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.