Tapatios’ agonizing two-decade wait for professional baseball will come to an end on the evening of Friday, October 10 when the Charros de Jalisco take the field for the inaugural game of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (LMP) 2014-15 season.
A full house is expected to pack Guadalajara’s revamped Panamerican Athletics Stadium as the returning franchise squares up against the Mexicali Aguilas (Eagles).
This spring, a group of Guadalajara entrepreneurs led by baseball fanatic Armando Navarro – who presided over the club during a five-year stretch in the 1990s – purchased the ailing Algodoneros de Guasave franchise.
“It was always his dream to bring the Charros back home,” Jose Luis Velasco, the team’s media manager, told the Reporter this week. “He didn’t want to sell the team before but various circumstances colluded against the franchise at that time.” (Among those, Velasco says, was the deadly April 22, 1992 sewer line explosions, which skirted the team’s stadium, the Tecnologico, on Avendia Revolution.)
Instead of the rickety Tecnologico (demolished in 2007), the 2014 Charros will play their home games in the smart 11,000-capacity Panamerican Stadium, built to house athletics events during the 2011 Pan American Games.
Workers are laboring around the clock to get the stadium in pristine condition for the first pitch on October 10.
“It’s been difficult because we’ve only had a few months to get the stadium ready and there are loads of logistical issues, but it’s looking really good,” Velasco says. “It’s definitely going to be one of the best stadiums for watching baseball in Mexico.”
A synthetic field has been laid over the running track that can be removed once the season has finished, Velasco said.
The well-equipped Panamerican Stadium has the advantage of having pre-existing custom-made food and souvenir and booths, as well as a large exterior concourse that will permit a plethora of additional family-related activities to take place, Velasco said.
The accent will definitely be on family fun, Velasco stressed. He said a huge video screen will show plenty of crowd reaction shots, and patrons should expect all the usual ballgame hijinks, including musical interludes, mascots and the like.
The eight-team LMP is a winter league that features players from Triple-A baseball in the United States or those on summer contracts with teams in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB), Mexico’s other professional league.
At least four U.S. players are likely to be on the Charros’ final 35-man roster, including third baseman Zealous Wheeler, who is contracted to the Yankees.
The Charros have a competitive squad, Velasco said, having inherited the entire Algodoneros de Guasave roster, as well as coach Juan Navarrete, who is on the Oakland A’s staff.
Following January’s playoffs, the league winners will take part in the Caribbean Series each year with the champions from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Tickets for games can be purchased at the Panamerican Stadium box office or online at Ticketmaster at (33) 3818-3800 or www.ticketmaster.mx.com. Season tickets are also available.
The Charros de Jalisco play two warm-up exhibition games against an AA team, the Tepic Red Devils, on Monday, October 6 and Tuesday, October 7, both at 4 p.m., at the Estadio Heliodoro Hernandez Loza (Santa Rosalía 70, Colonia Lindavista, Tlaquepaque). Entry is 100 pesos.
Facts & figures
- The Liga Mexicana del Pacifico comprises eight teams.
- The 68-game regular season runs from October through the end of December. Playoffs are in January.
- All midweek home games start at 7 p.m. at the Panamerican Stadium (Dr. Luis Farah and Boulevard Pan Americano, two blocks from the intersection of Av. Juan Pablo II and Parres Arias) in Zapopan.
- Of the 34 home games, five will be played on Saturdays at 4 p.m. (Oct. 25, Nov. 15 & 29, Dec. 6 & 27) and five on Sundays at noon (Oct. 26, Nov. 16 & 30, Dec. 7 & 28).
- Ticket prices: 25 pesos to 600 pesos (for VIP seating).
- The Charros’ website: http://charrosjalisco.com
Charros' home calendar
Friday, October 10 Mexicali Aguilas.
(Tue-Thur) October 14, 15, 16 Hermosillo Naranjeros,
(Fri-Sun) October 24, 25, 26 Mexicali Aguilas.
(Mon-Wed) October 27, 28, 29 Ciudad Obregón Yaquis.
(Tue-Thur) November 4, 5, 6 Mazatlán Venados.
(Fri-Sun) November 14, 15, 16 Culiacán Tomateros.
(Tue-Thur) November 18, 19, 20 Navojoa Mayos
(Fri-Sun) November 28, 29, 30 Los Mochis Cañeros.
(Fri-Sun) December 5, 6, 7 Mexicali Aguilas.
(Tue-Thur) December 9, 10, 11 Culiacán Tomateros.
(Tue-Thur) December 16, 17, 18 Hermosillo Naranjeros.
(Sat-Mon) December 27, 28, 29 Mazatlán Venados.