Much of the early enthusiasm in Cleveland’s search for a name has focused on having the club renamed the Spiders, the current favorite, according to multiple oddsmakers. While that name has some baseball history in Cleveland — not particularly good history, but history — it has no connection to the current Cleveland club. The Spiders were a National League team from 1889 to 1899. They lost the 1892 championship to Boston and, when last seen, set a mark for baseball futility by going 20-134 before disbanding. A minor league club also used the name in 1915 before bolting for greener pastures in Toledo.

The current Cleveland team, on the other hand, was one of the American League’s original franchises in 1901. The club has a rich 120-season history that includes World Series championships in 1920 and 1948. If Cleveland wanted to choose a name from the team’s own past, rather than referencing a failed N.L. team from the 19th century, it would have four to choose from: the Blues, the Bronchos (also spelled “Broncos”), the Molly Maguires and the aforementioned Naps.

It might be hard to imagine a team renaming itself the Boston Big Papis or the Los Angeles Trouts, but that was exactly what Cleveland did for Lajoie’s first full season with the club in 1903. Lajoie, a Hall of Famer regarded as one of the best hitters in major league history, largely justified the unusual honor. He hit .339 in 13 seasons with the club, collecting multiple batting titles. He is still the franchise’s career leader in wins above replacement.

The Naps nickname stuck around even after a 1912 effort by the team to change its official designation to the Molly Maguires — itself an unusual sports name, as it referenced a group of Irish labor rights activists. But after a last-place finish in 1914, Lajoie demanded a trade and was sent back to his previous club, the Philadelphia Athletics, necessitating a name change for Cleveland.

Source: New York Times

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