Cleveland Guardians

Early Cleveland baseball teams

According to one historian of baseball, "in 1857, baseball games were a daily spectacle in Cleveland's Public Squares. City authorities tried to find an ordinance forbidding it; to the joy of the crowd, they were unsuccessful."

1865–1872: Forest Citys of Cleveland

From 1865 to 1868 Forest Citys was an amateur ball club. During the 1869 season, Cleveland was among several cities that established professional baseball teams following the success of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team. In the newspapers before and after 1870, the team was often called the Forest Citys, in the same generic way that the team from Chicago was sometimes called The Chicagos. A professional baseball team has played in Cleveland for all but a few years since then.

In 1871 the Forest Citys joined the new National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NA), the first professional league. Ultimately, two of the league's western clubs went out of business during the first season and the Chicago Fire left that city's White Stockings impoverished, unable to field a team again until 1874. Cleveland was thus the NA's westernmost outpost in 1872, the year the club folded. Cleveland played its full schedule to July 19 followed by two games versus Boston in mid-August and disbanded at the end of the season.

1879–1884: Cleveland Forest Citys and Blues

In 1876, the National League (NL) supplanted the NA as the major professional league. Cleveland was not among its charter members, but by 1879 the league was looking for new entries and the city gained an NL team. A new Cleveland Forest Citys were recreated, but by 1882 were known as the Cleveland Blues, because the National League required distinct colors for that season. The Blues had mediocre records for six seasons and were ruined by a trade war with the Union Association (UA) in 1884, when its three best players (Fred Dunlap, Jack Glasscock, and Jim McCormick) jumped to the UA after being offered higher salaries. The Cleveland Blues merged with the St. Louis Maroons UA team in 1885.

1887–1899: Cleveland Spiders (nicknamed "Blues")

Cleveland went without major league baseball for two seasons until gaining a team in the American Association (AA) in 1887. After the AA's Pittsburgh Alleghenys jumped to the NL, Cleveland followed suit in 1889, as the AA began to crumble. The Cleveland ball club, called the Spiders (supposedly inspired by their "skinny and spindly" players), slowly became a power in the league. In 1891, the Spiders moved into League Park, which would serve as the home of Cleveland professional baseball for the next 55 years. Led by native Ohioan Cy Young, the Spiders became a contender in the mid-1890s, playing in the Temple Cup Series (that era's World Series) twice and winning it in 1895. The team began to fade after this success and was dealt a severe blow under the ownership of the Robison brothers.

Prior to the 1899 season, Frank Robison, the Spiders' owner, bought the St. Louis Browns, thus owning two clubs at the same time. The Browns were renamed the "Perfectos" and restocked with Cleveland talent. Just weeks before the season opener, most of the better Spiders were transferred to St. Louis, including three future Hall of Famers: Cy Young, Jesse Burkett and Bobby Wallace. The roster maneuvers failed to create a powerhouse Perfectos team, as St. Louis finished fifth in both 1899 and 1900. The Spiders were left with essentially a minor league lineup and began to lose games at a record pace. Drawing almost no fans at home, they ended up playing most of their season on the road, and became known as "The Wanderers". The team ended the season in 12th place, 84 games out of first place, with an all-time worst record of 20–134 (.130 winning percentage). Following the 1899 season, the National League disbanded four teams, including the Spiders franchise. The disastrous 1899 season would actually be a step toward a new future for Cleveland fans the next year.

1890: Cleveland Infants (nickname "Babes")

The Cleveland Infants competed in the Players' League, which was well-attended in some cities, but club owners lacked the confidence to continue beyond the one season. The Cleveland Infants finished with 55 wins and 75 losses, playing their home games at Brotherhood Park.

History

1896–1935: Columbus, Grand Rapids, and the early Cleveland years

The origins of the team date back to 1896, when the team was founded as the Columbus Buckeyes, a team based in Columbus, Ohio and competing in the Western League. The club was owned by Tom Loftus, a close friend of both league president Ban Johnson and Charlie Comiskey, owner of the league's St. Paul Saints. In July 1899, the Western League franchise swapped cities midseason with the Grand Rapids franchise of the Interstate League, becoming the Grand Rapids Prodigals while remaining in the Western League.

In 1900, the team moved to Cleveland and was named the Cleveland Lake Shores, coinciding with Ban Johnson's change of the league name from the Western League to the American League. In 1900, the American League was still considered a minor league. In 1901, the team was called the Cleveland Bluebirds or Blues when the American League broke with the National Agreement and declared itself a competing Major League. The Cleveland franchise was among its eight charter members and is one of four teams that remain in its original city, along with Boston, Chicago, and Detroit.

The new team was owned by coal magnate Charles Somers and tailor Jack Kilfoyl. Somers, a wealthy industrialist and also co-owner of the Boston Americans, lent money to other team owners, including Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, to keep them and the new league afloat. Players did not think the name "Bluebirds" was suitable for a baseball team. Writers frequently shortened it to Cleveland Blues due to the players' all-blue uniforms, but the players did not like this unofficial name either. The players themselves tried to change the name to Cleveland Bronchos in 1902, but this name never caught on.

Cleveland suffered from financial problems in their first two seasons. This led Somers to seriously consider moving to either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati. Relief came in 1902 as a result of the conflict between the National and American Leagues. In 1901, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, the Philadelphia Phillies' star second baseman, jumped to the A's after his contract was capped at $2,400 per year—one of the highest-profile players to jump to the upstart AL. The Phillies subsequently filed an injunction to force Lajoie's return, which was granted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The injunction appeared to doom any hopes of an early settlement between the warring leagues. However, a lawyer discovered that the injunction was only enforceable in the state of Pennsylvania. Mack, partly to thank Somers for his past financial support, agreed to trade Lajoie to the then-moribund Blues, who offered $25,000 salary over three years. Due to the injunction, however, Lajoie had to sit out any games played against the A's in Philadelphia. Lajoie arrived in Cleveland on June 4 and was an immediate hit, drawing 10,000 fans to League Park. Soon afterward, he was named team captain, and in 1903 the team was called the Cleveland Napoleons or Naps after a newspaper conducted a write-in contest.

1936–1946: Bob Feller enters the show

The Indians were a middling team by the 1930s, finishing third or fourth most years. 1936 brought Cleveland a new superstar in 17-year-old pitcher Bob Feller, who came from Iowa with a dominating fastball. That season, Feller set a record with 17 strikeouts in a single game and went on to lead the league in strikeouts from 1938 to 1941.

On August 20, 1938, Indians catchers Hank Helf and Frank Pytlak set the "all-time altitude mark" by catching baseballs dropped from the 708-foot (216 m) Terminal Tower.

By 1940, Feller, along with Ken Keltner, Mel Harder and Lou Boudreau, led the Indians to within one game of the pennant. However, the team was wracked with dissension, with some players (including Feller and Mel Harder) going so far as to request that Bradley fire manager Ossie Vitt. Reporters lampooned them as the Cleveland Crybabies. Feller, who had pitched a no-hitter to open the season and won 27 games, lost the final game of the season to unknown pitcher Floyd Giebell of the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers won the pennant and Giebell never won another major league game.

Cleveland entered 1941 with a young team and a new manager; Roger Peckinpaugh had replaced the despised Vitt; but the team regressed, finishing in fourth. Cleveland would soon be depleted of two stars. Hal Trosky retired in 1941 due to migraine headaches and Bob Feller enlisted in the Navy two days after the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Starting third baseman Ken Keltner and outfielder Ray Mack were both drafted in 1945 taking two more starters out of the lineup.

1946–1949: The Bill Veeck years

In 1946, Bill Veeck formed an investment group that purchased the Cleveland Indians from Bradley's group for a reported $1.6 million. Among the investors was Bob Hope, who had grown up in Cleveland, and former Tigers slugger, Hank Greenberg. A former owner of a minor league franchise in Milwaukee, Veeck brought to Cleveland a gift for promotion. At one point, Veeck hired rubber-faced Max Patkin, the "Clown Prince of Baseball" as a coach. Patkin's appearance in the coaching box was the sort of promotional stunt that delighted fans but infuriated the American League front office.

Recognizing that he had acquired a solid team, Veeck soon abandoned the aging, small and lightless League Park to take up full-time residence in massive Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Indians had briefly moved from League Park to Municipal Stadium in mid-1932, but moved back to League Park due to complaints about the cavernous environment. From 1937 onward, however, the Indians began playing an increasing number of games at Municipal, until by 1940 they played most of their home slate there. League Park was mostly demolished in 1951, but has since been rebuilt as a recreational park.

Making the most of the cavernous stadium, Veeck had a portable center field fence installed, which he could move in or out depending on how the distance favored the Indians against their opponents in a given series. The fence moved as much as 15 feet (5 m) between series opponents. Following the 1947 season, the American League countered with a rule change that fixed the distance of an outfield wall for the duration of a season. The massive stadium did, however, permit the Indians to set the then-record for the largest crowd to see a Major League baseball game. On October 10, 1948, Game 5 of the World Series against the Boston Braves drew over 84,000. The record stood until the Los Angeles Dodgers drew a crowd in excess of 92,500 to watch Game 5 of the 1959 World Series at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against the Chicago White Sox.

Under Veeck's leadership, one of Cleveland's most significant achievements was breaking the color barrier in the American League by signing Larry Doby, formerly a player for the Negro league's Newark Eagles in 1947, 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers. Similar to Robinson, Doby battled racism on and off the field but posted a .301 batting average in 1948, his first full season. A power-hitting center fielder, Doby led the American League twice in homers.

1950–1959: Near misses

In 1953, Al Rosen was an All Star for the second year in a row, was named The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year, and won the American League Most Valuable Player Award in a unanimous vote playing for the Indians after leading the AL in runs, home runs, RBIs (for the second year in a row), and slugging percentage, and coming in second by one point in batting average. Ryan was forced out in 1953 in favor of Myron Wilson, who in turn gave way to William Daley in 1956. Despite this turnover in the ownership, a powerhouse team composed of Feller, Doby, Minnie Miñoso, Luke Easter, Bobby Ávila, Al Rosen, Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Mike Garcia continued to contend through the early 1950s. However, Cleveland only won a single pennant in the decade, in 1954, finishing second to the New York Yankees five times.

The winningest season in franchise history came in 1954, when the Indians finished the season with a record of 111–43 (.721). That mark set an American League record for wins that stood for 44 years until the Yankees won 114 games in 1998 (a 162-game regular season record of 114-48/.704). The Indians' 1954 winning percentage of .721 is still an American League record. The Indians returned to the World Series to face the New York Giants. The team could not bring home the title, however, ultimately being upset by the Giants in a sweep. The series was notable for Willie Mays' over-the-shoulder catch off the bat of Vic Wertz in Game 1. Cleveland remained a talented team throughout the remainder of the decade, finishing in second place in 1959, George Strickland's last full year in the majors.

1960–1993: The 33-year slump

From 1960 to 1993, the Indians managed one third-place finish (in 1968) and six fourth-place finishes (in 1960, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1990, and 1992) but spent the rest of the time at or near the bottom of the standings, including four seasons with over 100 losses (1971, 1985, 1987, 1991).

The Indians hired general manager Frank Lane, known as "Trader" Lane, away from the St. Louis Cardinals in 1957. Lane over the years had gained a reputation as a GM who loved to make deals. With the White Sox, Lane had made over 100 trades involving over 400 players in seven years. In a short stint in St. Louis, he traded away Red Schoendienst and Harvey Haddix. Lane summed up his philosophy when he said that the only deals he regretted were the ones that he did not make.

One of Lane's early trades in Cleveland was to send Roger Maris to the Kansas City Athletics in the middle of 1958. Indians executive Hank Greenberg was not happy about the trade and neither was Maris, who said that he could not stand Lane. After Maris broke Babe Ruth's home run record, Lane defended himself by saying he still would have done the deal because Maris was unknown and he received good ballplayers in exchange.

After the Maris trade, Lane acquired 25-year-old Norm Cash from the White Sox for Minnie Miñoso and then traded him to Detroit before he ever played a game for the Indians; Cash went on to hit over 350 home runs for the Tigers. The Indians received Steve Demeter in the deal, who had only five at-bats for Cleveland.

In 1960, Lane made the trade that would define his tenure in Cleveland when he dealt slugging right fielder and fan favorite Rocky Colavito to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn just before Opening Day in 1960.

It was a blockbuster trade that swapped the 1959 AL home run co-champion (Colavito) for the AL batting champion (Kuenn). After the trade, however, Colavito hit over 30 home runs four times and made three All-Star teams for Detroit and Kansas City before returning to Cleveland in 1965. Kuenn, on the other hand, played only one season for the Indians before departing for San Francisco in a trade for an aging Johnny Antonelli and Willie Kirkland. Akron Beacon Journal columnist Terry Pluto documented the decades of woe that followed the trade in his book The Curse of Rocky Colavito. Despite being attached to the curse, Colavito said that he never placed a curse on the Indians but that the trade was prompted by a salary dispute with Lane.

1994–2001: New beginnings

Indians General Manager John Hart and team owner Richard E. Jacobs managed to turn the team's fortunes around. The Indians opened Jacobs Field in 1994 with the aim of improving on the prior season's sixth-place finish. The Indians were only one game behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox on August 12 when a players strike wiped out the rest of the season.

Having contended for the division in the aborted 1994 season, Cleveland sprinted to a 100–44 record (the season was shortened by 18 games due to player/owner negotiations) in 1995, winning its first-ever divisional title. Veterans Dennis Martínez, Orel Hershiser and Eddie Murray combined with a young core of players including Omar Vizquel, Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Ramírez, Kenny Lofton and Charles Nagy to lead the league in team batting average as well as team ERA.

After defeating the Boston Red Sox in the Division Series and the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS, Cleveland clinched the American League pennant and a World Series berth, for the first time since 1954. The World Series ended in disappointment, however: the Indians fell in six games to the Atlanta Braves.

Tickets for every Indians home game sold out several months before opening day in 1996. The Indians repeated as AL Central champions but lost to the wild card Baltimore Orioles in the Division Series.

In 1997, Cleveland started slow but finished with an 86–75 record. Taking their third consecutive AL Central title, the Indians defeated the New York Yankees in the Division Series, 3–2. After defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS, Cleveland went on to face the Florida Marlins in the World Series that featured the coldest game in World Series history. With the series tied after Game 6, the Indians went into the ninth inning of Game Seven with a 2–1 lead, but closer José Mesa allowed the Marlins to tie the game. In the eleventh inning, Édgar Rentería drove in the winning run giving the Marlins their first championship. Cleveland became the first team to lose the World Series after carrying the lead into the ninth inning of the seventh game.

In 1998, the Indians made the postseason for the fourth straight year. After defeating the wild-card Boston Red Sox 3–1 in the Division Series, Cleveland lost the 1998 ALCS in six games to the New York Yankees, who had come into the postseason with a then-AL record 114 wins in the regular season.

2002–2010: The Shapiro/Wedge years

Shapiro moved to rebuild by dealing aging veterans for younger talent. He traded Roberto Alomar to the New York Mets for a package that included outfielder Matt Lawton and prospects Alex Escobar and Billy Traber. When the team fell out of contention in mid-2002, Shapiro fired manager Charlie Manuel and traded pitching ace Bartolo Colón for prospects Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Grady Sizemore; acquired Travis Hafner from the Rangers for Ryan Drese and Einar Díaz; and picked up Coco Crisp from the St. Louis Cardinals for aging starter Chuck Finley. Jim Thome left after the season, going to the Phillies for a larger contract.

Young Indians teams finished far out of contention in 2002 and 2003 under new manager Eric Wedge. They posted strong offensive numbers in 2004, but continued to struggle with a bullpen that blew more than 20 saves. A highlight of the season was a 22–0 victory over the New York Yankees on August 31, one of the worst defeats suffered by the Yankees in team history.

In early 2005, the offense got off to a poor start. After a brief July slump, the Indians caught fire in August, and cut a 15.5 game deficit in the Central Division down to 1.5 games. However, the season came to an end as the Indians went on to lose six of their last seven games, five of them by one run, missing the playoffs by only two games. Shapiro was named Executive of the Year in 2005. The next season, the club made several roster changes, while retaining its nucleus of young players. The off-season was highlighted by the acquisition of top prospect Andy Marte from the Boston Red Sox. The Indians had a solid offensive season, led by career years from Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore. Hafner, despite missing the last month of the season, tied the single season grand slam record of six, which was set in 1987 by Don Mattingly. Despite the solid offensive performance, the bullpen struggled with 23 blown saves (a Major League worst), and the Indians finished a disappointing fourth.

In 2007, Shapiro signed veteran help for the bullpen and outfield in the offseason. Veterans Aaron Fultz and Joe Borowski joined Rafael Betancourt in the Indians bullpen. The Indians improved significantly over the prior year and went into the All-Star break in second place. The team brought back Kenny Lofton for his third stint with the team in late July. The Indians finished with a 96–66 record tied with the Red Sox for best in baseball, their seventh Central Division title in 13 years and their first postseason trip since 2001.

2011–present: Antonetti/Chernoff/Francona era

On January 18, 2011, longtime popular former first baseman and manager Mike Hargrove was brought in as a special adviser. The Indians started the 2011 season strong – going 30–15 in their first 45 games and seven games ahead of the Detroit Tigers for first place. Injuries led to a slump where the Indians fell out of first place. Many minor leaguers such as Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall got opportunities to fill in for the injuries. The biggest news of the season came on July 30 when the Indians traded four prospects for Colorado Rockies star pitcher, Ubaldo Jiménez. The Indians sent their top two pitchers in the minors, Alex White and Drew Pomeranz along with Joe Gardner and Matt McBride. On August 25, the Indians signed the team leader in home runs, Jim Thome off of waivers. He made his first appearance in an Indians uniform since he left Cleveland after the 2002 season. To honor Thome, the Indians placed him at his original position, third base, for one pitch against the Minnesota Twins on September 25. It was his first appearance at third base since 1996, and his last for Cleveland. The Indians finished the season in 2nd place, 15 games behind the division champion Tigers.

The Indians broke Progressive Field's Opening Day attendance record with 43,190 against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 5, 2012. The game went 16 innings, setting the MLB Opening Day record, and lasted 5 hours and 14 minutes.

On September 27, 2012, with six games left in the Indians' 2012 season, Manny Acta was fired; Sandy Alomar Jr. was named interim manager for the remainder of the season. On October 6, the Indians announced that Terry Francona, who managed the Boston Red Sox to five playoff appearances and two World Series between 2004 and 2011, would take over as manager for 2013.

The Indians entered the 2013 season following an active offseason of dramatic roster turnover. Key acquisitions included free agent 1B/OF Nick Swisher and CF Michael Bourn. The team added prized right-handed pitching prospect Trevor Bauer, OF Drew Stubbs, and relief pitchers Bryan Shaw and Matt Albers in a three-way trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds that sent RF Shin-Soo Choo to the Reds, and Tony Sipp to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Other notable additions included utility man Mike Avilés, catcher Yan Gomes, designated hitter Jason Giambi, and starting pitcher Scott Kazmir. The 2013 Indians increased their win total by 24 over 2012 (from 68 to 92), finishing in second place, one game behind Detroit in the Central division, but securing the number one seed in the American League Wild Card Standings. In their first postseason appearance since 2007, Cleveland lost the 2013 American League Wild Card Game 4–0 at home to Tampa Bay. Francona was recognized for the turnaround with the 2013 American League Manager of the Year Award.

Rivalries

Cincinnati Reds

The rivalry with fellow Ohio team the Cincinnati Reds is known as the Battle of Ohio or Buckeye Series and features the Ohio Cup trophy for the winner. Prior to 1997, the winner of the cup was determined by an annual pre-season baseball game, played each year at minor-league Cooper Stadium in the state capital of Columbus, and staged just days before the start of each new Major League Baseball season. A total of eight Ohio Cup games were played, with the Guardians winning six of them. It ended with the start of interleague play in 1997. The winner of the game each year was awarded the Ohio Cup in postgame ceremonies. The Ohio Cup was a favorite among baseball fans in Columbus, with attendances regularly topping 15,000.

Since 1997, the two teams have played each other as part of the regular season, with the exception of 2002. The Ohio Cup was reintroduced in 2008 and is presented to the team who wins the most games in the series that season. Initially, the teams played one three-game series per season, meeting in Cleveland in 1997 and Cincinnati the following year. The teams have played two series per season against each other since 1999, with the exception of 2002, one at each ballpark. A format change in 2013 made each series two games, except in years when the AL and NL Central divisions meet in interleague play, where it is usually extended to three games per series. As of June 2025, the Guardians lead the series 77–64.

Divisional

The Guardians share a rivalry with the Detroit Tigers fueled by geographic proximity between the two cities, and elements from the intense rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State. The rivalry with came to a head on August 7, 2013, with the teams first and second in the AL Central standings. Many Tigers fans who made the short trip to Cleveland started a "Let's go Tigers!" chant while the game was tied in the nith inning. Cleveland fans countered with a "Detroit's bankrupt!" chant, in reference to the city's 2013 bankruptcy. Footage of the chants from SportsTime Ohio circulated online, with many baseball fans on social media criticizing Cleveland fans for the chant due to the circumstances of Detroit's financial situation. The Tigers ended up defeating Cleveland 6–5 in 14 innings. The two teams have played almost evenly over their 125-year history with Detroit holding a narrow 1,168–1,167 lead. The teams have met twice in the postseason, with Cleveland winning the 2024 AL Division Series and Detroit winning the 2025 AL Wild Card Series.

The Chicago White Sox are another rival, dating back to the 1959 season, when the Sox slipped past the Indians to win the AL pennant. The rivalry intensified when both clubs were moved to the newly created AL Central in 1994. During that season, the two teams challenged for the division title, with the Indians one game back of Chicago when the season ended in August due to the players' strike. During a game in Chicago, the White Sox confiscated Albert Belle's corked bat, followed by an attempt by Indians pitcher Jason Grimsley to crawl through the Comiskey Park clubhouse ceiling to retrieve it. Belle later signed with the White Sox in 1997, adding additional intensity to the rivalry. In 2005, the White Sox led the division by 15 games in July, only to see the Indians trim the lead to a single game late in the season. However, the White Sox swept a three-game series to end the season to win the division by six games; the Sox later won that year's World Series.

On August 5, 2023, Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez and Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson instigated a bench-clearing brawl after Anderson applied a tag to Ramírez. Anderson then attempted to punch Ramírez, after which Ramírez wound up knocking Anderson to the ground with a right hook. Anderson and Ramírez were suspended five and two games, respectively, for their roles in the brawl.

Uniforms

The official team colors are navy blue, red, and white.

Home

The primary home uniform is white with red and navy blue piping around each sleeve. Across the front of the jersey in script font is the word "Guardians" in red with a navy blue outline, with navy blue undershirts, belts, and socks.

The alternate home jersey is red with a navy blue "diamond C" font "Guardians" trimmed in white on the front, and white and navy blue piping on both sleeves, with navy blue undershirts, belts, and socks.

In 2024, the team introduced "City Connect" uniforms, primarily (but not exclusively) worn on Friday home dates. The jerseys are blue with red and white stripes going down the sleeve, featuring "CLE" on the front of the jersey and the player names and numbers on the back (all in a white art deco style font), with sandstone colored pants and red socks featuring a logo which was also introduced in 2024 (a "Guardians of Traffic" statue holding a baseball bat).

The standard home cap is red with a navy blue bill, and features a navy blue "diamond C" on the front and is worn with the primary white uniforms. With the alternate red jerseys, the cap is navy blue with a red bill and red "diamond C". The "City Connect" home cap is similar to the alternate cap with the exception of the front section over the bill being white.

Road

The primary road uniform is gray, with "Cleveland" in navy blue "diamond C" letters, trimmed in red across the front of the jersey, red and navy blue piping around the sleeves, and navy blue undershirts, belts, and socks.

The alternate road jersey is navy blue with a red "diamond C" trimmed in white on the front of the jersey, red and white piping around the sleeves, and navy blue undershirts, belts, and socks.

With either road jersey, the team wears a navy blue cap with a red bill and red "diamond C".

Universal

For all games, the team uses a navy blue batting helmet with a red "diamond C" on the front.

All jerseys (sans the "City Connect" version) feature the "winged G" logo on one sleeve, and every jersey has a patch from Marathon Petroleum – in a sponsorship deal lasting through the 2026 season – on the other. The sleeve featuring the Marathon logo depends on how the player bats – left handed hitters have it on their right sleeve, as that is the arm facing the main TV camera when he bats, and vice versa for right handed batters.

Former name and logo controversy

The club name and its cartoon logo have been criticized for perpetuating Native American stereotypes. In 1997 and 1998, protesters were arrested after effigies were burned. Charges were dismissed in the 1997 case, and were not filed in the 1998 case. Protesters arrested in the 1998 incident subsequently fought and lost a lawsuit alleging that their First Amendment rights had been violated.

Bud Selig (then–commissioner of baseball) said in 2014 that he had never received a complaint about the logo. He has heard that there are some protesting against the mascots, but individual teams such as the Indians and Atlanta Braves, whose name was also criticized for similar reasons, should make their own decisions. An organized group consisting of Native Americans, which had protested for many years, protested Chief Wahoo on Opening Day 2015, noting that this was the 100th anniversary since the team became the Indians. Owner Paul Dolan, while stating his respect for the critics, said he mainly heard from fans who wanted to keep Chief Wahoo, and had no plans to change.

On January 29, 2018, Major League Baseball announced that Chief Wahoo would be removed from the Indians' uniforms for the 2019 season, stating that the logo was no longer appropriate for on-field use. The block "C" was promoted to the primary logo; at the time, there were no plans to change the team's name.

In 2020, protests over the murder of George Floyd, a black man, by a Minneapolis police officer, led the United States into a period of social changes. This made Dolan reconsider use of the Indians name. On July 3, 2020, on the heels of the Washington Redskins announcing that they would "undergo a thorough review" of that team's name, the Indians announced that they would "determine the best path forward" regarding the team's name and emphasized the need to "keep improving as an organization on issues of social justice".

On December 13, 2020, it was reported that the Indians name would be dropped after the 2021 season out of respect for the Native American community. It had been hinted by the team that they may move forward without a replacement name (in a similar manner to the Washington Football Team, which used its name for two years until being named the Washington Commanders). It was announced via Twitter on July 23, 2021, that the team will be named the Guardians, after the Guardians of Traffic, eight large Art Deco statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge, located close to Progressive Field.

Media

Radio

Cleveland radio stations WTAM (1100 AM and 106.9 FM) and WMMS (100.7 FM), both owned by iHeartMedia, serve as flagship stations for the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network. Ford C. Frick Award winner Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus comprise the announcing team and call all games on-site.

Fellow sister station WARF (1350 AM) - while primarily an English language station - serves as the team's Spanish flagship, airing broadcasts of home games. Rafa Hernández-Brito serves as the primary Spanish announcer, alongside analyst and former Indian Carlos Baerga.

TV

Regular season games not broadcast by MLB's national TV partners are shown exclusively on Guardians TV, operated by MLB Local Media, which launched on February 11, 2025. Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC channel 3 simulcasts select games, plus airs a weekly team centered sportscast titled Guardians Tonight Sunday nights.

Lead announcer Matt Underwood, analyst and former Indians Gold Glove-winning centerfielder Rick Manning, and field reporter Andre Knott form the TV broadcast team, with Al Pawlowski hosting the pre- and postgame shows, alongside former Indian Chris Gimenez serving as analyst, with various other former Indians/Guardians making guest appearances. Guardians TV airs on cable systems throughout Northeast Ohio, as well as functioning as a streaming service.

Past announcers

Notable former broadcasters include Tom Manning, Jack Graney (the first ex-baseball player to become a play-by-play announcer), Ken Coleman, Joe Castiglione, Van Patrick, Nev Chandler, Bruce Drennan, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Rocky Colavito, Dan Coughlin, and Jim Donovan.

Previous broadcasters who have had lengthy tenures with the team include Joe Tait (15 seasons between TV and radio), Jack Corrigan (18 seasons on TV), Ford C. Frick Award winner Jimmy Dudley (19 seasons on radio), Mike Hegan (23 seasons between TV and radio), and Herb Score (34 seasons between TV and radio).

Popular culture

Under the Cleveland Indians name, the team has been featured in several films, including:

The Kid from Cleveland – a 1949 film featuring then-owner Bill Veeck and numerous players from the team (coming off winning the 1948 World Series).

Major League – a 1989 film centered around a fictionalized version of the Indians.

Major League II – a 1994 sequel to the 1989 original.

Awards and honors

Retired numbers

Jackie Robinson's number 42 is retired throughout Major League Baseball.

The number 455 was retired in honor of the Indians fans after the team sold out 455 consecutive games between 1995 and 2001, which was an MLB record until it was surpassed by the Boston Red Sox on September 8, 2008.

Statues

Numerous Naps/Indians players have had statues made in their honor:

Bob Feller (team all-time leader in wins and strikeouts by a pitcher, 1948 World Series Champion, eight-time All-Star) – since 1994*

Jim Thome (team all-time leader in home runs and walks by a hitter, three-time All-Star with the Indians) – since 2014*

Larry Doby (First black player in the American League, 1948 World Series Champion, seven-time All-Star) – since 2015*

Frank Robinson (Became first black manager in MLB history when he served as player/manager from 1975 to 1977) – since 2017

Lou Boudreau (1948 AL MVP, 1948 World Series Champion as player/manager, eight-time All-Star) – since 2017*

Hall of Fame outfielder Elmer Flick has a statue in his hometown of Bedford, Ohio, a nearby suburb of Cleveland – since 2013*

Former outfielder Luke Easter has a statue outside of his namesake park on the east side of Cleveland – since 1980 (when the park was renamed in Easter's honor following his murder)

Five-time All-Star (with the Indians) outfielder Rocky Colavito has a statue in Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood – since August 10, 2021.

(*) – Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as an Indian/Nap.

Murals

In July 2022, in honor of the 75th anniversary of Larry Doby becoming the AL's first black player, a mural was added to the exterior of Progressive Field, honoring players who were viewed as barrier breakers that played for the Indians/Guardians. The mural features Doby, Frank Robinson, and Satchel Paige.

Streets

A portion of Eagle Avenue near Progressive Field was renamed "Larry Doby Way" in 2012.

Street where his namesake baseball field is located in Cleveland renamed "José Ramírez Way" in 2025

Parks and fields

A number of parks and newly built and renovated youth baseball fields in Cleveland have been named after former and current Indians/Guardians players, including:

Luke Easter Park – named for Easter in 1980 following his murder

Jim Thome All-Star Complex – 2019

CC Sabathia Field at Luke Easter Park – 2021

José Ramírez Field at Clark Field– 2023

Franchise records

Minor league affiliations

The Cleveland Guardians farm system consists of seven minor league affiliates.

Regular season home attendance

(*): There were no fans allowed in any MLB stadium in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(**): At the beginning of the season, there was a limit of 30% capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions implemented by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. On June 2, DeWine lifted the restrictions, and the team immediately allowed full capacity at Progressive Field.