Rockies, D-backs begin 'special' year for Mexico
Mexico Series starts with first of two Spring Training games Saturday
MONTERREY, Mexico -- The evening was made for baseball: a breezy 88 degrees at first pitch, not even a rumor of humidity, the Cerro de la Silla mountain looming in the distance and illuminated by the setting sun.
Baseball has a home in Mexico, and Saturday served as the perfect Major League opener for the country’s historic baseball year.
The score was Rockies 5, D-backs 1, but the discussion is what will endure. The warmth of the Mexican people was on full display. So, too, was their enthusiasm for baseball and vast knowledge of the sport.
“It was a special atmosphere, a special day,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said afterward, as the accordion notes from an in-stadium Norteño concert provided the soundtrack to his postgame news conference. “You can hear it going on out there. It was a party, a celebration.
“On a day where two teams inside the city [Monterrey and Tigres] were playing a huge soccer match, and the rest of the fans came out to support us, we felt that energy and that emotion.”
Major League Baseball teams are traveling to Mexico this year for three separate series. That’s never happened before. And it’s occurring at a time when Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador -- a noted baseball fan -- has approved the creation of 10 academies across the country to develop the next generation of amateur baseball talent.
Rockies legend Vinny Castilla, whose 320 home runs are the most of any Mexican-born player in MLB history, agreed that this is the most exciting moment he’s witnessed in Mexican baseball history.
“For Mexico, it is,” said Castilla, who’s in uniform this weekend as the Rockies' first-base coach. “The president of Mexico loves baseball. He’s putting academies all over Mexico to promote this beautiful game. He loves the game.
“The Commissioner of baseball, Mr. [Rob] Manfred, is doing a great job promoting [the sport]. Not only this [series], but the World Baseball Classic is a great hit for the whole world. We have a lot of countries involved in this beautiful sport. Mexico is growing a lot in baseball. It’s going to be tough to beat soccer. It’s still the biggest game here in Mexico, but baseball is right behind it now -- and it keeps growing.”
Manfred has spoken consistently about the need to play Major League games in Mexico and engage meaningfully with Mexican fans in the process. Rockies and D-backs players showed Saturday that they’ve understood that message.
“Major League Baseball kind of told us to have our phones in the dugout and interact as much as possible, so we can share the experience,” said Colorado starter Jeff Hoffman, who earned the victory with four scoreless innings. “Any chance I got, I’d turn around and see what kind of exciting stuff they had going on in the crowd. I’d hand out baseballs -- whatever I could do to make it a memorable experience.”
Antonio Araiza and Magdalena Hernandez were two of the announced 9,372 at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey. They sat near the left-field foul pole, having driven six hours from San Luis Potosí. Araiza grew up playing mostly soccer, but baseball is his favorite sport now.
“I love the way you can analyze it,” Araiza said in Spanish. “I love the statistics.”
Araiza has attended Cubs and White Sox games in Chicago while visiting family there, and his 2019 baseball calendar would be the envy of many fans in the U.S. He will return to Monterrey for the Cardinals-Reds and Angels-Astros series during the regular season. And he plans to watch the Cardinals -- his favorite team -- in St. Louis this summer, along with side trips to Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field.
“This,” Araiza said, “is the perfect year.”
Saturday was the perfect start to it.
Jon Paul Morosi is a reporter for MLB.com and MLB Network.