Tucson Saguaros

Tucson Saguaros
Team logo Cap insignia
League Pecos League (South)
Location Tucson, Arizona
Bisbee, Arizona (Sundays)
Ballpark Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium
Warren Ballpark (Sundays)
Year founded 2015
League championships 2016
Colors

Green, Black

         
Ownership Andrew Dunn
Manager Kirby Campbell
Website www.saguarosbaseball.com
Uniforms

The Tucson Saguaros are a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona that began play in 2016. The club are a member of the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with MLB or Minor League Baseball.

History

Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, Tucson, Arizona (2016)

Announced in November 2015[1] as an expansion franchise, Tucson began play in the 2016 season. The club calls Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium home with the exception of Sunday games - scheduled for Warren Ballpark in Bisbee, Arizona.[2][3][4]

2016: Inaugural season and a Pecos League championship

The team began signing players for their first season in Winter preparing for opening of their training camp in May.[5][6][7]

2016 Saguaros manager J.D. Droddy was featured in the 2014 Fox Sports 1 six-episode reality TV show "The Pecos League" as the manager of the Trinidad Triggers.[8] He spent twenty years in the United States Air Force, flying 44 combat missions in the Vietnam War. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1989, he practiced law in Portland, Oregon, but "hated every minute of practicing law."[9] Afterward, he became a college professor, wrote plays, and became a self-taught composer, writing a ballet called the "Lady of White Sands." Before managing the Trinidad Triggers, he was a host for Pecos League players.

The Saguaros opened their inaugural season 6-0, sweeping the Santa Fe Fuego in a 4-game series.[10] In a high-scoring 22-12 victory on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 against the White Sands Pupfish in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the Saguaros had 29 hits and four home runs, one of which was hit by the starting pitcher, Carlos Diaz.[11]

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. [12]

On August 11, 2016, the Saguaros became the 2016 Pecos League Champions by defeating the Trinidad Triggers 2 games to 0 in a 5-4 victory. [13] Entering the bottom of the 9th inning, the Trinidad Triggers were leading 4-1. Catcher Jesse Baker scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning when Christian Schneider threw a wild pitch to pinch hitter Thomas McKenna.

2017

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. [14] Campbell, a 2014 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, began the 2016 season as the starting first baseman of the Great Bend Boom and became Great Bend's manager midway through the season. [15]

Roster

Tucson Saguaros roster
Active roster Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 31 Steven Borkowski
  • 12 Brandon Cook
  • 24 Cameron Cox
  • 17 Daniel Diaz
  • 31 Jake Eaton
  • 40 Tyler Herr
  • 28 Randy Keen
  •  6 Matt Kelley
  •  4 Brian Luebcke
  • 27 Wesley Parrish
  •  7 David Robles
  • 30 Aaron Smith
  

Catchers

  •  8 Jesse Baker
  •  9 Danny Droll

Infielders

  • 37 Tanner Giesel
  • 32 Tommy Lyons
  •  2 Michael Morris
  •  5 Michael Rampone
  • 18 Ryan Retz

Outfielders

  • 20 Ben Baker
  • 22 Burnell Dailey
  • 35 Jimmy Heck
  • 14 Thomas McKenna
  • 11 Adam Urbania
  

Manager

  • 39 J.D. Droddy

Coaches

  • 20 Ben Baker (pitching)
  • 33 Mitch Wolfe (hitting)

Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

Roster updated August 11, 2016
Transactions

Quick facts

First Game: vs Santa Fe Fuego, 11-4 win (5/19/2016)[16]
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)
#31 Steven Borkowski throwing the first pitch in Tucson Saguaros history on May 19, 2016

Individual awards

Pecos League Pitcher of the Year

Pecos League All-Star

Single season records

Batting

Pitching

Fielding

References

  1. ↑ "Pecos League Moves to Tucson, Arizona for 2016". PRWeb. 25 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Baseball returns to Kino Sports Complex". Pima County. 3 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Baseball returns to southern AZ thanks to the Pecos League". Tucson News Now. 10 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Bisbee home games on slate for inaugural Saguaros". Sierra Vista Herald. 16 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Martinez signs pro baseball contract with Tucson". Mesabi Daily News. 4 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "NJIT's Mike Rampone Signs Professional Contract with Tucson Saguaros". NJIT Highlanders. 3 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Lake Catholic grad Adam Urbania of Slippery Rock signs with Independent League Tucson Saguaros". The News-Herald. 6 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "JD Droddy retires from Triggers". Pecos League. 30 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "J.D. Droddy: From ballet to baseball and everything in between". KGUN 9. The E.W. Scripps Co. 24 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Tucson Saguaros take on Alpine Cowboys May 26-28". Pima County. 25 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Tucson Saguaros vs White Sands Pupfish: 22-12". Pointstreak. 25 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "The Roswell Invaders take out the Tucson Saguaros with help from Coffman 8-4". Pecos League. 5 July 2016.
  13. ↑ "The Tucson Saguaros are 2016 Pecos League Champions". Pecos League. 11 Aug 2016.
  14. ↑ "Kirby Campbell to manage Tucson Saguaros for 2017 Season". Pecos League. 22 Oct 2016.
  15. ↑ "Kirby Campbell - Head Coach / Instructor". Gators Baseball. 22 Oct 2016.
  16. ↑ "Santa Fe Fuego vs Tucson Saguaros: 4-11". Pointstreak. 19 May 2016.
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