How to Make It Through the Cleveland Guardians 2023–24 Offseason
Even though February 24th is far off, there are plenty of things you can do to pass the time. Here are some tips to get through the Cleveland Guardians offseason.
It’s game over for the Guardians. The World Series has already happened. Until the opening pitch of Spring Training on February 24th, there will be no more Major League Baseball to watch. And so it raises the question of what to do in the interim.
The following five suggestions will help you get through the next four months without Guardians baseball.
Keep up with the Arizona Fall League
You can still keep track of several Guardians minor league players as they play for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League, even though Major League Baseball won’t be available to watch anytime soon.
Since October 2nd, infielders Christian Cairo, Kyle Manzardo, and outfielder Chase Delauter, along with pitchers Ross Carver, Bradley Hanner, Jake Miller, Erik Sabrowski, and Ryan Webb, have been tearing it up in the AFL to keep their skills sharp during the offseason.
Manzardo and DeLauter, who were chosen for the All-Star Game on November 5th, have brought attention to the Guardians’ AFL tenure. Before the All-Star Game, DeLauter leads the league in slash line production (.257/.358/.473), and Manzardo is right behind him (.241/.326/.532). Manzardo was acquired at the 2023 trade deadline as part of a deal that sent Aaron Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays, while DeLauter was selected by the Guardians in the first round of the 2022 draft. DeLauter played for the AA Akron Rubberducks and Manzardo for the AAA Columbus Clippers at the end of the 2023 season.
You can watch the AFL on MLB Network or on the Lake County Captains’ @LCCaptains Twitter account.
Watch Films About Baseball
These three baseball movies are some of my favorites and will get me through the offseason despite the abundance of excellent ones available.
The Sandlot is a classic 1993 movie that centers on a group of young people who frequent their neighborhood baseball field in 1962. The group is very reluctant to allow an outsider who is unfamiliar with the sport to join when he moves to the area. That is, until Benny Rodriguez, the team’s leader, gives him permission to join and assists him in joining the group. The movie chronicles the boys’ triumphs and setbacks as they deal with girls, baseball, and The Beast—the vicious Mastiff that lives in the neighborhood and eats all of the gang’s baseballs.
Moneyball: Based on Michael Lewis’ 2003 book of the same name, this 2011 Brad Pitt film recounts the incredible season of the 2002 Oakland Athletics, which included a record-breaking 20-game winning streak. Later in 2017, our very own Cleveland Indians would end this run. The movie depicts Billy Beane’s game-changing tactic of assembling a roster of cheap players and using them to create a winning team. Beane demonstrated that it was possible to succeed without a team full of Derek Jeters, even though this team was unable to win a World Series.
Trigger Warning: Suicide is mentioned in the following recommended film.
Alive: The Story of Drew Robinson – Drew Robinson, a former outfielder for the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants, is featured in this 2021 E:60 special. Robinson had to deal with trades, injuries, and transactions between the Major and Minor Leagues on a regular basis. He attempted suicide on April 16, 2020, as a result of this and other hardships in his personal life. Robinson, who had shot himself in the head, persevered and gave it his all to get back into baseball. He briefly participated in the Giants’ minor league system, but he currently serves as a mental health consultant for the organization.
Read Books on Baseball.
Fiction or not, I was able to get through the long offseason in 2021–2022 thanks to the abundance of excellent baseball books available. These are my top three picks.
Stacey May Fowles offers advice on baseball life. My all-time favorite book is this one, hands down. In this ode to baseball, Fowles describes her experiences as a Toronto Blue Jays supporter and explains why the game holds such deep meaning for so many people. Her stories struck a chord with me as a female baseball player and let me know that I’m not alone in this.
John Feinstein’s Living on the Black, my second favorite book, follows two players on two different teams for the entire season: Mike Mussina of the New York Yankees and Tom Glavine of the New York Mets. The two pitchers had very different experiences, despite the fact that their teams played only a few miles apart. Feinstein describes the strains and highs and lows of a 162-game season that both players experienced, as well as how they handled a strike that caught everyone in baseball off guard.
By Luke Epplin, Our Team If you’re searching for a Guardians or Indians-specific book to read, this is my #1 pick. The book chronicles the contributions made by four individuals—Larry Doby, Bill Veeck, Bob Feller, and Satchel Paige—to the evolution of baseball during the 1940s. In the American League, Larry Doby broke down the barrier of race and endured the same struggles as his predecessor. Bob Feller was the kind of player that the typical fan could identify with—a
baseball player from small-town America who served in the military during World War II. Former Negro League star Satchel Paige stunned everyone when he joined Doby on stage. Bill Veeck changed how Major League Baseball was marketed to the general public, which completely changed the market. Collectively, these four men improved both the Indians and baseball as a whole.
Moneyball: Based on Michael Lewis’ 2003 book of the same name, this 2011 Brad Pitt film recounts the incredible season of the 2002 Oakland Athletics, which included a record-breaking 20-game winning streak. Later in 2017, our very own Cleveland Indians would end this run. The movie depicts Billy Beane’s game-changing tactic of assembling a roster of cheap players and using them to create a winning team. Beane demonstrated that it was possible to succeed without a team full of Derek Jeters, even though this team was unable to win a World Series.
Trigger Warning: There is talk of suicide in this suggested movie.
