This morning I was scrolling through twitter and came across a tweet from our friend Craig Robinson. It was in regards to Mexico’s roster composition for the upcoming Caribbean series.
Mexico’s Obregon Yaquis won the Mexican Pacific League final over the Guasave Algonderos in 4 straight games and will move on to the Caribbean Series to represent Mexico. Congratulations to them. But after reading Robinson’s tweet, I realized there was something unsavoury about their victory:
In other words, one-quarter of Obregon’s roster is stacked with ringers who were never part of the team in the first place. The problem with this is that the team representatives from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico will be playing with rosters that may or may not have any “reinforcements.” Typically a team will carry a maximum of 3 reinforcement players, with 1 of those players ever getting substantial playing time, most of the time replacing a player who is injured or left following the season due to other commitments. Having 8 reinforcements gives Mexico an unfair advantage and lessens the integrity of the Serie del Caribe itself.
If stacked rosters are allowed, why not just go all the way and turn the Caribbean Series into a glorified all-star game with teams consisting of all-stars from each Caribbean league? If not, substituting more than a quarter of a team’s roster with reinforcements cannot be permitted. For a game such as baseball that prides itself on sportsmanship and fair play, the lack of a policy regarding “reinforcements” in the Caribbean Series is turning the tournament into a joke.
Serie del Caribé logo and photo of Rodrigo Lopez courtesy of ESPN Deportes.
I don’t think you understand what’s going on here. No trades are being made. It would be like the Detroit Tigers picking up CC Sabathia, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixerira for round 2 after knocking the Yankees out of the playoffs. For nothing. No trades, no signings, no compensation given to the raided team. It’s straight-up adding players to the roster for Detroit to play Texas in the ALCS.
Then, if Detroit were to beat Texas, they could add Neftali Feliz, Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli to the roster. While they’re at it, they could pick up James Shields, Matt Moore, and Evan Longoria from Tampa – who Texas turfed in the ALDS. Again, no trades, no signings. These guys are just “reinforcements” added to the roster for them to play St. Louis in the World Series…. and St. Louis is coming with the 25-man roster that they used during the regular season.
It’s kind of hard to view the AL side as “champs” if they win the World Series, no? It makes the World Series far less relevant, as well as the 162-game regular season.
It has nothing to do with trade deadline deals.
Anonymous
To answer your original question, no MLB should not ban trade deadline deals.
Guest
Umm, every team in the Caribbean Series will do this, and has done this for the last 20 years. I am not sure if you know this and are playing coy… The Dominican, PR and VEN teams will all have reinforcements.
What is unprecedented is the degree to which the Mexican team this year seems to want to ruin this long-standing practice. I think it is codified in the competition rules is that 5 is the hard limit of last minute “reinforcements”. Most of the years, the Dominican team (the only one I can speak with authority of) picks up 3, maybe 4, to patch up areas of weakness. Lots of times, only 1 of these even plays regularly. I don’t know if the 5 number is written down, though. Eight is WAY over the line, and it does discredit the entire competition if the Mexican champs bring in this roster.
http://www.mopupduty.com/ Callum Hughson
Teams have had “reinforcements” to add roster depth, yes… and this practice has gone on for more than 20 years. Teams have had reinforcements since the 1940s. So yes, I am aware that this practice is not new. For example, Puerto Rico will most likely have a reinforcement player for the injured Randy Ruiz, but the roster for Mayagüez for the 2012 Caribbean Series is the one that they used throughout the season. I can’t comment on the DR or Venezuelan rosters since they have not been released yet.
Typically rosters max out at 3 reinforcements, and yes you are correct, typically only 1 will get any sort of playing time. Some teams won’t have any reinforcements, like the Santurce teams of the 70s and 90s. I’ve tried to find if there is some sort of codification but haven’t found anything yet. Most teams max out at 3, anyway.
Perhaps I was not clear enough in the post that it is an accepted practice – but not to the degree that Mexico is abusing it.
Mexico did the same thing last year with “reinforcements” – the same Obregon Yaquis – and won the tournamanet with ease.
http://www.mopupduty.com/ Callum Hughson
To follow up on your comment, the Dominican roster has been announced. They are adding 3 reinforcements: Miguel Batista, Erick Almonte and LHP Raul Valdez. That said, they are also losing 2 key players – Fernando Rodney and Andy Dirks – who both were denied permission from their Major League clubs to play in the Caribbean Series. In the DR’s case, they gain 3 but lose 2. Mexico’s team loses none and gains 8. It’s not exactly an even playing field.
The Caribbean Series: The Fix Is In
Posted Jan 28 2012 by Callum Hughson in 2011 Season, 2012 Season, Callum, Commentary, International Baseball, Minor League Baseball with 6 Comments
This morning I was scrolling through twitter and came across a tweet from our friend Craig Robinson. It was in regards to Mexico’s roster composition for the upcoming Caribbean series.
Mexico’s Obregon Yaquis won the Mexican Pacific League final over the Guasave Algonderos in 4 straight games and will move on to the Caribbean Series to represent Mexico. Congratulations to them. But after reading Robinson’s tweet, I realized there was something unsavoury about their victory:
Mexico’s team in the Caribbean Series RT @LMPbeisbol: Se define Roster Oficial del equipo Mexicano http://www.lmp.mx/series-del-caribe/noticias-del-caribe/2998
Along the way to their glorious victory, the Yaquis picked up 8 “reinforcements.” In other words, Obregon picked up 8 ringers to give them an unfair advantage over the rest of the field. Obregon plucked this year’s Mexican League MVP Doug Clark, former big-leaguer Karim Garcia, catcher Humberto Cota and pitcher Edgar Gonzalez from the Hermosillo Naranjeros. They also took outfielder Chris Roberson and infielder Oscar Robles from the Mexicali Aguilas and Miguel Angel Gonzalez from the Mazatlan Venados.
In other words, one-quarter of Obregon’s roster is stacked with ringers who were never part of the team in the first place. The problem with this is that the team representatives from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico will be playing with rosters that may or may not have any “reinforcements.” Typically a team will carry a maximum of 3 reinforcement players, with 1 of those players ever getting substantial playing time, most of the time replacing a player who is injured or left following the season due to other commitments. Having 8 reinforcements gives Mexico an unfair advantage and lessens the integrity of the Serie del Caribe itself.
If stacked rosters are allowed, why not just go all the way and turn the Caribbean Series into a glorified all-star game with teams consisting of all-stars from each Caribbean league? If not, substituting more than a quarter of a team’s roster with reinforcements cannot be permitted. For a game such as baseball that prides itself on sportsmanship and fair play, the lack of a policy regarding “reinforcements” in the Caribbean Series is turning the tournament into a joke.
Serie del Caribé logo and photo of Rodrigo Lopez courtesy of ESPN Deportes.
Tags: Caribbean Series, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Serie Del Caribe, Venezuela Categories: 2011 Season, 2012 Season, Callum, Commentary, International Baseball, Minor League Baseball