# Cleveland Indians considering a name change \[Edit: It's "Guardians"\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [July 4, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323 "2020-07-04T20:53:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/402 "2021-07-28T17:00:34Z")
The New York Orioles (Yep the Yankees franchise was in Baltimore for 1901-2) ---
**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/403 "2021-07-28T17:13:27Z")
San Antonio Chaparrals (Spurs) ABA teamed moved from Dallas, became the Gunslingers briefly. Before they ever played a game, changed their name to the Spurs. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/404 "2021-07-28T17:15:00Z")
Philadelphia Nationals (76ers) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/405 "2021-07-28T17:19:45Z")
Come to think of it, wasn’t “Blue Jacket” the name of a historical figure, a white man who was adopted into a native American tribe? That’d be an… interesting… new choice of name for the Indians. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/406 "2021-07-28T17:20:21Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > > [@Munch](#): > > > > Baltimore Brewers (Orioles) > > > > This is fun! Any more out there? > > Speaking of Baltimore - Baltimore Browns (Ravens - yes they were told by the NFL to leave the Browns behind, but they would have changed it anyway I’m sure) Another Baltimore Browns (Orioles). The original Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis and spent 52 years there as the Browns, almost always overshadowed by the N.L.'s Cardinals. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/407 "2021-07-28T17:23:21Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > The original Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis and spent 52 years there as the Browns Ironic, as St. Louis is the other city where Brewers would work great. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/408 "2021-07-28T17:24:19Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > They did actually play as the Tennessee Oilers for two years To be fair, Tennessee does have oil. Not as much as Texas, certainly, and not really around Nashville. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/409 "2021-07-28T17:25:02Z")
There is also (of great sadness here in Atlanta): Winnipeg Thrashers (Jets) Of course the original Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/410 "2021-07-28T17:29:13Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > The New York Orioles > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Another Baltimore Browns (Orioles) Yeah, but those aren’t regional names like “Lakers”, “Jazz”, “Brewers”, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/411 "2021-07-28T17:39:17Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Yeah, but those aren’t regional names like “Lakers”, “Jazz”, “Brewers”, etc. “Orioles” kind of is, as it’s a reference to a bird species, the [Baltimore oriole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_oriole). ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/412 "2021-07-28T17:50:51Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > > [@OldGuy](#): > > > > The New York Orioles > > > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > > > Another Baltimore Browns (Orioles) > > Yeah, but those aren’t regional names like “Lakers”, “Jazz”, > “Brewers”, etc True, but “Browns” is not a common team nickname; it’s odd to think that _two_ franchises that bore the name wound up in Baltimore. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/413 "2021-07-28T23:42:45Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > First off, Utah is a state. Second, [there does appear to be a Jazz scene in Salt Lake City](https://www.visitutah.com/articles/how-to-hear-live-jazz-every-night-week-salt-lake). I’m sure there’s a jazz scene in every moderately large city. But Utah isn’t exactly known for Jazz. When the Guardians play the Dodgers in Los Angeles, there needs to be some sort of cross promotion with the MLS’s Galaxy. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/414 "2021-07-30T11:58:29Z")
Actually, the Devils would be the New Jersey Scouts. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/415 "2021-07-30T14:49:49Z")
True; they were the Kansas City Scouts before they were the Colorado Rockies, though “Scouts” is relatively location-neutral, while “Rockies” doesn’t fit in Jersey whatsoever. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/416 "2021-07-30T19:28:02Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > There is also (of great sadness here in Atlanta): > > Winnipeg Thrashers (Jets) > > Of course the original Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix. Calgary . . . er, Flames. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/417 "2021-08-02T15:34:37Z")
True that you could fit “Scouts” to another location, but it was meant specifically as a reference to [an iconic Kansas City statue](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scout_(Kansas_City,_Missouri_statue)) (much like the newly-renamed Cleveland Guardians). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/418 "2021-08-02T15:42:30Z")
Has anybody pointed out that there is _already_ a “Cleveland Guardians” sports team in existence? [Cleveland Guardians - Cleveland Men’s Roller Derby](https://www.clevelandguardians.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/419 "2021-08-02T15:50:15Z")
That’s not necessarily an issue. Didn’t New York City have teams in the NFL and MLB both called the Giants? And I’m sure there are other examples. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/420 "2021-08-02T15:52:53Z")
Yes, but you would think that _someone_ would have taken the simple step of looking up “[clevelandguardians.com](http://clevelandguardians.com)” to see if the domain was available. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323/421 "2021-08-02T15:54:41Z")
Perhaps they did, saw that it was taken and planned to use another URL? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-indians-considering-a-name-change-edit-its-guardians/914323.md?page=22)