Guardians GM Calls Winning AL Central An 'Organizational Effort'

Mike Chernoff believes the entire Cleveland Guardians organization is responsible for winning their 12th division title.

Sep 21, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; The Cleveland Guardians spray champagne in the locker room after the Guardians clinched the AL central division title after a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have now won 12 American League Central titles. They clinched their latest division crown on Saturday night, and they had their second celebration in a matter of 48 hours, too.

Between popping champagne bottles and celebrating with the rest of the team, Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff discussed how Cleveland accomplished this feat in a season when everyone counted them out early.

He emphasized that everyone in the Guardians organization is responsible for helping win the division title.

"That's a whole organizational, collective effort," said Chernoff. "I mean, that goes to our scouts, our player development group, and our analysts in the office. It's years of work that people put in for a moment like this when you see the team come together, and for a team like us, it's mostly homegrown players, which is just tremendous to see."

Sep 21, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; The Cleveland Guardians spray champagne in the locker room after the Guardians clinched the AL central division title after a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

This could be viewed as an understatement, given what this team has gone through this season. They lost their ace, Shane Bieber, after just two starts, went from being the worst home run-hitting team in baseball to the top half of the league, and helped their relievers become the best bullpen in baseball.

This is also largely the same roster that was in place at the end of last season, with other players already in the farm system. They won the division because of the development of these players, which can be credited to the coaching staff's work.

Cleveland has done a tremendous job putting this team together. Now, it's time to see how far they can make a run in October.