Bravos de León
| Bravos de León | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| League | Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (Zona Sur) |
| Location | León, Guanajuato |
| Ballpark | Estadio Domingo Santana |
| Year founded | 1978 |
| League championships | 1 (1990) |
| Division championships | 1 (1990) |
| Former name(s) | Cachorros de León |
| Colors | Navy blue, red, gold, white |
| Ownership | Mauricio Martínez Alvizu |
| Manager | Luis Rivera |
| Website | www |
The Bravos de León (English: León Braves) are a Triple-A Minor League Baseball team of the Mexican League that plays in León, Guanajuato, Mexico.
Mexican League baseball in León began in 1979 when the Alijadores de Tampico moved to the city and became the Cachorros de León (León Lion Cubs).
The first manager of the Cachorros was Benjamin "Papelero" Valenzuela. The roster included Héctor Espino, Celerino Sánchez, Puerto Rican second baseman Luis Alcaraz, Ivan Murrell, Cito Gaston, and Héctor Manuel "Conejo" Díaz, among others. They finished last in North Division with a record of 52–82.
The 1980 team was managed by Mario Saldaña. Despite losing star player Héctor Espino, the team improved, but a league-wide strike brought an early end to the season. The Cachorros had a record of 43–53 when the strike started.
The 1980 strike was orchestrated by the National Association of Baseball Players (Spanish acronym: ANABE). The leaders and supporters of ANABE were expelled from the Mexican League. They had demanded better pay, better contracts and benefits, retirement insurance, and other concessions that club owners were unwilling to give.
ANABE organized a league of striking players for the 1981 season. León's entry was the Lechugueros de León. This team included Francisco Noriega, Porfirio Salomón, and Vic Davalillo.
The ANABE league never achieved stability, so León businessman Pedro Medina Hurtado purchased the Broncos de Reynosa franchise and transferred it to León, becoming the Bravos de León. Their first season in the Mexican League was 1983. This new team included Ivan Murrell, Jesús "Chucho" Sommers, Juan Francisco "Chico" Rodríguez, Henry Cruz, Gener Rivero, Álvaro Soto, Ricardo "Siete Leguas" Sáenz, and was managed by Benjamín Valenzuela. This team went 55–61, good for sixth place in the North Division.
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