There was a point this summer when it felt like the walls were starting to close in on the Guardians. Cleveland entered a midseason swoon before the All-Star break, when it was trying to tread water without José Ramírez after he underwent left hamate surgery. After the Guardians fell to one game over .500 with a fourth straight loss on July 8, catcher and team leader Austin Hedges offered some hopeful context and confidence the tide would turn. “There is no glory without sucking and suffering and overcoming things,” Hedges said that night. “We're being tested right now while maintaining being right where we want to be, which is near the top of the division with a chance to make the playoffs, trying to win a World Series.” They made it all the way to the top of the division. The Guardians clinched the AL Central for the third straight season on Saturday, when they beat the Royals, 11-5, at Kauffman Stadium and the White Sox followed by losing to the Rockies, 9-6, officially giving Cleveland the division title.
