June 2, 2011

Wezen-Ball

Ranking MLB's Spanish-language URLs

by Larry Granillo

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Do you ever look behind home plate at certain stadiums and notice the website URLs on the advertising blocks? Usually it's just something simple like brewers.com or redsox.com, but oftentimes you'll see a second one sitting next to it: yankees.com and yankeesbeisbol.com, for example.

If it isn't immediately obvious, that second URL is the address to the team's Spanish-language website. For teams with a large enough Spanish-speaking fanbase, the Spanish URL is a no-brainer. The makeup of that URL isn't uniform, however. While the Yankees may feel yankeesbeisbol.com works for them, their crosstown rivals instead go with losmets.com while still other teams choose something different.

Since I noticed this a few weeks ago, I've been wanting to take a look at the full list of Spanish-language URLs to see how they're constructed. Below, then, you will find a ranking of all MLB Spanish websites, based entirely on their Spanish-language URL and their site's bannerhead (e.g., if the Mets incorporate "Los Mets" into their bannerhead while the Cubs completely ignore "Los Cubs", the Mets will come out ahead). My Spanish isn't strong enough to read through the sites and rank them by depth, so we'll be sticking with the superficial stuff. It's pointless, I know, but it should be fun.

Here, then, are the best Major League Baseball websites based off of Spanish-language web addresses.

1. Chicago White Sox - http://www.orgullosox.com/
   As you'll see later, Spanish URLs tend to fall into two or three categories. None of those categories are "[team] pride!" like the White Sox URL translates to. The Sox also get credit for putting some sort of Spanish in their banner ("Mi Mundo - White Sox"). The fact that you can find "Las Medias Blancas de Chicago" and "Los White Sox de Chicago" on the website is a bit disappointing, but only mildly so. Overall, I love the idea of http://www.orgullosox.com/.
2. Houston Astros - http://www.astrosdehouston.com/
   Similar to the White Sox, http://www.astrosdehouston.com/ certainly sounds more technically correct than the alternatives. The "Somos Tus Astros" banner is a very nice touch.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers - http://www.losdodgers.com/
   Not losdoyers.com, but still a nice use of the team name Spanish-speakers use already. I mostly liked the "Es tiempo para Dodger Beisbol" banner the team uses.
4. San Francisco Giants - http://www.sfgigantes.com/
   I would've sworn this was losgigantes.com, but that's obviously not true. Points for keeping the site URLs so close together (sfgiants.com) and for the "¡Campeones de la Serie Mundial 2010!" banner.
5. Oakland Athletics - http://www.losatleticos.com/
   There are 8 total teams using the "los [team]" URL structure. The A's make it to the top (behind the Dodgers) for using a good, simple translation in the URL. Their banner - "Beisbol a lo verde" - is also quite nice.
6. Seattle Mariners - http://www.losmarineros.com/
   Much like the A's, the Mariners make it this high for the strong, simple translation.
7. Washington Nationals - http://www.losnacionales.com/
   The Nats would be higher - I love using "Nacionales" for the team name - but the team blatantly ignores this by putting the standard "Washington Nationals" banner on the page. A shame.
8. Arizona Diamondbacks - http://www.losdbacks.com/
   Very straigtforward. I appreciate that they used "Los Dbacks" instead of "Los Diamondbacks". Embrace it, guys.
9. New York Mets - http://www.losmets.com/
   I do like this trend, and the Mets do a fine job with it. But the "Los" is lost in the bannerhead and, overall, it's a bit boring. I still enjoy it.
10. Kansas City Royals - http://www.losroyals.com/
    I don't know why, but this rubs me wrong more than the "Los Mets"-thing does. Having "Los Reales de Kansas City" in the titlebar doesn't help.
11. Chicago Cubs - http://www.loscubs.com/
    Like the Royals, this falls near the bottom thanks to a less-than-inspired URL choice and the "Los Cachorros de Chicago" titlebar. A non-Spanish banner piles on.
12. Atlanta Braves - http://www.bravesbeisbol.com/
    It says "http://www.bravesbeisbol.com/", but the titlebar says "Los Bravos de Atlanta". There is a little bit of Spanish branding in the banner, though ("La emocion del Turner Field").
13. New York Yankees - http://www.yankeesbeisbol.com/
    Straightforward, but way too simple. No bannerhead other than "New York Yankees" hurts too.
14. Tampa Bay Rays - http://www.raysbeisbol.com/
    Exact same boat as the Yankees. The titlebar calls them "Los Rayos de Tampa Bay".
15. Florida Marlins - http://www.marlinsbeisbol.com/
    There is some Spanish regarding the new stadium. The Marlins place so low because I expect more from a team with such a huge Spanish-speaking (potential) fan base. When they change to the Miami Marlins next year, things may change some.
16. San Diego Padres - http://www.padresbeisbol.com/
    Same with the Padres. But they even use less Spanish than the Marlins, so they drop to almost the bottom.
17. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - http://www.angelsbeisbol.com/
    As I said, I expect more from a team with a large Spanish-speaking fanbase. Doubly so when the team's city is already Spanish for their team name. There should definitely be room for something clever here, and http://www.angelsbeisbol.com/ just doesn't cut it.
18. Texas Rangers - http://mlb.mlb.com/tex/news/spanish/index.jsp
    Not actually a Spanish URL, but it at least takes you to Spanish-language webpage with current news and information on it.
19. Colorado Rockies - http://mlb.mlb.com/col/news/spanish/index.jsp
    Exactly like the Texas entry, except even worse.
20. The remaining 11 teams have no Spanish website.

There you have it. There are really only three types of Spanish-language URLs: [team]beisbol.com, los[team].com, and something interesting/unique. Considering the conservative nature of most baseball owners, I'm a bit pleasantly surprised we have even three unique Spanish URLs. Is there anything about these sites that jump out at you (especially if you are a fluent Spanish-speaker)?