Its hard to Alex Wood Jersey tell whether John Traub is an executive or an equipment manager these days.

The vice president and general manager of the Albuquerque Isotopes, Colorados Triple-A affiliate, cant seem to escape apparel requests. When Traub visited big league camp in Arizona, Rockies head honchos greeted him by asking for Albuquerques new cap. One Isotope, outfielder Noel Cuevas, reached out via text me sage, hoping to get a jersey with his girlfriends name stitched acro s the back. Oh, and there arealso the 1,000 or so online orders that must be filled.

Its not Albuquerque Isotopes gear that everyone wants, though. Instead, fans and players alike are clamoring for Mariachis de Nuevo Mxico attire. Its the alter ego the Isotopes have a sumed as they prepare for Minor League Baseballs Copa de la Diversin.

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Also known as the Fun Cup, the 165-game, 33-team series will make Walker Buehler Jersey its way to 19 states in 2018 as minor league organizations acro s the country re-brand themselvesto celebrate Hispanic culture throughout baseball.Among the other participants are the Brooklyn Cyclones (Brooklyn Jefes), Corpus Christi Hooks (Corpus Christi Raspas), Durham Bulls (Toros de Durham), Charlotte Knights (CharlotteCaballeros), Hartford Yard Goats (Chivos de Hartford), Round Rock Expre s (Round Rock Chupacabras) and Pawtucket Red Sox (Pawtucket Osos Polares).

If you look at the Latin influence on our game 30 percent of players on major league rosters last year were from Spanish-speaking countries, Traub, whose Isotopes have been reimagined with sombrero-wearing skeletons, told Sporting News. Look at the tremendously strong-growing demographic of Hispanics in the United States, and baseball is such an important part of their culture in those countries. We as an industry already do a pretty Yasmani Grandal Jersey good job attracting fans from those communities, but to be so forward with our thinking and our outreach program, it has meant a lot to the Hispanic community.

With an April 8 start date, Copa de la Diversin will span multiple minor league levels. It's an unprecedented promotion backed by years of research. The initiative first made its way to four minor league markets last season as a pilot program. The results convinced MiLB immediate expansion was a must.

Once alternate identities were announced on March 20, participating teams were flooded with positive feedback and ticket sales.

Dave Gasaway, general managerof the San Antonio Mi sions (Flying Chanclas de San Antonio), said the series has led to unbelievably historic merchandise sales for the Padres Double-A club. He added that even social media, where trolls run rampant, has been overwhelmingly positive in response to Copa de la Diversin.

The guys with Minor League Baseball that put this together deserve so much credit for getting the teams to buy in, Gasaway said. Its going to be really exciting knowing were all trying to do this and be inclusive and kind of bring in that Hispanic fan base all over the county.

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The effort to attract such fans Will Smith Jersey will go beyond new names and uniforms. Fans whoattend Copa de la Diversin contests can expect a themed gameday experience. MiLB has not given teams mandates, but many ballparks will feature Spanish PA announcements, Latino music and Hispanic food.

Traubs club will have mariachi bands playing, as well as piatas in the shape of Albuquerques mascot. Gasaway and San Antonio, in partnership with Telemundo, will air videos in which the teams Latino players talk about their families and upbringings. There will also be a shoe drive for the homele s a nod to their Flying Chanclas, akaFlying Flip Flops, moniker.

Just something different, Traub said of it all. Seventy games is a lot of games, so were gonna Edwin Rios Jersey mix it up.

Though the 2018 rendition of Copa de la Diversin has yet to begin, MiLB is already looking ahead to next year. Kurt Hunzeker, MiLBs vice presidentof marketing strategy and research, said the hope is to have more than 80 teams participating in 2019, with the league office eyeing more than just heavily Hispanic markets.

A lot of different parties have come together to celebrate our holistic communities and the best place to do it in our opinion I might be biased is at our ballparks, Hunzeker said. In a lot of these communities, we are the epicenter of activity all spring and summer long.

MiLB has earned a reputation over Dustin May Jersey the years for wacky promotions, uniform alterations and unique trips to the ballpark. More often than not, theres something other than baseball happening during a minor league game.

Copa de la Diversin is a bit different, though. While the series is designed to entertain, there is also a serious element to it as MiLB and its teams reach out to Hispanic fans.

This isn't a joke to us. This isn't a gimmick, Hunzeker said. We always pride ourselves on serving our communities, and this is an amplification of that mentality that we've always had.