Mario Mendoza’s Property “Line” Relentlessly Ridiculed by Local Youth
Does This Cross the Line? Local kids enjoy taunting the former light hitting infielder.
CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO (Sportsman’s Daily Wire Service) Former Major League slick fielding but notoriously light hitting infielder, Mario Mendoza attempts to live a quiet, secluded life in the hills around his Chihuahua home. But in the age of instant information, even this small Mexican hamlet isn’t immune to young children learning everything they can about the man who made the “Mendoza Line” famous.
“When you’re hitting below the Mendoza Line, like I am now, you hear about it.” said Washington Nationals outfielder Roger Bernadina.
It is widely accepted that the mythical Mendoza Line is hitting below .200 – but in actuality – Mendoza’s lifetime batting average was .215.
Now Mendoza himself is the target of children’s taunts as they retrieve errant baseballs and soccer balls from his yard. As they cross his property line they shout “Look, even I can play over the Mendoza Line.”
“He’s something of a local legend here.” says town mayor Juan Carlos Moreno. “Particularly when he trips over garbage cans as he exits Pepe’s Cantina at 3:00 o’clock in the morning.”
Mendoza, a sensitive man, doesn’t like being reminded of the famous “line” he created some thirty-five years ago.
“How does it feel? It fuckin’ blows!” seethed the 60 year old former Pirate, Mariner and Ranger. “I’d like to buy a gun a shoot these freekin’ kids, but I can’t hit anything more than three feet away.”