Why not the Cleveland Spiders? Because the Spiders played in the NL from 1887 to 1899 and are not a part of the Blues/Bronchos/Naps/Indians history. Different league, different team. They were also the worst team in baseball history. / 1

Yes, they did have more winning seasons (seven) than not (six), they captured the 1895 Temple Cup, and Cy Young did win his first 240 games for the team. All great. But ... / 2

Their lows were really low. After seven straight winning seasons, club owners Frank and Stanley Robinson shipped the club's manager and three future Hall of Famers, Young among them, to St. Louis -- the precursors of today's Cardinals -- for basically nothing. / 3

The Spiders were a sideshow, and they were terrible. They started 8-30 ... and then went 12-104 the rest of the way. They were outscored by 4.69 runs per game. They lost 10 or more games in a row six different times. They lost 40 of their last 41 games. / 4

Back in the 1890s, teams split gate receipts and the visitors used that money to cover travel and lodging. So few fans showed up to League Park -- fewer than 150, on average -- that teams refused to come to Cleveland. The Spiders basically became a road show. / 5

They lost 101 road games that season. Barring some wild MLB rule changes (though I won't put anything past Rob Manfred), that is literally an unbreakable record. Just to reiterate: THE SPIDERS SET A RECORD FOR FUTILITY THAT LITERALLY CANNOT BE BROKEN. / 6

The Robisons shuttered the team, and thanks to three other NL teams following suit, there was soon room for a second league. The demise of the Spiders led to the birth of the modern Indians. But should the demise of the Indians lead to the birth of the modern Spiders? / 7

Clevelanders seem to handle jokes about our city better than in the past (thanks, LeBron), and there's something ridiculous about a team just totally blowing it 121 years ago. But there's no need to dredge up that record. / 8

Yeah, Spiders merchandise could be great. So could dozens of other newer team names. We don't need to celebrate futility. / 9

BONUS FUN FACT: The Indians want you to think the team is named after Louis Sockalexis, a Penobscot member who played for those 1899 Spiders. More likely: Plain Dealer contest helped the club piggyback on the Boston Braves -- who had just won the 1914 World Series. / 10

Sockalexis provides a nice alibi for revisionist history. / end