One Major Question Remains As Guardians Clinch Division

Originally posted on Cleveland Guardians on SI
By Tommy Wild | Last updated Sep 22, 2024 1:00 PM ET

The Cleveland Guardians are headed back to the postseason, and they officiailly clinched the American League Central on Saturday night too. As Tom Hamilton said, "Cleveland, you will have an October to rememeber."

However, one major question still needs to be answered about the Guardians' playoff picutre. That is, what seed will they be when the postseason starts in a little under two weeks?

As it stands right now, the Guardians are the second seed in the American League with a record of 90-66.

They're 1.5 games back of the New York Yankees, who are currently in the first seed. (The Yankees also own the tiebreaker over the Cleveland in the event the two teams finish with identical records.)

The Guardians have two more series left, and it's not impossible for them to jump New York for the number one seed in the AL. However, a change in position the opposite way is also possible.

The Baltimore Orioles are 5.0 games back of the Guardians, and the Houston Astros are 6.0. Yes, they're running out of games to catch Cleveland, but if the Guardians take their foot off the gas for the last week, they could seriously risk losing one of these top two seeds and, with that, a first-round bye.

This is something we may the answer to until the last Sunday of the season either. The Guardians play the Astros in the series finale at Progressive Field next weekend.

The team's mantra continues to be that each accolade is one step of their journey. Their next step is to ensure they get a bye in round one of the postseason.

This article first appeared on Cleveland Guardians on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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