⚾️🇲🇽 Baseball Kine Passion an’ Thin Air Make Mexico City Da Winnah 🎉

Mexico City — Wen da Major League Baseball play regular-season games fo’ da first time evah, Nick Martinez, one pitcher fo’ da San Diego Padres, get one good idea. He an’ some teammates wen go check out da Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on one day off. 🏟️🙏🌆

While dey was cruising to da church, Martinez see plenny shops selling piñatas. He went buy some, hoping da player of da game aftah each match can bus’ ’em up. 🛍️🎉🏏

“San Diego, da Mexican culture stay all ova,” Martinez said. “An’ being hea in Mexico fo’ dis series, da piñatas was one chance fo’ keep dat Mexican culture in our clubhouse.” 🇲🇽🎊🏢

So, aftah da Padres wen beat da Giants, 16-11, on Saturday, thanks to da kine conditions of Mexico City, Padres designated hitter Nelson Cruz wen throw on one sombrero in da colors of da Mexican flag an’ try fo’ bus’ open one Buzz Lightyear piñata. His teammates wen cheer him on, all wearing Mexican lucha libre wrestling masks. 🤼‍♂️🪅🎉

“It was one small kine bat,” Cruz wen explain later about his piñata troubles. He finally wen give up an’ rip ’em open by hand. “If had one normal bat, would’ve been done with one swing.” 🦾🏏🎊

For two days at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, da M.L.B. games was one celebration of Mexico an’ its love fo’ baseball. Da league had played regular-season games in Monterrey before, but playing games dat mattered in da country’s capital was different. 🏟️⚾️🎉

Mexico City is one of da biggest cities in da world, mo’ peeps than New York City, an’ 2,000 feet higher in altitude than Denver. It’s also da biggest city in North America without one franchise in da region’s four major men’s professional sports leagues. 🌎🏙️🏔️

Baseball get plenty strong in Mexico, especially in certain areas of dis country of 127 million peeps. Baseball officials an’ fans been dreaming about da potential of one expansion franchise in Mexico City. 🇲🇽⚾️🌟

Even though M.L.B. Commissioner Rob Manfred been talking good about da business prospects of Mexico City, he recently said dat he had “nevah been close to da idea of Mexico as an expansion opportunity.” 🗣️🤔🇲🇽

Da goal right now fo’ Mexico, Manfred said, was fo’ improve M.L.B.’s relationships with existing professional baseball leagues dea an’ fo’ have da country become one North American equivalent of Japan. 🇯🇵⚾️🤝

Based on da weekend of games in Mexico City, had plenty appetite fo’ da sport. Da scenes in da stands an’ on da field showed one lively baseball culture. About 20,000 fans wen come each game but sounded like mo’. 🎊🥳🎉

Mexican food — including micheladas, tacos, aguachile an’ churros — were selling like hotcakes. One mariachi band wen play throughout da games playing one kine version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during da seventh-inning stretch. Aftah da final game, hundreds fans still stay outside da stadium fo’ send off both teams with cheers an’ waves. 🎺🎶🌮🎉

“Was unreal,” said Manny Machado, one third baseman fo’ da Padres. “What wen blow my mind was da fans an’ how passionate dey was, especially fo’ us Latinos who play with plenny passion an’ energy.” 🗣️💥💖

Aftah each of da seven home runs dey wen hit ova da weekend, da Padres, da M.L.B. team closest to da Mexican border, wen put a sombrero on top da head of da player who wen smash da ball over da fence. Fernando Tatis Jr. wen buy ’em on Friday during one trip to da famous canals of Xochimilco in Mexico City. Wen da Padres relievers wen walk out to da bullpen, dey did so in lucha libre masks gifted to da team by da Mexican American professional wrestler Rey Mysterio. 🇲🇽⚾️🎭

“Means plenny,” Tatis said about playing in Mexico City. “Fo’ us Latin Americans, it’s something beautiful fo’ play in front of our peeps an’ taking da game to da keiki who no normally see us play in da U.S.” 🎉🇲🇽👏

About three-quarters of da tickets sold online wen get bought in Mexico, according to M.L.B., while da rest was bought in da United States, mostly in California. But when you was walking da stands, felt like mo’ Padres fans was visiting from da United States an’ plenty said dey bought their tickets online through secondary-market resellers in Mexico. 🎫💻🇲🇽

In da left-field bleachers, Felipe Pérez, 44, said he wen meet plenny fans from da United States but also plenty Mexicans who wen travel from all ova da country. He was one of ’em; he said he took a seven-hour bus ride on Saturday from Veracruz, a city on da Gulf of Mexico coast, an’ wen arrive in Mexico City just in time fo’ da 4 p.m. game. He wen head home at 11 a.m. da next day. 🚌🌊🌇

Da Major League Baseball games in Mexico City was one big success, an’ da players an’ fans was raving about da experience. M.L.B. will be back, fo’ sure. So, let’s celebrate da baseball kine passion an’ da thin air dat wen make Mexico City da winnah. 🎉⚾️🏆

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NOW IN ENGLISH

⚾️🇲🇽 Baseball Passion and Thin Air Make Mexico City the Winner 🎉

When the Major League Baseball played regular-season games for the first time ever, Nick Martinez, a pitcher for the San Diego Padres, came up with a great idea. He and some teammates decided to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on their day off. 🏟️🙏🌆

While heading to the church, Martinez noticed many shops selling piñatas. He bought a few, with the hope that the player of the game after each match could smash them. 🛍️🎉🏏

“Being in San Diego, the Mexican culture is very much a part of our culture,” Martinez said. “And being here in Mexico for this series, the piñatas were an opportunity to keep that Mexican culture in our clubhouse.” 🇲🇽🎊🏢

So, after the Padres defeated the Giants, 16-11, on Saturday, thanks to the unique conditions of Mexico City, Padres’ designated hitter Nelson Cruz put on a sombrero in the colors of the Mexican flag and tried to break open a Buzz Lightyear piñata. His teammates cheered him on, all wearing Mexican lucha libre wrestling masks. 🤼‍♂️🪅🎉

“It was a small bat,” Cruz explained later about his difficulty with the piñata. He finally gave up and ripped it open by hand. “If it had been a normal bat, it would’ve been done with one swing.” 🦾🏏🎊

For two days at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, the M.L.B. games were a celebration of Mexico and its love for baseball. The league had played regular-season games in Monterrey before, but playing games that mattered in the country’s capital was different. 🏟️⚾️🎉

Mexico City, one of the largest cities in the world, has more people than New York City and is 2,000 feet higher in altitude than Denver. It’s also the largest city in North America without a franchise in the region’s four major men’s professional sports leagues. 🌎🏙️🏔️

Baseball has a strong foothold in Mexico, especially in certain regions of this country of 127 million people. Baseball officials and fans have been dreaming about the potential of an expansion franchise in Mexico City. 🇲🇽⚾️🌟

Even though M.L.B. Commissioner Rob Manfred has spoken positively about the business prospects of Mexico City, he recently said that he had “never been close to the idea of Mexico as an expansion opportunity.” 🗣️🤔🇲🇽

The current goal for Mexico, Manfred said, is to improve M.L.B.’s relationships with the existing professional baseball leagues there and for the country to become a North American equivalent of Japan. 🇯🇵⚾️🤝

Based on the weekend of games in Mexico City, there was indeed a strong appetite for the sport. The scenes in the stands and on the field showed a vibrant baseball culture. About 20,000 fans attended each game, but it sounded like more. 🎊🥳🎉

Mexican food — including micheladas, tacos, aguachile and churros — were sold in abundance. A mariachi band played throughout the games, performing a version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch. After the final game, hundreds of fans remained outside the stadium to send off both teams with cheers and waves. 🎺🎶🌮🎉

“It was unreal,” said Manny Machado, a third baseman for the Padres. “What blew my mind was the fans and how passionate they were, especially for us Latinos who play with a lot of passion and energy.” 🗣️💥💖

After each of the seven home runs hit over the weekend, the Padres, the M.L.B. team closest to the Mexican border, placed a sombrero on the head of the player who smashed the ball over the fence. Fernando Tatis Jr. bought them on Friday during a trip to the famous canals of Xochimilco in Mexico City. When the Padres relievers walked out to the bullpen, they did so in lucha libre masks gifted to the team by the Mexican American professional wrestler Rey Mysterio. 🇲🇽⚾️🎭

“It means a lot,” Tatis said about playing in Mexico City. “For us Latin Americans, it’s something beautiful to play in front of our people and bring the game to the kids who don’t normally get to see us play in the U.S.” 🎉🇲🇽👏

About three-quarters of the tickets sold online were purchased in Mexico, according to M.L.B., while the rest were bought in the United States, mostly in California. But while walking the stands, it seemed like more Padres fans were visiting from the United States, and many said they bought their tickets online through secondary-market resellers in Mexico. 🎫💻🇲🇽

In the left-field bleachers, Felipe Pérez, 44, said he met many fans from the United States but also many Mexicans who traveled from all over the country. He was one of them; he took a seven-hour bus ride on Saturday from Veracruz, a city on the Gulf of Mexico coast, and arrived in Mexico City just in time for the 4 p.m. game. He headed home at 11 a.m. the next day. 🚌🌊🌇

The Major League Baseball games in Mexico City were a huge success, and the players and fans were raving about the experience. M.L.B. will be back, for sure. So, let’s celebrate the baseball passion and the thin air that made Mexico City the winner. 🎉⚾️🏆