Take me out to the ball game… Opening weekend was a hit…

If you are a true baseball fan the arrival of spring means only one thing, PLAYBALL!!!! Major League Baseball is back. Records will be broken; millions of fans will go to the stadiums to see which of the 30 teams will be called World Series Champions. Baseball is the National Pastime in the United States, there is a movement to make opening day a national holiday so the fans can gather and enjoy this beautiful game in the ballpark or at their place of choice.

Opening day is special in baseball, the start of a long season brings hope to all team participating and is the beginning of new stories that will create lifetime memories for players and fans. I have been a Mets fan since the 80’s and while there are not many World Series championships (2 World Series ’69 & ’86), for this season hopes are high with the signing of Juan Soto, Lindor coming back after a spectacular year, and the return of the Polar Bear Pete Alonso for at least another year. For a cool story before the start check this video on Cam Smith call to the show from the Houston Astros a rookie player drafted in the 1st round in 2023 by the Cubs and then traded to the Astros.

Possibly one of the best 1-2-3 batters line up in the game today

Mets were opening the 2025 season in Houston to play the Astros a team with good history of boricuas players including Jose “Cheo” Cruz who is inducted into the Astros Hall of Fame. We had the opportunity in the past to enjoy games in Daikin Park (Previously Minute Maid Park) and enjoy Astros baseball, when Carlos Correa was on the team. Going back on the opening weekend with the Mets playing there would make it special. Game #1 was Thursday, but the next 2 were Friday and Saturday giving us the opportunity to watch both games. Plan was in motion to enjoy opening weekend MLB baseball.

We arrived at downtown Houston and quickly prepared to walk to the stadium and join the party, immediately you could feel the excitement of Mets fans with many people walking around the city with Mets colors. You always find fans from the visiting team, but it was clear that it was opening weekend and with the hype around the team plus a fan group named the 7 Line Army the number of Mets fans was bigger than normal. The stadium had a great atmosphere for both teams and after losing Thursday, Mets won the Friday game in a very tight contest it was an awesome experience with loud “Let’s Go Mets” chants and the Astros cheering their team with good energy.

Tons of 7 Line Mets fan at the tailgate before the game. Soto engaging with fans pre-game

The last game of the series saw the Mets lost to the Astros on an almost sold-out stadium, atmosphere again was great, and you could see 4 big sections where the 7 Line Mets fan group were seating. I was impressed with the number of Mets die-hard fans that are part of the group and travel across the country to support their team. At the end of the first series Mets were playing with a 1-2 record, as a fan you want the “W” in every game. Hey, this start is better than the 0-5 start from last year. The team showed good signs of being a very competitive team, with a chance to fight for the championship.

Great attendance for both games at Daikin Park

The extra innings for this opening weekend was going to Arlington to watch the Rangers play the Boston Red Sox in their home field called Global Life Field with Jacob de Grom pitching for the local team. Since we arrived in Chicago, we have embraced baseball and started visiting the different cities and stadiums where MLB teams are located and the Global Life Field would be stadium #10. The stadium is located near the AT&T stadium and right beside their old baseball stadium in a very nice area called Texas Live!; where you can do eating, drinking and watch a game or hear some live music.

3 big stadiums in the same area, and our Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez present

We got early to Arlington and have time to enjoy baseball culture in Arlington; you could see a good number of fans from the Red Sox and Rangers that got early enjoying the restaurants and bars outside the ballpark. Once I entered the stadium was impressed with how they build it with great spaces, great food (24-inch Hot Dog-Burrito) and entertainment including the dot race (Seems every MLB is getting a race on). If you are in the area, give yourself a chance to watch Rangers baseball and a must do, go to Hurtado BBQ and get their Brisket nachos, go early because the line is huge but for now the best nachos in a baseball stadium by far.

Huge spaces and great facilities, Huge Stores, Lines, and Food Options

It was a very good game, where Jacob de Grom had a solid outing and in a close game the Rangers won. It is always fun watch the local team win (Unless they play the Mets :-), the fans were into the game and cheer hard to support their team, Red Sox had fans but not as loud as the Mets were in Houston. Baseball has always been a game to be enjoyed with family and friends; took the opportunity and meet with one of my high school buddies and we spend a great afternoon.

Boricuas in the Rangers Hall of Fame and good friends that live in Texas!!!!

Excited for this new baseball season and for the trips to come and explore new cities and ballparks to enjoy this beautiful game. Thanks for taking time to look at this post, please share it with your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time…

Exploring the Korea Baseball Experience on Opening Weekend 2024… Ready for MLB 2025

Now that we are getting ready for the start of the new MLB season and looking back to my travel last year, I was lucky to experience Korean big leagues during their opening weekend while visiting Seoul, Korea. The KBO is a younger league when compared to MLB it was founded in 1982, just 43 years ago in comparison the National League that was established in 1876 or 149 years ago.

Old School Tickets and traditional presentation of teams!!!

Like many boricuas, I played baseball at a very young age (5-6 years old) my first league was in Sagrado Corazon (Cupey) and continued playing until I graduated from high school all these years generated tons of great memories that I still relive today. Playing baseball was about fun and friends, it was getting cable tv at home in the early 80’s where I truly became a fan, remember just watching games with my dad and manually switching from channel 5 (WGN-Cubs) to channel 8 (TBS-Braves) and watch the games. Eventually we also got WPIX and became a Mets fan in 1986 (Won World Series), today still waiting for them to win again (Topic for another post).

Mass Transportation in these big cities facilitates going to the games, language can make it difficult 🙂

Coming back to my opening day experience in Korea, baseball is one of the most followed sports and is the one with the highest live attendance for games. The KBO has 10 teams and stadiums that can seat more than 20,000 fans, each team play 144 games in a season playing 6 days a week with Monday off. The game that I saw featured the Kia Tigers vs the Doosan Bears, both teams started in 1982 the year the league started. The Kia Tigers are the most successful team in the league with 12 championships (2024 Champs), currently owned by the Kia corporation; the Bears are the local Seoul team with four championships under their belt, owned by Doosan the oldest running company in Korea (Founded 1896).

Once I got to the stadium, using their subway it was clear that the game would be a sell out with lots of people everywhere and huge lines to buy tickets. It was good that I arrived early, since language was going to be an issue, and it was a bit of a challenge to get my ticket to get in the game. After getting the ticket, decided to walk around the park and began to enjoy how they live the baseball culture. Walking towards the entrance I noticed fans at the game were on average much younger than the US, also you see more women in the stadium that in a ballpark in the US. Search for insight and found that women are embracing baseball a lot in Korea.

Inside the stadium the feeling and vibes were very similar than a game in the US, lots of food and drinks in some cases US staples but also you could find Korean delicacies like fried shrimps or noodles (Kimchi and Pork Belly, great combo!!!) also available merchandise of all sorts like personalized jerseys, caps, t-shirts. One machine that I found interesting was a vending machine that would print and sell custom baseball players trading cards, there was a long line during all the game with people making selections of their favorite player, since it was opening day, I assume that was the reason for the long line.

You have entertainers, driving the chanting for both teams!!!

When the game starts it is like watching a boxing match, the energy you see from both teams is incredible and I am talking both inside and outside the field. When a team goes to the offensive all their fans start rooting and chanting at the same time, to support the fans you see some entertainers that bring the crowd energy to another level. It was very impressive to see how this energy moves from one team to another as the game progress, you could see the fans were really into the game supporting their teams and also following the game. The energy during the game was incredible and how the fans enjoyed the game, made the experience better it was a victory for the Kia Tigers that day but for me it was a personal win to have the opportunity and enjoy baseball in the other side of the world.

My Korean baseball experience was very satisfying from getting to the ballpark to taking the train back and would recommend to any baseball fan to have it. People in Korea not only know the game, but they also truly enjoy it and makes it a great activity for friends and family. I truly think this sport will continue to grow in the future, with a strong young fan base and a product that can resemble a MLB experience. This week starts the 2025 MLB season and will be traveling to Houston to see my NY Mets in the opening weekend #LGM.

Happy to meet great people at work that kelp me on this adventure…

Thanks to my Korean friends for helping me having this experience and for you as a reader for taking time to look at this post, please share it with your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time…

Wrestling the real top “Sport” in Mexico

A couple of nights a months, usually Tuesday or Sunday people gather in one of the cathedral of Mexico wrestling “Arena Queretaro” . Many of the top wrestlers in Mexico have wrestled in the Arena: La Parka, Pshyco Clown, Mistico, Caristico, Pagano, Hijo de Wagner Jr., Ultimo Guerrero are some of the biggest stars, but also you find local stars like: Kastigador, Vengador, Gremlin, Dragones de Oriente and many others.

Promotion Material for the wrestling show

It does not matter if it is a school night you will find a full arena with kids, women and men of all ages ready to root in favor of the good “tecnicos” or bad “rudos” guys . People come to enjoy the show and get the stress out: a cold beer “chela” and some snacks “botana” are the perfect add on for a high energy night. Outside and inside the arena you will find the perfect souvenir to bring back to your home.

Wrestlers always on the move “Flying in the Ring”

Once the matches starts it is non stop action, all of the wrestlers are great performers with many hours of training. The first matches build energy, you get the lower card that can surprise you with their great performance. People start throwing money into the ring if the match was good for them, these is because lower card wrestlers get very low pay from their matches. Then you get the last 2 matches semi and main event here you will find the more experienced wrestlers and the bigger names, now almost 2 hours into the show people expect the roof to blow. You will not be disappointed going to a show it is fun and a great way to live Mexico culture.

BTW, the night is not over… After a great wrestling night, you need to hit a taco place “taqueria” it is a great way to end a perfect night… I personally go to Tacos “Los Gusanos de Chucho” 2 minutes by car from “Arena Queretaro”, you will not regret it… guarantee!!! Will be sharing some food insight in the food page.

The action gets very close to your seats!!!!

At the end if you have the chance and see a wrestling show … GO it will be a unique experience full of energy and entertainment….

I will share information in the entertainment pages about the venues you can go and enjoy the wrestling shows.