Cleveland Guardians

Previously known as Columbus Buckeyes (1896), Columbus Senators (1897-1899), Grand Rapids Furniture Makers (1899), Cleveland Blues (1900-1901), Cleveland Bronchos (1902), Cleveland Naps (1903-1914) and Cleveland Indians (1915-2021)

Franchise Record:

• (1896-2023): 10,100-9631-89-1 (.512)
• (1900-2023): 9,823-9,374-89-1 (.512)
• (1901-2023): 9,760-9301-89-1 (.512)

Post Season Record: 59-58 (.504)

World Series Titles: 2 (1920, 1948)

American League Pennants: 6 (1920, 1948, 1954, 1995, 1997, 2016)

Postseasons: 17 (1920, 1948, 1954, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)

Franchise Players: Earl Averill, Lou Boudreau, Stan Coveleski, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, Wes Ferrell, Mel Harder, Joe Jackson, Addie Joss, Nap Lajoie, Bob Lemon, Kenny Lofton, Sam McDowell, José Ramírez, Joe Sewell, Tris Speaker, Jim Thome, Terry Turner, George Uhle, Early Wynn

Retired Numbers: 3 Earl Averill; 5 Lou Boudreau; 14 Larry Doby; 18 Mel Harder; 19 Bob Feller; 21 Bob Lemon; 25 Jim Thome; 42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout Major League Baseball)

Ballparks: Recreation Park II, Columbus, OH (1896-99); Ramona Park, Grand Rapids, MI (1899), League Park I (Apr. 26, 1900-Sept. 6, 1909); Fairview Park, Dayton, OH (June 8, 1902); Mahaffey Park, Canton, OH (June 15, 1902; May 10, 1903); Jailhouse Flats, Ft. Wayne, IN (June 22, 1902; Aug. 31, 1902); Neil Park I, Columbus, OH (Aug. 3, 1902; May 17, 1903; June 21, 1903); League Park II (Apr. 21, 1910-Jul. 30, 1932, Apr. 17, 1934-Sept. 21, 1946); Cleveland Stadium (Jul. 31, 1932-Sept. 24, 1933, Apr. 15, 1947-Oct. 3, 1993); Jacobs Field aka (Progressive Field) (Apr. 4, 1994-Present) Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI (Apr. 10-12, 2007)

Team History

The Cleveland Guardians are one of the original franchises of the American League, dating back to 1901, when they played as the Cleveland Blues. Before that, they were a franchise in the minor league version of the AL in 1900, and in the Western League even before that. They were known for a spell as the Cleveland Naps, after star player Napoleon Lajoie, and for over 100 years, from 1915 to 2021, as the Cleveland Indians.

The name Guardians was revealed on July 23, 2021 by the Cleveland American League baseball team to replace the name Indians, which had been in use for over 100 years but had grown increasingly controversial over the last couple of decades. The new name was officially used beginning with the 2022 season.

The name Guardians was not used by a major professional sports team until Cleveland's announcement. It is derived from the two massive sculptures on the Hope Memorial Bridge over the Cuyahoga River, the "Guardians of Traffic", that are meant to symbolize progress. It beat out the early favorite, "Spiders", used by Cleveland's National League team in the 1890s, but which lost out because of its association with what many consider the worst team of all time, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. The new name was generally well received, though it did receive pushback from some circles. The name change did hit a snag in October 2021 when a local roller-derby team claimed it already owned the name since 2013 and that the Indians had not obtained their consent. They also claimed that the Indians had resorted to dubious business practices, due to the weakness of their position, by filing a copyright claim for the name in the small island nation of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. They therefore filed a lawsuit to prevent the change, as, hey, this is America, although the case was always likely to be settled out of court with money changing hands to soothe the wounds of the roller-skaters. This is indeed what happened when the two sides came to an agreement whose terms were not made public on November 16th, but not before the dispute had pushed back the launch of official team merchandise under the new identity, which had been scheduled for November 15th. The change in names officially took place on November 19th.

In their first season under their new name, the Guardians made the postseason in 2022, winning the AL Central division title. They then defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Series before taking the New York Yankees to the limit in the Division Series. This was a very good start, especially as the team was considered to still be rebuilding when the season started.

Hall of Famers who played or managed for Cleveland

• Roberto Alomar
• Earl Averill
• Harold Baines
• Bert Blyleven
• Lou Boudreau
• Steve Carlton
• Stan Coveleski
• Larry Doby
• Dennis Eckersley
• Bob Feller
• Elmer Flick
• Joe Gordon
• Walter Johnson
• Addie Joss
• Ralph Kiner
• Nap Lajoie
• Bob Lemon
• Al Lopez
• Minnie Miñoso
• Jack Morris
• Eddie Murray
• Hal Newhouser
• Phil Niekro
• Satchel Paige
• Gaylord Perry
• Sam Rice
• Frank Robinson
• Joe Sewell
• Billy Southworth
• Tris Speaker
• Jim Thome
• Hoyt Wilhelm
• Dick Williams
• Dave Winfield
• Early Wynn
• Cy Young

Retired Numbers

• 3 Earl Averill
• 5 Lou Boudreau
• 14 Larry Doby
• 18 Mel Harder
• 19 Bob Feller
• 21 Bob Lemon
• 42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout Major League Baseball)

Awards

• American League MVP:
  • "Tioga" George Burns 1926
  • Lou Boudreau 1948
  • Al Rosen 1953

• American League Cy Young Award:
  • Gaylord Perry 1972
  • C.C. Sabathia 2007
  • Cliff Lee 2008
  • Corey Kluber 2014 & 2017
  • Shane Bieber 2020

• American League Rookie of the Year Award:
  • Herb Score 1955
  • Chris Chambliss 1971
  • Joe Charboneau 1980
  • Sandy Alomar Jr. 1990

• American League Manager of the Year Award:
  • Mike Hargrove 1995
  • Eric Wedge 2007
  • Terry Francona 2013, 2016 & 2022
  • Stephen Vogt 2024

Famous Feats

• Perfect game:
  • Addie Joss: October 2, 1908
  • Len Barker: May 15, 1981

• No-hitter:
  • Pete Dowling: June 30, 1901
  • Bob Rhoads: September 18, 1908
  • Addie Joss: October 2, 1908
  • Addie Joss: April 20, 1910
  • Ray Caldwell: September 10, 1919
  • Wes Ferrell: April 29, 1931
  • Bob Feller: April 16, 1940
  • Bob Feller: April 30, 1946
  • Don Black: July 10, 1947
  • Bob Lemon: June 30, 1948
  • Bob Feller: July 1, 1951
  • Sonny Siebert: June 10, 1966
  • Dick Bosman: July 19, 1974
  • Dennis Eckersley: May 30, 1977
  • Len Barker: May 15, 1981

• Unassisted Triple Play:
  • Neal Ball: July 19, 1909
  • Bill Wambsganss: October 10, 1920 (Game 5 of the 1920 World Series)
  • Asdrubal Cabrera: May 12, 2008

• Four home runs in one game:
  • none

• Two home runs in one inning:
  • Carlos Baerga: April 8, 1993 (One batting right-handed, one batting left-handed)

• Hitting for the Cycle:
  • Bill Bradley September 24, 1903
  • Earl Averill August 17, 1933
  • Odell Hale July 12, 1938
  • Larry Doby June 4, 1952
  • Tony Horton July 2, 1970
  • Andre Thornton April 22, 1978
  • Travis Hafner August 14, 2003
  • Rajai Davis July 2, 2016
  • Jake Bauers June 14, 2019

Further Reading

• Scooby Axson: "Cleveland's baseball team announces it's changing nickname to the Guardians", USA Today, July 23, 2021. [1]
• Mandy Bell: "New for '22: Meet the Cleveland Guardians", mlb.com, July 23, 2021. [2]
• Mandy Bell: "Agreement reached on 'Guardians' name", mlb.com, November 16, 2021. [3]
• Mandy Bell: "Guardians era officially arrives in Cleveland", mlb.com, November 19, 2021. [4]
• Mark Gillispie: "Which Cleveland Guardians? Roller derby team sues MLB team", AP News.com, October 27, 2021. [5]
• Aarohi Sheth: "Trump Calls Cleveland Indians' Name Change a 'Disgrace'", Yahoo!News, July 23, 2021. [6]