The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since 1994, they have played at Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. Since their establishment as a Major League franchise in 1901, the team has won 10 Central division titles, six American League pennants, and two World Series championships, (in 1920 and 1948). The team's World Series championship drought since 1948 is the longest active among all 30 current Major League teams. The team's name references the Guardians of Traffic, eight monolithic 1932 Art Deco sculptures by Henry Hering on the city's Hope Memorial Bridge, which is adjacent to Progressive Field. The team's mascot is named "Slider." The franchise originated in 1894 as the Grand Rapids Rustlers, a minor league team in the Western League. The team relocated to Cleveland in 1900 and was renamed the Cleveland Lake Shores. The Western League itself was renamed the American League while continuing its minor league status. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the major league incarnation of the club was founded in Cleveland in 1901. Originally called the Cleveland Bluebirds, the team played in League Park until moving permanently to Cleveland Stadium in 1946. The Bluebirds name proved unpopular, and in 1903, the team was nicknamed the Cleveland Naps, after team captain Nap Lajoie. Following Lajoie's departure after the 1914 season, club owner Charles Somers requested that baseball writers choose a new name. They chose the name Cleveland Indians, a revival of the nickname that fans gave to the Cleveland Spiders while Louis Sockalexis, a Native American, was playing for the team. That name stuck and remained in use for more than a century. Common nicknames for the Indians were the "Tribe" and the "Wahoos", the latter referencing their longtime logo, Chief Wahoo. After it came under criticism as part of the Native American mascot controversy, the team ceased using the name "Indians" following the 2021 season, officially becoming the Guardians. From August 24 to September 14, 2017, the Indians won 22 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in American League history. As of the end of the 2021 season, the Guardians' overall record is 9,592–9,144 (.512).

Progressive Field

The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball franchise based in San Francisco, California. Originally known as the New York Gothams, the team moved to San Francisco in 1958. The Giants are a member of the National League West Division of Major League Baseball (MLB) and as of October 29, 2014, the current World Series champions. As one of the longest-established professional baseball teams, the franchise has won the most games of any team in the history of American baseball, and any North American professional sports team. The team was the first major league team based in New York City, most memorably playing at the legendary Polo Grounds. They have won 23 National League pennants and appeared in 20 World Series competitions – both records in the National League. The Giants' eight World Series Championships rank second in the National League (the St. Louis Cardinals have won 11) and are tied for fourth overall with the Boston Red Sox behind the New York Yankees with 27, the Cardinals, and the Oakland Athletics with nine. The Giants have played in the World Series 20 times (14 times in New York, 6 times in San Francisco) but boycotted the event in 1904. Playing as the New York Giants, they won 14 pennants and 5 World Series championships behind managers such as John McGraw and Bill Terry and players like Christy Mathewson, Carl Hubbell, Mel Ott, Bobby Thomson, and Willie Mays. The Giants' franchise has the most Hall of Fame players in all of professional baseball. The Giants' rivalry with the Dodgers is one of the longest-standing and biggest rivalries in American baseball. The teams began their rivalry as the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, respectively, before both franchises moved west for the 1958 season. The Giants have won 6 pennants and 3 World Series championships since arriving in San Francisco. The 3 championships have come in 2010, 2012 and most recently in 2014, having defeated the Kansas City Royals 4 games to 3 during the 2014 World Series.