First things first: in years past, this author took to substituting the name “Racists” for the actual name of Cleveland’s baseball team. The heavy-handed satirical criticism was borne from the organization’s entirely wrongheaded obstinacy in using a racist caricature dulled down in steps over time from a really racist caricature. It was a drum beat loudly and well past the point of having much comedic value.
It was also a lot easier to justify when there was no rivalry between the two clubs. The intermittently competitive Cleveland baseball team had absolutely no animosity or storied history with the Royals, a team in their division since realignment who had enjoyed a solitary season of .