Mexican League – Live Game Notes

On July 3rd, 2007 I attended a game between the Quintana Roo Tigres and the Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz in Cancun, Mexico. The following are game notes and general observations of the game.

Note: it might be useful to read my Mexican League primer article, which can be found here. It covers the history of Mexican baseball and focuses on the Quintana Roo Tigres in particular.

To begin, tickets for the game are very reasonable. The best seats in the park (Estadio Beto Avila) are $7, preferential seating is $5 and bleacher seats are $1.50.

The stadium holds approximately 9,000 fans and at this particular game I would estimate that there were about 1,500 – 2,000 fans at the game which was disappointing, however they were more than enthusiastic in supporting their Tigres.

Apart from the standard fare of hot dogs and pizza offered at baseball games in Canada and the U.S., in Mexico you can get tacos, Chicharrones, fresh potato chips cooked on site, pastries and enchiladas. They are reasonably priced with 3 tacos costing about $4.50.

I went for the tacos and they were delicious. Also, since Sol is the main sponsor of the Tigres, that is the only beer to be found in the park. No worries though as it is a great beer and only costs $2 a pint. I was all over it.

They also have a guy who walks around with a fully stocked bar offering fans whatever drinks they may want. This is a genius idea that definitely should be adopted north of the Rio Grande.

Onto the game! The Tigres starter was Miguel Ramirez and he was squaring off against Adolfo Garcia for the Red Eagles of Veracruz. Let’s talk about the pitchers for a moment. Ramirez has an ERA below 2.00 and I have no idea how he does it. The strike zone for this game was extremely tight and Ramirez has fringe stuff at best. I would like to compare him to a right handed Jamie Moyer. I was just waiting for him to get crushed but it never happened. I am not sure how he does it but he shut out Veracruz for 5 innings. Garcia on the other hand was just garbage and Quintana Roo feasted on him right away.

One time league-leader in home runs, Jorge Vazquez hit 2 doubles and was 3 for 4 on the night. This guy has big time gap power and had his way with Veracruz pitchers despite them nibbling the corners. Shortstop Javier Robles chased Garcia with a Grand Slam home run which was a moonshot. This guy is a total package at shortstop, hits for power and average (.342) and is a stud defensively. The Mexican fans went crazy over the slam, making as much noise as 25,000 Jays fans at the SkyDome.

You never know when a Sens fan is going to show up to a Mexican League game swinging a cowbell. The atmosphere is great, very lively with all the fans appearing to be quite knowledgeable about the game of baseball. They are not shy about cheering on their Tigres as well as letting the umps have it for questionable calls. It is a party atmosphere to be sure with smiles on everyone’s faces. Lots of children running around too which is good to see for the future of the game in Mexico.

Garcia was chased for a lefty specialist, Erubiel Gonzalez. He didn’t fair too well giving up 2 more runs. He, in turn, was chased for lefty Noe Romo. He is a lefty with a very smooth, fluid delivery. I liked the cut of his jib and he kept the Tigres off balance for an inning and a third, but by that time it was already too late.

For the Tigres, Ramirez scratched through 5 innings before being replaced by Esteban Haro. I loved this kid. After a 4 pitch walk to the first hitter he faced, he settled down and trusted his electric stuff. He was able to pump 91 mph fastballs out of his 165lbs. frame as well as a filthy 12-6 curve. After his 4 pitch walk he struck out the next hitter on 3 pitches. He features a slider with good tilt, a fastball with tailing action and a Mariano Rivera (obviously not as good) cutter that he fires in on the hands of right handed hitters. I was really, really impressed with this right hander and he struck out 3 over 2.0IP and gave up no runs. Maybe the next Joakim Soria?

Final Score: Quintana Roo 6 Veracruz 0

Another note worthy of mention: I was sitting beside the radar gun and it was plugged right into the scoreboard, noone was manning it like at the SkyDome and dressing up the readings. If the pitcher was reading 91, 92 on the gun thats what he was actually throwing whereas they might bump it up to 93, 94, maybe even 95 at some Major League parks.

I had the pleasure of sitting with Sr. Mario Valenzuela, the Gerente Deportivo of the Quintana Roo Tigres, who filled me in on the Mexican League gossip. I was wondering where former MLB’r Randall Simon was who was playing with Veracruz up until June 29th. Mario told me he has stopped playing for unknown reasons and did not know what has happened to him. I also asked him about former MLB’r Antonio Osuna. He has left the team, along with other stars such as Erubiel Durazo to join the Mexican national team at the Pan-American games. I’ll keep an eye on what happens in the Pan-Am game and keep you updated.

A shout out goes to the gentleman who kept calling me “Toronto” (I am sorry I didn’t get his name). He played for the Cuban national team in 1976 and was in Canada at that time and had nothing but good things to say about Toronto women. I enjoyed talking baseball with you and thanks for giving me the inside scoop on some of the players.

Special thanks to Sr. David Velez, Gerente de Relaciones Publicas, who provided yours truly with press passes to cover the game.

Pitcher Francisco Villegas talks with Conrado Garza

The Tigres’ (and Mexican League’s most famous) mascot, Chacho

Your boy Calman with the Quintana Roo Tigres cheerleading squad.

For more information on the Mexican League and the teams:

Mop Up Duty on the Mexican League

Mexican League Official Site

Tigres de Quintana Roo

Callum Hughson

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