For ‘Copa,’ Isotopes will be Mariachis
Nationwide, teams to take part in Hispanic outreach
For the Albuquerque Isotopes, the opportunity to participate in a nationwide Hispanic fan engagement promotion should be as easy as hitting off a tee.
The franchise decided not to coast on its credentials or home-field advantage, however. Instead, it is hoping to stretch a sure double into a triple.
As one of 33 teams participating in Minor League Baseball’s inaugural “Copa de la Diversión” (“Fun Cup”), the Isotopes for four games in 2018 will become the Mariachis de Nuevo Mexico. It is part of the team’s “commitment to the Hispanic fan base in Albuquerque, in New Mexico” and elsewhere, said Isotopes general manager John Traub.
The club made the announcement in the third-floor hospitality area of Isotopes Park on Tuesday, the same day 32 other franchises and Minor League Baseball told of their plans.
The Isotopes debut their alternate Mariachi uniforms, suitably, on Cinco de Mayo against El Paso. The burgeoning rival Chihuahuas, also “Copa” participants, will do so as the … Chihuahuas still.
General manager John Traub and his cohorts
haven’t taken that tack, when merely turning the ballclub into Los Isotopes for a few days this summer might do.
Instead, Traub said, “We are all in.”
The mariachi band — Mariachi Tierra del Encanto, or Land of Enchantment — performing before and after the announcement was one clue. A Mariachis logo with a menacing sugar skull wearing a sombrero and looking nothing like Isotopes mascot Orbit is another. Isotopes director of retail operations Kara Hayes and graphics designer Alvin Garcia came up with the logo concept, and Minor League Baseball did the rest. It will show up on caps and on a sleeve patch bordered by the state of New Mexico’s outline.
Some franchises are going the Isotopes’ way, perhaps none so dramatically as the Round Rock Express, which will become the Chupacabras — mythic creatures who attack and drink the blood of livestock.
And yes, Mariachis merchandise of all sorts is for sale already at the ballpark and at ABQIsotopes.com. Sales is one area of competition for all 33 teams, and one will be awarded the “Copa” trophy.
Ernie C’ de Baca, president and CEO of promotional partner the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, said, “I challenge everybody in Albuquerque to sell out these four games. … I’m going to accept my own challenge.” He pledged to buy four tickets for each of the four games.
Whereupon his vice president, Jim Garcia, deadpanned, “it looks like I don’t have to buy my tickets. Thank you, Ernie. … I like what John said about (Mariachis providing) the colorful soundtrack of people’s lives. We love this theme in many ways. It celebrates life, from baptism to death. We appreciate you letting us be a part of this.”
Other dates for the Mariachis are June 26, July 20 and Aug. 19.
Meanwhile, the Isotopes still will turn into the Green Chile Cheeseburgers on July 6, and the Dukes for Retro Night on July 7.