Guardians Season By the Numbers: How Did We Get Here?
Let’s remind ourselves about who this amazing team is
The Cleveland Guardians will represent northeast Ohio in MLB’s postseason for the 14th time since 1995.
Before the season began, I wrote an article about why you should root for the Cleveland Guardians, and I encourage anyone looking to get more familiar with the team to peruse that piece for just a second. I hope northeast Ohioans can fully invest in this team for the run, however long or short, ahead. It’s important for us to recognize that over the past 30 years, the Guardians’ 14 playoff appearances are roughly equal to the total of 15 playoff appearances the Cavaliers and Browns have made in that time combined (while both playing in a sport in which making the postseason has been far easier in terms of the odds of any given team making it).
I root for the Cavaliers and while my Browns’ fandom is on a bit of a hiatus because of their personnel choices, they are still my AFC team (I chose the Chicago Bears as my replacement team when the Browns left and carry that fandom forward, also). Let’s root for the success of all our local sports franchises as we are able, but let’s not fail to recognize that the Cleveland baseball team has been the class of this town for three decades now, with the sixth best record in MLB in that time at a .532 winning percentage.
With that plea for support aside, I’d like to do a brief reminder of how the Guardians managed to win the AL Central and secure a berth in the American League Division Series, with game one at Progressive Field this Saturday at 1:05PM EST. Let’s review the 2024 season month by month:
March/April - Record: 19-10
The Guardians opened the season going 8-2 in their first 10 games, delighting fans wondering how new manager Stephen Vogt’s club would respond to a challenging opening road trip. However, in that stretch, the team experienced two incredible Shane Bieber starts and then immediately lost him for the season (and for the future?) with Tommy John surgery. The team began a season-long struggle to find consistency in the starting rotation, but Tanner Bibee (March/April 3.45 ERA, 10/3.45 K/BB/9) and the unsung Ben Lively (March/April 2.30 ERA, 10.9/1.7 K/BB/9) kept the team humming for this early month. Meanwhile, David Fry began his Linsanity run leading the team with a 160 wRC+, including a 3-run bomb off of the Twins’ Joe Ryan, helping the Guardians start 5-0 against the Twins
Fry was supported by Steven Kwan’s 154 wRC+ and Josh Naylor’s 152 wRC+.
May - Record: 19-9
May was another excellent month for the Cleveland Guardians, as they put the AL Central on alert that the team with the most Central division titles was coming for another. Fry and Kwan were godlike in May, Fry putting up a ridiculous 253 wRC+ and Kwan a 250 wRC+. Jose Ramirez also rebounded (predictably) from a bad luck opening month with a 193 wRC+. Meanwhile, cagey vet and beloved personality Carlos Carrasco somehow managed a 3.00 ERA for the month, Triston McKenzie had (sadly) his only good stretch of the year with a 3.06 ERA and Ben Lively still delivered for the team that believed in his potential with a 3.07 ERA. But, the emerging story of the season was the Cleveland bullpen, led by the resurgence of closer Emmanuel Clase.
Clase, Canadian hunk Cade Smith, lumberjack Hunter Gaddis and LuLuLemon icon Tim Herrin gave up a combined three earned runs in 38 innings in May.
June - Record: 14-11
Turns out it’s hard for a baseball team to remain on pace to win 105 games, which is where the Guardians were on June 23rd. June was a little bit more of a challenge since the amazing bullpen actually gave up a few runs for once (Clase, Smith, Gaddis and Herrin gave up 7 in 44 innings, gasp!) and the starters really struggled outside of Bibee’s 2.86 ERA and Lively’s 3.42 ERA. Kwan had a 193 wRC+, Ramirez a 154 wRC+, and Bo Naylor woke up with a 136 wRC+, but the team was boosted by the promotion and initial dominance of utility player Daniel Schneemann (136 wRC+) and the arrival of BIG CHRISTMAS:
Jhonkensy Noel put up a 189 wRC+ in five games and gave the Guardians just the shot in the arm they needed to still put up a winning record in June.
July - Record: 13-12
July was a tough hitting month for the Guardians, with Tyler Freeman with a 159 wRC+ and Noel with a 137 wRC+ leading the way. Players like Ramirez, Kwan, Josh Naylor and Andres Gimenez scuffled somewhat, and had to be boosted by another midseason call-up in Angel Martinez who put up a 94 wRC+ after his debut. The team’s early success was recognized when five Guardians players (Ramirez, Kwan, Fry, Josh Naylor, and Emmanuel Clase) made MLB’s all-star team, with Jose Ramirez starting at third and Steven Kwan in left for the American league:
Meanwhile, Bibee had another good month with a 3.49 ERA and young hurler Gavin Williams made his triumphant return with a 3.79 ERA. Again, though, it was the Guardians’ bullpen that kept the team’s heads above water with Clase, Gaddis, Smith and Herrin giving up only 8 runs in 48 innings.
August - Record: 12-17
This was the worst month for Guardians’ starting pitchers, with Bibee struggling and the wheels falling off a bit for Lively’s control artist/soft-tosser train, and the rotation putting up a 5.24 ERA in August. Unfortunately the bullpen also had their worst month with a 4.06 ERA. It should come as no surprise that since the Guardians hitters also put up a combined 94 wRC+ this month, they were 5 games under .500. Thank goodness for Jhonkensy Noel’s 175 wRC+ in limited AB’s and Jose Ramirez’s 134 wRC+. This month reminded fans of why Jose is so important to the Guardians, as he refused to let the team fall off a cliff:
Josh Naylor also pushed through injury issues to put up a 113 wRC+ for the month, helping keep the team from a more significant slide.
September - Record: 15-10
With an AL Central title within reach, the Guardians’ righted the ship and, before a meaningless last homestand against the Astros, they were 15-8 for a crucial month, clinching the division and a first round bye with a 92-69 record. Jose Ramirez finished with 39 homers, 39 doubles and 41 steals, missing by a hair and a final game rainout a 40/40/40 season, but still putting up 6.5 fWAR. Emmanuel Clase completed one of the most dominant seasons for an MLB closer ever. For the season, the Guardians were led by Jose’s 141 wRC+, Kwan’s 131 wRC+, Fry’s 129 wRC+, Josh Naylor’s 118 wRC+ and Jhonkensy Noel’s 118 wRC+. Two Guardians rookies entered the scene in late August/early September and failed to surrender a single run in Erik Sabrowski and Andrew Walters. Emmanuel Clase’s ERA was 0.61, Gaddis’s was 1.57, Smith’s was 1.91, Herrin’s was 1.92, Eli Morgan’s was 1.93 and unheralded midseason addition Pedro Avila’s was 3.25 rounding out a remarkable bullpen performance for the ages. Meanwhile, midseason/trade deadline additions Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd performed well in limited opportunites, with a 2.76 and 2.72 ERA respectively. Bibee anchored the staff all year with a 3.47 ERA and Ben Lively saved the team’s bacon over and over finishing with a 3.81 ERA. And, while they didn’t have amazing offensive seasons, Bo Naylor, Brayan Rocchio and, of course, Andres Gimenez ranked at or near the top in various defensive categories, helping the Guardians maintain a top three defensive team in baseball. Gimenez, especially, should win another platinum glove as the greatest defensive weapon in the game today.
So, that’s our boys by the numbers. But, all of this, admittedly, fails to capture the true heart and spirit of a baseball club which has captured the hearts of fans around the world. These guys, as they’ll repeatedly tell you, LOVE each other and love playing baseball together. No one knows how long this playoff run will go, but we can be sure this group of guys will give their all in trying to end Cleveland’s 76-year World Series title drought and make us proud of how hard they play this beautiful game we love. Let’s go, Guardians!