There are more than 2,600 miles between Tijuana and Williamsport, Pennsylvania. But to the 10- and 11-year-olds of Tijuana’s All-Star baseball team, a trip to the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania is only one tournament away.
Tijuana dominated the regional tournament, outscoring opponents 37-0 on their way to the championship. They are one of the favorites heading into Mexico’s national tournament in Monterrey in July.
Whoever wins that tournament will represent Mexico in the Little League World Series.
“They are a very good team,” said Alberto Mejia, president of the Tijuana Municipal Little League.
Tijuana Municipal regularly produces quality baseball players. Alumni include Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays, Jonathan Aranda of the Tampa Bay Rays, and San Diego Padres legend Adrian Gonzalez. One of the little league fields is named Gonzalez.
The league is so popular that kids from San Diego play south of the border.
“We have a lot of people that cross the border everyday just to come and play,” Mejia said.
The facilities are also part of the appeal. Tijuana Municipal has a 9-acre complex full of baseball fields and batting cages. Players also have access to cross training and sports psychologists.
Part of what makes this Tijuana all-star team special is that some of the kids have been playing together since they were 3 years old.
“They are like brothers,” said coach Francisco Fimbres.
Despite being all-stars, the players have a team-first attitude, Fimbres said.
When asked who the best player was, the players simply responded, “All of us. We are all one.”
One of the main reasons for Tijuana’s Little League success is the high level of internal competition. The league has nearly 2,000 players, all of them battling it out for spots on the all-star teams.
Tijuana Little League teams also participate in tournaments in San Diego and play against travel baseball teams.
“They get a lot of experience from an early age,” Fimbres said.
He coached the 2013 team that lost in the semi-finals of the Little League World Series to Japan.
Going back would give Fimbres a second chance at the title.
“It would be amazing to go,” he said. “So why not try to get what we missed out on in 2013?”
As in San Diego, Little League in Tijuana is a family affair.
Parents travel with the team. They come prepared with drums and multiple organized chants.
“We see how much effort these kids are putting into this and that makes us want to put in just as much,” said Miriam Gonzalez, one of the team moms.
This level of commitment is not without sacrifice.
Families dedicate their entire weekends to baseball tournaments. And traveling with the team is expensive, Gonzalez said.
Some parents set up a GoFundMe page to raise travel funds for the national tournament in Monterrey.
For the players, making it to Williamsport would be a dream come true.
Jorge Cota watches the tournament on TV every year.
“It would be so cool to play in such a big tournament in the United States,” he said.
