Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, President of Mexico, gives a speech prior an exhibition game between the San Diego Padres and Diablos Rojos de Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
The Serie del Rey will long be over on Oct. 1, the day when Claudia Scheinbaum will replace Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as President of Mexico.
Scheinbaum, elected to the presidency on Sunday with approximately 58% of the vote as of Monday morning, will be the first female president in Mexican history.
For baseball fans, Scheinbaum will replace a president who wore his baseball fandom on his sleeve. During his six years in office, Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, has revitalized the game across Mexico. Both the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol and the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico have expanded, new ballparks have been built, most notably in Mexico City, and the country has risen from No. 6 to No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s World Baseball Rankings.
Over the past six years, the LMB has transitioned from a Triple-A league governed under the rules of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the organization that oversaw affiliated minor league baseball in the United States from 1902 to 2020, to an independent league with multiple former Major Leaguers on every roster. With teams now allowed to sign up to 20 foreign-born players, the LMB’s 2024 season is providing fans with what could be the highest level of play the league has seen in decades.
In 2024, the league also added new expansion teams in Queretaro and Chihuahua, with the Conspiradores de Queretaro playing in a new but as of yet unfinished ballpark.
While the LAMP hasn’t had a team win the Caribbean Series during AMLO’s tenure as president, Mexico’s winter league added teams in Guasave and Monterrey for the 2019-20 season, bringing the circuit up to 10 teams.
However, Mexico’s rise in the World Baseball Rankings is most notable. When AMLO took office in 2018, Mexico was ranked sixth globally, behind Japan, the United States, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Cuba. Six years later, Mexico is ranked No. 2 globally and reached the semifinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the nation’s best-ever finish in the event.
The success of the WBC, too, can at least partially be chalked up to AMLO’s administration. After defecting from Cuba to Mexico by taking a boat to Isla Mujeres in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, outfielder Randy Arozarena played in the LMB with the Toros de Tijuana and the LAMP with the Mayos de Navajoa. He needed Mexican citizenship to represent his adopted country in the WBC, so he asked AMLO to help him obtain a Mexican passport.
Of course, Arozarena went on to star for Mexico in the WBC, and his playful sense of humor made him a fan favorite during the event.
Earlier this year, President Lopez met with representatives of the Houston Astros, his favorite team, and the Colorado Rockies in advance of the 2024 MLB Mexico City Series.
Ayer, antes de iniciar la gira, desayuné con directivos y amigos de los Astros de Houston y los Rockies de Colorado. Cada vez hay más pelota caliente en nuestro país. pic.twitter.com/thVfNT5j7E
— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) April 28, 2024
The realities of politics aside, AMLO will, at minimum, leave Mexican baseball better than he found it when he leaves office in October.
That’s a Ton of Taters – In the bottom of the eighth inning of Sunday’s game between the Charros de Jalisco and the Tigres de Quintana Roo, fans were treated to quite a display of power.
With Jose Guadalupe Chavez on second, Luis Sardinas clubbed a two-run homer to give Jalisco a 3-0 lead. Vimael Machin followed Sardinas with a solo shot. Then Anthony Giasanti hit a solo homer. Former New York Yankee Greg Bird joined the party with a solo homer, and then Oswaldo Arcia hit a solo homer of his own.
That’s right – back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers – gave Jalisco a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth.
¡BACK TO BACK TO BACK TO BACK TO BAAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKKKKK!🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💣💣💣💣💣
Hacemos historia en la Liga Mexicana de Béisbol al conectar CINCO JONRONES de manera consecutiva, algo que jamás había ocurrido en 98 años de historia en el circuito. pic.twitter.com/vhBv6AZwlo— Charros de Jalisco🤠 (@charrosbeisbol) June 3, 2024
The feat was the first time in LMB history that a team hit five consecutive homers in an inning. It also ties the record for most home runs in a single inning, which El Aguila de Veracruz set earlier this season against the Guerreros de Oaxaca.
Esta Semana en la LMB – The best series early in the week pits the Leones de Yucatan (25-17, 2nd in Zona Sur) against the Algodoneros de Union Laguna (25-17, 2nd in Zona Norte) in Torreon.
Over the coming weekend, the Diablos Rojos del Mexico (35-7, 1st in Zona Sur) will visit the Algodoneros Saturday through Monday. Elsewhere next weekend, the Olmecas de Tabasco (23-19, 3rd in Zona Sur) head to the border to face the Toros de Tijuana (23-10, T-4 in Zona Norte) Friday through Sunday.
You can watch Liga Mexicana de Beisbol on Jonron.tv, YoutubeTV, and LMBenvivo.
