March 14, 2009 [LINK / comment]
Foro Sol: oddity in Mexico City
I mentioned on Feb. 7 that I have already made diagrams for all of the stadiums that will host WBC games this year, except for the one in Mexico City. Well, guess what? As of today, there is a new diagram (and page) for Foro Sol, which has been home of the Mexican Diablos Rojos (Red Devils) since 2000.
Foro Sol is certainly a weird place to play baseball, because of the odd configuration of the grandstand. There is a big gap in it near third base, and I used to think that the left field grandstand moved to fill that gap when baseball was not played there, but that is apparently not the case. Ironically, the Red Devils used to play in a very nice baseball stadium: Parque Deportivo Seguro Social. (That means "Social Security Sports Park.") The older ballpark opened in 1955, with a seating capacity of 30,000. It was located straight south of downtown Mexico City, and unbeknownst to me, it was demolished in 2003. (D'oh!!! ) As I was researching the history of Foro Sol and its predecessor, I came across some wonderful photos of Mexico City's older baseball stadium at flickr.com.
WBC Round Two
The four teams that made it to Pool 2 play later today at Dolphin Stadium in Miami: Netherlands vs. Venezuela, and United States vs. Puerto Rico. Tomorrow the Pool 1 games begin at PETCO Park in San Diego: Japan vs. Cuba, and Mexico vs. Korea.