Onelki Garcia of Team Cuba celebrates after their 2023 World Baseball Classic Quarterfinal game win over Team Australia at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Yuki Taguchi/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The biggest news this week in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol is that Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, home of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico, will host the 2024 LMB All-Star Game and that Trevor Bauer will stay with the Diablos for the rest of the 2024 season.
Zona Norte Wins All-Star Game 5-2 – The Zona Norte won the 2024 LMB All-Star Game 5-2 behind a three RBI night from Durango’s James Nelson, a former Miami Marlins and New York Yankees farmhand who is in his first season in Mexico. Nelson went 1-for-3 with a double and a sacrifice fly on the way to being voted the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game by the attending media. Nelson is hitting .351/.478./.568 in 33 games this season, hitting four homers and notching 23 RBI.
El Caballo Loco Wins the Home Run Derby – Former MLB outfielder Yasiel Puig won the LMB Home Run Derby during the All-Star Break, hitting five homers in each of the first two rounds to survive and advance before blasting 16 pelotas over the parede (balls over the wall) to capture the title in the final round.
His fellow finalist, Kyle Martin, hit six home runs in the last round.
Tijuana Names Hernandez Manager, Liquidates Staff – The Toros de Tijuana named Carlos Hernandez as manager prior to the All-Star break, and Hernandez dropped Bruce Maxwell, Néstor Rojas, Gilberto Sotomayor and Roberto Pérez from his coaching staff.
On May 26, the club announced Dan Firova as the new skipper. Firova, 67, had a brief MLB career with Cleveland and Seattle in the 1980s but has a long history as a manager in Mexico, where he has previously managed Laredo in 1993-94 and 2008, the Tigres Capitalinos/Tigres de Angelopolis in 1995 and from 1996 to 2002, the Sultanes de Monterrey from 2002-04, the Tuneros de San Luis from 2005-06, split the 2007 season between Laguna and Chihuahua, and led Campeche in 2011-12, Tabasco in 2013, and Monclova in 2018.
Since his last stint in Mexico, Firova worked as a coach in Major League Baseball for the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros under manager Dusty Baker, winning the World Series in 2022.
Tijuana is 20-16 this season and in a four-way tie for second place with the Algodoneros de Union Laguna, the Saraperos de Saltillo, and the Tecolotes de Los Dos Laredos in the Zona Norte.
Cuban P Onelki Garcia Headed to Tabasco – Cuban lefty Onelki Garcia has signed with Tabasco, Yusseff Diaz of PelotaCubanaUSA reported on Sunday.
Garcia, 34, appeared in MLB in 2013 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and in 2017 with the Kansas City Royals, and played three seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Chunichi Dragons in 2018-19 and the Hanshin Tigers in 2020.
Fuentes: El zurdo @GarciaOnelki firmó con los @OlmecasTabasco de la @LigaMexBeis .#pelotacubana #LMB pic.twitter.com/cQmPsVuSAH
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) May 27, 2024
Garcia previously appeared in the LMB with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico in 2016, making 14 appearances and throwing 33 innings with a 3.82 ERA, allowing 28 hits, nine walks, 14 earned runs, and striking out 30. He pitched for Cuba in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, helping the team reach the semifinals, where they lost to the USA at loanDepot Park in Miami.
This Week in the LMB—The best matchup in the early part of the week features the Saraperos de Saltillo (20-16, T-2 in Zona Norte), who will travel to the nation’s capital to face the Diablos Rojos del Mexico (29-7, First in Zona Sur) from May 28-30.
On the weekend, the Pericos de Puebla (21-16, third in Zona Sur) head north to face the Sultanes de Monterrey (25-11, first in Zona Norte) from May 31 to June 2, and Saltillo will head down to Merida to face the Leones de Yucatan (22-14, second in Zona Sur) over the weekend.
Liga Mexicana de Beisbol games can be streamed on Jonron.tv and LMBenvivo.
