"Los Capitanes Se Convierten Picantes De Lake County"

Like the country itself, America’s favorite pastime is a melting pot of cultures with the sport’s superstars hailing everywhere from Japan to Venezuela.While the Lake County Captains are already known for throwing a baseball fiesta at Eastlake’s Classic Park, the Indians’ Minor League Baseball Class A affiliate turns the spotlight on Hispanic and Latinx heritages this season by becoming Los Picantes de Lake County. Once a month, starting on Cinco de Mayo, players will take the field sporting lime green uniforms and a fiery red pepper logo. Fans can also pick up Picantes-themed hats, T-shirts and other spicy merch made by CLE Clothing Co. online and in-store at the Captains’ Cargo Hold throughout the season. “[Los Picantes] can be interpreted in two ways: one as the spicy food and the other as the edgy, spicy kind of personality,” says Neil Stein, general manager of Lake County Captains. The team takeover is part of Copa de la Diversion, the MiLB’s 72-team initiative to honor the Latinx community’s outsized influence on the sport of baseball. The hometown team tapped local nonprofit Esperanza, which works to build skills and confidence in Cleveland’s Latinx and Hispanic youth, to help pick the name. Two of the five games feature a lineup of food, music and dancing inspired by Mexican and Puerto Rican cultures, and the Picantes Elote jalapeno-cheddar hotdog is a Hispanic-American mash-up covered in queso, elote corn, Parmesan cheese, mayo, jalapeno peppers and lime. “I’ve learned the traditions, music and foods are very different,” says Stein. “The theme behind this is reaching out to the Spanish-speaking community to share [the games] with those fans because they are affordable and fun for any family.”