Terry Francona Hopes Guardians’ Surprise Season Is A ‘Starting Place’

Few picked Cleveland to last as long as it did. Now manager Terry Francona wants to see his team build on a season the Guardians should all be proud of.

Moments after the Guardians lost Game 5 of the American League Division Series to the Yankees on Tuesday, manager Terry Francona told his team how proud he was – and how bright he believes the future can be.

Few picked Cleveland, baseball’s youngest team and a small-time spender, to do much of anything this season. But the club won 92 games and the American League Central, swept the Rays in the wild card round, and forced a winner-take-all game against the well-financed, start-studded Yankees.

While the Guardians ultimately lost their final game of the season, 5-1, in the Bronx, Francona reminded his players that they went further than anyone outside the franchise envisioned. But the 63-year-old manager also emphasized that there’s more work to be done, and that this season, surprising to outsiders, has to be the beginning of something.

“I know they are hurting right now, because they care, and they worked unbelievably hard,” Francona said. “But I hope as that wears off, they will realize just how proud we are of them and how much we care about them. And [I] also reminded them that this needs to be a starting place for us. This can't just be a good story this year. We need to take this and go, because I think we have a chance to have something really special.”

The Twins, White Sox and even the Tigers were believed to have an edge in the AL Central entering the 2022 season, but Cleveland took the division thanks to its deep pitching staff and an offense predicated on contact.

With perennial MVP candidate José Ramírez anchoring the lineup, the Guardians also received stellar rookie seasons from Steven Kwan and Oscar Gonzalez. Amed Rosario and Andrés Giménez, both acquired in the Francisco Lindor trade, enjoyed the best seasons of their careers, and Josh Naylor hit 20 home runs for the first time.

On the pitching front, Shane Bieber threw like his Cy Young-winning self, while Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill emerged as formidable punches behind the ace. Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale also pitched well at times – though the Yankees jumped on Civale in Game 5.

Cleveland’s bullpen, meanwhile, saw four staples record sub-3.00 ERAs: Emmanuel Clase, Trevor Stephan, Sam Hentges and James Karinchak. Clase finished with a 1.36 ERA and 42 saves.

With few key contributors heading to free agency, the Guardians will retain more than just a core in 2023. Perhaps they’ll even spend a little more to upgrade a roster that missed the chance to play for a World Series appearance by one game.

Either way, Francona hopes to build on a season that lasted longer than most predicted.

“I have no idea what next year is going to look like,” he said. “I just got done talking to a bunch of guys that are broken-hearted in there because we care about them. And they have shown that although we didn't get to our final destination, it's a pretty good year. A lot of things happened that I don't think people were expecting. Where it goes from here, that's up to us. We are going to have to take it and do better.”