Inside the clubhouse as Cleveland Guardians celebrate fairy-tale season, size up playoffs

ARLINGTON, Texas — As the party peaked, with Austin Hedges spraying champagne while spinning like a tornado, with manager Terry Francona buzzing the hair of unsuspecting replay coordinator Mike Barnett and with cigar smoke filling the room, team president Chris Antonetti approached José Ramírez off to the side of the visitors clubhouse at Globe Life Field.

Advertisement

As the Guardians, equipped with green-strapped New Era goggles, flip-flops and enough beer to fuel fraternity row, celebrated their improbable march to the American League Central title, the architect of the league’s youngest roster placed his arm around the team’s perennial All-Star. Ramírez jump-started the charge toward October by insisting on a long-term contract extension nearly six months ago.

“This all started with his decision to want to be here,” Antonetti told The Athletic. “That set the tone for our season.”

On this chaotic day, with the scent of stale beer spreading throughout the clubhouse, Antonetti reflected on the pandemonium of that final day of spring training, when the third baseman and club executives gathered in a cramped manager’s office in Arizona to hash out whether an extension was possible. Could Antonetti have envisioned a division title at that moment?

“In what fairy tale?’ he said. “The fact he committed and wanted to be here for the long term gave us a great foundation to build upon.”

The construction came from within, and it took time and patience for it to take shape.

This saga starts with a crashing team shop sign, a rebranding project marked by merchandise delays and an underwhelming, apathy-inducing rollout and a harsh winter lockout. The front office whiffed on its top offseason targets (which might have wound up being a blessing in disguise, though Carlos Rodón certainly would have helped), and had Ramírez not volunteered to accept a below-market deal, he might now be a Blue Jay or a Padre.

But on Sunday afternoon, with plastic draping the lockers and covering the floor to simplify the cleanup process, none of that mattered — not the name change nor the meager payroll nor the lackluster attendance nor the fact that most of the roster has yet to reach the age required to rent a car without a surcharge.

They’re barely old enough to drink, but here they go pic.twitter.com/mZj7PxiSsJ

— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) September 25, 2022

As they popped champagne bottles, chugged Bud Lights and polished off one box of pizza after another, no one was thinking about the quiet offseason, the silent trade deadline or the sluggish April and May. No one was thinking about the farm system, ready to explode with blue-chip prospects, or how the Guardians were deemed Opening Day long shots to win the AL Central.

Advertisement

The Guardians have excelled at remaining in the moment, a core tenet Francona annually preaches from the first day of spring camp. So, they brushed off that few outside of their clubhouse never took them seriously until September, when they stomped on their opponents en route to sprinting away with the division crown.

“When people count you out,” Josh Naylor said, “it’s great to shove it back in their face. Those who have nothing to lose in life, those are the most dangerous people or teams.”

Naylor would know better than anyone. He didn’t know if he’d ever set foot on a diamond again after suffering a gruesome leg injury last summer in Minnesota. Now, he’s hitting behind Ramírez and serving as one of Cleveland’s primary power sources.

“We enjoy every moment we have on the field,” he said, “because you never know when it’s your last day.”

The Guardians held a team meeting about 90 minutes before first pitch Sunday. Francona told the group: “When this happens, you guys have earned the right to blow it out.”

“The way they had to work,” a drenched Francona said from his office after completing his participation in the hoopla, “the way they played to get here, they can yell all night. I’ll sit here and let them yell all night. I don’t care what time we get home.”

Francona, 63, said he’s “too old for other things, but not this.”

It’s the club’s fourth division title in Francona’s 10 seasons at the helm in Cleveland. The team secured its sixth playoff berth with him as manager. The Guardians will host the No. 6 seed in the AL for a best-of-three duel in the Wild Card Series beginning Oct. 7.

Francona deflected credit for this latest accomplishment, instead directing praise to his coaching staff and the scouting and player development departments. It’s a sensible response, given the youth on the roster. The Guardians may employ the league’s youngest group — with an average age of 26.3, according to Baseball Reference — but that hasn’t slowed them down.

Advertisement

“What’s wrong with being young?” Shane Bieber asked.

Hedges approached Steven Kwan and Will Benson in the hallway outside the clubhouse during the beer bash.

“You’re all underage,” the boisterous catcher quipped. “No more alcohol.”

“Underage?” Kwan countered. “I’m 25.”

Hedges said the club has “just enough” veteran leadership to steer the rookies — 16 of them have debuted this season, the franchise’s most in 100 years — in the proper direction during the downward swings of the grueling schedule. But some of the youngest players haven’t performed like newcomers.

Kwan, who has guided many of his fellow rookies, blasted a grand slam to punctuate the team’s 10-4 win and series sweep of the Rangers on Sunday. He said he blacked out once the ball sailed over the right-field fence, then reality set in that the bubbly would be flowing in a couple of innings.

“You know it’s your goal, but you still have those doubts in your head,” Hedges said. “Like, is it an actual reality? Is it actually going to happen?”

Sixteen days ago, the Guardians clutched a 1 1/2-game lead over the Twins and the White Sox as they stared at a daunting stretch that included 12 games against Minnesota and Chicago. They steamrolled through it all and now hold a double-digit lead over those teams, despite the infamous proclamation from Chicago shortstop Elvis Andrus that Cleveland would “crumble.”

Your 2022 AL Central champions. pic.twitter.com/PvB4N5yt8p

— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) September 25, 2022

As they gathered for a team photo in the center of the clubhouse, several players, in so many words, shouted about their satisfaction to dismiss the White Sox — the heavy preseason favorites to capture the division title — from the postseason chase.

Antonetti hinted that he had a particular comment to make about the three-team race but preferred to not supply any other teams “with fodder.”

Advertisement

“Our guys, they embraced the moment,” he said.

Trevor Stephan lay down in the middle of the room and invited teammates to shower him with beer. A few players treated the puddle-filled plastic floor as a Slip ’N Slide. Coaches hugged. Clubhouse attendants posed for photos with players. Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff shared a hug and took a selfie. A throng of front office members flew to Dallas on Sunday morning just in case the Guardians clinched.

They did just that, winning for the 18th time in their past 21 games.

“We don’t look at ourselves as underdogs,” Hedges said, “but I know everybody else thought we were. And I don’t blame them. We’re young. Who would have thought? But we believed in ourselves, and we’re going to continue to shock the world.”

(Top photo: Gareth Patterson / Associated Press)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57km9pcmpnbHxzfJFrZmlxX2eDcK%2FLnq2epJGjsW6z1JqpnaGRo8Bur8SlnJuqkamybq3LZpqepqSnrq1506KrpZ1dpbmixc6fnaxn