINNERS

With the 2005 Mexican League playoffs now behind us, it's time to pass out our first annual "VIVA Awards" to the best players from the past season. These are purely subjective, but then again, all awards are. Here we go with our winners...

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Sharnol Adriana, San Luis Tuneros

This may be a controversial choice, but it's hard to argue with the numbers. Playing for a lousy team, Adriana ranked among the Top 10 batters in numerous categories, leading the Liga in runs scored (105) and total bases (277). He was the only member of the 20/20 club, cracking 25 homers and stealing 32 bases. Oh, and he hit .368, too. A tough pick, but this infielder deserves it. Imagine how he'd have done with a better team.

BATTER OF THE YEAR: Felix Jose, Oaxaca Guerreros

Another tough pick in a league full of great hitters, but Jose was consistently excellent throughout the year. He finished with a .375 batting average along with 30 homers and 113 RBIs even though he led the Liga in walks with 93. Pitchers just didn't want to throw to this guy. Oaxaca was one of the pleasant surprises of the second half, and this former big leaguer was the main reason.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Francisco Campos, Campeche Piratas

It had to be either Campos or Puebla's Eric Knott, who had a great year for a bad team, but in the end, the question was who batters least wanted to face. The pick here is Campos, who at times dominated hitters on the way to an 11-4 record and a Liga-best 2.84 ERA. He also led the LMB with 170 strikeouts in just 152 innings for another title in that category, and continued to prove that he is arguably the best pitcher in Mexico.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Hector Garanzuay, Monclova Acereros

Not a great season for rookies in the Liga, but it came down to a choice between two players: 2B Garanzuay or Laguna Vaqueros OF Julio Reyes. Both had very similar seasons, but we'll give the nod to Garanzuay because the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi product was just a trifle more productive (.302/47R/48RBI/.391OBP) than Reyes (.313/10HR/53RBI/.365OBP) and played a more difficult position defensively.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Enrique Reyes, Angelopolis Tigres

Early in the season, the Tigres' all-Mexican roster and adherence to a "pitching by committee" was cause for concern. Not bringing in a big-hitting foreigner in a league full of them seemed a poor decision, and the idea of yanking a pitcher who might be doing well looked downright foolish. Reyes ended up with both the last laugh and the LMB pennant. He never looked back on those two decisions, and now looks brilliant because of it.

PLAYOFF MVP: Javier Robles, Angelopolis Tigres

While Robles would've been a fine choice for MVP in the regular season, he really got it going in the playoffs. It seemed like whenever the Tigres needed a big it, it was the 2005 LMB batting champion (.393) who delivered it. He was absolutely terrific in the finals against a Saltillo club with strong pitching. Although the entire Angelopolis lineup was filled with top hitters, the 34-year-old Sinaloa native was the best of the best in crunch time.

MEXICAN BASEBALL ROAD TRIP: Mexicali, Baja California Norte

We resume our Road Trip in Mexicali, a city of 575,000 that (not surprisingly) sits on Mexico's border with California. Mexicali is a fairly recent city, developed as a center for area farmers 100 years ago. After becoming the capital of Baja California Norte in 1915, it grew as a place for North Americans to engage in otherwise illicit activity as the 20th Century progressed. The economy expanded further as foreign companies attracted by Mexico's low labor costs established maquiladoros factories in Mexicali, which (as with Tijuana) accounts for much of the city's burgeoning population. Across the border lies the sister city of Calexico, California. Both share a 24-hour border crossing.

While Mexicali is not the tourist mecca Tijuana has somewhat become to the west, there are still points of interest. It has the Mexico's largest Chinatown (La Chinesca), and there are a large number of shops and restaurants in a triangular area near the border. In the former state governor's mansion on Avenida Alvaro Obregon lies the Galeria de la Ciudad (City Gallery), which hosts art works from many Mexican artists. Mexicali is also home to the University of Baja California, which features a regional museum featuring exhibits of paleontology, archeology, ethnography, landscape photography and missions of Baja California. The annual Fiesta del Sol in October is one of the year's highlights. Still, Mexicali is not a textbook example of a traveler's paradise. It is very hot during the summer, gets below freezing during the night in winter, and in general is not tourist-oriented.

Mexicali's baseball team, the Aguilas (or Eagles), made it to the Mexican Pacific League playoffs finals before losing to eventual Caribbean World Series champion Mazatlan. The Aguilas were formed in 1976, and have played 29 years in the MexPac, winning three LMP pennants and a CWS championship in 1986 under legendary manager Cananea Reyes. Their home stadium, El Nido de las Aguilas ("The Eagles' Nest") seats 10,000 fans around a symmetrical field of 330 feet down the foul lines and 400 feet to straightaway center.

NEXT VISIT: Hermosillo, Sonora

MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Miguel Suarez, Outfielder (1971-87)

While Miguel Suarez does not immediately leap to mind as one of the great batsmen in Liga Mexicana history, his record indicates that he was consistently productive over his 17-year career. While he had neither power nor great speed on the basepaths, Suarez was nonetheless a perennial .300 batter as one of the best leadoff hitters ever in Mexico.

Miguel Suarez Lopez was born September 29, 1952 in Guasave, Sinaloa. The tiny 5'4" 140-pounder began his pro career with Tampico in the Class A Mexican Center League as a 16-year-old in 1969. He played two years in Tampico, batting .314 in 1969, followed by a league-best .393 in 1970. He showed surprising power, knocking out 26 homers over those two seasons, but the longball was not his style, as Suarez would go on to hit only 23 circuit clouts during his LMB career (and never more than three in one season).

Suarez debuted with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos in 1971, and led the Liga with 188 base hits en route to a .372 average and a selection as the LMB Rookie of the Year. That would set a pattern for his career, as Suarez only failed to hit .300 once in his first eleven seasons, batting .297 in a strike-split 1980 season for Reynosa and the Mexico City Tigres. He came back with a .303 mark for the Tigres in 1981 and eventually turned in .320 and .332 campaigns for Tabasco and Nuevo Laredo in the early 1980's. After consecutive .259 seasons for Veracruz and Monterrey in 1985 and 1968, he called it quits at the age of 33.

Suarez ended his Liga playing days with 2,444 career hits for a .323 average. While he only had 63 stolen bases (and was actually caught stealing 96 times), he did swat 86 triples, reaching double figures four times between 1973 and 1979. Although he never led the LMB in batting, Suarez is the only player ever to top the circuit in hits three times (including a record 227 safeties in 1977 when he hit .370 for the Red Devils) and led the Liga in triples with 13 in 1973. He was not nearly so successful in the winter, with a career mark of .259 in 14 Mexican Pacific League seasons, mostly with his hometown team in Guasave.

He was inducted into Mexico's Salon de la Fama in 1994.

NEXT MAESTRO: Jimmie Collins, outfielder (1978-87)

VIVA BEISBOL TRIVIA QUIZ

Answer to last issue's Quiz: The first no-hitter thrown in modern Mexican League history was tossed on August 13, 1955 by Jaime Ochoa of the Mexico City Tigres, who blanked Aguila of Vercruz, 15-0, over seven innings. Ochoa's moment in the sun was brief, as he went on to play only three seasons in the Liga between 1955 and 1957, going 15-10 with a 4.24 ERA in 37 games (including 21 starts). The no-hitter was his only career shutout.

While Martin Dihigo's no-hitter for Aguila against Nogales in 1937 is the first recorded no-no in Liga history, the LMB's "new era" begins in 1955 after longtime president Jorge Pasquel died in a plane wreck, creating a void the remaining owners were forced to fill when Pasquel's original so-called outlaw league essentially perished with him. Mexican baseball limped along as some northern teams merged with minor leagues in Texas and Arizona before the reorganized Mexican League appeared in 1955 with recognition for the first time by the National Association as an accredited minor league.

This issue's Quiz: Which team has won the most Mexican Pacific League pennants?

NOTE TO READERS:

Viva Beisbol is written twice per month, 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. Our next Viva Beisbol will be produced October 15, by which time we hope to have our own website (including Carlos "The Latin Insider" Fragoso's column plus links to other websites).

OTHER GOOD SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON MEXICAN BASEBALL:

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

http://depelota.com (Covers Mexican pro ball, including the independent leagues)

www.hitazos.com/mx (Features top columnists and coverage of all baseball in Mexico)

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 (With stories on Mexican baseball from subscriber Jesse Sanchez)

www.oursportscentral.com (Great site for minor league sports, and Viva Beisbol's original "home")

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

www.purobeisbol.com/mx (Lots of coverage of both the LMB and LMP)

Mexican League Stories from September 28, 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.