Going into the 2022 season of Cleveland Baseball, you could say things felt different. League-wide, the pandemic was still weighing on the MLB, and a lockout delayed the start of the season. Things looked different, too. Here in Cleveland, the team took the field for the first time with fresh gear and a new name as the Cleveland Guardians. And with an average age of about 26 years old, the Guardians were the youngest team in both the Major Leagues and AAA.
In the beginning, many sports analysts wrote the Guardians off. It was to be another rebuilding year, they said. But in the end, the Guards would finish with a 92-win season, a division title, barely knocked out of the playoffs by the Yankees. Sports Illustrated credited the team with creating a new brand of baseball and Terry Francona would take home his third MLB Manager of the Year Award.
And Clevelanders happily took all of this into the tune of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.
While this unforgettable 2022 season has ended, what is next in this era of the Guardians? And what does it mean for the City of Cleveland? Join the City Club as we hear straight from team leadership Paul Dolan, Chris Antonetti, and Terry Francona in a conversation led by Andre Knott with Bally Sports and Fox 8 News.