A scene with 41,000-plus appreciative spectators, World Series rings and Megan Thee Stallion throwing a passable first pitch could accurately be described as “surreal.”
That’s one way in which Cesar Salazar summarized being part of the Houston Astros’ 40-man Opening Day 2023 roster. The other description the former Arizona Wildcats catcher Salazar offered?
“It was the best day of my life so far,” he said.
Everything about the experience, Salazar recounted, was special — like having his family at Minute Maid Park.
The contingent included figures central in helping Salazar accomplish what thousands of baseball dreamers never achieve in their careers: His father, Cesar, who Salazar described as the catcher’s “mental coach;” Luis Valenzuela, a hitting coach and mentor who helped Salazar come to Tucson as a teen; and agent Gabe Mayorga, who Salazar said he does not “see as an agent, but as a part of my family.”
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Cesar Salazar, who starred at the UA for three years, then the Mexican Pacific League’s Hermosillo Naranjeros, made his MLB debut with the Houston Astros in 2023.
For the Astros, the gold-trimmed jerseys they donned on Opening Day represented the glimmer of the Commissioner’s Trophy. For Salazar, wearing that jersey represented a clearly major milestone.
Former Arizona Wildcat Cesar Salazar (pictured giving high fives to fans down the right field line while suiting up for his hometown Hermosillo Naranjeros in the 2018 Mexican Baseball Fiesta in Tucson) was part of the Houston Astros' 2023 MLB Opening Day roster.
Salazar’s road to Opening Day traversed through a variety of stops on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. In Tucson, specifically, that included playing baseball at graduating from Sahuaro High School, as well as his years backstopping the Arizona Wildcats.
The road merged with a proverbial high-speed freeway last offseason, including yet another stop in Tucson, this time at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta.
The Fiesta — with the 2023 edition set for Oct. 5-8 at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium — has grown from its inception in 2011 into a premier autumn event and now a launch point for future Major Leaguers.
For Salazar, a member of UA’s 2016 national runner-up squad and a 2018 All-Pac-12 Conference honoree, the Fiesta was part of a pivotal offseason between the 2022 and 2023 campaigns that the Wildcat alum credited for earning him his place on the Astros Opening Day roster.
“Winter ball ... has helped me these years,” said Salazar, who played in the Mexican Pacific Winter League for his birth city’s club, the Hermosillo Naranjeros. “I solidified myself as my winter ball team’s starting catcher two years ago, and that has given me an edge over my competition looking for that spot.
Houston Astros catcher Cesar Salazar, front, fields the infield grounder by Minnesota Twins Carlos Correa (4) and throws to first base during a Major League Baseball game in Houston May 30.
“Those are the games that are as close as possible to the big leagues because everything’s about winning,” he added.
Salazar is one of two Hermosillo players who have participated in the Fiesta to play for MLB teams this season. On Sept. 23, Irving Lopez made his big-league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals in a game against the San Diego Padres.
“Being from Sonora, in Hermosillo, (Lopez has) kind of the same story as Cesar,” said the Fiesta’s founder, Franciso Gamez. “Both came to school here in Arizona, then they both came as rookies with the Hermosillo baseball team trying to make a (Major League) team.”
Lopez attended Gila Ridge High School in Yuma before moving on to Western Arizona College. He played his NCAA baseball at FIU in Miami, batting .319 and driving in 43 for the Panthers in 2017.
Lopez spent six seasons with the club in Hermosillo, including last year. His promotion to the Cardinals roster adds another high point for past Fiesta participants in what was a memorable MLB season for the event’s alumni.
Houston Astros catcher Cesar Salazar hits a single during the ninth inning of a game against the Texas Rangers on April 16 in Houston.
Among those former participants, Kansas City Royals infielder Bobby Witt Jr. Witt finished in the top four for Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, then followed it up with a sophomore season batting .275 with 30 home runs and 96 RBIs through Friday.
Witt’s 10 triples led all of MLB heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
Witt played in the Fiesta as part of the event’s ties to MLB instructional clubs. Teams representing the Royals, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres and Reds were all part of the event in years past, and those prospects seeing their opportunities in the pros adds to the Fiesta’s fast-growing legacy.
Salazar played 13 MLB games with Houston this season and put in productive time with the Astros’ AAA affiliate, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. Salazar won’t be part of the Fiesta this year, but does plan to rejoin the Naranjeros “in late November, early December” after taking some time to refocus mentally and physically after a long season.
But in Tucson, in person or not, Salazar is one of many stories that continue to make the Fiesta special.
Houston Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu (52) celebrates with catcher Cesar Salazar, left, after a win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, April 23.
Added Gamez: “It really is nice to see all those stories come through the Mexican Baseball Fiesta.”
Former UA catcher Cesar Salazar gloves a strike while playing for the Hermosillo Naranjeros as he faces his old team — the Arizona Wildcats — during day one of the 2022 Mexican Baseball Fiesta on Oct. 6, 2022, at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium.
VIDEO: Meet Cesar Salazar, a catcher in the Astros organization that's spending his winter with the Naranjeros in his hometown of Hermosillo, Mexico. Cesar walks us through a normal day as he gets his morning (LIME?!) coffee and hits his workouts on and off the field. We meet his French bulldog Rocky and head to get some tacos and beers on an off day. (Momentum YouTube)
