ball and Pierce took advantage better than most – he raised his average 118 points to .364 with an OBP around .438 and a slugging of .659. He was second to Antonio Lora in RBI (117) and third in homers. A year later he cranked out 40 in his second season for the Bravos de León, with 104 runs and 118 RBI, slugging .620. He was third in RBI and second in homers, one behind league leader Andrés Mora. 1986 saw Pierce set a Mexican League record with 54 home runs for the Braves. The old mark had been 46 by Héctor Espino – in addition to Pierce, Nick Castaneda (53) and Willie Aikens (46) at least matched the old record. Pierce hit .381, scored 111, drove in 148, slugged .783 and had an OBP around .464. Pierce also spent some time as Leon's player-manager that year. After slipping to .277/~.372/.516 with 24 homers in 1987, Pierce retired. As of 2000, his 294 homers in the Liga were 8th in league history, the best by a U.S. native. Pierce had hit .300 and slugged .553 in his 11 years in Mexico. Later years Pierce was elected to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. He was the batting coach of the Sultanes de Monterrey team. Pierce died from a pulmonary embolism in Monterrey, Mexico at the age of 64. References General references Great Baseball Feats, Facts & Firsts, by David Nemec The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics, by Pedro Treto Cisneros Japanbaseballdaily by Gary Garland Death announcement from the Sultanes team (Spanish) KioskoMayor.com – Jack Pierce obituary (Spanish) Inline citations External links Salon de la Fama page for Pierce 1948 births 2012 deaths African-American baseball players Alacranes de Campeche players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Angeles de Puebla players Arizona Diamondbacks scouts Atlanta Braves players Azules de Coatzacoalcos players Baseball players from Mississippi Bravos de León players Charros de Jalisco players Deaths from pulmonary embolism Detroit Tigers players Evansville Triplets players Kinston Eagles players Magic Valley Cowboys players Major League Baseball first basemen Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Nankai Hawks players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen People from Laurel, Mississippi Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Richmond Braves players San Diego Padres scouts San Jose City Jaguars baseball players San Jose Missions players Saraperos de Saltillo