Cangrejeros de Santurce

The Cangrejeros de Santurce (; Santurce Crabbers) are a professional baseball team based in Santurce, the largest barrio of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The franchise joined the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente when it was the semi-professional Liga de Béisbol Semi-Profesional de Puerto Rico. Having played for over 80 years, the Cangrejeros have won sixteen national titles and five Caribbean Series. With over 2000 victories, the Cangrejeros have won the most games in the history of Puerto Rican professional baseball. The 1954–55 Cangrejeros, nicknamed Panic Squad, was the team's most notable roster, with a lineup that included hall of famers Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays. This version of the Cangrejeros won the National and Caribbean championships by sweeping their respective series. The Cangrejeros most recently played its home games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, in the municipality of San Juan. For several years they shared this field with the Senadores de San Juan (also known temporally as the San Juan Metros). A sports rivalry has always existed between both teams, leading to the creation of the "City Championship", which was a season-long series that gave the team with the most wins the aforementioned title. During the 2003–04 season they also shared the stadium with the Montreal Expos before they were relocated to Washington, D.C., and became the Nationals. Previous home fields include the Sixto Escobar Stadium near Old San Juan, as well as the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón. The team's official radio station in the metropolitan area was WIPR (AM), on the 940 AM frequency. Creation and early years Pedrín Zorilla, an amateur baseball player and then executive in Shell Oil's branch in Puerto Rico, established a baseball team at Santurce in the 1930s. A franchise was soon created and headquarters were located at Parada 20, Heriberto Ramírez de Arellano was responsible for its title, naming it after the Cangrejo Arriba and Cangrejo Abajo sectors of Condado and Loíza Street, where some players lived. Zorilla led a board composed of Ramírez de Arellano, Rafael Muñiz, Mike Pasarell, Héctor Nevares, Toño Palerm among others, which oversaw fund raising and operation. Panchicu Toste established contact with several local business, which promoted the team and managed ticket sales. The franchise received some opposition from the staff of the Senadores de San Juan, the municipality's main team at the time.