Tigres de Quintana Roo Sold To Investors Headed By Fernando Valenzuela

LINDA MARGARITA BURGOS RUMORED TO BE NAMED AS HEAD OF THE CONSORTIUM

Carlos Peralta, the former owner of the Tigres de Quintana Roo, has announced the sale of the team to a consortium of investors, including former LA Dodger and Mexican baseball superstar, Fernando Valenzuela.

Fernando Valenzuela with the LA Dodgers

Peralta earlier this year had petitioned the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB) to be allowed to leave the league based on the league's decision to allow an unlimited number of dual nationality players on the leagues teams. These dual nationality players, who some team owners have said would ruin Mexican baseball, were in the minority when the President of the US Minor League's (MiLB) Pat O'Connor ruled there would be no limits on these Mexican-Americans.

The MiLB sanctions the LMB as a US equivalent Triple A league.

This move lead Peralta to place the team for sale. He initially said that the Tigres name, images and colors would not be sold. Peralta is quoted as saying "(t)he position taken by the league will bring negative consequences, both for the players born and trained in Mexico and for the league itself". He further stated that he sold the team to "a regional group of investors with proven moral quality".

The fiery owner, whose father founded the Tigres 62 years ago, has said he will "disappear" and have nothing to say about the running of the Tigres under the new administration. As a concession to the new owners, Peralta has allowed the use of all things Tigres.

Tigres News Conference

In a news conference held in Cancun on the 19th of February, Valenzuela, standing alongside Peralta and the Governor of Quintana Roo, Carlos Joaquin, said " (b)aseball is still in Cancun." he added that "I would never have imagined being in charge of an organization, more than anything a team such as the Tigres." It is rumored that Valenzuela's wife, Linda Margarita Burgos will be named as the legal head of the purchasing consortium on Monday the 20th of February.

The LMB guidelines require that team owners need to be investigated and approved by the league and the other 15 teams in the league. A league meeting that had been scheduled for the 17th of February was put off until the 24th so that any ownership change in Cancun could be approved and the Tigres able to begin the 2017 LMB season as scheduled on the 31st of March.

The selling price of the Tigres is rumored to be in the range of 50 million Pesos (roughly $2.5 million dollars US at today's exchange rate). The government of Quintana Roo subsidized the Tigres in 2016 in an amount near 19.1 million Pesos, a number that has dropped steadily over the past 6 years. There was no indication from Governor Jaoquin on whether or not, and in what amount, any future subsidy might be.

The press conference also made no mention of any potential roster changes that might happen nor if the 2016 manager and coaches would be retained.

New Managerial Faces in the LMB for 2017

AT LEAST 6 NEW MANAGERS in the LMB for 2017

Cory Snyder

Cory Snyder, who coached the Pericos de Puebla to the 2016 LMB Championship has left Puebla to coach the ChinaTrust Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan for the 2017. He will be replaced by Von Hayes who coached the Pericos in 2015.

Snyder led the Pericos to their first LMB Championship in 30 years in 2016. Hayes was fired as manager of the Pericos after just 25 games in 2015, a direct result of a losing record and a drop in attendance.

Von Hayes

Both Snyder (Cleveland Indians) and Hayes (Philadelphia Phillies) had good careers in the Liga Grande (Major Leagues) and both coached in Triple A affiliates for major league clubs.

Wally Backman

Following the 2016 season, the Acereros fired their manager, Homar Rojas, as the Acereros were swept 4 games to none in the first round of the Zona Norte Playoffs. Rojas will be replaced as manager by Wally Backman, formerly the manager of the NY Mets Triple A affiliate Las Vegas 51s. Backman will be remembered as the second baseman on the 1986 NY Mets World Championship team. Rojas has taken over the Rieleros de Aguascalientes for 2017.

The Vaqueros de Laguna will be piloted by Ramon Orantes who spent 20 years playing in the LMB and the Mexican winter league, the LMP. Orantes finished his career as the 5th best batsman in the LMB, posting a .315 batting average in 4,578 at bats.

Ramon Orantes

Francisco “Paquin” Estrada takes over the helm of the Bravos de Leon. The Bravos are the reincarnation of the Broncos de Reynosa. Estrada coached the Seraperos de Saltillo in 2016 and hopes to have the Bravos playing at a high level quickly to develop the dedicated fan base required to sustain a baseball franchise in Mexico.

Francisco Estrada

Taking over the reins in Saltillo will be Orlando Sanchez. A former Major League catcher, Sanchez played for the Cardinals, Royals and Orioles in his career. Born in Puerto Rico, Sanchez was the manager for the Vaqueros de Laguna in 2016.

Orlando Sanchez

As of the time of this article, the Generales de Durango, formerly the Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen have not named a manager. As part of the agreement of the move to Durango, the team owners agreed to make improvements to Estadio Francisco Villa to the tune of 35 Million Pesos. These improvements are to be accomplished by the 15th of March 2017.

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