Vegueros de Pinar del Río (English: Pinar del Río Meadow Growers) is a baseball team 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 the western city of

Pinar del Río Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños'' ...

, the ''Vegueros'' are historically one of the more successful teams in the Cuban National Series, winning championships in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

History

Prior to the 1992-93 Cuban National Series, two teams competed in the province of

: Forestales (also known as Pinar del Río during some seasons) and Vegueros. Vegueros was a bona fide powerhouse, winning the championship in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. A 1992–1993 contraction of the league, in which eight teams were eliminated, caused Vegueros and Forestales to be combined into a single team. In 2015, Pinar del Río won the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

, becoming the first Cuban winner since 1960.

Roster

Past stars

*Pitchers:

Omar Ajete Omar Ajete Iglesias (born July 31, 1965 in San Juan, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a former baseball player, who starred for the Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in C ...

, Jesús Bosmenier, Faustino Corrales, Reinaldo Costa, Rogelio García, Jesús Guerra,

Pedro Luis Lazo Pedro Luis Lazo Iglesias (born April 15, 1973 in Pinar del Río Province, Cuba) is a top pitcher in Cuban baseball. He is used predominantly as a reliever in international competition, although he is a starter in the Cuban National Series, wh ...

Juan Carlos Oliva Juan Carlos Oliva Fornos (born 4 January 1965) is a Spanish football manager. Football career Born in Mequinenza, Province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Oliva started coaching at an early age, his beginnings being in amateur football. In 2005 he arrive ...

, Félix Pino, Julio Romero, Emilio Salgado *Infielders:

Giraldo González Giraldo Arango González (29 May 1958 – 28 August 2021) was a Cuban baseball player and coach. Biography Born in Los Palacios, González made his debut in the XVIII Cuban National Series, 1978-1979, as a shortstop for Vegueros de Pinar del Río ...

, Félix Iglesias, Carmelo Pedroso, Alexei Ramirez, Alfonso Urquiola,

Omar Linares Omar Linares Izquierdo (born October 23, 1968)B ...

*Catchers:

Juan Castro Juan Gabriel Castro (born June 20, 1972), is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Phillies, ...

*Outfielders: Luis Giraldo Casanova, Jose Enrrique Camejo, Lázaro Madera

Emigrants

Several Pinar del Río players have left Cuba for the North American Major Leagues. *

José Contreras José Ariel Contreras Camejo (born December 6, 1971), is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in the Cuban National Series (CNS), Major League Baseball (MLB), and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team. Contr ...

(pitcher) * Alay Soler (pitcher) * Juan Miranda (infielder) *

Danys Báez Danys Báez González (; ; born September 10, 1977) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball pitcher. Báez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Balt ...

(pitcher) *

Alexei Ramírez Alexei Fernando Ramírez Rodriguez (born September 22, 1981) is a Cuban former professional baseball shortstop. He has played for the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in MLB and Pinar del Rio of the Cuban National Serie ...

(outfielder) * Yosvany Madera (catcher)

References

Baseball teams in Cuba Pinar del Río Baseball teams established in 1992 1992 establishments in Cuba {{Cuba-baseball-team-stub