Baseball in the Land of Enchantment
Even though New Mexico may seem far off the beaten (base)path to baseball fans, two recent homages to the pastime’s colorful past, along with two standout ballplayers the Land of Enchantment claims as its own, should put it on the baseball map.
Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman and Minnesota Twins catcher Mitchell Garver had great campaigns in 2019, and Toronto Blue Jays reliever Kenny Giles (with the Astros in their 2017 run to the championship) had a season to remember, too.
Truth be told, only 30 MLB players have been born in New Mexico, and that goes back to the forgettable Al Clancy, born in Santa Fe. He had all of three games in The Show with the St. Louis Browns in 1911 – the year before New Mexico became a state. Eight players, including Clancy, played in a dozen or fewer games, with just one (Ralph Kiner) enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Nonetheless, the
