Spare me any suggestion that the American League Division Series that begins Saturday at Progressive Field is the black sheep of the MLB postseason bracket
The Guardians and White Sox might have the lowest win totals of the remaining playoff teams. But if you spend too much time whining about the weight division play carries in postseason seeding, you’ll miss a series featuring historical weight, tactical contrasts and some of the best young talent in the sport.
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Like Cleveland legend José Ramírez famously going up against former Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson some years back, this series packs a punch.
Here are a few reasons why the best-of-five between the Guards and Sox could quiet the critics and emerge as one of the best series of the postseason.
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1. This is, sort of, an October first
These two franchises have been playing each other since 1901. As a matter of fact, they played the first game in AL history back on April 24, 1901, at South Side Park, where the host White Sox defeated the Cleveland Blues, 8-2, en route to capturing the nascent league’s first pennant.
But the South Siders and Clevelanders have actually never met in the postseason. Unless, of course, you count the fictitious ALCS in “Major League II,” which you absolutely should.
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2. The season series was scintillating
The Sox and Guards played each other 13 times in 2026. Seven of those games were decided by a single run, and four of those were walk-off wins (three for Cleveland, one for Chicago).
Their last meeting, Sept. 14-16 at Progressive Field, was a classic battle with the division crown at stake. The Sox grabbed the opener to go up 1 1/2 games in the standings. Then Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio sliced one past the outstretched glove of left fielder Sam Antonacci for a two-run, walk-off double in the second game. And in the third, Petey Halpin was the unlikely hero for Cleveland with his game-flipping three-run blast in the sixth inning. The Guardians, who had entered September trailing the Sox by 3 1/2 games, took the division lead that day and never trailed again.
It was one of the best series of the regular season. And now we get to relive it.
The close results come despite distinct styles.
Chicago’s sudden resurrection into playoff contention has been fueled by pure, unadulterated power. The club built a dangerous middle-of-the-order force around slugger Munetaka Murakami, whose transition to MLB featured undeniable thump, with 35 homers and a .478 slugging percentage. Paired with Miguel Vargas’ breakout 33-homer season and Colson Montgomery’s AL-leading 31 home runs at shortstop, the White Sox boast game-changing power capable of answering any prayer — especially those of their famous fan in the Vatican — with a single swing.
However, that home run prowess comes with a glaring vulnerability — strikeouts. Montgomery set an MLB record with 227 of them this season, leading a high-variance lineup that tallied the fifth-most K’s in MLB.
The Guardians will try to take advantage of those strikeout tendencies with rookie Cy Young finalist Parker Messick and Gavin Williams, the latter of whom led the American League with 248 strikeouts over 184 1/3 innings.
But Cleveland can’t match the South Siders’ slug. Though the offense showed new life in the second half, it nevertheless finished the season with a lowly .380 SLG.
It’ll be power ball vs. Guards ball.
Per Spotrac data, these two teams have the two lowest payrolls in the postseason field. That’s because young talent largely leads the way.
It’s true that the Sox went from a modern-era record 121 losses to the playoffs in the remarkable speed of just two seasons. It’s also true that most of these guys weren’t even around for that painful 2024 campaign.
Vargas was a 24-year-old midseason trade acquisition back then. Now he’s emerged as a stud. The Sox picked up 26-year-old center fielder Tristan Peters in a cash deal with the Rays, and he wound up producing an All-Star season. Antonacci has emerged as a solid regular just two years after getting taken in the fifth round of the Draft. The Sox aced their trade of ace Garrett Crochet, bringing in starting second baseman Chase Meidroth, who finished fourth in fWAR among all MLB second basemen, right fielder Braden Montgomery and catcher Kyle Teel (and ironically winning a postseason series before Crochet’s Boston team has). Murakami was an established star in Nippon Professional Baseball but will be on Rookie of the Year ballots. Young arms Sean Burke and Grant Taylor anchor both ends of the pitching staff.
While Chicago had the youngest average position player age (25.8) of any postseason entry, Cleveland had the second-youngest pitching staff (27.6), behind only the Brewers (27). Messick, Williams and elite closer Cade Smith have all debuted since 2023. On the position player side, the lineup got huge lifts this year from rookies Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana, the latter of whom was an All-Star just two years after getting taken No. 1 overall in the Draft. With 24-year-old outfielder Angel Martínez also having a breakthrough season, Ramírez has a stronger supporting cast than in some of Cleveland’s previous postseason entries.
5. Whoever reaches the ALCS will be a great story
The Sox could reach the 2026 ALCS after losing a total of 324 games from 2023-25. That feels like the kind of thing that can only happen with a little divine help from the Pope himself.
The Guardians could reach the ALCS with the lowest payroll in the game and 10 years after having their hearts ripped out by the Cubs in the 2016 World Series. Cleveland has the longest active championship drought of any team in the four major professional sports that hasn’t relocated. Cleveland last won it all in 1948. That was seven popes ago!
So whoever emerges will be worthy of applause, not seeding cynicism.
Anthony Castrovince is a senior writer for MLB.com. Read his columns and follow him on X at @Castrovince.
