Mexican Pacific League

The Mexican Pacific League (Spanish: Liga Mexicana del Pacífico, or LMP), officially known as the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons, is a ten team professional baseball winter league based in Northwestern Mexico. It was founded in 1945. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year.

Mexican Pacific League

Upcoming season or competition: 2024–25 Mexican Pacific League season
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1945
Commissioner	Carlos Manrique González[1]
No. of teams	10[2]
Countries	Mexico
Headquarters	Guadalajara, Jalisco[3]
Confederation	CPBC WBSC Americas[4]
Most recent champion(s)	Naranjeros de Hermosillo (17th title)
Most titles	Naranjeros de Hermosillo (17 titles)[5]
TV partner(s)	YouTubeTV(Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic)
Official website	LMP.com

The sixty eight-game regular season is split in two halves. After each half, the teams are awarded points. The first place team earns ten points, while the last place team earns three and a half points. At the end of the regular season the total number of points are added up from both halves to determine playoff positioning. The top eight teams advance. There are no divisions.

History

In 1945, a group of people led by Teodoro Mariscal established the Liga de la Costa del Pacífico (English: Pacific Coast League). The league's first season (1945–46) started with four teams: Tacuarineros de Culiacán, Ostioneros de Guaymas, Queliteros de Hermosillo and Venados de Mazatlán. Mariscal was appointed as the league's first president. In 1947 the league expanded with two new teams: Arroceros de Ciudad Obregón and Pericos de Los Mochis.^[6][7]

In 1958, only four teams participated, all from the state of Sonora: Rojos de Ciudad Obregón, Rieleros de Empalme, Naranjeros de Hermosillo and Ostioneros de Guaymas. Since all the participant teams were from Sonora, the league changed its name to Liga Invernal de Sonora (English: Sonora Winter League). In 1959, Mayos de Navojoa replaced Ciudad Obregón. In 1962, Ciudad Obregón and Los Mochis returned to the league. In 1965, Mazatlán and Tomateros de Culiacán joined the league, which changed its name for third time to Liga Invernal Sonora-Sinaloa (English: Sonora-Sinaloa Winter League).^[6][7]

In 1970, the league changed its name to the current Liga Mexicana del Pacífico (English: Mexican Pacific League) and joined the Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe (English: Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation), thus participating for the first time in the 1971 Caribbean Series.^[6][7][8]

In 2020, the league signed a 5-year naming rights deal with ARCO.^[9]

Two teams joined the LMP for the 2020 season: Sultanes de Monterrey, that became the first team to play in the two professional baseball leagues in Mexico, and Algodoneros de Guasave, that returned to the Mexican Pacific League after disappearing in 2014.^[10]

Teams

Águilas

Naranjeros

Yaquis

Mayos

Cañeros

Tomateros

Venados

Charros

Sultanes

Algodoneros

2024–25 Mexican Pacific League team locations

Team	City	State	Stadium	Capacity[11]	Founded
Águilas de Mexicali	Mexicali	Baja California	Estadio Nido de los Águilas	17,000	1948
Algodoneros de Guasave	Guasave	Sinaloa	Kuroda Park	8,500	1965
Cañeros de Los Mochis	Los Mochis	Sinaloa	Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada	12,500	1947
Charros de Jalisco	Zapopan	Jalisco	Estadio Panamericano	16,500	2014
Mayos de Navojoa	Navojoa	Sonora	Estadio Manuel "Ciclón" Echeverría	11,500	1950
Naranjeros de Hermosillo	Hermosillo	Sonora	Estadio Fernando Valenzuela	16,000	1944
Sultanes de Monterrey	Monterrey	Nuevo León	Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey	21,803	1939
Tomateros de Culiacán	Culiacán	Sinaloa	Estadio Tomateros	19,210	1965
Venados de Mazatlán	Mazatlán	Sinaloa	Estadio Teodoro Mariscal	16,000	1945
Yaquis de Obregón	Ciudad Obregón	Sonora	Estadio Yaquis	16,500	1947

Champions

Season	Liga de la Costa del Pacífico Champion
1945–46	Venados de Mazatlán
1946–47	Presidentes de Hermosillo
1947–48	Ostioneros de Guaymas
1948–49	Tacuarineros de Culiacán
1949–50	Tacuarineros de Culiacán
1950–51	Ostioneros de Guaymas
1951–52	Tacuarineros de Culiacán
1952–53	Venados de Mazatlán
1953–54	Venados de Mazatlán
1954–55	Venados de Mazatlán
1955–56	Tacuarineros de Culiacán
1956–57	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1957–58	Venados de Mazatlán

Season	Liga Invernal de Sonora Champion
1958–59	Ostioneros de Guaymas
1959–60	Ostioneros de Guaymas
1960–61	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1961–62	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1962–63	Ostioneros de Guaymas
1963–64	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1964–65	Ostioneros de Guaymas

season	Liga Sonora-Sinaloa Champion
1965–66	Yaquis de Obregón
1966–67	Tomateros de Culiacán
1967–68	Ostioneros de Guaymas
1968–69	Cañeros de Los Mochis
1969–70	Tomateros de Culiacán

Season	Liga Mexicana del Pacífico Champion
1970–71	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1971–72	Algodoneros de Guasave
1972–73	Yaquis de Obregón
1973–74	Venados de Mazatlán
1974–75	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1975–76	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1976–77	Venados de Mazatlán
1977–78	Tomateros de Culiacán
1978–79	Mayos de Navojoa
1979–80	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1980–81	Yaquis de Obregón
1981–82	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1982–83	Tomateros de Culiacán
1983–84	Cañeros de Los Mochis
1984–85	Tomateros de Culiacán
1985–86	Águilas de Mexicali
1986–87	Venados de Mazatlán
1987–88	Potros de Tijuana
1988–89	Águilas de Mexicali
1989–90	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1990–91	Potros de Tijuana
1991–92	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1992–93	Venados de Mazatlán
1993–94	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1994–95	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
1995–96	Tomateros de Culiacán
1996–97	Tomateros de Culiacán
1997–98	Venados de Mazatlán
1998–99	Águilas de Mexicali
1999–2000	Mayos de Navojoa
2000–01	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
2001–02	Tomateros de Culiacán
2002–03	Cañeros de Los Mochis
2003–04	Tomateros de Culiacán
2004–05	Venados de Mazatlán
2005–06	Venados de Mazatlán
2006–07	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
2007–08	Yaquis de Obregón
2008–09	Venados de Mazatlán
2009–10	Naranjeros de Hermosillo
2010–11	Yaquis de Obregón
2011–12	Yaquis de Obregón
2012–13	Yaquis de Obregón
2013–14	Naranjeros de Hermosillo[12]
2014–15	Tomateros de Culiacán
2015–16	Venados de Mazatlán[13]
2016–17	Águilas de Mexicali
2017–18	Tomateros de Culiacán
2018–19	Charros de Jalisco
2019–20	Tomateros de Culiacán
2020–21	Tomateros de Culiacán
2021–22	Charros de Jalisco
2022–23	Cañeros de Los Mochis
2023–24	Naranjeros de Hermosillo

Teams in gold Caribbean Series champions

Championships (1945–1958)

• Mazatlán (Antiguos Venados): 5 (1946, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958)
• Culiacán (Tacuarineros): 5 (1949, 1950,1951 1952, 1956)
• Hermosillo (Queliteros/Presidentes/Naranjeros): 2 (1947, 1957)
• Guaymas (Antiguos Ostioneros): 1 (1948)

Championships by team

Rank	Team	Wins	Years
1	Naranjeros de Hermosillo	17	1961, 1962, 1964, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2024
2	Tomateros de Culiacán	13	1967, 1970, 1978, 1983, 1985, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021
3	Venados de Mazatlán	9	1974, 1977, 1987, 1993, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2016
4	Yaquis de Obregón	7	1966, 1973, 1981, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013
5	Águilas de Mexicali	4	1986, 1989, 1999, 2017
	Cañeros de Los Mochis	4	1969, 1984, 2003, 2023
7	Mayos de Navojoa	2	1979, 2000
	Potros de Tijuana	2	1988, 1991
	Charros de Jalisco	2	2019, 2022
10	Algodoneros de Guasave	1	1972

Records

Single season batting Player Team Total Season Batting average Héctor Espino Naranjeros de Hermosillo .415 1972–73 Sandy Madera Cañeros de Los Mochis .413 2009–10 Eduardo Arredondo Algodoneros de Guasave .406 2010–11 Home runs Ronnie Camacho Rieleros de Empalme 27 1963–64 Bobby Darwin Naranjeros de Hermosillo 27 1971–72 Héctor Espino Naranjeros de Hermosillo 26 1972–73 RBIs Héctor Espino Naranjeros de Hermosillo 83 1972–73 Héctor Espino Naranjeros de Hermosillo 77 1963–64 Héctor Espino Naranjeros de Hermosillo 75 1971–72 Hits Ramón Montoya Rieleros de Empalme 130 1963–64 Benjamín Valenzuela Yaquis de Obregón 125 1954–55 Héctor Espino Naranjeros de Hermosillo 125 1972–73 Stolen bases Mike Cole Algodoneros de Guasave 58 1984–85 Francisco García Yaquis de Obregón 49 1965–66 Lou Frazier Mayos de Navojoa 47 1989–90

Single season pitching Player Team Total Season ERA Salvador Colorado Potros de Tijuana 0.53 1982–83 Maximino León Naranjeros de Hermosillo 0.87 1979–80 Byron McLaughlin Ostioneros de Guaymas 1.05 1978–79 Wins Miguel Sotelo Naranjeros de Hermosillo 18 1961–62 Daniel Ríos Venados de Mazatlán 17 1950–51 Vicente Romo Ostioneros de Guaymas 17 1963–64 Saves Jake Sanchez Águilas de Mexicali 26[14] 2021-22 Mark Zappelli Yaquis de Obregón 23 1990–91 Andrés Ávila Cañeros de Los Mochis 23 2015–16 Strikeouts José Leyva Ostioneros de Guaymas 203 1966–67 Felipe Leal Naranjeros de Hermosillo 195 1965–66 Jerry Hinsley Naranjeros de Hermosillo 176 1968–69

Defunct teams

Main page: Category:Defunct baseball teams in Mexico

See also

• Mexican League
• Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame
• Mexico baseball awards
• Sport in Mexico

References

1. Manrique, Carlos (30 August 2022). "GUÍA DE MEDIOS TEMPORADA 2021- 2022".
2. "Sitio Oficial de la Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico". Liga ARCO Mexcana del pacífico. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
3. Manrique, Carlos (30 August 2022). "GUÍA DE MEDIOS TEMPORADA 2021 - 2022".
4. "Associated Members of the WBSC". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
5. "Historia del Club - Naranjeros".
6. Gastélum Duarte, Guillermo. Enciclopedia Conmemorativa del 75 Aniversario de la Liga Mexicana del Pacífico (in Spanish). Liga Mexicana del Pacífico.
7. "Guía Oficial temporada 2019–20" (in Spanish). Liga Mexicana del Pacífico. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
8. "Mexican Baseball History 3: The Mexican Pacific League". Baseball Mexico. 19 September 2009.
9. "Presentan la Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico". Milenio (in Spanish). 7 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
10. "La Liga Mexicana del Pacífico crece a diez equipos, se unen Monterrey y Guasave". Liga Mexicana del Pacífico. 27 January 2019. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019.
11. "Guía de medios temporada 2021–22" (in Spanish). Liga Mexicana del Pacífico. 30 August 2022. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
12. "Mexico repeats as Caribbean Series champ". Major League Baseball. 9 February 2014.
13. "Venados beat Tigres to win the Caribbean Series". Sportsnet. 7 February 2016.
14. "Jake Sánchez es elegido Relevista del Año de la LMP 2021-22". October 2022.

External links

• LMP website (in Spanish)