Naranjeros de Hermosillo () are a professional baseball team based in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. They compete in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP). The team plays at Estadio Fernando Valenzuela with a capacity of 16,000 seated spectators.
The Naranjeros are one of the most successful teams in Mexican baseball and the most winning team in the Mexican Pacific League. They have won 17 LMP championships, the most recent during the 2023–24 season and two Caribbean Series titles. They were the first Mexico team to win the Caribbean Series, doing so in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1976.
History The team was established in 1945 as Queliteros de Hermosillo (). In 1947, the Queliteros won their first championship in the Liga de la Costa del Pacífico (Pacific Coast League), the competition that preceded the Mexican Pacific League. The club changed its name to the current Naranjeros in the 50s and won the Pacific Coast League back to back in the 1955–56 and 1956–57 seasons. The Naranjeros played in the Estadio de la Casa del Pueblo that was later renamed to Estadio Fernando M. Ortiz.
Hermosillo repeated the feat of winning the league championship twice in a row in the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons, both times under manager Virgilio Arteaga. They won the league again in the 1963–64 season. During these years, legendary player Héctor Espino was part of the team.
The Naranjeros won the 1970–71 season and therefore became the first Pacific League team to represent Mexico in the 1971 Caribbean Series. In 1972 the team moved to the Estadio Coloso del Choyal. They won the 1974–75 and 1975–76 seasons back to back and participated in the 1976 Caribbean Series.
The Naranjeros' victory at the 1976 Caribbean Series in Santo Domingo was the first ever by a Mexican team. The club was managed by Benjamín "Cananea" Reyes and included players such as Héctor Espino (1B), Sergio "Kalimán" Robles (C), Celerino Sánchez (3B), Elliot Willis (2B), Arnoldo de Hoyos (CF), George Brunett (P) and Jerry Hairston Sr. (LF). Again under Cananea Reyes, the Naranjeros won the 1979–80 season. With Tom Harmon as manager, Hermosillo won the 1981–82, 1989–90 and 1991–92 seasons.
In the 1993–94, 1994–95 and 2000–01 seasons, the Naranjeros won the Mexican Pacific League, led by manager Derek Bryant. Under Lorenzo Bundy, Hermosillo won the 2006–07 season and were champions again in the 2009–10 season with Homar Rojas as manager.
In 2013, the Naranjeros moved to Estadio Sonora. During that season, the team won its seventeenth league title and the 2014 Caribbean Series with Matías Carrillo as manager defeating Indios de Mayagüez 7–1 in the final.
Ten years later, the Naranjeros won its eighteenth LMP championship in the 2023–24 under manager Juan Gabriel Castro, sweeping the Venados de Mazatlán 4–0 in the championship series. The team represented Mexico at the 2024 Caribbean Series played in Miami. The Naranjeros finished sixth with a 2–4 record, managing to defeat Tigres del Licey and Gigantes de Rivas, but losing their other four games, thus, being eliminated in the first round of the tournament.
Stadium In its early days, the team played at Estadio Fernando M. Ortiz, also known as "La Casa del Pueblo." Since 1972, the Naranjeros played in their home stadium, Estadio De Beisbol Héctor Espino, named after the greatest Mexican baseball player in history, Héctor Espino. Since 2013 they have played their home games at Estadio Fernando Valenzuela, which was called Estadio Sonora until 2023.
Roster
Retired numbers The Naranjeros de Hermosillo have retired the following numbers:
José LuisSandoval SS 1991–2011 SergioRobles C 1967–1986 VinicioCastilla 3B 2000–2011 CananeaReyes Manager 1974–1980 FranciscoBarrios P 1971–1982 CelerinoSánchez 3B 1966–1978 MiguelSotelo P 1958–1967 MiguelFlores 2B 1991–2001 HéctorEspino 1B 1961–1985 CornelioGarcía 1B 1985–2005 MaximinoLeón P 1970–1989 ÁngelMoreno P 1980–1985 ErubielDurazo 1B 1996–2009
Championships Season Manager Opponent Series score Record 1960–61 Virgilio Arteaga No final series 35–19 1961–62 Virgilio Arteaga No final series 39–21 1963–64 Leonardo Rodríguez No final series 47–33 1970–71 Maury Wills Cañeros de Los Mochis 3–1 68–35 1974–75 Cananea Reyes Mayos de Navojoa 4–0 58–34–3 1975–76 Cananea Reyes Yaquis de Obregón 4–3 57–40 1979–80 Cananea Reyes Tomateros de Culiacán 4–2 63–29 1981–82 Tom Harmon Águilas de Mexicali 4–3 62–41 1989–90 Tim Johnson Mayos de Navojoa 4–1 60–27 1991–92 Tim Johnson Mayos de Navojoa 4–1 46–39–3 1993–94 Marv Foley Mayos de Navojoa 4–0 49–36 1994–95 Derek Bryant Tomateros de Culiacán 4–2 40–33 2000–01 Derek Bryant Venados de Mazatlán 4–1 52–31 2006–07 Lorenzo Bundy Venados de Mazatlán 4–0 53–30 2009–10 Homar Rojas Venados de Mazatlán 4–3 53–31 2013–14 Matías Carrillo Mayos de Navojoa 4–3 54–33 2023–24 Juan Gabriel Castro Venados de Mazatlán 4–0 59–22 Total championships 17
Caribbean Series record Year Venue Finish Wins Losses Win% Manager 1971 San Juan 2nd 2 4 Maury Wills 1975 San Juan 3rd 3 3 Cananea Reyes 1976 Santo Domingo / Santiago 1st 5 1 Cananea Reyes 1980 Santo Domingo 4th 2 4 Cananea Reyes 1982 Hermosillo 4th 2 4 Tom Harmon 1990 Miami 4th 1 5 Tim Johnson 1992 Hermosillo 3rd 3 3 Tim Johnson 1994 Puerto la Cruz 4th 0 6 Marv Foley 1995 San Juan 3rd 1 5 Derek Bryant 2001 Culiacán 2nd 3 3 Derek Bryant 2007 Carolina 4th 1 5 Lorenzo Bundy 2010 Margarita Island 3rd 2 4 Homar Rojas 2014 Margarita Island 1st 4 2 Matías Carrillo 2024 Miami 6th 2 4 Juan Gabriel Castro Total 31 53
Notable players
Alfredo Aceves Ramón Arano Francisco Barrios George Brunet Vinicio Castilla Jorge de la Rosa Elmer Dessens Erubiel Durazo Narciso Elvira Héctor Espino Luis Garcia Daniel Garibay Carlos Gastélum Édgar González Jerry Hairston Sr. Rich Hinton Trenidad Hubbard Al Martin Maximino León Mario Mendoza Ángel Moreno Jerry Owens Rubén Rivera Chris Roberson Sergio Robles Homar Rojas Gary Ross Celerino Sánchez Yunesky Sánchez Curt Schilling Dave Sells Miguel Sotelo Robert Stock Alex Treviño Fernando Valenzuela Sebastián Valle Larry Walker Jon Weber Zelous Wheeler Bump Wills Maury Wills Jim Wilson
References
External links Official site