Cleveland Spiders
Cleveland Indians officials could also select the Spiders as a new moniker in honor of Cleveland’s entry in the 19th Century National League.
The Spiders operated in the NL between 1889 and 1899, for most of that period being one of the league’s strongest contenders. Cleveland finished second in 1892, third in 1893, and second again in both 1895 and 1896.
In 1895 the Spiders defeat the regular season champion Baltimore Orioles four games to one to win the Temple Cup, that era’s version of the World Series. They lost to the Orioles in 1896.
Those Spider teams featured a pair of Hall of Famers, pitcher Cy Young and Jesse Burkett. Young won 35 games against 10 losses in 1895, and between 1891 and 1896 was 188-96. Burkett won two batting titles, hitting .405 in 1895 and .410 in 1896.
But the Spiders died following the 1899 season as part of a league-wide consolidation from 12 teams down to eight. When the team’s owners transferred all the team’s best players to St. Louis prior to the 1899 season — a franchise they also owned — the Spiders suffered through the worst season in major league history. They went 20-134, including a record stretch of 24 consecutive losses.