Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field
The Cleveland Guardians are one of Major League Baseball's oldest franchises. The team has won six American League pennants and 11 Central Division titles, and took home World Series wins twice. Since the 2013 season, the team has been managed by Terry "Tito" Francona. Since 1994, the Guardians have played their home games at Progressive Field, a stadium built on the edge of the city's downtown which has also been known as Jacobs Field. The stadium, adjacent to the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse arena, holds more than 35,000 fans.
Cleveland Guardians History
From the 1860s forward, Cleveland had a variety of professional baseball teams known by monikers such as the Forest Citys, the Blues and the Spiders. The roots of the current franchise date back to the Western League's Grand Rapids Rustlers, which were founded in 1894 and moved to Cleveland at the turn of the 20th century.
In 1901, the team became a charter member of the newly formed American League as the Bluebirds. More monikers followed, including the Naps and the Broncos, before the franchise settled on the name Indians in 1915. The team played under the Indians name until 2021, when they rebranded as the Cleveland Guardians. During its existence, the team first played at League Park, then moved into Municipal Stadium — a cavernous venue right near Lake Erie that was once the largest ballpark in the league, seating over 70,000 people — in the 1930s.
Over the years, Cleveland has fielded many players who shaped baseball history. Pre-1930s, player-manager Tris Speaker established himself as one of the league's best hitters. Several years later, the team boasted formidable pitchers such as Mel Harder and then Bob Feller. The latter remains the only player to throw a no-hitter on Opening Day, which he did in 1940. The Guardians also signed the first black player in the American League, Larry Doby, in 1947, and hired the first black manager, Frank Robinson, who helmed the team from 1975 to 1977. In the '90s, the Guardians fielded a formidable, well-rounded team that included future Hall of Famer Jim Thome, as well as slugger Albert Belle, fleet-footed Kenny Lofton, defensive whiz Omar Vizquel and fierce switch-hitter Carlos Baerga.