1946 Mexican Baseball League season

1946 Mexican League season Mexican League Baseball 8 Alijadores de Tampico List of Mexican League seasons LMB 1945 Mexican League season 1945 1947 Mexican League season 1947 The 1946 Mexican League season was the 22nd season in the history of the Mexican League (LMB). It was contested by eight teams. Alijadores de Tampico won their second consecutive title, finishing with a records of 56 wins and 41 losses, beating the runners-up, Diablos Rojos del México, by one game. This season was notable due to the conflict between the Mexican League, in its first year under president Jorge Pasquel, and Major League Baseball (MLB). Pasquel attempted to lure major league players to Mexico by offering higher wages, earning the ire of MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler, as the Mexican League existed outside so-called "organized baseball." 22 major leaguers ended up defecting, or "jumping", to the Mexican League, though these players would be banned from playing in MLB-affiliated ball under Chandler's orders. Conflict with Major League Baseball Before 1946, the Mexican League drew top-level American talent from the Negro leagues, ranging from established stars like Willie Wells and Josh Gibson, as well as future prospects like Monte Irvin; as African-Americans, these players were barred from playing in Major League Baseball.McKelvey, pp. 48–55Mexico https://beisbol.nlbm.com/global-tie/mexico/ Béisbol and the Negro Leagues Negro League Baseball Museum 7 June 2024 However, after World War II, the league sought to recruit players from MLB itself, largely thanks to the efforts of Jorge Pasquel, owner of the Azules de Veracruz and the league's new president. The first player committing to play in Mexico was Danny Gardella, an outfielder with the New York Giants. Gardella signed an offer with Veracruz worth $3,000 more than what he would be paid in the majors.Young Bill From Mexico to Quebec: Baseball’s Forgotten Giants https://sabr.org/journal/article/from-mexico-to-quebec-baseballs-forgotten-giants/ SABR Society for American Baseball Research 7 June 2024 Eventually, 21 other players followed Gardella, including Sal Maglie, Max Lanier, and Alejandro Carrasquel (though some returned home soon after defecting).Mexican League Banned Players https://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/Mexican_League.shtml Baseball Almanac 7 June 2024 Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler drew a clear line between "organized baseball," i.e. the minor leagues under the authority of the Commissioner, and the independent Mexican League, which was labeled an "outlaw league." Pasquel offered to acquiesce to Chandler's authority providing that the Mexican League was recognized as a "major league" on par with MLB, but this was rejected.McKelvey, p. 63 On April 1, Opening Day of the 1946 MLB season, Chandler announced that any player who had "jumped" to Mexico would be banned for five years from playing in MLB-affiliated baseball.McKelvey, pp. 65–66Marshall William H. Jr. Happy Chandler and Baseball's Pivotal Era The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 99 1 Spring 2001 111 Other MLB owners like Yankees owner Larry MacPhail took legal action to prevent their players from defecting to Mexico.McKelvey, p. 66 Most of the "jumpers" signed with clubs owned by Pasquel and his brothers: the Azules de Veracruz (10) and the Diablos Rojos del México (3).Alex Carrasquel and Luis Olmo played with both Veracruz and México in 1946.McKelvey, p. 83 Torreón, Nuevo Laredo, and Puebla signed three each, while eventual league champion Tampico signed only one, Moe Franklin.McKelvey, p. 83 However, many of them found it difficult to adjust to the Mexican League; Veracruz catcher Mickey Owen ended up returning to the United States partway through the season, only to find that Chandler's suspension wasn't a bluff. Pasquel's efforts to lure top-level major league talent to Mexico were unsuccessful, as star players like Ted Williams and Stan Musial rebuffed his offers. Most of the MLB players that did "jump" to Mexico did not substantially improve their teams' performance, and Pasquel's own Azules de Veracruz, with 11 of the defectors, limped to a dismal, second-to-last place finish.McKelvey, p. 167 Going into the 1947 season, Pasquel announced that he would no longer "raid" players signed to MLB contracts.McKelvey, p. 169 The conflict with MLB had ramifications beyond the Mexican League; after the 1946 season, Gardella eventually sued Major League Baseball on antitrust grounds, in what would be the biggest challenge to baseball's reserve clause since the 1920s. Chandler, faced with the prospect of a court striking down baseball's antitrust exemption, lifted the suspension of the jumpers in 1949.Mandell David Danny Gardella and the Reserve Clause https://sabr.org/journal/article/danny-gardella-and-the-reserve-clause/ SABR Society for American Baseball Research Standings + Regular season standingsQuién es quién 2023 https://img.mlbstatic.com/milb-images/image/upload/milb/uqxqnixocbyibjedzmc5.pdf Liga Mexicana de Beisbol 379 11 March 2024 es Pos Team W L Pct. GB 1 Alijadores de Tampico 56 41 56 41 — 2 Rojos del México 55 42 55 42 1.0 3 Pericos de Puebla 52 46 52 46 4.5 4 Unión Laguna de Torreón 50 47 50 47 6.0 5 Industriales de Monterrey 48 49 48 49 8.0 6 La Junta de Nuevo Laredo 48 50 48 50 8.5 7 Azules de Veracruz 41 57 41 57 15.5 8 Tuneros de San Luis Potosí 40 58 40 58 16.5 League leaders + Batting leadersQuién es quién 2023 https://img.mlbstatic.com/milb-images/image/upload/milb/uqxqnixocbyibjedzmc5.pdf Liga Mexicana de Beisbol 421 7 June 2024 es Stat Player Team Total AVG CUB Claro Duany Monterrey .364 HR CUB Roberto Ortiz México 25 RBI CUB Pedro Pagés Puebla 83 CUB Roberto Ortiz México R CUB Roberto Ortiz México 108 H CUB Napoleón Reyes Puebla 140 SB CUB Agustín Bejerano Nuevo Laredo 47 1em + Pitching leadersQuién es quién 2023 https://img.mlbstatic.com/milb-images/image/upload/milb/uqxqnixocbyibjedzmc5.pdf Liga Mexicana de Beisbol 465 7 June 2024 es Stat Player Team Total ERA USA 1912 Max Lanier Azules 1.93 W CUB Agapito Mayor Nuevo Laredo 20 USA 1912 Sal Maglie Puebla K USA 1912 Booker McDaniel San Luis Potosí 232 thumb|upright|Max Lanier, one of the MLB "jumpers" took the ERA title in 1946 Milestones Batters Agustín Bejerano (Nuevo Laredo): Bejerano set the Mexican League record for stolen bases, with 47; this record would later be broken by Francisco García in 1966.http://www.milb.com/documents/1/7/4/96923174/HISTORIA_DE_LA_LIGA_MEXICANA_jl94yvga.pdf HISTORIA DE LA LIGA MEXICANA. 16 November 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151116153747/http://www.milb.com/documents/1/7/4/96923174/HISTORIA_DE_LA_LIGA_MEXICANA_jl94yvga.pdf dead Awards Award Player Team Ref. Rookie of the Year MEX 1934 Guillermo Álvarez Puebla Tomás Morales "Huevito" Álvarez, leyenda desde su debut https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-109193526 MiLB.com 13 February 2015 17 July 2024 es Notes References Bibliography McKelvey G. Richard Mexican Raiders in the Major Leagues: The Pasquel Brothers Vs. Organized Baseball, 1946 2006 McFarland 9780786425631 Mexican League season Mexican League season Category:Mexican Baseball League seasons