Chihuahua Dorados
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The Dorados de Chihuahua (English: Chihuahua Goldens) are a
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...
team in the
Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...
based in
Chihuahua City The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...
, Chihuahua. Their home
ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...
is the Estadio Chihuahua. Established in 1940, the Dorados have played in the Mexican League in four stints: in 1940, from 1973 to 1981, from 2007 to 2010, and most recently in 2024.


History


Origins in the Mexican League

The
Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...
was founded in 1925 with five teams and slowly grew. By the late 1930s and 40s, the league was drawing the top players from the
Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...
, including
Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...
,
Cool Papa Bell James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell (May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991) was an American center fielder and pitcher in Negro league baseball and the Mexican League from 1922 to 1946. He is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the ga ...
, Martin Dihigo,
Ray Dandridge Raymond Emmitt Dandridge (August 31, 1913 – February 12, 1994), nicknamed "Hooks" and "Squat", was an American third baseman in baseball's Negro leagues. Dandridge excelled as a third baseman and he hit for a high batting average. By the time th ...
and
Willie Wells Willie James Wells (August 10, 1906 – January 22, 1989), nicknamed "the Devil", was an American baseball player. He was a shortstop who played from 1924 to 1948 for various teams in the Negro leagues and in Latin America. Wells was a fast ...
. Native Mexican talent was almost run out of the league in 1940, when many Cuban and Negro league stars took central stage – only a handful of Mexican players like Ángel Castro and Jesús Valenzuela were competitive with the foreign imports. Three Negro leaguers won Triple Crowns in a 4-year period – since then only three other players have won Triple Crowns in the Mexican League. The Dorados de Chihuahua joined the Mexican League in 1940, after acquiring the Gallos de Santa Rosa franchise. The Dorados were 14-67 and 42 games out of first in dead last. The teams loan super stars were Lonnie Summers and
Jacinto Roque Jacinto is a Spanish and Portuguese given name meaning Hyacinth, which can refer to Saint Hyacinth, a Roman martyr ( Hyacinth and Protus), or the Hyacinth flower itself. Common English nicknames for "Jacinto" are "Jack", "Jason" and "Jesse". Ja ...
, both of whom spent time on other clubs. The Dorados also played in the short-lived Mexican National League in 1946.


Arizona–Texas League

Formed from the Arizona State League in 1931, the Arizona–Texas League was a class D circuit that ran from '31-'32 and '37-'39. In '40-'41 it was promoted to class C, then halted play from 1942 to 1946. In '47-'50 the league again organized and competed until 1951 when it merged with the Sunset League to form the Southwest International League. Chihuahua joined the league towards the end in 1952, winning 57 and losing 83, finishing 27 and 1/2 games out of first. Though the team did not win as many games as expected, they drew an impressive 130,329 fans in 70 home games in 1952; out drawing every other team in the league by double.


The Central Mexican League

The Central Mexican League was a class C operation which lasted two seasons, 1956 and 1957. The six-team circuit was very offense-friendly and ERAs over 8 were about as common as ERAs under 3.50. Both the City of Juárez and Chihuahua represented the state of Chihuahua. In 1956 the great pitcher Marte de Alejandro propelled Chihuahua to a second-place finish behind the
Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serapes) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (1980, 2009 ...
by only a half game, with an astounding 129 strikeouts and 18 victories in the short season of only 100 games. Both teams had equal records on the last day of the season, yet a loss by Chihuahua and a forfeit by Saltillo's opponent gave the crown to the Saraperos. Chihuahua's manager Manuel Arroyo was furious, and promised a local paper that the Dorados would win in 1957, which they did. 1957 marked the Gold men's first crown outright, posting a 62 and 38 record behind the great pitching of Antonio Dicochea, 17 wins and 157 strikeouts.


Arizona–Mexico League

In 1955 the Arizona–Texas League became the
Arizona–Mexico League The Arizona–Mexico League was a Minor League Baseball league in the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, that operated as an affiliated Class C league that existed from 1955–58, and then again in 2003 as an independent baseball league. ...
. The circuit continued only four more seasons before the class C league big adieu to baseball. During these four seasons more than 1,700,000 fans went through the gate. The Mineros de Cananea were the only team to win more than one league title, taking two back to back, in 1955 and 1956. They drew 347,247 fans those two years. Chihuahua joined the league for its final year in 1958. In 1958 the Dorados, skippered by Leonel Aldama, went 56 and 62 falling to fourth place, yet still leading the league in 58 with 59,917 fans in attendance.


Return to the Mexican League

Chihuahua returned to the Mexican League in 1973 and went 527 and 776. Never climbing above second place, the Dorados were a fan favorite drawing the most fans over the 10-year stretch. In 1973, the Dorados, under coaches Mauro Ruiz and Mauro Contreras, and with players such as
Norm McRae Norman McRae (September 26, 1947 – July 25, 2003) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 22 Major League games for the 1969–1970 Detroit Tigers. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he stood tall and ...
, finished last in the North Division. In 1975, the team, under Miguel Gaspar almost reached playoffs. In 1976, the club had their best season in the team's second stint in the Mexican League with a 67–68 record. In 1982, the Dorados franchise moved to
Monclova Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and ...
and became the
Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports l ...
, finishing the second stage of professional baseball in Chihuahua City.


Independent Semi Pro State Baseball

For much of the next 20 years Chihuahua was without a professional team, instead a sponsored independent city team was organized to play against other independent teams in the surrounding area. Many college and high school players from the Texas-Louisiana league, along with stragglers form the now defunct Western League spent time playing among these teams gaining valuable experience and giving the crowds a great show. Some of the greatest imports from the US during this time were: pitcher Duke Richards later with the
Alexandria Aces The Alexandria Aces were a baseball team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. The last version of the Aces played in the United League Baseball in 2013. The Aces have played their home games at historic Bringhurst Field, which was built in 1933 for t ...
19 wins and 3 losses, catcher Moose Edmunds from the Bend Bandits, .329 avg with 15 home runs and 4 steals of home (two coming in one game), outfielder George Wallace Johnson Jr 62 Stolen Bases, and Tim Leone cut from the
Edinburg Roadrunners The Edinburg Roadrunners were a professional baseball team based in Edinburg, Texas, in the United States. The Roadrunners were a member of the United League Baseball, an independent professional league which is not affiliated with Major League B ...
, was a heavy hitting first baseman who clubbed an amazing 40 home runs in one season for Chihuahua.


Third stint in the Mexican League

In 2003, official talks were held and actions were made to bring Dorados de Chihuahua back into the LMB, along with the team from Juárez. In 2007 The Mexican League announced the
Tuneros de San Luis Potosí The Tuneros de San Luis Potosí (English: San Luis Potosí Prickly Pear Pickers) were a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The club played during 16 seasons spanning 1946–2006. The first Tuneros t ...
were moving to the city of Chihuahua. The Tuneros finished out of the playoffs in 2007 with an overall record of 49-61, which ranked 15th among 16 Liga teams in attendance. Just over 68,000 fans turned out for games in San Luis Potosí for an average of about 1,200 fans per game. Only the perpetually cash-strapped
Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...
did worse at the gate. Although the Tuneros never won an LMB pennant in San Luis, the old Dorados de Chihuahaua failed to even make the Mexican League playoffs in twelve seasons in the 1970s and 1980s. The new Dorados featured such holdovers from the Tuneros as Sharnol Adriana, Darryl Brinkley and Pat O'Sullivan. As the Liga's most northwesterly city after
Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
, the Dorados remained in the LMB Northern Division until 2010, when they were sold and became the
Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team based in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes that competes in the Mexican League. Established in 1975, the Rieleros have won the Mexican League cha ...
, despite rumors that the Dorados would move to
Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, Texas, Laredo, United States. The 2010 census popula ...
.


Fourth stint in the Mexican League

In early 2023, news surfaced that professional baseball could return to Chihuahua for 2024. In November 2023, the Mexican League officially announced that the Dorados de Chihuahua would return for the 2024 season, as one of the two expansion teams, the other being the Conspiradores de Querétaro.


Roster


References


Resources


Chihuahua Dorados

Baseball Almanac
{{Mexican League Sports teams in Chihuahua City Baseball teams in Mexico Mexican League teams Defunct Arizona-Texas League teams