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.
Moder ...
team in the
Mexican League
The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country.
The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...
. The team plays its home games at
Parque Kukulcán Alamo in
Mérida, Yucatán
Mérida (, ) is the capital of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Yucatán, and the largest city in southeastern Mexico. The city is also the seat of the Mérida Municipality, eponymous municipality. It is located slightly inland fro ...
. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in 1957, 1984, 2006, 2018, 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 (English: Two Laredos Owls), formerly known as the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (English: Nuevo Laredo Owls), are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The Tecolotes are a binational baseball team, spli ...
, 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, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
in 1959.
Second version
After the 1969 season, filmmaker
Manuel Barbachano Ponce, moved the
Pericos de Puebla 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 Town") is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Tabasco, and serves as the municipal seat (governing county) of the state. Located in Southeast Mexico, Villahermosa is an important city because of its ...
, 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 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 ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
Fernando Valenzuela
Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (; November 1, 1960 – October 22, 2024), nicknamed "El Toro", was a Mexican professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from 1980 to 1997 (except for a one-year sabba ...
, who later became a star in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
, played for the Leones in 1979. Valenzuela had a win–loss record Win–loss may refer to:
* Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action
* Win–loss record, also winning percentage
* Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...
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 Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...
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 tea ...
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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
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 and the Mexico City Tigres, and then from 1980 with the Campeche Piratas.
Retired numbers
The Leones have retired the following numbers:
Roster
Baseball Champions League Americas record
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leones de Yucatan
Mérida, Yucatán
Mexican League teams
Baseball teams established in 1954
1954 establishments in Mexico
Sports clubs and teams in Yucatán