▲ Reliever Taisei Ota closed out the game for Japan, which beat Italy 9-3 to become the second semifinalist in the World Baseball Classic.Afp’s photo
Alonso Urrutia and Emir Olivares
Newspaper La Jornada
Friday March 17, 2023, p. a10
For the third time this week, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador made room in his morning conference to congratulate the Mexican team participating in the World Baseball Classic, this time for having won 10-3 over Canada and advancing to the quarterfinals. final in the contest, where they will face the ninth from Puerto Rico. We wish the best to the Mexicans. they’re on a roll
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And in this context, he showed the video of the most outstanding offensive plays of the tricolor team, emphasizing the handling of manager Benjamín Gil: “He is directing perfectly, changing pitchers on time. He is very good pitching from Mexico and we hope things go very well for us”.
Beyond the celebration, the President confirmed the imminent inauguration of the Centenario baseball park in his native Tabasco and took the opportunity to report on the various associated works: the Los Tigres de Quintana Roo stadium, owned by Fernando Valenzuela, in Cancun, is being rehabilitated; and the one in Veracruz is built. I am going to break the news, because Mauricio Vila, governor of Yucatán, asked me to, we are going to rehabilitate the Kukulcán, the baseball stadium in Mérida, which is already in disrepair
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baseball adventures
López Obrador also described his adventures in the hot ball with his team over 60 years of age, who frequently play against an IMSS squad, who have reinforced their squad and in those meetings, he said, he met Benjamín Gil.
“I had the opportunity to see him about two months ago, we played. Look, the team where I participate, of veterans, is over 60. I am one of the most veteran of the veterans, because I am already at 70. And Social Security has a team. But they always want to beat us. They invited Benjamín, who is not yet 60, has less, and played first; he was very good shortstop”, added the president, elaborating on details.
He explained that sometimes Vinicio Castilla, the Borrego sandoval and up Chito Rios, “the best pitcher, who holds the record for most strikeouts in the Mexican league. bring to Tour Valenzuela. Nothing else, Theodore. Chito and Fernando; horses, right? No, Fernando is the best in the entire history of baseball.”
He even took time to describe some plays from his matches, before going on to refer to the national reality.
Mexico claimed an unexpected first place finish in their World Classic pool on Wednesday, but there was no time to celebrate. The team immediately traveled from Phoenix to Miami, where today they will face Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals, and they will be led by their greatest figure, Julio Urías, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who was confirmed by manager Benjamín Gil as starter. .
After losing 5-4 to Colombia in their debut, the ninth Mexican team straightened the path with three wins in a row to secure first place in Group C, starting with a resounding 11-5 win over the United States, then 2-1 against Great Britain and closed with a 10-3 thrashing of Canada.
They reached the second round of the tournament for the third time in their history and the first since 2009, when they lost to South Korea.
Mexico was left out in the first phase in the two previous editions of the Classic. Determined to achieve a better participation, former Major Leaguer Rodrigo López took on the mission of assembling a talented ninth to reverse those results.
He roster Nacional has optimal resources in every facet. The rotation has Julio Urías, Taijan Walker and José Urquidy. Giovanny Gallegos stands out in the bullpen. Nationalized Cuban Randy Arozarena, Alex Verdugo, Joey Meneses, Luis Urías and Rowdy Téllez are among the pillars of the lineup.
The winner of this Friday’s match between Mexico and Puerto Rico, which comes out as a favorite at LoanDepot Park in Miami, will face powerful Japan on Monday the 20th, which with a 9-3 victory over Italy on Thursday night installed the Samurai Warriors in his fifth consecutive semifinal of the World Classic, in the same number of editions of the global tournament.
With information from Ap
