The Cleveland Guardians are off on Wednesday.
Oddly enough, they didn’t even need to take the field to earn sole possession of MLB’s best record, as the Philadelphia Phillies were swept by the New York Yankees and are now 65-43.
“With the Phillies loss, the Guardians now stand alone with the best record. How many people predicted that to be a true statement on July 31, even before knowing you’d only get 2 starts from Shane Bieber?,” Locked On Guardians tweeted.
With the Phillies loss, the Guardians now stand alone with the best record.
How many people predicted that to be a true statement on July 31, even before knowing you'd only get 2 starts from Shane Bieber?
We'll talk about the importance of playoff seeding on tomorrow's show.
— Locked On Guardians (@LockedGuardians) July 31, 2024
The Guards are 65-42, and even though they won on Wednesday, the Baltimore Orioles are 65-44.
Cleveland will enjoy their off day with a smile on their faces, knowing that they didn’t have to play to take over the league’s best team according to win-loss record.
While the world knew the Guardians were not nearly as bad as their 76-86 2023 record indicated, not even the most optimistic fan had them as baseball’s best squad through the first four months.
Two thirds of the season have come and gone, and the Guards are still there, as steady as they have ever been, pacing their division, their league, and MLB as a whole.
They couldn’t have gone this far without their elite bullpen, headlined by the most consistent closer in baseball Emmanuel Clase.
Rookie manager Stephen Vogt also deserves a lot of praise, as does the offense and, of course, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti.
There is still a lot of work to be done, though.
Cleveland knows that the job is not complete.
They need to take things step by step: securing a spot in the postseason comes first.
Winning the division would help a lot, and from there, it’s a game by game thing.
This group can achieve special things if their starters can perform and stay healthy.
That will be the key for Cleveland: the rotation.
If they perform and remain in one piece, the sky is the limit.
For now, fans are enjoying the good times.
NEXT: Guardians Are Taking A Big Risk With Their Pitching Depth
