An American professional baseball team, the Cleveland Guardians, is situated in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. The Guardians are an American League (AL) Central club in Major League Baseball (MLB).
At Progressive Field, they’ve been performing since 1994. There are two World Series championships (in 1920 and 1948) and ten Central Division titles in the team’s history since its inception as a Major League franchise in 1901.
Since 1948, the franchise has been without a World Series championship, making their championship drought the longest of the current 30 Major League teams.
The name of the team is a nod to the Hope Memorial Bridge’s eight monolithic 1932 Art Deco sculptures by Henry Hering, known as the Guardians of Traffic. “Slider” is the name given to the team’s mascot.
Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona, serves as the team’s spring training facility.
The Grand Rapids Rippers were a minor league baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who competed in the Western League in the 1894 season.
The Cleveland Lake Shores was the team’s new name once they relocated to Cleveland in 1900.
Ahead of the 1900 season, the Western League was renamed the American League, but it retained the tier of minor league teams it had previously been part of.
Cleveland was one of the eight original franchises of the American League, which became a major league in 1901.
In 1902, the team was referred to as the “Cleveland Bronchos” despite the fact that it was originally referred to as the “Cleveland Bluebirds.” In honor of its captain Nap Lajoie, the squad was dubbed the Cleveland Napoleons or Naps in 1903.
Charles Somers urged that baseball writers come up with a new name for the team after Lajoie’s departure following the 1914 season.
They resurrected the Cleveland Indians moniker, which was first given to the Cleveland Spiders by Native American player Louis Sockalexis during his time with the organization.
Over the course of more than a century, people have continued to call it by that name. The Indians were referred to as the “Tribe” and the “Wahoos,” a reference to their longtime emblem, Chief Wahoo, in common usage.
The team quit using the moniker “Indians” following the 2021 season and was renamed the Guardians for the 2022 season following the controversy surrounding the Native American mascot.
What Does Guardians Mean In Cleveland?
There are two statues outside the stadium known as “The Guardians,” one of which is located on the Hope Memorial Bridge. It’s been over a century since the 43-foot “Guardians of Traffic” were erected as a symbol of progress and transportation.
An early 20th-century car and four trucks are among the vehicles on display, according to the Cleveland Scene. They depict the progression of transportation.
When the county engineer intended to widen the bridge in the 1970s, they were on the verge of being torn down.