CLEVELAND — For the first time since 2018, the Cleveland Guardians are American League Central Division champions.
And as one might imagine, they celebrated accordingly.
After completing a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers on Sunday with a 10-4 victory -- Cleveland's seventh consecutive win -- Guardians players poured into the visitor's clubhouse at Choctaw Stadium for an alcohol-infused celebration. Technically, Cleveland clinched its first division title in four years when the Chicago White Sox lost to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, but the Guardians' own victory only added to the away team's celebration in Arlington.
You can see clips of Cleveland's postgame celebration in the tweets from Bally Sports Cleveland below.
While Cleveland clinching the American League Central Division appeared to be a matter of not "if," but "when" for the better part of the past week, it would have been hard to believe at the start of the season. According to oddsmakers, the Guardians had the best chances of winning the division at nearly 10-1 odds, trailing the heavily favored White Sox (-195) and Minnesota Twins (+500).
Yet despite the Guardians' youth -- they lay claim to the youngest roster in baseball in both position players and pitchers according to Baseball Reference -- Cleveland was able to run away with the division before even reaching the final week of the regular season. With the New York Yankees (94-58) on the verge of clinching the No. 2 seed in the American League Playoffs, it appears the Guardians will be beginning their postseason in the Wild Card Round on Friday, Oct. 7.