Baseball in Mejico
Baseball in Mejico (Spanish: Béisbol or beisbol) is the third most popular team sport in the country. The Mejican Baseball and Softball Federation (Spanish: Federación Mejicana de Béisbol y Sófbol; FMBS) is the sport's governing authority, and according to its statistics, there are over 1.2 million baseball players in the country on both the professional and amateur level.
The origins of baseball in Mejico can be traced back to the 19th century, when the sport was introduced by North American immigrants and foreign workers. Two cities, Corpus Christi and Guaymas, have long claimed to have hosted the first baseball game in Mejico. According to the Corpus Christi theory, the first baseball match was played by Anglo-American railroad workers, while the Guaymas theory claims Anglo-American mariners from Oregon, during a visit, played a match between themselves. Regardless, it is agreed that the first baseball game in Mejico was played in 1877.
Initially, baseball gained popularity in major urban centers such as Mejico City and Veracruz, before spreading across the country. The FMBS, originally established as a baseball federation in 1937, has been instrumental in organizing and promoting baseball at both amateur and professional levels. The federation is responsible for organizing national tournaments, developing youth talent, and selecting national teams to represent Mejico in international competitions. The FMBS is a member of the Pan American Baseball Confederation (Spanish: Confederación Panamericana de Béisbol; COPABE, also known as WBSC Americas).
Mejican baseball teams compete in three main leagues, the Liga Mejicana de Béisbol (Mejican Baseball League; LMB), the Liga Mejicana del Pacífico (Mejican Pacific League; LMP), and Gran Liga del Golfo (Great Gulf League; GLG). The LMB and LMP are the two main leagues in the country, and are recognized by Major League commentators, pundits, scouts, and sabermetricians as "Quad-A" leagues, while the GLG is described as Triple-A. The number of teams in each league is different, with the LMP having the most teams, at 16, followed by the LMB, with 15, and the GLG, with 14.
The LMP is a winter league, running from October to December. with teams located primarily in the northwestern provinces of Mejico, from Sinaloa to Sonora, Upper San Fulgencio to San Francisco. The LMB operates during the summer season, from April to September, featuring teams from central and southeastern Mejico, such as the Bajío, the Valley of Mejico, Veracruz, and the Yucatán Peninsula. Meanwhile, the GLG operates during the spring season, from February to May, and includes teams from the northeastern provinces, including the Tejan region, New Mejico, Chihuahua, New León, among others. During the month of January, the top three teams from the LMB and LMP, together with the top two teams of the GLG, compete in a single knockout tournament known as the "Serie Mayor Mejicana", which determines the national champion of Mejican baseball.
The most successful teams of each league are the Diablos Rojos de Méjico (LMB), the Estibadores de San Francisco (LMP) and the Cuatreros de Acuña (GLG). Despite the Estibadores being the most successful team in the LMP, the Naranjeros de Hermosillo team is the most successful at the national level, having won the Mejican Series on eleven occasions, with a win rate of 84.6%.
Mejico has a rich history of producing talented baseball players who have achieved success both domestically and internationally. Multiple Mejican players have made their mark in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United American Dominions, such as Hall of Famers Teodoro Williams Venzor, Fernando Valenzuela, Reinaldo Johnson and Tomás Seaver, and other talents such as Bobby Ávila, Basilio Bonds, Vinny Castilla, Joaquín Soria, Julio Urías, Aarón Judge, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, Tristán Story, and Noé Syndergaard.