Culiacán Tomato Plantations

The Tomateros de Culiacán are a professional baseball team that is part of the Mexican Pacific League (LMP), based in the city of Culiacán Rosales, Sinaloa, Mexico.. It has 13 championships in its history in the league, and 2 championships in the Caribbean Series. Of this total of 15 championships, 8 have been in the hands of manager Francisco "Paquín" Road.

Los Tomateros has its antecedent in the "Tacuarineros de Culiacán" of the old Pacific Coast League, who won 5 championships in 13 seasons.

History

Baseball Background in Culiacán

The passion for baseball has deep roots in Culiacán. The practice of this sport dates back to the last decade of the XIX century (1890); It was reborn after the Mexican Revolution that interrupted its practice and was strengthened with the construction of a sports stadium in Culiacán, in 1921, by decision of the then Rector of the Rosales Civil College (today UAS), Dr. Bernardo J. Gastélum.

In this period, baseball clubs and series of games were organized that little by little formed a fan base and players.

The teams were made up of local players and later with professional players who came from the Mexican Baseball League. Exhibition games were held and they even played against teams from Mazatlán, thus the eternal rivalry between the two teams began to take shape. Two characters stand out in this stage as organizers: Antonio Zazueta Villa "Pachuco Villa" and Enrique Peña Bátiz; Both, supported by Don Teodoro Mariscal Moreno, from Mazatlán, had the idea of forming a professional league that they would play during the winter in the northwestern region of Mexico.

Origin of the Cherry Uniform

The Culiacán team was baptized as “Tacuarineros”, with a cherry-colored uniform at the proposal of Mr. Héctor Peña Bátiz, a founding partner, who said that he proposed it because it was the color of the National Polytechnic Institute, founded by his uncle, the engineer Juan de Dios Bátiz Paredes, an illustrious Sinaloan native of the town of Sataya, then the municipality of Culiacán.

Tacuarineros from Culiacán

Once the agreements were reached between the representatives of the four places that would make up the league, on October 23, 1945, the Baseball Club "Deportes de Culiacán S.A." with a social capital of 50 thousand pesos, with 50 shareholders at one thousand pesos per share.

Saturday, October 27, 1945, began with a parade to present the participating teams, followed by the Municipal President, José Z. Espinoza, hoisting the National Flag and solemnly declared the season inaugurated before the uproar of nearly three thousand fans who packed the stadium. The launch of the first ball was in charge of Alejandro Aguilar Reyes, "Fray Nano", then a national sports authority. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the official umpire Guillermo Stankiwics sang playball, launching the contending teams, Ostioneros and Tacuarineros, into the ball field, thus beginning the unforgettable Pacific Coast League. This first match was won by Guaymas 2-0.

"Tacuarineros de Culiacán" of the old Pacific Coast League, it is one of the founding teams of baseball in the Mexican Pacific, the legendary Pacific Coast League was played between 1945 and 1958 to reach 13 seasons in total. Tacuarineros won 5 of those titles, under the baton of Manuel "Shorty" Arroyo. The Tacuarineros had the stadium of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa as their home during the first three editions. When the fourth edition began (1948-49), they moved to the General Ángel Flores Stadium, inaugurated on November 13, 1948 and the colossus was the scene of its first coronation.

In 1958 the league changed its name to Liga Invernal de Sonora and the teams would be only 4 of this entity, Naranjeros de Hermosillo, Ostioneros de Guaymas, Rojos de Ciudad Obregón and Rieleros de Empalme.

In 1960 the Northwest League was born, in its five seasons, from 1960 to 1965, the league had the participation, indistinctly, of teams such as Venados de Mazatlán, Tabaqueros de Santiago, Diplomáticos de Tepic, Tapatíos de Guadalajara and Medias Blancas de Gomez Palacio, Durango. All with paid players; but with a visibly inferior quality to what the Sonora League already had, which had become the ideal substitute for the Coastal League. At that time, the Cañeros de Los Mochis had already joined that circuit.

Here, the show was good, but not the best. The Culiacán public went to the General Ángel Flores Stadium and had fun; but the Northwest League was unable to extinguish the nostalgia that was still felt for the missing circuit. The glittering stars of the fifties were longed for.

Culiacán Tomato Planters

In 1964, the then president of the Sonora Winter League, Horacio López Díaz, visited Culiacán and took steps to invite Messrs. Ley to form part of the circuit he presided over. The idea was that two teams from Sinaloa would be part of an expansion and his insistence had positive results.

It was in 1965 when the "Tacuarineros de Culiacán" they became Tomateros de Culiacán, making their debut on October 11, 1965 facing the Cañeros de Los Mochis and after 84 regular role games they concluded with a record of 32 wins in exchange for 52 losses, which obviously placed them at the bottom of the standing. But the best of all was that it is precisely then, when the beginning of a story of success and greatness is brewing.

Titles

Pacific Coast League Titles

1948-49 Title

The season began on October 29, 1948 visiting Culiacán to Guaymas in the Sonoran port, the Culiacán Tacuarineros had to play their first two series away from home because the stadium had not yet finished being built; they played in Guaymas and in Hermosillo losing a single game, "la Tuza" Ramírez made it clear that he would come for a great season defeating the Ostioneros 4-0 by shutout, the "Tacuarineros" sweep the weak Buenos Aires team in the series, winning the second 4-2 with a great streamer from Tomás Arroyo, and Negro Morales takes out his broom ending the sweep by a score of 3-2 over Ladislao Zamora.

The season ended on March 13, 1949, the Culiacán Tacuarineros defeated the Los Mochis Pericos, thus achieving their first professional baseball championship in the Pacific Coast League, a trophy obtained by winning the four games against Los Mochis thus concluding an excellent campaign, beginning a series of exceptional victories that would lead it to be one of the best clubs in the 13 years of the tournament's life.

1949-50 Title

The Culiacán Tacuarineros had a performance of ups and downs, they swept the first round while in the second they let the other teams play; they took the lead from the first series when they beat Guaymas cleanly and their dominance was such that in the first 12 games they had already won 10; they won another 10 and lost 8 more to conclude with a 20-10 record. However, the second round was rather mediocre for the Tacuarineros finishing 7 games behind the first place occupied by the Pericos de Los Mochis, but in the end they already had a ticket for the grand final anyway.

Hall of the fame of Tomateros.

The Title Series: As it had been agreed at the beginning of the contest, the series for the title would take place between the winners of both rounds in case they were different, as happened, Mochis against Culiacán. The series began in the Sinaloan capital, facing off on March 12 before an impressive crowd at the General Ángel Flores Stadium. The game was exciting from start to finish, with the Mochis team winning by a score of 1-0; On Sunday morning Alfonso La Tuza Ramírez takes the mound to return the shutout to Los Mochis, defeating them by the same score. The series was tied at 1 game per side.

In the afternoon of March 13, the Los Mochis Pericos ended up beating the locals by a score of 2 runs to nil in the last game of the season in Culiacán. The series would move to Los Mochis with a disadvantage for the tacuarineros. On Saturday, March 19, the Mochis stadium was insufficient to contain the fans who were witnessing the first series for the Northwest Mexico baseball championship. Los Pericos advanced 3-1 in the series by defeating Manuel "Shorty" Arroyo by score of 8 runs to 1.

On Sunday morning, March 20, Manuel el Negro Morales stopped the sugarcane celebration by defeating them by a score of 12-7; the series was 3-2. In the seventh inning of this game there was a phenomenal row due to a mistake by the home plate umpire; there was a lot of nervousness in the atmosphere.

On Sunday afternoon Memo Luna is designated to open the game and upon reaching the ninth inning with the game in his favor 3-2 a “texas” from Chorejas Bravo drives two scores and surprisingly Culiacán takes the lead ending the game match 5-4 in favor of the Tacuarineros tying the series to three wins per side. The next day, Monday March 21, Culiacán obtained the championship in the midst of an atmosphere of anguish by defeating an incredulous team from Mochis 5-2 that saw the title fall from their hands; on three occasions he was never able to obtain the long-awaited fourth victory, it was the first sports tragedy in the Liga de la Costa.

1950-51 Title

Regarding Culiacán, the roster was as follows: Alfonso “La Tuza” Ramírez, Tomás Arroyo, Pepino Azamar and “Negro” Morales; In the offensive stood out the gunboat Jack Graham, an old acquaintance of the fans, William Cash, "el Pargo" Bockman, Héctor Lara, "Chorejas" Bravo, "Rata" Vargas, "Moscón" Jiménez and "Huevito" Álvarez. Once again, "La Tuza" Ramírez became the main winner of the team with 13 wins for 6 losses, being the best in wins and losses in the League, although Daniel Ríos from Mazatlán took 4 more victories. Culiacán got off to a bad start losing 7 games in a row before earning its first victory against Mazatlán, but was champion in the second round.

However, this sixth season would have a particularity different from the rest of the editions made: it would end up with two Champions. It happened that, as it had been agreed a year before, the leader of the first round would face the one of the second for a series for the title; in the first round Guaymas remains the leader while Culiacán does the same in the second after a terrible first round. However, the Ostioneros team refused to play the final series, as Don Florencio Zaragoza did not agree to divide the season into two halves.

1951-52 Title

The season began on October 20, 1951 with Guaymas visiting Culiacán.

After 20 weeks of close competition, one of the hardest-fought of all editions, on the morning of Sunday, March 2, 1952, the Culiacán Tacuarineros won one more championship in their history, the fourth of a total of five that would add to the powerful coastal circuit. The so-called "Culichis" took the top trophy in the penultimate game of the season. It happened that in that last series, Culiacán would go to the house of the Venados for the closing of the season, occupying the first and second place in the standing respectively, the last one at a distance of three games. On the other hand, there would be 4 matches in dispute due to a pending match between both squads. With overflowing emotion and faith placed in the excellent team of the Port, the fans attended to witness the first victory of Mazatlán 6 races to 5. The second, was a chilling challenge that reached the thirteenth entry, Venados taking his second victory by a score of 4 runs to 3. Things were red hot, and one more game won by Mazatlán would tie the leader Culiacán and the championship would have to be decided in the last game of the season.

But that emotional game never came, because with a painful 4-0 shutout, the inspired pitcher Tomás Arroyo destroyed the aspirations of some fans who saw how the possibility of a second pennant for Mazatlán was fading in their own park; It was a worthy end to a season characterized by close competition between the teams that participated in this seventh edition. That last game was won by Mazatlán but it only served for statistics.

1955-56 Title

The 1955-56 season resulted in two Champions, Tacuarineros de Culiacán won the Championship due to winning the first and second rounds, crowning it on January 8, 1956*, while Naranjero de Hermosillo won the Play Offs Championship, this It was the second and last season where two teams were champions.

Championships

Season	Campeón team	Series	Team Subfield	Mánager Campeón
1948-49	Tacuarineros de Culiacán	♪	Trigueros de Ciudad Obregón	Manuel Arroyo
1949-50	Tacuarineros de Culiacán	4-3	Pericos de Los Mochis	Manuel Arroyo
1950-51	Ostioneros de Guaymas Tacuarineros de Culiacán	♪	No.	Luis Montes de Oca Manuel Arroyo
1951-52	Tacuarineros de Culiacán	♪	Venados de Mazatlan	Manuel Arroyo
1955-56	Tacuarineros de Culiacán Naraneros de Hermosillo	♪ 5-3	Champion of the Rol Regular Mays of Navojoa	Manuel Arroyo Hubbard Kittle

Note: The (*) means that the champion was decided by the first position at the end of the season.
Note: The 1950-1951 season had two champions, Tacuarineros from Culiacán and Ostioneros from Guaymas.
Note: The 1955-1956 season had two champions, Tacuarineros from Culiacán and Naranjeros from Hermosillo.

Runners-up

Season	Campeón team	Series	Team Subfield	Mánager Campeón
1947-48	Ostioneros de Guaymas	♪	Tacuarineros de Culiacán	Juan Guerrero

Note: The (*) means that the champion was decided by the first position at the end of the season.

Mexican Pacific League Titles

Championships

Season	Campeón team	Series	Team Subfield	Mánager Campeón
1966-67	Tomateros de Culiacán	♪	Cañeros de Los Mochis	Vinicio García
1969-70	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-2	Cañeros de Los Mochis	Vinicio García
1977-78	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-2	Cañeros de Los Mochis	Raúl Cano
1982-83	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-2	Naraneros de Hermosillo	Francisco Estrada
1984-85	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-3	Eagles of Mexicali	Francisco Estrada
1995-96	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-1	Venados de Mazatlan	Francisco Estrada
1996-97	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-2	Naraneros de Hermosillo	Francisco Estrada
2001-02	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-2	Venados de Mazatlan	Francisco Estrada
2003-04	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-1	Yaquis de Ciudad Obregón	Francisco Estrada
2014-15	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-1	Charros de Jalisco	Benjamin Gil
2017-18	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-3	Mays of Navojoa	Benjamin Gil
2019-20	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-3	Venados de Mazatlan	Benjamin Gil
2020-21	Tomateros de Culiacán	4-3	Naraneros de Hermosillo	Benjamin Gil

Note: The (*) means that the champion was decided by the first position at the end of the season.

Runners-up

Season	Campeón team	Series	Team Subfield	Mánager Campeón
1967-68	Ostioneros de Guaymas	♪	Tomateros de Culiacán	Ronaldo Camacho
1971-72	Algodoneros de Guasave	4-2	Tomateros de Culiacán	Vinicio García
1979-80	Naraneros de Hermosillo	4-2	Tomateros de Culiacán	Benjamin Kings
1985-86	Eagles of Mexicali	4-2	Tomateros de Culiacán	Benjamin Kings
1990-91	Potros de Tijuana	4-2	Tomateros de Culiacán	Joel Serna
1994-95	Naraneros de Hermosillo	4-2	Tomateros de Culiacán	Dereck Bryant
1998-99	Eagles of Mexicali	4-1	Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada
2021-22	Charros de Jalisco	4-3	Tomateros de Culiacán	Roberto Vizcarra

Note: The (*) means that the champion was decided by the first position at the end of the season.

Caribbean Series Titles

Championships

Santo Domingo 1996

It took 11 years for the Tomateros de Culiacán to return to a "Caribbean classic", it was the year 1996, but they did it in a surprising way when in front of locals and strangers and passing over the "Dream Team" from the Dominican Republic conquered the third title of a Caribbean Series series for Mexico.

Los Tomateros under the command of Francisco Estrada, started against the Dominican blunderbuss and they didn't give them any chance of winning. It seemed that the Eagles were going to destroy the Tomateros, because in the first inning they took a 4-0 lead, but in the third the Tomateros appeared and responded with three scores, thanks to Eduardo Jiménez's home run, taking two ahead. In the fourth they made another four, putting the score 7-6, so Culiacán started winning this Caribbean Series.

Then the second victory would come, this time over Navegantes de Magallanes from Venezuela, Los Tomateros took victory with a score of 9-1 over Navegantes de Magallanes.

Great victory for Culiacán over the Águilas Cibaeñas in another hectic duel. With the game 0-0, in the fifth, Tomateros took advantage of Juan Guzmán with a score of 1-0. In the eighth round, Felipe Murillo appeared, dominating Raúl Mondesí and Tony Peña, but Moisés Alou lost the ball to the left for the tie and at the bottom of the ninth, a mistake by Raúl Mondesí led Tomateros to score the second and decisive run. leaving the Dominicans scattered on the field and winning with a score of 2-1.

From power to power, Culiacán defeated the Lobos de Arecibo 9-6, taking the big step to obtain the series, winning in 11 innings.

The Tomateros de Culiacán were crowned against the Navegantes de Magallanes in another hectic duel that lasted ten innings and was decided by the young Mario Valdez who had replaced Darryl Brinkley from the second inning.

Felipe Murillo together with Roberto Toth from Arecibo achieved the pitching title with 2-0. In the ideal team Ever Magallanes as second baseman, Darryl Brinkley as right fielder, Tony Aguilera left fielder, "Paquin" Estrada as manager and Brinkley designated the most valuable.

Tribute to Juan Manuel Ley.

Caracas 2002

• Second title for Tomateros.
• First Mexican team to achieve two titles.
• Adam Amezcua the most valuable player.

The joy, the shouts, the cheers were heard when Out 27 fell on that February 8, Los Tomateros de Culiacán in an unprecedented feat were crowned for the second time in a Caribbean Series, now held in Caracas, Venezuela, something that nobody expected, especially against the powers of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, something that nobody imagined that the Mexican team would do, with an extraordinary performance.

With this achievement, Aztec baseball stopped being the "ugly duckling" of this competition and in addition to putting an end to the curse that Mexicans had of winning the championship every 10 years (1976, 86 and 96), it has now been proven that Mexico is up to anyone.

The first game they defeated the hosts, Navegantes de Magallanes, coming from behind and in the tenth inning Jacob Cruz ended the curse of the cherries in Venezuela, connecting a panoramic home run to give the Mexicans the first win of that series and the first in Venezuelan lands. That victory by Mexico went unnoticed by everyone, since the day before, the Dominican Republic had defeated Puerto Rico and they were the strong favorites to win the title, but they had been wrong, above all the specialists, since on the second day of activity of In this Caribbean Series, Mexico had to face the Dominicans and in a surprising way and with a superb performance by Adán Amezcua, hitting a three-run home run and the combined pitching of reinforcements Francisco Campos (winner) and Todd Revening (salvado), Oliver Pérez and Luis Ignacio Ayala, managed to win by a score of 7-6 to establish themselves as leaders and of course everyone began to make their guesses with the Tomateros team.

The third game came and Mexico had to face Puerto Rico, where they again achieved another dramatic victory to add 3-0. Here, without a doubt, the catch made by Darle Sherman in the ninth inning was decisive, when the emerging Eduardo Pérez hit a tremendous shot towards center field, thus avoiding an extra-base hit that would have turned the game around when the score was 9- 7 in favor of Mexico and with a full house. With those three victories obtained, they turned Culiacán into the Mexican team with the best start in the history of this classic and their third victory in 9 appearances in Venezuela after going 0-6 in 1983.

The following day, February 6th, Mexico once again faced the Navegantes de Magallanes (Venezuela) and in otherwise sensational form, defeated the Venezuelans by beating 13-9, after being behind on the scoreboard and With this, the Mexicans tied a tie for first place and the possibility of an extra game to aspire to the fourth title in their history in the Caribbean Series. This victory also eliminated the Venezuelans from any possibility and left the battle exclusively between them and the Dominican Republic.

The penultimate day would be played and Mexico, with a 4-0 mark, would once again face the Dominican Republic where they sought to be crowned against the Dominicans, but they stopped the Mexicans by winning 4-3 in a tremendous duel, in a game where it seemed that Mexico would be victorious when they had a 3-0 lead, so they had to wait one more day to open the cider and champagne and successfully celebrate the title of this Caribbean Series.

The last day of the competition arrived, Mexico had to face Puerto Rico in the first game and immediately the Dominican Republic would face Venezuela. All of Mexico was looking forward to that day (February 8), Mexico began to weave their coronation from the second inning when they made their first run, and the clinch fell in the seventh when Ray Martínez connects a solo home run. While Rodrigo López kept outs and outs until reaching 27, where he himself completed it when he made an assist on a ground ball for the second and there everyone jumped for joy, madness broke out on the pitch, where all the players Mexicans launched themselves in search of Rodrigo López, Amezcua, Cruz, everyone, it was jubilation, the Tomateros de Culiacán were champions once again, thus becoming the first Mexican team to win two titles in the Caribbean Series.

A championship won with all immanent justice, full and clear, without a doubt they were the best and they demonstrated it in each of the games, no more "ugly duckling", no more contempt for the possibilities of Mexican winter baseball in the Caribbean Series.

Year	Headquarters	Champion	Mánager	Récord	Subfield
1996	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada	5-1	Wolves of Arecibo
2002	Caracas, Venezuela	Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada	5-1	Tigers of Licey

Runners-up

Mazatlan 1985

The great party was lived from February 2 to 7 of that year in the port and above all by the magnificent performance of the Tomateros de Culiacán that under the hand of "Paquin" Estrada, finished in second place with three wins and three losses.

Culiacán opened that series, losing to the San Juan Metros 5-4, then came a victory against the Dominican Republic by an 11-0 beating where Luis Trinidad Castillo did an excellent job of only four hits against the strong artillery of the Tigers de Licey, with the support of Nelson Barrera who homered in the same first inning of three runs and another by Chris Jones, also three.

The third game was against the Puerto Ricans where they were winning 5-0, but Romo was careless and they were about to take the game away from him. Finally Culiacán won 7-5, also throwing Aurelio López, Sid Monge and Antonio Pulido.

His third win against Puerto Rico in 14 innings, lasting 5.07 hours. Culiacán won 4-1 in the top of the fourteenth inning when they put together a three-run rally. Aurelio López came at the close of the fourteenth inning and withdrew it to take that very important victory that left Culiacán in a tie for first place with Tigres de Licey.

Party at the Tomateros Stadium.

On Wednesday, February 6, neither more nor less than the championship game between Culiacán and Licey. Los Tomateros with Salvador Colorado on the hill had a 1-0 lead in the second inning, with production from Navarrete. The Dominican closed the game with two scores to end up winning 4-1. Then Mexico would lose to Puerto Rico and Venezuela, but they managed to finish in second place.

Hermosillo 1997

After having conquered the title of the Caribbean Series in 1996, for 1997, the Tomateros once again became the protagonists, but now in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, where the cherries were one step away from achieving the two-time championship, but they had to settle for second place.

Culiacán begins with a victory over the Navegantes winning 3-1, with excellent pitching from Martín "La Tuna" Hernandez. In their second game, Tomateros lost against the Indios de Mayagüez, as well as in the third against the Dominicans 9-6, where the tremendous home run that Eduardo Jiménez connected to Yorkis Pérez stood out.

But in their next outing, Culiacán beat Magallanes again 6-5 to form a four-way tie at the top. The Venezuelans reached the opening of the ninth with the score in their favor of 5-4 but Tomateros with Matt Stark in charge of the offense with a pair of home runs defeated the "boricuas" 10-4 to be one step away from winning the two-time championship.

The game that would decide the Caribbean Series was coming between Águilas Cibaeñas who wanted to win for the first time in ten attempts and the Tomateros de Culiacán who wanted to win their second series. Martín Hernández for Culiacán and José Parra for the Dominican Republic were the starters. The Dominicans defeated the Tomateros de Culiacán, then came the celebration of the Águilas Cibaeñas, who won a series for the first time and did so coming from behind.

Santo Domingo 2004

San Juan 2015

Year	Headquarters	SubCampeon	Mánager	Récord	Champion
1985	Mazatlan, Mexico	Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada	3-3	Tigers of Licey
1997	Hermosillo, Mexico	Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada	4-2	Aguilas Cibaeñas
2004	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada	4-2	Tigers of Licey
2015	San Juan, Puerto Rico	Tomateros de Culiacán	Benjamin Gil	3-3	Vegueros de Pinar del Río

Stadium

University Stadium

The city of Culiacán welcomed professional baseball in 1945, when the then Pacific Coast League was inaugurated. For 3 years, the headquarters of the winter circuit was the University Stadium, with a capacity of 3,000 fans, low fences, no lighting and no roofs, which was insufficient to support the then very enthusiastic local fans.

General Angel Flores Stadium

Giant hair at the entrance to the Tomateros Stadium, formerly from the Gral Stadium. Angel Flowers

At the initiative of an outstanding group of sports promoters, the land where the construction of the new stadium was projected was obtained, which was supported by the contribution made by a large number of businessmen and authorities. The General Ángel Flores Stadium was inaugurated on November 13, 1948, with a capacity for 4,000 people. By 1953 it was possible to have a lighting system that allowed the first night games to be held.

In 1994, the comprehensive remodeling of the old stadium began, work divided into different stages. The remodeling work included a new perimeter fence, a giant screen (unique in Latin America), sound equipment with 5,000 watts of power, new lighting towers with a higher degree of illumination; side stands; remodeling and expansion of bathrooms and ticket offices, construction of Premier Boxes, increase in the area of seats as well as boxes; construction of more booths for press, radio, television; installation of new billboards throughout the stadium, a messaging screen; expansion and modernization of the commercial area with new premises; Expansion of the dressing rooms for the home team and visitors, conditioning them with all the necessary equipment for the attention of the players. With all these improvements, the Gral. Ángel Flores stadium increased its capacity to 15,000 fans.

Once again undergoing renovations in the year 2000, the stadium increased its capacity, going from 15,000 to 16,000, leaving it practically ready to host the Caribbean Series in 2001.

All-Star Games

1950 All-Star Game

The fifth edition of the All-Star Game of the Pacific Coast League was held on January 18, 1950 at the General Ángel Flores Stadium, in Culiacán before an overflowing crowd, the Mexican teams played against the foreigners under the following lineup:

FOREIGNERS : Catcher: Clinton Courtney and Jimmy Steiner. Pitchers: Jack Brewer, Al Olsen, Bob Clear, Roy Partlow and Hal Hudson. Virgilio Arteaga (1b), Dick Cole (2b), Henry Robinson (3b), Sam Bankhead (ss), and outfielders Gene Thompson, Balcena, Bill Curley and Minnor.

MEXICANS: Catchers: Laureano Camacho and Germán Bay: Pitchers: Tuza Ramírez, Cochihuila Valenzuela, Manuel Echeverría, Corazón Torres and Memo Luna. Ángel Castro (1b), Lou Ortiz (2b), Leo Rodríguez (3b), Huevito Álvarez (ss), and fielders: Moscón Jiménez, Mala Torres, Felipe Montemayor and Bacatete Fernández.

The foreigners were managed by Art Lilly while the Mexicans were managed by Manuel "Shorty" Stream. The undisputed hero was Lou Ortiz from Tijuana, who drove in four runs as the nationals beat the foreign team 4-2 for the first time.

1956 All-Star Game

For the XI edition of the all-star game of the Pacific Coast League, an All-Star Game was organized between the best players of the Veracruz Winter League and the Pacific Coast League. The first match would be played in Mexico City, and the second would be played in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

The first game was held on Tuesday, December 27, 1955. The entry was estimated at 25,000 fans at Parque del Seguro Social; the game was broadcast on the radio on a national chain, La Costa del Pacífico defeated the Veracruz Winter League 4-3.

The second game was held on Tuesday, January 4, 1956, before more than 10,000 fans who packed the General Ángel Flores Stadium, La Costa del Pacífico defeated Invernal del Sur by beating them 6-4.

Closing of Gral. Ángel Flores

Los Tomateros de Culiacán played at the facilities of the General Ángel Flores stadium from Saturday, November 13, 1948 to January 26, 2015 (66 years, 2 months, and 13 days), in the first game they faced the Trigueros from Cd. Obregón, winning the Tacuarineros from Culiacán with a score of 3-2, the last game was against Charros from Jalisco, which was the fifth game of the final series, the Tomateros achieving victory with a score of 4-3, crowning himself champion, winning his tenth title.

The Gral. Ángel Flores stadium was the scene of 16 final series, 5 Pacific Coast League championships, 10 Mexican Pacific League championships, 4 all-star games, 1 Caribbean series and 1 exhibition game of Big leagues.

The first year it was played at Ángel Flores, the Tacuarineros won the championship, the last year it was played at Ángel Flores, the Tomateros won the championship. The first 3 Games that were held were won by the Tacuarineros over the Trigueros de Obregón, the last 3 Games that were held were won by the Tomateros over the Charros from Jalisco.

On October 21, 2011, the Tomateros wore a pink uniform in support of breast cancer, thus becoming the first team to wear that color.

Tomateros Stadium

On July 17, 2013, the construction of a new baseball stadium in the city of Culiacán, where the Tomateros will play, was announced. It will have four levels, with capacity for 20,000 fans, it will have the largest screen in Latin America (33m x 11m), Elite Boxes, Premier Boxes, Number Seats and Plateas, the entire stadium will have seats. It will have wide and comfortable accesses, ramps for the disabled, elevators, a commercial area, 4 vehicle accesses and 900 parking spaces. The stadium was inaugurated on October 9, 2015 where Tomateros defeated Charros de Jalisco 2-0.

Rivalries

Naranjeros against Tomateros game in November 2014.

The Tomateros de Culiacán have a greater rivalry against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, it is considered one of the great classics of the Mexican Pacific League, although year after year there has been strong competition with the Venados de Mazatlán team considered the Sinaloan classic. Previously their rivalry was against the Cañeros de Los Mochis, the rivalry increased in the 60's and 70's.

The Tomateros from Culiacán have faced the Naranjeros from Hermosillo 5 times in the final, with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses. They have also met 3 times in the final against the Venados de Mazatlán, with a record of 3 wins.

Franchise Records

Regular Season Individual Batting Records

Individual Batting Records

Regular Season Team Batting Records

Team batting records

Regular Season Individual Pitching Records

Individual Pitching Records

Regular Season Team Pitching Records

Regular Season Team Fielding Records

Featured Players

Los guindas (as Tomateros is also known) has been a breeding ground for great Mexican baseball players in the wholesale league, such as Aurelio López, Salomé Barojas, Esteban Loaiza, Óliver Pérez, Rodrigo López, Ricardo Rincón, Armando Reynoso, Rigoberto Beltrán, Luis Ignacio Ayala, Jorge Campillo, Édgar Huerta, Benjamín Gil, Karim García, Manny Rodríguez to name a few.

The above, together with the 12 league championships obtained, in addition to winning two Caribbean Series (both under the baton of Francisco "Paquín" Estrada), keeps Tomateros at the top of the Mexican baseball elite, whose fans chant the name of your team when going to the stadium.

As part of the Culiacán Tacuarineros we could add: Guillermo "Huevito" Álvarez who, due to his excellent defense and timely bat, was considered the best Mexican shortstop of all time.

Most Valuable Players

Below are the Tomateros players who won the Most Valuable Player title.

Season	Player	Position	G-P HR	SO COP	PCL AVE
1966-67	Andrés Ayón	Pitcher	11-6	82	1.84
1969-70	John Morris	Pitcher	8-5	52	2.47
1977-78	Weapons	Pitcher	8-4	47	2.47
1982-83	Salome Barojas	Pitcher	5-2	58	1.77
1984-85	Nelson Barrera	Third Base	15	68	.304
1996-97	Martín Hernández	Pitcher	3-4	33	3.47
2001-02	Rodrigo López	Pitcher	10-2	69	2.49
2004-05	Adam Muñoz	Cácher	21	50	.367
2011-12	Luis A. Cruz	Infielder	17	47	.340
2020-21	Sebastián Elizalde	Outfielder	11	44	.282

Rookie Players of the Year

Below is the Tomateros players, who won the rookie of the year title.

Season	Player	Position	G-P HR	SO COP	PCL AVE
1969-70	Maximino León	Pitcher	4-0	31	1.20
1973-74	Francisco Saíz	Outfielder	1	15	.304
1994-95	José Manuel Hdez	Pitcher	2-0	19	2.68
1998-99	Mariano Cota	Pitcher	2-0	22	2.48
1999-00	Luis Carlos Rivera	Pitcher	5-4	85	2.83
2003-04	Jesus Guzman	Pitcher	8-1	37	2.62

Batting Champion Players

Below is the Tomateros players, who won the title of batting champion.

Season	Player	AVE
1997-98	Matt Stark	.372
1998-99	Matt Stark	.349
2004-05	Adam Muñoz	.367
2017-18	Sebastián Elizalde	.380

Champion Home Run Players

Below is the Tomateros players, who won the title of home run champion.

Season	Player	HR
1968-69	Rogelio Álvarez	20
1973-74	Roger Vernon	20
1978-79	Randy Bass	15
1979-80	Rick Lancellotti	11
1984-85	Derek Bryant Nelson Barrera	15
1987-88	Nelson Barrera	16
1994-95	J. R. Phillips	17
2001-02	Brian Banks	19
2006-07	Rubén Rivera	21

Players

Roster

Retired numbers

Number	Player	Nationality
7	Darrell Sherman
9	Vinicio García
13	Rodrigo López
16	Nelson Barrera
18	Jesus Sommers
21	Hector Espino♪
25	Francisco "Paquín" Estrada
27	Vicente "Huevo" Romo
28	Homobono de la Rocha
31	Adam Amezcua
33	Horatio "Ejote" Piña
41	Cecilio Acosta

*Retired from all teams in the Mexican Pacific League.