Mexican league visits Yuma

While early October means the start of the baseball playoffs, it also means the start of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico season.

And for Yuma, that means a north-of-the-border exhibition.

The Hermosillo Naranjeros will face the Mexicali Aguilas at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at Desert Sun Stadium.

Glenn Dobson Jr., managing partner of Triple Play Sports Management, the firm brining the game to Yuma, said he's hoping to capture the fanfare that accompanies the Mexican league.

"It makes Americans look like they're at a funeral," Dobson said. "I'm not being sarcastic. It's the name of the game. It's going to be like a circus. It's going to be exactly like the Mexican Pacific League when they play their games there. There's not going to be a dull moment. Trust me."

Dobson, a former general manager with the Yuma Scorpions, said he's been working on this for a while.

"This has been a dream of mine since I was with the Scorpions and stuff," Dobson said. "I got this agreement signed for the next 10 years. Next year we're going to bring up four teams. We're trying to bring in Obregon and Mochis. We want to bring some Mexican flavor of baseball and show fans of Yuma, San Luis, Wellton, El Centro what baseball's all about."

Originally, there was supposed to be a game at Joe Orduno Park in San Luis as well, but that game was cancelled, leaving just the one at Desert Sun Stadium.

Both teams are loaded with current and former big leaguers. Dobson said former Diamondback Erubiel Durazo was slated to play, along with current Giant and former AWC pitcher Sergio Romo is on the Aguilas' roster, as are Padres Adrian and Edgar Hernandez.

"They're supposed to and there's a lot of them that showed up last year," Dobson said. "It gives them a chance to get used to the pitching in the Mexican league and stuff like that."

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with tickets costing $5 at the gate or in advance at Food City. Yuma School District 1 will also be selling tickets at $5 each and will keep a portion to help raise funds for athletics.

"My goal is to have 3,000 actual butts in the seats," Dobson said. "I think we can do that because we're teaming up with Yuma School District 1. ... Our goal is to hopefully give them back $15,000 to $25,000 the night of the game to say 'You know what? Don't worry about the state of Arizona. We're here to help you put uniforms on your back and help you out like that.'"

Dobson said he hopes this year's exhibition is just the beginning.

"We're hoping these teams will get to come up here to and play on the beautiful field the city of Yuma puts out year in and year out to do their spring training here," Dobson said. "My whole deal is basically a tournament between these teams before they go out and hit the road and start their season."