Those who started watching in the 2024 MLB Postseason got an ugly image of Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase.
Home runs allowed, blown saves and iffy command marked his 2024 playoffs stint.
However, it would be unfair to judge him for three or four games when he had more than 70 dominant appearances over six months in the regular season.
In fact, hear this incredible fact: he allowed more earned runs in eight October innings (eight, for a 9.00 ERA) than he did from late March until late September.
“Emmanuel Clase allowed a total of only 5 earned runs during the 2024 regular season and that’s not a typo,” Codify Baseball posted on X.
Emmanuel Clase allowed a total of only 5 earned runs during the 2024 regular season and that's not a typo. @CleGuardians https://t.co/WtMTMVnE5p
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) November 27, 2024
Clase conceded just five earned runs in 74.1 innings.
Take a minute to digest just how ridiculously hard that is to achieve.
The guy went to the mound 74 times, and you could count with the fingers of one hand the times he actually conceded runs.
To label Clase as a postseason choker would be a ridiculous statement, too, if we consider the fact he allowed no runs in six playoffs frames in 2022.
Yes, it was disappointing to see Clase get shelled in October.
Yes, the Guards could have made things interesting against the New York Yankees had he been in top form.
But instead of focusing in October, let’s place value in his phenomenal regular season that earned him a third-place finish in the AL Cy Young race.
He is young and good enough to repeat a similarly dominant display in 2025 and to turn around his postseason image with zeroes and saves.
NEXT: Erik Sabrowski Has Honest Admission About Being With Guardians
