Francisco Campos

Francisco Machado Campos (born 12 August 1972) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Brother Elephants in 1999. He is a 15-time Mexican League All-Star and played with the Campeche Pirates for more than 20 seasons. He was born in Guaymas, Sonora.

Campos finished his career in the Mexican League with a record of 200–148, a 3.35 ERA and 2,181 strikeouts across innings pitched.

Playing career Originally drafted by the Acereros de Monclova in January 1990, Campos was signed by the Houston Astros in April 1991 as a catcher. He only hit .147/~.275/.235 in 21 games for the Gulf Coast League Astros.

In September 1991, Campos joined the Águilas de Mexicali, but was cut during the pre-season. Reporting to the Indianapolis Indians, he had a 3-0, 2.05 record in 4 appearances, allowing a .180 average and 14 K to 1 BB in 22 IP but did not get called up.

Campos went 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA and a LMP-high 76 strikeouts in 2002–2003. That year, he was 6-4 with a 2.40 ERA for Campeche and only 2-4, 5.72 with Indianapolis. Campos began his best run in the 2003–2004 winter ball season. For the Venados de Mazatlán, Campos was 10-2 with a 2.19 ERA and 68 strikeouts to take the LMP pitching Triple Crown and made the Baseball America winter league All-Star team. He pitched six scoreless innings in the 2004 Caribbean Series. Then, Campos went 12-2 with a 1.47 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 123 IP in the LMB season to take the pitching Triple Crown there as well, the first pitcher to win the Triple Crown in 48 years since Francisco Ramirez. He was named the Mexican League MVP. Only 14 other LMB pitchers have reached the same milestone. He achieved his first managerial victory on 25 May 2021, when his Piratas defeated the Tigres de Quintana Roo 6–1. He led the Piratas to a 24–39 record, failing to qualify to the playoffs.

Campos remained with the team for the 2022 season, during which the club finished 29–58 and again failed to reach the postseason. In January 2023, Campos stepped down as manager of the Piratas and joined the Mexican Pacific League’s Tomateros de Culiacán as their General Manager. He was replaced by Oswaldo Morejón.

Managerial record Mexican League Year Team Regular season Postseason Games Won Lost Tied Pct. Finish Won Lost Pct. Notes Piratas de Campeche 63 – – – – – Piratas de Campeche 87 – – – – – Total 150 – – – –

Legacy In February 2025, Campos was selected by a committee of journalists as a pitcher for the Mexican League Centennial All-Time Team on the occasion of the league's hundredth anniversary.

On 6 November 2025, Campos was enshrined into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2025 alongside pitchers Jorge de la Rosa, Roberto Ramírez and Ismael Valdez, infielders Óscar Robles and Roberto Saucedo, and executive Enrique Mazón.