2057.6: Gomez Plays Hardball, Leaves Team

[Rubaboo]

For the first time in 25 years, Roberto Gomez will not be a member of the Mexico City coaching staff.

Gomez has been with the team in some role since 2032, when he signed on as a pitching coach for the team's Rookie League affiliate. He spent the next several seasons working his way up the pitching coach ranks, with a brief interlude as the organization's short season A team manager in 2039 and 2040. Minus those two years, he spent 2035-2044 as the pitching coach in Los Cabos, the Aztec's AAA team, before making his case to be the manager there. He was promoted for the 2045 season and spent the next 7 years managing the Corsairs. The 2052-53 offseason brought on another conversation with the front office about his role and he was promoted again, this time to spend 2 seasons as the Aztec's first base coach. The team knew he was wasted in that role and put him back in his role as a pitching coach for the 2055 season.

He had spent the last 3 seasons overseeing the Mexico City pitching staff through some very high highs. Aztec ace Dave Corfield won two Nebraska awards in Gomez's three years as pitching coach and the Aztec staff was one of the top two or three staffs statistically in the JL. Gomez's ambition would complicate extension discussions during the 2057 season, with Gomez wanting assurances that he'd be the next man up to manage the Aztecs. The front office, however, was not immediately willing to agree to Gomez's terms and the discussions ended with Gomez unwilling to sign on for anything approaching a reasonable amount without the guarantee that a manager title would be on the horizon for him. Gomez officially became a free agent after the 2057 season ended.

Gomez was far from the only departure though. Bench Coach Sammy O'Rafter retired, and, after a disappointing offensive performance, Hitting Coach Hector Madrigal, First Base Coach Ludo Bonaiuncta, and Third Base Coach Javier Arellano all were not retained. As a result, the Aztecs find themselves in the awkward position of coming off of a successful year and having to replace all of their position coaches coming off of a division title and looking to stay competitive in an always interesting JL Frontier. Hardly an enviable position.

Despite the sudden turnover, the Mexico City jobs remain quite desirable. Management is motivated to win and will spend to do so. The team can boast generational talents offensively in Felix Roman and on the staff in Dave Corfield. The Aztecs are also looking to continue a run of success that has been unprecedented in their history. Recent memory will tell us that the Mexico City front office will figure it out and will be a contender in 2058. Time, as always, will tell.