Cleveland Sports Forum

I hope they don't read that. They seem to thrive being dissed.

Baseball America names Giminez and Clase to their 2nd team major league all stars. Edwin Diaz ahead of Clase. Altuve ahead of Giminez. Machado and Arenado rate at 3rd base ahead of Jose [they only do 1st and 2nd teams]

All rookie team includes

OF Steven Kwan, Guardians

Kwan began his debut season by going 116 pitches without his first swing and miss, a modern record, and continued to demonstrate those elite contact skills throughout the year. His 3.1% swinging strike rate was the second-lowest in the major leagues and he led all qualified rookies with a .298 batting average. Kwan complimented his offensive production with premium defense in the outfield. He led all American League left fielders in putouts, total zone runs and range factor as measured by Baseball-Reference.

AVG OBP SLG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB
.298 .373 .400 563 89 168 25 7 6 52 62 60 19

An exceptionally strong rookie outfield class of Rodriguez, Harris and Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan left no room for D-backs outfielder Jake McCarthy and Guardians outfielder Oscar Gonzalez, who both had worthy seasons.

Why this Guardians season has been deeply meaningful to many fans: ‘I wouldn’t trade it for anything’
Zack Meisel
Oct 6, 2022


CLEVELAND — Before Game 1 of the 2016 World Series, Terry Francona traveled the winding tunnel to the home dugout, where he could take in the crisp, autumn air. He was anxious. Time was ticking too deliberately. There was still an hour until first pitch. But Cleveland’s manager needed to clear his head.

And he wasn’t alone. There was Mike Napoli, leaning against the padded railing, soaking up the nervous energy in the ballpark.

“What are you doing out here?” Francona asked the veteran slugger.

“I’m scared to death,” Napoli said.

“Me too,” replied Francona, despite having two previous trips to the World Series under his belt.

The postseason is impossible to forecast. That’s what makes it so special. That’s what makes it terrifying. In 2016, a limping Cleveland club proved anything can happen. In 2017, a Cleveland juggernaut proved the same thing.

This year, Francona first felt the butterflies surface in his stomach in the ninth inning of Game 162 on Wednesday. The coaches stayed at the ballpark until the late hours to prepare for the Wild Card Series. And Francona said he’ll once again “be scared to death” when he arrives at Progressive Field on Friday morning for the start of another playoff adventure.

He won’t be the only one fending off his emotions. This Guardians season, full of surprises and marked by dramatic, logic-defying triumphs, has been meaningful to many fans for various reasons. To some, it has served as the elixir for personal grief. For others, the root of a treasured family bond.

No one knows what October holds for the Guardians, but many will be watching intently as they tag along on a postseason journey headed toward an unknown destination. Dozens of Cleveland fans shared their personal tales with The Athletic before Friday’s Game 1.

(Submissions have been edited for clarity and length.)
The Guardians celebrate one of many walk-off wins. (David Richard / USA Today)

In mid-August, at the ripe, old age of 27, I had to have emergency open-heart surgery for a torn aorta. The symptoms and surgery came out of nowhere. Only 20 percent of people who have a torn aorta survive. And I did. Maybe age was on my side or somebody was looking down on me. I’ve been able to rest and catch a lot more Guardians baseball than I’m used to. And they have delivered.

I’ve been an underdog for much of my life, and my open-heart surgery is just another example. Seeing this team work its magic, time and time again, gives me that feeling of overcoming the odds.

— Marty

We lost my grandfather last winter. He’s the reason I love the sport and why I’ve been obsessed with Cleveland baseball since I first learned to read box scores. I watched Game 7 with my grandparents in 2016 and I knew that might be our last chance to see Cleveland win a title together.

But there’s something even more special about this year’s squad. They fight back from deficits. They play smart baseball. And you can tell they have fun every single night; their energy is contagious. It’s the type of team my grandpa and I would have loved to talk about every week on the phone. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

— Dale

Cleveland owns the league’s longest World Series title drought, which stretches back nearly three-quarters of a century. When the Cubs and Indians clashed in 2016, a meeting of the two most title-starved franchises in the sport, the hexes were the primary talking point. Ever since the Cubs claimed Game 7, Cleveland has carried the dubious distinction.

But Cleveland’s roster has almost entirely transformed in the ensuing years. Only José Ramírez and a few coaches remain. It’s such a young group, few of the players on the team are even aware of the history that hovers over them.

Austin Hedges knew the Guardians had the longest drought. He guessed 65 years. Shane Bieber knew; he didn’t want to do the math off the top of his head. A quick poll, though, of some of the rookies on the roster revealed they had no idea. It’s a fascinating wrinkle to the mission of a team attempting to break through for the first time since 1948.

It’s become trite to say these young players “don’t know what they don’t know,” but really, what they don’t know, since many are developing on the fly, is what the team’s ceiling can be.

“Every time we go through something,” Francona said, “it’s the first time. It hasn’t held us back. … These guys have been doing it as they’re learning. They’ve done a pretty good job of it.”

But Francona cautioned, after the club clinched the division last month in Texas, that this is more than a feel-good story.

“I’m not sure I buy into where people say, ‘They’re playing with house money,’” Francona said. “When we lose, it hurts every bit as much as it’s ever hurt. I think they deserve more credit than that.”
The Guardians soak it all in after clinching the AL Central. (Jerome Miron / USA Today)

My dad is a lifelong fan and turns 80 in October. He’s just young enough that he doesn’t remember (much about) the 1948 championship. He didn’t have a TV and his dad was a Yankees fan. My dad always said he wanted two things before he died: a Cleveland championship and a grandchild. After years of struggling with fertility issues, my wife and I were able to give my father the grandson he always wanted. Now we just need that championship.

— Shane

My grandmother — who was at one of the 1948 World Series games, still her biggest brag — has been declining, health-wise. We used to go to Opening Day annually for her birthday, but the pandemic ruined that in 2020 and ’21, and this year, her health wouldn’t permit (it). I would love nothing more than for her to see another World Series victory for Cleveland. She loves Josh Naylor and José Ramírez almost as much as she loves her grandkids and great-grandkids.

— Glen

My son was born April 4, a son who my wife and I were told by multiple fertility doctors over the years we could most likely never have. He watched Opening Day three days after he was born, in the arms of my father. He’s too young to process or understand what he’s watching, but I’ve gotten to share this incredible, unlikely run with him. This season means so much because I get to watch an unlikely team overcome the odds with the son I’ve always wanted, who was unlikely and overcame the odds, too.

— Ryan H.

Being an Australian, I’ve had an interesting journey to becoming a Guardians fan. Many moons ago, when I was a young kid, I stumbled on a YouTube video of this guy dunking and thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. That guy was LeBron. Because of this, I decided I would go for the Cavs. In Australia, once you choose a team, you do not change under any circumstance

In 2020, when we went into lockdown in Melbourne, I started watching baseball. Because I was a Cavs fan, naturally I chose Cleveland. Over the course of this year, I’ve become more and more hooked on the team, despite being literally on the other side of the world. The way they play is awesome and is everything about sports that I love.

On Friday morning, Australian time, I’ll be frantically checking my phone every break I get at work to see the score from Game 1. This season is the best, as a fan: No expectations — just pure, youthful joy.

— Matthew

Four years ago, for no other reason than she had a feeling, my daughter predicted Cleveland would win the 2022 World Series. The prediction seemed outlandish last year, but here we are now, ahead of schedule. This season, my daughter and I have gone to several games together. We sit down in the first inning and don’t leave our seats until the game ends. I’ve saved a lot of money by not going for beer runs like I used to. But the time we’ve shared talking about the game and pointing things out to each other has been amazing. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

— Greg

I took some really hard steps this year. I finally started the process of coming out as transgender/non-binary and living as my real self. I left my job, I came out to friends and family, I socially transitioned and I started using my new preferred name and they/them pronouns. I didn’t plan it this way, but I definitely did find it especially meaningful to be “rebranding,” as it were, at the same time as the Guardians. I found a lot of solidarity in that that I really needed. The ballpark is always a place I have felt most like myself, even before coming out. So it made sense that I started truly being out as myself in that place. My baseball friends were some of the first people I came out to.

It’s been really meaningful to me what the Guardians have done this year. (The name change) made a lot of people really angry. And then this team of young kids who didn’t know any better that they weren’t supposed to be good yet just went out and kept winning in incredibly fun and improbable ways, over and over again. Now they get to hopefully keep doing that in the postseason. That mindset has helped give me the courage to do what I’m doing now, to keep going and see it through. It’s a hard choice, one not everyone agrees with, that, in some ways, has made my life harder. But seeing the Guardians not care about those who complained and instead go out and do what they’ve done has helped me keep wanting to be alive every day as my real self. If they can do it, then I can, too.

— Eli

When Francona spoke to the team at the start of spring training, he stressed that to have any chance to make some noise, the players needed to thrive on the bases, avoid lapses on defense and capitalize on the opponents’ miscues. He implored Ramírez and Amed Rosario to set the proper example for the roster full of toddlers.

The result has been a refreshing brand of baseball, centered on contact and hustle. No play better summarizes the Guardians’ style than when they scored twice on a routine bouncer to third base two weeks ago in Texas on the day they clinched the AL Central. Francona said he’s proud of how the team, which has seen a franchise-record 17 players make their major-league debut this season, has bought into the strategy.

“I think our team is easy to like,” Francona said. “They’re good kids.”

Related: Cleveland’s mad dashes from first to third vaulted them into first

My 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son are really getting into baseball this year. This team has been perfect for that. The team has such a fun combination of youth, talent and personality and they play in a way that makes it easy to teach baseball to my kids. They hustle, run the bases, play defense and put the ball in play. Almost every day, we’re in the backyard, with the kids pretending to be Steven Kwan, José Ramírez, Oscar Gonzalez and so many others. Every morning before school, I hear, “Dad, don’t forget to put on the Guards highlights.” My son is going as Andrés Giménez for Halloween. We had sparkling juice when the Guardians clinched the division and the first comment came from my daughter, who said she felt bad that Franmil Reyes couldn’t be there. This team is so easy to connect with. You can just feel how much fun they’re having.

— Rich
Andrés Giménez signs an autograph for a fan. (Ken Blaze / USA Today)

We lost my grandfather last year due to a long battle with COVID-19. There haven’t been bright spots or much to celebrate. Following this Guardians team has been a source of joy for my dad and me. In the first game of that September series in Chicago, my dad and I were trading texts about every other at-bat. We laughed about how my grandfather would have absolutely lost it when Amed Rosario was called out at home, clearly a blown call that could have been season-altering. It didn’t end up mattering, because this group did what it does: grind out at-bat after at-bat and string together hits in extra innings to come away with a win, an eventual sweep and, ultimately, six in a row to clinch the AL Central. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed some tears of joy watching those guys celebrate in the locker room.

— Ryan L.

I fell in love with the Cleveland ballclub during the ’95 season. I would watch games with my dad and fall asleep to the radio broadcasts with Tom Hamilton and Herb Score. Cleveland baseball is probably the first thing I truly cared about. I have a tattoo of Omar Vizquel sitting alone in the dugout after Game 7 of the ’97 series. I fell asleep during that game. When I woke up the next day, my dad showed me the paper, with the Omar photo, and I broke down crying. It always stuck with me.

The tattoo is a mashup of a couple of my favorite things: Cleveland baseball and the art of Raymond Pettibon, a legendary punk rock artist. I took the text from a Pettibon painting: “Life is a misery, and I do not know when death may come. ‘Play ball!’”

I’ve embraced all the emotions that come with sports fandom in my 30ish years of rooting for this club. I don’t know what the playoffs hold, but the season is already one for the books, as far as I’m concerned.

— Nicholas

I can’t even begin to tell you the emotions that would overcome me if the Guardians make a deep playoff run and somehow secure a World Series championship. I lost my father on June 2. Some of my first recollections of baseball are sitting on the couch with him and watching the ’95 World Series. The last game we went to together was in 2013, when (Cleveland was) playing the White Sox and Jason Giambi sent us home with a walk-off win. He called me out of the blue to go to a game; it was so out of character for him, but is in the top five moments of my life.

We discussed the 2022 team a lot in his final days. We knew they had this “death by a thousand cuts” approach and could annoy teams and somehow walk away winners. We talked about the fire of Josh Naylor, the relentless approach of Steven Kwan and the absolute swag that José Ramírez carries. He loved the precision of Shane Bieber, the stature of Triston McKenzie and the passion of Cal Quantrill. While I’ve never met any of these guys, the joy they have brought me this year, specifically over the last four months, is something I can’t really put into words. But, I know if they win the last game of the season, the only person I’ll be thinking about is my father, Jay. At only 60, he never got to see a Cleveland baseball championship. This would feel like his going-away present to me to share with my family forever.
— Jaycob

There’s a mystique surrounding a team that exceeds expectations, that arrives early, that makes skeptics look foolish. The Guardians have savored the opportunity to play that role.

Few, if any, prognosticators penciled them into the top spot in the AL Central in the spring. Few foresaw Steven Kwan, Andrés Giménez or Oscar Gonzalez contributing in such profound fashion. The Guardians tallied a league-high 29 victories in their final at-bat, surpassing the vaunted 1995 team for the most in franchise history. They enter the playoffs on the heels of a frantic, 24-6 finish to the regular season, which cemented them as one of the league’s top surprises.

“I don’t think very many of us care what anyone has to say, media included,” Cal Quantrill said. “We are a team. We’re excited to see each other every day. We show up, we have energy, we play for a manager we believe in. We play for a team and a city we believe in. It’s just a bonus that we happen to prove people wrong. This is how we felt when the season started. It’s been the same approach all year long. The fact people are just realizing we’re a good team now has played to our advantage.”

This year means a lot to me because it’s another reason to smirk next year when people will be counting out Cleveland again. We are used to our guys being overlooked. It’s a Cleveland thing. But these are the Guardiac Kids. And they’re ready to introduce themselves.

— Ryan R.

My grandmother, Maria, immigrated to the U.S. in 1957 from Bitola, Macedonia, with her aunt to create a better life for herself. She didn’t speak English, but she fell in love with Cleveland baseball. She married my grandfather and moved to Mansfield and never missed a game on TV. She passed on her love of baseball to my brother and me. We both played collegiate baseball. We would sit and watch games with her during every visit. My favorites: Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, listening to her scream when Rajai Davis hit that home run, and when I took her to a game in 2016 and we watched Mike Napoli hit a ball toward the scoreboard against the Yankees.

My grandmother passed away on Sept. 29. She was a wonderful woman and is missed by so many. We sat with her on her last night as Trevor Stephan struck out the last batter with the bases loaded to end the game against the Rays.

Whether this Guardians team makes it to the World Series or loses in the wild-card round, getting to watch baseball in October in Cleveland is going to be emotional for all of us, but we’re leaning on them to get us through.

— Aaron

My love for Tom Hamilton and the old-school radio comes from my grandma, who faithfully listened to every game in her Kent home or from Florida when clear nights allowed her to pick up WTAM 1100 during the early-season games. She would even make us mute the TV to listen to Hamilton, despite the audio and video being out of sync. But she didn’t care, as long as we could hear “A SWING AND A DRIVE!”

On Aug. 3, my grandma passed at 97 years old. She lost her husband at 40 with three young boys to raise, so it always felt to me like she was the stuff of legends and would live forever. She does live on forever in my unwavering and unfulfilling loyalty to the Cleveland Guardians.

A few times a year, my grandma would come visit us in Richmond, Va. On this specific trip in August 2001, Cleveland hosted the Sunday Night Baseball game against the Mariners. We all watched what ended up being an absolute drubbing in the first few innings. After three, Seattle led Cleveland, 12-0.

The rest of my family went back to whatever routine was happening 21 years ago. However, I, in my infinite wisdom, had recently bought an open-boxed TV on sale from Best Buy with my lawn-mowing money, so I kept the game on with the volume extremely low in my bedroom as I naively hoped for a Cleveland win.

Eventually, Cleveland pulled it out, 15-14, in what is one of the most improbable comebacks in MLB history. After Cleveland tied it in the bottom of the ninth, I remember sneaking out of my room at what had to have been close to midnight to wake my grandma up to make sure she wouldn’t miss the comeback. Much to my surprise, my grandma was sitting on the edge of her bed listening to her Walkman radio tuned to 1100 with Hamilton announcing that the game would go to extra innings. At 76 years old, my grandma had “gone to bed” and listened to a shellacking of Cleveland for three more hours because the game wasn’t over.

I share all of this because it meant the world to me that night that my grandma was still awake. I struggle to put into words why it mattered so much to me, but she was tuned in, unwavering in her fandom, and confident that a miracle was not only possible but in her mind probably even likely. Maybe that’s what happens when your partner is taken from you way too early in life, or maybe that’s the magic of an eternal optimist creating space for miracles to occur. Either way, my grandma was not turning that game off until the last out was recorded and Cleveland was defeated. She was rooting for the impossible and the unlikely, and the next day, she was going to turn on the game and listen to Tom Hamilton again, regardless of the outcome.

In the days and weeks following my grandma’s passing, I have found the routine and familiar sounds of baseball at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario to be cathartic. In a lot of ways, a prolonged postseason run would only further extend the celebration of 97 years well-lived for an exceptional fan, and I know regardless of who hoists the trophy in November, my grandma will never forgive Jose Mesa.

— Robbie
Amed Rosario hugs Josh Naylor after Naylor’s slam against the White Sox in May. (Matt Marton / USA Today)

My parents have had season tickets since the early ’90s, and my brother, Andrew, took them over this past year, along with my other brother. He couldn’t bear to give up our tickets and talked my brother into keeping them in the family. I live in Chicago, or I would’ve happily gone in on them. Andrew truly loved going to the games — the atmosphere, getting too many hot dogs and overpriced beer, and he especially enjoyed heckling the visiting team from our seats a few rows back of the visitors dugout. He loved to boo so loudly every time a pitcher checked a runner, and he loved even more targeting one random player on every team who batted low in the order to heckle for no reason. It was his bit and he was quite good at it.

Some of my fondest memories are attending Guardians games with my family over the years, watching extra innings and walk-offs, but most importantly, attending Game 1 of the 2016 World Series with my three siblings.

Andrew unexpectedly passed away in May at 28. It’s been devastating for my family, and the tickets he was so excited to hold onto felt like a burden. I couldn’t go to the games and I had no interest in watching the Guardians, which didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, since they were under .500 and no one expected much.

The night of my brother’s funeral was when the Guardians had that crazy comeback against the White Sox. Josh Naylor hit a grand slam in the ninth and we ended up winning it in extra innings.

It’s silly, but it felt like a sign.

I so wish my brother was here to watch this playoff run. He would have been so happy. I know he would be attending at least one of the upcoming games. He wouldn’t have missed it for anything. He would have loved the rookies and been the biggest fan of this unexpected Cinderella season.

Regardless of how far the Guardians make it, I will always remember this season. I’m not going to lie: I think, in some ways, it will be more upsetting if we somehow win it all and Andrew isn’t here to enjoy it. But I also know how special it would make this season and this connection to my brother. I will be cherishing these upcoming games. This season feels tied to my brother’s memory.

— Beth

All-MLB team 2022: Jim Bowden picks the best player at each position, top manager, GM

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge sits in the dugout during a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
By Jim Bowden
7h ago
180

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With another regular season in the books and the postseason finally here, it’s time for my annual All-MLB team, which features my picks for the best players at each position. What really stood out this time is that only one player from last year’s team — the amazing Shohei Ohtani — made the cut for a second year in a row. Talk about turnover, wow! That just speaks to all of the talent in our great game.

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As always, I also included my selections for top manager, general manager and owner. But let’s start with the players, a group highlighted by Aaron Judge (spoiler alert!), Paul Goldschmidt and Justin Verlander. Without further ado, here is my 2022 All-MLB team. Let me know in the comments section what you think I got wrong.

WAR stats are according to Baseball-Reference.

Players
Catcher: J.T. Realmuto, Phillies
WAR: 6.5 OPS+: 129

Realmuto became only the second catcher in major-league history to hit at least 20 home runs and steal at least 20 bases in a season, joining Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, who did it in 1999. Realmuto was successful on 21 of 22 stolen-base attempts, and wasn’t thrown out until Game 160. He slashed .276/.342/.478 with 26 doubles, five triples, 22 home runs and 84 RBIs. He is the best in baseball at throwing out would-be stealers, nabbing 30 of 68, a 44 percent caught stealing rate. Will Smith (Dodgers) finished a close second behind Realmuto with 24 home runs, 87 RBIs and a 4.1 WAR.


Paul Goldschmidt (Orlando Ramirez / USA Today)
First base: Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals
WAR: 7.8 OPS+: 180

Goldschmidt hit .317/.404/.578 with 41 doubles, 35 home runs and 115 RBIs, and he should win the National League MVP Award. I think he’ll also win the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards for NL first basemen. Defensively, Goldschmidt’s range to his right and scooping ability are special. In addition, he’s a great base runner who can steal bases (seven in seven attempts) and go from first to third as well as anyone. His best qualities are his leadership and mentorship. Goldschmidt has finished top three in MVP voting three times in his career, but this year he’ll finally win. Freddie Freeman (Dodgers), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays) and Pete Alonso (Mets) finished just behind him.

Second base: Jose Altuve, Astros
WAR: 5.1 OPS+: 160

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Altuve batted .300/.387/.533 with 39 doubles, 28 home runs, 103 runs scored and 18 stolen bases in 19 attempts. The eight-time All-Star will make his seventh postseason appearance next week with hopes of advancing to the World Series for the fourth time and winning his second title. He continues to have plus range to both sides and can turn the double play as well as any second baseman in the league. A special leader and mentor, Altuve helped rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña, in particular, this year. He brings high energy and passion to the ballpark every day.

Shortstop: Carlos Correa, Twins
WAR: 5.4 OPS+: 140

After third base, shortstop was the most difficult position to call. I gave serious consideration to the Dodgers’ Trea Turner, who reached base at a 34 percent clip, hit 21 home runs and stole 27 bases. I thought long and hard about Dansby Swanson (Braves), who had a career year with 25 home runs and 18 stolen bases, as well as Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox), who led all shortstops with a .377 on-base percentage. But I went with Correa, who had 22 home runs, an .833 OPS and played stellar defense. Correa was a difference-maker the minute he walked into the Twins’ clubhouse, helping change their culture and create a positive atmosphere, according to manager Rocco Baldelli and team president Derek Falvey, who have told me that in conversations on my SiriusXM radio shows. Correa has a $35.1 million player option for next season (and 2024) but is expected to opt out of his contract this fall because he seeks a long-term deal.

Third base: Manny Machado, Padres
WAR: 6.6 OPS+: 158

This position was the most difficult to decide. Nolan Arenado (Cardinals), José Ramírez (Guardians), Austin Riley (Braves) and Rafael Devers (Red Sox) all played well enough to be on this team. However, Machado edges out Arenado after slashing .298/.366/.531 with 37 doubles, 32 home runs and 102 RBIs and playing strong defense at the hot corner. Machado carried the Padres offensively for most of the season and probably impacted his team’s lineup more than any player outside of Judge. It’s hard to not pick Arenado, especially because I think he’ll win another Gold Glove after posting 19 defensive runs saved and a 13.0 UZR. I wanted to make this one a tie, but as Tom Hanks’ character Jimmy Dugan said in “A League of Their Own,” “there are no ties in baseball.”

Right field: Aaron Judge, Yankees
WAR: 10.6 OPS+: 211

Judge just finished the best offensive season in major-league history. He slashed .311/.425/.686 with 391 total bases, 28 doubles, 62 home runs and 131 RBIs while leading the major leagues in both runs scored (133) and runs driven in. His 62 homers broke the American League’s single-season mark of 61, set by Roger Maris in 1961. A four-time All-Star, Judge will be named AL MVP over Ohtani, which is an incredible feat on its own. Judge also played Gold Glove defense with six outfield assists and no errors. Manager Aaron Boone has told me that Judge, at his core, is all about winning first and being a good teammate, not individual accomplishments or awards. It was a privilege for all of us to witness his special season. Mookie Betts (Dodgers) and Kyle Tucker (Astros) finished a distant second and third, respectively, behind Judge.

Center field: Mike Trout, Angels
WAR: 6.3 OPS+: 178

While everyone was talking about Judge and Ohtani, and rightfully so, Trout turned in another MVP caliber season. He slashed .283/.369/.630 with 28 doubles and 40 home runs and made his 10th All-Star team in his 12th year in the big leagues. The Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez, who became the fastest player in MLB history to record 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases, finished second. Rodríguez had 28 home runs, 25 stolen bases and a 6.0 WAR in a sensational rookie season as he helped Seattle make the playoffs for the first time in 21 years.

Left field: Steven Kwan, Guardians
WAR: 5.5 OPS+: 124

This year’s biggest surprise has to be Kwan, who will soon win the AL Gold Glove Award for left fielders. Kwan led all left fielders with 21 defensive runs saved, according to Sports Info Solution. (Ian Happ, who ranked second, had 13.) He batted .298 with a .373 on-base percentage that was tied for the best mark among left fielders. He led all left fielders with 168 hits and had 19 stolen bases in 24 attempts. Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies is the runner-up. He led the NL with 46 home runs but his .218 batting average, major-league leading 200 strikeouts and below-average defense made me select Kwan over him.

Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Angels
WAR: 9.6 OPS+: 145

Ohtani had another MVP caliber season but is expected to finish second to Judge for the AL award. However, in my mind, Ohtani is MLB’s player of the year. We should create an annual Unicorn Award for the best two-way player, even though Ohtani would never have any competition for it. But he does deserve his own award; he’s that good, and we’ve never seen anything like him on this planet. For the second straight season, he was the game’s best DH, slashing .273/.356/.519 with 30 doubles, six triples, 34 home runs, 90 runs scored and 95 RBIs. On the mound, he went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA, striking out 219 in 166 innings. Yordan Alvarez of the Astros had an impressive year (.306/.406/.613, 187 OPS+, 29 doubles, 37 home runs, 97 RBIs, 6.8 WAR) to finish second.


Justin Verlander (Troy Taormina / USA Today)
Starting pitcher: Justin Verlander, Astros
WAR: 5.9 ERA: 1.75

Verlander topped MLB with a 1.75 ERA in 28 starts. At 39 years old, he allowed just 116 hits and 29 walks in 175 innings while striking out 185. Opponents hit .186 against him, which tied the Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen for the major-league lead. Verlander led the AL in wins, ERA, ERA+, WHIP and hits per nine innings. He made his ninth All-Star team. Verlander’s whole repertoire was dominant: Opposing batters hit .194 against his four-seam fastball, .188 against his slider, .158 against his curveball and .167 against his changeup. That’s ridiculous! Sandy Alcantara (Marlins), Julio Urías (Dodgers), Alek Manoah (Blue Jays) and Dylan Cease (White Sox) were also considered after delivering strong seasons.


Edwin Díaz (Brad Penner / USA Today)
Closer: Edwin Díaz, Mets
WAR: 3.2 ERA: 1.31

Díaz was the best closer in baseball, converting 32 of 35 save opportunities and posting a 1.31 ERA in 61 appearances. He struck out 118 and walked only 18 in 62 innings while pitching in the biggest market in the majors. Emmanuel Clase of the Guardians was the best closer in the AL and finished a close second behind Díaz. Clase’s numbers: 42 saves in 46 opportunities, 1.36 ERA in 77 appearances, 77 strikeouts and 10 walks in 72 2/3 innings.

Front office and field staff
Owner: Peter Seidler, Padres
Seidler has provided the financial resources for president of baseball operations A.J. Preller to compete with the biggest markets in baseball. In fact, only the Mets, Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox spent more based on projected 2022 player payrolls. That’s impressive for a small-market team. Seidler also allowed Preller to trade a huge chunk of the farm system at the trade deadline to land Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Nationals, closer Josh Hader from the Brewers and Brandon Drury from the Reds. Under Seidler’s leadership, the Padres drew nearly three million fans this season (an average of 36,931 per game), which ranked fifth in MLB. The Padres are back in the playoffs, and Seidler deserves a lot of the credit.

Executive: Andrew Friedman, Dodgers
The Dodgers set a franchise record for wins in a season with 111. Since Friedman was hired by the organization in October 2014, the Dodgers have won the NL West every year except 2021, when they won 106 games but finished second behind the Giants, and they won the World Series in the truncated 2020 season. Friedman never rested on his laurels after trading for Mookie Betts in 2020 and Max Scherzer and Trea Turner in 2021, landing Freddie Freeman in free agency last offseason. Under Friedman, the Dodgers have excelled at developing homegrown talent as well, including players such as Urías, Tony Gonsolin, Cody Bellinger, Smith and Gavin Lux. Friedman is always ahead of the curve in research, development and analytics. His strong in-game preparation, communication skills and leadership style set the tone for the whole organization. He has set the standard for this generation of front office executives.


Terry Francona (Jason Miller / Getty Images)
Manager: Terry Francona, Guardians
Francona has done it all as a manager. His résumé includes two World Series titles with the Red Sox and 12 90-win seasons. However, this year might be his best work in 22 seasons as a big-league manager. He led the Guardians, the youngest team in the majors, to an AL Central title despite having 17 players who made their MLB debuts and not having much power in his lineup. What the Guardians do have is one of the most fundamentally sound teams in the sport. They led the majors in making contact, striking out the least of any team. They play great defense. They are superb at running the bases, in both stealing bags and going from first to third. They do the little things to win games and they excelled in the late innings, at the plate and with their bullpen. Francona did a masterful job managing that bullpen, and deserves high praise for his leadership in guiding this young group to a 92-win season.

ESPN’s Doug Glanville reflects on Cleveland, Terry Francona and the state of baseball
Published: Oct. 07, 2022, 6:18 p.m.
We sat down to talk with baseball analyst Doug Glanville about Cleveland, Terry Francona, the state of baseball and what his middle name means. Glanville is shown in 2001.
We sat down to talk with baseball analyst Doug Glanville about Cleveland, Terry Francona, the state of baseball and what his middle name means. Glanville is shown in 2001.ASSOCIATED PRESS

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By Marc Bona, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Broadcaster Doug Glanville spent almost all of his playing career in the National League, but when it comes to Cleveland, he has – well, interesting memories. And it starts with Guardians manager Terry Francona.

Glanville played nine years in the Majors, finishing his career in 2004. Francona managed the Phillies for three of the seasons Glanville played there, 1998 to 2000.

“Terry Francona I always pay attention to,” Glanville said. “He is someone I love dearly and played for in Philly. With Terry I check in on the offseason all the time. And so I definitely watch and I love what he’s doing, because I know we were pretty young back in ‘98. And he acknowledged the other day - ‘Well, I was kind of learning on the job.’ But he said, ‘Now I understand the aspect behind people skills and relating to people and keeping the pressure off people.’ So he’s great at that and very much about those intangible aspects of the game of leadership.”


Glanville is a cerebral guy who doesn’t talk over viewers’ heads, doesn’t yuck it up with non-jokes and, equally important, doesn’t yell.

Related coverage: How much is parking? Sights, sounds from Guardians wild card series Game 1

He is part of ESPN’s team calling the Wild Card series at Progressive Field between Cleveland and Tampa Bay. Jon Sciambi, Jesse Rogers and Glanville are on television while Dave O’Brien and Marly Rivera have the call on radio.

Glanville has a trove of memories from his time in Cleveland.

“Oh, there’s a lot,” he said. “OK, number one, I hit a home run here, off of John Smiley. That was fun. And I shocked myself because it went over that really tall wall. It was like a Game of the Week or something. So I had a really good game. I remember facing Bartolo Colon when he threw 1,000 miles an hour and CC Sabathia - really good rotation.”


Another memory stemmed from former Cleveland shortstop Omar Vizquel’s book, “Omar! My Life On and Off the Field,” in which he is critical of former teammate Jose Mesa.

Sports betting comes to Ohio on Jan. 1, 2023: Your questions answered

“We had a couple incidents here,” Glanville recalled. “Jose Mesa was really mad at Omar Vizquel for when he wrote the book. So he vowed to hit him every time he batted. And Vizquel came up here, and we were up by four and he was closing and he hit him. They almost caught us.” (Philadelphia won that game, 7-3, on June 12, 2002. Cleveland had loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but Milton Bradley – the potential tying run - hit into a game-ending double play.)

As a matter of fact, if timing had worked out a bit differently, Glanville might have been wearing a Cleveland uniform as a coach.

“After I retired, the first interview I did was Cleveland,” he said. “I came here and met (longtime Cleveland front-office executive) Chris (Antonetti), and it was cool. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I think John Farrell reached out to me. He’s like, ‘Hey, you want to be an outfield instructor, base coach?’ So I came out here. I went through the interview process; it was informal. I kind of knew I wasn’t really ready to get right into the game on that side. I wanted to explore.”


Glanville spoke about a few other aspects of baseball today. Here are excerpts from our interview:

On the playoff format
“I’ve kind of ranted in the past about the sudden-death one game, even though I appreciate the excitement to it. And I always think baseball is built around a series. And when you think about how these teams are constructed with these ace pitchers. … it’s fun for a team to be able to use the whole staff that kind of got them there, to showcase that in the short series. So if you beat them, you have to beat kind of all of them, and at least more than one game. You can see that difference, the fact that you’re exposed to all elements of the team and you win. Anybody can win one game, it doesn’t matter, any two teams. And you still can get that one-game effect with game three. I felt like the series, that works for me.”


On the postseason home-field advantage structure
“I like how they’re trying to create incentives, whether it’s, ‘OK, you win the division and you’re the top team, you get a bye.’ I think 162 games, that’s a lot of evidence of how good your team is. And I think you deserve certain privileges for winning. From my standpoint, yeah, there should be a longer road for those that didn’t kind of catch that crown.”

On baseball’s statistical emphasis
“There’s these constant waves of evolutions and different generations that change the game in different ways you go through. I grew up in an era of having a starting pitcher that went nine, and there were a lot of turf teams stealing bases, like the Phillies. What I appreciate about data is it’s good to have information. For example, someone who’s a defender, like myself at center field, I wish there was more data to prove what I did defensively in my time. I think that would have given me more value. Because now they are focused on these data points, you can see those things. But I think what sometimes you have the information, then how do you decide to employ it in real time? … I always found the low percentage play is actually what excites you about things like, ‘Oh, the odds were this, but they still made it.’ That’s exciting. … When you’re always hedging against risk, and you’re trying to minimize risk and maximize return, you could lose that sense of wonderment, or ‘Hey, I want to steal a base right now because I have something that’s immeasurable.’… I think it’s important to quantify and qualify sometimes things that maybe you didn’t measure before. But I think you also always have that pushback on the soul of the game and how you want it to be and how it’s entertaining.”


On rules changes
“I feel like they’re trying to adjust and be responsive. Like the shift next year, the pitch clock-only thing. I think the pitch clock, given where the game has gone, is a good thing. I think that’s just where we are, there’s so much time and dead time and loss of rhythm and tempo, that it’s something that’s just addressed. … You’re trying to watch the game, have its natural evolutions and pushes, but then also trying to bring it to a place where you want the game to be. So I think the tempo is important. I think the fact that the ball is in play more is important. I think it’s showcasing athleticism and things that are exciting - triples and stolen bases. Those elements you want to celebrate more, because otherwise, it’s just ‘Stand at plate, press button and hit the ball over the fence and strike me out.’ And there’s nothing in between.”

On the steroid era
“Well, whether it’s a matter of people today doing X, Y and Z, or is it a matter of the shadow cast, I just think that shadow is going to last a long time. And that was the selfishness of it. Because whether your personal accolades or your fear of aging or all the things that are real, tangible insecurities, and combined with greed and a lot of other things, and yeah, when you make those choices, then the game gets to be lost.”


On remembering the pure love of the game
“That’s what excites me about Shohei Ohtani as a player. … (With players using steroids) you lose a little bit of the awe. You know that you still want to have the childhood enthusiasm of this, you want to enjoy that. And I think this (steroid era) took that away, I found as a player. And so when I watch Shohei Ohtani I kind of feel that again – it’s ‘Oh, wow.’ And that’s good. It’s something that reduces you to your original state, your childhood love for the game. That’s to me is one reason he is important.”

On his middle name ‘Metunwa’
Glanville said it is Nigerian and pronounced “Meh-TOON-wah.” He learned from a friend in college at the University of Pennsylvania that as one word it doesn’t mean much. “But if you break it into two parts,” she told him, “it means ‘touch the child.’ " “I won’t say I embraced it at first; but I wasn’t like, ‘I want to be named John.’ I did kind of go with it. And then, yeah, pretty soon it was cool, especially knowing that heritage my parents were trying to achieve.”

‘We’re making people rethink baseball’: Guardians advance with 15-inning marathon win


Oct 8, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Oscar Gonzalez (39) reacts after hitting the game winning home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during game two of the Wild Card series for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

By Jason Lloyd
Oct 8, 2022



CLEVELAND — On the day’s 432nd pitch, three minutes shy of five hours after the first pitch, Oscar Gonzalez swung Thor’s hammer and 35,000 sober and shivering souls (beer sales were cut off nearly three hours earlier) howled in delight.

A team like no other put on a performance like no other and the result was 15 innings of high anxiety and a lot of, well, nothing. A lot of sitting and gasping and nothing and waiting and sitting and gasping and then nothing and more waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

The longest scoreless game in playoff history finally ended on a swing by a rookie who started the season in Double A after he was left off the Guardians’ 40-man roster and exposed to a Rule 5 draft last winter that ultimately never occurred.

Just like they drew it up in January.

The Guardians keep doing it their way. They beat the Rays on Saturday, 1-0 in 15 innings to advance to play the Yankees in the American League Division Series. The team that was never invited to the party and wasn’t supposed to be here is now setting the curtains on fire and refusing to leave.

“I’ve never seen a season like this, a team like this, a game like this,” Guardians catcher Austin Hedges said. “We’re making people rethink baseball. And it’s so cool.”

The Guardians swept this series by scoring a grand total of three runs — all on home runs. How 2022 of them. Their first-to-third, swipe a bag and steal the game havoc-inducing style on the base paths stalled against a pitching staff equal to their own. But the way this team pitches, defends and (usually) grinds down opposing pitchers with relentless at-bats will make them a tough out for any opponent.

Hedges’ ability to call a game and frame pitches is as good as any catcher in baseball. Myles Straw routinely makes shoulder-high catches in the gap on fly balls that look like certain doubles off the bat.

With the go-ahead run at third and two outs in the 12th inning Saturday, José Ramírez backhanded a short hop at third base that carried him into foul territory. He fired a one-hopper to Josh Naylor, who stretched every millimeter of his 6-foot frame to scoop it out of the dirt while holding his toe on the bag at first to get Manuel Margot. Rays first base coach Chris Prieto protested in disbelief. He didn’t think it was possible Naylor could hold the bag while stretching, so the Rays challenged the call. It was upheld. Naylor was just long enough to pull it off. Or keep it on, if you will.

“I don’t know if it’s game-saving,” Terry Francona said. “It might be a year-saving play.”

Guardians pitchers were electric this weekend. Two starters and seven relievers combined to throw 357 pitches and strike out 29 batters. The only run they allowed — a Jose Siri homer off Shane Bieber on Friday — came on a pitch low and away that Hedges thought was a great pitch. That’s it.

Triston McKenzie was incredible in his playoff debut with six shutout innings. James Karinchak, Trevor Stephan, Emmanuel Clase, Nick Sandlin, Eli Morgan, Enyel De Los Santos and Sam Hentges followed. All were equal in keeping the Rays from scoring.

“We play real baseball,” Hedges said. “Real baseball is pitch to pitch, moment by moment. Defense is a big part of that, pitching is a big part of that, base running is a big part of that. We showed that even when you have a day you’re not going to hit, there’s still other ways to win a ball game.”

Duplicating a performance like this in New York will be difficult. The Yankees have a better lineup than the Rays, but that’s a concern for another day. The Guardians covered the carpeting in their clubhouse with protective mats, shoved the leather couches and card tables, drink fridge and video games behind plastic tarps and smothered themselves in champagne for the second time in less than two weeks.

They’ll continue the celebration Sunday. The team flight to New York departs late enough in the evening that a slew of players are going to the Browns-Chargers game at FirstEnergy Stadium. Hedges, a Chargers fan who grew up just north of San Diego, wore a Chargers beanie in the clubhouse after Friday’s win and was so excited at the possibility that after Game 1 he began shouting that Saturday’s Game 2 was a must-win so the players could have Sunday off and attend the game.

“I’m wearing my Chargers hat with a Myles Garrett jersey,” he joked. He wants field passes from Kevin Stefanski, he joked. They’ve earned them.

As the Champagne bottles emptied in the clubhouse, the Guardians’ catchers huddled in the dry zone and shared a quieter moment behind the tarps. A shirtless Hedges puffed on a cigar and fiddled on his phone before he and Luke Maile embraced. Bieber walked by to congratulate both of them.

Hedges took a few, uh, groin shots during Saturday’s game. It’s all part of the life of a catcher. He has a running joke with Maile that any time either gets hit, they scoop up a handful of dirt and rub the sore spot. It’s the old “rub some dirt on it, you’ll be fine,” come to life.

So there was Hedges, grabbing some dirt throughout the day and turning toward Maile before rubbing it on his crotch.

“It hurts less in the playoffs,” Hedges joked.

No one was feeling any pain on Saturday. The smiles and Champagne were overflowing. The uninvited house guests have another party to crash.

Guardians head to ALDS on 26-6 surge — and no one knows how high their ceiling is


CLEVELAND — Austin Hedges stood on the infield grass behind the mound six hours after the first pitch — his top pant button undone, his shirt long dismissed. He was in search of a lighter.

“Victory cigars,” said the Guardians catcher, “are about as tasty as it gets.”

As Oscar Gonzalez catapulted Cleveland into an American League Division Series bout with the Yankees, Hedges, the team’s authoritative vocal presence, was using the restroom. Because of Gonzalez’s heroics, a momentous hack that broke a string of 14 1/2 straight scoreless innings and came against a pitcher with an October history in this ballpark, Hedges never had a chance to buckle those pants.

The capacity crowd erupted. The Guardians spilled out of the dugout. Hedges deserted his business and rushed up the dugout steps and onto the field.
The Guardians mob Oscar Gonzalez after his walk-off homer in the 15th inning. (Ken Blaze / USA Today)

The Guardians, you might have heard, employ MLB’s youngest roster. A bouncer checked IDs as the players filtered into the clubhouse for their champagne celebration. (Not really.)

That youth can cloud perceptions, though. The Guardians’ 20-somethings are still developing, still tapping into their potential, still unlocking new achievements on this journey into October. And so, no one really knows what their ceiling is. That’s why they continue to insist they aren’t shocked by any of this, even if most observers can’t fathom how the Guardians have mounted a 26-6 surge over the last five weeks.

A year ago, Sam Hentges was a lost soul in Cleveland’s rotation and, eventually, an unknown commodity in the bullpen. Earlier this year, he had to prove to the Guardians coaching staff he could handle high-leverage situations. He delivered with a months-long stretch in which he’s embodied former Cleveland All-Star Andrew Miller, from the 6-foot-8 frame to the devastating breaking ball, which accounted for all six of his strikeouts during a gutsy, three-inning performance in the final stages of Saturday’s 1-0 win.

A year ago, Triston McKenzie was overwhelmed by the moment when pitching before a packed house at Progressive Field. He struggled to throw with conviction and attack the strike zone. In Game 2 of the Wild Card Series on Saturday, he silenced the Rays, logging six dazzling frames. He owns a 2.09 ERA over the last two months.

A year ago, Josh Naylor’s parents were tossing him rolled-up socks to help him maintain his hand-eye coordination as he recovered in bed from significant leg surgery. On Saturday, he stretched that leg as far as he could muster to corral a game-saving throw across the diamond from José Ramírez.

Nine months ago, the Guardians omitted Gonzalez from their 40-man roster. Now, he steps up to the plate with the “SpongeBob SquarePants” theme song blaring from the ballpark speakers, with thousands of fans singing along and anticipating his next Krabby Patty-fueled swing. Gonzalez tattooed Corey Kluber’s cutter in the 15th inning, as his walk-off shot registered a game-high exit velocity of 107.5 mph.

Last summer, Trevor Stephan was pitching in mop-up duty once every week or two. Now, he’s tasked with recording three crucial outs in the late innings. Last season, James Karinchak needed a demotion to Triple-A Columbus, but he has resurfaced as one of the sport’s most imposing relievers. Enyel De Los Santos was a reclamation project signed to a minor-league deal. Eli Morgan morphed from spot starter into trusted reliever.

“I think I was more anxious than the guys who were getting on the mound,” bullpen coach Brian Sweeney said about the parade of seven relievers — Karinchak, Stephan, Emmanuel Clase, Nick Sandlin, Morgan, De Los Santos and Hentges — who kept the Rays off the scoreboard. Sweeney added that he pulled a hamstring sprinting to the celebration scene at home plate.

This roster full of developmental success stories has coincided with the club’s evolution from uninspiring, early-season middler to late-season force to be reckoned with.

“They didn’t let anybody else write their season story for them,” team president Chris Antonetti said. “They took the reins and wrote their own story. It’s been a fun book so far. I look forward to seeing how far we can go.”

For as much attention as the Guardians have received for their anti-2022 offensive style, their pitching staff has paved the way. This formula carried a limping Cleveland club to the finish line six years ago: Lean on the organization’s calling card, the pitching staff, and then deliver a timely hit or two when convenient.

It was fitting, then, for this team to notch yet another walk-off win to advance to the ALDS. The 2022 Guardians have produced more magic, statistically — this was their 30th win in their last at-bat — than any other Cleveland team since the franchise’s birth in 1901. That includes 1995, when game-winning blasts were as trendy as Starter jackets.
For the second time in two weeks, the Guardians popped bottles after a series-clinching win. (Ken Blaze / USA Today)

As the players — and Slider, the furry, fuchsia mascot, who was oddly in the middle of every component of the celebration — doused each other with champagne and puffed cigars, manager Terry Francona met with Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff in the adjacent hallway to begin preliminary conversations about the team’s next steps, including when it would hold meetings to prepare for the Yankees.

For the first time since Cleveland dispatched New York in the 1997 ALDS, the club clinched a playoff series at home. It’s the franchise’s first postseason series victory since 2016, the year Cleveland nearly boasted two championship teams.

The farther the Guardians advance, the more often Hedges will ditch his shirt. He said he savors the opportunity, because his full helping of chest hair serves as “a sweater.”

Maybe he’s the new J.R. Smith, the former Cavaliers shooting guard who opted for a topless look when the team captured the NBA title in 2016.

“If not wearing a shirt means winning the World Series and continuing to have champagne parties,” Hedges said, “I’ll never wear a shirt again.”

The Guardians and Yankees just can’t quit each other.

When these two clubs meet in the American League Division Series beginning Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, it will be their first October date since Cleveland’s nickname change, but it's the continuation of what has become an extensive postseason history against each other in the Wild Card era. They previously met in the 1997 ALDS, the 1998 AL Championship Series, the 2007 ALDS, the 2017 ALDS and the 2020 AL Wild Card Series.

New York claimed three of those previous five series. Who has the edge this time, as the big-budget Yanks and their 62-homer hero Aaron Judge take on the pesky Guardians club with the youngest roster in MLB?

Let’s take a look, position by position!

Catcher

The Yankees made a big change at catcher prior to the 2022 season when they dealt Gary Sanchez to the Twins and acquired Jose Trevino from the Rangers. Trevino responded with an All-Star season in which he slashed .355/.396/.505 with runners in scoring position and provided fantastic defense behind the dish. Between Trevino and Kyle Higashioka, the Yanks had the eighth-best catching WAR in MLB this season, per Baseball Reference.

While the Guardians also get reliable defense and game-calling from Austin Hedges and backup Luke Maile, their .533 OPS from the catching spot was the second worst in MLB.

Advantage: Yankees

First base

Anthony Rizzo returned to the Yankees on a two-year deal for 2022-23 and had his best season since '19. His 32 homers tied a career high, and his 132 weighted runs created plus was the second only to Judge among qualifiers on the Yanks.

Josh Naylor and Owen Miller essentially split the starts at first base. Naylor’s return this year from a terrible right ankle and calf injury gave Cleveland a big boost, as he contributed a 117 wRC+ and big energy. Miller, though, was a below-average offensive contributor.

Advantage: Yankees

Second base

With a .257/.310/.451 slash line, Gleyber Torres gave the Yanks his best overall season since 2019. Though his offensive impact was weighted toward the first half, he did finish the year strong, with a .959 OPS in September. If versatile veteran DJ LeMahieu, who has dealt with a toe issue, is rostered, he’s also an option here.

In Cleveland, Andrés Giménez’s All-Star breakout was one of the great stories of the season. Among all qualified AL second basemen, his 140 weighted runs created plus and 6.1 fWAR ranked behind only the Astros’ Jose Altuve. He was 1-for-8 with six strikeouts in the Wild Card Series, but we won’t hold that against him.

Advantage: Guardians

Shortstop

The Yankees surprisingly abstained from the deep free-agent shortstop market, instead prioritizing defense by trading for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who slashed .261/.314/.327. The advanced metrics were mixed on his defensive contribution, with outs above average rating him at minus-2 (25th among shortstops) while defensive runs saved had him at plus-10 (tied for sixth best among shortstops).

The metrics are also mixed on Cleveland’s Amed Rosario, who was plus-6 in defensive runs saved at shortstop but minus-7 in outs above average. Regardless, he hustled his way to a respectable .283/.312/.403 slash line and an MLB-high nine triples, with 18 stolen bases.

Advantage: Guardians

Third base

Josh Donaldson’s first season in the Bronx after an offseason trade was statistically his worst healthy season since his rookie year with Oakland in 2012. He slashed .222/.308/.374, though his defense, per outs above average, still graded out well at plus-7.

As if we needed more reminders of what José Ramírez means to the Guardians in the Wild Card round, he hit the go-ahead two-run homer in Game 1 and made a game-saving defensive gem in Game 2. Going back to 2016, the only players with a higher FanGraphs WAR than Ramírez’s 39.4 mark are Mookie Betts and Mike Trout (both 43.5).

Advantage: Guardians

Left field

This position has been a mess for the Yankees this season. Joey Gallo hit (or, rather, didn’t hit) his way out of the Bronx. Andrew Benintendi was acquired at the Trade Deadline only to break his right hamate bone 33 games into his tenure, leaving the recent starts to struggling veteran Aaron Hicks and rookie Oswaldo Cabrera. The latter has made an instant impact (1.5 fWAR in 44 games) but is obviously still getting settled.

Rookie leadoff man Steven Kwan is another big reason why the Guardians are where they are. He hit .298 with a .373 on-base percentage, provided defense that is likely to win him a Gold Glove (95th percentile in outs above average) and swiped 19 bags.

Advantage: Guardians

Center field

Only recently have the Yankees begun to pencil trade acquisition Harrison Bader into the lineup in center field. He made his debut in pinstripes on Sept. 20 after dealing with plantar fasciitis. He only played 86 games this season for the Cardinals and Yanks, but over the last three years he’s paired an MLB-best 24 outs above average with league-average offense, which is a nice package.

Tying Bader in that tally for outs above average is Myles Straw. He, too, is a game-changing defender. Alas, league-average offense eluded Straw this year, as he had the lowest OPS (.564) of any qualifier.

Advantage: Yankees


Right field

Do we really need to do this? Do we really need to compare Judge, who just hit an AL-record 62 homers while amassing a .311/.425/.686 slash line and 207 wRC+, to any other hitter in baseball right now?

Didn’t think so. But credit to baby-faced Oscar Gonzalez for following up a strong rookie season (.788 OPS) with the game-winning homer in the Wild Card Series clincher.

Advantage: Yankees

Designated hitter

Giancarlo Stanton slumped badly from mid-June to late September and has only played DH since returning from the injured list with left Achilles tendinitis in August. But he’s obviously a huge power threat, as evidenced by him hitting three home runs in his last three games of the regular season. For the year, he had a career-worst .759 OPS in 452 plate appearances.

Even if Stanton is not up to his usual standards, the Yankees get the edge at DH because … the Guardians don’t really have one. Sometimes it’s Naylor there, sometimes it’s Miller, while in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, it was speedy rookie Will Brennan, who just debuted on Sept. 21.

Advantage: Yankees

Starting pitching

Keep in mind that because of the unusual extra off-day between Games 1 and 2 in the ALDS schedule (and Cleveland’s sweep in the first round), neither team needs a fourth starter on regular rest unless the series goes to a decisive Game 5 on Oct. 17.

The Yankees’ rotation has big talent with a big question in the form of Gerrit Cole. He is one of the most prominent pitchers in the sport, but his 111 ERA+ in 33 starts this year was pedestrian, by his standards, and his rate of 1.48 homers per nine was fifth worst among qualifiers. The better numbers wound up coming from Nestor Cortes (2.44 ERA, 159 ERA+) and injury returnee Luis Severino (3.18, 123 ERA+), both of whom have long since blown past their 2021 innings totals. Jameson Taillon was inconsistent en route to an ERA+ that, for the second straight year, rated as exactly league average.

Cleveland’s rotation has been a big strength for some time, even as the cast evolves. Cal Quantrill can go in Game 1 on the heels of his 3.38 ERA and 113 ERA+ in the regular season. The ace is Shane Bieber, who came back from a right shoulder injury this year and has gradually evolved back into 2020 AL Cy Young form. Including a Wild Card Series gem against the Rays, Bieber has a 1.97 ERA and a .208 opponents' average in his last 14 starts. Triston McKenzie backed up his breakout 2022 (2.96 ERA, 129 ERA+) with six scoreless innings and two hits allowed in the Wild Card Series. The fourth option would be Aaron Civale, whose season numbers aren’t pretty but who had a 3.35 ERA and a .186 opponents' average in the second half.

Both of these clubs had a top 10 rotation in terms of ERA, but Cleveland’s was top five (3.41) in the second half, while the Yankees ranked 17th (3.94). We’ll go with the Guards for now. But if the electric version of Cole comes out to play (always a possibility), that would change in a hurry.

Slight advantage: Guardians

Bullpen

More -- and bigger -- questions here for the Yankees, who don’t have a clear top option for the highest-leverage opportunities. In the first half, it was Clay Holmes, but his 4.48 ERA and right shoulder strain in the second half were concerning. Ron Marinaccio was in the midst of a terrific rookie year before suffering a right shin injury that will hold him out this round. And Aroldis Chapman was terrible this year and won’t be on the roster. That leaves Jonathan Loáisiga, Scott Effross, Wandy Peralta and Lou Trivino as the healthiest and most viable options for Aaron Boone.

It's more clear-cut for Cleveland. Emmanuel Clase, who led the Majors with 42 saves and 67 games finished, is at the top of the closer class and is capable of giving the Guards multiple innings. James Karinchak (2.08 ERA), Trevor Stephan (2.73) and lefty Sam Hentges (2.32) are the top setup options in a bullpen that had MLB’s best ERA in the second half, fewest innings pitched in the full season and didn’t allow any runs in 10 1/3 innings in the Wild Card Series.

Advantage: Guardians

Prediction

Look, the Yankees ought to win this series, if for no other reason than the fact that power has an outsized impact on how postseason series play out, and they absolutely destroy the Guards in the power department. This is the hardest time of year to string hits together (as if the crazy pitching arsenals and smart -- and not-yet-restricted -- shifting in today’s game doesn’t make stringing hits together hard enough).

But October will surprise you, and the Guardians’ run to this round qualifies as one of the biggest surprises in baseball. The Yankees did not play particularly well in the second half, and their bullpen, in particular, is not a source of enormous confidence at the moment.

So here’s predicting another crazy surprise for Terry Francona and the kids.

Guardians in five.

For those who didn't bother reading the entire MLB.com article just posted, the conclusion is briefer:

Prediction

Look, the Yankees ought to win this series, if for no other reason than the fact that power has an outsized impact on how postseason series play out, and they absolutely destroy the Guards in the power department. This is the hardest time of year to string hits together (as if the crazy pitching arsenals and smart -- and not-yet-restricted -- shifting in today’s game doesn’t make stringing hits together hard enough).

But October will surprise you, and the Guardians’ run to this round qualifies as one of the biggest surprises in baseball. The Yankees did not play particularly well in the second half, and their bullpen, in particular, is not a source of enormous confidence at the moment.

So here’s predicting another crazy surprise for Terry Francona and the kids.

Guardians in five.

From what I see, most everyone else favors the Yankees.

At least this guys provides some positive outlook...

as he says, Yankees should win Their 2nd and 3rd third starters have been statistically better than I was aware.

Hey even WE didn't think much of the Guardee chances this season. More curiosity to see how good certain kids were.

Well, they suprised us. Then they surprised us again in September. Again in the first round.

So counting this team out is a mistake, period.

One thing no one saw coming was the huge improvement of that bullpen.

Thought is was Clase and a prayer.

But Clase, Stephan, eventually Karinchak, and Hentges was the hero in that extra inning affair. Eli? And right on down the line.

Sandlin, too, after he bounced back from his walk-a-thon spell; unfortunately he's gone now at a bad time since his stuff plays really well against RH hitters and NY has lots of them.
DeLos Santos one of the very few pickups off season super cheap and quite helpful