Tucson Saguaros


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

History

Announced in November 2015 as an expansion franchise, Tucson began play in the 2016 season. The team plays its home games Thursday through Sunday at Cherry Field. The team plays neutral site home games Monday through Wednesday in Winslow at Vargas Field.
The team's home field was Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium for the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the exception of Sunday games, which were played at Warren Ballpark in Bisbee. The Saguaros moved to Reid Park Field #5 at the beginning of the 2018 season for Thursday through Sunday games, but then moved to Cherry Field on July 4, 2018.
The team conducts Spring Training at Pascua Yaqui Pueblo Park on the Pascua Pueblo Yaqui Reservation. Spring Training was also conducted at Reid Park Field #5 starting in 2018, where they were joined by the Ruidoso Osos. They are known colloquially as the "Cactus Crew."

2016: Inaugural season and a Pecos League championship

The team began signing players for its first season in winter preparing for opening of its training camp in May.
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. 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." 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. 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.
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.
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. 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. The Saguaros set a Pecos League record with 51 wins in a season.

2017: Best record in Pecos League

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 until becoming the manager of the Salina Stockade of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. 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. Five players returned from the inaugural season: pitchers Brandon Cook, Jake Eaton, and Matt Kelley, as well as outfielders Burnell Dailey and Thomas McKenna. The Saguaros finished the season with the best record in the Pecos League, 46-11, but they lost in the playoffs to the High Desert Yardbirds 1-2 in the Pecos League Pacific Division Series.

2018: Moves to Reid Park and Cherry Field and 1st Place in Southern Division

The Saguaros moved from the Pacific Division to the Southern Division of the Pecos League. The team also moved their home field to Gene C. Reid Park Field #5. Bill Moore, a resident of Mesa was announced as the new manager on December 16, 2017. He had originally considered taking the job in 2016. Ryan Retz, a Canyon del Oro High School graduate and Pecos League All-Star in 2016 for the Saguaros, returned after a one-year hiatus from the team. Left-Handed Pitcher Ryan Baca and Infielder Kevin Baron returned from the previous year. The Saguaros played a Spring Training game against the Ruidoso Osos at Reid Park Field #5 on Sunday, May 20, 2018. It was the first time the team had played a Spring Training game against another team. On July 4, 2018, the Saguaros moved to Cherry Field since it had lights so that home games could be played at night and start later at 7:00 P.M.

2019: Full Season at Cherry Field

The Saguaros moved back to the Pacific Division. On December 8, 2018, Bill Rogan, from Denver was named the new manager. He worked for the Colorado Rockies Specialty Ticket Sales. 2018 Pecos League All-Star Outfielder Lawrence Chavez was the only returning player from the previous year.

2020: Delayed Season in Houston, Texas

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was delayed to start on July 1, 2020, with all games to be played at Coastal Park in Houston, Texas. The Saguaros moved to the Central Division.

Current roster

Season-by-season

Quick facts

Individual awards

Pecos League Pitcher of the Year

Batting