The game happens on March 27th, 2014
Well, that's pretty interesting. The Padres will host the Diablos Rojos, or Red Devils, on March 27th, 2014 at Petco Park.
The #Padres will meet the most famous club in Mexico, the @DiablosRojosMX, in an exhibition at Petco Park on March 27, 2014.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) December 4, 2013
When they announced that an announcement was coming, I thought that the Padres would be playing the Chihuahuas just to give all of us in San Diego a glimpse at that glorious merchandise. I also noticed the other day that they use the hastag #FearTheEars, which is just too good. But, it was not to be. Kinda disappointed.
And on a similar note, when are they going to have the Lake Elsinore Storm play a game or two at Petco Park again? I went to one of their games, I believe, the last time they were playing at Petco in 2009 and it was quite a good time. Especially when you can root for a guy like Beemer Weems. And get frisbees with advertising on it for real estate or plumbing. It was probably both. Really wish they bring the Storm down here for a game again.
Anyways, back to this exhibition game, it is also interesting to note that the Diablos Rojos announced this game at 9:35am this morning. Maybe there was something lost in translation regarding a simultaneous announcement, who knows?
27 MARZO 2014 @DiablosRojosMX vs @Padres@LosPadres en Juego de Exhibición en Petco Park ! Toda la información en http://t.co/K48Q3ZMGVI
— DIABLOS ROJOS MX (@DiablosRojosMX) December 4, 2013
Regardless of who got dibs on announcing it first, it is a game that will happen at Petco Park next year. As Corey Brock points out on Twitter, the Red Devils are owned by Alfredo Harp who is a member of the Padres ownership group and is the cousin of Carlos Slim who just so happens to be the richest person in the world according to Forbes.
The Diablos Rojos play in Mexico City and are quite the team of prestige. They have won the Mexican League title 15 times with the most recent being in 2008. Currently, the Red Devils have several Padres connections.
Their manager is former Padres catcher Miguel Ojeda. In 2003, Ojeda made his debut as a Padre and stayed in the uniform until 2005 when he was traded to Seattle for catcher Miguel Olivo. Another former Padres catcher, Eliezer Alfonzo has spent time with the club. However, that's not all.
Dennys Reyes, Roberto Ramirez, Rodrigo Lopez, Enrique Gonzalez, and Oscar Robles. All former Padres and all Red Devils in 2013. There might even be more there that have spent time in the minor league system like Mark Worrell and I didn't list them.
Maybe we will see a few of these former Friars take the field in 2014. Until then, we wait.