Major League Baseball in Mexico: Beyond the Regular Season Series

Mexico City. When the Houston Astros take on the Colorado Rockies this weekend, it will be the seventh regular season series played in Mexico. However, the presence of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the country goes much further.

In 2016, Mexico became one of the six countries in the world with an MLB office. For Rodrigo Fernández, head of the organization south of the border, the regular season series may be the biggest event of the year, but it is far from the only one held in the country.

Among them, the MLB office runs a program called First Pitch to promote the game among children. Another is the MLB Cup, a nationwide tournament for 11- and 12-year-olds that recently completed its fifth championship.

“For us (the series) is the icing on the cake because we have many activities during the year,” Fernández told The Associated Press. “The MLB Cup is broadcast by ESPN and is the largest tournament of its kind in Mexico. “Those children are the future of Mexico.”

The MLB office in Mexico, together with the Mexican Baseball Federation, held the tournament with 28 teams. The final was played in Mexico City.

“We want to send the message to kids that we are interested in them playing baseball. Many of them will probably end up being signed by the Mexican Baseball League, but they will also play on the national team in their age group,” Fernández said.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones greets fans during the Taco Tour at La Cibeles Plaza in Mexico City. (Fernando Llano)

Fernández has been the sole director of the office since its creation in 2016. Before assuming the position, he worked as general manager of operations for World Wrestling Entertainment for Mexico and Latin America.

In addition to Mexico, Major League Baseball has offices in London, Tokyo, Beijing and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The office is inside a luxury tower adjacent to the exclusive Artz Pedregal shopping center in the southern part of the city.

Although Fernández’s position remains the same, some of MLB’s objectives in Mexico have changed. In 2016, Commissioner Rob Manfred said he wanted to see if Mexico could be a potential site for expansion. But a year ago, Manfred said that he “had never been close to the idea of ​​Mexico as an expansion opportunity.”

“Commissioner Manfred has a very high commitment and interest in Mexico, however there are several factors that have made us change our strategies and now solidifying the local leagues is the main step for us,” said Fernández.

The MLB office in Mexico already works closely with the Mexican Baseball Federation and is trying to forge a closer relationship with the Mexican Baseball League, headed by its president Horacio de la Vega.

Since De la Vega took over in 2021, the league has seen increased stadium attendance, with games broadcast on national television and streaming services. That has helped boost the sport’s popularity among a new generation of fans.

“I think (fan attendance) has increased, before there were a lot of older people in the park,” said fan Carlos Hernández, 63, before a game between the Diablos Rojos and the Tigres in Mexico City. last week. “And now there are more fans, especially young people.”

According to Othón Díaz, president of the Red Devils, nine years ago 53% of the team’s fans were 55 years old or older and now 74% are under 45. They also averaged 3,000 fans per game and now that number is 11,000.

For some of those hardcore fans, having an MLB regular season series is nice, but only for those who can afford it.

Fernández said tickets for the Astros-Rockies series sold out within an hour and now the selling price on the resale market ranges from $70 to $580.

“It’s a good show, but the ticket prices are a little high. With the cheapest one you could come (to see the Red Devils) for half a season,” said Hernández, who went to see the Devils with his wife and his two children.

Mexico first hosted MLB games in August 1996, when the San Diego Padres faced the New York Mets in Monterrey. The Padres faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018. And in 2019, the Cincinnati Reds played the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros faced the Los Angeles Angels.

Mexico City was due to host a series between the Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2020, but it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, the Padres played the San Francisco Giants.

According to Fernández, there are plans to bring more regular season games to Mexico every year until 2026, although they will not necessarily be at the same venue. In the meantime, the office’s work will continue to seek helping spread the popularity of baseball in the country.

2024-04-26 22:02:08
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