NBC Sports NBC Sports FORT MYERS, Fla. – Spring training took on a decidedly festive feel on Monday morning when the clubhouse doors opened and a mariachi band paraded in to the strains of “Volver, Volver.” That’s Alex Verdugo’s walkup song, and he had summoned the band from nearby Cape Coral as a celebration of his Mexican heritage. Wearing authentic Charro outfits, the five-piece band serenaded the players during stretching on a field outside the clubhouse, drawing curious onlookers. Tomase: Praise the pitch clock, which will transform how we watch baseball The ostensible purpose of the visit was the impending departures of Verdugo and teammate Jarren Duran to join Team Mexico for the World Baseball Classic. At the urging of manager Alex Cora, the two created a presentation highlighting their shared heritage, which included a posterboard with various Mexican facts, such as a bio of president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. They each addressed the team on Monday in what doubly served as a team-building and educational exercise. “I knew I had to do like a poster with some facts on it,” Verdugo said. “But I think the big thing that kind of got everybody excited was having the mariachi band here.”
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