The Azucareros de Villa Clara (Villa Clara Sugarmakers) is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

club that plays in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...

. Based in Santa Clara, the Naranjas have been one of the league's most successful Cuban squads over the last 30 years; winning championships in 1983, as well as three-year run from 1993 to 1995. They also lost the 1996, 2003, 2004 and 2010 finals to the

Industriales Industriales is a baseball team in the Cuban National Series. Located in Cerro, La Habana, it is known as the only team representing the country’s capital, Havana. Industriales is historically the most successful team in the National Series, a ...

. Orange, white and black are their colors; although they have three different colors, the orange is what represents them, even though teams like Sancti Spíritus Gallos also wore orange uniforms. Eight Villa Clara's players have been members of the

Cuba national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been des ...

in the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

Ariel Borrero Ariel Borrero Alfonso (born January 1, 1972, in Santa Clara) is the starting first baseman for the Cuban national baseball team and for Villa Clara of the Cuban National Series. In the 2005-06 Cuban National Series, the left-handed Bor ...

Luis Borroto Luis Borroto Jiménez (born August 24, 1982, in Sagua la Grande, Villa Clara Province, Cuba) is a Cuban baseball player. A starting pitcher with Villa Clara of the Cuban National Series, Borroto competed internationally with the Cuba nation ...

Eduardo Paret Eduardo Paret Pérez (born October 23, 1972 in Santa Clara) is a Cuban baseball player. He is a shortstop for Villa Clara of the Cuban National Series, and for the Cuban national baseball team. Paret was the starting shortstop on the Cuban t ...

and Ariel Pestano were on the roster in the 2006 tournament, while

Leonys Martín Leonys Martín Tápanes (born March 6, 1988), nicknamed "Ikadi", is a Cuban-American professional baseball center fielder who is currently a free agent. Born in Cuba, he played locally for Villa Clara of the Cuban National Series, and for the ...

Yolexis Ulacia Yolexis Ulacia Carrazana (born 1978) is a Cuban baseball relief pitcher. Career After nine seasons in the Cuban leagues (through the 2007-2008 campaign), he had gone 50-38 with 68 saves and a 3.24 earned run average (ERA) in 334 games for Villa ...

and Pestano were in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

History

Villa Clara was known as the Azucareros (sugar-makers) when

Ciego de Ávila Ciego de Ávila City () is a city in the central part of Cuba and the capital of Ciego de Ávila Province. The city has a population of about 497.000, in a municipality of 756,373. Geography Ciego de Ávila lies on the Carretera Central highway ...

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especial ...

Sancti Spíritus Sancti Spíritus () is a municipality and capital city of the province of Sancti Spíritus Province, Sancti Spíritus in central Cuba and one of the oldest Cuban European settlements. Sancti Spíritus is the genitive case of Latin language, Lat ...

and Villa Clara were all represented by a single team. The name ' was to represent the workers of all sugar mills in Cuba. Under this name, the team won three championships in 1969, 1971 and 1972. After the separation of the teams, the Villa Clara club was known as ' (The Clockwork Orange) or ' (The Explosive Oranges) which are other nicknames, but not official. With the moniker, Villa Clara won the National Series in 1983, led by Eduardo Martín Saura, and three consecutive years from 1993 through 1995 guided by Pedro Jova. On June 18, 2013 Villa Clara defeated Matanzas by a score of 7–4, clinching their first league championship since the 1994–1995 season.SportStats.com – Villa Clara - Matanzas (Baseball, Serie Nacional
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Cuban National Series MVPs

Modesto Verdura Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

( P) (Azucareros) * Antonio Muñoz 1B (Azucareros) *

Isidro Pérez Isidro Pérez (May 24, 1964 – January 9, 2013) was a Mexican professional boxer in the Lightweight division. Pérez is a former two-time WBO Flyweight Champion. Professional career In May 1986, Isidro won the Mexican National Light Flyweight C ...

P (Azucareros) *

Amado Zamora Amado may refer to: Places * Amado, Arizona Name * Amado Crowley (1930–2010), occult teacher and self-proclaimed illegitimate son of Aleister Crowley * Amado Carrillo Fuentes (1956-1997), Mexican drug kingpin and former leader of the Juárez ...

RF (Villa Clara) *

Oscar Machado Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

LF (Villa Clara)

Other notable players

* Aquino Abreu (P) *

Rolando Arrojo Luis Rolando Arrojo Avila (born July 18, 1965) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched from to . Arrojo made his mark with the teams from Villa Clara in the Cuban National Series, where he still is the all-time leader in hit ba ...

( 1B) *

(P) *

Aledmys Díaz Aledmys Díaz Serrano (born August 1, 1990) is a Cuban professional baseball utility player for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston A ...

Yandy Díaz Yandy Díaz Fernández (born August 8, 1991) is a Cuban-born professional baseball third baseman and first baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Cleveland Indians. Cuban career Diaz played ...

* Angel López * Leonys Martin * Alberto Martínez *

Víctor Mesa Víctor Mesa Martínez (born February 20, 1960) is a Cuban baseball manager and former player. Mesa played for 19 seasons in the Cuban National Series. He is a one-time Olympic gold medalist for baseball, won at the 1992 Summer Olympics. His s ...

( OF) * Silvio Montejo (OF) * Eliecer Montes de Oca (P) *

(SS) * Lázaro Pérez (C) * Ariel Pestano (C) * José Ramón Riscart * José Riveira * Eddy Rojas (OF) *

Reinaldo Santana Reinaldo is a Spanish and Portuguese language given name for males (the English form is Reynold). It may refer to: Football * Reinaldo Merlo (born 1950), Argentine former footballer and manager *Reinaldo Gomes (born 1954), Portuguese football strik ...

Jorge Toca Jorge Luis Toca (born January 7, 1975) is a former professional baseball player. Career He played with the New York Mets from 1999 to 2001. He is tall and weighs . He plays first base and outfield. He bats and throws right-handed. He is mostly ...

Andy Zamora Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...

Defectors

Several Villa Clara players have left Cuba to play in the Major Leagues. *

* Yuniesky Betancourt *

Liván Hernández Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera (; born February 20, 1975) is a Cuban-born former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. Over a 17-year career, he played for nine different teams and was named to two Major League Baseball All-S ...

Dayán Viciedo Dayán Viciedo Pérez (born March 10, 1989) is a Cuban professional baseball infielder for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox. Early life Viciedo ent ...

* Leonys Martin *

References

External links

Naranjas de Villa Clara – Article by Rogério Marzano
(Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Villa Clara (Baseball) Baseball teams in Cuba Santa Clara, Cuba