Saying goodbye to the Cleveland Indians

With an Andy Ibanez fly ball to right, an era had ended. The Cleveland Indians were officially no more, their name being changed to the Guardians for the 2022 season. The team name, which had stood for 106 years, has gone by the wayside, a relic of the past that had no place in modern society.

As that fly ball settled into Bradley Zimmer‘s glove, the final tallies for the Indians’ franchise have been calculated. Yu Chang hit the final homer for the Indians, a 385 foot two run shot to left which also accounted for the final RBI. Aaron Civale earned the win, and Emmanuel Clase threw the final pitch that will be hurled in an Indians’ jersey.

Time to say goodbye to the Cleveland Indians

Those 106 years have not exactly been the best for the franchise. They have won two championships, coming in 1920 and 1948, that last championship giving the team the longest title drought in Major League Baseball. The Indians did manage six American League pennants in that time, but their lack of championships certainly is remembered.

Even the good times were tinged with sadness. The Indians in the mid 1990s were one of the best teams in franchise history, but were unable to seal the deal in the World Series. They also ran into the buzzsaw that was the late 1990s Yankees, keeping the Indians from becoming a dynasty in their own right.

But that is all in the past. While the upcoming Guardians franchise will have its own issues to work out, it is a fresh chapter. It is a chance to exorcise the demons of the past and to, at some point in the future, work to bring a much brighter future to the organization.

With one final out, the Cleveland Indians are no more. It is time for the Guardians to change the misery of the franchise.