LAMP: Sanchez, Howard Off To Hot Starts; Big Crowds In Every City During Season’s Opening Week

There’s a hot start, and there’s what Asael Sanchez did in the Caneros de Los Mochis’ first two games this season.

Sanchez, now in his 11th season in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, hit a grand slam in each of the Caneros’ first two games of the season against the Yaquis de Obregon. The two slams were his first two hits of the season, and though his bat cooled off a bit as the Caneros faced the Jaguares de Nayarit over the weekend, he still has a 1.041 OPS through 23 plate appearances in five games.

With 10 RBIs through the first five games of the season, Sanchez ranks second in the league in RBIs at the moment, trailing Naranjeros de Hermosillo first baseman Darick Hall, who hit a grand slam of his own in Sunday’s 5-3 win against the Tucson Baseball Team.

Howard Announces His Arrival to Winter Ball – Tucson Baseball Team right fielder Gaige Howard got his first taste of winter ball this week, and he found it delicious.

In five games with Tucson, including the four home games played in Hermosillo due to the team’s ongoing difficulty getting visas for the players who don’t have U.S. citizenship or residency, Howard went 9-for-19 with four doubles and five RBIs. His nine hits lead the league, and his .474 average ranks fourth in the LAMP at the moment.

Since he was released from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Low-A affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga on April 18, 2023, he’s played in two different independent leagues as well as the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, he’s batted .323 in 1,446 at-bats, and posted a .321/.448/.474 slash line with 10 homers and 57 RBIs this past summer with Quintana Roo of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.

The Real Game Is In the Stands – Art Clarkson, the four-time Southern League Executive of the Year, was fond of reminding sponsors, staffers, fans, players, trainers, security guards, bus drivers, hot dog vendors, and anyone else who might listen, “The real game is in the stands.” By that, Clarkson meant that whoever is winning the battle for attendance is winning on the bottom line, and the bottom line is what keeps a team, and a league, financially viable.

So far, attendance is looking good around the LAMP, where home openers drew an average of 13,479 if you exclude Tucson’s home opener, which was played in Hermosillo and drew 3,469, the second-smallest crowd of the young season. Even with a crowd of 2,715 on Friday night, Obregon is averaging 7,028. That’s 10th in the league, but still keeps the lights on.

Tucson’s four home games played in Hermosillo drew a total of 29,636 to Estadio Fernando Valenzuela for an average of 7,409. Obviously, the Baseball Team would rather be playing home games at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, where they wouldn’t have to split the gate with the team hosting their home games, but good numbers over the weekend will help defray the expense of playing home games on the road for an indefinite period of time.

Streaming Problems – The Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico’s games were reported to be streaming on MLB.tv this season in a post by BeisbolPuro on X last week, but after two games, the streams were no longer being provided via Major League Baseball’s proprietary streaming service. Fans on X and Reddit have noted that the streams the first two days of the season were of poor quality. Fan who want to watch LAMP games can still do so via the league’s YouTube page for a subscription fee.

Tuesday’s LAMP Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
10 p.m. – Caneros de Los Mochis at Venados de Mazatlan
10:30 p.m. – Charros de Jalisco at Aguilas de Mexicali
10:30 p.m. – Yaquis de Obregon at Naranjeros de Hermosillo
10:30 p.m. – Tomateros de Culiacan at Jaguares de Nayarit
10:30 p.m. – Tucson Baseball Team at Algodoneros de Guasave

Photo: Gaige Howard is 9-for-19 with eight RBIs in his first five games in the LAMP. (Photo courtesy of the Naranjeros de Hermosillo)