Navegantes del Magallanes
From BR Bullpen
| Navegantes del Magallanes Magallanes Navigators | |
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| League: | Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional |
| Founding: | 1917 |
| First Season: | 1946 |
| City: | Valencia, Carabobo |
| Stadium: | Estadio José Bernardo Pérez |
| League Titles: | 10 |
| 1949/1950, 1950/1951, 1954/1955, 1969/1970, 1976/1977, 1978/1979, 1993/1994, 1995/1996, 1996/1997, 2001/2002 | |
| Serie del Caribe Titles: | 2 |
| 1970, 1979 | |
| Former Names: | none |
| Future Names: | {{{Future Names}}} |
| President: | {{{President}}} |
| General Manager: | {{{General Manager}}} |
| Manager: | {{{Manager}}} |
The Navegantes del Magallanes are a Venezuelan winter league team that plays in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional. The team was founded in 1917 and was one of the original teams in the first LVBP season in 1946. The team has ten championships, and are one of the most popular teams (along with Leones del Caracas) in the country.
The Navegantes were founded in 1917 as the Magallanes de Catia. The team’s founders were Juan Carratú and Luis Carratú, the Fagre family and Turks Vicente Issa, Eduardo Kalil, Alberto Salomón, and Ricardo Salomón. Once the Liga Nacional de Béisbol was founded in 1927 the Navegantes soon entered the league.
After Venezuela won the 1941 Baseball World Cup, the sport of baseball increased in populatity throughout in the 1940s. In that same year Don Carlos Lavaud bought the team and renamed it as the Navegantes. During this time many new clubs appeared including Cervecería Caracas, Gavilanes, Pastora, and the Royal Criollos. In 1946 a new league was vreated, the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional, with the Navegantes as one of its four charter teams, along with Cervecería, Vargas and Venezuela. During the eight seasons between 1944 an 1950, the Navegantes were champions on two occaions, both over Cervecería, and placed second in two other seasons.
In 1956, Joe Novas and Joe Cruz bought the team renaming them Oriente; seven years later they became Orientales after being purchased by Alfonso Carrasquel and Humberto B. Lozano. The team returned to the moniker of Navegantes del Magallanes for the 1964/1965 season.
Following a down period in the 1980s, the Navegantes have returned as one of the top teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning four titles from 1993 to 2001.
[edit] Notable Players
- Edgardo Alfonzo
- Endy Chavez
- Raul Chavez
- Eddy Díaz
- Alvaro Espinoza
- Luis García
- Freddy García
- Gustavo Gil
- Carlos Guillén
- Richard Hidalgo
- Vidal López
- Ramón Monzant
- Melvin Mora
- Oswaldo Olivares
- Félix Rodríguez
- Johan Santana
- Manuel Sarmiento
- José Villa
- Tomas Perez
- Gregorio Machado
[edit] External Links
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