Northwest teams reaching out to Latinos

By José Miguel Romero
Seattle Times staff reporter

JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES The Mariners broadcast their home games in Spanish in an effort to reach out to the Latino community. The Spanish radio network includes five stations in Eastern Washington and the Seattle area. The Mariners have also printed pocket schedules in Spanish.

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Julio Cruz calls it "baby steps."

From his perspective, the words make sense. The former Mariners second baseman is part of the team's efforts to reach out to the Latino population of the Northwest, serving as color analyst on the team's Spanish-language radio broadcasts.

Cruz was a Mariner from 1977 to 1983, a period when such ventures weren't even a twinkle in an executive's eye. But times and demographics have changed, and several of the Northwest's professional sports teams are taking the Latino community more seriously.

Cruz has even suggested that the team go so far as to hire a Latino front-office person. It's an idea that has merit — the Mariners have a coach and 10 players of Latino descent on the roster or disabled list, and even more in the minor leagues.

The Mariners have yet to take that step, though they interviewed Al Avila, Detroit's assistant general manager, when Seattle was searching for a general manager last fall. Omar Minaya, GM of the Montreal Expos, was also interviewed, but only Avila was a finalist for the position that eventually went to Bill Bavasi.

Still, the Mariners are at the forefront of Northwest pro sports teams in terms of marketing their games to the region's Latinos.

Cruz and play-by-play announcer Amaury Pi-Gonzalez call every home game for the Mariners' Spanish-language radio network, which includes five stations in Eastern Washington and the Seattle area. The Mariners have also printed pocket schedules in Spanish, and players have done public-service announcements in Spanish.

The team held a "Salute to Hispanics in Baseball" last season and plans another such night later this summer.

	HARLEY SOLTES / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 2001 Former Mariners player Julio Cruz, holding flag, is the color analyst on the team's Spanish-language radio broadcasts.

It seems to make perfect sense in a region where Latinos constitute the highest percentage of non-white people in the total population.

"It would be foolish for them not to take advantage," Pi-Gonzalez said of the Mariners. "I think we're ahead of the curve here. I hope they see the potential of the Hispanic market."

According to the 2000 census, Latinos made up 8 percent of the population of Oregon and 7.5 percent in Washington. Seattle was only 5.3 percent Latino in population, while both King and Pierce Counties were at 5.5 percent. Snohomish County was at 4.7 percent, but all three counties' Latino populations are growing rapidly, as are both states' numbers.

The higher percentages of Latinos are found on the east side of the state in the Yakima Valley and Tri-Cities areas. In Oregon, Latinos are mainly found in Portland, the Willamette Valley and the far eastern part of the state.

For years, area sports teams ignored Latinos, even though the Mariners have always had Latino players. Some outreach was done through player caravans to the Yakima Valley and the Tri-Cities, but only now is there a larger campaign.

"The region's sports teams should count on Latinos as fans, and strive to create community outreach programs that cater to families, especially," said Anthony Salazar, a Seattle-area Latino sports-marketing expert. "This, in turn, will create and sustain a healthy fan base for years to come."

The Mariners and Portland Trail Blazers experimented with Spanish-language radio broadcasts in the early 1990s, with former Oregon resident Paul Castro doing play-by-play. Castro is now in his 10th season as the Spanish voice of the San Antonio Spurs.

"We're the Northwest's team," said Rebecca Hale, the Mariners' director of public information. "We're trying to market the team to a very broad base. Even though the (Latino population) isn't as concentrated as it is in Texas or California, it's certainly growing. It was time for us to do it."

The Mariners have shown they are willing to undertake a Latino marketing campaign, but a recent off-the-cuff remark from manager Bob Melvin offended some Latino fans. Melvin was talking about the promotion of utility player Hiram Bocachica from Class AAA Tacoma earlier this month when he jokingly told reporters he hoped Bocachica wasn't "too deep into the cervezas."

"Cerveza" is Spanish for "beer." Bocachica, who is from Puerto Rico, had played an afternoon game in Tacoma just before being called up.

"It was an unfortunate phrase," Salazar said. "He could have said 'beers.' It didn't appear there was much thought given to cultural sensitivity."

Melvin said he was only kidding and that he had gone on to say the same thing of Tacoma manager Dan Rohn — who drove Bocachica to Seattle on the day the player was called up. But unlike the remark about Bocachica, the statement about Rohn was not printed.

"Nothing was meant at all," Melvin said. "Anybody who knows me, knows it (ethnicity) doesn't come into play."

The Mariners aren't the only team in the Northwest reaching out to Latinos. The Blazers brought back Spanish radio broadcasts for home games last season, and celebrated "Fiesta Night with the Blazers" in March as a way to connect with Portland's Latino community.

The game drew one of the largest crowds of the season at the Rose Garden. The team offered maraca-style noisemakers to fans, a strolling mariachi band and a postgame concert by a local Mexican music group.

The Blazers also recognized local Latino youth for their participation in the annual Oregon Latino Basketball youth tournament, and team president Steve Patterson spoke to members of Portland's Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in an effort to show that the Blazers are committed to being involved in the Latino community.

Blazers representatives said one reason they decided to get more involved is because it makes good business sense.

"I didn't want to be in a position where we were ignoring a significant part of the population," Patterson said. "The first step is getting to know each other."

But some Latino fans at the game expressed concern that such a night was only a one-time affair.

The Sonics and Storm occasionally participate in events that target Seattle's Latino community in their marketing and community outreach efforts, though that is about the extent of their involvement. The Seahawks' statewide literacy program, "Ready, Set, Goals," involves periodic visits to Yakima and the Tri-Cities, where many students are Latino, and the team has supported Latino causes through donations and appearances.

Other local teams are also working with the Northwest's Latinos. The Seattle Sounders soccer team airs Spanish-radio broadcasts of home games and plays exhibition games against local Latino all-star teams. The Everett AquaSox will hold the Class A baseball team's first tribute to Latinos in baseball on Aug. 7.

But experts want to make it clear that marketing to Latinos is not all about simply doing things in Spanish, and that Latinos are more than just boxing, baseball and soccer fans.

"You cannot control the players," said Enrique Morones, who successfully marketed the San Diego Padres to the Latino community there and across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, in the 1990s. "One thing you can control is what you do off the field. Scholarship programs, charities. Merchandise catered to the Latino market."

Anthony Veliz, who helps organize the Oregon Latino Basketball tournament, said one reason Northwest Latinos are overlooked is that most live outside Seattle and Portland.

"(Large) Latino communities are located in the Yakima Valley and the Willamette Valley, both outside of the metropolitan areas," he said. "Out of sight, out of mind.

"Latinos' attendance to major sporting events is more by chance than marketing. Not the love of a team, but of a sport. Marketers would be smart to start a major marketing campaign in English and Spanish targeting Latinos."

Cruz and Salazar support an annual salute to Latinos in baseball by the Mariners, and believe the Mariners are taking positive steps toward attracting more Latino fans.

Ever the optimist, Cruz wouldn't mind more work, either. He and Pi-Gonzalez call only home games.

"I just wish we went on the road," he said.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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