The Tucson Saguaros are a professional

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 ...

team based in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, that began play in 2016. The club is a member of the

Pecos League Pecos may refer to: Places * Pecos River, rises near Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States * Pecos, Texas, a city in Reeves County, Texas, United States * Pecos County, Texas, named for the Pecos River ** Pecos Spring, a spring * Pecos, New Mexico, ...

, an

independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball organization in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball and is outside the Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated to it. The Northern League and Frontie ...

which is not affiliated with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

or Minor League Baseball.

History

Announced in November 2015 as an expansion franchise, Tucson began play in the 2016 season. The team played its home games Thursday through Sunday at Cherry Field. The team played neutral site home games Monday through Wednesday in

Winslow Winslow may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Winslow, Buckinghamshire, England, a market town and civil parish * Winslow Rural District, Buckinghamshire, a rural district from 1894 to 1974 United States and Canada * Rural Municipality of Winslo ...

at Vargas Field. The team's home field was

Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium Kino Sports Complex is a multiple-use sports complex in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox formerly utilized the complex's main ballpark, Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, for Cactus League games each March and had their ...

for the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the exception of Sunday games, which were played at

Warren Ballpark Warren Ballpark is a baseball stadium located in Bisbee, Arizona. The ballpark was recently home to the Tucson Saguaros of the Pecos League and the Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings of the independent Arizona–Mexico League The Stadium was built in ...

in Bisbee. The Saguaros moved to Reid Park Field #5 at the beginning of the 2018 season for Thursday through Sunday games, but then moved to Cherry Field on July 4, 2018. The team conducted Spring Training at Pascua Yaqui Pueblo Park on the

Pascua Pueblo Yaqui Reservation The Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizonais a federally recognized tribe of Yaqui Native Americans in state of Arizona. Descended from the Yaqui people whose original homelands include the Yaqui River valley in western Sonora, Mexico and southern Arizo ...

. Spring Training was also conducted at Reid Park Field #5 starting in 2018, where they were joined by the

Ruidoso Osos The Ruidoso Osos were a professional baseball team based in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The team was a member of the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, Major or Minor League Baseball. The tea ...

. They are known colloquially as the "Cactus Crew".

2016: Inaugural season and a Pecos League championship

The team began signing players for its first season in winter preparing for opening of its training camp in May. The Saguaros opened their inaugural season 6–0, sweeping the

Santa Fe Fuego Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

in a four-game series. In a high-scoring 22–12 victory on May 25, 2016, against the

White Sands Pupfish The White Sands pupfish (''Cyprinodon tularosa'') is a species of pupfish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is endemic to the Tularosa Basin in southern New Mexico, in the Western United States The Western United States (also called the A ...

Alamogordo, New Mexico Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...

, the Saguaros had 29 hits and four home runs, one of which was hit by the starting pitcher, Carlos Diaz. On July 4, 2016, the Saguaros broke the all-time Pecos League record by drawing 8,720 fans to their contest against Roswell, an 8–4 Invaders win. On August 11, 2016, the Saguaros became the 2016 Pecos League champions by defeating the

Trinidad Triggers Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmo ...

2 games to 0 in a 5–4 victory. Entering the bottom of the ninth inning, the

were leading 4–1. Catcher Jesse Baker scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth when Christian Schneider threw a wild pitch to pinch hitter Thomas McKenna. The Saguaros set a Pecos League record with 51 wins in a season.

2017: Best record in Pecos League

Kirby Campbell was announced as the new manager on October 12, 2016, while the previous manager, J.D. Droddy, remained on the Saguaros as the Director of Player Procurement until becoming the manager of the Salina Stockade (baseball) of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. Campbell, a 2014 graduate of the

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in the state of Arkansas. UAPB is part of the University of ...

, began the 2016 season as the starting first baseman of the

Great Bend Boom The Great Bend Boom were a professional baseball team based in Great Bend, Kansas that played only during the 2016 season. The Boom played in the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major Major ( comm ...

and became Great Bend's manager midway through the season. Five players returned from the inaugural season: pitchers Brandon Cook, Jake Eaton, and Matt Kelley, as well as outfielders Burnell Dailey, and Thomas McKenna. The Saguaros finished the season with the best record in the Pecos League, 46–11, but they lost in the playoffs to the High Desert Yardbirds 2–1 in the Pacific Division series.

2018: Move to Reid Park and Cherry Field

The Saguaros moved from the Pacific Division to the Southern Division in 2018. The team also moved their home field to Gene C. Reid Park Field #5. Bill Moore, a resident of

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...

was announced as the new manager on December 16, 2017. He had originally considered taking the job in 2016. Ryan Retz, a

Canyon del Oro High School Canyon del Oro High School (CDO) is a comprehensive public high school in Oro Valley, Arizona, located north of Tucson at the base of Pusch Ridge. Established in 1964, CDO is one of three high schools of Amphitheater Public Schools and serves ...

graduate and

All-Star in 2016 for the Saguaros, returned after a one-year hiatus from the team. Left-handed pitcher Ryan Baca and infielder Kevin Baron returned from the previous year. The Saguaros played a Spring Training game against the

at Reid Park Field #5 on May 20, 2018. It was the first time the team had played a Spring Training game against another team. On July 4, 2018, the Saguaros moved to Cherry Field since it had lights so that home games could be played at night and start later at 7:00 P.M.

2019: Full season at Cherry Field

The Saguaros moved back to the Pacific Division in 2019. On December 8, 2018, Bill Rogan, from

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

was named the new manager. He worked for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

Specialty Ticket Sales. 2018 Pecos League All-Star outfielder Lawrence Chavez was the only returning player from the previous year.

2020: Delayed season in Houston and Second Pecos League championship

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the season was delayed to start on July 1, 2020, with all games to be played at

Coastal Park The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The Saguaros moved to the Central Division. On August 25, 2020, the Saguaros became the 2020 Pecos League champions by defeating the

Salina Stockade The Salina Stockade was built in Salina, Kansas, to provide the residents with protection from the American Indians in the area, many of whom were hostile toward white settlement. Salina had been raided in 1862 by Native Americans and then Confed ...

2 games to 0.

2021: Amphitheater High School and Third Pecos League championship

The Saguaros moved to the Mountain South Division in 2021 and played home games at Amphitheater High School, winning their third Pecos League championship.

2022: Return to Kino Stadium

After playing home games at smaller stadiums for the previous few years, the Saguaros returned to

. They returned to the Pacific Division this year.

Roster

Season-by-season results

Team firsts

:First Game: vs

, 11–4 win (5/19/2016) :First Hit: Burnell Dailey, (5/19/2016) :First Home Run: Adam Urbania, (5/19/2016) :First Winning Pitcher: David Contreras (5/19/2016) :First Save: Daniel Hurtado (5/21/2016)

Individual awards

Pecos League MVP

* 2020 – Nathan Etheridge

Pecos League Pitcher of the Year

* 2016 – Steven Borkowski * 2020 – Cody Earl

Pecos League Pacific Division Pitcher of the Year

* 2017 – Clay Miller

Pecos League Southern Division Pitcher of the Year

* 2018 – Skylar Sylvester

Pecos League Mountain Division Pitcher of the Year

* 2021 – Auggie Martinez

Pecos League Pacific Division Hitter of the Year

* 2017 – Fernando Garza

Pecos League Southern Division Hitter of the Year

* 2018 – Austin Hoffman

Pecos League Offensive Player of the Year

* 2020 – Chris Caffrey

Pecos League Mountain Division Offensive Player of the Year

* 2021 – Gabe Wurtz

Pecos League Mountain Division Manager of the Year

* 2021 – Sean McNeill

Pecos League All-Star

* Adam Urbania (2016) * David Robles (2016) * Jesse Baker (2016) * Michael Morris (2016) * Ryan Retz (2016) * Steven Borkowski (2016) * Brandon Cook (2017) * Clay Miller (2017) * Darryl Baca (2017) * Eric Morell (2017) * Fernando Garza (2017) * Frank Trimarco (2017) * Kevin Baron (2017, 2018) * Matt Kelley (2017) * Nicholas Vitale (2017) * Thomas McKenna (2017) * Tre Porter (2017) * Zack Gonzalez (2017) * Austin Hoffman (2018) * Billy Damon (2018) * Charlie Padilla (2018) * Jaquese Moore (2018) * Kevin Carr (2018) * Lawrence Chavez (2018, 2019) * Skylar Sylvester (2018) * Tatum Hendrix (2018) * Willie Ethington (2018) * Evan Douglas (2019) * Joe Rivera (2019) * Michael Klein (2019) * Patrick Clifford (2019) * Riley Richarz (2019) * Robby Medel (2019) * Will Morris (2019) * Augie Martinez (2021) * Christian Naccari (2021) * Danny Kerr (2021) * Gabe Wurtz (2021) * Jeff Serin (2021) * Jesse Palafox (2021) * Kokko Figueiredo (2021) * Leo Gallegos (2021) * Neil Taylor (2021)

Single season records

Batting

* Games: Burnell Dailey, 65 (2016), Thomas McKenna, 65 (2016), Ryan Retz, 65 (2016) * Batting average: Thomas DeBonville, .455 (2020) * On-base percentage: Kokko Figueiredo, .524 (2021) * Slugging percentage: Gabe Wurtz, .841 (2021) * At bats: Ryan Retz, 281 (2016) * Runs: Ryan Retz, 73 (2016) * Doubles: Austin Hoffman, 22 (2018), Gabe Wurtz, 22 (2021) * Triples: Ryan Retz, 7 (2016) * Home runs: Gabe Wurtz, 22 (2021) * RBI: Gabe Wurtz, 86 (2021) * Walks: Lawrence Chavez, 70 (2019) * Strikeouts: Burnell Dailey, 64 (2016) * Stolen bases: Ryan Retz, 42 (2016) * Hits: Michael Morris, 98 (2016)

Pitching

* Earned run average: Redmond Floyd, 1.12 (2017) * Win–loss percentage: Steven Borkowski, 1.000 (2016), Clay Miller, 1.000 (2017), Eric Morell, 1.000 (2017) * WHIP: Tyler Herr, .550 (2016) * Games: David Robles, 29 (2016) * Saves: Joe Rivera, 9 (2019) * Innings: Steven Borkowski, 79.1 (2016) * Strikeouts: Steven Borkowski, 92 (2016) * Complete games: Billy Damon, 5 (2018) * Walks allowed: Steven Borkowski, 46 (2016) * Hits allowed: Will Morris, 84 (2019) * Wins: Steven Borkowski, 10 (2016) * Losses: Will Morris, 4 (2019), Kris Keach, 4 (2019), Austin Cooper, 4 (2019) * Earned runs allowed: Cameron Cox, 43 (2016)

Fielding

* Putouts: Ryan Retz, 506 (2016) * Assists: Michael Morris, 167 (2016) * Fielding average by an infielder: Jesse Baker, .995 (2016) * Fielding average by an outfielder: Jay Stout, 1.000 (2018)

References

External links

Tucson Saguaros website
{{Arizona Sports Pecos League teams Professional baseball teams in Arizona Baseball teams established in 2015 2015 establishments in Arizona Sports in Tucson, Arizona