Naranjeros de Hermosillo

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."

Roster

Retired numbers

The Naranjeros de Hermosillo have retired the following numbers:

Championships

Caribbean Series record

Notable players

• MEX Alfredo Aceves
• MEX Ramón Arano
• MEX Francisco Barrios
• USA George Brunet
• MEX Vinicio Castilla
• MEX Jorge de la Rosa
• MEX Elmer Dessens
• MEX Erubiel Durazo
• MEX Narciso Elvira
• MEX Héctor Espino
• MEX Luis Garcia
• MEX Daniel Garibay
• MEX Carlos Gastélum
• MEX Édgar González
• USA Jerry Hairston Sr.
• USA Rich Hinton
• USA Trenidad Hubbard
• USA Al Martin
• MEX Maximino León
• MEX Mario Mendoza
• MEX Ángel Moreno
• USA Jerry Owens
• PAN Rubén Rivera
• MEX Chris Roberson
• MEX Sergio Robles
• MEX Homar Rojas
• USA Gary Ross
• MEX Celerino Sánchez
• CUB Yunesky Sánchez
• USA Curt Schilling
• USA Dave Sells
• MEX Miguel Sotelo
• USA Robert Stock
• MEX Alex Treviño
• MEX Fernando Valenzuela
• MEX Sebastián Valle
• CAN Larry Walker
• USA Jon Weber
• USA Zelous Wheeler
• USA Bump Wills
• USA Maury Wills
• USA Jim Wilson

References

References

1. "LMP.mx "Beisbol en Evolucion"".
2. Hernández, Francisco. (28 March 2023). "Estadio Fernando Valenzuela ya es oficial: colocan nombre de "El Toro"".
3. "Historia del Club - Naranjeros".
4. Sortillón Valenzuela, Manuel de Jesús. "El parque de beisbol de "La Casa del Pueblo"".
5. Castro, Rubén. (27 December 2014). "Resumen LMP: Naranjeros campeón".
6. (8 February 2014). "Naranjeros campeones de la Serie del Caribe 2014".
7. Ávila, Edoardo. (25 January 2024). "Naranjeros campeones: "¡Ya no hay sequía!", celebran tras 10 años".
8. Castro, Rubén. (25 January 2024). "Naranjeros es campeón y será México en Serie del Caribe".
9. (6 February 2024). "Naranjeros se van de la Serie del Caribe con triunfo ante Nicaragua".
10. Ledezma, Aram. (6 February 2024). "México queda eliminado de la Serie del Caribe 2024".
11. "Disfrutarán del inmueble: Mazón Rubio". El Imparcial.
12. "Números Legendarios - Naranjeros".
13. "Naranjeros de Hermosillo".
14. "Campeonato No.15 Temporada 2009-2010".
15. "Roster de 60".