Baseball in Álamos, Sonora, México

70… I say baseball, you say beisbol and it’s three strikes and you are out…

Baseball in the streets of Barrio Barranca, Alamos, Sonora, Mexico. Photo by Anders Tomlinson.

Arroyos-roads will do for makeshift baseball fields.

Baseball is not Mexico’s national pastime, and it is no longer the USA’s, but it is popular,
particularly in the northern states. Beisbol was introduced to Mexico in 1847 by American
soldiers during the Mexican War. Americans overseeing railroad construction also
encouraged Mexican workers laying track to play beisbol. On July 4th, 1889 work stopped
on the Monterrey-Tampico railway in Nuevo Leon to celebrate the holiday as Colonel Joseph
Robertson and his workers played baseball. Organized beisbol started in 1925.

Dugouts at the ball park, Alamos, Sonora, Mexico. Photo by Anders Tomlinson.

The sweet smell of neatly groomed dirt, batter up.

The baseball stadium in 2017 has come a long way since these photos in 1984 -85.
The biggest change is there are lights for night game. The outside walls are
now covered with wonderful murals. The ballpark is an important community center.

It would not be surprising to think that there are kids who dream of playing professional
baseball as they take to the field at the Alamos ball park halfway between the Plaza and the
airport. The Mexican Pacific League is the premier Mexican winter league. 27% of its 445
players come from Sinaloa and 20% come from Sonora. Teams close to Álamos include
the Yaquis de Obregon, Mayos de Navajoa, Caneros de los Mochis – the Sugarcane Pickers
and Naranjeros de Hermosillo – the Orange Pickers. Fernando Valenzuela, who took Los
Angeles by storm as a successful pitcher for the Dodgers, Fernandomania, was born in
Etchohuaquilla a small town near Navojoa. One of the allures of baseball is so much of
the game takes place in the mind as one waits for the action to come.
Baseball is a game from dreamers.

baseball park in Alamos, Sonoroa, Mexico. Photo by Anders Tomlinson.

Build it at the foot of Sierra de Alamos and they will come.

The warrior that is always looking up at the western sky atop Sierra de Álamos can hear the
roar of fans when a run scores in a big game for the home team. The photo on the left was
taken in the spring, the photo on the right was taken in the summer. This is a ball park with
a wonderful view. Sierra de Alamos is a magnificent hitter’s background.

summer rodeo in álamos,sonora, mexico. photo by anders tomlinson, 1996.

They play more than baseball at the old ball park, root root for the cowboys.

The rodeo had come to Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. The event had fallen behind schedule
and the crowd grew uneasy waiting for the show to begin, and they waited and milled
as summer clouds came and went. And when it started it was hard to tell it had started.
Unorganized is a polite term to describe the promoters. The posters around town
publicized this event as a rodeo – music concert.

The headline singer, who was backed up by a local band, the Dominquez family,
who provided the sound system and stage, also was late arriving. More clouds came
and went. More drinking. More huddling. More negotaiting. After the rodeo finished
the cowboys stood in a line to thankfully pray that no one had been seriously hurt.
And then it was time for music and dancing horses.

A summer rodeo – music concert with trained horses dancing the two step.
Throughout the summer there are activities to enjoy in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico.
On this day the rodeo came to town along with a Mexican pop singer who was backed
up by the local “Halcon de Sierra Alamos” band. The stars of the show were
the dancing horses.

A parade of lights brings song and joy to colonial Álamos streets during Christmas.
We see a traditional Posada visiting from house to house and arriving at
Casa de los Tesoros where children in their holiday attire play and adult family
take in another Christmas in Álamos. It is a tradition. Another scene is
a trip to the Alameda.

An introduction to a Short History of Álamos, Sonora, Mexico.
“Here is something Special”, Spanish explorer Vasquez de Coronado noted in 1540
as he headed north, passing by tall white rocks on Alamos de Sierra. This is
the opening chapter to “A Short History of Álamos” written, filmed and edited
by Anders Tomlinson. Narrated by Bruce Miles. Soundtrack by
SonicAtomics and Estudiantina de Álamos.

Spring Day in the Plaza – Part One: The Race.
Spring days in the Plaza de Las Armas are a portrait of the community at
large. Here, we start with small children with big back packs enroute to
their classrooms. This sunny morning, there are school races, boys
and girls, around the Plaza.

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©2013 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.



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