The chip on the Guardians’ shoulders remains at Slider proportions.
If the first eight games have proved anything, it’s that their hunger wasn’t satiated by success. They are not satisfied with their 2022 fantastic finish — beating the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game AL Wild Card series and taking the New York Yankees to Game 5 of the American League Division Series.
After winning an MLB-high and franchise-record 29 games in their final at-bat last season, the 2023 Guardians (5-3) have retained their flair for the dramatic, capturing three of their five victories in extra innings.
After an offseason of awards, accolades and great expectations, complacency has not crept in.
A chilling 9 mph wind steadily blowing in from right thwarted their trademark late-game magic in the 5-3 home-opening loss Friday to the Seattle Mariners. Even the presence of Cavaliers’ four-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell in the sellout crowd of 34,821 at Progressive Field didn’t help.
Down two leading off the eighth, Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez missed a chance to ignite a rally. He blasted a ball with a 103.9 exit velocity to the right-field corner, but it was knocked down by the elements.
“We thought that was in the second deck. I think Josey thought that as well,” Guardians center fielder Myles Straw said.
“Feel like any other day that's gone. Maybe a different ball game after that,” designated hitter Josh Bell said. “But that’s his life. That's the game. Sometimes they fall for you, and sometimes they don't.”
Manager Terry Francona added, “Any day but probably today. That’s how this ballpark plays a lot in April.”
The stumble didn’t dampen the mindset of the Guardians, favored to capture the AL Central crown after winning the title in 2022 as 17 rookies made their major-league debuts.
They are the same hard-working, hard-running, don’t-quit bunch that became one of the best stories in baseball a year ago.
“I think it starts with Tito. He keeps us accountable,” Gold Glove left fielder Steven Kwan said of Francona. “He doesn't let us kind of just cash in a game if we're up by a lot or down by a lot.”
Perhaps getting the big head is not possible for a team managed by Francona. Named the AL’s top skipper last season for the third time in his career, Francona is appalled by the idea of watching a documentary on his life that premiers April 23 on MLB Network.
“I probably won’t … that’s a little uncomfortable,” Francona said pregame.
President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti wants a front-row seat, not in front of the television, but in front of Francona.
“Maybe I'll force him to or try to force him to do it together,” Antonetti said. “He likes talking about everybody or seeing things about everybody but himself.”
Catcher Mike Zunino, who played the previous four seasons for the Rays, credits Francona’s unassuming personality for a trickle-down effect.
“He’s got one message, and it’s he wants to win,” Zunino said. “This game can be so tough, especially on young players not knowing where their career's going to go, but he keeps the message very simple. When you can get 26 guys pulling in one direction and for one another, it makes it fun to come to the yard every day and takes some of the other stresses off.”
Francona’s approach keeps their minds on the team’s collective goal, not individual awards as well.
But it’s not just Francona. Newcomers Zunino and Bell say it’s the all-out, all-the-time style of four-time All-Star and perennial MVP candidate Ramirez that shows his teammates the way.
Bell pointed to Ramirez coming home for Cleveland’s 10th run on Bell’s sacrifice fly to short left in the Guardians’ 12-11, 10-inning victory at Oakland on Monday.
“Scoring on a sac fly that I hit that was maybe 120 feet away from home was nuts, right? Stuff like that you don't really see, especially coming from a top dog like Jose Ramirez,” Bell said.
Kwan sees the same effect from Ramirez, “who doesn't take an at-bat off.”
“If we're up by a lot or down by a lot, that last at-bat means everything to him,” Kwan said. “So if our big vet cares about it, then why shouldn't we?”
That could be why Straw said Ramirez’s ill-fated eighth-inning blast was the topic of conversation in the postgame shower.
Antonetti and General Manager Mike Chernoff have built a young, exciting team with superior skills, especially when it comes to playing defense, making contact and creating havoc on the basepaths. But do they win because of their talent or because of what’s inside them?
First baseman Josh Naylor tried to put his finger on the root of the Guardians’ drive.
“We know what type of team we have. We know even if we’re down in the game we have a great chance of winning it. We believe in each other a lot,” Naylor said. “I think that’s really it, the belief in each other.”
As Guardians radio play-by-play man Tom Hamilton said during the 2022 recap video clips during pregame festivities, “Someway, somehow, the Guardians find a way to get it done again. … Each and every day you can’t wait to get to the park to see what might happen next.”
That has not changed with the calendar year. Even as they’ve gone from the hunter to the hunted, the Guardians’ desire has not waned. As Ramirez runs the bases with helmet-losing abandon, as Straw tests the center-field wall for spectacular catches, as Naylor’s motor runs ever-hot, their goal is lofty.
They remain the youngest team in the majors (27 years, 15 days as of March 30), a 12-month difference on the second-youngest Rays. But the Guardians seem wise beyond their years when it comes to what’s important. It’s not Gold Gloves or MVP votes or a top closer crown. A taste of success was just the appetizer.
“The playoffs are cool, but at the end of the day if you’re not there for that last game and winning it, it really doesn’t matter,” Kwan said. “Obviously media can hype it up and everything and it’s really exciting, but I think we’re there to win the whole thing."
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