For many, it was a dream final. For others, a baseball failure. Fans were divided in their opinions about a title disputed by two Mexican teams in the Caribbean Series. Despite the contrasts, one thing is certain: Mexico lifted the trophy at home a decade later, this time under the leadership of Benjamin Gil.
Identified as Mexico Red, the Charros de Jalisco were crowned champions by defeating the Tomateros de Culiacan 12-11, registered as Mexico Green, at the Panamericano Stadium in Zapopan. The victory was not easy, because they had to go to extra innings to define the winner.
In the fourth inning, everything pointed to a comfortable and overwhelming victory for the Charros with the score 9-1 in their favor. However, to everyone’s surprise, and as in sports nothing is written, the Tomateros reacted furiously thanks to an extraordinary performance by Victor ‘La Chule’ Mendoza, who led the tie at ten runs. In the bottom of the 10th inning, a wild pitch made the difference in favor of Jalisco.
Benjamin Gil’s great night in the Caribbean Series
The manager and his roster repeated the dose to Lorenzo Bundy and his team, whom they defeated in the final of the Pacific League a couple of weeks ago
Gil also became the second Mexican to win the competition as a manager and as a player. In this way, he replicated the feat of Francisco “Paquin” Estrada, who won the Caribbean Series as catcher for Aguilas de Mexicali in 1986 and as manager of Tomateros de Culiacan in 1996 and 2002.
A historic Caribbean Series for Mexico
During the third inning, a special chapter was written for the Mexican team when Michael Wielansky, of Charros, made history by becoming the Mexican with the most hits in a single Caribbean Series with 14. As if that were not enough, he tied the record for most hits in the tournament.Mexico ranks third among the countries with the most titles in the competition:
- Dominican Republic with 23
- Puerto Rico with 16
- Mexico with 10
Read the full article here
