Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians) are a baseball team in Puerto Rico's Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, in Spanish). Based in Mayagüez, the Indios have won 20 national championships and 2 Caribbean World Series. The Indios have participated in a league’s record 40 Finals. It is one of three teams remaining from the original 6 incorporated into the LBPPR at its founding on November 13, 1938.
The Indios were named after the formerly named Cervecería India (now the Compañía Cervecera de Puerto Rico, or CCC), the local brewery, and its formal sponsor over most of the team's 85-year run) besides the fact that Mayagüez, located at the western coast of Puerto Rico, has a strong indigenous heritage, starting with the city's name (which is derived from the Taíno language). The team's colors are burgundy, gold and blue, which at one time were the colors on the label of Cerveza India, the original flagship product of the brewery which promoted the team and served as base for its name.
The Indios de Mayagüez team is the team with the second most championship wins in PRBL history (twenty, as of January 24, 2025). It has reached the PRBL final series 40 times (as of said date). At a time when most Puerto Rican cities and towns are better known for their support of basketball, the city of Mayagüez remains as a strong baseball stronghold in the island nation. The team's fan base has a reputation for loyalty bordering in the extreme, and average game attendance, and total season attendance by the Indios has been the highest in the Puerto Rico winter league during each of the past five seasons. Debuting in the 1949 tournament, the Indios are one of a handful of teams to have participated in both the classic and contemporary formats of the Caribbean Series.
At any given year — should the Indios make it to the PRBL tournament playoffs — attendance to the team's baseball park and post -game celebrations tend to be particularly high because they usually coincide with the celebration of the patron saint feasts (fiestas patronales) for the city of Mayagüez; it is not unusual for a championship game to coincide with Candlemas (2 February) or Candlemas Eve.
The Indios' management team is led by general manager and international cross checker from the Arizona Diamondbacks Hector Otero. The team's administrator is Mayagüez native and entrepreneur CPA José Julio Feliciano. Mako Oliveras, the winningest manager in Puerto Rico’s Winter League history with eight championships under his helm is the team's current manager (as of the 2023-2024 season).
History The early years Baseball had been played in Mayagüez since the Spanish–American War; a city yearbook from the 1870s claimed that the very same day troops of the United States Army invaded the city (August 11, 1898), the troops played an impromptu baseball game on the city's main plaza. However, evidence tends to confirm that baseball became a regular pastime in the city by 1902.
Mayagüez had semi-professional baseball teams prior to the 1938 founding of the team, through various inceptions. The earliest team was named "Pope-Hartford" (after the automotive brand), and was organized in 1905 by Santiago Panzardi, the brand's importer. It was later substituted by a succession of teams: the Mayagüez Cardinals, the Yaguez, and others. These teams played games against organized teams from the rest of the island, Venezuela and Cuba, as well as teams assembled from Negro league baseball players. The Indios were born from the amateur team Al Día property of Félix Santiago, which was bought by Alfonso Valdez Cobián of Cervecería India. Coached by Enrique Huyke, the team debuted on November 13, 1938, splitting a double header with the Criollos. The team's first stadium was Estadio Santiago Llórens. In first year of the Semi-Pro, José Figueroa led in strikeouts (96).
Once the LBPPR was created, the Mayagüez team became a part of it. In 1939, Figueroa became the first to strike 100 players, finishing with 137. A management team led by Alfonso Valdés Cobián owned the team during its initial years, between 1938 and 1957. On February 18, 1940, Ramón Bayrón became the first player to hit three triples in a game.
In 1943, Mayagüez signed 18-year old Santiago Muratti from the local Double A league for $18 per week, joining Luis Villodas as catcher. The subsequent acquisition of Humberto Martí made it the only team in the league to have three catchers. After lights were installed at Sixto Escobar Stadium in 1947, the Indios played in the inaugural game, with Muratti at catcher. On December 30, 1947, the Indios won the league’s first round after Earl Taborn pushed Muratti (who had also batted three hits against Paige) and the empire ruled that he was out for interfering with the catcher. The play was controversial and was reviewed by experts from abroad, but the result was withheld. Taborn and other players were fined for the incident and the subsequent meltdown. On February 8, 1948, Johnny Davis pitched the second no-hitter in the league, in a game which Mayagüez defeated Aguadilla 1-0.
The Indios won their first LBPPR championship in 1949. Originally the Indios played their home games in the facilities of La Liga de París., now named the Santiago Lloréns baseball park, which has been in use since February 14, 1912. The team moved from their previous grounds to then-new 9,587-seat Isidoro García Baseball Stadium, located near the southwest corner of the city, on October 15, 1949. In 1950, the Indios were relocated to Aguadilla and were later fused with San Juan.
The Babel Pérez era Babel Pérez assumed the management of the Indios after Alfonso Valdés. (He had worked for Don Alfonso since the late '40s) The Indios won two championships under his helm, in 1962–1963 and 1965–1966. Joe Christopher was a major player for the Indios during the period.
Entering the 1970s, the team experienced both economic and competitive difficulties that endangered its permanency at Mayagüez. Pérez died suddenly in Bamberg, Germany in 1971, while visiting one of his daughters and new grandson, the great Ovidio Enrique Pérez II. Gloria Méndez Pérez, widow of Babel Pérez, owned the team until its sale in 1974, entering into baseball history as the first female to own a baseball team.
The Luis Gómez Monagas era A new management team led by Luis Gómez Monagas, a successful insurance businessman, and father (and later one-time Uncle-in-law of Colombian actor and folk singer Carlos Vives) bought the Indios in 1974. At the time, after winning the 1965–66 league championship the Indios had had a dry spell, having earned only two championships in more than 15 years and consistently ending in last place in every LBPPR tournament between the 1966–67 season and the 1973–74 season, except the 1969–70, when the team made the playoffs in a very surprising fashion. On two occasions, the franchise threatened to move to Bayamón, but popular support kept the team in Mayagüez both times. To make matters worse, the Isidoro García baseball stadium was in such a state of disrepair that it was literally unsafe for fans, players and field keepers. For the 1974-75, Monagas began an overhaul that bore fruit during the following seasons for the team. During the 1970s, WAEL served as the Indios' station with Ismael Trabal, Pito Hernández, Arturo Soto and Israel Peña as narrators. Announcer Ramón S. Olivencia popularized the phrase Los Indios de mi pueblo, which became a pseudonym for the team. Ribaudo and Schaeffer designed a logo for the Indios which in 1975 won a design award at New York.
The historic 1977–1978 team During the 1977 offseason, the Indios recruited new talent and made a number of changes. The 1977–1978 team literally saved the franchise from bankruptcy and oblivion. Managed by Rene Lacheman, and provided with a powerful lineup that featured Ron LeFlore, Jim Dwyer, Kurt Bevacqua and José Manuel Morales in the 1-4 spots, the team barely made it to the playoffs, finishing the regular season with a record of 29-31 and in the fourth place. The Indios advanced to the final with a 4:1 series win over the Criollos. In the final, Mayagüez's pitching dominated the Vaqueros for a 4:2 series win. The final game for the series had Mayagüez beat Bayamón with a score of 18–2. The win was celebrated among the populace, which gathered at Plaza de Colón. The team eventually made it to Mazatlán, Mexico, where it won the 1978 Caribbean Series. The Indios finished the tournament with a 5-1 record after using the reserves in the final game. This was also celebrated among the public, with an impromptu parade to the City Hall. The team was involved in additional festivities upon returning to Puerto Rico.
The 1977-78 championship had a direct effect on the team’s popularity throughout the region, reigniting following after several decades of decline. This was a turning point in the team's history. Fan support gave the Indios' management team enough financial solvency to save the franchise. From winning only three championships in 40 years, the team went on to win 13 championships in the 34 years following the 1978 season. Collective fan protests demanded repairs to the baseball stadium from its owner, the then-named Parks and Leisure Administration of Puerto Rico (now called the Puerto Rico Department of Recreation and Sports), a government agency that still owns and controls the new stadium that has since replaced the old one. The stadium was remodeled soon after (1980) and Rai García took over as general manager of the team. In 1980-81, Mayagüez was coached by Orlando Gómez and opened the 1980-81 season defeating the Cangrejeros 5-3. Iván Méndez was in charge of announcing, while the band of University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (RUM) collaborated. On January 6, 1982, Estadio Isidoro García hosted the league All-Star Game in which Metro defeated Isla with a no-hitter. Dickie Thon decided the game and was MVP. Beginning in 1982-83, Frank Verdi managed the team. In 1983-84, Mayagüez defeated Ponce in the finals, in a series that was decided in a seventh game that extended into overtime and featured the expelling of the Leones' manager. The Indios reinforced with Cándido Maldonado, Carmelo Martínez, Orlando Sánchez, Tom Lawless, Chuck Porter and Craig Lefferts for the Caribbean Series. However, Mayagüez's only win in the tournament was over the Mexican representative, 14-2. This influenced the attendance of the event, which was locally hosted at Estadio Hiram Bithorn, and recorded the worst average for a Caribbean Series up to that point. For the Indios, it marked the last time that pitcher Saúl López was with the team. For the 1984-85 season, Mayagüez was eliminated by the Metros despite assembling a competitive team that became known for its speed in the bags. In 1985-86, Wally Joyner won the league triple crown while playing for Mayagüez. Muratti' s career with the Indios earned him and induction into that municipality's Hall of Fame in 1986 and the team's Medalla Alfonso Váldes. In 1987-88, Mayagüez experienced a complicated route to the finals, where they bested the Cangrejeros by making a comeback after being down 2:3 in the series. After losing their first game to Caracas, Mayagüez failed to win the Caribbean Series, despite defeating the eventual champions Leones del Escogido. Parallel to this, Alfonso Valdez died at Puerto Rico and a moment of silence for him and former player Francisco Vélez was held before the Indios' win over Tijuana that allowed them to compile a 3-3 record that gave them the second place. Managed by Nick Leyva, Mayagüez contested the 1985-86 finals against the Metros, winning the title as visitors. At the Caribbean Series, the Indios entered the four date tied with a 2-2 record with the other three teams, but ultimately lost a decisive game to Mexicali.