Por Johnny McDonald<\/p>\n
The San Diego Padres might best be described as Major League Baseball\u2019s ambassadors to Mexico.<\/p>\n
In past years they have made many visits and coming up on March 26-27 they\u2019ll renew that role when they face the Houston Astros in a pair of spring training games at Fray Nano Stadium in Mexico City.<\/p>\n
The two-game series was organized by Major League Baseball (MLB), the MLB Players Association, and the mayor of Mexico City, Dr. Miguel Mancera.<\/p>\n
This marks the first MLB appearance in Mexico City since 2004.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very excited to be in Mexico City and bring our game to Mexican fans,” said Padres General Manager A.J. Preller. \u201cPlaying in Mexico isn\u2019t a foreign concept for either team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Padres have made seven spring training trips to Mexico and played regular season games in Monterrey against the New York Mets in 1998 and Colorado Rockies in 1999.<\/p>\n
They have played exhibition games in Mexico City in 1972 and 1981, Tijuana in 1982, and Culiacan in 1997 and 2001.<\/p>\n
This is the Astros first trip to Mexico since previous games in Mexico City \u2014 a two-game series against the Miami Marlins in 2004.<\/p>\n
Fray Nano Stadium has a 4,500-seat capacity but will undergo a temporary expansion to accommodate roughly 8,000 fans for the Padres \u2013 Houston series in March.<\/p>\n
The Padres hope to play another regular season game in Mexico. One potential site would be Mexico City again in 2017 for the opening of a new stadium.<\/p>\n
A great influence in the Padres \u201cacross the border\u201d activity comes from Mexican businessman and part-Padres owner Alfredo Harp Hel\u00fa. He also owns the highly successful minor league team, the Mexico City Red Devils.<\/p>\n
The Red Devils, or Diablos Rojos del Mexico, of the Mexican Baseball League, are highly regarded in the country.\u00a0They have won 15 Mexican League championships, the most of any professional club in any sport in Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strategy with Mexico is evolving, but we\u2019re going to have one,\u201d said Padres president and CEO Mike Dee. \u201cThis is an example and a chance to work with Mr. Harp, one of our owners, to bring this together. There\u2019s more to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re working on a lot of different ideas and plans but this is a significant step,\u201d Dee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d added MLB Chief Operating Officer Tony Petitti.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the host of the 2016 All-Star Game and a long-standing supporter of baseball in Mexico, the San Diego Padres are uniquely positioned to promote baseball around the world,\u201d said Chris Park, MLB senior vice president.<\/p>\n
According to Donald Muller of the MLB office, Arizona has been the only team to maintain a schedule of Mexico games\u00a0since 2008 against the Chicago White Sox and\u00a0Rockies in Hermosillo.<\/p>\n
Following the announcement of the games with the Astros, Dee and Tom Seidler, Padres\u2019 senior vice president of community and military affairs, were in Tijuana to announce the organization’s expanded outreach efforts in the Baja region. They include the cross-border MLB All-Star Community Legacy project to focus on refurbishing Tijuana\u2019s Boys and Girls Club facility; and a multiyear extension with the Padres\u2019 Spanish radio partner Uniradio; which will continue to broadcast all regular-season Padres games in Spanish throughout San Diego and Baja. The games will be heard live on XEMO.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe announcements are a continuation of the Padres\u2019 renewed commitment to fans in Tijuana and throughout northern Baja California,\u201d Dee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always mentioned that the San Diego Padres are also Tijuana\u2019s team,\u201d said Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazar\u00e1n. \u201cAnd expanding what the Boys and Girls Club does is great news for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an effort to make it easier for fans south of the border to visit Petco Park, the Padres will expand its international bus program.\u00a0Mexican fans can purchase a package that includes a game ticket and bus transportation from Tijuana to Petco Park.<\/p>\n
Para m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n visite padres.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n