Baseball with an international flavor

Youngsters gather beyond the outfield fence at the old La Junta Park in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, eager to chase balls hit for home runs.

Laredo, USA, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, share a ballclub

The "Owls" are a Mexican League team that splits its home games between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

The towns are sister cities, geographically divided by the Rio Grande, but one in character, with intertwined economies and human relationships.

The team plays from March through August, and fields both Mexican and American players, as do most Mexican League teams. Many of the Americans on the teams are former players on Major League clubs, hoping for one last chance to make it back into the "bigs," while others are young unsigned players simply hoping to be noticed.

Child fans run freely at Mexican ballparks, chasing foul balls and home runs.

Some baseball experts rate the caliber of baseball played in the Mexican League as "AAA," or one tier below U.S. Major League baseball.

Above, Jeff Keppen, a pitcher from South Dakota, suits up with his Mexican teammates for a game at Veterans Field in Laredo. Photo made with Nikon D1, 17-35mm f2.8, autofocus, 800 ISO, f2.8 @ 1/60.

	"Put me in, coach, I'm ready to play." --John Fogerty
Los Dos Laredos second baseman Julio Cesar Hernandez Otanez painfully tags out Boi Rodriguez of Monclovia during action at Veterans Field in Laredo.

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©2001 Billy Calzada