Cleveland Indians' name changed to Guardians

Known as the Indians since 1915, Cleveland's Major League Baseball team will be called Guardians. The ballclub announced the name change Friday — effective at the end of the 2021 season — with a video on Twitter narrated by actor and team fan Tom Hanks, ending months of internal discussions triggered by a national reckoning by institutions and teams to permanently drop logos and names considered racist.

"You see, there's always been 'Cleveland' — that's the best part of our name," Hanks said in the Twitter video, "and now it's time to unite as one family, one community to build the next era for this team and this city, to keep watch and guard what makes this game the greatest, to come together and welcome all who want to join us." The choice of Guardians will undoubtedly be criticized by many of the club's die-hard fans.