Baseball-MLB to open Mexico City office in 2016

March 24 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball is opening a Mexico City office in 2016 and has renewed a deal with a long-time Mexican broadcast partner, the league said on Thursday as part of a bid to grow its fan base. Mexico City will be the sixth MLB office outside the United States - joining Beijing, London, Santo Domingo, Sydney and Tokyo - and will direct league efforts to embrace local fans and partners of baseball. "Commissioner (Rob) Manfred's vision for globalizing baseball cannot become a reality without localizing MLB in Mexico," Chris Park, MLB's senior vice president of growth, strategy and international, said in a statement. MLB also said it renewed a broadcast deal with Televisa through 2018 that includes a new national "Game of the Week" that will air each Saturday during the season. Earlier this year MLB announced plans to return to Mexico City for the first time in 12 years with two spring training games between the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros this weekend. (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Larry Fine)