Rieleros de Aguascalientes

For the norteño band, see Los Rieleros del Norte.

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 championship once in 1978. The team plays at the Parque Alberto Romo Chávez.

Rieleros de Aguascalientes
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
League	Mexican League (North)
Location	Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes
Ballpark	Parque Alberto Romo Chávez
Established	1975; 49 years ago (1975)
Serie del Rey champions	1 (1978)
Division championships	2 (1978, 2012)
Colors	Navy blue, gold and white
Manager	Luis Carlos Rivera
President	Eustacio Álvarez
Website	www.rielerosags.com
Uniforms
Home Away

History

Baseball arrived in Aguascalientes in hand with the railroad at the beginning of the 20th century. A group of Mexican and American railroad workers on the Mexican Central Railway held a baseball game in March 1902. The teams, the Aguascalientes Mexicans and American Railways, played the first game in the state on the railroad's land.

The Rieleros were founded in 1975 by Raúl Medina Reyes in partnership with Don Pedro Barbosa, José Ortiz Benavides and other local entrepreneurs, who bought the Veracruz franchise and moved it to Aguascalientes.^[1][2] Funds were raised through the issue of shares. A survey was then conducted to select a team name. The name Rieleros was chosen to honor the area's railroad heritage. The team debuted in the Mexican League on 14 March 1975 losing 1–5 against the Charros de Jalisco in the Parque Alberto Romo Chávez.^[3][4]

In 1978, the Rieleros won the Mexican League championship, managed by Jaime Favela in his first season as manager.^[5][6] With players such as Horacio Piña, Cecilio Acosta, Ángel Moreno, Willie Crawford, Clarence Jones and Chico Rodríguez, the Rieleros finished as leaders of the Southwest division with a 89–62 record. In the quarterfinals, the Rieleros defeated the Diablos Rojos del México 4–2, including a perfect game by Piña.^[7] In the semifinals, Aguascalientes defeated the Cafeteros de Córdoba in six games, 4–2. In the championship game, the Rieleros defeated the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna 4–1 to claim their first (and as of 2024, only) Mexican League championship.^[8][9]

In December 1999, the Rieleros franchise was bought by a group of businessmen from Puebla and renamed to Pericos de Puebla, who started to play in the 2000 season.^[10] In December 2003, ahead of the 2004 Mexican League season, the Cafeteros de Córdoba franchise was moved from Córdoba, Veracruz to Aguascalientes, bringing baseball back after a hiatus of four years.^[11][12]

In 2008, the Rieleros de Aguascalientes were transferred to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and were renamed the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo.^[13] They returned to Aguascalientes in 2012 after the Dorados de Chihuahua franchise was relocated.^[2][14]

Roster

Rieleros de Aguascalientes roster

• v
• t
• e

Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 27 Carlos Belen 65 Jason Carmona 76 Raul Carrillo  0 Carlos Chavez 72 Carlos Contreras 55 Raynel Espinal 24 Mario Garcia 84 Ulises Joaquin 35 Erick Leal 14 Frank Lopez 73 Jose Luna 26 Jose Medina -- Carlos Navas 40 Brandon Quintero 74 Jose Ramirez 78 Ivan Rodriguez 35 Shea Spitzbarth 49 Salvador Valdez 33 Francisco Villegas 44 Derek West 28 Fabian Williamson		Catchers 19 Juan Carlos Garcia 20 Carlos Mendivil 45 Justin O'Conner Infielders 68 Kristian Delgado 22 Aldo Flores  5 Leonardo Reginatto  4 Ramon Rios 14 Wilfredo Tovar ∞ Outfielders 15 Daniel Cornejo 12 Amilcar Gomez 23 Sergio Perez 30 Angel Reyes		Manager 36 Luis Carlos Rivera Coaches 29 Pedro Diaz 32 Jesus Moreno 61 Roberto Perez 43 Alberto Rivera 47 Juan Robles 79 Luis Rodriguez   7-day injured list ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated May 7, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Mexican League

Championships

Season	Manager	Opponent	Series score	Record
1978	Jaime Favela	Algodoneros de Unión Laguna	4–1	101–67
Total championships			1

Award winners and league leaders

Awards

Most Valuable Player

• Jesse Castillo (2017)

Manager of the Year

• Enrique Reyes (2012)
• Homar Rojas (2017)

League leaders

Batting champions Larry Fritz (1976) Vic Davalillo (1977) Home runs Eddie Ríos (2006) Carlos M. Rodríguez (2012) Félix Pérez (2018) Runs Jim Obradovich (1981) Enrique Aguilar (1987) Runs batted in Enrique Aguilar (1983) Eddie Ríos (2006) Diory Hernández (2016) Hits Gonzalo Villalobos (1975) Vic Davalillo (1980) Rontrez Johnson (2004) Stolen bases Rontrez Johnson (2004)

E.R.A. Horacio Piña (1977) Wins Humberto Montemayor (2012)

References

1. Castro, Rubén (25 August 2012). "Muere ex directivo rielero Raúl Medina". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
2. Bencomo, Héctor (2 October 2015). "Los Rieleros de don Pedro regresan a la Liga Mexicana". Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
3. "Rieleros de Aguascalientes". rielerosags.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
4. "Celebran Rieleros 47° Aniversario". El Heraldo de Aguascalientes (in Spanish). 15 March 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
5. Villalobos, Sergio (23 January 2024). "Rieleros de Aguascalientes: Historia y cuántos títulos tiene en la LMB". Azteca Aguascalientes (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
6. Kerlegand, Enrique (5 November 2020). "LMB: La historia extraña alrededor de Jaime Favela". MiLB.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
7. Nájera, Paula (17 July 2017). "El Juego Perfecto, Horacio Piña, Rieleros 1978". LJA Aguascalientes (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
8. Morales, Tomás (19 August 2015). "1978: año de Rieleros de Aguascalientes". MiLB.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
9. Arguijo, Aarón (24 June 2023). "Rieleros contra Algodoneros, una serie con historia". El Siglo de Durango (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
10. "Regresan los Pericos". El Universal (in Spanish). 15 December 1999. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
11. "Cambian de nombre y plaza los Cafeteros de Córdoba". Proceso (in Spanish). 6 December 2003. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
12. "Regresa el béisbol a Aguascalientes". Proceso (in Spanish). 18 March 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
13. "Se cambia Rieleros a Nuevo Laredo en acuerdo de Liga Mexicana". Mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). 7 November 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
14. "Regresan los Rieleros de Aguascalientes para 2012". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). Notimex. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2024.

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)