Navegantes del Magallanes
Venezuelan professional baseball team
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Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (Spanish pronunciation: [naβeɣantes del mˌaɣaʎˈanes]; Magellan Navigators), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in Valencia, Carabobo.
| Navegantes del Magallanes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Information | |||||
| League | Venezuelan Professional Baseball League | ||||
| Location | Valencia | ||||
| Ballpark | Estadio José Bernardo Pérez | ||||
| Founded | 1917 (original) 1964 (modern incarnation) | ||||
| Nickname(s) | La Nave Turca ("The Turkish Ship") Turcos ("Turks") | ||||
| Caribbean Series championships | 1970, 1979 | ||||
| Serie de las Américas championships | 2026 | ||||
| League championships | 1950, 1951, 1955, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2013, 2014, 2022, 2026 | ||||
| Current uniforms | |||||
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Originally founded in Caracas in 1917, Magallanes relocated to Valencia in 1969. The team is one of oldest and most successful clubs in Venezuelan baseball, winning 14 LVBP championships, most recently in 2026 under manager Yadier Molina, as well as 2 Caribbean Series. Its chief rival are the Leones del Caracas; the two are known as Los Eternos Rivales ("the Eternal Rivals").
History
Early years
The Magallanes Base Ball Club was established on October 26, 1917, in Caracas. The name Magallanes, referring both to Ferdinand Magellan (known as Fernando Magallanes in Spanish) and the Strait of Magellan, was chosen by the founding members in a polling to select the club name; other proposed names were Colón (honoring Christopher Columbus) and Diego de Losada, the founder of the city of Caracas. Antonio Benítez, one of the team's owners, proposed the name Magallanes in reference to the geographical location, suggesting that other teams would founder against them (as ships do in the difficult-to-navigate strait).[1] The Magallanes Base Ball Club debuted the next year, 1918, in the National Baseball Championship. The club, however, would soon fold due to several problems including internal disputes.[2][3]
It would be ten years until the next team under the name Magallanes debuted, refounded by Benítez, as an amateur club part of the new Venezuelan National League in 1927.[4] The team played in a neighborhood of Caracas populated by immigrants from the former Ottoman Empire, earning them the nickname "Turcos" (Turks).[5] During this period, it developed a fierce rivalry with the cross-town Royal Criollo club, which would later evolve into the modern rivalry between Magallanes and Leones del Caracas.[6] In 1930, the team won its first first division title, thanks to the pitching of Pancho Coimbre and Balbino Inojosa.[7] However, the club again folded before the 1933 season.[8]
The Magallanes name was again revived in 1941 by Carlos Lavaud.[9] The club signed Vidal López, who had won 12 games in Cuba, and Carlos Ascanio, who had been playing in Cuba, as well as Dalmiro Finol, José Pérez Colmenares, and Jesus "Chucho" Ramos.[10] Magallanes won the 1943–44 tournament.
Professionalization
Magallanes was one of the four original clubs (along with Cerveceria, Vargas, and Venezuela) to form the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League on December 27, 1945.[11]
In 1969, Magallanes were acquired by a group of businessmen based in Carabobo state and moved to the city of Valencia, which had recently lost its team, Industriales de Valencia, before the 1969–70 season.[12]
Mascot
The Capy is the official mascot of the Navegantes del Magallanes baseball team. The bird wears a navigator costume. He has a girlfriend named Lola, a very charming parrot.
Current roster
| Navegantes del Magallanes roster – 2025–26 LVBP season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | |||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
|
Manager Coaches
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| Venezuela 2022 Caribbean Series Roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||
|
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
|
Manager Coaches | |||||||
Championships
| Season | Manager | Record | Series score |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | Lázaro Salazar | 32–14 | — | Cerveceria Caracas |
| 1950–51 | Lázaro Salazar | 34–19 | — | Cerveceria Caracas |
| 1954–55 | Lázaro Salazar | 32–18 | — | Leones del Caracas |
| 1969–70 | Carlos Pascual | 32–28 | 3–0 | Tiburones de La Guaira |
| 1976–77 | Don Leppert | 35–30 | 4–2 | Tiburones de La Guaira |
| 1978–79 | Octavio Rojas / Willie Horton | 39–31 | 4–1 | Águilas del Zulia |
| 1993–94 | Tim Tolman | 35–25 | 4–3 | Leones del Caracas |
| 1995–96 | Tim Tolman / Gregorio Machado | 29–31 | 4–3 | Cardenales de Lara |
| 1996–97 | John Tamargo | 33–17 | 4–1 | Leones del Caracas |
| 2001–02 | Phil Regan | 30–32 | 4–1 | Tigres de Aragua |
| 2012–13 | Carlos García / Luis Sojo | 36–37 | 4–3 | Cardenales de Lara |
| 2013–14 | Luis Sojo / Carlos García | 33–30 | 4–1 | Caribes de Anzoátegui |
| 2021–22 | Wilfredo Romero | 33–30 | 4–3 | Caribes de Anzoátegui |
| 2025–26 | Yadier Molina | 29–27 | 4–2 | Caribes de Anzoátegui |
International competition
Caribbean Series
| Year | Host | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 |  San Juan | 4th | 1 | 5 | .167 |  Vidal López |
| 1951 | Caracas | 3rd | 2 | 4 | .333 |  Lázaro Salazar |
| 1955 | Caracas | 2nd | 4 | 2 | .667 | Lázaro Salazar |
| 1970 | Caracas | 1st | 7 | 1 | .875 | Carlos Pascual |
| 1977 | Caracas | 2nd | 3 | 3 | .500 |  Don Leppert |
| 1979 |  San Juan | 1st | 5 | 1 | .833 | Willie Horton |
| 1994 | Puerto La Cruz | 2nd | 4 | 2 | .667 | Tim Tolman |
| 1996 |  Santo Domingo | 4th | 1 | 5 | .167 | Gregorio Machado |
| 1997 |  Hermosillo | 3rd | 3 | 3 | .500 | John Tamargo |
| 2002 | Caracas | 4th | 2 | 4 | .333 | Phil Regan |
| 2013 | Hermosillo | 4th | 2 | 4 | .333 | Luis Sojo |
| 2014 | Margarita Island | 3rd | 3 | 2 | .600 | Carlos García |
| 2022 | Santo Domingo | 4th | 3 | 3 | .500 | Wilfredo Romero |
| Total | 40 | 39 | .506 | |||
Serie de las Américas
| Year | Host | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Gran Caracas | 1st | 7 | 1 | .875 | César Izturis |
| Total | 7 | 1 | .875 | |||
Notable players
Retired numbers
| 11 Luis Aparicio SS Retired |
15 Félix Rodríguez IF Retired |
21 Luis “Camaleón” García SS Retired |
23 Néstor Isaías "Látigo" Chávez OF Retired |
Navegantes del Magallanes Hall of Fame
Magallanes established a team Hall of Fame in 2012.[14][15]
| Class | Year of induction |
|---|---|
| Bold | Inducted into Major League Baseball Baseball Hall of Fame |
| † | Inducted into Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
| Navegantes del Magallanes Hall of Fame | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Name | Position | Tenure | |
| 2012 | Vidal López† | P | 1941–1945 (amateur) 1946–1955 (professional) | |
| Chucho Ramos† | OF | 1946–1956 | ||
| Lázaro Salazar† | Manager | 1949–1959 | ||
| Ramón Monzant† | P | 1953–1956 | ||
| Luis "Camaleón" García† | 3B | 1949–1965 | ||
| Gustavo Gil† | 2B | 1968–1977 | ||
| Dámaso Blanco† | 3B | 1969–1975 | ||
| Dave Parker | OF | 1974–1977 | ||
| Cito Gaston | OF | 1968–1976 | ||
| Oswaldo Olivares† | OF | 1977–1980 | ||
| Carlos Lavaud† | Executive | 1941–1956 | ||
| Edgar Rincones | Executive | 1969–2007 | ||
| José Ettedgui | Executive | 1969–1992 | ||
| Rafael "Felo" Ramírez | Broadcaster | |||
| 2013 | Félix Rodríguez | 1B | 1972–1989 | |
| Gregorio Machado | P, Coach | 1969–1974 (player) 1974–2010 (coach) | ||
| Jim Holt | OF, 1B | 1969–1974 | ||
| Alberto Raidi | Executive | |||
| 2014 | Manuel Sarmiento | P | 1972–1983 | |
| Mitchell Page | OF, 1B | 1976–1979 | ||
| Oswaldo Degwitz | Executive | |||
| 2015 | Alfredo Guadarrama | Executive | ||
| Álvaro Espinoza | SS | 1992–1996 | ||
| Carlos García | IF, Manager | 1987–1998 (player) 2009–2014 (manager) | ||
| 2016 | Carlos Pulido† | P | ||
| Alberto Parjús | Executive | 1977–1979 | ||
| Oscar Henríquez | P | 1993–2003 | ||
| Eddy Díaz | UTIL | 1991–2004 | ||
| 2017 | Santiago Sánchez | Executive | 1982–1989 | |
| Richard Hidalgo | OF | 1991–2012 | ||
| Ramón García | P | 1987–1998 | ||
| Melvin Mora† | UTIL | 1991–2012 | ||
| 2018 | Antonio José Istúriz | Executive | 1964–1969 | |
| Edgardo Alfonzo | 3B | 1996–2011 | ||
| Carlos Hernández | 2B | |||
| Jim Pendleton | SS | 1949–1953 | ||
| 2019 | Johan Santana† | P | 1998–2002 | |
| Willie Horton | OF / Manager | 1978–1980 | ||
| 2023 | Clemente Álvarez | C | 1986–2005 | |
| Isaías "Látigo" Chávez | P | 1964–1968 | ||
Other notable players
- Jose Altuve, infielder
- Sam Nahem (1915–2004), Major League Baseball pitcher
- Endy Chávez, MLB outfielder
- Luis Arráez, MLB infielder
- Leonardo Reginatto, infielder
- Reynaldo Rodríguez, infielder
- Ezequiel Carrera, outfielder
- Elvis Andrus, infielder
- Pablo Sandoval, infielder
- Johan Santana, pitcher
- Freddy Garcia, pitcher
- Luis Raven, infielder
- Mario Lisson, infielder
- Emilio Cueche, pitcher
- Barry Bonds, outfielder
- Luis Aparicio Sr., infielder
- Luis Rengifo, infielder
- Félix Hernández, pitcher
- Billy Bean, outfielder
- Cito Gaston
- Kenny Lofton