Senator suggests familiar nickname
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown wants the Cleveland Indians to adopt the nickname used by the city's Negro League team in from 1940s.
It should have a pretty familiar ring to it in Columbus.
Brown said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday that he left a message with the team's ownership, the Dolan family, on Tuesday to say that the team should change its name to the Cleveland Buckeyes.
Brown is a big fan of the team, and on Wednesday he rattled off its historical accomplishments in helping to desegregate professional baseball, including signing the first black player in the American League when the team added Larry Doby to the roster. He pointed out that the Cleveland Buckeyes won the Negro League World Series in 1945.
“Cleveland has a better Civil Rights record, frankly, than most other teams in baseball,” he said.
The team already has transitioned its Chief Wahoo logo. Last week it announced that it was considering a name change as well.
A’s pitcher concerned about testing: Oakland reliever Jake Diekman has serious questions about Major League Baseball's ability to pull off a season given the issues everywhere getting timely test results, forcing delays and cancellations of workouts.
For now, Diekman still plans to play. He must be extra careful given he has the autoimmune condition ulcerative colitis.
“Once the regular season hits there's no way I'm opting out, but if they don't get the testing figured out then this whole thing will get shut down,” Diekman said Tuesday. “During the season there's no way we can go 72 hours or longer without knowing our result.”