Тусон Торос: История бейсбольной команды

The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in 1991 and 1993. They were affiliated with several Major League Baseball teams over the years, most notably with the Houston Astros. The most recent Toros were created as a new team in the independent Golden Baseball League on September 1, 2008. They were originally the Mesa Miners (2005) and Reno Silver Sox (2006–2008) before being purchased by Tucson Baseball LLC and relocating to Tucson. The new Toros played their home games at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, home of the original Toros team, starting May 21, 2009, at the start of the league's fifth anniversary, and ran until 2011. They played in the South Division in the GBL along with the Long Beach Armada, Orange County Flyers, St. George RoadRunners and Yuma Scorpions. (The expansion Tijuana Potros were supposed to play in the same division, but their season was postponed until 2010 due to the swine flu outbreak in Mexico.)

Tucson had a number of baseball teams between 1915 and 1958, including the Tucson Old Pueblos, the Tucson Waddies, the Tucson Cowboys (several teams), the Tucson Missions and the Tucson Lizards. None of these were part of the Pacific Coast League. When the last iteration of the Cowboys folded in 1958, Tucson was left with no professional baseball until the advent of the Toros.

Hiram "Hi" Corbett, a former Arizona state senator, helped to bring the Pacific Coast League to Tucson, in recognition of which the 1937 ballpark in midtown Tucson's Reid Park was eventually renamed Hi Corbett Field. The Tucson Toros, a AAA team in the league's southern division, began play in 1969. The name Toros was suggested by name the team contest winner Clarence Dupnik, who went on to become the Sheriff of Pima County, Arizona. From 1969 through 1972, the Tucson Toros were the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. During this period, the team managed no better than a fourth place finish for the season. The Toros did better as the AAA team of the Oakland Athletics (1973–1976), winning the PCL Eastern Division title in 1973 and finishing in second place in 1975. As the Texas Rangers farm team (1977–1979) they finished in third and fourth place, but with outstanding individual performances by outfielder Billy Sample (AAA Minor League Player of the Year, 1978) and others. The Toros' former owners moved to Fresno, California as the Grizzlies, and inherited the Firebirds' former affiliation with the San Francisco Giants. The Toros' long affiliation with the Houston Astros was suddenly over, as the "new" Toros signed a one year agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers. The one major league prospect with the Toros who was not part of the Brewers' organization was Travis Lee of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The new franchise did not yet have a AAA team of its own, so Lee was assigned to the nearby Tucson team for part of the season. Although Lee personally had a good year, the transitional Toros only managed a 64–78 record. It was the Tucson team's last season at Hi Corbett Field, and their last season with the Toros name. After purchasing the team in 2000, owner Jay Zucker attempted to improve the situation with a variety of promotions, including weekly fireworks. These efforts met with limited success. The team was very successful as a supplier of major league quality players to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Many individual Sidewinders performed admirably in mid season call ups, sometimes returning to the major league club time and again as needed. This earned the Sidewinders the nickname "Baby 'Backs." In 2006, the Tucson Sidewinders won the Pacific Coast League championship, and afterwards defeated the Toledo Mud Hens 5–2 in the Bricktown Showdown for the Triple A baseball championship at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

Hi Corbett Field (originally Randolph Field) was the venue for the original Tucson Toros, and also serves as home of the "resurrected" team. It was built in 1937, remodeled in 1972 and renovated in 1992, 1997 and 1999. It is part of a larger city park complex, Reid Park (which also includes the Reid Park Zoo) and Randolph Park, located between Broadway Boulevard and 22nd Street in midtown Tucson. The largest Toros crowd at Hi Corbett was 12,863 on May 17, 1981, against Salt Lake City. Hi Corbett dimensions are as follows: RF: 348 feet; CF: 392 feet; LF: 366 feet. The park has a "Green Monster" fence in Center Field. The ballpark was home to the Tucson Cowboys in the 1930s to 1950s, and the spring training home of the Cleveland Indians from 1945 through 1992. Parts of the 1989 movie Major League were filmed at Hi Corbett Field, using the University of Arizona baseball team as extras. In 1993 it became the Spring Training home of the expansion Colorado Rockies, the first major league team in the Mountain time zone. Despite the 1998 opening of Tucson Electric Park, the Colorado Rockies have continued to train at Hi Corbett. USA Baseball was headquartered at Hi Corbett from 1997 to 2003. From 2004 to 2006 Hi Corbett was home to the Arizona Heat women's pro softball team, with a season from June to August. As of 2009, the venue is shared by the Rockies and the Toros. The Rockies played their final game in Tucson against the Arizona Diamondbacks in March 2010. Both teams moved their spring training camps to the more lucrative Phoenix suburbs.

Some popular Toros promotions included Turn Back the Clock Night, "bull bells" and a cow milking contest on Arizona Dairy Night, and the annual Diamond Dig in the base paths. Huey Lewis once wrote and performed a theme song for the Tucson Toros (circa 1993). Ray Charles also appeared in concert after a Tucson Toros game in the early 1990s. Toros broadcasters Vince Cotroneo, Mario Impemba and Matt Vasgersian all went on to major league broadcast jobs. The team mascot, Tuffy the Toro, also appeared intermittently with the Tucson Sidewinders. The Tucson Toros were featured in an episode of Highway To Heaven, titled "Popcorn, Peanuts and Cracker Jacks." Parts of the episode were filmed at Hi Corbett Field. Major League, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen and Wesley Snipes was filmed at Hi Corbett Field. The Cleveland Indians held spring training in Tucson from 1947 to 1992; to add to the realistic feel of the movie it was shot at the same locations where the Cleveland Indians played.