BIG LEAGUE BASEBALLS.com | MUSEUM OF BASEBALLS | SPECIAL EVENT | Special Event Game Balls 1991-1996 | 1996 La Primera Serie Monterrey, Mexico Baseball
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About the Ball: Red and green stitches AND red stamping! What a combo on this Leonard S. Coleman Jr. National League baseball. And what a way for the NL to break out with its first commemorative game ball.
The commemorative stamp features the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, located just beyond Moneterry, and "La Primera Serie" written within, which translates to "The First Series." Aptly named as it was the very first MLB regular season series played outside North America. Also included are the New York Mets and San Diego Padres team logos, "Monterrey, Mexico" and the MLB logo at the bottom.
About the event: Credit a scheduling conflict at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium for making this series, and this amazing baseball possible. The series between the New York Mets and San Diego Padres took place August 16-18, 1996 at Monterrey Stadium.
The Republican National Convention had asked for the option to use Jack Murphy for the site of a presidential nominee acceptance speech August 16th. The GOP later declined, but it was too late for MLB at that point, as the San Diego Chargers has already planned an exhibition game for the 17th.
A Sports Illustrated article takes a look at the city's potential for future MLB Baseball, the cost of seats for the games (30 pesos for bench seats!) and the Dodgers and Mets players practically being quarantined in their hotel rooms to keep them from being kidnapped! OK, just a bit over-dramatic.
Interestingly, Monterrey officials were at least having discussions with MLB as a possible relocation site for the former Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals). This despite Monterrey losing out to San Juan, Peurto Rico as host to 22 Expos "home" games in 2004 (and yes, we have a commemorative ball for those games in the Museum of Baseballs as well).
The commemorative stamp features the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, located just beyond Moneterry, and "La Primera Serie" written within, which translates to "The First Series." Aptly named as it was the very first MLB regular season series played outside North America. Also included are the New York Mets and San Diego Padres team logos, "Monterrey, Mexico" and the MLB logo at the bottom.
About the event: Credit a scheduling conflict at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium for making this series, and this amazing baseball possible. The series between the New York Mets and San Diego Padres took place August 16-18, 1996 at Monterrey Stadium.
The Republican National Convention had asked for the option to use Jack Murphy for the site of a presidential nominee acceptance speech August 16th. The GOP later declined, but it was too late for MLB at that point, as the San Diego Chargers has already planned an exhibition game for the 17th.
A Sports Illustrated article takes a look at the city's potential for future MLB Baseball, the cost of seats for the games (30 pesos for bench seats!) and the Dodgers and Mets players practically being quarantined in their hotel rooms to keep them from being kidnapped! OK, just a bit over-dramatic.
Interestingly, Monterrey officials were at least having discussions with MLB as a possible relocation site for the former Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals). This despite Monterrey losing out to San Juan, Peurto Rico as host to 22 Expos "home" games in 2004 (and yes, we have a commemorative ball for those games in the Museum of Baseballs as well).
