It’s been 19 years since MLB played in Mexico. Christian Villanueva is ready to bring it back.

This weekend, Major League Baseball will return to Mexico for regular-season action for the first time since 1999, when Bruce Bochy’s Padres took on Jim Leyland’s Rockies in a season opening one-gamer at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey.

That afternoon quickly became a glorified “Vinny Day” as Rockies star Vinny Castilla sent the Nuevo León crowd into a prideful frenzy, their heroic countryman producing a four-hit game while the Rockies took down the Padres, 8-2. This year’s three-game MLB en MX series will take place between the Padres and reigning National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, and features a young Mexican slugger, Christian Villanueva, who is smashing the ball right now and ready to build off the foundation laid by all of Mexico’s baseball legends.

Those 19 years since the last Mexico game may feel like ages to some; the first time MLB went to Mexico it returned after just three years. The Padres and New York Mets played a three-game set on the same ground in Monterrey in 1996, the first time the league had ever played games outside of the U.S. and Canada.

“In 1996, the Padres endeared themselves to the Mexican people forever,” said Eduardo Ortega, the Tijuana native and baseball broadcasting legend who has called 21 World Series and served as the Spanish language voice of the Padres for 32 seasons. “They brought arguably the most important Mexican baseball player of all-time, Fernando Valenzuela.”

Though the days of proper “Fernandomania” had diminished at the time of the game, the sheer fact that Valenzuela pitched a regular-season game on Mexican soil meant everything to those in attendance.

The landmark series opener featured Valenzuela, pitching at age 35, delivering a quality start and getting the win in a wild contest — the Padres jumped out to a 15-0 lead before a bullpen calamity episode led to them ultimately winning 15-10.

Steve Finley, the late Ken Caminiti, and Greg Vaughan all went deep for San Diego beneath the jagged peaks of Cerro de la Silla. (Finley will forever have a place in Mexican baseball folklore, having hit the first big fly of the historic series.) But despite the bonkers final score, the day was all about the hero on the hill.

“They were chanting Fernando’s nickname in the stadium as he was warming up in the bullpen,” Ortega remembered. “‘Toro! Toro!’ They even had him throw out the ceremonial first pitch. In a game he was starting! When have you ever seen that, the starting pitcher throwing out the ceremonial first-pitch? That’s how much they loved Fernando Valenzuela.”

Three years later, MLB en MX was all about the Oaxacan hit-machine Castilla, known to his Rockies teammates as “Cuz”, the man who carried the generational torch lit by “Fernandomania” into a new era.

Castilla put Mexican baseball on his powerful shoulders throughout his career, and on that special day in Monterrey in 1999, his cuatro imparables gave thousands of fans, who adored him so, a story to forever share.

Two times in the space of three years, Major League Baseball traveled to Mexico for showcase games. Both times teams played to passionate crowds, the league promoted baseball stars from Mexico, and the events gave lasting memories to fans who loved and continue to love the game. Now, MLB is finally going back.

In 1931, a Sonoran born Angeleno named Baldomero Almada became the first Mexican to take the field in a Major League Baseball game. The Red Sox outfielder, who became better known to his teammates as “Mel”, carved out a decent career in the bigs, hitting .284 in seven Major League seasons in Boston, Washington, St. Louis, and Brooklyn.

Last September, the Padres called up Christian Villanueva from the Triple-A Chihauhuas of El Paso, making the power-hitting third-baseman from Jalisco the most recent Mexican international to get a taste of The Show.

“It’s an honor to be the 125th Mexican to make it to the Majors,” said Villanueva before a recent Saturday night game against the Mets at Petco Park. “It means a lot to be a part of a new generation of Mexican talent.”

A pro since age 18, the now 26-year-old Villanueva was essentially blockaded in two big league organizations by two perennial all-star corner-infielders: Adrian Beltre in Texas, then by Kris Bryant with the Cubs.

Now it’s the former minor-league free-agent making all the noise. Villanueva’s electrifying start to 2018 (already being talked about in Southern California and beyond as a surefire Rookie of the Year candidate, notching a three-homer game April 2 against Colorado and hitting a 415-foot bomb in his first at-bat of that Saturday night showdown with the Mets) has fans on both sides of the frontera thinking back to another Mexican bopper who played third-base with finely tuned footwork, a velvet smooth glove, and a hellacious hose for an arm at the hot corner.

“Seeing what Christian is doing right now,” said Eduardo Ortega, “it reminds me quite a bit of the great Vinny Castilla.”

Those are meaningful words coming from someone with a nostalgic mind like Ortega. Villanueva himself speaks of the former Colorado Rockies star with deep respect.

“His fielding at third,” Villanueva said of Castilla, “the power he had at the plate, the way he hit to the opposite field, the way he carried himself; these are things that motivated me as a kid and helped me learn. He was my favorite player, and I’ve always dreamed of following in his footsteps.”

It’s tempting to imagine Villanueva being the impetus for MLB’s return to Mexico, but it appears to be just a happy accident. MLB opened up an international office in Mexico City in 2016, and announced that a series would take place in Mexico that following fall, at a time Villanueva was by no means certain to even be on the Padres’ big league roster in 2018.

Flash forward to today, and Villanueva is mashing. He’s the new face of Béisbol Mexicano that has the people of Monterrey buzzing with anticipation. All these years after Castilla captivated that crowd, it’s still a third-baseman, and still a man with prodigious pop at the plate.

“We’ve been calling him ‘El Presidente’ in the clubhouse lately,” Padres manager Andy Green said in a recent conversation about Villanueva.

“We know those fans in Monterrey and the Mexican people and media at large are gonna be welcoming him home, big time,” Green continued. “I can only imagine how proud he’ll be to return to his native country as a Major League third baseman. This is such a special opportunity for Villa’, and I know he’s gonna be fired up and ready to go.”

“It’d be nice to do what Vinny did down there,” Villanueva said with a laugh.

The man across the Padres infield from Villanueva, marquee free-agent signing Eric Hosmer, spoke of what his Mexican teammate’s presence has done to add to the intrigue of the series against the Dodgers.

“Villanueva’s been getting us really pumped for this thing,” Hosmer said of the trip to Mexico. “He’s been letting us know a little bit about what to expect down there in Monterrey, the stadium, the fans. He’s excited to go back and play in his home country, and I think we’re all feeling that same excitement through him.”

While the series will officially be three Padres home games, and while the Padres have been a part of all three editions of MLB en MX, the crowd at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey is expected to be very much in favor of the reigning NL champs. This isn’t lost on the young Mexican slugger.

“We can’t wait to see the people of Monterrey at these games,” said Villanueva. “We hope they come out and show their support —” [he pauses, then grins] “— for the Padres, not the Dodgers.”

Green was optimistic about the crowd, referencing Villanueva and highly rated infield prospect Luis Urias as people who could garner adoration from Mexican baseball fans.

“We hope we have a ton of Padres fans at the games,” Green said. “I think with Urias coming soon, and with Christian already being such a huge part of our ball club, we’ll be getting more and more fans in Mexico. This is something that’s important to us.”

Regardless of partisanship or the game’s outcome, it is surely going to be a marvelous, holiday-like atmosphere come the series opener, the same way it was in ‘96 and ‘99.

So, yes, MLB has a young star in Villanueva who the crowd will be cheering for. The Dodgers are still massively popular in the area. Major League Baseball wants to grow the game in Mexico. But still: 19 years? What were they waiting for?

“Most people think it’s taken almost 20 years purely because of the economic hardships in Mexico,” said Ortega. “While I agree with that to an extent, I also think the time gap has been due to the evolution of Major League Baseball internationally.”

“These days,” Ortega continued, “The Show is bigger than just the U.S., Canada, and Latino America. MLB has gone to Japan for regular-season games. To Australia! All of these places matter. They are all doing great things for the game we love.”

And that may be the biggest reason why it’s taken MLB so long to go back — they were busy growing the game elsewhere. The MLB office in Mexico City is the sixth such office to open up worldwide, joining Beijing, London, Santo Domingo, Sydney, and Tokyo. MLB has already announced that teams will play in Japan in 2019. While the NFL has kept its focus on England, MLB has, much like the NBA, been looking to grow everywhere.

With Villanueva on their side, the Padres have a player who resonates with Mexican fans. His notoriety is a product, in part, of the digital age: children and young adults in Mexico being able to follow his every move, each game, each at-bat, abilities not possible for generations before.

”Baseball has no borders,” Ortega said emphatically. “I don’t think MLB ever forgot about Mexico, and now is the perfect time to make a return.”