CORRECTION: All-Star Game to return to Santa Fe on July 11
Jun. 18—Correction appended
The midsummer classic — Pecos League version — is returning to Santa Fe.
The independent baseball league made it official Thursday, announcing Fort Marcy Ballpark will host the 2021 All-Star Game.
"It's been a pretty good season so far, and people are getting excited about baseball in Santa Fe again," said Andrew Dunn, the president and founder of the Pecos League. "We've never had a problem there in the 10 years we've had the Fuego. This is a good reward for the people there."
Although the Pecos League extends from Kansas in the east and the central California coast in the west, it's split into two divisions, the Pacific and the Mountain. The All-Star Game will feature teams only from the Mountain Division in an attempt to limit costs and travel.
Most of the players are not paid, but the league does cover most travel costs. By splitting the Mountain Division into teams from the north and south, Dunn can fashion two rosters of about 20 to 24 players apiece. Each team, he said, will send six representatives to the All-Star Game, which is set for the afternoon of July 11, a Sunday.
First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Unlike years past there will not be a home run derby or any skills competition.
"We don't have enough baseballs to do a home run derby in Santa Fe," Dunn said. "Every time we do, we lose a few dozen."
Dunn said he will seek input from managers from each team but admitted the process of selecting representatives for the game is a fairly straightforward process.
"We're a numbers-based league where stats tell you where you are," Dunn said. "The numbers will tell us who goes and who doesn't. That, and you also have to look at the fact that every team needs X amount of guys in the game."
The North All-Stars will consist of players from Colorado Springs, Trinidad, Garden City and Salina. The South is made up of Santa Fe, Roswell, Alpine and Tucson. Managers for the teams have not been announced.
This will be the sixth time Fort Marcy has hosted the All-Star Game, following five straight years from 2013-17. It was moved to Trinidad in 2018 and 2019 and was scheduled to return to the City Different last year when the pandemic forced the league to cut down to four teams who played an abbreviated season in Houston.
Dunn said the two other towns in the running to host this year's game included Garden City and Roswell.
The plan called for Garden City, but Dunn said the Wind's facility was booked July 11 for a youth event.
"It's the same thing about Santa Fe we use every year," Dunn said. "It's close to the middle for everyone and it's one of those places everyone wants to play."
The fact that the Fuego were a game over .500 before taking the field Thursday had something to do with making Santa Fe an even more attractive pick. The Fuego had won six of their first seven at home and were only two games behind Garden City for first place.
Dunn said home-field advantage has proven to be a huge edge this season. With the exception of Salina, which is playing the season as a traveling road club, every team had a winning percentage of at least .667 at home.
"I'm telling you, people underestimated the job Bill [Rogan] can do," Dunn said, referring to Santa Fe's first-year manager. "He's got that team playing hard and he's overachieved with the team he's put together."
GAME NOTESTickets to the game will be $10 and it will be streamed via Meridix for a fee. The Fuego broadcast crew will handle the play-by-play. The link to all Fuego broadcasts can be found on the team's website. ... Dunn said Salina will be moved before the end of the season. The Stockade have started 1-15 and were unable to put a team in their small Kansas town because the housing situation for the players fell apart. ... As of Thursday, six of the eight teams in the Mountain Division were over .500. The top seven teams were within three games of one another.
Correction: This story has been amended to reflect the correction. A previous version of this story indicated an incorrect day for the All-Star Game. The game will be played on July 11, a Sunday.
