The Cleveland Guardians season didn’t end how they wanted it to, but there are still positives to take away from this 2026 season. This unit did something special together, even if they weren’t able to accomplish the ultimate goal of making it to the World Series.
One of the biggest reasons for the Guardians second half surge this season was the play of outfielder Steven Kwan. After an awful start to the season, Kwan was able to turn it around and be a stud during the second half of the year.
Recently, Guardians’ manager Steven Vogt praised Kwan and talked about his massive turnaround.
“I have to really commend Steven on his season. The first few months, most players would crumble. Most players would fade, and most people would change how they’re interacting with their teammates and people around them. None of those things happened with Steven. He turned his season around kind of overnight, and that’s really difficult to do. For somebody who’s had sustained success in the big leagues to struggle the way he did in the first half, we wouldn’t be talking this late into the year if it wasn’t for Steven Kwan’s second half. He was the catalyst. For him, it was getting back to who you are. That’s one of the more impressive performances that I’ve ever gotten to witness, and I’m not surprised because of the person that he is,” Vogt said.
"That's one of the more impressive performances that I've ever gotten to witness, and I'm not surprised because of the person that he is."#Guardians Stephen Vogt on Steven Kwan's remarkable 2nd half turnaround#GuardsBall @WEWS https://t.co/zvSKmf6BhB pic.twitter.com/bVECaP2fZS
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) October 22, 2026
The turnaround that Kwan had this season is incredible. Kwan was horrendous in the first half, slashing .225/.332/.383, and was arguably unplayable, but the Guardians stuck with him, and he was finally able to come around. In the second half of the year, Kwan was hitting around .365, and he looked like a new man at the plate.
It was extremely odd to see Kwan struggle this much during the first half of the season. Before this season, Kwan was one of the most consistent hitters in the Guardians lineup for years. He made two straight All-Star Games before completely tanking during the first half of the year. Luckily, the Guardians stuck with Kwan and gave him the chance to turn it around.
It shows a lot about Kwan’s character for him to struggle this much and continue battling. He trusted the process and kept doing everything he could to improve, and eventually the ball started falling for him.
Overall, it was a solid year for Kwan, who slashed .282/.382/.349 with three home runs, 32 RBI, and 10 steals in 151 games. Despite his horrendous beginning to the year, Kwan still managed to post a 5.3 WAR, which is his best since his rookie season.
It’s easy to give up when things get bad, but Kwan stuck with it and put together one of the best second-half seasons of recent memory.
NEXT: New Details Emerge About Tanner Bibee’s October Struggles
