In Honor of Cinco de Mayo, Introducing the All-Time Mexican Baseball Team!

¡Ah! ¡Cinco de Mayo!

A time of celebration in Mexico. It celebrates the day back in 1862 when the Mexican army overcame all odds and beat the French forces at the Battle of Puebla. This is not Mexico's Independence day (that would be September 16), nor is it a national holiday (it is celebrated voluntarily), outside of Mexico, especially in the United States, Cinco de Mayo is a day to honor Mexican heritage and pride.

To celebrate, this humble little blog will present it's All-Time Mexican All-Star Team!!!

As of May 4, 2009, there were 109 players in the Major Leagues born in Mexico (this total does not account for the Mexican-Americans or others of Mexican heritage, only those who were actually born in Mexico). The first Mexican to play in the Majors was Mel Almada, an outfielder who played for seven years with the Red Sox, Senators, Browns, and Dodgers between 1933-1939. The first Mexican-born pitcher to make his MLB debut was Jesse Flores, who played for the Cubs, Athletics, and Indians between 1942-1950.

All total, as of May 4, 2009, Mexican players have hit 1,092 home runs, driven in 5,804 runs batted in, has a .246 batting average, stolen 486 bases with an OPS of .657. Mexican pitchers have a combined record of 1443 wins against 1426 losses, an ERA of 4.11, have struck out 17,238 batters, walked 9,435, and 611 saves. (All statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference).

So without further ado, introducing bdj610's All-Time Mexican All-Star Team:

Starting Pitchers

Fernando Valenzuela, Navojoa, 173 (Mexican Leader)-153, 3.54 ERA, 2074 K's, 6-time All-Star, 1981 NL ROY


Esteban Loaiza, Tijuana, 126-114, 4.65 ERA, 1382 K's, 3-time All-Star


Ismael Valdez (Valdes), Cuidad Victoria, 104-105, 4.09 ERA, 1173 K's


Teddy Higuera, Los Mochis, 94-64, 3.61 ERA, 1081 K's, All-Star


Jesse Flores, Guadalajara, 44-59, 3.18 ERA, 352 K's


Yovanni Gallardo, Michoacan, 12-6, 3.27 ERA, 160 K's


Relief Pitchers

Dennys Reyes, Higuera de Zaragoza, 32-33, 4.25 ERA, 589 K's, 3 saves


Aurelio Lopez, Tecamachalco, 62-36, 3.56 ERA, 635 K's, 93 saves (Mexican Leader), All-Star


Antonio Osuna, Sinaloa, 36-29, 3.68 ERA, 501 K's, 21 saves


Ricardo Rincon, Cuitlahuac, 21-24, 3.59 ERA, 400 K's, 21 saves


Sid Monge, Agua Prieta, 49-40, 3.53 ERA, 471 K's, 56 saves, All-Star


Enrique Romo, Santa Rosalia, 44-33, 3.45 ERA, 436 K's, 52 saves


Joakim Soria, Monclova, 5-6, 2.00 ERA, 150 K's, 65 saves, All-Star


Catchers

Alex Trevino, Monterrey, .249 AVG, 23 HR's, 244 RBI's, .643 OPS, 19 SB's


Humberto Cota, San Luis Rio Colorado, .233 AVG, 12 HR's, 61 RBI's, .639 OPS


Infielders

Erubiel Durazo 1B, Hermosillo, .281 AVG, 94 HR's, 330 RBI's, .868 OPS, 7 SB's


Bobby Avila 2B, Veracruz, .281 AVG, 80 HR's, 467 RBI's, .747 OPS, 78 SB's, 3-time All-Star


Vinny Castilla 3B, Oaxaca, .276 AVG, 320 HR's (Mexican Leader), 1105 RBI's (Mexican Leader), .797 OPS, 33 SB's, 2-time All-Star


Aurelio Rodriguez 3B, Cananea, .237 AVG, 124 HR's, 648 RBI's, .626 OPS, 35 SB's


Ruben Amaro SS, Veracruz, .234 AVG, 8 HR's, 156 RBI's, .601 OPS, 11 SB's


Hector Torres SS, Monterrey, .216 AVG, 18 HR's, 115 RBI's, .542 OPS, 7 SB's


Juan Castro IF, Los Mochis, .229 AVG, 35 HR's, 212 RBI's, .599 OPS, 5 SB's


Mario Mendoza IF, Chihuahua, .215 AVG, 4 HR's, 101 RBI's, .507 OPS, 12 SB's (not really great numbers, but thanks to George Brett, Mario was the inspiration for the "Mendoza Line, the "line" that seperates the weak hitters from the really bad hitters, usually around .200).


Outfielders

Jorge Orta OF/2B, Mazatlan, .278 AVG, 130 HR's, 745 RBI's, .746 OPS, 79 SB's (Mexican Leader) 2-time All-Star


Mel Almada OF, Huatabampo, .284 AVG, 15 HR's, 197 RBI's, .710 OPS, 56 SB's


Karim Garcia OF, Ciudad Obregon, .241 AVG, 66 HR's, 212 RBI's, .703 OPS, 10 SB's


Alfredo Amezaga OF/SS, Ciudad Obregon, .252 AVG, 12 HR's, 105 RBI's, .657 OPS, 48 SB's


There you have it ladies and gentlemen, un equipo que consiste en los mejores jugadores de béisbol de México (A team consisting of the best baseball players from Mexico.) Cards of the players to come later on this evening.

Gracias por la lectura (Thank you for reading). ¡Adios!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama