The Cleveland Guardians did it.
They’ve finally punched their postseason ticket, silencing the doubters and proving that they could beat the odds to get to this point.
The Guardians did something almost unprecedented in their playoff push.
As pointed out by Tim Stebbins of MLB.com, they joined a very exclusive four-team club:
“At one point, the Guardians lost 10 straight games (June 26-July 6) to fall eight games under .500 (40-48). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they are just the fourth team in baseball history to make the postseason in a season in which they lost 10 straight games — joining the 2017 Dodgers, 1982 Braves and 1951 New York Giants,” Stebbins wrote.
It was almost impossible to believe that the same team that failed to win 10 games in June would not only make the playoffs three months later, but might do so as divisional champions.
Of course, A.J. Hinch and the Detroit Tigers also did a lot to help this team’s playoff chances, but the fact that the Guardians never stopped playing hard, pushing, and believing in one another is also remarkable.
Most teams would’ve just thrown in the towel and started planning ahead of next season, but this team isn’t like most teams.
Not even losing their superstar closer to a sports gambling investigation was enough to break their stride.
Now, the Guardians enter a talented playoff pool, and they may not have the best roster, but they’re certainly playing their best baseball of the season.
Even if this is the end of the line for them and they don’t make a deep postseason run, the sole fact that they’ve made it this far should be more than enough for this team to build momentum and confidence for the future.
Stephen Vogt has most definitely earned the benefit of the doubt.
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