MEXICAN BASEBALL FIESTA BEGINS 11TH YEAR

    The MBF
involves a partnership with Mexican Pacific League teams, many of
which journey to the US for preseason training camps. The event is
overseen by Mike Feder, a 30-year minor league general manager (15 of
those in Tucson) as President of the MBF, and founder/partner
Francisco Gamez, who played ten winters in the Mex Pac, which
annually draws many more fans per game than any minor league north of
the border.

    Mexican
Baseball Fiesta games have an electricity in the air not seen during
MLB spring training in February and March with music playing all the
time, mascots on the field, fans dancing in the stands and authentic
Mexican food like tacos, tortas and burritos instead of hot dogs and
peanuts (although those are available at concession stands. Fans
follow their teams across the border with such fierce loyalty and
pass their love of the game on from generation to generation. It’s
not uncommon to see three generations of families enjoying a game
together, all wearing replica jerseys of their favorite team.

    From its
roots in Tucson, the Mexican Baseball Fiesta has grown throughout
Arizona and occasionally into California, Nevada and New Mexico. This
year, the Fiesta increased its stay in the Phoenix area with an extra
day in Maryvale, where the Hermosillo Naranjeros played single games
against a team of Obregon, Navojoa and Guasave players at the Brewers
spring ballpark September 23 and 24. That was followed by three
doubleheaders in Mesa over the just-concluded weekend at Sloan Park,
training camp home of the Cubs.

    The
event now moves to Tucson (known to some as “Optics Valley” due
to the 150 Tucson
companies are involved in the design and manufacture of
optics and
optoelectronics
systems)
for seven games between Thursday and Sunday, beginning with an
October 6 doubleheader featuring Obregon and Navojoa in the 5:05PM
opener followed by a nightcap between Hermosillo and the University
of Arizona. 

    In all, four LMP teams (Hermosillo, Obregon, Navojoa and
Mexicali) will play in Tucson at Kino Stadium, an 11,500-seat former
spring home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox as well
as a Tucson Pacific Coast League team. The facility, which opened in
1998, is now used by the Tucson Saguaros, three-time champions of the
independent Pecos League.

    Past
ticket sales indicate that about 20 percent of the crowd is from
Mexico. A few years ago,
the Visit Tucson tourism organization did an economic impact study of
the event and determined that the MBF generates over $1.5 million to
Tucson’s local economy. “We’re excited to partner with this great
event for the eleventh year to bring Mexican baseball back to
Tucson,” said Felipe Garcia, President/CEO of Visit Tucson. “The
popularity of this event continues to grow, and we are proud to be a
part of something that both locals and visitors look forward to every
October. The Mexican Baseball Fiesta is the true definition of a
quality cultural event and a boon to our community and economy.”

MEXICAN
WINTER LEAGUE TO OPEN SECOND SEASON

     The Mexican League will operate the Mexican Winter League for a second consecutive season in 2022. This year, the LIM will be split into three divisions: North, Central and South. Its objective, according to the LMB, is to promote the young talent of participating clubs.

   LMB
president Horacio de la Vega Flores said in a press release, “We
applaud the efforts of the organizations that are part of the LIM in
2022. Likewise, we thank the authorities of the Yucatan State
government, their host municipalities, as well as the municipality of
Poza Rica, Veracruz, promoters of the development of our young
talents.

    “Alejandro
Kirk, today a baseball star in the Major Leagues, was forged in this
circuit a few seasons ago. Fans will appreciate the players who will
shine in the near future, players who will be a source of
inspiration, zeal and professionalism of those who came before them
and who are currently figures of Mexican baseball.”

    The
LIM’s ten teams (including four combining players from two LMB clubs)
and their home venues for the upcoming campaign are:

North
Division
Monclova
Acereros (Monclova Stadium), Monclova, Coahuila
Monterrey
Sultanes (Estadio Monterrey), Monterrey, Nuevo León
Unión
Laguna Algodoneros (Estadio de La Revolución), Torreón, Coahuila

Central
Division
Mexico
City Diablos Rojos/Oaxaca Guerreros (Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú),
Mexico City, DF
Puebla
Pericos (Estadio Hermanos Serdán), Puebla, Puebla
Veracruz
Aguilas/Leon Bravos (Estadio Heriberto Jara Corona), Poza Rica,
Veracruz

South
Division
Aguascalientes
Rieleros/Tijuana Toros (Campo Aureliano Centeno), Valladolid, Yucatan
Durango
Generales (Campo Juan Rivero Alonzo), Tizimín, Yucatan
Guadalajara
Mariachis/Tabasco Olmecas (Parque Miguel Hidalgo), Progreso, Yucatan
Yucatan
Leones (Parque Eliseo Gómez), Umán, Yucatan

    Games
in the North and Central divisions will begin on October 12 and one
day later in the South. The regular season will close on November 27
in the South while in the North and Central, the schedule concludes
on November 28. North and Central division clubs will play 24 games
each while those of the South play a total of 28 contests.

    Central
Division games will be played from Wednesdays through Sundays, with
the exception of the fial game between Puebla and the Veracruz/Leon
team on Monday, November 28. Games in the South will be held
Thursdays to Sundays while in the North Division, games will be
played without a set pattern with a maximum of two days of rest per
team.

    In the
Serie del Principe
(Prince’s Series) the champion will be defined and the best of five
games will be crowned between December 3 and 8, closing at the
ballpark of the highest-ranked seed. The title matchup will be
determined by the top two teams based on the percentage of wins and
losses, regardless of which division they belong to. In case of a
tie, a run-differential formula will be used. If a team from the
South Division reaches the Serie
del Principe, they would
play in Merida’s Kukulcán Park, home of the 2022 King’s Series
(Serie del Rey)
champion Yucatan Leones.

    The
rosters will be made up of a maximum of 28 players from the LMB
Reserve Lists, as well as players authorized by the Liga office and
in the process of signing. The age limit is 25 years, with a maximum
of six free agents, among which there may be three foreigners.

    The
current defending champions of the LIM (Liga
Invernal de Mexico) are the
Monclova Acereros, who defeated the Puebla Pericos in five games for
the 2021 pennant.

SALON
DE LA FAMA 2023 BALLOT ADDS 11 NAMES

    The
Salon de la Fama’s Pre-candidate Nomination Assembly was held last
Friday to implement the voting ballots for the Election of the new
immortals of Mexican baseball for its 2023 induction ceremonies in Monterrey.

    Eleven
baseball players to be added to the final ballot were announced
together with eight unnamed candidates who are being carried over
from the last vote in 2020, thus integrating a ballot with fourteen
candidates in the Mexican Baseball Players Category and a new Card
with five candidates in the Mexican Players Category with a minimum
of 7 seasons in Major Leagues. Of the 19 names on the ballot, a
maximum of five will be elected.

The
eleven ballot newcomers selected were:

Players
in Mexican Baseball Leagues:
Miguel Flores, Germán
Jiménez, Noe Munoz, Miguel Ojeda, Mike Paul, Roberto Ramirez, Javier
Robles.

Mexicans
with 7+ Years in the Major Leagues:
Juan Gabriel Castro, Karim Garcia, Rodrigo López, Ismael Valdez.

    The
Nomination Assembly was made up of Electoral Committee president
Antonio de Valdes, Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega,
Mexican Pacific League president Carlos Manrique, Salon de la Fama
director Francisco Padilla Davila and Salon historian Horacio Ibarra.

    Results
of the balloting will be announced in February 2023. The most recent
election resulted in a Class of 2021 that included players Matias
Carrillo, Vinny Castilla, Eduardo Jimenez, Isidro Marquez and Jose
Luis Sandoval; veteran William “Bonnie” Serrell and journalist
Jorge Menendez Torre.