![]() | ![]() | |||
Baseball
HOME HOCKEY OTHER FEEDBACK FRIENDS AND FAVORITES RULES RANKINGS HISTORY TEAMS Teams with asterisks are not yet posted Aberdeen IronBirds Acereros del Norte* Aigles de Trois-Rivieres* Akron RubberDucks* Albuquerque Isotopes Alexandria Aces* Algodoneros de Unión Laguna* Altoona Curve Arkansas Travelers Asheville Tourists Auburn Doubledays* Augusta GreenJackets* Batavia Muckdogs Bay Area Toros* Beloit Snappers Billings Mustangs Biloxi Shuckers Binghamton Rumble Ponies* Birmingham Barons Bluefield Blue Jays Boise Hawks* Bowie Baysox* Bowling Green Hot Rods Bradenton Marauders Bravos de León* Bristol Pirates Brooklyn Cyclones Buffalo Bisons Burlington Bees Burlington Royals* Calgary Vipers* Capitales de Quebec Carolina Mudcats Cedar Rapids Kernels Charleston RiverDogs* Charlotte Knights* Charlotte Stone Crabs Chattanooga Lookouts Clearwater Threshers Cleburne Railroaders* Clinton LumberKings Colorado Springs Sky Sox* Columbia Fireflies* Columbus Clippers Connecticut Tigers Corpus Christi Hooks Danville Braves Dayton Dragons Daytona Tortugas Delmarva Shorebirds Diablos Rojos del México* Down East Wood Ducks* Dunedin Blue Jays Durham Bulls Elizabethton Twins Erie SeaWolves* Eugene Emeralds* Evansville Otters Everett AquaSox Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Fayetteville Astros* Florence Freedom Florida Fire Frogs* Fort Myers Miracle Fort Wayne TinCaps Frederick Keys* Fresno Grizzlies Frisco RoughRiders Gary SouthShore RailCats Gateway Grizzlies Generales de Durango* Grand Junction Rockies* Great Falls Voyagers* Great Lakes Loons Greeneville Astros Greensboro Grasshoppers Greenville Drive Guerreros de Oaxaca Gwinnett Stripers* Hagerstown Suns Harrisburg Senators Hartford Yard Goats* Helena Brewers Hickory Crawdads Hillsboro Hops Hudson Valley Renegades* Idaho Falls Chukars Indianapolis Indians Inland Empire 66ers* Iowa Cubs Jackson Generals Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp* Johnson City Cardinals Joliet Slammers* Jupiter Hammerheads Kane County Cougars Kannapolis Intimidators Kansas City T-Bones Kingsport Mets Lake County Captains Lake Elsinore Storm Lake Erie Crushers Lakeland Flying Tigers* Lakewood BlueClaws Lancaster Barnstormers Lancaster JetHawks Lansing Lugnuts Laredo Lemurs Las Vegas 51s Lehigh Valley IronPigs Leones de Yucatán Lexington Legends* Lincoln Saltdogs Long Beach Armada* Long Island Ducks Louisville Bats Lowell Spinners* Lynchburg Hillcats* Mahoning Valley Scrappers Memphis Redbirds Midland RockHounds Mississippi Braves Missoula Osprey Mobile BayBears* Modesto Nuts Montgomery Biscuits Myrtle Beach Pelicans Nashville Sounds New Britain Bees* New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Jersey Jackals New Orleans Zephyrs Norfolk Tides* Normal CornBelters Northwest Arkansas Naturals Ogden Raptors* Oklahoma City Dodgers* Olmecas de Tabasco Omaha Storm Chasers Orem Owlz Ottawa Champions* Palm Beach Cardinals Pawtucket Red Sox* Pensacola Blue Wahoos Peoria Chiefs Pericos de Puebla Piratas de Campeche Pittsburg Diamonds* Portland Sea Dogs Potomac Nationals Potros de Tijuana* Princeton Rays* Pulaski Mariners* Quad City River Bandits Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Reading Fightin Phils Reno Aces Richmond Flying Squirrels* River City Rascals Rochester Red Wings Rockland Boulders Rome Braves Round Rock Express Sacramento River Cats* Salem Red Sox Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Salt Lake Bees San Antonio Missions San Jose Giants San Rafael Pacifics* Saraperos de Saltillo Sarasota Reds* Schaumburg Boomers Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders* Sioux City Explorers Sioux Falls Canaries Somerset Patriots Sonoma Stompers South Bend Cubs Southern Illinois Miners Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Spokane Indians Springfield Cardinals St. Lucie Mets St. Paul Saints State College Spikes Staten Island Yankees Stockton Ports Sultanes de Monterrey Sussex County Miners* Syracuse Chiefs Tacoma Rainiers* Tampa Tarpons* Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos* Tennessee Smokies* Texarkana Gunslingers* Texas AirHogs Tigres de Quintana Roo Toledo Mud Hens Toros de Tijuana Traverse City Beach Bums Trenton Thunder Tri-City Dust Devils Tri-City ValleyCats Tucson Padres Tulsa Drillers Vallejo Admirals* Vancouver Canadians Vermont Lake Monsters* Visalia Rawhide* Washington Wild Things West Michigan Whitecaps West Virginia Black Bears West Virginia Power* Wichita Wingnuts Williamsport Crosscutters Wilmington Blue Rocks Windy City Thunderbolts Winnipeg Goldeyes Winston-Salem Dash Wisconsin Timber Rattlers York Revolution* |
Notice: All logos on this page are included within the parameters of 17 U.S.C. § 107, which states that the reproduction of a copyrighted work for purposes of criticism and/or comment is not an infringement of copyright. No challenge to the copyrights of these logos is intended by their inclusion here. Posted 2015 June 23 I've long known that pirates could be bold little bastards when they got it into their head to be, but I never realized quite the extent of it until I started reading up on the history of Campeche for this review. Okay, before I go any further, I know it may surprise some of you to learn I actually bother to do research of towns for these reviews. I don't always. It depends on how much I have to work with from the logo and a quick perusal of the Wikipedia page for the team. The logo, as you can see, only gives me so much. It's a baseball dressed up like the head of a pirate, complete with eye-patch and bared teeth. Okay, fine, whatever. As for the Wikipedia page, it's pretty hopeless. To be totally honest, I'd appreciate it if any fluent-in-Spanish readers I have would do something to fix that page. It's pretty obvious that the page is nothing more than the Spanish Wikipedia page translated into English using Google Translate or some similar(ly flawed) translation website. The following is one of the sentences on the page: "Campeche has won two championships during its history, both times having to face Francisco 'Tiny' Estrada, and has been precisely his number, 25, the only hearty withdrawn by the ninth, won the first championship season 1983 and the second in the 2004 season, highlighting the offensive Poderozo reinforcements Willis Otañez size and Emil Brown among others, as well as reliable serpentine body headed by the pitching triple champion Campos Francisco 'Pancho Punch' and the handover of Isidro Márquez." I'd like to be able to clean that up, but first I'd have to know what any of that means, and I can't figure out it. In any case, because the Wikipedia page was so hopeless, I had to go read about the city to find something to talk about. I'm glad I did, though, because I stumbled upon a nifty little story, and it's even completely relevant to the team because it involves the city of Campeche and pirates. For all I know, it is the origin of the team's name. These pirates, for the record, were not Spanish. They were English. Technically I suppose I should say they were privateers, because the English governor in the Caribbean knew all these guys and was apparently fine with them as long as they left English towns the hell alone, which as best as I can determine they did. The ringleader of this venture was one Sir Christopher Myngs (yes, he was actually knighted for his pirating ways). He fought for the English as a captain and later admiral in the First Anglo-Dutch War and the Anglo-Spanish War. After the latter ended, the English sent him back to the Carribean to keep attacking Spanish cities; apparently, in those days the fact that the war was over didn't mean you were supposed to stop fighting in it. Myngs gathered some other pirates (he was literally a pirate admiral) and sacked the city of Santiago de Cuba. This was apparently a really big hit in some parts of the Carribean (particularly the parts with English pirates), and all his fans wanted to know when he was going on tour again. Not being one to disappoint his fans, he announced that he would next be attacking the town of Campeche on the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. Let that just sink in for a second. He announced where he would be attacking next. This is sort of like a bank robber announcing, "I'm going to rob the First National Bank on Third Street next week...bring your friends!" And bring his friends he did. He put together a fleet of fourteen pirate ships, which apparently was the largest such fleet assembled up to that point. Everyone wanted to be part of this. And I do mean everyone; some Dutch and French pirates asked if they could get in on the action. Of course, this being the Seventeenth Century when all of these countries hated each other, you can imagine what Myngs' reply was. It was, "Hell, yeah, come on down!" So the people in Campeche knew there were pirates coming, and they had already had fortifications designed to repel pirates because they were a coastal city in the Carribean in the Seventeenth Century, and as we all know, the technical term for a coastal city in the Carribean in the Seventeeth Century that didn't have fortifications designed to repel pirates is "ruins". So they trained their cannons on the harbor and waited. They were ready for these bastards to come. And when they saw ships from Myngs' fleet arrive in the harbor, they started firing. No way were these pirates going to make it from the harbor into the city. And the pirates didn't make it from the harbor to the city. That's because the ships were a decoy. Roughly two-thirds of Myngs forces — about a thousand men — had landed a short distance from the city the night before and traveled overland. Once the city forces were focused on the harbor, Myngs attacked from the other side of the city. It would be funny (in a grim sort of way) if they had been able to stroll into the city unobstructed because nobody was paying any attention to that side of town. But it wasn't that simple: the people of Campeche weren't that stupid. There were still sentries posted around the city, and once they saw Myngs and his forces coming they sounded the alarm. The militia was outnumbered roughly six to one, but the city walls went all the way around and thus the militia was able to make use of the high ground. They managed to injure Myngs, who was taken back to his ship, but under the command of the Dutch pirate Edward Mansvelt, the remaining pirates were able to kill all but one of the town's officials in the fighting. This last official, wisely, surrendered. The pirates took about 150,000 pieces of eight (which if melted into silver ingots today would net you about about two and a quarter million dollars), and also took about fourteen ships with them when they left. The raid was so successful that afterwards King Charles had to forbid any similar raids (remember, the English weren't supposed to be fighting the Spanish anymore). This policy stayed in place for roughly twenty years, at which point similar attacks were arranged on the Spanish cities of Veracruz and Cartagena. I'm sure the English used the excuse of "What do you expect? That place is crawling with pirates..." So not only did this stunt work spectacularly well once, it worked spectacularly well at least three times, and probably more than that. Why didn't I learn about this in history class? If I had I might have actually been able to stay awake in class.
Final Score: 43 points.
This page Copyright ©2015 Scott D. Rhodes.
All rights reserved
|