They got tired! In the Major League prohibited the negotiation of players with the Mexican League
The intermediaries and their commissions have destroyed the long and productive relationship that existed between the Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Mexican Baseball League (LMB)
The relationship between the Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) has been close for decades. However, some recent events have deteriorated it. Particularly the presence of intermediaries who have hampered and made the transference of players little transparent has forced the MLB to prohibit the negotiation of players with the LMB teams. According to Milenio de México, at the end of 2017, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that it would not hire René Gayo, a talent recruiter, because it detected that it had engaged in unfair practices such as the sale of players to the MLB at high prices to receive a commission. The main problem was that the prices were not justified, which made the MLB suspect all the transfers between the two leagues.
Leer en español: ¡Se cansaron! En las Grandes Ligas prohíben la negociación de beisbolistas con la Liga Mexicana
The MLB and the LMB pursue an agreement during these months, without achieving it. Therefore, the Major Leagues announced on June 19 a measure in this regard. This has not gone unnoticed in the Mexican sport, which for years has denounced the practices of the LMB, being the most affected the same players who suffer corruption. In an email that the MLB sent to the president of the LMB, Javier Salinas, it is detailed that it detected these practices in at least three teams, of which it did not name.
At a press conference, the president of the LMB defended the position of the institution he represents, open to continue negotiating. The U.S. league is also open, although conditioning its Mexican counterpart to make changes in its systems of buying and selling players to reactivate the relationship, in the same mail the MLB says that the Mexican league could be the only one in the world that does not have this tie, something that will undoubtedly will cost to the Mexicans.
For his part, Erick Arellano, president of the Leones de Yucatán team, champion of the LMB, told El Universal that the MLB does not value Mexican players, that even what they receive from the sale of players is little and that it does not cover the club expenses. The Mexican teams stay with 75% of the transfer at prices that the MLB considers high or unjustified, especially when there are players who never played with the clubs that are selling them. Arellano expects the MLB to "reconsider" and sit down to negotiate again since he considers the MLB's relationship with Mexico to be the most profitable for the Americans.
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Hector Velázquez, Mexican player of the Boston Red Sox affirmed that he agreed with the measurements of the MLB and told about his experience in his transfer towards the American team. In addition, he indicated that he received just 25% of that transfer, while in leagues like the Korean or Japanese it is the other way around, with more transparency. Therefore, he hopes that the LMB adopts best practices that open the door to national talents and that they do not go through his experience, because the Piratas de Campeche team put many obstacles before allowing him to leave, according to The Boston Herald.
In Mexico, the most popular sport is soccer, but close behind are boxing and baseball, according to data from the Mitofsky Group published in the magazine Etcétera in January 2018. The strength of the Mexican Baseball League is not only economic but that this sport has given Mexico more glories than soccer itself. In the Major Leagues have participated great Mexican players like Vinicio Castilla, Fernando Valenzuela or Esteban Loaiza, among many others. Also, the different Mexican leagues have been home to Cuban players, Dominicans and other nationalities who have given great seasons.
LatinAmerican Post | Luis Angel Hernández Liborio
Translated from "¡Se cansaron! En las Grandes Ligas prohíben la negociación de beisbolistas con la Liga Mexicana"
