Mexico Series 2018: A first-class success

By José de Jesús Ortiz

In 31 years of broadcasting Padres games in Spanish, Eduardo Ortega has seen how much fans in his native Mexico have grown to love Major League Baseball or, as the big leagues are called south of the border, las grandes ligas.

Ortega, a former finalist for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford Frick Award, has helped nurture Mexico’s love of baseball since he joined the Padres’ broadcast team in 1987 with calls that could be heard easily across the border in his hometown of Tijuana.

Ortega, more than most, can appreciate how much Mexico’s passion for baseball has evolved since the iconic Mexican southpaw Fernando Valenzuela and the Padres played the Mets in the Primera Serie on August 16-17, 1996, during MLB’s first regular season games outside of the United States and Canada.

Ortega was there in the broadcast booth in 1996 when a sellout crowd of 23,699 at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey saw Valenzuela beat the Mets 15-10 in the first MLB regular season in Mexico.

Ortega has been in the broadcast booth for all three MLB regular season series in Mexico. He witnessed the tremendous love affair developing between Mexico and MLB since long before the Padres played the Mets on Aug. 16, 1996, in Monterrey.

Moreover, the legendary Spanish voice of the Padres enjoyed seeing how much the baseball infrastructure improved in Mexico. For the so-called Primera Serie in 1996 the bullpens were on the sides of the field along the foul territory warning track, just as you would find at small Grapefruit League and Cactus League stadiums each spring.

This past weekend, though, the bullpens were behind a fence, as you’d find in most American and Canadian big league stadiums.

“I’m proud and happy as a Mexican because there are better stadiums,” Ortega said after returning from the Padres’ series against the Dodgers in Monterrey. “The fans who are following baseball know what it’s like to present a baseball spectacle up to the big league standards.”

Monterrey’s baseball stadium has transformed significantly since Valenzuela and his Dodgers faced fellow Mexican ace Teddy Higuera and the Brewers there in 1990.

Valenzuela returned there in 1996 with the Padres for that first regular season series outside of Mexico and Canada. Then the Padres opened the 1999 season in Monterrey against the Rockies before returning again this past weekend.

Valenzuela, the 1981 National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year Award winner and six-time All-Star, remains the king of Mexican baseball.

The former Dodgers ace remains an iconic figure in Los Angeles and throughout Mexico, so it was only fitting to have him throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the first game of the series this weekend.

Over the years, the Padres have also played spring training games in Culiacán, which is in the Mexican northwestern state of Sinaloa, and Hermosillo, which is in the northwestern state of Sonora, and in Mexico City.

Along the way, MLB players embraced the trips south of the border more, which wasn’t quite the case in 1996. That year several players publicly conceded they preferred to stay in their rooms to play video games or watch movies.

Quite a few declined to explore Monterrey, which is one of North America’s top industrial hubs.

During that 1996 Primera Series, Padres slugger Ken Caminiti even became dehydrated while staying away from the local water.

Now 22 years later, it was clear that everything was first class during the Mexico series.

“It’s very important, primarily because the commissioner’s office sees Mexico’s willingness and desire to do things right,” Ortega said. “The fans are proud because they want to show a good face for Mexico to show that they love and appreciate their Mexican baseball heroes.

“For me it was good to recognize that Major League Baseball is doing a great job of growing the game in Mexico and connecting a new generation of fans with their Mexican baseball heroes.”

Mexico is definitely an important market for MLB, which is always looking to expand its footprint around the world.

Commissioner Rob Manfred was in London on Tuesday to announce that the Yankees and Red Sox will play a historic series next June 29-30 at London Stadium.

While traveling to London, Manfred took time out from his trip to tell La Vida Baseball what the recent Mexico trip means to MLB.

“In our ongoing efforts to grow baseball, there is nothing as impactful as bringing live games and our talented players to fans,” Manfred said. “It’s important for us to take the game to places where people don’t have a chance to see it every day.

“Some of those places – like Williamsport, Penn., and Fort Bragg, N.C. – are domestic. Usually, it’s some place internationally. That’s an important factor that puts us in a position to grow the game.”

Featured Image: Roberto Maya / Major League Baseball

Inset Image: Roberto Maya / Major League Baseball