The Yankees just recently announced that towards the end of this coming spring training they would be playing two games in Mexico.
The fact that I was watching the Portland Trail Blazers on television because Yankee special assistant Omar Minaya’s son Justin plays on the team put me in a position to ask his daddy if this was true. He told me that this was a great opportunity for such a storied franchise like the Yankees to play the Diablos Rojos of Mexico. The fact that these two teams have history together makes it that much sweeter. In 1968 the Yankees actually played two games there with one of the greatest players in not only Yankees history but baseball history, Mickey Mantle. They also had a rookie on the team that would go on to become an all time great Yankee, Roy White.
I called Roy to ask him about his recollections of that trip. Roy said that it was a great trip because the fans there couldn’t believe that Americas team would actually visit them. Roy said that the thing that actually stayed in his mind all of these years was the fact that Mantle was walking around the clubhouse wearing a huge Mexican hat. Roy also said that the players were somewhat surprised at how good the competition was. Roy also said that even though he was a rookie that he was really treated great. He also got to understand the international love and greatness for a player named Mickey Mantle.
I personally think that this is a wonderful goodwill gesture on the Yankees part to make this trip a reality. It’s something that the fans there will never forget and with the state of the world, a good old fashion hardball game always seems to soothe the soul of men.
Below please check out the Yankees press release…….
