Pro baseball league to hit the ground in San Luis, Mexico this fall

The Southern Winter League to bring local and international prospects together

YUMA, Ariz., (KYMA, KECY) - In hopes of reviving fan excitement for the game of baseball in the area, a new baseball league is ready to flourish at the pro level.

This coming September, San Luis Rio Colorado will welcome the Southern Winter League to its 7,000 seat Triple-A baseball stadium on the south side in Bosque de la Ciudad.

Once known as the Fiesta Winter League that took place in Yuma in 2019 will now be crossing the border for a new opportunity for pro baseball prospects to showcase their talents - where over 125 players will be split up by nationality into four teams that were originally formatted four years ago - now with different names.

While Founder and CEO of the league, Gary Garcia Snyder, did not envision the league to move to Mexico, he says Yuma didn't have the tools to provide for a pro baseball league this time around - but with hopes of expanding into Yuma in its second year.

"There just wasn't installations sufficient for a professional baseball league," said Snyder. "We had the opportunity that San Luis, Mexico reached out to us. We toured it and we saw the tourism, the city, the state and the need for baseball in the region."

Snyder also pointing out the opportunities that can come from moving across the border to a place that has everything needed to host a successful league.

"You gotta go where the opportunities are big and that's a Triple-A stadium. It's very nice, great for the players," added Snyder. "It is across the border but it opens a lot of different access for a different level of players that we would not have in the states. If you love baseball, we have the opportunities closest here to Yuma County."

The administration is currently working on getting more sponsors to help the league grow so that it can expand in years to come, with the hopes of longer seasons and reaching a bigger audience with more players.

The teams will consist of the Yellow Sox (Americans), Datileros (Latin American), Maples (Canadian), and the Samurai Dinosaurs (Japanese) - with the rest of the rosters filled in with local players to round out the squads.

And there is also a major plus for a lot of the prospects looking to pave a way to a bigger and better future in their baseball career.

"Right now we have three ex-MLB players as managers," said Snyder. "We also have another player to be announced soon. The fourth team has a manager from Japan."

Tryouts will begin at the end of July into August with the regular season running from September through October.