Indians discuss name change
Cleveland’s players met Tuesday with owner Paul Dolan to discuss a potential name change for the team, which has been called the Indians for the past 105 years.
Manager Terry Francona said the group had an “honest” conversation and he came away proud of how it was handled by all involved.
“The way the players expressed themselves in a mature manner and in a respectful manner, and the way Paul listened and spoke back to the players,” said Francona, who attended the meeting along with team president Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff. “I was really, really happy and content to just sit there and let them talk back and forth.”
Francona stressed that nothing has been resolved over the controversial topic.
The franchise recently announced it was in the early stages of meeting with the community and appropriate stakeholders “to determine the best path forward with regard to our team name.”
The Indians’ move coincided with the recent decision by Washington’s NFL team to drop its nickname, which had been decried as being racist for decades.
Cleveland removed its contentious Chief Wahoo logo from its game jerseys and caps.
Fans, however, can still buy merchandise bearing the redfaced, toothy mascot that became a symbol of hatred to some and civic pride to others.
Francona said the meeting with Dolan was a positive, significant step.
Official scorers to work remotely: As an official scorer for Major League Baseball, Ron Jernick has worked at the World Series, the All-Star Game and the World Baseball Classic.
This season he’ll work at home. Baseball is back, but because of coronavirus, official scorers this season will rule remotely on hits and errors and other plays.
Perhaps none will be more remote than Jernick, a fixture in the Miami Marlins press box since 1999. He lives three hours north in the Melbourne area.
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