Disciplines of the native American game of baseball (36USC130502)

I'm so behind on blogging that I'm not even in the right sports season anymore. But even with the World Series over, I can't pass up writing about our baseball experience in Tijuana. Way back in September, TJ and I spent an afternoon at BeisbolFest, held at Estadio Cerro Colorado, home stadium of the Tijuana Truenos (Thunders). The festival was a three-game series between the Culiacán Tomateros and the Mexicali Aguilas, in which the Tomato Pickers edged out the Eagles for the championship.

For the most part, the game was the same as in the United States, except with a few Mexican trappings. For example, there was a pre-game mascot race, but the competitors represented more than just the two teams. The phone company and a bowling alley were among those represented within the racers. And instead of running the bases, they ran toward centerfield, circled a beer girl, and ran back to the batter's box (top left). And of course, foul play created some hijinks on field (top right), but ultimately, it didn't help the "bad" mascots. First to cross the finish line was a fair-playing pig, which I think was the face of a supermarket. Despite some lack of sportsmanship, there was no love lost after the race, as the mascots gathered for a group picture (bottom).

The advertising efforts continued during the game, as promoters, albeit in skimpier clothing, launched T-shirts and other swag into the crowd (left). Some might've considered it a bit over the top to have the beer girls come out and dance during every break in action. But trust me, one girl in particular went above and beyond when, halfway through the game, she started letting a clearly inebriated fan shake his stuff with her.

 

The stadium soundtrack was typical; I'm sure every field in the States was playing "Gangnam Style" this summer. The clips of music were interspersed with vendor calls. Some of the food was typical: Hot dogs served as our late lunch (top left), and TJ snacked on some nuts -- he had pistachios, but peanuts were available (top right). Of course, beer was on hand, but it was so in demand that instead of vendors bringing it seatside, they just set up big ice coolers at the bottom of each section. The most hawked fare, however, was a Tijuana snack standard: tostilocos (bottom). In my opinion, being able to balance the trays of the chip-fruit-nut-hot sauce-and-pork skin nachos made these vendors world-class.

As you can see behind the tostiloco vendor, the stadium wasn't even half-full (apparently the night games are more popular), but the crowd was still enthusiastic (left). They used plenty of noisemakers to root for their teams, including one particularly interesting cat-screech whistle that you could hold and blow entirely in your mouth. And if cheering wasn't helping their team, they could always try praying. The mountain just above stadium is strewn with rocks that spell: "Jesus is the Savior" (right).

 

But some aspects of Mexican baseball were appalling or inexplicable. For example, the bat boys for each team were not actually boys but little people. And see that guy getting all those requests for autographs? That's not a player, but an umpire. Perhaps it's the kids' way of encouraging the referees to make good calls.

In our case, it was definitely a good call to attend BeisbolFest. We got all the good of an afternoon ballgame -- good weather, good food, and good times -- with better seats and lower ticket prices. I guess this means we should try out a Tijuana Zonkeys basketball game next. How many months do we have before the NBA Finals?