[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Originally Posted by rcubed

what are they guarding?

Traffic, apparently.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/07/23/cl...sion-explained

So how did Cleveland land on Guardians as its new team name? The new mascot pays homage to the Guardians of Traffic statues near Progressive Field in Cleveland, located on the Hope Memorial Bridge.

The Guardians of Traffic statues have flanked both sides of the Hope Memorial Bridge since 1932. Each of the four-winged Art Deco figures sports winged helmets and crowns, and each statue holds a different vehicle to signify "the spirit of progress in transportation," per bridge engineer Wilbur Watson. Each guardian stands 43 feet tall, and they remain the only public Art Deco monuments in Cleveland.

Cleveland baseball franchises have gone through a number of name changes in their past, although most of the other name changes occurred in their early history.

Guardians was just one of many names considered by Cleveland. There was a significant push for the Cleveland Spiders, which was the Cleveland baseball team's name in the 1890s. Cleveland teams previously went by the Blues, Bronchos and Naps before becoming the Indians in 1915.