BORDER TEAMS FACE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH DRUG WARS

The ongoing battle between drug cartels and police in Mexico is well-documented, and the problem has already been a major factor in Tijuana losing its Mexican League baseball team despite being one of the country's most attractive markets. One knowledgeable Baseball Mexico subscriber says the LMB's two border franchises may be negatively affected this year.

Jim McCurdy, a lifelong Texan who played baseball in Mexico prior to spending several years as a college instructor in the border city of Harlingen, says both the Nuevo Laredo Tecolotes and Reynosa Broncos are caught up in a “war zone,” and that similar circumstances that helped drive the Potros out of Tijuana two years ago (with the franchise ironically shifting to Reynosa) “may very well play havoc with the league's schedule again this year.”

McCurdy explains that the past week has seen shootouts almost every day with several people being killed in both Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa. “Cops, soldiers and drug thugs have all been killed or wounded,” he says, “and the American Consulate in Reynosa closed this week until further notice.”

McCurdy adds, “It's very bad down there right now and the government is losing more control everyday. Even with American help, the Mexican cops and soldiers are outgunned and outmanned. The ordinary citizens are scared to death and they're not going to risk going out at night to baseball games because the cartel hoodlums have no qualms about shooting up a crowd if they think thay can kill some opponents.”

According to Ballparks Digest, In 2009, Reynosa drew 334,369 fans to 51 home games, second in the Liga to Monclova, but Nuevo Laredo had just 112,984 attendees for 52 openings.