Mexican Softball League
Current season, competition or edition: 2025 Mexican Softball League season | |
 | |
| Sport | Softball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | Mexico |
| Headquarters | Mexico City |
| Most recent champion(s) | Charros de Jalisco (1st title) |
| Most titles | Charros de Jalisco (1 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Fox Sports ESPN Deportes Claro Sports |
The Mexican Softball League (LMS) (Spanish: Liga Mexicana de Softbol) is a professional softball league in Mexico. The LMS was established in September 2023 and started its first official season in January 2024. The league is affiliated to the Mexican League; all of the participant teams are softball sections of the Mexican League baseball teams. The LMS is the first professional softball league in Mexico and Latin America.[1][2]
History
[edit]The Mexican Softball League (LMS) was announced in September 2023 as a joint effort between the Mexican League and the Mexican Softball Federation as the first professional women's softball league in Mexico. Six teams, all of them softball sections of the Mexican League baseball teams, were confirmed to take part in the league's inaugural season in 2024: Bravos de León, Charros de Jalisco, Diablos Rojos del México, El Águila de Veracruz, Olmecas de Tabasco and Sultanes de Monterrey.[3][4]
The league held its inaugural draft on 7 December 2023 at the Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City. A total of 120 players were picked by the six LMS teams, amongst them players such as Stefanía Aradillas (who represented Mexico at the 2020 Summer Olympics) and Yuruby Alicart (who was part of the Venezuelan squad at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2013 World Games, where she was a silver medalist).[5][6] Players from Mexico, United States, Cuba, Venezuela and Colombia were part of the league's first professional softballers.[1] In January 2024, New Era was announced as the league's official cap and uniforms supplier for all the six teams.[7]
The inaugural Mexican Softball League season was presented on 22 January 2024 and it opened on 25 January 2024, immediately attracting huge crowds. The match between Sultanes and El Águila at the Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey was attended by 13,408 spectators, while 2,500 people attended the Estadio Domingo Santana for the Bravos–Charros game.[8][9][10][11][12]
Charros de Jalisco became the first LMS winners, defeating Sultanes de Monterrey in the 2024 Serie de la Reina 3 games to 1. Charros' pitcher Yeraldine Carrión was awarded as the most valuable player of the championship series.[13][14][15]
In October 2024, El Águila de Veracruz signed Maxime van Dalen, who became the first Dutch player to play in the league.[16]
Teams
[edit]
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity[17] | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algodoneros de Unión Laguna |  Torreón, Coahuila
|
Estadio de la Revolución | 7,689 | 2024 |
| Bravos de León |  León, Guanajuato
|
Estadio Domingo Santana | 6,500 | 2023 |
| Charros de Jalisco |  Zapopan, Jalisco
|
Estadio Panamericano | 16,500 | 2023 |
| Diablos Rojos del México |  Iztacalco, Mexico City
|
Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú | 20,062[18] | 2023 |
| El Águila de Veracruz |  Veracruz, Veracruz
|
Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila | 7,319 | 2023 |
| Naranjeros de Hermosillo |  Hermosillo, Sonora
|
Estadio Fernando Valenzuela | 16,000 | 2024 |
| Olmecas de Tabasco |  Villahermosa, Tabasco
|
Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero | 6,600 | 2023 |
| Sultanes de Monterrey |  Monterrey, Nuevo León
|
Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey | 21,803 | 2023 |
Champions
[edit]| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Winning seasons | Runners-up seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charros de Jalisco | 1 | 0 | 2024 | – |
| Sultanes de Monterrey | 0 | 1 | – | 2024 |
Salaries
[edit]Players in the LMS have a monthly salary of $18000 Mexican pesos (roughly equivalent to $1055 USD), while elite players (more experienced or foreign players) can earn up to $51000 pesos per month (approximately $2900).[19][20]
Media coverage
[edit]Television
[edit]Fox Sports and ESPN Deportes broadcast the majority of the LMS regular season games as well as the complete championship series.[19][21]
Internet
[edit]Claro Sports and GameTime, a streaming platform owned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, stream all the LMS regular season and playoffs games.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Wagner, James (25 February 2024). "In Latin America, a New Frontier for Women: Professional Softball in Mexico". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ Furlong, Irving (25 January 2024). "Del sueño a la realidad: Liga Mexicana de Softbol alista su debut". Séptima Entrada. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Mexican Softball League: Historic inaugural season to be staged in 2024 supported by Mexican Baseball League". wbsc.org. World Baseball Softball Confederation. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ García Méndez, Sebastián. "Liga Mexicana de Softbol, un paso hacia la equidad". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Draft 2023 de la Liga Mexicana de Softbol". MiLB.com (in Spanish). 7 December 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ Flores, Vanessa (17 January 2024). ""Me siento capacitada para guiar al equipo"; Yuruby Alicart es la capitana de Charros Femenil". Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "New Era es la gorra y uniforme oficial On-Field de la Liga Mexicana de Softbol". New Era (in Spanish). 23 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Con las victorias de Diablos, Sultanes y Charros arranca la Liga Mexicana de Softbol". Proceso. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ Correa, José Manuel (26 January 2024). "¡Histórica victoria de Charros Softbol Femenil en León!". Meganoticias. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "LMS: Presentación de la primera temporada de la Liga Mexicana de Softbol". MiLB.com (in Spanish). 22 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Mexican Softball League opens historic season, draws huge crowds". wbsc.org. World Baseball Softball Confederation. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Calendario de la temporada 2024 de la Liga Mexicana de Softbol". MiLB.com (in Spanish). 15 November 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Charros de Jalisco reclama su trono como Reina y es el primer equipo campeón de la LMS". MiLB.com (in Spanish). 16 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Charros de Jalisco, primer campeón de la liga de softbol". La Jornada (in Spanish). 17 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ Vázquez Hernández, Leobardo (16 March 2024). "¡HISTÓRICO! Charros Femenil se corona campeón de la Liga Mexicana de Softbol". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Maxime Van Dalen becomes first European player in Mexican Softball League". wbsc.org. 7 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Quién es quién 2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Diablas Rojas del México debutan con victoria en casa ante Águila de Veracruz". Once Noticias (in Spanish). 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ a b Palma Hernández, Eréndira (25 January 2024). "Arranca hoy primera temporada de la Liga Mexicana de Softbol". La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ Figueroa, Fredi (29 January 2024). "Liga Mexicana de Softbol nace bajo un alto perfil académico". El Economista (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "¡Arranca la Liga Mexicana de Softbol! Seis equipos femeninos se enfrentan por la historia". Fox Sports (in Spanish). 25 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.