Guardians Land Strange Historical Comparison For MLB Playoffs

The Cleveland Guardians have received a rather interesting historical comparison heading into the MLB playoffs.

Jul 23, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) and first baseman Josh Naylor (22) celebrate a win over the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians may have been the oddest team in baseball this season.

Their starting pitching was horrendous, their offense was thoroughly frustrating and their bullpen was absolutely dominant.

In spite of their obvious deficiencies, the Guardians were able to ride their relievers to an AL Central division title and a first-round bye in the MLB playoffs, which has led Tim Britton of The Athletic to reveal a rather interesting (and strange) historical comparison for Cleveland: the 1990 Cincinnati Reds.

That Reds squad won the World Series, sweeping the Oakland Athletics. Britton mentions Cincinnati's impressive bullpen trio of Randy Myers, Norm Charlton and Rob Dibble, which is all well and good. But the difference is that the Reds also had a very good starting pitching staff.

Cincinnati boasted four starters with sub-4.00 ERAs. Jose Rijo paced the rotation by going 14-8 with a 2.70 ERA, and Tom Browning, Jack Armstrong and Danny Jackson all joined him with ERAs in the 3s.

The Reds also had a more well-rounded lineup than this iteration of the Guardians, as they had Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, Paul O'Neill, Mariano Duncan and Chris Sabo as starters with a couple of terrific bench players in Hal Morris and Glenn Braggs, to boot.

I get the bullpen comparison, but otherwise, Cincinnati possessed a much more balanced roster than Cleveland from top to bottom.

The Guardians are awaiting the winner of the Detroit Tigers-Houston Astros Wild Card Series. They will play the victor in the ALDS.

Cleveland has not won a World Series championship since 1948, representing the longest active drought in the MLB.