ST. LOUIS — For the 12th time in the 30-year history of the American League Central, the Cleveland Guardians are division champions.
In a season in which they were projected to finish around the .500 mark with a new manager, an uncharacteristically unstable starting rotation and an inexperienced lineup, the Guardians spent all but six days in first place.
This isn’t the typically meager AL Central, either, despite what the record of the historically inept Chicago White Sox might suggest. The three teams chasing the Guardians for the past six months — the Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers — are all jockeying for the final two AL wild-card berths.
Stephen Vogt took over as manager in early November for future Hall of Famer Terry Francona. The Guardians finished 76-86 last season, their worst showing since 2012, the final season before Francona ushered in an era of consistent contention. Francona led the club to division titles in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022, plus a pair of wild-card berths.
Y not us?#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/13NK3HLcH9
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 21, 2024
A championship has proved elusive, however. Cleveland’s 76-year World Series title drought is the longest in baseball.
Perhaps that will change next month. The Guardians are positioned to capture a first-round bye, with a win total that could enter the top 10 in the history of the franchise, which dates back to 1901.
The Guardians reached this point because of a dominant bullpen that, for much of the season, has ranked atop the league leaderboard in ERA. Emmanuel Clase could be an AL Cy Young Award finalist, a rare feat for a reliever. Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin, a trio of relievers who weren’t expected to shoulder much of a big-league burden, have all exceeded 70 appearances while recording sub-2.00 ERAs.
Veteran starters Ben Lively and Matthew Boyd have emerged to rescue a rotation missing Shane Bieber (elbow surgery), Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen (demoted to Triple A). José Ramírez, a perennial All-Star third baseman, is flirting with becoming the seventh member of the 40-40 club. (He joked Friday that he doesn’t have the energy to join Shohei Ohtani in the unfathomable 50-50 club.) At times, he’s received offensive help from three fellow All-Stars in Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor and David Fry, trade acquisition Lane Thomas and rookies Jhonkensy Noel and Kyle Manzardo.
On paper, it might not add up to a team that steadily climbed to its fifth division title in the past nine years. But aside from a quick scare from the Royals in August — they were tied for the AL Central lead a mere 3 1/2 weeks ago — the Guardians have cruised to a first-place finish.
“It’s so hard to explain,” Lively said. “Everyone’s happy to be at the field, and that goes a long way with how many games we play and you’re around these guys every single day. You want to be at the field. That’s more special to me than anything. I’ve been on many teams where a lot of guys don’t want to be there. It’s tough, especially a long season. It feels like we’re still in mid-May right now.
“We’re ready to go.”
(Photo of José Ramírez: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)
