| Tigres de Quintana Roo | |
| Founded: | 1955 |
| City: | Cancún, Quintana Roo |
| Ballpark: | Estadio de Béisbol Beto Ávila |
| Cap Logo: | Logotq.png |
| League: | Liga Mexicana de Beisbol |
| Division: | Zona Sur |
| Former Names: | Tigres de la Angelopolis Tigres Capitalinos |
| Nicknames: | "El equipo que nació campeón" |
| Colors: | Navy blue, orange, white |
| Former Ballparks: |
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| League Champs: | 12 (1955, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2015) |
| Division Champs: | 18 (1955, 1956, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1982, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015) |
| Owner: | Fernando Valenzuela and Linda Burgos |
| President: | Fernando Valenzuela Burgos |
| Manager: | C. J. Retherford |
| Media: | 106.7FM, 105.1FM |
The Tigres de Quintana Roo (English: Quintana Roo Tigers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (Spanish; Castilian: Zona Sur). The team has won twelve championships to date: 1955, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2015.
The Tigres were founded in Mexico City in 1955 as the Tigres del México (English: Mexico Tigers),[1] and played there through the 2001 season. After a brief stint in Puebla as the Tigres de la Angelópolis, the team relocated to Cancún. The team was founded by industrial businessman Alejo Peralta, and was long owned by his son, Carlos Peralta. The team was purchased by an ownership group including Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher Fernando Valenzuela in 2017.
They have a competitive and long-standing rivalry known as the Spanish; Castilian: Guerra Civil (Civil War) against their former crosstown rivals the Diablos Rojos del México.[2] The Tigres won the Mexican League championship in their inaugural season, an achievement that has never been matched, and was dubbed: "Spanish; Castilian: El equipo que nació campeón" .[3] The Tigres are a perennial powerhouse and have won 18 division and 12 league championships since their inception.
On 14 April 1955, the Tigres made their debut at the Julio Molina ballpark in Mérida, Yucatán.
In 1966, the Tigres toured Japan, losing all their 13 games played against Japanese teams.[4]
The Tigres played in Mexico City from its inception until 2001, when the team moved to Puebla City. The team was known as Tigres del México or Tigres Capitalinos. During these years, the team played at the Parque del Seguro Social and later at the Foro Sol, starting in 2000, after the Parque del Seguro Social was demolished in order to build a shopping mall.[5]
On their last two seasons in Mexico City, the Tigres won back to back championships, defeating rivals Diablos Rojos del México.[6]
In 2002, the team moved to Puebla and changed its name to Tigres de la Angelópolis.
In commemoration of their first 50 years of competition, an alternate logo was designed in 2005. The Tigres played their 50th season relying only on Mexican players, making the championship more significant. Furthermore, the 2005 season was named "Ing. Alejo Peralta" in memory of the Tigres' founder and father of the then-owner.
At the end of the 2006 season, the club's president, Carlos Peralta, announced that the team would move to the city of Cancún, Quintana Roo. The team was renamed the Quintana Roo Tigres, and began play in Beto Ávila Stadium.[7]
For the 2009 season, Enrique "Che" Reyes was replaced by Matías Carrillo as manager. Carrillo, a former major league player for the Florida Marlins, had been a successful player for Tigres from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s having won five championships as player. The Tigres continued to be a competitive squad under Carrillo and reached the 2009 final series, but lost to Saraperos de Saltillo. It was two years later, in 2011, when the team reached the final once more, this time facing their perennial rival: the Diablos Rojos del Mexico.
In 2011, the Tigres and Diablos would play their eighth finals series against each other since 1966. The Tigres entered the 2011 series as an underdog.[8] Nevertheless, the best-out-of-seven series ended with a 4–0 sweep against Diablos before a sell-out crowd (with a large presence of Tigres supporters) at Foro Sol.[9]
Despite injuries to key Tigres players, the team won its eleventh championship against the Sultanes de Monterrey, 4–1, in a best-out-of-seven series.
| Season | Champion | Series | Runner Up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Tigres del México | 2–0 | Tecolotes de Nvo. Laredo | |
| 1956 | Diablos Rojos del México | — | Tigres Capitalinos | |
| 1960 | Tigres del México | — | Águila de Veracruz | |
| 1965 | Tigres del México | — | Pericos de Puebla | |
| 1966 | Tigres del México | 4–2 | Diablos Rojos del México | |
| 1982 | Indios de Ciudad Juárez | 4–0 | Tigres Capitalinos | |
| 1992 | Tigres del México | 4–2 | Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos | |
| 1997 | Tigres del México | 4–1 | Diablos Rojos del México | |
| 1999 | Diablos Rojos del México | 4–2 | Tigres Capitalinos | |
| 2000 | Tigres del México | 4–1 | Diablos Rojos del México | |
| 2001 | Tigres del México | 4–2 | Diablos Rojos del México | |
| 2002 | Diablos Rojos del México | 4–3 | Tigres de la Angelopolis | |
| 2003 | Diablos Rojos del México | 4–1 | Tigres de la Angelopolis | |
| 2005 | Tigres del Puebla | 4–2 | Saraperos de Saltillo | |
| 2009 | Saraperos de Saltillo | 4–2 | Tigres de Quintana Roo | |
| 2011 | Tigres de Quintana Roo | 4–0 | Diablos Rojos del México | |
| 2013 | Tigres de Quintana Roo | 4–1 | Sultanes de Monterrey | |
| 2015 | Tigres de Quintana Roo | 4–1 | Acereros del Norte |
The following Hall of Famers played and/or managed for the Tigres.
| Name | Position | Year of induction | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alejo Peralta | Owner | 1983 | [10] |
| Arnoldo "Kiko" Castro | Second baseman | 1995 | [11] |
| Aurelio Rodríguez | Third baseman | 1995 | [12] |
| Benjamín Cerda | Third baseman | 2007 | [13] |
| Beto Ávila | Second baseman | 1971 | |
| Celerino Sánchez | Third baseman | 1994 | |
| Felipe Montemayor | Center fielder | 1983 | |
| Fermín "Burbuja" Vázquez | Second baseman | 2003 | |
| Francisco "Chico" Rodríguez | Shortstop | 2004 | |
| Francisco Maytorena | 1999 | ||
| George Brunet | 1999 | ||
| Gregorio Luque | 1999 | ||
| Guillermo "Memo" Garibay | Manager | 1977 | |
| First baseman | 2001 | ||
| Jaime Corella | Catcher | 1991 | |
| José Bache | Second baseman | 1983 | |
| Leonardo "Leo" Rodríguez | Third baseman | 1980 | |
| Lino Donoso | 1988 | ||
| Miguel Sotelo | 1985 | ||
| Miguel Suarez | Right fielder | 1994 | |
| Miguel Fernández Becerril | Center fielder | 1984 | |
| Oscar Rodríguez | 1993 | ||
| Roberto Méndez | Second baseman | 2000 | |
| Rodolfo "Rudy" Sandoval | Catcher | 2001 | |
| Ronaldo "Ronnie" Camacho | First baseman | 1983 | |
| Sergio Robles | Catcher | 2006 | |
| Vicente Romo | 1992 |