The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

team in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in

Mérida, Yucatán Mérida () is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and the largest city in southeastern Mexico. The city is also the seat of the eponymous Municipality. It is located in the northwest corner of the Yucatán Peninsula, about 35 km (22 ...

. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , and most recently in .

History

Mexican League premiere

The Leones de Yucatán were founded in 1954 under the leadership of Alvaro Ponce Vidiella and Humberto "Beto" Abimerhi Abimerhi. The team's entry to the Mexican League was announced on 5 January 1954. The team nickname is a reference to the name of the beer company built by the Ponce family. The Leones opened the season on 17 April at the newly built Carta Clara Park, hosting the previous season's champions, the

Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (''Owls of the Two Laredos''), formerly known as the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (''Owls of Nuevo Laredo''), are a Minor League Baseball team based in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and Laredo, Texas in the Mexican Leagu ...

, and earning an 8–0 victory. In its first year in the league, the Leones won 47 games and lost 32, with one tie, and finished in second place to the defending champion Tecolotes. The team ceased play after the 1958 season and the franchise moved to

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

in 1959.

Second version

After the 1969 season, filmmaker

Manuel Barbachano Ponce Manuel Barbachano Ponce (April 4, 1925 – October 29, 1994) was a Mexican film producer, director, and screenwriter. A great-grandson of Miguel Barbachano y Tarraso, a five-time governor of Yucatán, he was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. ...

, moved the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

franchise to Mérida, renaming it the Leones. In the opening game of the 1970 season on March 18 the Leones beat the Rojos del Águila de Veracruz, 4–1. The franchise remained in Mérida for five seasons and then moved to

Villahermosa, Tabasco Villahermosa ( , ; "Beautiful Village") is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Tabasco, and serves as the Municipalities of Mexico, municipal seat (governing county) of the state. Located in Southeast Mexico, Villahermosa is an ...

, when Ariel "Picho" Magaña Carrillo purchased the team.

Third version

The third incarnation of the Lions began in 1979. On 6 April 1978, the Assembly of the Mexican League approved five expansion teams for the 1979 season. One of the expansion teams was awarded to Yucatán. On 16 March 1979, the Leones officially returned to the Mexican League when they opened the season at the

Cafeteros de Córdoba The Cafeteros de Córdoba or Córdoba Coffee Growers was a Mexican League baseball team that played on-and-off from 1937 to 2006. The team played on and off for a duration not last more than a decade: * 1937 to 1939 * 1972 to 1979 * 1984 to ...

and lost 10–4. The Leones finished fifth in the Southern Division with 62 wins and 69 losses. Rookie

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (, born November 1, 1960) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from to and to . While he played for six MLB teams, he is best remembered f ...

, who later became a star in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, played for the Leones in 1979. Valenzuela had a

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

of 10–12 with an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) of 2.42 and allowed only 70 walks while

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

141 batters in 181

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s, catching the attention of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

with whom he would play from 1980 to 1990.

Rivalries

Piratas de Campeche

Since they began play in the Mexican League in summer 1954, the Lions have had fierce rivalries, first with the

Mexico City Diablos Rojos Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and the

Mexico City Tigres The Quintana Roo Tigers (), formerly known as the Mexico (City) Tigers () are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve champio ...

, and then from 1980 with the

Campeche Piratas The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...

Retired numbers

Juan José Pacho Juan José Pacho Burgos (born 8 April 1963 in Oxkutzcab, Mexico), is a Mexican former baseball player and manager. Career Pacho played as a shortstop for the Mexican League. For 19 seasons, he played for the Leones de Yucatán, then in 1984 for ...

*2 Luis "Rayo" Arredondo *3 Mercedes Esquer Llanes *4 Oswaldo Morejón *15 Juan Fernando Villaescusa Elías *17 Carlos Paz González *18

Ray Torres Raymundo Antonio Torres Ruiz (12 April 1958 – 27 October 2012) was a Mexican baseball outfielder who spent 22 seasons in professional baseball, including 20 in the Mexican League. Personal life Torres was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and ...

*19 Ricardo Conde Hernández *21 Héctor Espino González *29 Leonel Aldama Rossel

Roster

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leones de Yucatan Mérida, Yucatán Mexican League teams Baseball teams established in 1954 1954 establishments in Mexico Sports teams in Yucatán