What to know about MLB World Tour: Mexico City Series 2026
Major League Baseball has a history of playing games in Mexico that dates back 30 years. That history will continue on Saturday and Sunday in the MLB World Tour: Mexico City Series 2026, presented by T-Mobile.
The Padres and D-backs will meet in this special two-games series, with Arizona acting as the home team inside Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú Béisbol in Mexico City.
Previous games in the country's capital city have tended to be high-scoring affairs, thanks in part to its average elevation of about 7,350 feet above sea level -- about 2,000 feet more than Coors Field in Denver. So, prepare to see some fireworks this weekend.
Here is everything you need to know about this year's Mexico City Series.
When is the Mexico City Series, and how can I watch it?
This two-game series between the Padres and D-backs will begin Saturday, with first pitch from Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú Béisbol in Mexico City scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. That game can be watched on MLB Network as well as Padres.TV and Dbacks.TV.
Sunday's game, scheduled for 4 p.m. ET, can be seen on Padres.TV and Dbacks.TV.
How many MLB games have been played in Mexico?
The first Major League regular-season game played anywhere outside of the U.S. or Canada occurred in Mexico in 1996, when the Mets and Padres faced off for three games in Monterrey.
Including that series, MLB has hosted 15 regular-season games in the country. Most recently, the Astros and Rockies played a two-game series in April 2024 in Mexico City. Houston won both of those games by a combined score of 20-6.
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Have the Padres or D-backs played in Mexico before?
Yes. Both teams have made the trip south relatively recently. San Diego played a two-game set versus the Giants inside Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú Béisbol in April 2023. Those were the first Major League regular-season contests in Mexico City. The opener of that series was an absolutely wild game that featured 27 runs and 11 homers.
Including exhibitions, the Padres have played 13 games in Mexico while the D-backs have played 12. However, this year's Mexico City Series will mark Arizona's first regular-season games in the country.
Who are the best MLB players to hail from Mexico?
Fernando Valenzuela is the patron saint of Mexican-born Major Leaguers. The left-handed pitcher took the baseball world by storm as a 20-year-old in 1981, igniting what became known as Fernandomania. That season, Valenzuela became the only pitcher to date to win Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same year. A six-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion with the Dodgers, Valenzuela leads all Mexican-born players with 37.4 Baseball-Reference WAR.
Former Brewers All-Star lefty Teddy Higuera ranks second on that list with 30.3 bWAR. Infielder Bobby Avila, who made three All-Star teams and won a batting title with Cleveland in the 1950s, has the most WAR by a Mexican-born position player, while three-time Silver Slugger winner Vinny Castilla has the most home runs (320).
Some of the best active players from Mexico include Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk, Astros infielder Isaac Paredes, Rays infielder Jonathan Aranda and Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz.
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