Marts Madness: Mexico is almost…

For many, the American city of San Diego is “almost Mexico.” You only need to drive to Tijuana and then cross the border there. Please note: Border control from Mexico to the United States is one of the strictest border controls in both countries. San Diego is a big city with a big army. Read marine people. It has a distinct outer life. Anyone have any idea how many people live there? Answer: approximately 1.4 million people. Of these, 60 percent are white, 6 percent are African American, 30 percent are Mexican, and 17 percent are Asian. A true ‘melting’ and a very lively city where the weather is often pleasant. We call this type of weather: Mediterranean. Sometimes it’s a shower, lots of sun, and also lots of outdoor sports. Many beaches, parks, and don’t forget, the first city founded by Europeans in California. The first European to set foot there was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo. He claimed the settlement for his Spanish king in 1542.

This guy is from somewhere in the Antilles.
It is now 2023, and Xander Bogaerts, born in Aruba to an Aruban mother and a Dutch father, has set foot on San Diego soil. He claims the short starting point there. Perhaps he can also become one of the leading figures in the new team. Before people got used to the X-man, he had already hit home. People knew that “this guy from somewhere in the Antilles” (he really was there) had to be taken seriously. With the signing of Bogaerts, the San Diego Padres have taken the next step toward what you can or should carefully call a senior.

Dutch baseball fans
No, San Diego didn’t bring many memories for us Dutch baseball followers. The organization was founded in 1969. Since then, it has been the best in the National League only twice in its more than fifty-year history (1984 and 1998), but it has never won the World Series. And most importantly, the time difference between San Diego and our country is nine hours. We haven’t seen a lot of Padres games on TV in the past, have we? Yes, sometimes a Sunday afternoon game, when the team was playing in half uniform. A good habit in petco park.

Be honest: Name, off the cuff, the best nine men to play for the Padres. How far will you go? And who is actually the team manager? Indeed: look it up! Here it is: Bob Melvin. Once a player for seven different teams (not the Padres) and manager for Seattle, Arizona, Oakland, and now San Diego. Correct: 61 years old, tried and tested. 2001 World Championship Champion. where? With the Diamondbacks as bench coach. If you remember that, you can move on to the next round of 69 Crazy Questions.

spoiled audience
I’ll be honest: I came for midfielder and showman Juan Soto and defenseman Fernando Tatis. The latter was suspended for more than two months (steroids). Yu Darvish (that’s a cool name alone, for a Japanese pitcher), reliable catcher Austin Nola, pitcher Blake Snell, pitcher Josh Hader, and veteran Manny Machado. I also learned that Kingdom player Joriksun Brovar still played left there last year and has now left for Colorado to get more bucks. And now: the X-Man. Xander Bogaerts. Already thirty years old, but still young at heart and certainly not flashy or spoiled. Bogaerts will be playing for the Padres and people expect a lot from his bat. By the way, the team has two or three very capable key players. The solution to this problem, if any, is Jake Cronworth. In the first weekend of the newly started season, Bogaerts certainly didn’t show the spoiled crowd some impressive hits and home runs. It was introduced immediately with good reviews in the local press. The first series against the unpredictable team that has always been the Colorado Rockies ended in a 2-2 tie. So the polonaise wasn’t played right away.

Indoor sports teams excel
Because San Diego has a pleasant climate and so many outdoor sports, the list of indoor sports teams with potential to excel is remarkably small. short tour? Besides the Padres (the only major sport in town) we find:

the San Diego Wave, the women’s professional soccer team;
San Diego Loyals, a men’s professional soccer team. The owner is former boss London Donovan;
The San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League, are no better than a playoff team;
The San Diego Gulls, an American hockey team. He came from Norfolk in 2015 and has been a kind of Team Kitchen Champion ever since;
The San Diego Corps, rugby league team. Team still attracts some audience. Rugby is also widely played in parks and public sports fields. Basketball maybe?

Yes, the San Diego State College team played for the NCAA national title last Monday. Which was a great surprise. It was a close game for the San Diego State team against Connecticut, 76-59.

$600,000 a year

Weren’t there any good teams from the NBA working in town? Well, no. It began in 1972 when the San Diego Coquistadores were founded in the old ABA. First with Hall of Famer KC Jones as coach. And in 1973-1974 with the giant Wilt Chamberlain on the bench. He was supposed to become a player and coach, but the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers legally put an end to this. Chamberlain was appointed in his place by the judge: just a rehearsal. By the way, he earned a delicious sum of $600,000 for a year for those days.

Xander Bogaerts now has to be content with $25 million a year, with the guarantee that he’ll get that amount for another ten years. Total: 280 million until 2033. Those Coquistadores were closed (of course), because there were no spectators, little money and very little performance. Oh yeah, Coach Chamberlain also sometimes let his assistant Stan Albeck sit in his place when he had other (read commercially interesting) things to do. Like an autograph session in Los Angeles for his new book, which he prioritized.

If the omens are not deceiving, they are going to experience a solid and good season for their San Diego baseball team this season. First ever title in a major North American sport? It can be, but the road is very long and difficult. In San Diego, they are not used to the taste of “sports winning.”