'Using sports ... to make a difference': Blue Wahoos to face baseball team from Mexico in April

There’s no crying in baseball.

Well, don’t tell Bubba Watson that.

During the Pensacola Blue Wahoos’ press conference on Thursday at Blue Wahoos Stadium, announcing that the team would be hosting the Sultanes de Monterrey – a professional team out of the Mexican League that is a 10-time summer league champion – in April 2024 for a pair of preseason games, Watson couldn’t help but get a little emotional.

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Not only is the partnership between the Blue Wahoos and Sultanes intersecting two major sports in his life – baseball, where he’s a part owner of the Blue Wahoos, and golf, where he’s currently playing on the LIV Tour – but now he’s bringing a different culture to Pensacola, one he’s able to show off to his hometown.

It all started when the Sultanes owner, Francisco Gonzalez, president of Grupo Multimedios in Monterrey, read Watson’s book – one where Watson wrote “about (his) struggles” and “some of (his) downfalls in life” – and knew he wanted to meet him once he found out Watson had major stakes in both golf and baseball.

Gonzalez told his vice president, Willie Gonzalez – who was at Tuesday’s press conference – to set up a meeting with Watson. And that began conversations between the Sultanes and Blue Wahoos president Jonathan Griffith, about how the two teams could partner up.

That’s part of what sparked the “Pensacola Pok-Ta-Pok” which launched earlier this year for the Blue Wahoos organization. During the exhibition games, the Blue Wahoos will again transform to the Pok-Ta-Pok with specialty jerseys.

“He thought it was a scam call, you know, from Mexico. … Then I explained to him about the book, about Bubba Watson, about Quint Studer,” Willie Gonzalez said of the first time he called Griffith. “And then we are here.”

“It’s a dream (for a) guy from Bagdad, Florida, or Pensacola, Florida, to be a part of this – a major sporting event outside of our culture, outside of our country. For you to come here, and to spend time with the people that I know and love and respect, it’s an honor and privilege to say I’m a small piece of that – because of the game of golf, because of the small town that loved me so much and gave me the courage to play around the world,” Watson said, choked up a little. “Now, we’re able to bring a different culture to Pensacola because of (Willie), and people like (Willie’s) staff and the great staff of the Wahoos.”

Crossing paths

Watson noted how much sports have been intersecting with one another recently, especially with “a lot of people” who play golf after they retire from a professional sport – not to mention the fact the growth of the game in general.

And it just so turns out that Willie Gonzalez is a golf fanatic.

Not only are sports crossing paths, but sports are bringing different cultures together, Watson said. Not only is it showing a different culture, but it’s about “respecting” and “showing love” to another culture.

In his professional golfing career, Watson has seen a lot of the world. And when he’s “stepped foot in Mexico and different countries around the world because of the game of golf, they’ve treated (him) with the utmost respect.”

Now, he’s hoping that Blue Wahoos fans will see some of the history of baseball shine through Monterrey’s team – plus, maybe they’ll see “the respect and honor” among the teams when they go head-to-head.

“I’m using sports … to make a difference,” Watson said. “Any time I can built up the city of Pensacola, it’s a dream come true. … For me to be a small piece of that, I feel like I’m trying to help a community that has helped me throughout the years.”

Plus, it helps that Willie Gonzalez was able to play golf with Watson while both were in town for the press conference. It turned out to be a three-on-one matchup – with Watson being the lone golfer, obviously – and he also made it interesting, offering bets for each hole. Willie Gonzalez noted they finished the betting tied after 18 holes.

“Willie is an ex-baseball player. So Willie hits the ball really hard. With that being said, the ball can go crooked sometimes,” Watson said with a smile. “Baseball has foul balls. Willie just called it foul balls. … It was fun.”

Willie Gonzalez called it a dream to play with a guy like Watson.

“The way that (Watson) hits the ball, that’s amazing. I’ve never seen a driver like that, 380 (yards),” he said, his eyes gleaming with excitement when recalling the round. “Then, with the irons, the way that he’s just so smooth hitting the ball and going straight to the pin, it’s amazing.”

‘We share the same values’

The first time Willie Gonzalez arrived at Blue Wahoos Stadium, he saw all the signage about helping the community and making it a family-friendly environment at games. That made the partnership between Pensacola and the Sultanes a match made in heaven.

“It was like an explosion of our minds. … We share the same values,” he said. “We want to do the same thing that (the Blue Wahoos) do as a team with the community. … They went straight to our hearts. …

“That’s why we’re here.”

Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves – who was in attendance at the press conference but emphasized he had a very limited part in the partnership other than to welcome the visiting organization to Pensacola – said the Blue Wahoos organization and stadium has “really set a precedent for this community” for a long time.

Reeves noted how Blue Wahoos Stadium went from what was once a toxic piece of land to a “catalyst for (the) community.”

“For me, it’s just the exposure of the different cultures,” Griffith said. “(Monterrey) has such a strong baseball background, and getting to see international play is going to be a really cool thing for our fans and for this community to be able to see.”

On the field

Blue Wahoos fans will potentially recognize at least one name on the Monterrey roster in April: Sebastian Elizalde. He played with the Blue Wahoos during the 2016 season, back when the team was the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He rejoined the Sultanes in 2018, then again in 2019.

He’s now on his fourth stint with the Sultanes, after signing with them back on June 18, 2021. He currently plays right field in Monterrey.

“I’m not saying that we’re competitive here in Pensacola, but, Quint (Studer), if we can sign Sebastian some time before April 1 and get him back on the Wahoos – I’m not saying we have to win the game,” Reeves said at the press conference behind a laugh, directed at the Blue Wahoos’ owner, Quint Studer.

Griffith said he expects the two-game series in April “to be great,” comparing the Mexico League to Triple-A baseball. But it’s the top talent in Mexico that aren’t playing minor league baseball in the United States or in Major League Baseball.

Monterrey also boasts some players from the World Baseball Classic, including Elizalde.

“That’s going to be real exciting to see that talent here, as well, along with the Marlins’ talent that we have here as well,” Griffith said.

This type of game is the first among Minor League Baseball. Monterrey has hosted international games before at its 22,000-seat stadium – including a few MLB games – and Griffith is hoping the partnership between the two teams expands.

The games in April will be broadcast by Minor League Baseball, but also through Monterrey’s television infrastructure, according to the Blue Wahoos’ press release.

That partnership includes a potential trip for the Blue Wahoos to play in Monterrey in 2025, Griffith noted.

“It’s pretty much like going to a major league stadium to get to play,” Griffith said of Monterrey. “We would love to go back and forth as much as we can.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Blue Wahoos to host Mexican League baseball team next year