For the third year in a row, Cleveland’s beloved baseball team emerged as regional champions. This win marks the Cleveland Indians 10th AL Central division title, making them the team with most AL Central titles. It also means they’re moving on to the playoffs.
To claim their this victory, the Cleveland Indians had to face off the Detroit Tigers on September 15, 2018. They won against their opponents with a solid 15-0 score.
“These are my boys, and I’ve always hoped to run it back with these guys every time, and this might be a good chance,” central fielder Jason Kipnis told WYKC.
“We’ve got the same group where for the last time, where guys might not be here next year, so we want to take advantage of it. This is one of the first stages and steps, and we’re happy to move on.”
The 2018 American League Division Series will officially commence on October 5, 2018. Before then, the Cleveland Indians will continue to defend their home by facing off the Chicago White Sox on a three-game set.
After this, the Cleveland Indians will finish the season with a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox in the Windy City, then a four-game series in Kansas against the Kansas City Royals.
The Cleveland Indians’ history of winning
The Cleveland Indians’ third consecutive win at the AL Central Division might not come as a surprise, as the team already had a history of winning the division series. During the early years of the AL Central division (1995 to 1999), the Cleveland Indians won the series five years in a row.
After 2001, however, the team took the backseat, with teams like Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox dominating the scene. In 2007, the Cleveland Indians managed to win another title after a five-year drought. Their hopes to continue the winning streak were dashed the following year, with the Chicago White Sox winning the 2008 AL Central division title.
It wasn’t until 2016 when the Cleveland Indians got back on track. Two years later, the team has their 10th American League Central division title, with their eye set on winning the 2018 American League Central title and, eventually, the World Series.
In the whole history of the Cleveland Indians playing in the Major League Baseball (MLB), the team has only won the World Series title twice (1928 and 1948). It’s been so long since their last World Series title win that it’s considered as the “longest active drought” in the MLB.
To win the 2018 World Series title, they have to make it past strong adversaries in the likes of the Houston Astros (the 2017 World Series champion), the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the New York Yankees.
Experts over at ESPN made early predictions prior to the start of the season, however. They concluded that Cleveland Indians has a strong chance of emerging victorious with their odds of winning at 7 to 1. The team is heavily relying on its roster of strong and solid players, with ESPN noting that the “rotation is too good to collapse.”
With such a journey ahead, we all wish the Cleveland Indians good luck! For more Cleveland news and updates, check out my blog here.