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Leagues and Governing Bodies

MLB's Rob Manfred Says Time Has Come To Play Regular-Season Games In Mexico City

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday said that the "time had come to play regular-season games in Mexico City" as the league "weighs international expansion," according to Richard Justice of MLB.com. Manfred said, "It's time to move past exhibition games and play real live 'they-count' games in Mexico." MLB players and owners "agreed on international regular-season play" in the new CBA, and those games could be scheduled as early as '18. Manfred: "We're hopeful that what we see in Mexico will continue to encourage us that that's a possibility (for expansion). We also had a good experience with the (World Baseball Classic) in Mexico. The venue was a good one. It sold well. We had good crowds -- another positive in terms of more Major League-level baseball in Mexico" (MLB.com, 5/23). NBCSPORTS.com's Craig Calcaterra noted a team in Mexico "could make some geographic sense and some marketing sense, though it’s not clear if there is a city that would be appropriate for that right now." Despite its size, Mexico City has "plenty of its own sports teams and is far away from the parts of the country where baseball is popular." Monterrey has been "talked about -- games have been played there and it’s certainly closer -- but it’s somewhat unknown territory demographically speaking" (NBCSPORTS.com, 5/24). YAHOO SPORTS' Mike Oz wrote Manfred is "always open to new ideas." However, just because Manfred is "talking about something doesn't mean it's going to happen" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/24).

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