CLEVELAND (AP) — Soaked to the skin from being sprayed with Champagne and beer, manager Stephen Vogt stood in the middle of the clubhouse and triumphantly lifted a fake jeweled championship belt over his head like a conquering boxer. Cleveland will fight for a real one in October. Led by their 39-year-old rookie manager, who has pushed all the right buttons for months, and a superb bullpen, the Guardians clinched one of the AL’s six playoff spots on Thursday with a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins — Cleveland's major league-leading 42nd comeback.
A most unexpected season will include a postseason. One of baseball's youngest teams can end decades of playoff heartbreak for a franchise enduring baseball's longest active World Series title drought. “This is really special,” said Vogt, a former All-Star catcher who had zero managing experience when the Guardians hired him in November.
“The goal is to get in and then from here we keep pushing. You get in, you have a chance.” The Guardians are the second AL team to qualify for the 2024 postseason, following only the New York Yankees, who clinched a spot on Wednesday and will return to the playoffs after a one-year absence — an eternity for their spoiled fan base.
New York was slated to contend. Cleveland, not so much. But in their first season under Vogt, who was on his farm in Washington shoveling cow manure when the team's front office called to offer him the job, the Guardians have been one of baseball's best stor.