So, you’re wanting to do something a little different on your trip to Guanajuato & you’ve come across the fact that Guanajuato has a baseball stadium & but been stumped as it seems impossible to find information about matches & tickets online… You’re not alone! In this article I will tell you everything you need to know about how to visit the baseball in Guanajuato, Mexico.
We spent 3 weeks in Guanajuato house sitting so managed to delve a little deeper than the typical
weekend breakers do, on the things to do in Guanajuato. We first stumbled across the Estadio Jose Aguilar y Maya (Guanajuato, Mexico's baseball stadium) whilst walking the dog we were looking after. We decided to have a look online for how much the tickets cost & when the matches are but came up blank. Unfortunately I am not going to be able to come up with good news on this front, it seems the Facebook page is never updated & there is no website.
Fear not, it is easy enough to find out when the matches are & how to buy tickets to the baseball in Guanajuato. However, you are not
going to be able to do this until you arrive in Guanajuato.
Which teams play at Estadio Jose Aguilar y Maya
The baseball stadium in Guanajuato, Estadio Jose Aguila y Maya is the home of not just one team but
a number of local team. According to Wiki Tuzos de Guanajuato & according to baseball-reference.com Mineros de Guanajuato call the stadium home. On the week we went there were 4 other teams than the 2 listed above classed as the home team – Astros, San Je, San Diego & Halcones. We watched Halcones annihilate Trinidad!
Where to find the match schedule for baseball in Guanajuato
As stated above, there seems to be no online resource for the match schedule being played at the Guanajuato baseball stadium. To find out when the games are playing it just involves a little leg work. If you head up to the stadium the day you arrive in Guanajuato, you will see through the bars (if the stadium isn’t open) a green notice board with the week’s games on & the time of the first pitch. In the 3 weeks we were in Guanajuato there were games on every Thursday, Friday and Saturday (either at 4 or 4:30pm) & one of the weeks had a league match on the Sunday played at 12:30pm.
How to buy tickets to the baseball in Guanajuato & how much do they cost
Unfortunately, there in nowhere online to purchase tickets but I wouldn’t worry about that. The stadium seats around 3,000 people & when we went there was closer to 30 people that 3,000! On the day of the game just turn up to the gate & buy the tickets there.
A word of warning of when to turn up, the game we went to stated that 12:30pm start on the board, we arrived at 12:20pm in case there was a big queue. Hasten to say, there wasn’t, we were the first to arrive! The actual first pitch was about 1:30pm but it was a lovely day to sit looking out over the beautiful hillside & the colourful houses of Guanajuato.
The cost of the baseball tickets should be less than $30MXN (£1.30/$1.50). When we asked before our game we were told $28 which ever game we went to. On the day we were charged $30, we paid $8 & got a ticket for $8 then another woman asked us for $22 each. We’re not totally sure if the whole thing should have only been $8, and the rest was Gringo tax, who knows! If you have further information on this please add it to the comments, thanks!
Either way the tickets cost us $30MXN (£1.30/$1.50) for 3 hours of entertainment (and 1 hours board waiting for the game to start).
Food & drink at the Estadio Jose Aguilar y Maya
The in game refreshments were served by a jolly local lady with crisps, sweets & soft drinks. The
snack of choice seemed to be the Dorilocos (crazy Mexican snack where they stuff loads into a
Doritos packet like salad, sweets & spicy sauce. To read more about them see our Mexican food &
drink post). She was also on hand to sell single cigarettes & energy drinks to the home team which she expertly passed through the bars, haha!
On the day we were to the baseball no alcohol was sold on site, but most of the locals seem to bring
there own in (including the home team which I spotted bringing a crate in half way through!).
About 90 minutes in I popped over to the local Oxxo to get in on the action & it made the 2nd half of the match go by a lot quicker than the first!
What are the basic rules of baseball
So this was our first baseball match we had been to & as stated earlier we had an hour to kill before the play actually started. This gave us plenty of time to read up on all of the rules of baseball.
Here’s a quick summary of our understanding;
• Each team has 9 players
• The game lasts for 9 innings & each team alternates between batting & fielding in each
inning. Meaning each team has 9 turns at batting
• The team batting, continues to bat until 3 players are out, then the teams swap.
How to get a player out in baseball
1. Fly out – when the player hits the ball & a fielder catches it without the ball bouncing
2. Strike out – when the pitcher throws 3 good balls without the batter hitting one (the referee
will say, strike 1, strike 2 & strike 3 showing when the balls are good)
3. Tag out – when a fielder has the ball & touches the batter when they are running between
bases
4. Force out – When a batsman doesn’t make it to the base before the fielding team with the
ball. Also, you can be forced out if more than one of the batting team try to be at a base as
only one player can be safe at each base without being ran out.
How points are scored in baseball
1. A home run – when a batsman makes it all the way round the diamond & back home they
are awarded one point. This doesn’t need to happen in one run, as long as they make it round without being tagged or forced out they can move between bases on their bat but
also subsequent batters hits so long as the batting team don’t have 3 players out.
2. 4 foul balls - This isn’t actually a point, but it’s a way to get moving around the diamond. If
the pitcher throws 4 balls which are not deemed as fair by the referee the player can walk to
the first base unchallenged.
What’s the difference between baseball & rounders
The short answer is not a lot. Being from the UK, neither of us had watched or played baseball but
we had played rounders a bit in our youth. Here’s a quick comparison.
Rounders | Baseball | |
|---|---|---|
Bat size | 18” (45cm) | 42” (105cm) |
Catching the ball | Use your bare hands! | All fielders get a protective glove (mitt), this makes your hand about twice the size |
Holding the bat | 1 hand | 2 hands |
Ball throwing method | underarm | Pitched (up to 100mph!) |
How many attempts | 1 | 1 |
There is no doubt that baseball was inspired by rounders which has record of being played as early as the Tudor times. Essentially the Americans have taken rounders & put it on steroids. You could argue that the bigger bat, using 2 hands, having 3 attempts & having a massive protective glove makes the game much easier but you can’t deny hitting a ball coming at you at speed does make things a bit trickier than an under arm throw.
Summary
The standard of the baseball played at Estadio Jose Aguilar y Maya is not great, the away team didn’t manage to hit the ball in the first 3 innings! But, it was a lovely setting & an absolute bargain price. If you asked me is baseball my new favourite sport, it would be a definite no, it goes on far too long.
However, if I got the opportunity to go again I would absolutely go as it was a nice day.
If you get to go to a game in Guanajuato or have been in the past drop a comment in, we'd love to hear from you!