Mexican Baseball Fiesta comes to Cashman Field
Baseball returns this weekend to Cashman Field, but it won’t be what fans are used to seeing at 51s games.
Cashman Field will host the Mexican Baseball Fiesta, two exhibition games between Liga Mexicana del Pacifico teams Aguilas de Mexicali and the Naranjeros de Hermosillo. Games on Friday and Saturday begin at 7:05 p.m.
Fans will be greeted with a Mariachi band, music will be playing throughout, the PA announcements will be in Spanish and the famous Beto Coyote — similar to the San Diego Chicken — will be there to entertain fans.
“It’s more of a festive (atmosphere and) experience,” 51s director of sponsorships James Jensen said. “There’s music that’s being played throughout the games. It’s not so much a library when pitches are being thrown.”
Jensen helped coordinate the event in Las Vegas after experiencing it three times when he worked in Tucson, Arizona, with Mike Feder, the president of the Mexican Baseball Fiesta.
“It’s much different than we do in the States,” said Feder, who has run three Pacific Coast League teams based in Tucson. “You’re really selling the sizzle.”
Feder began the event in 2011 in Tucson, and it has grown and spread since then. This year will be the first time games are played in Las Vegas. Teams also will play games in Arizona cities of San Luis, Mesa, Nogales, Douglas and Tucson.
“Mike’s been a friend of mine for years and years, and he wanted us to try this,” 51s president Don Logan said. “We have a significant Hispanic population, so we decided let’s do it.”
Feder said teams had expressed interest in playing games in Las Vegas. Mexicali, located along the California border 320 miles from Las Vegas, will be one of the teams because of its proximity. Hermosillo is one of the brand-name teams in the league, having won 16 titles.
Feder said he and the 51s talked for years about bringing the event to Las Vegas, and they hope it’s something they can continue, which will partially depend on how well they “get the word out within the Hispanic community.”
“It’s a Hispanic event, so if somebody has knowledge or has family or they’ve lived in Mexico, they know what this product is,” Feder said. “People look at it like, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe I get to see the … the Naranjeros. I grew up with them, or my mom and dad told me all about it.’ You’re bringing something from Mexico to them, and that’s always been real positive.”
Minor League Baseball expanded its effort to reach out to the Hispanic/Latino communities across the United States this season, introducing the new Es Divertido Ser Un Fan initiative.
Four teams took part, including the 51s, who changed their name to the Reyes de Plata (Silver Kings) for three games near the end of the season.
Those games were well received in Las Vegas, and the 51s are hoping to have a similarly positive reception this weekend.
“We have a great relationship with the Latin Chamber of Commerce,” Logan said. “I think that there’s a lot of positives that come out of it. We’re going to do the event, and we’re going to see how it works and then figure out how to make it work better.”
Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.
If you go
What: Mexican Baseball Fiesta
Where: Cashman Field
When: Friday, Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets: Cashman Field box office or ticketmaster.com, starting at $10
