Padres to Host Mexican League Matchup Today

Tijuana Toros come to Petco Sunday

Get ready to play two at Petco Park on Sunday afternoon. Except that the Braves will conclude their series with the Padres first, followed by a Mexican League matchup between the Tijuana Toros and Mexico City Diablos Rojos. The game will be played about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Braves-Padres game.

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The Padres have long been aware of their close location to Mexico and helping to bridge the divide through baseball. Tom Siegler noted that

"“They played a regular season game there, played an exhibition game, just connecting comprehensively with the community of Baja. There’s a lot we can do. The franchise kind of lost its focus on Baja in recent years. The goal is to get it back to where it was.”"

Petco also hosted a Mexican League game in 2006, where the Tijuana Potros defeated the Mexico City Diablos Rojos.

It is also interesting to see what next successful major league player might be scouted here. The World Baseball Classic, though not perfect, as led to several players in foreign leagues being recognized as assets by major league teams. From Peter Moylan of Australia to Aroldis Chapman to Daisuke Matsuzaka, you never know where talent can be found.

All fans with tickets to the first game will be allowed to stay for the second game. With yesterday’s rain clearing, it looks like a beautiful day to play baseball.

This spring training the Padres tried to play a spring training game against the Indians, but those games were moved to the University of San Diego’s intimate baseball stadium. They might try next year, and it may not be long again before the Padres once again play a regular season game in Mexico like they did in 1996.

So come out, watch international baseball talent. As Ernie Banks would say, “Let’s play two!”.