Astros, Padres set to play two spring training games in Mexico
For the first time since 2004, Major League Baseball is headed to Mexico.
In a joint announcement made by the league, the Major League Baseball Players Association and Mexico City mayor Miguel Angel Mancera, it was revealed that the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros will play two spring training games in Mexico City on March 26-27.
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The two games will be played in Fray Nano stadium, which is the home of Diablos Rojos del Mexico. The venue holds a little over 4,500 fans, but will be enhanced to acccomodate 8,000 fans for this “Mexico City Series.” This isn’t so much about playing to a big crowd or drawing a big gate anyway. It’s about further establishing a connection and relationship with fans south of the border and continuing to grow MLB’s brand on a global scale.
“Major League Baseball is thrilled to be back in Mexico City, and we are particularly excited to showcase two of our clubs that play in such close proximity to Mexico,” said MLB Chief Operating Officer Tony Petitti in a statement. “As we further strengthen the relationship between MLB and Mexico, it is our hope that we can continue to present our game and its bright young stars to the fans of our southern neighbor for years to come.”
This announcement comes on the heels of MLB reaching an agreement to stream select regular season games and the entire postseason in China for the first time ever. The league also hopes to bring future spring training games to Cuba, which would be another huge move. The Baltimore Orioles played a spring exhibition in Havana against the Cuban national team in 1999, but that’s the only occurrence in the last 57 years.
As for the games now official in Mexico, there’s a feeling of excitement from all parties that were involved in making it become reality. That’s especially true for the teams selected to participate
”I’m thrilled that the Astros will have the opportunity to play games in Mexico. The Mexican people have a great love for baseball, so I know these games will be very well received,” said Astros general manager, Jeff Luhnow, who was born and raised in Mexico City.
The Padres have now agreed to several appearances in Mexico over the years, including two separate regular season series. In 1996, they played a three game series against the New York Mets. In 1999, they opened the season against the Colorado Rockies. Both of those series took place in Monterrey.
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“All citizens of Mexico City are excited to welcome Major League Baseball back to our market,” said Mancera. “These games mark the latest step in our positive partnership with Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, which started last year with the historic Home Run Derby on the Zocalo. Hosting big events and sporting competitions help generate awareness of Mexico City as a tourism destination and generate new economic opportunities for our great city.”
There’s no doubt this is a win-win situation for the league and Mexico City. Assuming it’s a successful venture, it seems like bringing regular season games back to Mexico would be the next step. And who knows, perhaps this will be the turning point in Mexico eventually having its own major league franchise. A lot would have to go right for that to happen, but the process has to start somewhere.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
