Tanner Bibee couldn’t hold back his tears. Several of his teammates sat together in a circle on the floor of a quiet clubhouse, almost too afraid to move. There were long hugs and heartfelt whispers.
This is not how the Guardians wanted their season to end. Not like this. Their surprising season came to a sudden close late Saturday night with a 5-2 loss in 10 innings to the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, which had a bit of everything.
The Guardians, who exceeded expectations by winning 92 regular-season games and the AL Central title, fought past their division rival Detroit in the ALDS, defeating the expected Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in the deciding game for a chance to face the Yankees and their star-studded roster with a payroll over $300 million.
For five games, Cleveland gave New York a tough challenge. But it wasn’t enough.
“They’re just a better team,” said Guardians All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan. “Because we’re so close in all those games, I think that’s what makes this sting a little more. Yeah, it was a great year. Kind of hard to be able to look back right now. It’s still so fresh. It hurts pretty bad right now.”
History will show the Yankees won in five games, but the series was closer than that and could have gone Cleveland’s way.
The Guardians had plenty of opportunities. They pressured the Yankees in every game but couldn’t deliver big hits at crucial moments. The chances were there for them to take, but they let them slip away.
Cleveland’s World Series title drought, which dates back to 1948, has extended another year.
The team left 47 runners on base, finishing with a .191 batting average (9 for 47) with runners in scoring position. There will be at-bats that will haunt them throughout the winter.
All season, their aggressive style—known as “Guards Ball”—under first-year manager Stephen Vogt rarely worked against the Yankees, who used their stronger hitters to outscore them. New York hit two home runs in Game 5, while Cleveland managed only two RBI singles.
However, the biggest disappointment was Cleveland’s strong bullpen, which had been the best in baseball from April to September but struggled in October.
All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase almost lost Game 3 but was saved by his teammates and then faltered in Game 4, giving up two runs in the ninth inning.
Clase bounced back in Game 5, but this time it was Hunter Gaddis who allowed Juan Soto’s three-run homer in the 10th inning, ending Cleveland’s season in the playoffs for the second time in three years.
“Some of the best hitters in the world got us in this series,” Vogt said. “That’s true.”
After watching the Yankees celebrate on the Guardians’ home field, Vogt, a catcher hired by Cleveland last December with no managerial experience, encouraged his players to keep their heads up. His message was straightforward.
“Remember this feeling,” he told them. “Remember this feeling you have right now because there’s more left on the table for this group. We know we can accomplish more, but be proud of what we accomplished and use this to fuel your offseason.”
There was strong emotion in Cleveland’s clubhouse as players came to terms with the end of their time together. They had grown closer than they expected during a surprising run that few outside Cleveland predicted.
Bibee, who recovered from being pulled in Game 2 after just 39 pitches to hold the Yankees to two runs in 5 2/3 innings in Game 5, struggled to speak without tearing up.
This wasn’t the moment to analyze every detail or assign blame; it was about supporting each other.
“There’s so many little things that happen,” said All-Star David Fry, who hit a walk-off homer in the 10th to win Game 3. “You can overanalyze it all day, but we feel like we’re so prepared that we don’t have to look back and think, oh, I wish I would’ve done this better. We were ready and just didn’t go out our way.”
