2015 Santa Fe Fuego Season Recap - A Run to the Championship Series and a Dramatic End to the Bill Moore Era

The 2015 Santa Fe Fuego season became one of the most memorable and complicated seasons in the early history of the franchise. Santa Fe finished the regular season 33-22, returned to the Pecos League playoffs and eventually advanced all the way to the Pecos League Championship Series. The season also marked the dramatic end of the Bill Moore era in Santa Fe, as the longtime Fuego manager resigned on the final day of the regular season after his relationship with Jake Mitzer deteriorated. Moore accused Mitzer of backstabbing him, said he no longer trusted him and told him to take the team into the playoffs. Moore also told the players and the league that he expected to return with another Pecos League team in 2016.

The timing could hardly have been more dramatic. Santa Fe had just completed a strong regular season and was preparing for postseason baseball. A team that had spent the summer building toward a championship opportunity suddenly entered the playoffs without the manager who had led the franchise since its beginning. Instead of collapsing, the Fuego kept winning. Jake Mitzer took the team into the postseason, Santa Fe went on the road and eliminated the Trinidad Triggers, and the Fuego advanced to the Pecos League Championship Series. For the first time, Fort Marcy Park would host championship baseball.

Bill Moore had entered the 2015 season with championship expectations. By this point, he was no longer simply trying to establish the Fuego as a viable Pecos League team. Santa Fe had developed into one of the league's stronger markets, Fort Marcy Park had become one of its most recognizable venues and expectations surrounding the team had increased substantially. Moore assembled another offensive-minded roster that fit the conditions at Fort Marcy and gave Santa Fe a legitimate chance to contend throughout the summer.

The Fuego offense was one of the biggest reasons the team remained near the top of the standings. Chevas Numata put together one of the most powerful seasons in franchise history, appearing in 53 games and collecting 89 hits in 217 at-bats. He scored 74 runs, hit 32 home runs and drove in 88 runs, giving Santa Fe one of the most dangerous middle-of-the-order hitters in the league.

Numata was not alone. Eddie Newton enjoyed another outstanding season at shortstop, collecting 94 hits in 222 at-bats over 51 games. Newton scored 68 runs, hit 19 doubles and 10 home runs and drove in 61. Matt Petrone gave the lineup another major offensive threat, scoring 86 runs in 53 games while collecting 83 hits, 11 doubles, one triple and 14 home runs. Petrone also drew 44 walks and stole 24 bases, making him dangerous in several different ways.

The depth of the lineup made Santa Fe difficult to pitch against from beginning to end. The Fuego could score through home runs, extra-base hits, walks and stolen bases, and they produced the kind of high-scoring games that had become familiar at Fort Marcy Park. Santa Fe regularly put pressure on opposing pitchers and had enough offensive weapons that one quiet night from a star hitter did not necessarily mean the offense would disappear.

The pitching staff was not dominant from top to bottom, but it had several important contributors. Francisco Rodriguez became one of the most dependable starting pitchers, finishing 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA while making 10 starts and working 63.1 innings. He struck out 83 hitters and gave the Fuego a legitimate starter who could miss bats and work deep into games. Tyler Herr became one of the most important bullpen arms, appearing in 28 games, finishing 4-1 with a 4.39 ERA and recording five saves.

Santa Fe continued to play winning baseball through the summer and reached the final days of the regular season positioned for another postseason opportunity. The club had enough offense to survive difficult pitching nights and enough pitching to protect leads when the bats gave the staff room to work. By the time the regular season ended, the Fuego had compiled a 33-22 record and were preparing for the playoffs.

Then everything changed on the final day of the season.

Moore resigned as manager and accused Jake Mitzer of backstabbing him. Moore said he no longer trusted Mitzer and did not want to continue managing under those circumstances. Rather than stay for the postseason, he told Mitzer to take the team into the playoffs himself. It was an extraordinary ending to Moore's tenure in Santa Fe because he had been the manager from the beginning and had played a major role in turning the Fuego from a new independent club into a regular contender.

Moore also made it clear that he did not view his resignation as the end of his Pecos League career. He told the players and the league that he expected to be back with another team in 2016. That declaration added another layer to the drama surrounding his departure, because Moore was not simply walking away from the Fuego. He was leaving Santa Fe believing his managerial career in the league would continue somewhere else.

The Fuego had little time to process the situation. The postseason was beginning immediately, and Jake Mitzer suddenly had responsibility for a team that had spent the entire regular season playing under Moore. There was no extended transition period and no opportunity to rebuild the club around a different approach. Santa Fe simply had to play.

Their first postseason challenge was the Trinidad Triggers. Santa Fe traveled to Central Park and defeated Trinidad 8-5 on July 31. One night later, the Fuego beat the Triggers again, this time 4-2. Those two road victories completed the series and sent Santa Fe to the Pecos League Championship Series.

Considering everything that had happened immediately before the playoffs, the accomplishment was remarkable. The Fuego had lost the only manager the franchise had known on the final day of the regular season, traveled to Trinidad and then won consecutive postseason games on the road. Instead of allowing the managerial controversy to end their season, the players responded by advancing farther than the franchise ever had before.

Santa Fe's reward was one of the biggest moments in franchise history. The Pecos League Championship Series was coming to Fort Marcy Park. For a team that had spent only a few seasons building professional baseball in Santa Fe, hosting the championship series represented a significant milestone. The same ballpark where the Fuego had developed their fan base would now host games for the Pecos League title.

The opponent was the Roswell Invaders, one of the Pecos League's most established franchises and a team with a strong postseason reputation. Santa Fe had already survived the turmoil surrounding Moore's departure and had beaten Trinidad on the road. Now the Fuego had an opportunity to finish the run at home.

The championship series did not unfold the way Santa Fe hoped. Roswell's offense created immediate problems for the Fuego pitching staff, and the Invaders defeated Santa Fe 17-6 in the opening championship game at Fort Marcy Park.

The loss placed Santa Fe in a difficult position, and Roswell continued to control the series. The Invaders ultimately won the championship, ending the Fuego's run at Fort Marcy Park. The result was disappointing, but simply reaching the finals represented the deepest postseason run in the young history of the franchise.

Few seasons in Fuego history contained as many different storylines as 2015. Santa Fe won 33 regular-season games. Chevas Numata produced an extraordinary power season. Eddie Newton and Matt Petrone gave the lineup two more elite offensive performers. Francisco Rodriguez anchored the starting staff, while Tyler Herr became an important late-inning option. On the field, the Fuego had developed into a championship-caliber team.

Yet the season could never be separated from what happened on the final day of the regular season. Moore's resignation ended the first managerial era in Santa Fe Fuego history. His accusation that Mitzer had backstabbed him made the departure personal, while his decision to tell Mitzer to take the team through the postseason created one of the most unusual managerial transitions the league had seen.

The players, however, refused to allow the controversy to become the story of their postseason. Santa Fe entered Central Park and defeated Trinidad twice on the road. Those victories showed the resilience of the roster and gave the Fuego their first trip to the Pecos League Championship Series.

Although the championship ultimately went to Roswell, hosting the finals at Fort Marcy Park represented an important moment for professional baseball in Santa Fe. Fort Marcy had gone from hosting a new independent franchise in 2012 to hosting championship baseball only a few years later. The Fuego had quickly developed from an expansion club into one of the Pecos League's serious contenders.

The 2015 season ultimately became a dividing line in Santa Fe Fuego history. The first era of the franchise had belonged to Bill Moore. He had helped build the baseball operation and guided the Fuego from their earliest seasons into championship contention. That era ended suddenly and bitterly on the final day of the 2015 regular season.

But the franchise continued. Mitzer took the team into the playoffs. The players responded by eliminating Trinidad. Fort Marcy Park hosted the championship series. Roswell eventually won the title, but Santa Fe had demonstrated that the Fuego were bigger than any one manager, player or controversy.

The final result of the 2015 season was both disappointing and historic. Santa Fe finished 33-22 during the regular season, swept Trinidad on the road to reach the Pecos League Championship Series and earned the opportunity to play for the title at Fort Marcy Park. Roswell proved too strong in the finals, but the playoff run established the Fuego as one of the league's premier organizations.

Years later, the 2015 season would be remembered for much more than statistics. It was the season Bill Moore resigned on the final day of the regular season and accused Jake Mitzer of backstabbing him. It was the season Moore told the players and the league that he would return with another team. It was the season he told Mitzer to take the Fuego into the playoffs. And it was the season the Fuego responded by going farther than they ever had before.

Santa Fe won twice in Trinidad, brought the Pecos League Championship Series to Fort Marcy Park and came within one series of winning its first league title. The championship belonged to the Roswell Invaders, but the 2015 Santa Fe Fuego had firmly established themselves as a championship-level franchise even as one of the most important chapters in their history came to a dramatic end.