toneart - 7-28-2007 at 05:44 PM
It came to my attention while in Mulege this spring that Baja has some great baseball players. Baseball is not my favorite sport so I
only reluctantly agreed to attend a ballgame with a friend. I learned that there is a Baja league. The Cardinales de Mulege were playing.
They have their own field due to the support of local business after years of struggling in a seasonally dry bog down by the Sea of Cortez. They have
bleachers, two dugouts, hundreds of loyal fans who turn out every Sunday, often for a double header, hot dogs, cold cervezas and even a fine Mariachi
band. Up in the broadcast booth they play traditional organ baseball tunes and fanfares. The announcers are very good at excitedly recaping a
fantastic play. They proudly announce each player's name as he comes to bat. They also dutifully announce the players for the opposing team as they
come to bat. A good measure of sportsmanship and comradere is displayed among the players and by the fans.
It costs 30 pesos to get in. As you might imagine, being the Cardinals, their uniform shirts are red or at other times, white with Cardinales
red-lettered diagonally across their chest. The red shirts are for sale. I have one. Each player is sponsored by a business and instead of the name of
the player on their back, the name of the sponsor appears. You will see tall players, little pee wee sized men, big muscles, scrawny, boney bodies and
some that cause you to wonder how they ever squeezed into their uniforms.
What I wasn't prepared for was the skill level at which these players compete, especially on defense. Every one of them routinely make spectacular,
diving catches, throwing caution to the wind. I saw one break his arm sliding into first base. He went to the clinic and was back in about 45 minutes,
milling around in a cast with the players on the sidelines. In the U.S. I think every one of them would be Golden Glove candidates. The pitching is
absolutely fabulous. The center field wall has to be over 400 yards away from home plate. Looking at these players I assumed that very few home runs
are hit. Well, I was wrong. There are some players who can really smash the hardball well over the trees beyond the wall.
These are not millionaire cry babies who are in it for the big bucks. Although they are semi-pro and do get a stipend, they are really in it for the
love of the game, and the chance to show their skills to the locals. It didn't take long for me to be converted into a fan. After that first game, I
went to all of the home games.
We speculate that there must be some scouts there looking for the next great rookie in the U.S. Majors. If they aren't, they are missing some of the
most skilled players in the world. I and my friends question ourselves; "How can this be? Are they really that good?" But there it is.....right in
front of us reenforcing our opinion play after play. You have to see it to believe it. What makes it even more endearing is that on any given day, you
will see these players at their everyday jobs. You know many of them. They have built your house or served you in a restaurant, or helped you find
the impossible in a hardware store. Just ordinary Joses who become small town heros on Sunday. Viva Cardinales!!!
bajajudy - 7-28-2007 at 05:53 PM
Cervezaros!
The team from La Playa
I agree with tone. If you ever have a chance to watch one of these games go for it. We happened upon a game one day in Miraflores and stopped to
check it out. Wound up spending the entire afternoon in the stands, drinking Modelo and rooting for the home team.....even though they were playing
San Jose. The game finally fizzled when the San Jose team put their last available player in to pitch. He was at least 50 and I could have hit the
slow, over the plate balls that he threw. We think that the score was 40 something to who knows, who cares. This was not an exhibit of fine
baseball talent but a great way to meet some local people.
larry - 7-28-2007 at 06:08 PM
I had the pleasure of attending a Mexican Pacific League game in Mexicali a couple years ago. The Aguilas are the Mexicali team---other teams in the
league are in other Northwest Mexico cities (Navajoa, Gusave, Los Mochis, Culiacan,etc).
The stadium was quite nice, held around 15,000, and I understand that it has been refurbished recently. The Aguilas had infielder Jonny Gomes and
former major league great, Fernando Valenzuela was pitching there two years ago!
The Mexican Pacific League is a winter league playing a short season --- approximately 30 games. Each team has a couple of major leaguers, although I
think there is a limit to how many major leaguers they can have on the roster.
Seats behind the plate were 60 pesos. Beer vendors stood in the aisles with big buckets of beer bottles at the end of every other row. ready to fill
your order. The food included great tacos de carne asada with a large variety of self service condiments. While some major league ball parks feature
musical themes when a particular batter comes to the plate, in Mexicali they had a relevant musical snippet for almost every pitch.
An excellent sports and entertainment experience---I highly recommend it. The seasons runs November through December, I believe.
Hook - 7-28-2007 at 09:39 PM
Gomes hit a homer in the bottom of the ninth for the Devil-Rays to tie it up against the Red Sox. Game is continuing into the 11th as I type.........
I am a SERIOUS, bordering on maniacal, baseball fan at all levels of play.
Toneart, your intimation about spoiled millionaires is much more relevant to the other Big Three sports in the US; namely football and most
especially basketball. It's really pretty rare to have overtly egotistical athletes in baseball. One in San Francisco comes to mind, as well as a
pitcher for the Mets who used to pitch for Boston. But it's rather rare.
I have personally concluded that baseball has remained LARGELY immune to this type of athlete because it is the most difficult sport to master and it
requires over 90% of the players to literally "step up to the plate" and hack, as well as perform on defense (clearly, I am not a fan of the
designated hitter).
I mean, when a sport's BEST players fail 70% of the time at the plate, it really engenders humbleness. Compare that to the other Big Three where
athletes can succeed 50-80% of the time at the elementary offensive activity of the sport (passing, catching, making field goals, making free throws).
THAT kind of success can build egos quickly.
And when a professional season lasts 7 months (like baseball), including the playoffs, there is ample time to be a hero for stretches and a goat for
stretches. It's a marathon broken up by sprints, high-hurdles and middle-distance running. Even the BEST teams often only win 6 out of 10 games.
That's pretty close to break-even. Very humbling. Good teams in basketball and football can win 70-90% of their games.
Baseball is enjoying unprecedented popularity in the US right now, as a sport that you ATTEND, rather than watch on TV. I attribute this to just what
you alluded to (egotistical athletes), occurring in those other sports and baseball is enjoying a rather surprising resurgence by capturing
disaffected fans from them.
But let's face it; unless you are a fanatic for the sport, baseball comes across as slow moving on television. However, there is a lot going on in
between pitches that the cursory fan will not understand; the positioning of the players, the preceeding pitches that set up the succeeding pitches,
the signs flashed by the 3rd base coach, etc. It's very subtle and couched in a sign language all it's own and doesnt involve physical contact between
the players that today's world seems to overvalue. But once you begin to understand it and can begin to actually ANTICIPATE plays as a fan, the game
becomes akin to a chess match with pieces that have multiple capabilities and infinite possibilities.
Add to all this the lack of a finite time clock and you have a sport that can be intense to the avid fan...........or a pleasant past time to the
sometimes spectator. It allows for ready conversation with other fans, especially about the statistical accomplishments of each player, without
interrupting concentration on the events at hand. And it really lends itself to enjoying a favorite beverage and a snack or two, with it's frequent
(but never lengthy) stoppages in play. It really has a great pacing, in a world that seems to outpace itself every time you turn around.
All this expository has very little to do with your original post............except that I sensed another convert to the attraction of baseball IN
PERSON, as opposed to TV viewing. It's a complete social EVENT like Bajajudy mentioned (spectating, conversing, eating, drinking, sunning) that
almost never has the danger of fan confrontations that football, basketball or even soccer have. It's thoroughly relaxing and engaging at the same
time.
In short, it's the kind of laid-back spectator sport that Bajaficionados would naturally be attracted to........viva beisbol!
toneart - 7-28-2007 at 10:23 PM
Well Hook........you've convinced me! If I were a team owner I would hire you as my PR man. You certainly make a case.
Baseball is definitely more interesting at the stadium than on TV. Tonight I was watching the Giants-Marlins game, just to see the one glaring example
that we both alluded to. I read a book at the same time, only tuning the game back in when I think Bonds may be due up. He is on the verge as you
know. It beats watching news about Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan. 
Tonight the
book was the winner.