Pegale a la bola! It’s Saturday, the Estadio de Beisbol Stirling Dickinson, behind the Tuesday Market, is filled with Mexicans cheering on our local amateur team, Selección San Miguel. But where are the expats? The baseball fans who visit San Miguel? Not here. The culture blending that brought baseball to San Miguel is dwindling.
For better or for worse, Stirling Dickinson, for whom our beisbol stadium is named, was instrumental in placing San Miguel on the international tourist map by starting two art schools that became magnets for an ever-growing community of Americans and Canadians. That ex-pat community has become the backbone of a tourism-based economy that enabled the town to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
Unlike the commonly held image of the “ugly American”, Dickinson was a “model American.” His life in San Miguel was not limited to art schools and charities. A Chicago White Sox fan, he started an amateur baseball club in 1938 and introduced league baseball in San Miguel. He played first base and served as manager for the San Miguel team for almost 40 years. Most of Dickinson’s players were masons who everyday worked hard for very low wages. Dickinson not only was their teammate but also sponsored their uniforms and their after-game celebrations of carnitas y cervezas. One day in 1974, he told his teammates: «I’m going to leave the team. I feel tired. You guys are good and I want you to keep playing.” They did and went on to many undefeated seasons. Flash-forward to 2024, two San Miguel teams play in the Guanajuato league – Los Indios de San Miguel and Selección San Miguel. Every other Saturday, Selección plays teams from larger cities in the Stirling Dickinson Estadio de Beisbol to stands filled with cheering Sanmiguelenses. No expats; no tourists. Gustavo Perez Murillo, a present-day Selección player, boasts that his uncle, Jesus Manzano, played with Dickinson. He and all of the team’s players know that Dickinson introduced beisbol to San Miguel—a heritage largely forgotten by expats.
As Dickinson’s experience attests, baseball transcends the boundaries of mere sport. Baseball is a symbol of cultural blending. In stadiums around the world, it has the extraordinary ability to bring people from diverse backgrounds together, fostering a sense of community that extends beyond the ballpark. If this sounds inviting to you, go to a game. Stirling Dickinson field is located at the intersection of Cuesta de San Jose and Avenida Las Americas. Games are every other Saturday at 2:30pm. The schedule is posted on the Selección San Miguel Facebook page. Attendance costs 25 pesos.
About Maison Mexique. We are autochthonous – native where it arises. The hotel celebrates the culture, heritage, and nature of San Miguel and surrounding communities.
