Bravos de León

13

It's been an interesting offseason for los Bravos de León. In November, it was announced that the team would not be returning for the 2019 season. Not by the team, but by the league. Apparently the team was pretty deep in debt, as the plan was to auction off the player contracts and use the money raised to pay off debts to the league, other teams, and various suppliers. It wasn't just los Bravos who were getting cut — los Algodoneros de Unión Laguna, Pericos de Peubla, and Rieleros de Aguascalientes were on the chopping block as well. In the case of Laguna and Puebla, the teams were owned by someone who owned two Mexican League teams (this is allowed in the Mexican League, but not in MLB or any of the affiliated minor leagues in the U.S. and Canada) and wanted to concentrate on the other team, but was unable to find a buyer for the folding team. In the case of Aguascalientes and León, it was because the teams were basically broke. So that was it for los Bravos, right?

Well, obviously not, since I'm reviewing their logo. In December, the league announced that all four teams would in fact play in 2019. Aguascalientes is going to receive state subsidies. Puebla found a buyer. The owners of Laguna were convinced to keep the team going. And los Bravos have new investors, which should will keep the team afloat.

I have to admit this all sounds a little precarious, particularly the situation in Laguna and Aguascalientes, but hopefully it'll all work out.

So with that said, let's turn our attention to the team's name and logo. After all, this isn't a "business of baseball" site.

Yes, Bravos is Spanish for Braves, and if the logo is any indication, the Spanish word can be used to refer to Native Mexican warriors just like the English word can be used for Native American warriors. I don't know if using the Spanish word in this fashion is considered as offensive as using the English word in this fashion is. I also don't know what Native Mexicans think of a baseball team calling itself los Bravos (and the name is much newer than the Braves name in Major League Baseball, having first been used in 1982). For that matter, I don't know much about the status of Native Mexicans in Mexico in general. What I'm saying is, I'd really rather not have to say too much about this team's name because I'm walking into a minefield and am completely unfamiliar with the terrain.

Given the name, you might be wondering if the logo is supposed to feature a person wearing combination baseball helmet/ceremonial headdress. As best as I can tell, yes it is. The area where León is located was once the territory of the Guamares, and if you do a Google Image Search on "Guamares" you'll see some pictures that should illustrate that nicely. Better yet, search for "Guamares" on YouTube and look for the video entitled Guamares de Comonfort, 24 Nov. 2018". You'll get a better look at the headdresses, plus you'll get to see the ceremonial dance, which is pretty cool.

As with the name, I'm not sure what any Native Mexicans think about the logo. And with that in mind, I'm not going to comment on it any further.

Scoring Note: I debated whether to give this logo the full "player" penalty or just the "equipment" penalty. In the end I went with the latter because it's not even a proper baseball helmet, and there's absolutely nothing else to indicate the person in the logo is playing baseball.

Final Score: 13 points.
Penalties: Equipment, 13 pts.
Bonuses: None.