Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen have ideas for Clevelands Major League team name

May 2024 · 4 minute read

The Wild Thing and Roger Dorn have weighed in on the Cleveland Indians name change.

A representative for actor Charlie Sheen, who starred as ex-con pitcher Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn in the 1989 comedy classic “Major League,” offered his suggestions for a new name in a text message forwarded to The Athletic by his publicist.

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“Rumor has it that the front runners in contention are The Commodores, The Spiders, The Crows and perhaps The Guardians. All being great choices in my humble opinion. As honored as I’d be if The Vaughns or The Wild Things became their choice, I’m smart enough to quickly deem that unrealistic and laughable. But hey, a guy can dream, right?” said Sheen, a lifelong baseball fan and sports memorabilia collector.

Also sending a statement through his manager was actor Corbin Bernsen, who played the aloof veteran playboy third baseman Roger Dorn who eventually comes around as a key teammate in the film.

“While I hold a special place in my heart for ‘The Indians’ as ‘Major League’ was a significant part of my career — not to mention my Little League team — I certainly understand, respect and support changes that are fundamentally offensive and demeaning to Native Americans,” Bernsen said.

“My hope, however, is that with this name change we don’t quit the real work for significant and meaningful change. Changing names is easy, a simple step; real change comes through action and I do believe that words are just words, but actions speaking volumes beyond words. All too often we take these ‘optical fixes’ (such as) name changes, logo redesigns and updated slogans, but never follow through with the tough work that creates real change. So while I wholeheartedly support this first step, a name change, I do hope real change comes in the way we finally view and treat our Native American family. We are all Americans.”

Bernsen also had a suggestion for a replacement name.

“I think it reflects some of the team’s history but also says more on broader terms and has an altogether greater meaning that was at the heart of ‘Major League’ – ‘The Tribe.’ A connected group of Individuals coming together for a common purpose. In that sense, we are all part of The Tribe,” he said.

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But Tribe, the Indians’ nickname, has been ruled out, team owner Paul Dolan had told the Associated Press, adding, “We are not going to take a half-step away from the Indians. The new name, and I do not know what it is, will not be a name that has Native American themes or connotations to it.”

Messages also were left for other key cast members including Tom Berenger (romantically frustrated catcher Jake Taylor), Dennis Haysbert (voodoo priest and occasional curveball hitter Pedro Cerrano), and Wesley Snipes (speedy outfielder Willie Mays Hayes).

Messages also were left for the film’s writer-director, David Ward.

A representative for Bob Uecker, who played broadcaster Harry Doyle in the movie, said he’s not interested in commenting on the name change.

While the name change, which the team signaled last year and confirmed this week was coming in 2022, is culture wars fodder, the movie’s origins are simple: Ward wrote the screenplay and used the Indians because he grew up near Cleveland and experienced their struggles.

He spoke to MLB.com in 2009 for a story marking the 20th anniversary of the movie’s release.

“I grew up in Cleveland, and the Indians hadn’t won anything in, like, 40 years,” he said. “I figured the only way they were ever going to win anything in my lifetime was to do a movie and they’d win. I thought this would be a chance to combine two interests of mine, comedy and baseball – with my team, the Indians.”

Ward won the 1974 Best Screenplay Oscar for “The Sting” starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman. He reportedly began shopping the “Major League” screenplay around Hollywood beginning in 1982.

Most of the movie, apart from exterior shots of old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was shot in Milwaukee. Early scenes were filmed at Hi Corbett Field in Arizona, which was then Cleveland’s spring training site.

(Photo: Brad White / Getty Images)

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