Tampere Tigers

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.

The Tampere Tigers became Suomi Sarjaa Champions for the first time in 2016

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 had been responding during the regular season. In the end, Tigers concluded 2019 with silver + silver season, a historical one.

Season 2020 was an unusual one. The Tigers finished the regular SM Sarja season in first play for the first time in their history with a record 12 - 2 and a winning percentage of .857. The club however decided to resign from the SM Sarja league while the Final series was underway in protest for alleged irregularities in the way the Baseball Federation managed the league. The allegations included, especial rules to automatically suspend players, provocations from members of the federation online and from the bleachers and scheduling final games in the opponent's field. A new Federation Board was brought up in 2020 and investigations were promised. In Suomi Sarja the team full of new players ended the season in third place.

A combination of experienced players and talented young faces have brought strength and confidence to the team.

Finnish International Sergio Fernandez, considered one of the best players in the history of baseball in Finland and a regular in the Finnish National Team plays with the Tigers

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

Andres Mena of Cuban origin is one of the best players in the league and in the Finnish National Team roster. He started his career in Finland playing as a short stop for the Tigers

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.

Tiger's pregame meeting, getting ready to take on their rivals

• 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

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.

The Tigers celebrating the 2017 title after defeating XL5 in Turku

The team won its first final in 2016.

2008:

SM Sarja playoff

Lost playoff series 0-2 vs Espoo Expos

2015:

Suomi Sarja final

Lost single final game 14-5 vs Espoo XL5

2016:

Suomi Sarja Final

Win single final game 8-5 vs Helsinki City

Note: In 2017 there was no post-season scheduled. 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 final series 0-2 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

2020:

SM Sarja final series

Lost final series 0-3 vs Espoo Expos (Forfeiting games 2 and 3)

• 2016: Suomi Sarja Champions
• 2017: Suomi Sarja Champions

• fi:Baseballin SM-sarja

Finnish Baseball Federation (info, scores, statistics)

Official website

• Official website
• Finnish Baseball Federation (info, scores, statistics)