Global InformationCleveland Guardians information
| Cleveland Guardians | |||||
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 2024 Cleveland Guardians season | |||||
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| Major league titles | |||||
| World Series titles (2) |
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| AL Pennants (6) |
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| AL Central Division titles (11) |
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| Wild card berths (2) |
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| Front office | |||||
| Principal owner(s) | Larry Dolan | ||||
| President | Paul Dolan (Chairman / CEO) | ||||
| President of baseball operations | Chris Antonetti | ||||
| General manager | Mike Chernoff | ||||
| Manager | Stephen Vogt | ||||
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since 1994, the team has played its home games at Progressive Field. Since their establishment as a Major League franchise in 1901, the team has won 11 Central Division titles, six American League pennants, and two World Series championships (in 1920 and 1948). The team's World Series championship drought since 1948 is the longest active among all 30 current Major League teams.[1] The team's name references the Guardians of Traffic, eight monolithic 1932 Art Deco sculptures by Henry Hering on the city's Hope Memorial Bridge,[2] which is adjacent to Progressive Field.[3][4] The team's mascot is named "Slider".[5] The team's spring training facility is at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona.[6]
The franchise originated in 1896 as the Columbus Buckeyes, a minor league team based in Columbus, Ohio, that played in the Western League.[7] The team renamed to the Columbus Senators the following year and then relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan in the middle of the 1899 season, becoming the Grand Rapids Furniture Makers for the remainder of the season.[8][9] The team relocated to Cleveland in 1900 and was called the Cleveland Lake Shores.[10] The Western League itself was renamed the American League prior to the 1900 season while continuing its minor league status. When the American League declared itself a major league in 1901, Cleveland was one of its eight charter franchises. Originally called the Cleveland Bluebirds or Blues, the team was also unofficially called the Cleveland Bronchos in 1902. Beginning in 1903, the team was named the Cleveland Napoleons or Naps, after team captain Nap Lajoie.
Lajoie left after the 1914 season and club owner Charles Somers requested that baseball writers choose a new name. They chose the name Cleveland Indians.[11][12] That name stuck and remained in use for more than a century. Common nicknames for the Indians were "the Tribe" and "the Wahoos", the latter referencing their longtime logo, Chief Wahoo. After the Indians name came under criticism as part of the Native American mascot controversy, the team adopted the Guardians name following the 2021 season.[3][13][14][15][16]
From August 24 to September 14, 2017, the team won 22 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in American League history, and the second longest winning streak in Major League Baseball history.
As of the end of the 2023 season, the franchise's overall record is 9,760–9,300 (.512).[17]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Axisa, Mike (November 3, 2016). "Now that Cubs are champs, Indians have MLB's longest World series drought". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
So, with the Cubs finally on top, the longest championship drought in baseball now belongs to the team they beat – the Indians. Cleveland has not won a World Series since way back in 1948.
- ^ "Iconic Cleveland: The History Behind Cleveland's Guardians of Traffic". clevelandmagazine.com. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
- ^ a b Bell, Mandy (July 23, 2021). "New for '22: Meet the Cleveland Guardians". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "Cleveland MLB team officially changes name to 'Guardians'". SportsNet. July 23, 2021. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ^ "Slider: Guardians Mascot". CLEGuardians.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
- ^ "Goodyear Ballpark". CLEGuardians.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ "1896 Columbus Buckeyes/Senators". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ "1897 Columbus Senators". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ "1899 Columbus Buckeyes/Senators/Grand Rapids Furniturem". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ Adler, David; Kelly, Matt (October 23, 2016). "History lesson: 20 amazing Cubs and Indians facts". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ Bell, Mandy (December 21, 2020). "History of Cleveland's baseball team name". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ "Timeline". CLEGuardians.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ Bell, Mandy (November 17, 2021). "Cleveland set for 'Guardians' name transition". CLEGuardians.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians announce decision to change current team name". CLEGuardians.com (Press release). MLB Advanced Media. December 14, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ Waldstein, David; Schmidt, Michael S. (December 13, 2020). "Cleveland's Baseball Team Will Drop Its Indians Team Name". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- ^ Hoynes, Paul (July 23, 2021). "Cleveland Indians choose Guardians as new team name". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2020.