The 2024 Cleveland Guardians are the definition of a top team.
Yes, they have a few legitimate stars in various positions, but they are a team because every member of it trust others to come through and to their job to reach a common goal.
The organization has full confidence in Tanner Bibee to level the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Bibee, in turn, knows what he has to do and is confident in himself and his teammates, because he trusts them.
“We’ve had a historic bullpen, and my job is to hand the ball to them.” Tanner Bibee will make his third start of the playoffs tonight. He knows what his job and he’s ready to do what it takes to help the team win,” Guardians on SI posted on X.
"We've had a historic bullpen, and my job is to hand the ball to them."
Tanner Bibee will make his third start of the playoffs tonight. He knows what his job and he's ready to do what it takes to help the team win. #GuardsBall | #Postseason pic.twitter.com/KrSoZdw1j3
— Cleveland Guardians On SI (@GuardiansOnSI) October 15, 2024
Top teams like the Guardians know how to deal with success and failure.
Yes, they won the AL Central with 92 victories, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have to deal with rough stretches in 2024.
This is a club that lost seven straight games at one point and was severely questioned and criticized for it, among other things.
Yet here they are, among the four best teams in baseball and four wins away from making it to the World Series.
Bibee posted a brilliant 3.47 ERA in the regular season and has an even better 2.08 mark in 8.2 playoff innings.
In the absence of Shane Bieber, he has morphed into Cleveland’s ace and has embraced his role.
He knows, however, that his job on Tuesday is to pitch a good game and hand it over to the Guardians’ incredible bullpen, hopefully with a lead.
That right there is their recipe for success.
NEXT: Guardians Shoot Themselves In The Foot And Drop Game 1 Amid Severe Control Issues
