The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos have hired veteran manager Dan Firova to lead the club in the 2027 Liga Mexicana de Beisbol season.
Firova, 70, is a native of Refugio, Texas who has managed 19 seasons in the LMB, most recently in the 2025 and 2026 seasons with the Conspiradores de Queretaro. With Dos Laredos, he returns to the city where he first appeared in the LMB as both a player and a manager, having first played for the Tecos in 1981, the year of his Major League Baseball debut with the Seattle Mariners, and first managed the club in the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
"I came on loan, I was part of the Seattle Mariners. I was able to come here to have the opportunity to play every day. I didn't even know there was baseball in Mexico, it was something different for me, a surprise; I saw that baseball was good, the talent was good, there were very good players playing in this league at that time," Firova said in a press release issued by the Tecos announcing his hiring. "I started my career as a manager here with Tecolotes in 1993, that year we reached the final against Tabasco. ... Here I started my career as a manager and I hope that this year will be like my first year."
The Tecos are coming off a disappointing campaign that saw them finish ninth in the 10-team Zona Norte under previous manager Felix Fermin with a 36-57 record.
"The most important thing to me is the talent we have on the team. Whether we want a fast team or a power team depends a lot on where we're playing, who, in what ballpark, who's pitching against us," Firova said in the team's release. "That day (of play) I see how we are going to take advantage and play that game, if the team is hot or not, if we have to do the small things, bunt ball, hit and run... whatever we need to do at that moment. I'm always looking for a way to give us the best chance to win the game."
In addition to the Tecos, Firova has also managed the Tigres Capitalinos, Sultanes de Monterrey, Tuneros de San Luis, Vaqueros Laguna, Dorados de Chihuahua, Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo, Piratas de Campeche, Olmecas de Tabasco, Acereros de Monclova, Toros de Tijuana and Conspiradores de Querétaro over 21 seasons in the LMB, winning more than 1,000 games as manager.