CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The eyes of Texas and the rest of the baseball-playing world will be upon the Cleveland Guardians come All-Star week in Arlington, Texas.
Starting July 14, the Guardians not only have the No. 1 pick in MLB’s first year player draft for the first time in franchise history, but they’ll also be represented by five American League All-Stars in the July 16 game at Globe Life Field.
It’s the biggest complement of players they’ve sent to the Mid-Summer Classic since 2018 when José Ramírez, Trevor Bauer, Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, Corey Kluber and Francisco Lindor represented the city under the Indians banner.
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Ramírez is the only one of that group still wearing a Cleveland uniform. Steven Kwan and he were voted onto the AL’s starting lineup by the fans, Ramírez at third base and Kwan in the outfield.
They learned before Sunday’s game that they’ll be joined by three teammates -- closer Emmanuel Clase, utility man David Fry and first baseman Josh Naylor. They were chosen by a vote of their peers, coaches and league officials.
Five All-Stars from one team -- more than the Yankees and Orioles -- does not seem excessive. Not if you’ve followed the Guardians through the first half of the season.
The winningest manager in franchise history stepped aside at the end of an 86-loss season last year. A rookie manager, Stephen Vogt, who was still playing in 2022, was hired to replace Terry Francona.
Vogt inherited one of the weakest offenses in baseball, a suspect starting rotation and a bullpen full of question marks except for Clase. In spring training they lost projected starter Gavin Williams and set-up men Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak to injuries. Two starts into the regular season, Shane Bieber, the former Cy Young Award winner, was done for the year with an elbow that needed Tommy John surgery.
In just the last week they’ve optioned two starters from the rotation to Class AAA Columbus for repairs. One of them, Logan Allen, had eight wins. This has not been a Sunday stroll through a rose garden.
What has emerged from one of the youngest teams in baseball is a versatile, yet dangerous offense; a rookie-laden bullpen that protects leads like a wolf with a pork chop; and a rotation led by emerging ace Tanner Bibee and out-of-nowhere veteran Ben Lively that does just enough to give the Guards a chance to win on a regular basis.
Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor is going to his first All-Star Game.AP
Let us not forget a quality defense and a veteran catcher in Austin Hedges, who won a World Series ring with the Rangers last year before returning to Cleveland. Hedges has spread the message to his teammates to treat every game in the 162-game schedule like a playoff game. The message has taken root.
How else do you explain the Guardians being 56-32 with seven games left before the All-Star break? Last year at this time they were 44-44, a half-game out of first place.
This year they’ve been in first place in the AL Central for 104 days. Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Giants gave them a six-game lead over second-place Minnesota.
There is no tried and true path to All-Star Game. The Guardians’ five All-Stars prove that:
- Ramírez signed with Cleveland when he was 17 in the Dominican Republic. He made his big league debut in 2014, a skinny switch-hitter flying around the bases. It took him two more years to call third base his own. He has grown into one of the best players in baseball and franchise history. This will be his sixth straight All-Star Game appearance.
- Kwan was a fifth-round pick in 2018. He helped Oregon State win the College World Series, but it took him four years, including the 2020 COVID season, to reach the big leagues. He’s listed at 5-8 and 170 pounds, but in 2022 the Guardians turned left field and the leadoff spot over to him. He’s never looked back since, and this year he’s leading the big leagues with a .364 (92 for 253) batting average with a career-high nine homers.
- The Guardians acquired Clase from Texas for Kluber in 2019. It was a killer trade, but the results were not immediate. Clase injured his right shoulder in spring training in 2020. Then he was suspended for the year because of a positive steroid test.
- Clase returned to save 24 games in 2021, 42 in 2022 and 44 in 2023. This year Clase leads the AL with 27 saves in 30 chances. This will be his third straight All-Star appearance.
- Just over three years ago, it looked like Naylor’s career might be over. He collided with Ernie Clement while playing right field in a game against the Twins at Target Field on June 27, 2021. He suffered a badly broken right ankle that required surgery and caused him to miss the rest of the year.
- During that offseason, Naylor’s parents rolled up socks and pitched them to him so he could keep his swing sharp. Naylor played 122 games the next year and hit 20 homers. Last year he hit .308 with 17 homers and 97 RBI. This year he’s hitting .242 and leads all AL first basemen with 21 homers and 66 RBI.
Guardians All-Star utility man David Fry.Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
- Who said a utility man can’t make the All-Star team? Fry certainly took a hammer to those thoughts. When Fry graduated from Grapevine High School in Texas he had hit exactly two home runs. He got bigger and stronger at Northwestern State University, and the Brewers drafted him in seventh round in 2018. The Guardians traded J.C. Mejia to the Brewers in March 13, 2022 for a player to be named, who turned out to be Fry. This year Fry is hitting .305 (52 for 187) with eight homers, 33 RBI and a .920 OPS. He’s started at catcher, first base, left field, right field and DH
There’s no height or weight requirement for an MLB All-Star. They can hit left-handed, right-handed or be a switch-hitter. They can slam the door with a 100 mph cut baseball, open a game with a bunt single, carry an equipment bag full of gloves wherever they go or run the bases like they’re late for dinner.
Talent is the only thing that matters. It comes in all shapes and sizes. The Guardians can tell you all about it.
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