SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio and Austin locals love to debate which city is superior in a number of topics, from tacos to nightlife, and now they can add baseball to the list.
- Both teams playing at Triple-A level
- Renews old rivalry
- 5-year rivalry called “I-35 Series”
The San Antonio Missions and the Round Rock Express will renew their old rivalry, with both teams now playing at the Triple-A level. The five-year rivalry, known as the I-35 Series, began in 2000 when both teams played in the Texas League.
READ MORE | Round Rock Express ends affiliation with Texas Rangers
But when the Express moved up to Triple-A, the teams no longer played each other.
“I think for both of us, it's exciting, you know, here we are a little more than 100 miles apart from each other, and we haven't played in 12, 13 years. So, I think for us to be able to play them again, both cities are really excited about it. But, bottom line is, we want to kick their butt and they want to kick our butt. So, we'll see what happens,” said Burl Yarbrough, the San Antonio Missions president.
The Missions, now the Triple-A affiliate for the Milwaukee Brewers, are once again playing at the same level as the Express.
On Cinco de Mayo, both teams will play as their alter egos, the Flying Chanclas and the Chupacabras. The trophy for the I-35 Series is a traffic cone, but the Missions say the Express lost the original and had to get it replaced for the revived rivalry.
The Express is Houston’s Triple-A team, so Astros fans in San Antonio will have to choose between cheering for their home team or supporting their MLB club.