Tomateros de Culiacán

Tomateros de Culiacán
Tomateros de Culiacán
Information
League	Mexican Pacific League
Location	Culiacán, Sinaloa
Ballpark	Estadio Tomateros (2015–present)
Founded	1965
Nickname(s)	Guindas
League championships	13 (1966–67, 1969–70, 1977–78, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21)
Caribbean Series championships	2 (1996, 2002)
Former name(s)	Tacuarineros
Colors	Maroon, white;
Mascot	Tommy Tomate, Pollo Tomás
Ownership	Héctor, Diego y Marcos Ley López
Manager	Alfredo Amézaga
General Manager	Mario Valdez
Website	www.tomateros.com.mx
Uniforms
Local	Away

The Tomateros de Culiacán (English: Culiacán Tomato Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The Tomateros have won thirteen league championships and two Caribbean World Series in 1996 and 2002. The team was founded in 1965 as part of the Sonora-Sinaloa League.

History edit

Professional baseball in Culiacán dates back to 1945, when the first team was created the Tacuarineros. This club played in the now-defunct Liga de la Costa del Pacífico (Pacific Coast League). Tomateros de Culiacán was founded in 1965 and started playing in the Liga de la Costa (Coastal League), this league is also now defunct.^[1]

The Tomateros won their most recent championship on January, 30th 2021(2020-21 season). They defeated the Naranjeros de Hermosillo in seven games, bringing their total to 13 championships. It also marked the second time in their history that they won consecutive titles.

2001–2002 season edit

The 2001–2002 season was a gold year not only for the Tomateros, but also for México, as they won the 2002 Caribbean Series held at Caracas, Venezuela with big leaguers as Rodrigo López, Oliver Perez, Luis Ayala, José Silva and Benji Gil, as well as with Adán Amezcua, who earned Series MVP honors.

Honours edit

Mexican Pacific League championships edit

The Tomateros have won 13 Mexican Pacific League Championships. Their most recent one came in the 2020–21 season, when they defeated the Naranjeros de Hermosillo in seven games under manager Benji Gil.

Season	Manager	Opponent	Series score	Record
1966–67	Vinicio García	^{[note 1]}		55–33–1
1969–70	Vinicio García	Cañeros de Los Mochis	4–2	36–27–1
1977–78	Raúl Cano	Cañeros de Los Mochis	4–2	42–31–1
1982–83	Francisco Estrada	Naranjeros de Hermosillo	4–2	37–33–1
1984–85	Francisco Estrada	Águilas de Mexicali	4–3	37–34–1
1995–96	Francisco Estrada	Venados de Mazatlán	4–1	29–27–2
1996–97	Francisco Estrada	Naranjeros de Hermosillo	4–2	38–24
2001–02	Francisco Estrada	Venados de Mazatlán	4–2	41–27
2003–04	Francisco Estrada	Yaquis de Ciudad Obregón	4–1	38–30
2014–15	Benji Gil	Charros de Jalisco	4–1	38–30
2017–18	Benji Gil	Mayos de Navojoa	4–3	39–29
2019–20	Benji Gil	Venados de Mazatlán	4–3	37–29
2020–21	Benji Gil	Naranjeros de Hermosillo	4–3	29–29