MEXICO CITY — Major League Baseball has built a cottage industry out of new stadiums that look old.
Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú takes it even further back.
The home of the Mexico City Diablos Rojos rises from the ground like a pre-Columbian pyramid.
“The base is the environment. The base is the history of Mexico,” said Santiago Harp, the 26-year-old vice chairman of the board of directors for the Mexico City Red Devils and the son of the stadium’s namesake, Padres minority owner Alfredo Harp Helú. “The roof is the new Mexico, the innovation and the future.”
Padres fans streamed into the sparkling, 7-year-old stadium on Saturday for the first of two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was the latest stop for the Padres, who christened the stadium in 2019 with a prospects game against the Red Devils and returned here three years ago to take on the San Francisco Giants.
The 20,062-seat stadium has a Petco Park vibe, from the artwork and nods to the team’s history located throughout the stadium.
The best? A bronze statue of a devil decked in catcher’s gear greets fans on the concourse behind home plate. The image is a “muneco,” or good-luck charm, for Diablos Rojos fans.
How’s it working out? “The Yankees of Mexican Baseball” have won 18 titles.
He’s an everywhere man
Nicholas Jeffrey has been to every ballpark in Major League Baseball.
On Saturday, he knocked another international venue off his list.
Jeffrey, who lives in San Luis Obispo, was one of the first fans through the gates. Jeffrey was decked out in Padres gear; in the name of fairness, he’ll wear Diamondbacks apparel to Sunday’s game.
Why travel all over the world to watch big-league baseball?
“It’s sort of like my zen,” Jeffrey said.
Jeffrey was working a high-stress job in Washington, D.C., in 2007 when he received free (and good) tickets to a Nationals game. As he watched, his body and mind relaxed.
“I love going to baseball games,” he said, “because it’s old-timey.”
He then went to Camden Yards in Baltimore, fell in love with the retro classic park and went about collecting. Not jerseys or hats — experiences.
“After I went to Camden, I was like, I need to go to all 30,” he said.
And all the stadiums in the Cactus League, and half the ones in the Grapefruit League. And the temporary stadium in Tampa, Fla. Soon, Jeffrey will venture to Sacramento to watch the A’s before they relocate to Las Vegas. And then, when Las Vegas’ new stadium is open, he’ll visit there, too.
Jeffrey documents his travels on his Instagram account, MLB Mascot King.
Because, oh yeah, he’s also gotten pictures with all 27 MLB mascots. Name the three teams without mascots. (Answer below.)
And because you’re curious ..
Jeffrey ranks Petco Park third among his favorite stadiums, behind AT&T Park in San Francisco and Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.
Fun at the ol’ ballgame
San Marcos couple Gustavo and Mindy Neri spent time before Saturday’s game posing with the World Series trophy.
Both are lifelong Padres fans. To see one up close, they admitted, was pretty cool. (Save your jokes, Padres haters.)
The couple flew south from Tijuana on Thursday morning and spent two days touring the vast city. Friday night, they attended a lucha libre match.
By Saturday, they were wearing their brand-new Mexico City Series gear and sporting matching smiles.
They traveled to see the Padres because, well, it’s a blast. Padres fans outnumbered Diamondbacks fans maybe 20-to-1, turning the faraway park into a home game.
Who wouldn’t want to celebrate?
“Just to get away and follow the team,” Gustavo Neri said. “And Mexico City’s fun. It’s always fun over here.”
By the numbers
We wandered the concourse before and during Saturday’s game, pricing food, drinks and souvenirs in the name of … cross-cultural understanding. (And not just because we like this stuff).
Here’s the price of things, in pesos (and remember, the exchange rate is roughly 17 pesos per dollar):
60: Cost, in pesos, for a Coke, Coke Light (aka Diet Coke), or Sprite.
120: Cost of a Cerveza La Diablita Lager, the official beer of the Mexico City Red Devils.
300: Cost of a chicken sandwich and fries served in a cardboard Mexico City Red Devils hat.
549: Cost of a New Era Mexico City Series T-shirt with a lucha libre mask on the back.
3,825: Cost of a Padres pinstriped jersey with a Mexico City Series patch on the side.
Answer
The three MLB teams without mascots: the Dodgers, Yankees, and, surprisingly, Angels.
“They don’t consider the Rally Monkey a mascot,” Jeffrey said.