The 2021 Mexican League season was the 96th season in the history of the Mexican League. The league was contested by 18 teams, evenly divided in North and South zones. The season started on 20 May with the series between Sultanes de Monterrey and Acereros de Monclova and ended on 15 September with the last game of the Serie del Rey, where Toros de Tijuana defeated Leones de Yucatán to win the championship.
Two teams joined the league for this season: Mariachis de Guadalajara and El Águila de Veracruz, totalling 18 teams. Veracruz returned to the league after a three year absence, when in 2018 the franchise was sold and moved to Nuevo Laredo.
Starting from this season, there were four rounds of playoffs to define the champion. Previously, the Mexican League had three rounds of playoffs.
Standings
Rank Team W L Pct. GB STK 1 Mariachis de Guadalajara 46 17 .730 – W1 2 Toros de Tijuana 40 25 .615 7.0 L1 3 Saraperos de Saltillo 36 30 .545 11.5 L1 4 Acereros de Monclova 35 31 .530 12.5 L6 5 Rieleros de Aguascalientes 30 31 .492 15.0 W2 6 Algodoneros de Unión Laguna 31 33 .484 15.5 W3 7 Sultanes de Monterrey 30 33 .476 16.0 W5 8 Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos 30 36 .455 17.5 W1 9 Generales de Durango 20 45 .308 27.0 L5
Rank Team W L Pct. GB STK 1 Diablos Rojos del México 41 23 .641 — W2 2 Olmecas de Tabasco 36 30 .545 6.0 W1 3 Leones de Yucatán 34 30 .531 7.0 L1 4 El Águila de Veracruz 34 31 .523 7.5 W2 5 Pericos de Puebla 31 31 .500 9.0 W3 6 Tigres de Quintana Roo 32 33 .492 9.5 L3 7 Bravos de León 29 37 .439 13.0 L2 8 Piratas de Campeche 24 39 .381 16.5 L2 9 Guerreros de Oaxaca 20 45 .308 21.5 L12
Postseason
First round
Zone Series
Championship Series
Serie del Rey Summary
Game summaries Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
Game 5
Game 6
Game 7
Managerial changes Offseason Team Former manager Reason for leaving New manager Ref. Diablos Rojos del México Sergio Omar Gastélum Fired Miguel Ojeda
In season Team Former manager Interim manager Reason for leaving New manager Ref. Sultanes de Monterrey Homar Rojas Antonio Aguilera Fired Sergio Omar Gastélum Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos Pablo Ortega N/A Rafael Rijo Tigres de Quintana Roo Adán Muñoz Javier Robles Óscar Robles Bravos de León Tim Johnson Eddie Castro Martín Enríquez Pericos de Puebla Carlos Gastélum N/A Gerardo Sánchez Leones de Yucatán Gerónimo Gil Juan Francisco Rodríguez Luis Matos Toros de Tijuana Omar Vizquel N/A Homar Rojas
League leaders
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total AVG Leo Heras Guadalajara .401 HR Rainel Rosario Saltillo 20 RBI Leandro Castro Tijuana 72 R Beau Amaral Guadalajara 65 H Leandro Castro Tijuana 93 SB Reynaldo Rodríguez Tigres 21 SLG David Olmedo-Barrera Puebla .694
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total ERA Luis Escobar Tabasco 2.54 W Masaru Nakamura Guadalajara 8 SV Fernando Rodney Tijuana 16 IP Rafael Pineda Unión Laguna 77.0 K Jackson Stephens Dos Laredos 69 José Valdez Puebla WHIP Jake Thompson Yucatán 1.07
Milestones Pitchers No-hitters Dylan Unsworth (VER): On 28 May, Unsworth threw his first no-hitter in the Mexican League by defeating the Diablos Rojos del México 8–0.
Awards Award Player Team Ref. Most Valuable Player Leandro Castro Tijuana Rookie of the Year Juan Carlos Camacho Oaxaca Best Pitcher Masaru Nakamura Guadalajara Best Relief Pitcher Fernando Rodney Tijuana Manager of the Year Benji Gil Guadalajara
References