ST. LOUIS – Forget the final score. It was time to celebrate again for the Cleveland Guardians.
Cleveland secured its second American League Central championship in three years on Saturday when the second-place Kansas City Royals lost at home – another impressive performance for new manager Stephen Vogt.
And despite a 5-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals a few hours later, the Guardians brought out the champagne and alcohol for another clubhouse party.
“I keep saying it’s about the players,” said Vogt, who was smoking a victory cigar. “As a manager, you are of course the one who brings everyone together and makes sure that the focus is in the right direction – but the players are the driving force. That’s just how they are.”
“We’ve taken a lot of time to get to know them, watch our team, see how we come together and watch them closely. It’s just about using their skills and what they do really well to put them in positions where they can be successful. I’m very proud because I love these guys.”
Cleveland clinched the division title when Kansas City lost 9-0 to San Francisco. Jose Ramirez and the Guardians had already secured a postseason berth and celebrated at home on Thursday after securing at least an AL wild-card spot with a 3-2 win over Minnesota.
“Our goal is always to find ways to get to days like today because we want to win the World Series,” said Chris Antonetti, Guardians president of baseball operations. “The only way to win the World Series is to pop champagne to get there. We’ve made some tough decisions along the way, but all of those decisions are geared toward trying to find a way to get to the postseason and win.”
It is the franchise’s fifth division title since 2016. Cleveland returns to the playoffs for the first time since losing an AL Division Series in five games to the New York Yankees in 2022.
“I remember 2022 like it was yesterday,” said Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan. “I thought I was prepared for what it was, but a full house at Progressive, that’s just different. I’m really excited about what’s in store for me.”
Kansas City overcame a 10-game deficit on June 25 to tie the Guardians at the top of the standings with a 6-1 win at Cleveland on August 27. But the Guardians rallied the next day with a 7-5 win to avoid a four-game sweep.
This began a seven-game losing streak for the Royals, which the Guardians pulled away from in September.
“You can understand the dynamics of the game beforehand, but we have no choice but to understand that we have to win every single day,” Kwan said of his lessons from Aug. 27. “162 games, you know? That’s going to be a lot of games, a lot of ups and downs.”
For Cleveland, it is the 12th division title, all since 1995 in the AL Central.
“The resilience the group has shown all year, how much they care about each other, the way they played until the last out,” Antonetti said of what stood out about this team compared to others since he joined the Cleveland organization in 1999.
“They’re a group of guys around each other. They love being together. They love supporting each other. Everyone here is just trying to find a way to help us win a baseball game and that’s all they care about. That’s all they’ve cared about since day one.”
Cleveland is neck and neck with the AL East-leading Yankees for first place in the American League playoffs, but the Guardians are close to securing at least second place and a first-round bye.
Cleveland went 76-86 last year in Terry Francona’s final season as manager. Vogt, a former All-Star catcher, was hired in November despite having no managerial experience.
At the moment it certainly seems like a wise decision.
“He’s been learning since day one,” Antonetti said. “He obviously came into the job with a wide range of skills, personal characteristics and experiences, but he’s immersed himself in the job and tried to learn and get better every day. He started great and he’s just built on that from there.”
Vogt is the fifth Cleveland coach to win at least 90 games in his first full season, doing so with Francona in 2013, Charlie Manuel in 2000, Al Lopez in 1951 and Tris Speaker in 1920.
Under the 39-year-old Vogt, Cleveland got off to a surprising start. After a 10-8 win over Baltimore on June 25, the team had a nine-game lead in the AL Central and a 51-26 record.
