It is in the now distant year of 1954 when our beloved Yucatan Lions made their debut within the Mexican Baseball League (LMB). Joy for some, nostalgia and sadness for others, who saw the Peninsular League disappear, which provided so much satisfaction to the fans of Mérida, Motul, Progreso and Campeche, who revered their teams.
It is in the lamented Carta Clara Park where the Lions, with a roster of players already known mostly to the fans, begin their history, which in this recently started season will be played in Kanasín.
Zacarías Auais, Óscar Garmendia, Ángel “Cuco” Toledo, Jessie Douglas, Ramiro “Cuquito” Vázquez, Humberto Borbón, Pedro “Charolito” Orta, Pedro Comas, Manuel “Chino” Hidalgo, Hervé and Elías Montañez, José Adam, Fermín “Burbuja” ” Vázquez, Miguel Chiquini and Antonio “El Negro” Aguilar were part of the group of position players, and in pitching, Humberto García, José “Indio” Peraza, Ernesto Morillas and Gilberto “Borrao” Garza made up the starting staff, and Antonio Aguilar, Felipe Ceballos, Martín Carrasquel and Hernán Cortés as relievers.
I, like many of the esteemed readers of the Diario, was present at that inaugural duel.
They finish with an honorable second place at the end of the 72-game season. The 1955 campaign did not look good at all, falling to the cold basement with 44-56 wins and losses.
In 1956, under the command of Adolfo Luque, they rose to third place with 55-64. And it was in the year 1957, and under the reins of Óscar “Barriguilla” Rodríguez, that they obtained their first championship in wins and losses, with two games ahead of their eternal rivals, the Diablos Rojos del México. Edrick Kellman, Orlando Leroux, Olmedo Suárez, Luis “Camaleón” García, Zacarías Auais stand out in batting, with a percentage above .300, and in pitching, Julián Ladera, with 17 victories, in addition to Rodolfo “El Mulo” Alvarado, with 12; José Nakamura and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, with 10 each.
The year 1958 marks the end of the first stage in the Mexican League, in third place with a 60-60 record. Rodolfo Alvarado, Juan Piedra and Julián Ladera stood out in pitching, and in hitting, Ángel Toledo, Néstor Velázquez, Olmedo Suárez and Zacarías Auais. Yucatecan baseball has a lot of history. Merida, April 2024
#Lions #Yucatán #historical
2024-05-13 01:28:11
