A week ago, the Leones de Yucatan fired manager Sergio Omar Gastelum after the team hit the skids.
An 11-game losing streak less than 20 games into the season will get any manager fired, and the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol veteran Gastelum was no exception. The Leones’ 11-game skid gave them an 8-15 record through just 23 games. After a week with Adulfo Camacho as interim manager, the Leones turned to Curacaoan Major League Baseball veteran Hensley Meulens as the club’s new manager.
¡Hensley Meulens es nuestro nuevo timonel!??✈️
Un estratega con amplio recorrido internacional y experiencia en cuerpos técnicos de organizaciones históricas de MLB.?
Su liderazgo, visión internacional y trayectoria en el béisbol de alto nivel llegan a la manada. ¡BIENVENIDO!??… pic.twitter.com/SlsUCPTHjC
— Leones de Yucatán (@leonesdeyucatan) May 19, 2026
Meulens, 58, spent the last three years as the hitting coach for MLB’s Colorado Rockies and has been an MLB coach for 15 of the last 16 seasons, starting as a hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants in 2010, where he won three World Series in his first five seasons. He stayed with teh Giants through the 2019 season, then joined the New York Mets, where he served as bench coach under Luis Rojas in 2020. In 2022, he was an assistant hitting coach for the New York Yankees, and then joined the Rockies for 2023.
As a manager, Meulens led the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the 2013, 2017, and 2023 World Baseball Classic and the 2020 Olympic Baseball Qualifier.
He takes over a team that is 9-18 and went 4-3 under Camacho. They’ll hit the road to face the Conspiradores de Queretaro (12-15) in a three-game set before returning home to host the Olmecas de Tabasco (14-13) over the weekend.
A Starting Pitcher Who Didn’t Throw A Pitch – In one of those blips in the box scores that only catches the eye of sportswriters, stat geeks, and fanatics, the Toros de Tijuana had a starting pitcher get credited with a game played despite not throwing a pitch.
In the second game of the May 9 doubleheader against Dos Laredos, Adonis Medina took the mound as the starter for the Tecos at Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo, Texas. He was wearing jersey No. 18, but was listed on the roster as wearing No. 19, and was ruled ineligible to start.
It was no big deal to the Zona Norte-leading Toros, however. Juan Hillman came on in relief to face the game’s first batter and threw 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit and two walks, and the Toros went on to win 7-1 in seven innings.
Big Matchups This Week – The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (16-12) have already taken one game from the Bravos de Leon (16-12) on Monday, and the series winner will likely head to the weekend in third place or better in the Zona Sur. In the Zona Norte, the division-leading Toros de Tijuana (19-7) head to Zapopan to face the Charros de Jalisco (15-12) and the Sultanes de Monterrey (18-9) have a chance to jump ahead of Tijuana should the Toros struggle against the Charros. Monterrey heads to Saltillo, where the ninth-place Saraperos are 8-19 and a half-game ahead of last place Chihuahua.
Over the weekend, the Diablos Rojos face El Aguila de Veracruz (13-14) in the Zona Sur, and the Tecos (15-12) face the Charros up north.
Where to Watch – All Liga Mexicana de Beisbol games are streamed live with a subscription on LMB TV, and a season subscription is on sale for MX$799 (about US$46) until April 30. Select games are streamed live on the YouTube page for Latin American network Claro Sports.
Photo: Colorado Rockies hitting coach Hensley Meulens (31) warms up before a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
