Skip to content

Antonetti: Renaming Indians 'more complex' than anticipated

Ron Schwane / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Cleveland Indians are in the process of renaming their club, and president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti is learning it's more complicated than he initially believed.

"I have come to understand just how complex that process is," Antonetti said Sunday, according to Daryl Ruiter of Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan. "It's taken an extraordinary amount of work from people throughout the organization to help us move that forward."

The club is forming a shortlist of names and vetting them for trademarks and copyrights.

"There's a lot to it," Antonetti added. "It's just a really complex process. There are already a lot of names already in existence. Unless we're starting from scratch and making up a name that no one's used in any space before, there are all sorts of complicating factors to try and get that to be the name for us, setting aside which ones we prefer, our fans prefer or other stakeholders prefer.

"It's a lot more complex than I initially thought."

The franchise challenged trademark applications earlier this month for a number of names, including the Natives, Foresters, Warriors, Guardians, Cleveland Baseball Club, Heroes, and Squires, according to Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. The move doesn't mean the Indians are interested in using any of those names, but they're contesting other parties from registering them.

The Indians own the rights to Blues, Naps, and Bronchos.

The team acknowledged a name change was warranted prior to the 2021 season. However, owner Paul Dolan said he preferred not to use a placeholder name like Cleveland Baseball Club - following the same model as the Washington Football Team. In March, Dolan also said a name change may not come by the beginning of the 2022 campaign.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox