Team names have an oddball history

From Orphans to Beaneaters and Perfectos

This Major League Baseball season may be the last for the team named the Cleveland Indians.

The Cleveland owners announced months ago they would change the name in the next year or two because it is insensitive to Native Americans.

The Washington Football Team is doing the same thing with its offensive former team name.

Professional baseball has been played in the United States since the Cincinnati Red Stockings started in 1869.

The National League was formed in 1876 with teams such as the Chicago White Stockings, New York Mutuals and Hartford Dark Blues.

Through the years there have been lots of different, and kind of weird, team names.

Some early names tried to indicate the team was terrific. There were teams that played in Brooklyn, N.Y., called the Superbas and Tip-tops. A St. Louis team was called the Perfectos.

Other team names didn't have much to do with baseball. The team that's now the Atlanta Braves started in Boston. One of the Boston teams was called the Beaneaters.

Another Brooklyn team was called the Bridegrooms.

Or how about the team that played one year called the Chicago Whales?

Some famous teams did not start with their current names.

The New York Yankees are probably the most famous MLB team in the world. The team started in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles moved to New York City in 1903 and changed their name to the New York Highlanders. The team became the Yankees before the 1913 season.

The Boston Red Sox were once called the Boston Americans. And the Chicago Cubs were once called the Chicago Orphans.

The Cleveland owners could reach back to the names of old Cleveland baseball teams. From 1889 to 1899, there was a team called the Cleveland Spiders.

That name may be bad luck. In their last season, the Spiders were one of the worst teams in history with a record of 20 wins and 134 losses.

Cleveland also had professional teams called the Infants and the Naps (after star second baseman Nap Lajoie). But those names sound like the team is full of babies.

Or there was a Cleveland team in the Negro Leagues called the Buckeyes.