MEXICO CITY -- With an altitude of 7,350 feet in Mexico's capital, more than 2,000 feet higher than Denver, it would be reasonable to expect a healthy dose of home runs at Estadio Alfredo Harp Hel¨² for the Mexico City Series on Saturday and Sunday between the Astros and Rockies.

At last year¡¯s Mexico City Series between the Giants and Padres -- the first MLB regular season games in the city -- a Major League record was tied in the first contest with 11 home runs by 10 different players, in addition to a new mark of eight of the 11 round-trippers connected back-to-back. The second game produced four more, for a total of 15 in the series.

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One of the Padres players from last year¡¯s Mexico City Series, the recently retired Nelson Cruz, reflected this week on the effect of the elevation in a phone conversation with MLB.com.

¡°The altitude is an important factor,¡± said Cruz, currently a special assistant in the Dodgers front office. ¡°It¡¯s like playing in Colorado, I¡¯d say, but double or triple the effect, because [Mexico City] is a little higher. You have the benefit that when you hit the ball, there¡¯s a better chance of a hit or even a home run. The negative part is that you get tired more quickly; the fatigue sets in fast.¡±

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As the home runs started to pile up for both teams in that first game last year, there was a certain buzz in San Diego¡¯s dugout on how to go about taking advantage of the different atmospheric conditions.

¡°We were talking about the fact that you didn¡¯t have to hit the ball that hard [for quality contact], and that created a much simpler approach,¡± Cruz remembered. ¡°It was just trying to hit the ball with the good part of the bat and that you didn¡¯t have to make as much of an effort to hit a home run or to hit the ball well.¡±

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Cruz, from Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Dominican Republic, was part of the Dominican Republic Game during 2020 Spring Training as a member of the Twins, and was also present at last month¡¯s Dominican Republic Series between the Rays and the Red Sox at Santo Domingo¡¯s Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal.

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¡°It¡¯s a great idea to try to expand the game and take it other places,¡± Cruz said. ¡°I think those are important steps to expand the game. That¡¯s what it¡¯s about, getting it to a wider audience [so] that baseball fans feel that they¡¯re being given the gift of the game itself.¡±