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From seventh-inning stretch songs to synchronized cheers, each of the seventy-eight¹ teams that takes up bat, ball and glove in the Liga Nacional Puertorriqueña has traditions it guards with erinaceous jealousy.

Among these, doubtlessly the least secret, and yet one of the most competitively guarded, is each team’s chosen fantastical representative: a distillation of their quintessence into a corporeal (and quite often cuddly) entity that entertains fans, antagonizes opposing managers, and generally makes a fool of itself for public benefit.

After all, what is a baseball team without a mascot?

This is not a rhetorical question. The answer is the New York Yankees. As every right-thinking² baseball fan knows, no matter how bad your team is, you never want to be the New York Yankees.

If you want to keep getting updates on this and other LNP happenings, well, you know what to do.

First, a little history.

Lions, Tigers and Bears . . . Are Not Present Here

We first celebrated the Mascot Bowl in 2022. In those salad days, we simply asked each of the Liga Nacional Puertorriqueña’s then-patrons to each nominate a team they’d like to see become a mascot.

That gave us a field of eight, which included mascots for the ☕ Cafeteros, 🍊 Cítricos, 🦈 Colmillos, 🐺 Lobos, 🌧️ Milagrosos, 🫏 Mulos, 🧀 Quesiteros and 🐢 Tortugas.

Mascot Bowl I: The Exemplary Eight (2022)

• Champion: 🍊 Citrombo.

• Runner-up: 🌧️ Llantuvia.

8 teams with mascots.
70 left.

Never in the field of mascot conflict was so much made for so many by so few.

The next year, La Central switched to allowing each patron to choose twelve teams they’d like to see get in, and furthermore, divided them up by league.³

Mascot Bowl II: The Directed Dozen (2023)

This time, the 🌈 Brillantes, 🐐 Chupacabras, 🦜 Cotorras, 🍞 Cuervos, ☠️ Esqueletos, 🧊 Fríos, 🕷️ Guabaleros, 🔮 Hechiceros, 🥟 Macabeos, 👽 Marcianos, 🍌 Mofongueros and 🦇 Murciélagos joined the fray.

• Champion: 🍞 Gafástrofe.

• Runner-up: ☠️ Tibiambino.

• Semifinalists: 👽 Galaxígena, 🌈 Brillamarada.

20 teams with mascots.
58 left.

It was this second Mascot Bowl that would settle the bracket format that has held strong to the present day.

By the third edition, La Central’s art team had developed a defined style that encouraged patrons to choose some of the more out there teams . . . and it’s safe to say they delivered.

Mascot Bowl III: The Tremendous Twelve (2024)

Participants in this one included the 🦀 Artilleros, 🐸 Coquís, 🐝 Dulceros, ⚡ Eléctricos, 🎽 Golondrinas, 🫧 Matadioses, 🧭 Navegadores, 🕊️ Palomas, 🥒 Pepinos, 🐟 Picudos, ☎️ Telegrafistas, and 👹 Vejigantes.

• Champion: 🐸 Queraniego.

• Runner-up: 🧭 Nortimón.

• Semifinalists: 🕊️ Aversátil, 🥒 Verditleta.

32 teams with mascots.
46 left.

As last year’s festivities approached, the team had even more reason to celebrate: at the end of it, they would have finally provided mascots for a little over half the island.

Mascot Bowl IV: Ten and Two More Mascots, Drawn in A Style (2025)

Participants in this one included the 🏛️ Acropolitanos, 🐎 Corceles, 🦉 Ilustres, ⚙️ Ingenieros, 🥛 Lecheros, 🗽 Libertadores, 🎣 Pescadores, 📜 Poetas, ⚕️ Sanisalvos, ☀️ Soles, 🛁 Termales, and 🪓 Tumbabrazos.

• Champion: 🏛️ Zanganóplita.

• Runner-up: 🛁 Saunigozo.

• Semifinalists: 🎣 Curricanoso, ⚙️ Tandatómica.

44 teams with mascots.
34 left.

And now, at long last, after one of the toughest beginnings to a year our dear gaceteros have had in a long time, it’s time.

Mascot Bowl V: Dodecatussle (2026)

Turns out that when you’ve got more than half the league under your belt, things start getting interesting.

All six teams in Liga Betances—the ⛪ Arzobispos, 🍭 Cañeros, ⚓ Guardacostas, ⚒️ Martilleros, 🧱 Metropolitanos, and 🧛🏻 Rebeldes—are paired in divisions, making each MB5 victory that much sweeter for them.

Hostos’ participants are no less spread out, but after winning the last two Bowls in a row, they’re certainly looking to three-peat this year and take the lead. They bring a strong complement, with the 🤝 Amigos, 🦏 Cornúpetas, 🩸 Insolentes, 🔱 Marineros, 🏪 Mercaderes and ✝️ Santos all boasting excellent mascots.

Since the images would make this email unacceptably large, we’ll be parading them around tomorrow in preparation for the first round of polling. As you read this, they should already be out on our socials.

How do I participate?

Glad you asked!

This year, we’re doing one-on-one polls through Strawpoll, because they meet our requirements of being 1) free, 2) no-reg for voters, and 3) not extremely sold on AI “solutions.”

You can actually vote on the first round right now! The lower four seeds in each league face each other to determine who faces the top two.

All polls close on June 13th, 7:30 PM EST.

• Betances, #3 vs. #6

• Betances, #4 vs. #5

• Hostos, #3 vs. #6

• Hostos, #4 vs. #5

Now’s the time, gente, to help your favorite mascot win! Strategize, cajole, persuade and demagogue away—Whip! Those! Votes!