The Cleveland Guardians are moving on to the ALCS for the first time since 2016 following Saturday’s riveting Game 5 win over Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS.
With Game 1 scheduled for Monday, the team has a day to unwind and soak in the big victory, and while you don’t want to enjoy it too long and get complacent, it’s important to acknowledge how big of an accomplishment this was for the entire organization.
WKYC’s Chris Renkel shared a clip of Guardians owner Paul Dolan speaking with him during the postgame celebration, and Dolan said “We’re with the big boys and we belong there.”
"We're with the big boys and we belong there"
a champagne drenched @CleGuardians Owner Paul Dolan spoke with me as his team moves on to the ALCS for the first time since 2016#ForTheLand @wkyc pic.twitter.com/NJGtKOuUbs
— Chris Renkel (@Chris_Renkel) October 13, 2024
Cleveland is one of four teams remaining, and the other three are the three with the highest payrolls in baseball.
Dolan praised his young team and coaching staff for coming together as a unit, pointing out they knew the team was capable of making a deep postseason run before the year, but weren’t sure how long it would take to learn how to win difficult games like Saturday’s given the team’s inexperience.
The Guardians may be the underdogs now, but this team led an AL Central division all year that produced three playoff teams and at no point left any question about whether or not they’d be a problem in October.
The big question going forward will be with the offense, as these bats cannot go cold like they did early in the Detroit series.
If the Guardians have another stretch of multiple scoreless games in a row, the Yankees will send them packing.
NEXT: Stephen Vogt Had Clear Message For Team After Winning ALDS
