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First 2019 Spring Training Games Announced — In Mexico

Colorado RockiesWe have the first two 2019 spring training games in the books, but they were announced under special circumstances: the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks will play a two-game series in Monterrey, Mexico on March 9-10.

The announcement came as part of yesterday’s larger announcement about the 2019 MLB schedule being released. No, we’ve not seen any hint that the 2019 spring training schedule will be announced, although we usually see a few teams make announcements in September. However, the two teams usually releasing schedules early — Milwaukee and Oakland — are also involved in pennant chases.

The March 9-10 games will be played at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, which is the current home of the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. The spring-training games in Monterrey will be the first of the 2019 international campaign, which will also include games in Tokyo, Japan and London, England. We don’t expect Salt River Fields to shut down on March 9-10; in these cases, split-squad games will be scheduled.

The Rockies, who last appeared in Mexico for a spring training contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015 in Hermosillo, will be making their third trip south of the border. Colorado also competed against the San Diego Padres on Opening Day in 1999 in Monterrey and again in Culiacan in 2001 during spring training.

The Diamondbacks will return to Mexico after appearing in ten exhibition games from 1998-2015, all played in Hermosillo. Arizona played the Milwaukee Brewers in 1998 and 1999, the Angels in 2000, the Oakland Athletics in 2001, the Padres in 2002, the Kansas City Royals in 2003, the White Sox in 2008, Team Mexico in 2009 in advance of the WBC and the Rockies in 2010 and 2015. The Diamondbacks previously participated in MLB’s 2014 Opening Series in Australia against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

From May 4-6, 2018, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres played three games in Monterrey, drawing a total of 65,116 fans.

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