Manfred no fan of Chief Wahoo
CLEVELAND — Rob Manfred dissed Chief Wahoo in his own backyard.
The baseball commissioner acknowledged Wednesday, before the Cubs’ 5-1 Game 2 World Series win over the Indians at Progressive Field, that the Indians’ longtime logo — a smiling cartoon of a Native American — has its downside. Though Manfred punted on immediate action, he said he hoped to address the situation more substantively in the near future.
“I know that that particular logo is offensive to some people, and all of us at Major League Baseball understand why,” Manfred said at the end of a news conference to announce the Cubs’ Kris Bryant and the retired Red Sox David Ortiz as this year’s Hank Aaron Award winners. “Logos are, however, primarily a local matter. The local club makes decisions about its logos. Fans get attached to logos. They become part of a team’s history. So it’s not easy as coming to the conclusion and realizing that the logo is offensive to some segment.
“I’ve talked to Mr. [Indians owner and CEO Paul] Dolan about this issue. We’ve agreed away from the World Series at an appropriate time we will have a conversation about this. I want to understand fully what his view is, and we’ll go from there. At this point in this context, I’m just not prepared to say more.”
The Indians’ first Fall Classic appearance since 1997, Manfred acknowledged, has heightened the attention on this issue.
In other news, Manfred expressed optimism that the new collective bargaining agreement would be completed “during the World Series or a few days afterwards.” The current CBA expires Dec. 1. Indians reliever Andrew Miller offered a window into the Yankees’ bullpen world this year with the big three of himself, Aroldis Chapman, and Dellin Betances and how there was some confusion at times for manager Joe Girardi.
“I know when Chapman came back to us for the Yankees this year, Dellin and I were kind of up in the air about what order we would pitch,’’ Miller said. “And in some instances it created a mess because we were both warming up next to each other. I think all managers, Joe, Tito [ Terry Francona], I’ve been lucky to have some that really handle the bullpen well. But you hate to have two guys warming up at the same time. It seems wasteful in a sense.’’
So how cold was it at Progressive Field Wednesday night, Terry Francona?
“It was cold. I mean, it was so cold I tried to go to the bathroom in the fourth inning and I couldn’t,’’ Francona said. “That tells you enough.’’