Navegantes del Magallanes

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Navegantes del Magallanes
Insignia de los Navegantes del Magallanes.svg
Information
League Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
Location Valencia
Ballpark Estadio José Bernardo Pérez
Founded 1917 (original)
1964 (modern incarnation)
Caribbean Series championships 1970, 1979
League championships1950, 1951, 1955, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2013, 2014, 2022
Current uniforms
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Home
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Away

Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (Spanish pronunciation: [naβeɣantesdelmˌaɣaʎˈanes] ; Magellan Navigators), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in Valencia, Carabobo.

Contents

Originally founded in Caracas in 1917, Magallanes relocated to Valencia in 1969. The team is one of oldest and most successful clubs in Venezuelan baseball, winning 13 LVBP championships and 2 Caribbean Series.

History

Early years

The Magallanes Base Ball Club was established on October 26, 1917 in Caracas. The name Magallanes, referring both to Ferdinand Magellan (known as Fernando Magallanes in Spanish) and the Strait of Magellan, was chosen by the founding members in a polling to select the club name; other proposed names were Colón (honoring Christopher Columbus) and Diego de Losada, the founder of the city of Caracas. Antonio Benítez, one of the team's owners, proposed the name Magallanes in reference to the geographical location, suggesting that other teams would founder against them (as ships do in the difficult-to-navigate strait). [1] The Magallanes Base Ball Club debuted the next year, 1918, in the National Baseball Championship. The club, however, would soon fold due to several problems including internal disputes. [2] [3]

It would be ten years until the next team under the name Magallanes debuted, refounded by Benítez, as an amateur club part of the new Venezuelan National League in 1927. [4] During this period, it developed a fierce rivalry with the cross-town Royal Criollo club, which would later evolved into the modern rivalry between Magallanes and Leones del Caracas. [5] In 1930, the team won its first first division title, thanks to the pitching of Pancho Coimbre and Balbino Inojosa. [6] However, the club again folded before the 1933 season. [7]

The Magallanes name was again revived in 1941 by Carlos Lavaud. [8] The club signed Vidal López, who had won 12 games in Cuba, and Carlos Ascanio, who had been playing in Cuba, as well as Dalmiro Finol, José Pérez Colmenares, and Jesus "Chucho" Ramos. [9] Magallanes won the 1943–44 tournament.

Professionalization

Magallanes was one of the four original clubs (along with Cerveceria, Vargas, and Venezuela) to form the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League on December 27, 1945. [10]

In 1969, Magallanes were acquired by a group of businessmen based in Carabobo state and moved to the city of Valencia, which had recently lost its team, Industriales de Valencia, before the 1969–70 season. [11]

Mascot

The Capy is the official mascot of the Navegantes del Magallanes baseball team. The bird wears a navigator costume. He has a girlfriend named Lola, a very charming parrot.

Current roster

Navegantes del Magallanes roster – 2024-25 LVBP season
PlayersCoaches
Pitchers

updated on 13 March 2025

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

  • 53 Flag of Venezuela.svg Félix Escalona (First Base)
  • 74 Flag of Mexico.svg Cesar Hernandez(Bullpen Catcher)
  • 25 Flag of Venezuela.svg Victor Oramas(Third Base)
  • 46 Flag of Venezuela.svg Robert Pérez (Hitting)
  • 16 Flag of Mexico.svg Luis Rivera(Pitching) [12]
  • 89 Flag of Venezuela.svg Nestor Rojas(Bench)
  • -- Flag of Venezuela.svg Jose Villa(Bullpen)


[13]

2022 Caribbean Series roster
Venezuela 2022 Caribbean Series Roster
PlayersCoaches

Pitchers

updated on 31 January 2020

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

Championships

SeasonManagerRecordSeries
score
Runner-up
1949–50 Lázaro Salazar 32–14 Cerveceria Caracas
1950–51 Lázaro Salazar 34–19 Cerveceria Caracas
1954–55 Lázaro Salazar 32–18 Leones del Caracas
1969–70 Carlos Pascual 32–283–0 Tiburones de La Guaira
1976–77 Don Leppert 35–304–2 Tiburones de La Guaira
1978–79 Octavio Rojas / Willie Horton 39–314–1 Águilas del Zulia
1993–94 Tim Tolman 35–254–3 Leones del Caracas
1995–96 Tim Tolman / Gregorio Machado 29–314–3 Cardenales de Lara
1996–97 John Tamargo 33–174–1 Leones del Caracas
2001–02 Phil Regan 30–324–1 Tigres de Aragua
2012–13 Carlos García / Luis Sojo 36–374–3 Cardenales de Lara
2013–14 Luis Sojo / Carlos García 33–304–1 Caribes de Anzoátegui
2021–22 Wilfredo Romero 33–304–3 Caribes de Anzoátegui

Notable players

Luis "Camaleon" Garcia Camaleon Garcia.png
Luis “Camaleón” García
Gustavo Gil Gus Gil 1969.jpg
Gustavo Gil
Pablo Sandoval Sandoval magallanes.jpg
Pablo Sandoval
Melvin Mora and Johan Santana Melvin Mora and Johan Santana on June 16, 2009.jpg
Melvin Mora and Johan Santana

Retired numbers

11
Luis Aparicio
SS
Retired
15
Félix
Rodríguez

IF
Retired
21
Luis
“Camaleón”
García

SS
Retired
23
Néstor Isaías
"Látigo"
Chávez

OF
Retired

Magallanes established a team Hall of Fame in 2012. [14] [15]

Key
ClassYear of induction
BoldInducted into Major League Baseball Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted into Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Navegantes del Magallanes Hall of Fame
ClassNamePositionTenure
2012 Vidal López P1941–1945 (amateur)
1946–1955 (professional)
Chucho Ramos OF1946–1956
Lázaro Salazar Manager1949–1959
Ramón Monzant P1953–1956
Luis "Camaleón" García 3B1949–1965
Gustavo Gil 2B1968–1977
Dámaso Blanco 3B1969–1975
Dave Parker OF1974–1977
Cito Gaston OF1968–1976
Oswaldo Olivares OF1977–1980
Carlos Lavaud Executive1941–1956
Edgar Rincones Executive1969–2007
José Ettedgui Executive1969–1992
Rafael "Felo" Ramírez Broadcaster
2013 Félix Rodríguez 1B1972–1989
Gregorio Machado P, Coach1969–1974 (player)
1974–2010 (coach)
Jim Holt OF, 1B1969–1974
Alberto Raidi Executive
2014 Manuel Sarmiento P1972–1983
Mitchell Page OF, 1B1976–1979
Oswaldo Degwitz Executive
2015 Alfredo Guadarrama Executive
Álvaro Espinoza SS1992–1996
Carlos García IF, Manager1987–1998 (player)
2009–2014 (manager)
2016 Carlos Pulido P
Alberto Parjús Executive1977–1979
Oscar Henríquez P1993–2003
Eddy Díaz UTIL1991–2004
2017 Santiago Sánchez Executive1982–1989
Richard Hidalgo OF1991–2012
Ramón García P1987–1998
Melvin Mora UTIL1991–2012
2018 Antonio José Istúriz Executive1964–1969
Edgardo Alfonzo 3B1996–2011
Carlos Hernández 2B
Jim Pendleton SS1949–1953
2019 Johan Santana P1998–2002
Willie Horton OF / Manager1978–1980
2023 Clemente Álvarez C1986–2005
Isaías "Látigo" Chávez P1964–1968

Other notable players

References

  1. González and Ruiz, p. 139
  2. González, Javier; Figueroa Ruiz, Carlos (2017). Magallanes Contra Viento y Marea: 100 años de Historia 1917-2017 (PDF) (in Spanish). Fondo Editorial Banesco. pp. 34–38. ISBN   978-980-12-9802-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2024.
  3. González and Ruiz, p. 141
  4. González and Ruiz, pp. 185–86
  5. González and Ruiz, pp. 198–212
  6. González and Ruiz, pp. 225–26
  7. González and Ruiz, p. 248
  8. González and Ruiz, p. 248
  9. "Historia". Magallanesbbc.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  10. "Hace 75 años se jugó el primer encuentro en la LVBP". LVBP.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  11. "Magallanes anuncia Acto de Exaltación al Salón de la Fama". Los Eternos Rivales. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  12. "El Fildeo | Todo el béisbol". 19 January 2021.
  13. https://www.lvbp.com/roster.php?team=696
  14. "Salón De La Fama De Los Navegantes Del Magallanes". Magallanesbbc.com. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  15. "Exaltadas Clase 2019 y 2023 del Salón de la Fama de Magallanes". Magallanesbbc.com. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2025.

Bibliography