Guardians
Guardians
Cleveland Guardians
MLB – AL CENTRAL
Stadium: Progressive Field
Manager: Terry Francona
2022-2023 TEAM LEADERS
Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland Guardians Summary
The 2022 season will mark the first year that Cleveland will be known as the Guardians. With a new name, the Guardians will look to redeem themselves from a 2021 season that saw them go 80-82.
The manager, Terry Francona, will come back for his tenth year with the team. Due to health issues, Francona missed a chunk of the 2021 season but will be back in 2022. Before he departed for the 2021 season, Francona had the Guardians at a record of 63-62.
With the 2022 season, the Guardians will be looking to break their 73-year World Series title drought. Even though the Guardians have been in the postseason 12 times since 1995, they haven’t found a way to win a World Series.
But with a new name and their manager returning, 2022 could be the year that the Guardians get back on track and back to the World Series.
Cleveland Guardians Standings
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Cleveland Guardians History
The Cleveland Guardians, formerly the Cleveland Indians, are one of the oldest baseball franchises in MLB. Their origins started in 1894 when they were named the Grand Rapids Rustlers and were a minor league team.
In 1900, the team would move to Cleveland and be renamed the Cleveland Lake Shores. Their early years in Cleveland proved to be years of trying to find a name that would stick with them.
When 1901 came around, the team was moved to the American League, a major league in baseball, and would also see another name change, as ownership renamed them the Cleveland Bluebirds. However, this name wasn’t popular with fans, and in 1902 the team was unofficially known as the Cleveland Bronchos.
By 1903, a new name was decided on, and the team would officially be named the Cleveland Naps after the team’s captain, Nap Lajoie.
But when Lajoie would leave the Naps after the 1914 season, there would be another name change for the team. When the 1915 season began, Cleveland had a new name, the Cleveland Indians, which would stay with the team until 2021.
2022 Key Stats
The Guardians will have to make significant improvements for 2022 based on their 2021 stats. The team finished ninth in runs scored, twelfth in hits, and seventh in home runs out of the 15 teams in the AL. Their pitching staff wasn’t that much better, finishing tenth in ERA in the AL.
While the Guardians have made some trades during the off-season, they still have their two best players in third baseman José Ramírez and shortstop Amed Rosario. For their pitching staff, the Guardians made a trade for minor league player Tobias Myers, who was 8-7 with a 3.90 ERA in 2021 as a starter. He is currently on the Guardians 40-man roster for now.
Also returning will be closer Emmanuel Clase and starting pitcher Cal Quantrill. Both Clase and Quantrill had a good 2021, with Clase posting a 1.29 ERA and Quantrill posting a 2.89 ERA. Clase also posted the third-best ERA by a closer with 20 or more wins in 2021.
Championships Won by the Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians have many championships under their belt. The team has two World Series titles, six AL Pennants, and ten AL Central Division titles. The Guardians currently hold the longest World Series title drought among all MLB teams, with their last World Series title coming in 1948.
The team’s first World Series title came in 1920, which was also their first appearance in a World Series.
The six AL Pennants that Cleveland won came in 1920, 1948, 1954, 1995, 1997, and 2016. When the Guardians were moved to the AL Central in 1994, they started their time in their new division on a tear.
The Guardians would win the AL Central Division title for five straight years from 1995-1999. Their other five AL Central Division titles came in 2001, 2007, 2016, 2017, and 2018.
So it is no question as to the Guardians standing in their division.
Important Team Events
At the beginning of every year, the Cleveland Guardians hold a fan fest in January for their fans to meet up with the team’s players. The event was previously called “Tribe Fest,” when the Cleveland team was named the Indians.
The team canceled the event for 2021 and 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The team also has an “Ohio Cup” event in the years that they face their in-state NL rival, the Cincinnati Reds. Some people also consider these games between the two clubs as the “Battle for Ohio.”
The first set of these games between the two clubs for the 2022 season will start on April 12th in Cincinnati. The second set of games will be held in Cleveland starting on May 17th.
Their biggest division rivals are the White Sox, who will come to Cleveland on April 18th of the 2022 season. The Guardians will then head to Chicago on May 9th for another set of games against their rival.
Top Players
When you look back at the history of the Cleveland Guardians, they have some past players that stood out for the team. Players like first baseman/designated hitter Jim Thome, shortstop Lou Boudreau, and shortstop Joe Sewell would all help take their team to the World Series during their time in Cleveland. Both Boudreau and Sewell have World Series titles during their time in Cleveland.
For the 2022 season, the Guardians will be looking to third baseman José Ramírez, shortstop Amed Rosario, designated hitter Franmil Reyes, Clase, and Quantrill to lead the way for the team.
These players were the best players for the team in 2021 and will undoubtedly help the Guardians in 2022.
Top Coaches
In the history of the Guardians franchise, there have been some coaches that stood out for the team. Managers like Tris Speaker, who led the team to their first World Series title, Lou Boudreau, a player and manager for the team during their second World Series title win, and Mike Hargrove, who led Cleveland to five consecutive AL Central Division title wins, are all remembered by the Guardians for their service to the team.
For the 2022 season, Terry Francona will be leading the Guardians coaching staff as manager. He will be backed up by bench coach Demarlo Hale, who took over for Francona in 2021 when he left due to medical reasons.
Pitching coach Carl Willis will look to help develop the young talent on the Guardians pitching staff. Hitting coach Chris Valaika is new to the Guardians team and just might be what’s needed for them to improve on their horrible offensive stats of 2021.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the Cleveland Indians change their name to the Cleveland Guardians?
The team decided to move on from the Indians name after the NFL team, the Washington Redskins announced that they would be reviewing their team name and eventually drop the name Redskins for the NFL 2020 season.
What movies were based on the Cleveland Indians team?
Major League and Major League II are two movies with a fictionalized version of the Cleveland Indians team that was on the hunt to a World Series game after starting the season off badly.
What Cleveland player has the highest batting average for the Guardians?
Joe Jackson holds the record for highest batting average for a Guardians player, with a .408 batting average in 1911.
When was the last time the Guardians won a World Series title?
1948 was the last time the Guardians won a World Series title.
What is the longest postseason appearance streak for the Guardians without a World Series title?
The Guardians have made 13 postseason appearances without a World Series title win in their history.
