The Cleveland Guardians arguably are the best story in Major League Baseball.
Check that: The Guardians are the best story in MLB. No need to entertain any arguments.
The Guardians are a machine, one season after they weren’t.
Here are some numbers through Monday, June 24, that help illustrate how truly amazing the 2024 Guardians have been:
50-26 — Overall record. Last season, en route to 76-86 and third place in the AL Central, Guardians through 76 games were 37-39 and did not win No. 50 until July 25.
.658 — Overall winning percentage. It is the highest winning percentage in American League and second in majors (Phillies, 52-26 for .667).
1.020 — Left fielder Steven Kwan’s OBP (on-base .449 + slugging .571).
.389 — Kwan’s batting average, in 50 games.
236 — Third baseman Jose Ramirez’s career home-run total, all in Cleveland. He is tied with Manny Ramirez for third in franchise history.
106.596 — Guardians’ victory pace.
105 — Run differential. Guardians have scored 382 runs and allowed 277.
89 — Homers, an average of 1.17 per game. Guardians rank in top half of MLB in homers one season after finishing last/30th with 124, an average of .77 per game.
76 — Career MLB regular-season games managed by Steven Vogt. It does not seem possible that Vogt, who replaced the legendary Terry Francona, is in his first season as MLB manager. Vogt, always under control and guided by a genius-level baseball IQ, has made it look easy.
69 — Ramirez’s RBI total, in 73 games.
24 — Closer Emmanuel Clase’s saves total, in 27 opportunities.
20 — First baseman Josh Naylor’s home-run total, in 73 games. It ties a career-high, set two years ago in 122 games. Last season, Naylor hit 17 homers in 121 games.
20 — Ramirez’s home-run total. Ramirez, 31, has hit 20+ in four straight seasons and seven overall.
17-6-2 — Guardians’ record in series. At home: 10-1-1.
13-3 — Guardians’ record in RHP Tanner Bibee’s starts.
9 — Home losses. Guardians’ 26-9 home record is tops in MLB and matches the franchise’s best through 35 games. They are the only team in MLB with single-digit home defeats; second-lowest total is 12.
9 — Longest overall winning streak. It happened May 17-26.
8 — Guardians players with 4+ homers.
8 — Shutout victories.
8 — Division lead over second-place Minnesota.
6 — Current winning streak. Guardians have outscored Seattle (two games), Toronto (three) and Baltimore (one) by a combined 36-14.
3 — Longest losing streak. It has happened just twice — May 9-11, June 15-18.
2.32 — Bullpen ERA, which ranks No. 1 in American League.
2 — Total games started by Shane Bieber (two; done for the year because of injury) and Gavin Williams (zero; inching closer to season’s debut after injury). That the Guardians are comfortably in front in the AL Central with basically nothing from two of their top four returning starting pitchers is remarkable.
1 — Overall pick in 2024 MLB Draft, owned by Guardians.
0.72 — Clase’s ERA, over 37 1/3 innings.
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