Tampere Tigers
 | |
| Full name | Tampere Tigers Baseball Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Stadium | Tampere Tigers Baseball Field, Tampere |
| Chairman |  Mauricio Rosales |
| Manager | Mauricio Rosales (2016 - Present) |
| League | SM Sarja - Finnish Baseball League & Suomi Sarja - Finnish Baseball First Division |
| 2019 | SM Sarja: Silver medal - Suomi Sarja: Silver medal |
Tampere Tigers is a baseball and softball club from Tampere, Finland. The club competes in the two Finnish Baseball Leagues, Suomi Sarja and SM Sarja. Tampere Tigers were founded in 2004 by Arni Hukari and Lassi Autio. The Tigers have also a female softball team and a juniors program for kids 8-12 currently being supported by MansePP.
History
During its first year the team participated in two exhibition tournaments, winning the second one. The team's name, Tigers, comes from the Japanese baseball team Hanshin Tigers.
Season 2005 was the team's first in the Finnish Baseball League. The team had 18 players, and its win-loss record was 4-11. Tigers finished 5th in the league of 6 teams. In the award ceremony at the end of the season, Tigers’ Tomi Krogerus was elected the Rookie of the year.
Going into the 2006 season, Tigers set their goal to top-3. They finished 5th in the league, although only 2 wins away from meeting their goal. The best part of the season was the apparent development of their players. In 2006, two members of the Tigers were handed federation awards: Tuomo Mesimäki being the Rookie of the year and Niko Wirgentius the Best batter.
Year 2007 was a huge disappointment for the Tigers. They lost a couple of key players, and only managed one win in 12 games. In the Finnish Cup of baseball they advanced to the semifinal only to lose against the reigning 5-in-a-row league champions Espoo Expos. Tigers played many even games, always losing in the final innings due to the lack of experience.2008 was a historical year, 3 years after initiating its participation in the Finnish league, the team qualified for their first post-season playoff. On a best of three series the team was defeated by the 5 time consecutive champions Espoo Expos. The Tigers showed defiance on its first away game when they managed to take a 3-0 lead by the top of the second inning but gradually lost the grip of the game and succumbed in a 6-14 loss. For the second game at home turf, the high speed pitches of Juha-Pekka Niemi and the precision of Tomi Krogerus were not backed up offensively and the team lost the game and the chances of getting to the finals on a shutout game 7-0. In 2009 the team ended up the season with a low winning percentage of .185, with Tomi Harala (SS/P) having one of the best batting average of the league that year at 0.514 and 11 RBI.
Despite having a record number of players in their roster (28) and the best fielding percentage in the entire league (0.923) the team didn't manage to balance their winning percentage and ended up with a poor .200 in 2010. Despite this, Tomi Harala with an average of 0.529 won the title of Best batter of the league.
In 2011 the team did not participate in the SM Sarja and instead participated for the first time in the Suomi Sarja (First division) with a record of 3 wins, 1 loss and 1 tie (Games had an inning limit)
The Tigers came back to SM Sarja in 2012. At the end of the season the winning percentage was .250 but Andres Mena with an average of 0.512 was awarded the Best batter of the league.
The winning percentage for season 2013 had an increment at .267 and Andres Mena repeated the title of Best batter of the league with an average of 0.500. Teammate Yoan Martinez finished in third place with an average of .426.
There was a considerable improvement in the team's performance in 2014, the winning percentage roused up to .333 and Yoan Martinez became the best batter of the season with an average of 0.528.
In 2015, the team returned to Suomi Sarja. After ending the season with a positive record, the team qualified to the post season, their first in this league and second time in its history. A single game final took place in Espoo were the team couldn't manage to secure the title finishing the season in second place.
In 2016 the Tigers made history and after a second consecutive appearance in the Suomi Sarja finals, they clinched their first title after defeating the City Mets in an exciting final game played in home ground. The team had an almost perfect season, losing only two games and winning 13 in regular season. A very strong and experienced bullpen and great power in the offensive gave the team their first championship title.
2017 was another historical year for the Tigers. For the first time in its history, the club participated in the two competitive leagues in the country. With a solid offensive team and a great bullpen the team managed to end the SM Sarja season in a historical 3rd place. The team had the most stolen bases in the league and the second best bullpen with an ERA of 5.2. In Suomi Sarja the team clinched the second consecutive title after completing an almost perfect season where they only lost a game. Another historical milestone was accomplished with the establishment of the first softball team in the club with the participation of 9 women. The team had three exhibition games in Tampere.
In 2018 the Tigers showed an improvement in the quality of play. A very strong, record breaking 29 man roaster with great potential. However, luck was not in their favor in terms of results in SM Sarja. Despite a good performance the team lost a lot of games in extra innings and by the minimum difference and that was reflected in their record. The team however managed to qualify for the third time straight to the Suomi Sarja playoffs where they ultimately lost the opportunity to repeat the championship for the third time in a row by losing against their classic rivals Espoo XL5 in the semifinals.
Season 2019 was marked by a historical achievement. For the first time in Club's history the Tigers made it to the SM Sarja finals. With a very talented assemble and finishing in first place in the regular season on batting average, Slugging and On Base percentage the team managed to qualify to the best of 5 series against Espoo Expos. The experience on this instances and the spot on performance of the Expos bullpen made it impossible for the Tigers to claim their first title and end up losing the series 1-3. Meanwhile in Suomi Sarja, the team managed to qualify to their 5th consecutive post-season appearance. In the best of three series the team failed to win a game and end up losing the series 0-2 in a series where despite their good production of runs, their bullpen did not respond as well as it has been responding during the regular season. In the end, Tigers concluded 2019 with silver + silver season, a historical one.
Players 2020
A combination of experienced players and talented young faces have brought strength and confidence to the team.
Official list of players
Yoan Martinez 3B
Martin Magris 1B, 3B, P- Roynet Perez C, P
- Andres Mena SS
- Jose Mesa C, P, OF, IF
- Sergio Fernandez 2B, SS, P
Luis Noyola P, 2B, SS
Mauricio Rosales 1B, C
Lassi Autio P, C, IF, OF- Niko Mäki 3B, OF
- Gabriel Rosell OF, 2B
- Tuomo Vestola P, OF
- Silvio Quevedo OF
- Einieri Mainegra IF, OF
- Severi Lehtimäki P, IF
- Jyri Portin 1B, OF
- Teo Scheepstra OF
Willys Reyes- Vicente Herrera
- Pasi Tulonen
Patrick Carney- Christian Camacho
- Jose Gonzales
- Santeri Heino
Tauno Koppel- Camilla Lehtimäki
- Roberto Martinez
- Tuomas Virtanen
Managers
The Tigers have had a great selection of managers and coaches. Working together with the Club's board, their main objectives have always been the development of new talents and building up a competitive team for each season.
- 2004 Lassi Autio
- 2005 Lassi Autio
- 2006 Lassi Autio
- 2007
Oliver Paredes - 2008 Tuomo Mesimäki
- 2009 Lassi Autio
- 2010 Aki Ropo
- 2011 Lassi Autio
- 2012 Aki Ropo
- 2013 Andres Mena
- 2014 Luis Noyola
- 2015 Lassi Autio
- 2016 Mauricio Rosales
- 2017 Mauricio Rosales
- 2018 Mauricio Rosales
- 2019 Mauricio Rosales
- 2020 Mauricio Rosales
Former or not currently active players
Throughout its history, the team has had an array of extra ordinary players. Some are still active in other teams in Finland and some are playing overseas. Some of the players have had previous experience playing baseball while some others learned to play in the club.
List of former players
Simon Visser Cassie Andersen Remberto Martinez Anssi Rämä Riku Sjöroos Tuomas Lemmetty Niklas Palander Markus Blommendahl Jarkko Vilkkilä Otto Nojonen Jarkko Juutilainen Tomi Krogerus Tommi Harala Arni Hukari Akira Ropo Aki Ropo Toni Sjöman Oliver Paredes Juha Kurki Mikko Salmensuo Mauno Ahlgren Jarmo Rintala Juha-Pekka Niemi Aarne Juutilainen Olli Mehtonen Klaus Tamminen Niko Wirgentius Tuomo Mesimäki Abel Maranon 
Julian Hasegawa Ton Sjöman Jyrki Nummenmaa Samuli Ikola Tomi Karppinen Kari Harjunniemi Jarkko Kettunen 
Carlos Ardila Tommi Tuominen Juha Antikainen Alberto Martinez Tommi Sakki Victor Viloria Simopekka Vänskä 
Marc Phillipe Sidney Kitchen Tomi Mäntymaa Tuomas Miskala Jarkko Mällinen Harri Moisio Edvin Suarez Konsta Eskelinen Otto Eskelinen Victor Maso Antony De la Cruz Atro-Matti Puruskainen Heikki Valkama Toivo Aaltonen Dayron Lester Markku Tikka Teemu Takala Antti Kiviniemi Markus Kailanto Don Kilpela Jake Binney Markku Tikka Henri Virinsalo Juuso Valkeala Janne Ylänkö Jarmo Rintala Jarkko Vilkkilä Mikko Helin Joni Holmberg Dennys King Roope Korhonen Mikko Siltanen Samuel Kivi 
Narender Kumar Rafael Espinal 
Gilberto Ruiz Silvio Guarat Jeremi Rannikko Riku Katajamäki Eemi Huhtinen Jani Aaltonen Wilmer Wilson Williams Kelly Elwin Rosario- Some of the players in this list become available and return to the team to play in a particular season while some others have already retired from the sport.
Statistics
Tigers SM Sarja record
| Year | Games | Win | Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 15 | 4 | 11 |
| 2006 | 12 | 4 | 8 |
| 2007 | 12 | 1 | 11 |
| 2008 | 14 | 4 | 10 |
| 2009 | 16 | 3 | 13 |
| 2010 | 15 | 3 | 12 |
| 2012 | 12 | 3 | 9 |
| 2013 | 15 | 4 | 11 |
| 2014 | 15 | 5 | 10 |
| 2017 | 16 | 9 | 7 |
| 2018 | 16 | 6 | 10 |
| 2019 | 20 | 15 | 5 |
| Total | 178 | 61 | 110 |
Tigers Suomi Sarja record
| Year | Games | Win | Tie | Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2011 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2015 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| 2016 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| 2017 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 2018 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| 2019 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 76 | 54 | 4 | 19 |
Post-season record
The team won its first final in 2016.
2008:
SM Sarja playoff
Lost series 0-2 vs Espoo Expos
2015:
Suomi Sarja final
Lost single game 14-5 vs Espoo XL5
2016:
Suomi Sarja Final
Win single game 8-5 vs Helsinki City
Note: In 2017 there was no post-season programmed. The team won the title by winning more games (14) than the rest of the teams in the regular season
2018:
Suomi Sarja Playoffs
Win wildcard game 15-5 vs Nokia White Sox
Lost semifinal 2-13 vs Espoo XL5
2019:
Suomi Sarja final series
Lost final series 0-2 vs Espoo XL5
SM Sarja final series
Lost final series 1-3 vs Espoo Expos
Titles
- 2016: Suomi Sarja Champions
- 2017: Suomi Sarja Champions
See also
References
Finnish Baseball Federation (info, scores, statistics)
Official website (in Finnish)