1940 Mexican League season

The 1940 Mexican League season was the 16th season in the history of the Mexican League. It was contested by eight teams. Azules de Veracruz won the first championship in their history by finishing the season first with a record of 61 wins and 30 losses, led by the team's owner and manager Jorge Pasquel.^[1]

1940 Mexican League season
League	Mexican League
Sport	Baseball
Number of teams	8
Season champions	Azules de Veracruz

There were several team changes in the league. Prior to the beginning of the season, six clubs left the Mexican League to form their own competition, known as Liga Cismática (Schismatic League) or Liga del Golfo (Gulf League). Cafeteros de Córdoba, the 1939 champions, and El Águila de Veracruz, did not approve the arrival of businessman Jorge Pasquel and his team Azules de Veracruz, thus, decided to leave the Mexican League, joined by Alijadores de Tampico, Agrario de México, Tigres de Comintra and Puebla, that would play in the Liga Cismática.^[2][3]

Four new teams were established ahead of the season: Rojos del México owned by Salvador Lutteroth and Enrique Carmona, Azules de Veracruz owned by Pasquel, La Junta de Nuevo Laredo and Unión Laguna de Torreón. Later in the season, Alijadores left the Liga Cismática and rejoined the Mexican League, keeping their Liga Cismática record that counted towards the Mexican League standings; also, Dorados de Chihuahua bought the Gallos de Santa Rosa franchise and joined the league.^[3][4]

Standings

Regular season standings^[5]

Pos	Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
1	Azules de Veracruz	61	30	.670	—
2	Rojos del México	57	38	.600	6.0
3	Industriales de Monterrey	52	41	.559	9.0
4	Alijadores de Tampico	46	41	.529	13.0
5	Unión Laguna de Torreón	45	41	.523	13.5
6	La Junta de Nuevo Laredo	39	48	.448	24.5
7	Dorados de Chihuahua	11	38	.224	29.0
8	Gallos de Santa Rosa	3	29	.094	30.0

League leaders

Batting leaders[6] Stat Player Team Total AVG Cool Papa Bell Torreón / Azules .437 HR Cool Papa Bell Torreón / Azules 12 RBI Cool Papa Bell Torreón / Azules 79 R Cool Papa Bell Torreón / Azules 119 H Cool Papa Bell Torreón / Azules 167 SB Sam Bankhead Monterrey 32

Pitching leaders[7] Stat Player Team Total ERA Ramón Bragaña Azules 2.58 W Bill Jefferson Monterrey 22 K Edward Porter Nuevo Laredo 232

Milestones

Batters

• Cool Papa Bell (Torreón / Azules): Bell became the first player in the Mexican League history to win the Triple Crown recording a .437 batting average, 12 home runs and 79 RBIs.^[8][9]

Pitchers

No-hitters

• Leroy Gaines (Azules): On 18 July, Gaines threw the fifth no-hitter in Mexican League history and the first in franchise history by defeating the Dorados de Chihuahua 3–0 in eight innings.^[10][11]

Awards

Award	Player	Team	Ref.
Rookie of the Year	Laureano Camacho	Azules	[12][13]

References

1. Kerlegand, Enrique (25 March 2019). "Jorge Pasquel y sus Azules de Veracruz". MiLB.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
2. González Gómez, César (30 January 2017). "El cisma que provocó Jorge Pasquel y su semejanza con la crisis actual en la Liga Mexicana de Beisbol". Vice (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
3. Kerlegand, Enrique (16 March 2020). "Los trabucos de Jorge Pasquel en los años cuarenta". MiLB.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
4. "Chihuahua, pasado sombrío en la LMB". El Ágora (in Spanish). 5 November 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
5. "Quién es quién 2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. p. 379. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
6. "Quién es quién 2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. p. 421. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
7. "Quién es quién 2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. p. 465. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
8. "Personal Profiles: James "Cool Papa" Bell". Negro Leagues Baseball eMuseum. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
9. Tenorio, Rich (16 March 2021). "US Negro League stars found better pay, integration and fame in Mexico". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
10. Carrión, Álex (12 January 2020). "Diez años sin liga mexicana". El Diario de Chihuahua (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
11. "El Águila de Veracruz tira el primer juego sin hit ni carrera en la campaña 2021 de la LMB". El Universal (in Spanish). 29 May 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
12. Vázquez Legarreta, Enrique (19 August 2003). "Tres veces campeón con el glorioso U.L." (PDF). El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
13. "Memoria de un campeón". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 19 August 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2024.