Could Cleveland Guardians legal case push club back to drawing board?

Could Cleveland Guardians legal case push club back to drawing board?

The Cleveland Guardians have yet to take the field and the club’s new identity has already hit a snag. A local roller derby team by the same name is taking the baseball club to court over the “Cleveland Guardians” namesake, leaving the Major League Baseball team in limbo in terms of the moniker as the 2022 season draws closer.

The organization already started taking the steps of removing the Cleveland Indians from sight around Progressive Field so going back doesn’t seem to be much of an option, but should this legal case continue the club could be faced with some difficult decisions with a short window of time.

Hopefully, the legal case is handled before the season starts and all of this doesn’t matter. However, the organization needs to start planning now for any outcome that could result from the court case. That means being prepared for anything.

As an organization, the Cleveland Guardians need to start planning for the best and worst results that could come from this court case. Since the club owns the copyright to the name, it seems like it should be a quick case that might even just be settled out of court to expedite the process. Even so, there needs to be a course of action if set up if that isn’t the case.

Given that the team has already made strides in the short time since the end of the season to start the name change process, the only options are to move forward one way or another. How that will happen is what could still be altered by the course of the legal situation. But what are those routes? What options do the Cleveland Guardians have if Guardians isn’t on the table for at least the 2022 season if not beyond? And if Guardians is off the table for 2022, does the team change course for the long haul and not just one season?

The Cleveland Guardians spend a season or more as the Cleveland Baseball Team

Cleveland Baseball Team, Cleveland Baseball Club, whatever way you spin it, this could be the most favorable option for 2022 if Cleveland Guardians is put on hold. This is what the Washington Football Team has done for the past two seasons and while it would be a writer’s nightmare, leaving few options to refer to the team, it does make sense.

There’s no sense in trying to go a different route if the court case does spill into the season. Picking a new name would essentially eliminate the Guardians all together. Having one identity shift is enough, but multiple isn’t plausible. Ownership has been adamant about moving on from the Indians and going back on that for a season would seem quite literally like a step backwards.

Should the legal proceedings of the Cleveland Guardians name appear to go into the season, the Cleveland Baseball Team might be the temporary moniker. It would buy the organization time to reevaluate the position while also accomplishing the goal of moving on from the Cleveland Indians.

Again, from a writer’s perspective the Cleveland Baseball Team leaves very few options, but from the ownership’s perspective, it might be the only option in the short-term.

The Cleveland Guardians go back to the drawing board for a new name

The option that seems like a last resort is that ownership goes back to the drawing board and the 1,000+ names that were considered and pick a different one. The Cleveland Guardians has been received with mixed reviews and this is ownership’s chance to play a reverse card if they so choose.

Merchandise has yet to go on sale, officially, from the team and signage really hasn’t started to be hung up. If they don’t want to deal with yet another court appearance due to the team’s name like they did in Toronto in 2016 before the ALCS, then they have the option have putting this only thing in reverse and trying a different route.

It might seem odd for the team to do this and it surely would warrant responses on social media of “typical Cleveland.” However, it might be the most painless option. There’s still a love for the Cleveland Spiders name out there and there’s obviously plenty of other choices that could be considered.

Again, this route is unlikely and would probably be a last resort. It would likely need to be paired with the Cleveland Baseball Team option as well with time running thin before items need to be ready.

My guess is that ownership makes quick work of the case and moves on with the Cleveland Guardians name. This hopefully won’t be a talking point come January, but until it’s off the table it will unfortunately be the focus of Cleveland baseball.