Azael Sanchez of the Sultanes de Monterrey looks on during the fourth inning of the fourth playoff game between Sultanes de Monterrey and Algodoneros Union Laguna as part of Liga Mexicana de Beisbol 2023 at Estadio Revolucion on August 13, 2023 in Torreon, Mexico. (Photo by Jos Alvarez/Jam Media/Getty Images)
The Pensacola (Fla.) Blue Wahoos, the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, will play a pair of exhibition games against the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol on April 2-3.
For the pair of games at Admiral Fetterman Field in Pensacola, the Blue Wahoos will use their alternate “Pensacola Pok-Ta-Pok” branding, which connects with the Indigenous roots of competitive sport in North America. Pok-Ta-Pok was a game played by indigenous people in North America for nearly 3,000 years.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Sultanes de Monterrey to Pensacola next April,” said Jonathan Griffith, president of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, in a team press release announcing the series. “We intend to make this series a fun-filled celebration of Latino culture, and the ways that people from different backgrounds can connect through baseball.”
This will be the second series between a team under the MLB umbrella and an LMB team this spring. The New York Yankees played a two-game exhibition series on March 24-25 at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City against the Diablos Rojos del Mexico.
“For the Sultanes de Monterrey, it is a great opportunity to play with the Blue Wahoos of Pensacola, and it is the beginning of a great relationship between the franchises for future players,” said Guillermo Gonzalez, executive vice president of the Sultanes de Monterrey, in the release.
The Sultanes are the oldest continuously-operated team in the LMB, which was classified by Minor League Baseball as a Triple-A league from 1967 to 2020.
The games will be available online via Minor League Baseball’s broadcast channels, as well as internationally in Mexico through the Sultanes de Monterrey’s television broadcast.