Isaac Paredes, Andres Muñoz share All-Star trek from Mexico

ARLINGTON, Texas – Isaac Paredes and Andres Muñoz were nine years old when they first met. Paredes was one of the best players from the Mexican state of Sonora, and Muñoz was one of the top baseball players from the state of Sinaloa. 

The slugger from Hermosillo, Sonora, and the hard-throwing righthander from Los Mochis eventually became teammates on a Mexican national youth team. They traveled parallel journeys from youth baseball to the Mexico City Diablos’ baseball academy before signing with Major League Baseball organizations as 17-year-olds.

As children, they dreamed of playing in the major leagues one day. Yet even in their wildest dreams, they never imagined being MLB All-Stars together. Now they’re first-time All-Stars proudly sharing the Midsummer Classic experience together as American League All-Stars.

“It feels beautiful because one would see this as impossible,” Paredes said of his first All-Star berth. “Now to be here with him is wonderful.”

Mexican corrido

Muñoz, the Seattle Mariners’ closer, found out he would be an All-Star via a Mexican song. He was in the clubhouse when the speakers began blaring out Mexican folk corrido “La Cucaracha.”

“La cucaracha, la cucaracha

“ya no puede caminar

“porque le falta, porque no tiene …

“Truly, once they put that song on, I started to feel it here,” Muñoz said as he tapped his chest. “I said, ‘They’re going to call me. So yeah, they called me.”

He was right. His manager informed him of the selection. Muñoz was named to the AL All-Star team on Friday to replace his Mariners teammate Logan Gilbert. Paredes, who leads the Rays with 15 home runs, was named as a reserve behind Jose Ramirez.

‘Beautiful’ feeling for Isaac Paredes

Muñoz and Paredes were only nine when they met for the first time and represented Mexico in a youth World Cup in Venezuela in 2008. 

“We went to Isla Margarita together,” Muñoz said. “After that we kept going together with the Diablos. And now we’re here.”

There is even some symmetry to their stats. The 6-foot-2, 222-pound Muñoz has 15 saves. Paredes, who is 5-foot-11 and 213 pounds, has 15 home runs.

Muñoz is 2-3 with a 1.41 ERA with 46 strikeouts over 38 ⅓ innings this season. Paredes is hitting .261 with 15 home runs, 18 doubles, one triple and 50 RBIs. 

“I’m very proud, especially because I’m here with Paredes, whom I’ve known since we were little,” Muñoz said in Spanish. “We’ve been together since we were kids. We went to tournaments together. We went to the academy. To share this experience together is very special.”