The Tijuana Embajadores were a proposed independent professional team to be based out of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They were to play in the North American League and were expected to play at Estadio de Béisbol Calimax in 2011. They were to have replaced the Tijuana Cimarrones of the now-defunct Golden Baseball League, which is now a part of the NAL's Western Division along with the Calgary Vipers, Chico Outlaws, Edmonton Capitals, Na Koa Ikaika Maui and Yuma Scorpions. [1] [2]
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost 2,000,000 square kilometres (770,000 sq mi), the nation is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent state in the world. With an estimated population of over 120 million people, the country is the eleventh most populous state and the most populous Spanish-speaking state in the world, while being the second most populous nation in Latin America after Brazil. Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and Mexico City, a special federal entity that is also the capital city and its most populous city. Other metropolises in the state include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana and León.
The North American League was an independent baseball league that began play in the 2011 season. The league consisted of a merger of three independent leagues, the Northern League of Illinois, United League Baseball of Texas, and the Golden Baseball League based in the Western United States and Western Canada and was a last-ditch effort to save the teams in said league. The league's chairman of the board was Dave Kaval, former CEO of Diamond Sports and Entertainment, league president was Brian MacInnes and main board member was James C. Peters.
The Tijuana Cimarrones were a professional independent baseball franchise based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They were originally a minor league baseball team in Liga Mexicana de Béisbol, but joined the Golden Baseball League as an expansion team in 2009. The team started play at Estadio Nacional de Tijuana in 2010, which was the last year of play for the Golden Baseball League. In 2011, the Golden League and two others consolidated to form the North American League, but the Cimarrones did not participate in that league. The Tijuana Embajadores was a proposed team from Tijuana that had at one time been scheduled to participate in the North American League (NAL), but that team also failed to start the season with the NAL.
This was the fourth attempt by the GBL/NAL to bring a permanent professional team to Tijuana, but due to the ongoing political structure, Mexican Drug Wars and safety concerns, they were eventually dropped from NAL plans and replaced by the Henderson RoadRunners. The Tijuana Toros and Tijuana Potros never played and the Tijuana Cimarrones folded after one season.
The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing asymmetric low-intensity conflict between the Mexican government and various drug trafficking syndicates. In 2006 when the Mexican military began to intervene, the government's principal goal was to reduce drug-related violence. The Mexican government has asserted that their primary focus is on dismantling the powerful drug cartels, rather than on preventing drug trafficking and demand, which is left to U.S. functionaries.
The Henderson RoadRunners were an independent professional baseball team based out of Henderson, Nevada. They are members of the Western Division in the North American League and were scheduled to begin play in 2011 at Lied Field at Morse Stadium on the campus of the College of Southern Nevada in Henderson. But they would forgo their inaugural season as Lied Field will not be ready in time for the start of the season. The franchise folded in 2012 after failing to attract attention and secure new ownership. They would've been the second professional franchise to play in the Las Vegas area. The first is the Las Vegas 51s of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
