In MLB, winning a division title brings not just prestige, but also gives teams an automatic ticket to the postseason. Every year, the first and most direct competition that every organization experiences comes against its own divisional foes.
If there’s a team that knows a thing or two about winning the division, it’s definitely the Cleveland Guardians. The AL Championship Series and the Fall Classic are a completely different story, sure, but the AL Central crown and the Guards have formed a beautiful marriage over the years. Fans and media often overlook them, but they have found the recipe to consistently win over the years.
Baseball America’s Matt Eddy put together a list of the organizations with the most division crowns since 1995, also known as the Wild Card era. The underrated Guardians are close to the top.
“As the most accomplished team in the history of the AL Central, the Guardians consistently finish first in the division. They have never finished last in the Central and have five fourth-place finishes in 30 full seasons,” Eddy wrote while also highlighting the fact that Cleveland ranks fourth in MLB with a whopping 13 division titles since 1995.
Eddy also reminded readers that the divisional success hasn’t necessarily translated to World Series titles. He said that the team holds the “unfortunate distinction” of having the longest championship drought in baseball. They last won the Fall Classic in 1948 and have gone 77 seasons without a title, “though they came tantalizingly close in 1997 and 2016, losing in extra innings in Game 7 both times. They also lost the 2007 ALCS in seven games after going up 3-1 on the Red Sox.”
Yes, it might be painful to read that paragraph if you are an avid Guardians fan who followed the team in the nineties, 2000s, and the 2010s. However, let’s forget about the World Series failures for a minute and focus on the fact that the Guardians have found the recipe to be perennial contenders on a low payroll in the ever-competitive universe that is MLB.
Perhaps they should spend more to get over the hump, or at least be way more aggressive when they are in a good position to compete in any given year. But you can’t say they haven’t been in the thick of things, because no club wins 13 divisional crowns in a span of 30 years without excellent planning and a clear direction.
Only the Atlanta Braves (17), the New York Yankees (16), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (15) have won their division more often than the Guardians since 1995.
The postseason, more than ever, requires an X-factor that goes beyond elite pitching and home run power. The team that wins it all has to have a certain “it” that isn’t easy to explain.
So far, the Guardians have lacked that competitive edge that allows them to field excellent rosters and be the hottest team in the postseason at the same time. It doesn’t mean it can’t happen one of these years, though.
NEXT: Guardians Roster Picture Becoming Clear
