Like it or not, it’s happening! The Cleveland Indians are going to change their name and I am very worried about what it will be. We have some pretty good ideas of the possibilities now that official ODDS have been released! Here are the odds, provided by BetOnline.ag, and my opinions of each name…
Spiders +300
Naps +400
Guardians +500
Buckeyes +600
Dobys +700
Wild Things +800
Blue Sox +900
Rocks +1000
Cuyahogas +1500
Crows +2000
Rockers +2000
Unions +2500
Fellers +3300
Great Lakers +4000
Cleveland Spiders
This would be a tribute to the old National League team that existed during the late 19th century. It has a nice ring to it, historical significance, and hopefully won’t be offensive to any one later on down the road! This is one of my favorites and would probably be my first choice.
Cleveland Naps
This was the name of the club before being changed to the Indians. The name simply came from their star player, Nap Lajoie. The odds are not bad at all for this name, which surprises me as it was named after a former player who doesn’t seem any more significant at this time than any other former great player from any franchise. He got to have the team named after him while he played, but why should it be named after him now? I’m not a huge fan of this option.
Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians is an original sounding name but it doesn’t have a great ring to it, at least not at first. Of course, whatever it is changed to we will likely get used to.
Cleveland Buckeyes
This is a tribute to the old Negro League team called the Buckeyes. Due to the current political climate, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the new name. However, I don’t like it, simply because I associate the Buckeyes nickname with Ohio State, as most sports fan do! Buckeyes belongs to OSU and not the MLB team… I don’t want them to share it.
Cleveland Dobys
What’s with all the player name options? Larry Doby was the first black player in the American League and followed Jackie Robinson as the second in the MLB after Jackie broke the color barrier. For this reason, it does make some sense to name the team after him. However, I am in general not a fan of naming teams after players. This has a good shot to be the new name for the same reasons as the Buckeyes.
Cleveland Wild Things
A tribute to the Major League films, I see this as having almost no chance. Major League is my favorite baseball movie of all time, so I wouldn’t hate this name, but I also don’t love it.
Cleveland Blue Sox
I’m not a fan of this name. The Red Sox and White Sox have been around for over 100 years as have the Cleveland Indians. To now, after all this time, try to be the third Sox team is ridiculous. Save that for an expansion team.
Cleveland Rocks
Well, this makes sense. It obviously has a ring to it, which is why the expression become popular on the Drew Carry show. I don’t hate it all, actually. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but it’s not bad.
Cleveland Cuyahogas
This one I really like. It is in competition with the Spiders as my #1 choice. The name of the river has a great flow with Cleveland and has a Native American feel (and likely origin).
Cleveland Crows
Not a terrible ring to it, but not my favorite. It would be something we’d get used to pretty quickly, but fairly lackluster.
Cleveland Rockers
This one I like as a musician and lover of rock music. However, it has a bit of a Minor League feel. Will the scoreboard be shaped like a guitar??
Cleveland Unions
This is a civil war reference, and while the team would be named after the Union, I’m not sure I like naming teams after civil war sides.
Cleveland Fellers
Another name - this time Bob Feller, the great Indians pitcher. You know how I feel about player names being team names, but this one does sound somewhat cool - We’re the Fellers! Still… pass.
Cleveland Great Lakers
Naming the team after the great lakes is not a terrible idea; I just don’t love the sound of it. Again, a bit of a Minor League feel. Also, not sure the Lakers will appreciate it.
Another name making the Rounds is the CLEVELAND LINDORS?…
LOL.