Mexican League president to decide whether to allow Luke Heimlich to play

Tom Gatto

Mexican League president to decide whether to allow Luke Heimlich to play image

Luke Heimlich may not be allowed to pitch in Mexico, either.

Heimlich's agreement with a club in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB) is being reviewed by the league's president, Javier Salinas, who on Thursday expressed reservations about the pact.

"We have to analyze his case. It’s very difficult to see him registered in the Mexican League," Salinas said in Spanish to The New York Times.

Salinas is concerned about Heimlich's criminal past. The former Oregon State pitcher pleaded guilty in 2012 to one count of sexually molesting his niece when he was 15 and the girl was 6. The Times quoted Salinas as saying the LMB needs to "verify that all of our entrants have good conduct."

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"We are an example to a lot of boys and girls. And we have to protect the image of the league." Salinas told the Times.

Salinas told the Times that a decision would be made "in the coming days."

Heimlich, 23, agreed to sign with the Tecolotes de Dos Laredos, who divide their home games between Nuevo Laredo in Mexico and Laredo, Texas. The Times reported Heimlich worked out with the club Wednesday. The club's owner, Jose Antonio Mansur, told the Times that Heimlich has signed a pledge to exhibit good behavior.

"I'm not a judge,” Mansur told the Times in Spanish by phone. "I'm just a businessman, and I'll give him an opportunity. If he was guilty, he’s already been judged. I’m just looking from here on forward."

Heimlich went undrafted after his junior and senior seasons at Oregon State after the Oregonian reported on his crime in 2017. The Royals explored signing him as a free agent last year before deciding against it. A team in Taiwan eventually agreed to sign Heimlich, but the Chinese Professional Baseball League later terminated the deal based on Heimlich's plea.

Heimlich told the Times last May he did not molest his niece and that he took the plea deal to help his family move forward. He also said he had satisfied the conditions of his sentence, that his records had been expunged and that he was no longer registered as a sex offender.

The Times reported that Heimlich's court records are sealed.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.