The Guardians in the 2022 season and postseason defied all expectations and odds that any experts had for them. They were supposed to finish 3 out of 5 in their division, and were only supposed to come out with 75 wins on the year. They had many rookies on the team, making them the youngest collective team in the MLB. The thought of them going to the postseason was pure fantasy for many people, even Guardians fans themselves.
Finishing the year off in 2021 with a losing record of 80-82 didn’t spark much hope in Guardians fans for the following season. With such young players on the team, they needed a strong leader, and that's where Terry Francona comes in. Back before he was a manager for the Guardians, he brought the Boston Red Sox their first World Series title in 86 years in 2004.
The season started off as many had before for the Guardians. After the first 10 games, their record was 5-5. However, as the season went on, they continued to win, and continued to battle the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins for first place in the AL Central. It had been predicted that the Sox or the Twins would take the AL Central. However, when the Guardians would play either team, they would dominate. Comeback wins after the 7th inning became a regular, even if the opposing team were up 3 to 4 runs. As the last month of the season rolled around, the Guardians were holding a lead in the AL Central. As they kept winning, their magic number kept getting smaller and smaller. They finished the season 92-70, bringing them their first American League Central title since 2018, and the first under the name the Guardians. This placed them unimaginably, in the postseason.
As the first game of the postseason came, they were placed in the best of 3 Wild Card series. The Tampa Bay Rays and the Guardians were scoreless up into the 6th inning. In the top of the 6th inning, Jose Siri hit a solo homerun into the right field seats. During the bottom of the inning, Jose Ramirez hit a go-ahead 2 run blast to later win them the game. The second game of the series went 15 shutout innings before Oscar Gonzalez hit a solo home run into the left field bleachers. An important play was made by Ramirez to keep the Guardians in the game in the 12th inning. From the foul line and falling over, Jose Ramirez made a throw to first base to get the runner out before the runner from third could score. The Guardians swept the Rays 2-0 to advance to the ALDS against the New York Yankees.
In the first game the Yankees won 4-1, and the Guardians won the second game, after two runs were scored in extra innings. During the third game, the Yankees had a promising lead going into the late game. However, the Guardians are known for comeback wins, and they weren’t about to give up yet. Going into the bottom of the 9th, the Yankees led 5-3. Myles Straw hit a double, followed by Steven Kwan’s single that advanced Straw to third. Amed Rosario then hit a line drive into left field to bring the tie within one. Beating the shift, Jose Ramirez hits a bloop into center to load the bases. Things were truly looking up, with only one out, a win wasn’t so far out of sight. However, a stake was driven through the hearts of many fans after Josh Naylor had struck out. Oscar Gonzalez’s walk up song is the theme song to SpongeBob SquarePants, giving him the nickname “SpongeBob”. With only one out remaining, “SpongeBob SquarePants” came up to bat as 40,000 fans screamed the lyrics. Just a week prior, he had walked the Guardians off to send them to the ALDS. He smacked a ball behind the pitcher, scoring Kwan and Rosario to win the game. Although the Guardians proceeded to lose the following two games, they still surpassed any and all expectations anyone gave them. With Josh Bell being signed from San Diego, and nearly all the same players as last season, many analysts seem to think they may give the AL Central and the postseason a run for their money.
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