”I’ve got enough Indians stuff that I probably won’t be wearing anymore.”įor Monday’s game, there were 2022 schedules featuring the team’s new logo stacked in the back of the press box. ”It’s kind of cleared out,” said Gray Cooper, a high school English teacher from Lakewood, Ohio. On Sunday, prices in the team shop were further slashed as fans bought T-shirts, caps – anything with Indians on it. The Indians’ last game led to a late run on merchandise. But I truly believe that it’s going to be embraced over the years.” ”I know it’s different in a sense when you take on change. Hale empathizes with those who might not be ready to see the Indians go. It’s been a mixture of sadness, resentment toward owner Paul Dolan for making the switch and the anticipation of a new beginning. Once the Indians play their 2021 finale in Texas on Sunday, there will be a transition period before the name officially changes to Guardians, selected from over 1,000 entries submitted during a renaming process.Ĭleveland fans have been understandably conflicted – and divided - about the change and expressed their wide-range of feelings as they prepared to say goodbye to the only name they’ve known. ”I was here for their first exhibition game in 1994, and I thought it was appropriate to come for the last game as Indians,” he said. The adjustment allowed fans who wouldn’t have otherwise attended to catch history, and there were lines at the ballpark’s ticket office – an uncommon sight for a team that has struggled with attendance.Įd Sosinski of Wickliffe, Ohio, nabbed a pair of seats in the upper deck, partly as a birthday present for his wife, Michelle, and to close a chapter. Monday’s matinee was a makeup from a rainout last week, pushing the Indians’ sendoff to a previously scheduled off day. Now, baseball’s longest current title drought carries on under a new name.
#Going back to kindergarten game series#
Both very nice gestures.”Ĭleveland won two World Series (19) as the Indians, and came close to winning it all in 1995, 19 only to twice lose in heartbreaking fashion. ”They were outstanding in the ninth inning, that last out. ”I thought it was a nice touch,” said acting Indians manager DeMarlo Hale. When ”Take Me Out to The Ballgame” was played during the seventh-inning stretch, Cleveland fans shouted ”root, root, root for the Indians!” as if to send a message.įollowing the game, Cleveland’s players returned to the field to salute the fans. The team announced the name change earlier this year in the wake of a nationwide reckoning over racist names and symbols. The home finale was the club’s final game in Cleveland as the Indians, ending a 106-year run in a city where the name will forever be attached to those of legendary players like Bob Feller, Larry Doby and Jim Thome.īut now the Indians are a memory, just not yet faded or distant. Salvador Perez drove in two runs for the Royals. Bradley Zimmer homered off his brother, Kansas City reliever Kyle Zimmer, in the eighth. Rosario connected against Jackson Kowar (0-5) and finished with four hits. ”We’re very happy that this is how they will get to remember the Indians.”
”Not all of us have been here for a long time, but we all respect what the Indians have meant to Cleveland for the last forever and I think we wanted to send people off on the right note,” said Quantrill, who is 8-1 since July 1. The Indians won their final home game before becoming the Guardians, beating the Kansas City Royals 8-3 to close a run that started in 1915 and will continue next season with a new look and identity.Īmed Rosario homered and Cal Quantrill (8-3) pitched six strong innings to delight a Progressive Field crowd of 13,121 that came to see their team play with Indians written across their jerseys for the final time. CLEVELAND (AP)As they’ve done in countless ninth innings over decades, fans in Progressive Field stood to cheer during the final three outs.
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