Shane Bieber has been a steady presence at the top of the Cleveland Guardians' rotation for the past few seasons, and he is now set to join quite the exclusive list as a result.
Like every other team in the league, the Guardians locked in their Opening Day starting pitcher for 2024 on Tuesday. As expected, first-year manager Stephen Vogt went with Bieber, a two-time All-Star and former AL Cy Young Award winner.
This will mark the right-hander's fifth Opening Day start in a row, dating back to 2020.
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Bieber will become the third pitcher in Guardians history to start five consecutive Opening Days. Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber was the last to do so, enjoying a similar streak from 2015 to 2019.
Hall of Fame righty Stan Coveleski was the only Cleveland player to achieve the feat prior to the 21st century, starting every Opening Day from 1917 to 1921. After failing to extend his streak in 1922, Coveleski returned to the role for 1923.
CC Sabathia and Hall of Famer Bob Lemon made five Opening Starts of their own for Cleveland, albeit not in a row, while Hall of Famer Bob Feller made seven – three before World War II and four after.
Bieber is slated to hit free agency next winter, at which point he will be 29 years old. Should he stick around in Cleveland, Bieber would almost assuredly break the franchise record for consecutive Opening Day starts and could even threaten Feller's overall record somewhere down the line.
Although his rookie season in 2018 wasn't particularly dominant, Bieber has been one of the league's best pitchers ever since.
Bieber made the All-Star Game in 2019 and 2021, winning Cy Young for the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He placed seventh in AL Cy Young voting in 2022, also winning a Gold Glove that year.
The 2023 season was Bieber's least efficient since his debut campaign, and even then, his ERA stayed well below 4.00 in his 21 starts.
For his career, Bieber is 60-32 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.118 WHIP, 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a 16.9 WAR. In his four previous Opening Day nods, Bieber is 1-1 with a 1.19 ERA, 0.926 WHIP and 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
Between Bieber and Kluber, Cleveland has Opening Day on lock for a full decade. Prior to their combined streak, the then-Indians had five different Opening Day starting pitchers in seven years.
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