Reaction continues on the Mets-Padres series in Monterrey,
Mexico, with the HOUSTON CHRONICLE reporting that MLB "took a
historic first step toward the possibility of eventually
expanding to Mexico." Padres Owner John Moores: "This is too
fertile a ground for [MLB] not to expand here." Juan Manuel Ley,
owner of the Mexican Pacific League's Culiacan team, said he has
talked with Jose "Pepe" Maiz, owner of El Estadio Monterrey and
the Monterrey Sultanes, about a joint venture to apply for a team
in Monterrey. Ley set forth three to five years as a possible
timetable, which NL President Len Coleman found "perfectly
acceptable." Coleman: "I'm not talking about tomorrow or the
next day or within a year. But soon, Monterrey will have a
major-league club" (Milton Jamail, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/20). But
in San Francisco, Nancy Gay notes while MLB and Monterrey
officials declared the series a success, "there were many
unforeseen problems" -- mostly logistical. The Padres' Tony
Gwynn: "Frankly, I think the ticket prices for these games were
pretty fair. And they haven't sold out a single game in a
26,000-seat stadium? They're never going to get a team here with
that kind of attendance" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/20).
