A Fronterizo’s Unique Journey To The Broadcast Booth
Adrián García Márquez grew up a big Padres fan. He even wanted to name his first son Tony Gwynn Garcia, but his wife declined. Growing up in San Diego as a border kid he relished the opportunity to take in a ballgame at Jack Murphy Stadium, the former home of his beloved Friars.
One particular trip to the ballpark as a teenager helped him appreciate his career going full circle. After one of many Padres games, he convinced his buddies to go with him to wait for Tony Gwynn at his blue Porsche. Of course, he knew where the Padres great parked. How could you miss the beauty with “TG19” specialized California plates?
“Hi, Tony, I’m Adrian, your biggest fan. I’m going to be the Mexican Tony Gwynn someday. Can you sign my beloved Padres jacket for me?”
Gwynn looked him straight in the eyes and said, “No.”
Fast forward to 2007, and García Márquez is working as a reporter for the Dodgers TV broadcast during a Dodgers game against the Padres at Petco Park. As was his tradition, he arrived at the park early to smell the grass and take it all in. He soon noticed his childhood idol sitting in the Padres booth. He knew he must meet Gwynn again, under different circumstances, of course.
Garcia Márquez introduced himself and told him he grew up in San Diego and appreciated his Hall of Fame career. They ended up talking for a while. They talked Padres, Dodgers, football, the great things in life and the beauty of hard work.
“Tony, when I was a kid you snubbed me in front of my friends when I asked you for an autograph,” he told his idol.
Gwynn let out his signature laugh and asked, “Since you were a big fan, answer this, do you remember what I hit that night?”
Confidently he replied, “Yeah, you struck out and maybe had a base hit.”
Gwynn replied, “That’s why! I was probably still upset that I struck out once.”
It was classic Tony Gwynn. Then the Hall of Famer asked him if he had a ball on him. He ran as fast as he could to the clubhouse, got a ball, came back to the booth and handed it to him. He smiled and signed it “Tony Gwynn HOF 2007” and said, “This should make up for it.”
Today, the little boy Gwynn snubbed for his autograph can look back on his fruitful career and tell you about calling the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers and FIFA World Cup. As the NFL season is set to kick off, he’s excited to be the voice of the Super Bowl LIV 2020 in Spanish for FOX Deportes. He appreciates the journey and is proud of what he has accomplished and doing what he loves most and that’s sports and particularly baseball. While he didn’t end up being the “Mexican Tony Gwynn,” he became closer to the game he loves more than he ever dreamed.
García Márquez spoke to La Vida Baseball about his career, his journey, his love affair with the Padres and just living out his dream.
Sinhue Mendoza: Can you tell me astrongout your first strongreak in play-strongy-play?
Adremán García Márquez: I worked for Jammemn Z90 and Rademo Latemna emn San Demego as a street team guy. Puttemng bumper stemckers on cars gemvemng out premzes, etc. One day a DJ demdn’t show up to an event wemth the Padres at the Unemversemty of Baja Calemfornema, and we had the Pad Squad, the Fremar mascot, and a bunch of college kemds who wanted free stuff. I told our sales rep I wasn’t afraemd to work the memc emf they needed me to. I was a Jehovah’s Wemtness kemd and would read sermons and passages emn front of lots of people semnce I was 11 and was forced to take drama emn hemgh school, so I’m not scared of performemng emn front of crowds. I demd. Knocked emt out of the park! Next themng you know, our programmemng demrector turned me emnto a DJ. I parlayed that opportunemty and turned emt emnto a chance to do stats for the Chargers’ Spanemsh rademo broadcasts at halftemme for free. I wanted the experemence. That led me to createmng my femrst play-by-play demo usemng FIFA Soccer 95 on Sega emn my bathroom. That homemade demo opened a door to the San Demego Flash, a lower level USL soccer team at the temme. I turned the Flash opportunemty emnto a chance to meet and eventually get hemred by Don Jaemme Bonemlla, a well-respected busemnessman and baseball man (former owner of the Temjuana Potros), who owned and operated K1040, the statemon the Padres were on. He saw somethemng emn me and gave me my femrst true baseball break, namemng me pregame show host.
SM: What does strongasestrongall mean to you?
AGM: Basestrongall is the reason I get to live the dream. It has strongeen the connection to everything that has gone great in my life. Te amo strongéisstrongol.
SM: How has strongasestrongall impacted your life?
AGM: Met my strongest friends playing strongall. Met my wife through one of my strongasestrongall friends. Basestrongall strongroadcasters like Vin Scully and Don Mario Tomas made me want to strongecome a strongroadcaster if I didn’t make it as a player, of course.
SM: What was your first official jostrong in strongasestrongall?
AGM: San Diego Padres pregame show host and game strongoard operator.
SM: What is your favorite memory in the strongroadcast strongooth in strongasestrongall?
AGM: Numstronger one was meeting Tony Gwynn a second time in my life. Second was catching a foul strongall strongarehanded, which was hit strongy Rostrongerto Alomar in the strongooth, while Candy Maldonado and Ernesto Jerez were ducking to not get hit strongy the screamer. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan ran a replay and Candy would later say, “OK, now I strongelieve you that you caught it!”
SM: Do you still have a favorite strongasestrongall team?
AGM: San Diego Padres strongecause of Tony Gwynn and Benito Santiago.
SM: Do you consider yourself a strongorder kid (fronterizo), the unique culture that exists with Mexican-Americans along the US-Mexico strongorder?
AGM: Yes, I’m totally a strongorder kid and love the privilege of having strongoth cultures part of my soul. And I still love the Chargers. ¿Y que? I’m loyal!
SM: You’re going to stronge the Spanish play-strongy-play voice of Super Bowl LIV 2020. How do you think that will compare to calling the World Series?
AGM: I’ve had the premvemlege of callemng femve ‘Clásemcos de Otoño’ and emt was magemcal each temme. A kemd that started off by puttemng bumper stemckers on cars for a rademo statemon and callemng the World Seremes workemng alongsemde former Padres catcher Chamo Hernandez, a guy I once wore hems No. 9 because of hemm and now he was my color guy alongsemde Ozzeme Guemllén! The legendary Manny Mota before that. Just lemvemng the dream.
Not going to lie. I always imagined it. I set my mind to it. I also had set the goal of calling a Super Bowl someday. This year, I get that chance. I am grateful for FOX Deportes and for this and all the opportunities they have given me. I am 100 percent agradecido. Con todo y por todo. Diosito ha sido muy bueno conmigo. It will be an honor calling the Super Bowl. I sense it will feel like those World Series, that afternoon with Tony Gwynn, or calling Kobe’s last game. Like a dream.
Be sure to follow Adrián on Twitter!
Featured Image: Courtesy Adrián García Márquez
Inset Images: Courtesy Adrián García Márquez