Day 1 of Premier12 WBSC 2024 presented by RAXUS ends with the debut of host Mexico taking on Venezuela at 8 pm local time at the Estadio Panamericano Charros de Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Two starting pitchers with international baseball experience have been announced to lead their teams on the field. Mexico manager Benjamín Gil has chosen left-hander Manny Bañuelos, while Venezuelan Omar Flores has selected right-hander Ricardo Pinto. Both have experience not only in Major League Baseball, but also in other professional leagues around the world.
Bañuelos, 33, signed as an amateur free agent in 2008 with the New York Yankees and made his MLB debut in 2015 with the Atlante Braves. After compiling a 5.64 ERA over 58 MLB appearances with 105 strikeouts and 66 walks in 118 innings pitched, he took his services to Asia, where he had a stint in the NPB in Japan (with Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles ) and two in the CPBL in Taiwan (Fubon Guardians, Rakuten Monkeys). In 2024 he played for the Rakuten Monkeys compiling a 9-4 record with a 4.15 ERA in 15 starts before being released and becoming a free agent in August of this year.
Pinto is a 30-year-old player who signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent in 2011. He made his professional debut in 2012 and became the Phillies’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2015. He made his MLB debut with Philadelphia in 2017. Across three different stints with the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, he pitched to a 9.07 ERA in 33 MLB games in 2017, 2019 and 2024. In between, he also played for SK Wyverns in the KBO in Korea and the Rakuten Monkeys in the CPBL in Taiwan. In addition to six games in the major leagues, he made 16 Triple-A appearances for the Phillies organization in 2024 with 48 strikeouts and 33 walks in 67 innings pitched.
Both teams are participating in the WBSC Premier12 for the third time. Mexico, currently No. 2 in the KONAMI/WBSC Men’s Baseball World Rankings, has finished in fourth place in 2015 and third in 2019. Venezuela is currently at No. 4 in the World Rankings, while it finished in ninth place in 2015 and 7th in 2019. Both teams met in the Opening Round of the WBSC Premier12 in 2015 with Mexico’s 6-4 victory. Since 2011 they have met 20 times in WBSC competitions with Mexico winning eleven games to Venezuela’s nine.
