San Juan could have hosted series
07/30/2008
MLB.com, By Joe Frisaro

MIAMI -- If negotiations had gone differently last offseason, the Marlins right now would be facing the Mets in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

As part of the globalization of Major League Baseball, the Marlins after the 2007 season inquired about playing a three-game series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

The series that was being negotiated was this three-game set with the Mets at Dolphin Stadium.

Had the series been switched, the Marlins would have gone directly from their four-game set with the Cubs at Wrigley Field (July 24-27) to San Juan for three "home games."

"That would definitely had been bizarre," Marlins outfielder Cody Ross said. "I think a lot of [players] like the fact that they can come home and sleep in their own bed. To play home games and sleep in a hotel would be ... I don't know if it would be to our advantage.

"At the same time, I know there are Mets fans there. There probably are a lot of Marlins fans there, too. They probably get a lot of our games there. I think it would have made for an exciting series. The park would probably have been packed."

In 2003 and '04, the Marlins played games in San Juan. Then, they were facing the Montreal Expos, who played home games in each of those seasons in Puerto Rico.

As it turned out, the Marlins and Mets are now facing off in an important series with a direct impact on first place in the National League East.

The crowds at Dolphin Stadium this week have been strong. On Monday night, 23,165 were on hand, and 25,032 were at Tuesday's game.

That's the first time all season that back-to-back weekday home games at Dolphin Stadium exceeded 20,000.

"It would have been fun," Ross said of going to Puerto Rico. "I'm glad it's not like that. There are a lot of Mets here [at Dolphin Stadium], and it's been a fun couple of games."

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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