“It’s ironic to say it but I think it’s a better equipped team than the one that qualified, with the level of players, the quality, the name, the field, the versatility,” said Perez .
First baseman Adrian Gonzalez, a former five-time all-star for the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, is the most decorated player on the roster. Among others with big league experience: Infielder Ramiro Pena, Brandon Laird and Danny Espinosa as well as pitcher Fernando Salas, Manny Banuelos and Perez.
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“It’s a unique opportunity and I’m taking full advantage of it,” said Gonzalez, 39, who did not officially retire because he wanted to represent Mexico in the Olympic Games as a young player in the Caribbean Series and the World Baseball Classic.
Perez, also 39, said something similar: After Cleveland fired him in April, he and his wife agreed that he would immediately hang up his crampons so he could wear the Mexican uniform at the Olympics. He played with the Tijuana Toros as a tune-up.
Due to the team’s recent fear of Covid, Mexico’s training sessions before Friday were extensive. Launchers Hector Velazquez, which would most likely have launched on Friday, and Sammy Solis – both with experience in the major leagues – tested positive for the virus when the team started training in Mexico City last weekend before heading to Tokyo. Perez feared the worst.
“Many of them are vaccinated and they are athletes,” he said. “So in the end it wasn’t so much about the virus as it was about making a list. “
For three days the entire team isolated themselves at their hotel, missed the training and was tested daily, “said Perez. When no one else tested positive and the team met the requirement of two negative tests within 96 hours to enter Japan, they flew to Tokyo, Velazquez and Solis stayed and the last of their replacements arrived on Wednesday.
Due to the initial uncertainty about their cases, three pre-Olympic training games against Japanese teams have been canceled, Perez said. To get by, the Mexican team Trouve has an open lawn in the Olympic Village to stretch out and play wrestling.
Although Perez said the current team don’t have to play together just yet, Gonzalez said the disjointed schedule hasn’t played together yet. It wasn’t a problem.
The team trained at a stadium near Tokyo on Wednesday and at a university in Yokohama on Thursday. A day later, they finally play their first Olympic game.
