El Gigante de Mulegé
With much of Mexico’s offense possibly dropping out of the WBC, a lot of weight will fall on Japhet Amador’s shoulders.
If having Major League-quality players is an indicator of WBC success, Team Mexico’s chances have taken a hit this past week. Starting pitchers Jaime García and Jorge de la Rosa joined new teams this offseason (the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively) and are likely to prioritize their new clubs over the tournament.
According to Susan Slusser, outfielder Khris Davis has decided to focus on the upcoming MLB season. On Saturday, reports surfaced of an elbow injury to first baseman Adrián González that would sideline him for two weeks. While there would still be time to recuperate for the WBC, it’s likely “El Titán” will sit this one out as well.
So, who is left standing for our neighbors to the south? Well, the pitching doesn’t seem too bad (though it’d be much improved with García and de la Rosa). Yovani Gallardo and Miguel González are the biggest names in the starting rotation. The bullpen seems to be in pretty good shape, with established veterans like Óliver Pérez, Joakim Soria, and Sergio Romo, along with newcomers Roberto Osuna and Jake Sánchez (who won Reliever of the Year this past winter in the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico).
But on offense? It’s not looking great. The only hitter who spent time in the majors in 2016 was infielder Daniel Castro, who slashed a less-than-robust .200/.241/.208 for the Atlanta Braves. I guess since today is Presidents’ Day, some of you might have time to peruse Baseball Reference and see what Luis Cruz, Brandon Laird, and Efrén Navarro have been up to. But that’s not what George Washington would want you to do, on his birthday! After all, he was once quoted as saying “associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation.”
So what’s the bright spot of the Mexican offense? Are they hoping for a series of combined shutouts to keep them in the tournament?
Allow me to introduce you to Japhet Amador.
Do you like home runs? Of course you do! What’s more American than apple pie, Monday holidays in February, and watching baseball players hit dingers? Nothing, that’s what.
The 30-year-old Amador is a home run hitting machine, hitting 266 of them in the past decade. During that time, the “Gigante de Mulegé” (Mulegé is a town of about 60,000 in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur) has humiliated pitchers in his native Mexico, in the Triple-A levels of the United States, and has even taken his talents to Japan. Standing at 6'4" sitting comfortably in the 310–315 lb. range, it seems like this is what he was born to do.
After finishing last in their pool in 2013 (behind the United States, Italy, and Canada), Mexico had to qualify for the WBC this year. After narrowly edging the Czech Republic 2–1, they wrapped up an invitation by destroying Nicaragua by scores of 11–0 and 12–1.
But the qualifying team (and every Mexican team since the WBC’s inception) had a Adrián González in the heart of it’s lineup, and if the 2017 version doesn’t, Amador will have to step up big time to help his country. His modest .268/.284/.296 slash line in a short 17 game sample size at Triple-A Oklahoma City (a Houston Astros affiliate at the time) shows he might not quite measure up with top-tier talent yet, but not every team has that in the WBC.
Mexico manager Edgar González (and former San Diego Padre) hopes that if his brother can’t man first, the Gigante de Mulegé can show some of that more impressive .346/.436/.742 hitting line he put up his last full season in the Mexican league.
