Padres, Mets to Play South of the Border

The San Diego Padres have not penciled in a pitching rotation for April, let alone August, but if Fernando Valenzuela and Andres Berumen, both of whom are from Mexico, make the team, it would be a natural if they were to pitch in an Aug. 16-18 series against the New York Mets.

That series will be played in Monterrey, Mexico, because of scheduling conflicts at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. It is baseball’s first regular-season venture outside the United States and Canada.

“What began as a scheduling problem evolved into a real opportunity for us to break new ground for major league baseball,” Padre President Larry Lucchino said Wednesday.

The Republican National Convention, which is scheduled for the San Diego Convention Center, had asked for the option to use Jack Murphy Stadium as the site for the acceptance speech by the presidential nominee on Aug. 16.

The GOP later decided against that option, but the San Diego Chargers have scheduling priority at the stadium and have an exhibition game Aug. 17.

The Padres, for some time, have been toying with the idea of extending part of their schedule into neighboring Mexico. A contingent of Padre and Met officials toured Monterrey Stadium, a baseball-only facility built in 1990 to hold 26,000 fans, in December, before agreeing to move the series there.

Baseball’s owners approved the proposal in January. The players’ union, which had rejected a Seattle Mariner proposal to open the 1995 season with a series in Japan, approved it last Friday.

“We’re excited about participating in this historic event,” Met Vice President David Howard said. “This is important in the international growth of the game.”

As part of the agreement with the union, players will have their per diem increased $240 a day, from $60.50 to $302.50, and all players will get single rooms.

Any revenue generated by international TV, sponsorships and stadium advertising, after expenses, will be shared by the owners and union.

Although the Padres will be the host team, the trip extends the club’s toughest stretch of the season. The Padres will be out of town for 25 of the 31 games scheduled between Aug. 5 and Sept. 9.

Monterrey has a population of 4.5 million and is celebrating its 400th birthday this year.