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| A big crowd gathered at Esadio Gasmart in Tijuana for the Toros' game against Ensenada on June 8. |
Minor league baseball can be wacky. My experience
with entertainment from Mexico (mostly the Bee Guy from “The Simpsons”) has
shown it to be wacky as well. So what do you get when you combine minor league
baseball AND Mexico? That’s right, infinite wackiness.
Knowing how much Christina and I like minor league
baseball, her friend Cynthia suggested that we might enjoy a visit to Estadio
Gasmart for a Toros de Tijuana game. Cynthia has visited Tijuana a few times
with Turista Libre, which runs day trips in northern Baja California.
The Toros play in Mexico’s Northern League, which is
not to be confused with the AAA-level Mexican League. We were still trying to
figure out the particulars, but it seems like this six-team league – with teams
also located in Ensenada, Tecate, Mexicali, San Luis Rio Colorado and San Quintin -- plays
at a AA level. The Tijuana roster included a few players who had been part of
major league organizations here in the United States, most notably Reggie
Abercrombie, who worked his way through the Marlins chain to play parts of two
seasons in Miami, and also saw some time as a Houston Astro.
Still, a lot of this was unknown to us, so it was
with some trepidation that we headed to San Ysidro earlier this month to meet
with with Cynthia and about 15 other folks to seek out authentic Mexican
cuisine and a Toros game against the Ensenada Marineros. We were met near the
border by former Union-Tribune writer Derrik Chinn, the brains behind Turisa
Libre, which he admits he started after having difficulty convincing friends
from nearby San Diego to visit him and see the sights in Tijuana.
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| We parked on the U.S. side and walked into Tijuana. |
The crossing into Mexico on foot was quick and
before we knew it we were walking toward the spot where the bus would pick us
up. We were waiting for two more groups who would meet us there and then we
were on our way. Since this was more of an overall tourist venture, the group stopped for some authentic Mexican cuisine -- Christina had a tripe taco -- and then picked up some beer before
continuing on to the stadium.
The bus driver had to take us on a couple of back
streets to get around traffic, and it was already the fourth inning when we got
inside the stadium, but we still had plenty of time to get a sense of what
minor league baseball is like south of the border.
Christina and I had just found seats a section or
two past first base when Javier Brito, a former Astros and Padres prospect, and
Abercrombie hit back-to-back home runs to give Tijuana a 2-0 lead. When Brito
hit his homer, we noticed that everyone came out of the dugout, but his first congratulations
came from the gorilla mascot, Chango 0.
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| Javier Brito got a furry welcome after his home run. |
As it turned out, the mascots pretty much had the
run of the place, with a chicken named Pollo Layo getting much more involved
with the umpire at first base than the San Diego Chicken or Philly Phanatic
would dare. The chicken even transitioned from the Ensenada side of the field
to the first base line during one at bat. Toro Torin (the bull who serves at
the main mascot), Pollo Layo and Chango 0 were seldom out of
sight, and filled much of the 2 ½-minute changeovers with help from
cheerleaders. During one of the skits the chicken came out dressed as a police
officer but eventually ended up nearly naked. I am still quite shaken.
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| This was a little more over the top than the work of the San Diego Chicken or Philly Phanatic. |
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| At one point, Pollo Layo ran from the Ensenda side of the field between pitches. |
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| A nearly naked masot...still scary. |
Music was played between pitches during each at bat,
including some tunes familiar to ballpark denizens in the U.S. At one point,
the scoreboard showed people in the stands, such as a guy wearing a cowboy hat,
and appropriate music was played to the delight of the crowd.
Another time, a
guy who looked like Pitbull (thanks for clearing that up, Christina) was shown and they played a
Pitbull song and would not leave him alone until he obeyed the request that he
dance (“Que baile! Que baile!”) displayed on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, the
public address announcer talked very fast and was quite boisterous; delivering
the name of each Toros batter twice (JAVIER BRITO!!!! Javier Brito.)
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| When they tell you to que baile, you'd best que baile. |
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| These items were 50 pesos, or about $4. |
In the stands, the vendors got a workout, selling
everything from plates of shrimp and meat to churros filled with several kinds
of icing and even American ice cream.
We recognized the cotton candy despite
different packaging, but there were bags of other items we had no idea about. The
vendors also sold $1 Tecate beers with paper cups dipped in a hot pepper
powder. Hot dogs and hamburgers were available from stands throughout the
concourse.
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| The vendors even sold plates of meat and shrimp in the stands. |
The atmosphere was
amazing. As Christina noted, it was almost like something from a dream. The
excitement was palpable, even if some of the baseball was a little less sound
than one might like. (We got to see two rundowns between first and second base
within 15 minutes of sitting down.)
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| A Toro player is erased at second base via a rundown. |
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| Former Marlin and Astro Reggie Abercrombie |
As the game winded down
with the Toros up 3-0, I wanted to head down behind the Toros dugout because I
had brought along two cards to be signed by REHHIE ABERCROMBIE (as the PA guy
was calling the former Carolina Mudcat and Albuquerque Isotope). We got there
just as the game was ending, and called out Reggie’s name. He stopped, and was
nice enough to autograph the cards.
It was a great time,
and going in a group with Turista Libre certainly helped allay any fears I might
have had about going to the stadium, which recently underwent $2 million in
renovations. The bus ride and game ticket was only $15 for each of us, so it
was a great deal.
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| Reggie Abercrombie signs cards after the game. |
Christina and I had
such a good time that we might go back, although the league’s season only lasts
from May to July, so it would have to be next year.The parking lot had a lot of
cars with California plates, and it turns out the stadium is not far from the
border crossing at the 905, which is not quite as busy as the station right in
downtown Tijuana.
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| Reggie Abercrombie is congratulated after fourth-inning homer. |
For those who wonder
about these things, the businesses we went into and all of the stadium vendors
and concessions accepted U.S. dollars at 12 pesos each, which is a good rate,
and yes you need a passport even if you are only going to Tijuana. Most of the
fans we encountered in the ballpark were friendly, even if we could not
converse very well. The smile after a home run does not require translation.
