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With historic comeback, Guardians gain playoff-like experience before playoffs | Opinion
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- With historic comeback, Guardians gain playoff-like experience before playoffs | Opinion
CLEVELAND — As the American League Central Division champion Guardians partied in their clubhouse on Sept. 28, catcher Austin Hedges uttered the w-word while sizing up how far the team can go in the MLB playoffs .
"World Series — that's always been the goal," Hedges said. "I mean, we just won this division. Everyone counted us out. I'm sure a lot of people aren't counting us in, in the playoffs, but we'll go shock them there, too."
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The Guardians exited the regular season with a 9-8 victory over the Texas Rangers when second baseman Brayan Rocchio hit a walk-off three-run home run to right field in the 10th inning. They will enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed in the AL and host the No. 6 Detroit Tigers in a best-of-three wild-card series beginning Sept. 30.
Guardians make history by rallying from massive deficit in standings and edging Tigers for AL Central Division crown
The Guardians (88-74) didn't need to beat the Rangers in the regular-season finale to clinch their second consecutive AL Central title. The Tigers (87-75) took care of it for the Guardians by losing 4-3 to the Boston Red Sox while the Cleveland-Texas game was in the eighth inning.
Either way, the Guardians made history by overcoming a 15½-game deficit, an advantage the Tigers held on July 8, and winning the division. The 1914 Boston Braves previously held the record by climbing out of a 15-game hole. Those Braves went on to — Hedges will like this — win the World Series.
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Getting hot at the right time can be crucial in baseball, and the Guardians will have a chance to capitalize. The flip side is the Guardians could be in danger of burning out after spending all of September in playoff mode, which they accurately deemed necessary to mount a comeback culminating in All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez planting an AL Central championship flag.
Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez plants the flag after the Guardians beat the Texas Rangers and won the American League Central Division on Sept. 28, 2025, in Cleveland.
For now, though, entertain Hedges, a World Series champ with the 2023 Rangers who ought to know what he's talking about.
What would the blueprint need to look like for the Guardians to win Cleveland baseball's first World Series title since 1948?
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Simply put, the Guardians are the only 2025 playoff team with a negative run differential (649 runs allowed with 643 runs scored for minus-six), so Hedges' vision would require the offense to pick up the slack and the pitching to continue to thrive.
The Cleveland Guardians have 'Playoff Rocchio,' but do they have much playoff experience?
And young players with little to no exposure to the playoffs would need to become unlikely heroes.
Johnathan Rodriguez, C.J. Kayfus, George Valera and Petey Halpin have never appeared in the postseason. Angel Martinez has one plate appearance on his playoff resume, Daniel Schneemann has seven and Gabriel Arias has 11.
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"Playoff Rocchio" — the nickname Hedges used while handing the infielder a pro wrestling championship belt during a champagne-and-beer-fueled clubhouse celebration — is comparatively a grizzled veteran with 10 playoff games and 39 plate appearances.
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The Cleveland Guardians celebrate after winning the American League Central Division at Progressive Field on Sept. 28, 2025, in Cleveland.
As for the starting pitchers, Parker Messick and Logan Allen have never appeared in the playoffs, Tanner Bibee has made four starts, Gavin Williams has made one start, Slade Cecconi has appeared twice without a start and Joey Cantillo has appeared three times without a start.
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The Guardians have MLB's youngest collection of pitchers (27.1 average age) and its 12th-youngest group of hitters (27.4), according to baseball-reference.com.
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Yet, what has a chance to pay off for the Guardians is their ultra-intense September gave many young players a taste of playoff-like pressure. The atmosphere for their two most recent series Sept. 23-25 against the Tigers and Sept. 26-28 against the Rangers simulated a postseason environment at Progressive Field. The Guardians went 2-1 against each opponent to prevail in both series.
"They've all been must-win games for the last two weeks," said first baseman and designated hitter Kyle Manzardo , who has nine playoff games and 19 plate appearances under his belt.
Cleveland Guardians' Kyle Manzardo hits a double against the Texas Rangers on Sept. 28, 2025, in Cleveland.
How intense are MLB playoffs? Guardians slugger Jhonkensy Noel says he 'blacked out' after hitting home run in ALCS
Manzardo and many other young Guardians players gained postseason experience last year, when the team earned a Round 1 bye, beat the Tigers 3-2 in the AL Division Series and lost 4-1 to the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series.
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"The biggest thing is just the atmosphere, how much the fans are into it," relief pitcher Tim Herrin said. "It's just a different feeling playing in October.
"If you think of the moment too much and it gets a little too big, you try doing too much, and I think that's when things kind of can spiral out of control."
One example of how the playoffs are different: Jhonkensy Noel said he remembers hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of last year's ALCS, but he still doesn't recall running the bases immediately afterward.
"I was blacked out," he said.
Cleveland Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel celebrates after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers on Sept. 28, 2025, in Cleveland.
The Guardians had the luxury of cruising into the 2024 postseason. Last year, they secured a playoff spot on Sept. 19 (as opposed to Sept. 27) and clinched the AL Central on Sept. 21 (instead of Sept. 28).
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This time around, the final stretch of the regular season provided a sneak peek of the playoffs because the size and energy of the crowds matched the stakes.
It could be something the Guardians look back on and cite as a favorable factor if Hedges proves to be prophetic.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com . On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians get taste of playoff-like intensity before MLB playoffs
