The Cleveland Guardians were chasing the Detroit Tigers for all of last season. After falling behind by as many as 15.5 games in the standings, and still trailing by 11 games in September, it didn’t look like they would ever catch them.
Yet, the Guardians were persistent and steadily closed the gap, setting the stage for some very important late-season games that would decide the winner of the AL Central. Cleveland swept a three-game series at Detroit, then took the first two of a three-game set before the Tigers finally won one.
The Guardians finished by taking two of three from the Texas Rangers. Meanwhile, the Tigers were losing two of three to the Boston Red Sox, which gave the division title to Cleveland on the final day.
For their efforts, the Guardians were rewarded with an AL Wild Card series against, of all teams, the Tigers. After the history-making comeback, they were likely the last team that either wanted to see.
Manager Stephen Vogt recently made an honest admission about the way the 2025 season ended for the Guardians, with a best-of-3 series loss to the Tigers.
“You play the same team nine times in 14 days, it’s difficult to beat anybody that many times. Our guys, they never quit. They fought till the very end, and I was super proud of them. But, yeah, it stings. It stings when you don’t finish what you felt like you started,” Vogt said.
A new season starts today with a goal in mind: taking the AL Central for the third-straight year. #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/EoEc8yrGzH
— GuardsTV (@GuardsTV) February 21, 2026
It was a devastating conclusion after the Guardians looked to have all of the momentum. In Game 1, they battled Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to a virtual standstill before losing 2-1 after the potential tying run was thrown out at home plate.
Cleveland posted a 6-1 victory in Game 2 but lost Game 3 by a 6-3 score to end their season. After reaching the ALCS the year before, it was a heartbreaking result.
Now, the Guardians are back at work, preparing in spring training with the goal of returning to the World Series for the first time since 2016. They are also looking to end the longest current MLB title drought, having not won a championship since 1948.
Some projections have the Guardians falling well short of the playoffs this season, but after watching what they accomplished last year, it would be foolish to count them out.
NEXT: David Fry Gushes About Guardians Organization
