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.

Follow me for weekly updates on the Leones de Yucatan at: www.yucatanliving.com

Von Hayes Steps Down As Manager Of The Pericos de Puebla

May 3rd, 2015

Von Hayes, ex Philadelphia Phillie and, until today, Manager of the Pericos de Puebla in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol has resigned his position as manager effective immediately.

Hayes was hired by the Puebla team on December 8th of 2014.

Hayes began his coaching career with the South Bend Silverhawks in 2003. He was named the Manager of the Year in the California League with the Modesto Nuts in 2004. Leading the Midland Rockhounds in 2005, Hayes was again chosen as the Manager of the Year, this time in the Texas League.


The Lancaster Barnstormers named Hayes as their Manager for 2008 where he stayed until taking the same position with the Camden Riversharks in 2010. Hayes remained in Camden until he signed on to manage the Alexandria Aces of the ULB in 2013.

The Pericos de Puebla had hired Hayes to manage their team in 2015 after the Pericos lost the Liga Mexicana Beisbol Championship to the Diablos Rojos del Mexico in 2014.

Von Hayes "resigned" following an 11-5 loss to the Leones de Yucatan on Sunday. The Pericos lost 2 of 3 and gave up 31 runs on 46 hits during the series.

Let's dig and see if there is a reason a manager would resign after 25 games of a 113 game season.Puebla management essentially thanked Hayes for his effort  in a statement on their web page and said that Hayes made the decision "...as a result of poor results".

Through 25 games the Pericos were  12-14, 3.5 games out of 1st place in the Sur Division of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. There are two aspects to the game of baseball. First, Pitching and second, Hitting. The statistics for these games show two entirely different Pericos teams.

Hitting

At the time of his resignation the Pericos were:
4th in the league in batting average  .307
T2nd in Home runs  32
4th in runs scored  156
3rd in RBIs  148
1st in hits  291

Pitching
The Pericos were:
11th in the league in ERA  5.17
14th in saves  2
15th in runs allowed  155  (a +1 against runs scored)
13th in Home runs allowed  24
11th in walks allowed  91

The differences are obvious. The team can hit, the pitchers can't pitch. Hayes was a hitter, and a good one. His players look like they are hitters. But even Tommy Lasorda would be unable to win with pitching stats like these. The league did not have fielding statistics available when this article was written so I don't know if fielding played into the record.

Good luck to you Mr. Hayes, in whatever you do next. Your team was exciting to watch at bat but torture on the mound. If you read this, contact me so that I might get some more information to better understand this "resignation".  

Von Hayes - Pericos de Puebla Manager 2015

Von Hayes, Manager of the Pericos de Puebla team in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, began his career in the Major Leagues with the Cleveland Indians in April of 1981. He played his last game 11 years later for the Los Angeles Angels. In between Hayes spent 8 years with the Philadelphia Phillies.  

Von Hayes as a player

During his career, Hayes hit .267 with 36 triples,143 home runs, 696 RBIs and 253 stolen bases.

On June 11th, 1985, Hayes became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 2 home runs in the 1st inning of a game. He led off the inning with a solo shot and later in the inning hit a grand slam off of Calvin Schiraldi leading the Phillies to a 26-7 victory over the NY Mets.

Hayes began his coaching career with the South Bend Silverhawks in 2003. He was named the Manager of the Year in the California League with the Modesto Nuts in 2004. Leading the Midland Rockhounds in 2005, Hayes was again chosen as the Manager of the Year, this time in the Texas League.

Hayes named manager of Barnstormers

The Lancaster Barnstormers named Hayes as their Manager for 2008 where he stayed until taking the same position with the Camden Riversharks in 2010. Hayes remained in Camden until he signed on to manage the Alexandria Aces of the ULB in 2013.

The Pericos de Puebla have hires Hayes to manage their team in 2015 after the Pericos lost the Liga Mexicana Beisbol Championship to the Diablos Rojos del Mexico in 2014.

Hayes as a Perico