View Beto Avila stadium. (Photo by Jam Media/LatinContent via Getty Images)
When the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol‘s Juego de Estrellas rolls around on May 25, there will be plenty of names recognizable to Major League Baseball fans taking the field this coming Saturday at Estadio Beto Avila in Veracruz.
34 players with experience in MLB have been named to the LMB’s midsummer classic, with 17 former Major Leaguers representing the Zona Norte and 16 representing the Zona Sur.
Among those representing the Zona Norte is reliever Neftali Feliz of the Caliente de Durango, who made 352 appearances as a relief pitcher over 10 seasons with Texas, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Feliz has seven saves and two wins in 13 appearances thus far this season.
Two former New York Yankees infielders, Greg Bird of the Charros de Jalisco and Didi Gregorius of the Algodoneros de Union Laguna, were also named to the Zona Norte squad. Bird resurfaced over the winter in the Australian Baseball League and has followed a strong showing down under with a good start south of the border, batting .299/.368/.551 with a .919 OPS, nine homers and 22 RBI in 33 games. Gregorius is in his second season with Union Laguna, and has driven in 22 runs in 29 games with four homers, five doubles, and an OPS of .801.
Yasiel Puig, who had a memorable MLB career in Los Angeles and Cleveland and is now playing for El Aguila de Veracruz, was named to the Zona Sur’s team. The native of Cienfuegos, Cuba, played for Veracruz in 2001 before playing for the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO in 2022. Puig has four homers in 11 games this season with nine RBI for El Aguila.
He’ll be joined by former New York Mets and Yankees infielder Robinson Cano and 2020 Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer, who are tearing up the LMB with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico. Cano is batting .402/.473/.598 with a 1.071 OPS, six homers and 26 RBI in 28 games with the Diablos, while Bauer has made six starts, going 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 35 innings of work, striking out 55 and walking just eight, posting a WHIP of 0.914.
Jerar Encarnacion of Oaxaca was named to the Zona Sur All-Star team but signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants and will not be appearing in the game.
Zona Norte: P Jake Jewell (Union Laguna), P Taylor Williams (Union Laguna), P Yoan Lopez (Union Laguna), P Jose Torres (Union Laguna), P Stephen Tarpley (Monterrey), P Neftali Feliz (Durango), P Roel Ramirez (Tijuana), P RJ Alaniz (Monclova), P Fernando Abad (Saltillo), IF Jonathan Schoop (Union Laguna), IF Didi Gregorius (Union Laguna), IF Wilfredo Tovar (Aguascalientes), IF Kennys Vargas (Dos Laredos), IF Greg Bird (Jalisco), IF Ramiro Pena (Monterrey), OF Yadiel Hernandez (Dos Laredos). 17
Zona Sur: C Yorman Rodriguez (Leon), IF Cristian Adames (Puebla), IF Luke Voit (Tabasco), IF Robinson Cano (Mexico City), IF Alexi Amarista (Oaxaca), OF Peter O’Brien (Puebla), OF Franklin Barreto (Mexico City), OF Yasiel Puig (Veracruz), P Fernando Salas (Tabasco), P Angel Sanchez (Puebla), P Gabriel Ynoa (Puebla), P Cesar Valdez (Yucatan), P Trevor Bauer (Mexico City), P Julian Fernandez (Veracruz), P Jhan Marinez (Queretaro), P Ramon Rosso (Campeche). 16
Beisbol lovers, ya tenemos los rosters para el Juego de Estrellas 2024 de la Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. ⭐️⚾️ pic.twitter.com/H1MxbDdfis
— Beisbol Love ⚾️❤️🔥 (@beisbol_looove) May 15, 2024
Coming Up This Week – In the Zona Norte, first-place Monterrey (23-10) visits second-place Saltillo (19-14) May 21-23, while in the Zona Sur, first-place Mexico City (26-7) visits the fourth-place Bravos de Leon (17-16) to start the week.
The league’s All-Star break begins Friday, with the All-Star Game being played Saturday in Veracruz.
Liga Mexicana de Beisbol games can be streamed on Jonron.tv and LMBenvivo.
