The Venezuelan Pablo Sandoval, winner of four World Series rings, headed this Thursday, when he was announced as a loss from the Acereros de Monclova, the former stars of the Major Leagues (MLB) who have left the 2022 season the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) for its poor performance.
"We thank Pablo Sandoval for having been part of La #FuriAzul. As part of any professional team, adjustments are part of what happens in the season, which is why it causes drop from our roster"explained the champion team of the 2019 campaign of the LMB the departure of the Venezuelan.
The 35-year-old ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Sandoval was the biggest signing for any Mexican team this season for his lineup, but the 2012 World Series MVP fell far short of expectations.
Sandoval, who played for 14 years in the Majors, left a number with Monclova of .240 in batting average, three home runs, three doubles and 18 RBI in 104 at-bats.
His statistics contrast with those he has for life in the Major Leagues, in which he boasts a .278 batting percentage, 153 home runs, 639 RBI and 262 doubles.
The Steelers also released American Josh Reddick, 2017 MLB champion with the Houston Astros, last Wednesday because the right fielder decided to retire from professional baseball at the age of 35.
Reddick arrived with the figure tag, however, like Sandoval, he failed to exploit his talent. The Savannah, Georgia native batted .293 with 13 teammates at the plate, four homers, four doubles and a triple in 99 plate appearances.
Before the departures of these figures, Monclova removed Venezuelan José ‘Cafecito’ Martínez, with five years of experience in MLB, from his squad due to a fracture in one of his hands.
At the beginning of the LMB season, the Steelers were the favorites to obtain the championship since they not only had these renowned signings, but they are also trained by the American Mickey Callaway, manager of the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019.
Callaway, fired in 2021 as Los Angeles Angels pitching coach over sexual harassment allegations, has Monclova with the fifth-worst record in the North Zone with 15 wins and 15 losses.
The Red Devils of Mexico are another of the teams that have fired prominent former MLB players. The ninth most successful in the LMB with 16 titles, he dispatched the Mexican-American Khris Davis, home run champion in 2018 in the Major League American League.
Davis, who hit 221 homers in MLB, couldn’t get any balls out of the field in the LMB and left a batting percentage of .119, with two RBIs, struck out 18 times in 42 at-bats.
Other players who had high expectations in Mexico who have left are Wladimir Balentien, out of the Saraperos de Saltillo, and Justin Bour, taken out by the Red Devils.
After the first 29 games of the LMB season, Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos are the leaders of the northern zone with 23 wins and six losses and El Águila de Veracruz leads the southern division with 17 wins and 12 losses.
