This fall, Tucson will welcome its first international baseball team from across the border in Sonora. The new partnership marks the first time a Mexican baseball team will have a U.S. home base.
Pima County is partnering with the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico. It’s one of two Mexican baseball leagues and it’s made up of 10 teams around the country. Starting this year, one of those teams will be based in Tucson.
League President Salvador Escobar spoke to a crowd at an unveiling event for the team held at Tucson’s Kino Sports Complex — where games will eventually be played.
“It’s not easy to open the doors for baseball in other countries, so you are part of Mexican baseball right now, but we are together building bridges between two countries,” he said.
League owner Victor Cuevas told the crowd that the league was the third largest in the world.
“So MLB, and then there’s Japan, and then there’s us. So, I want everybody to grasp what we’re getting into,” he said.
Cuevas said the team sought to be part of the Tucson community and would focus on bringing in local fans. The team, formerly called the Mayos, was previously based in the Sonoran city of Navojoa.
Pima County Supervisor Jenn Allen said the new team will build up a rich history of collaboration between southern Arizona and Sonora.
“I think this tells the story in ways that we often don’t hear about what it is to live in the border, and what the border region looks like.
The new team, simply called the Tucson Baseball Team for now, will play against the Hermosillo Narajeros in October.
