Cleveland Indians rumors: Name change will be fresh, and what about Moon Dogs?

The Cleveland Indians will take a fresh approach to their name change.

For the group that wants the Cleveland Indians to change their name to the Spiders–that idea isn’t looking good.

Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto recently gave some insight as to what the organization is thinking, and wrote the Tribe is looking for something “Fresh.”

"“What I’m hearing is the new name will be something fresh, something they can make uniquely their own.”"

These words probably signal the end of Spiders. Cy Young or not, this team was so bad in its final season that it was contracted.

In case you couldn’t tell, I don’t like the Spiders.  Name yourself after losers? Hard pass.

Naturally, as fans, our first instinct was to draw on the organization’s history, which dates back over 100 years to 1903, when the Indians became a charter member of the American League.

History is uber important to a sport like baseball, but when it comes to naming a major sports franchise, it creates hurdles because there’s a sect that wants to uphold tradition, while theirs others who don’t want to read headlines every time the Spiders lose about their team being “Squashed.”

A new name gives the organization marketing options out the wazoo, and while I despise the ad-wizards as much as the next person, it can be fun for a baseball fan, that is if you’re open to the change.

Think you’ve got a ton of Indians hats now? There’s red hats, blue hats, blue hats with a red bill, and all they have to plaster above the bill is the lame “Block C.”

Now, imagine if Paul Dolan gets nuts after a night of socially distanced craziness in the flats and chooses  “Moon Dogs.” An artist gets to draw a logo of what they perceive a Moon Dog to look like. Then, there’s a secondary logo, because this is sports in 2020, and you’re leaving money on the table by not having one. Then there’s shirts, and the $29 moon dog you can buy at Happy Dog and another mascot to accompany Slider and you can go on and on and on.

Some will like the name. Some will hate it, too, but they’ll come around. Most importantly, kids will love it, and they’re the ones making their parents dole out the bucks in the team shop.

As for Moon Dogs, famed disc jockey Allen Freed, who is credited with inventing the phrase, “Rock n’ Roll,” hosted a show on WJW radio in the early 1950s and is also credited with hosting the first Rock n’ Roll concert, called “The Moondog Coronation Ball.”

In all likelihood, the Indians aren’t going to be re-named the Moon Dogs, so no need to worry about copyright issues. It’s just refreshing to pay homage to city of rock without creating another guitar logo! I digress.