Farewell to the Jake

Well, in the inifinite wisdom (and greed) of baseball owners, Jacobs Field has been re-named and will now - and for the next 16 years - be called 'Progressive Field'. The Cleveland-based insurance company bought the naming rights from Chardon resident and Indians owner Larry Dolan after they expired at the end of the 2006 season.

The not-so-old ballpark that serves as home for the Cleveland Indians has been re-named, thanks to a new naming-rights agreement between the team and Progressive Insurance Co. of Mayfield Village.

At a press conference yesterday, Progressive President and CEO Glenn M. Renwick and Indians President Paul Dolan said the agreement runs for 16 years with an average payment to the Indians of $3.6 million per year. More here...

Call me an old fogey, but I don't like this name changing game that goes on in the sports stadium world - baseball is a sport of tradition, where respect is earned over many seasons for sustained performance. The idea that anybody with enough cold hard cash can buy their name onto the park - and next year maybe somebody else will come along with more money and we'll call it something else, well, that just doesn't sit well with me.

I say, let's call it Cleveland Stadium, name it after the town whose loyal fans have supported the team through thick and thin since 1915. Or, I'd be ok with naming it League Park, after the original baseball stadium built in 1910, that hosted Cleveland baseball for the next 36 years. Or if you want to honor a player, how about Cy Young Park - remembering not just one great pitcher but all the great players who at one time in their career made their home in Cleveland.

In any case, I don't think I'll be switching my insurance to Progressive anytime soon.