With the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol season complete and awards being handed out, perhaps the least surprising news of the season is that Trevor Bauer of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico won the league’s Pitcher of the Year award.
Bauer, 33, got 94 votes from the electing committee. Bauer went 10-0 with a 2.48 ERA in 14 starts. He led the league in strikeouts with 120 in 83 1/3 innings.
The 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner with the Cincinnati Reds, Bauer set an LMB record, fanning 19 against the Guerreros de Oaxaca on June 21.
Bauer also struck out nine consecutive batters on April 21 against the Bravos de Leon, tying an LMB record set by José Ramón López in 1964 and then tied by Gary Williams in 1979.
He originally signed a five-game tryout deal with the Diablos Rojos prior to the start of the season, and stayed for the remainder of the season in hopes of winning the pitching triple crown and the Serie del Rey, winning the latter and leading the LMB in strikeouts and tying for the league lead in wins, but finishing second in ERA, behind Zac Grotz of the Acereros de Monclova, who had a 2.35 mark.
Bauer’s teammate Robinson Cano, who led the LMB in batting with a .431 average during the regular season, was named the LMB’s MVP for 2024.
Nicknamed “El Jefe,” Cano became the third player to win an LMB batting title after age 40, joining Negro League star Al Pinkston, who won four LMB batting titles after age 40 in1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962, and MLB veteran Julio Franco, who won in 1999 and 2001.
Cano, a native of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, led the LMB in hits with 141, was second in OBP with a .475 mark, was third in total bases with 209, fourth in slugging at .639, fifth in doubles with 26 and sixth in RBIs with 77.
Cano has played six seasons of winter ball for the Estrellas Orientales of LIDOM, a club based in his hometown of San Pedro de Macoris, and appeared in the last two Caribbean Series as a reinforcement with the Tigres del Licey of LIDOM. Bauer was selected by the Naranjeros de Hermosillo of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico in that league’s foreign player draft. It is unknown whether or not the former Cy Young winner will play winter ball.
Former MLBer Alexi Amarista Wins Comeback Player of the Year – A knee injury surgery that required a year-long recovery kept Alexi Amarista off the field in 2023, but came back to the Guerreros de Oaxaca ready to play in 2024. The native of Barcelona, Venezuela finished second in the LMB in hits with 133 and total bases with 213, fourth in extra-base hits with 45, sixth in doubles (25) and triples (5) and seventh in batting average (.361). The 35-year-old played for the Tigres de Aragua in the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional last winter, and later joined the Tiburones de La Guaira as a reinforcement for the Caribbean Series, helping La Guaira to its first title.
Queretaro’s Jose Offerman Named Manager of the Year – Jose Offerman of the Conspiradores de Queretaro was named the LMB’s Manager of the Year after leading one of the LMB’s two expansion clubs for the 2024 season to the playoffs.
Offerman is the second consecutive Dominican to win the award, joining Felix Fermin of the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos, who won in 2023. He lead the Conspiradores to a second place finish in the Zona Sur with a 50-38 record, 20 games behind the runaway division winner, the Diablos Rojos del Mexico.
A native of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, Offerman played his final professional season with El Aguila de Veracruz in 2009, and managed the Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen to a 31-76 record in 2016.
He’ll return to the Dominican Republic to manage the Toros del Este in LIDOM this winter.
Tabasco’s Fernando Salas Wins Back-to-Back Reliever of the Year Honors – Olmecas de Tabasco reliever Fernando Salas won the LMB’s Reliever of the Year award for the second straight season after earning 28 saves in 29 opportunities, and became the seventh pitcher to lead the LMB in saves in consecutive seasons.
Franklin Barreto Wins Defensive Player of the Year – Franklin Barreto of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year after an error-free season in center field. The native of Valencia, Venezuela appeared in 76 games, playing 647 innings and not making an error in 155 chances, notching 148 putouts and seven assists.
Monterrey Pitcher Denny Román Named Rookie of the Year – Denny Román of the Sultanes de Monterrey was named the 2024 LMB Rookie of the Year. The 25-year-old native of Zacatecas, Mexico posted a 2.48 ERA in 33 relief appearances, walking 16 and striking out 28 batters across 32 2/3 innings of work. He previously pitched four seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system, rising to High-A before returning to Mexico. Roman has pitched each of the last four winter seasons for the Mayos de Navajoa of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico.
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WBN LMB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mexico/
Photo: Trevor Bauer celebrates during his 13-strikeout performance against Oaxaca in game five of the Serie de Campeonato. (Photo courtesy of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico)
