November 21, 2025 • 39 mins
Our final show of 2025 takes a look back to the Guardians final win of 2025 against the Tigers in a Wild Card Playoff battle. Plus, recently named two time Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt chats with Rosey about a memorable season, his offseason plans, and early thoughts on the 2026 season. That's all on this edition of Guardians Weekly with Jim Rosenhaus on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Hi, everyone, welcome to Guardians' Weekly. Jim Rosen house along
with you as we join you from Progressive Field in
downtown Cleveland. Our last show before our holiday break, and
we take a lately holiday break, covering Thanksgiving and then
on into the Christmas holiday and New Year's as well.
Our next show will be the Saturday after New Year's Day,
(01:21):
so we hope you can join us then for the
run up to spring training and a brand new season
in twenty twenty six. But again, this will be our
final show, kind of recapping twenty twenty five and tying
up some loose ends on the twenty twenty five season,
including our final look back at some of the great
games of the past season. And our last great game
(01:42):
will be the last win for the Guardians, Game two
of the American League Wildcard Series against the Detroit Tigers.
We'll have that in the second half of our show.
We will also hear from Cal Stevens, who is the
pitcher acquired for Shane Bieber from the Toronto Blue Jays
and someone that both the Blue Jays initially and now
(02:03):
the Guardians are extremely high on that he could become
a very strong major league pitcher in the very near future.
We will also visit with Manager of the Year in
the American League, Steven Vote, winning it for a second
consecutive season. We'll hear from Voter after our first break.
But first some odds and ends to tie up for you.
The Guardians this week earlier in the week adding four
(02:25):
players to their forty man roster in advance of the
Rule five draft at the Winter Meetings. They have to
get a little bit closer to that final roster set,
so they have selected the contracts from TRIPAA Columbus of
right handed pitcher Austin Peterson and outfielder Khalil Watson, as
well as the contracts from Double A Acron of infielder
(02:46):
on hell Hanau and right hander Jorman Gomez. And again
these are all players young players in the system who
have potentially very bright futures and the Guardians want to
make sure they protect them on that forty men roster.
And just some quick notes on each. Watson, who was
in major league camp a year ago during spring training
(03:06):
split the season between Double A Acron and Triple A Columbus.
He was the young prospect acquired in the Josh Bel
trade two summers ago, a former top round draft pick
of the Miami Marlins. All the potential in the world
and it's starting to come around a little bit for Watson,
who had a solid season making good progress at both
(03:27):
Double A and Triple A. Peterson an innings eater of
sorts at Double A Acron first and then Triple A
Columbus this year one hundred and forty five innings, which
is a ton in the minor leagues. He ended up
going eight and six with an earned run average of
three point two one. Gomez could be really intriguing. He's
a twenty three year old right hander. Breakout season in
(03:49):
twenty twenty five led the Guardians player development system and
victories with a dozen strikeouts with one hundred and thirty
nine and had the second lowest earned run average in
the organ organization at two point nine to six. He
was lights out at Double A Akron after being promoted
from Single A Lake County. So a real solid season
(04:10):
for Gomez and he'll be interesting to watch during spring
training and hanw whose season was cut short. He had
a shoulder issue in spring training and that caused him
to start his year late. After a big season in
twenty twenty four at High A, Lake County, ended up
at Double A Acron this year and spent most of
his season the year there, but posted a three to
(04:31):
eighteen average in his first twenty two games and went
on to lead to Akron in both base hits and
runs batted in from the time of his season debut
to the conclusion of the season, so he showed he
was healthy and when he was more of the same
from Hanal from what they've seen throughout his minor league
career so far, so he'll be fun to watch next
spring as well. In goodyear and new to the coaching
(04:53):
staff for the Guardians, a new bench coach for manager
Steven Vote. Tony Arnerich after four seasons in the major
league staff for Seattle. Nine seasons overall with Seattle, he's
been a hitting coach, a bullpen coach, and a catching instructor.
And now he'll be side by side with Steven Vote
in that dugout, and he was in that bullpen in
(05:14):
Seattle and Stephen Vote in his one season as a
coach before becoming a major league manager. That was his
role in Seattle in the twenty twenty three campaign, and
now Tony Arnerich will be by his side in the
dugout for Cleveland as they shake things up with the
move of Craig Albernez to become the manager of the
Baltimore Orioles. The longtime friend and a two year bench
(05:38):
coach for the Guardians with Voter the past two seasons.
So some changes there, sir, roster moves and when we
come back, we'll hear from the Guardians manager, the now
two times the American League Manager of the Year, Steven Vote.
That comes your way. Next.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Join us on Tuesday, December second, as we celebrate the
very best in Cleveland sports the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall
of Fame Class of twenty twenty five Induction ceremonies presented
by Echo Health and Event Source, featuring Steve A. Miocech
Tianna Madison, Wanda Ford, Jack Turbin, and Chris Fielman, who
(06:20):
will join the more than five hundred and fifty sports
grades already enshrine. Tickets and information available at Clevelandsports Hall
dot com.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
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Speaker 2 (07:12):
Welcome back, It's Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhause back with you
from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland, and last week we
had a chance to catch up with the back to
back now American League Manager of the Year Stephen Vote.
He won it again in his second season as a
major league manager. The best at John Schneider of the
Blue Jays and Dan Wilson of the Mariners for the
(07:33):
honors this year, in no doubt because of that unbelievable
comeback by the Guardians from fifteen and a half games
back to win the American League's Central Division on the
final day perhaps the most dramatic division title of any
team in baseball history, certainly record wise, it was in
terms of games behind. And it's been quite a start
(07:55):
to the career for Voter as this year The Guardian's
finishing at eighty eight and seventy four, up a ninety
two win season a year ago, and very much as
he said last season when we caught up with him
with Steven Vote, it's not about just him. It is
a true team effort. When he is recognized as manager
of the.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Year, first of all, I'm just I'm super honored, Rosie.
It's not something that you it's not why you do
what you do. It's not a you're not trying to
earn this award, because really the players and coaches are
the ones.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
That earn it for you.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
And I'm just super thankful for what we have in Cleveland.
We're what we're building and continuing to build, and it's
just a really cool tip of the cap, I feel
like from the writers that recognize what we went through
in our season and what we accomplished, and I couldn't
be more thrilled with how the first two years have gone.
But we have a lot of work left to do
(08:48):
as we always talk about.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
You know, you look mid season, when when there were
so many things going on that were challenging, no question,
as many challenges as any team in baseball could. Could
you ever have imagined, even if you were doing manager
of the year work at that time, that the result
would lead to this at the end of the season.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
You know, it seemed dire at times, right, I mean,
we all felt it, But I think we did a
really good job as a group of not getting ahead
of ourselves because it's so easy to play the oh
we're down, Oh we're eight games under five hundred, this
is a lost season. All right, let's switch into just
trying to get our young guys better. And you know,
(09:28):
but no one accepted that it was the only way
we're going to get back in this is if we
do it one day at a time and we just
win today, worry about tomorrow, and not think about yesterday.
And I felt like our group did a phenomenal job
of staying in that headspace for the remainder of the year.
And when you look up, that's why you play all
one hundred and sixty two games, right, And.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
I feel like almost every manager in baseball says that
same thing, that theme of just playing for today and
it's a long season. That's a difference maker, maybe among
among your coaches or in that clubhouse that allowed this
team to make that successful.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
I think we lived it right. A lot of people
say it, A lot of people say the cliches they say,
and I know I say my their share cliches every day.
But we have to live those. We have to live
those mantras. We have to live those. You can't just
say the words, you have to put it into action.
And our player leadership, it starts there. You know, Jose Ramirez,
(10:28):
Austin Hedges, David Fry, Stephen Kwan, bow Naylor in a
slew of pitchers that owned that mentality and they made
it their own and they pushed it. And then as
a coaching staff, we did the best we could to
support that and to model that with our words and
our actions. And Chris Antonetti in the front office, they
did the same. They didn't get too far ahead of themselves.
(10:51):
They didn't go down those rabbit holes. We stayed focused
on each day and we lived being focused on each day,
and I think that's what led to our players, that
consistency every day to get back into it.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Steven Vote joining US Guardians manager American League Manager of
the Year. You win American League Manager of the Year
a year ago. How much did you grow this year
in that second season? And what's still I'm sure very
much a new position for you.
Speaker 5 (11:17):
Yeah, I mean I don't have enough time to really
walk through everything where I grew, right. I think you're
still reflecting back on the season even daily now, and
there's things that pop into your head. But to me,
I really learned that I'm resilient and I work really
hard every day to not allow the outside, uncontrollable things
to dictate my mindset or my mood. And it's really
(11:39):
difficult to model that every day, and I work extremely
hard and use a lot of really good people around
me to help keep me in that mindset.
Speaker 6 (11:46):
And there's anything I learned is.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
That our players, they want to work, they want to
get better, They're resilient, they're mentally tough, and we can
throw anything we need to at them and they can
handle it and get better from it.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
And I know that's such a big key. Any manager
who's won this award has mentioned what the staff does.
When you first started hard to delegate and know that
that that's how it needs to be when when you
want to accomplish something big.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
I you know, it wasn't hard for me to delegate
Rosie because you know, and it's not lost on me
how quickly, you know, I made it to this position
and I had never been a pitching coach, hitting coach,
third base coach, infield coach, and so I didn't know
how to do it other than to just support those guys.
And so for me, delegating has always been fairly easy.
(12:36):
And then I just want to support them. What do
you need from me? How can I help? What questions
can I ask to help us get better? And the
coaching staff has really helped me learn how to do
this quickly. And we definitely wouldn't be in the position
that we are without our coaching staff. And you know,
it starts with, you know, Carl Willis and his leadership
and obviously what Albie and Kai brought to us, our
(12:57):
our hitting team, our defensive team. It really is a
full all you know, full court press, all hands on
deck mentality that we have.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
And speaking of the coaching staff, inevitably there's changes almost
every year to certain parts of it. For you though.
This is a big one. Craig Albernaz gets the managerial
job with the Baltimore Orioles. A lifelong friend and you
guys so good at working together to accomplish some good things.
What did he bring and how much will he be
missed next season?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Yeah? I couldn't be more happy for for Albi and
Jen and and their their kids, their family. He is
going to absolutely do a great job at Baltimore. He
was made for this, you know, Albi, Alb meant a
ton to us. He touched every area, He kept people connected.
He and I, you know, we finish each other's sentences.
(13:50):
We know what we're thinking before we think it. Whatever
I was thinking, He'd throw out the opposite, whatever he
was thinking, I throw out the opposite, just to make
sure we weren't, you know, missing anything, and to have
someone that you know that closely and trust. It's tough
to watch him leave, but like I said, it's I
couldn't be more thrilled for him. But Albi gave Albi
(14:10):
gave our players consistency. He gave me consistency, our entire
organization consistency, And that's all you can ask for out
of coaches, and.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
You do have a new coach already named as a
major league field coordinator to replace Kai. Correa. Tell us
a little bit about Andy McKay, who's coming over from
the Seattle Mariners organization.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Yeah, so, well, first I got to say it, we're
so we're super excited for Kai. It's a great opportunity
for him with the Mets and couldn't pass up on it,
and super thankful for what Kai meant to us. He
helped build a lot of the systems that we use.
He helped run you know, spring training, which is no
easy chore, and scheduling throughout the year, and so much
more defensive alignments. So there's there's a lot to replace
(14:50):
there as well. But we feel really excited to add
Andy McKay to our staff. You know, Andy, somebody I've
known for three years. There's familiarity, but Andy has done
just about everything you can do in the game of baseball,
from coaching in college, coaching in the Big League's you know,
farm director assistant GM, running the minor league systems, building
(15:10):
processes for player development, building processes for player development at
the major league level, and not to mention he's an
unbelievable teammate, great human, and very knowledgeable in the game
of baseball. So he's wanted to coach for a really
long time. When we get back in the dugout, and
I'm just so happy that we're able to provide that
opportunity for him, and then we get to add someone
(15:31):
of that caliber to our major league staff to help
our players and coaches continue to grow.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
There's always something going on in the baseball calendar, even
if there's not games being played this time of year.
Obviously you got some coaching spots to take care of.
But are you able to get away from it a
little bit around the holidays?
Speaker 5 (15:48):
You know, I find pockets, find pockets to be able
to turn off, but you know, it does. It slows
down a little bit here in this coming week with Thanksgiving.
We kind of pause around the holidays and then get
a nice little breather, you know, between you know, Christmas
and the New Year. So we're always working. I am
able to get some time to turn off. I played
a little bit of golf and coaching my kids sports teams,
(16:12):
watching them practice and grow, and it's it's I've been
able to find some downtime. But the work never.
Speaker 7 (16:18):
Stops, Rosie.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
You know that, And you mentioned your your family. I
know last year they were with you when when the
announcement came down, and it was a little bit different
this year. But were they able to be as excited
as they were a year ago? And let you know that, oh.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
Yeah, they were really excited as soon as I'm you know,
we were done with the show, just calling them and
hearing them cheering in the background, and you know, it's
the hardest part of our game. And I'm so fortunate
and blessed to do what we do for a living.
But you do you sacrifice some family time and so
we share a lot of moments over FaceTime. We share
(16:52):
a lot of moments over watching videos and talking through them.
But this is definitely something that my wife Alyssa and
my kids, they they've helped help support me and they
fully believe in the Guards.
Speaker 6 (17:04):
They're the biggest Guards.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Fans on the planet and I'm just so thankful for
them and what they mean to me.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
And just to finish up once again in the National League,
Pat Murphy awarded the Manager of the Year award over
there for his great work with the Brewers. You guys
are close friends. What did that mean to you that
he's been named again and has that same opportunity to
celebrate a great season.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
Yeah, I'm so happy for Murph. Really loved playing for
him and we've developed a nice friendship. He's done everything
you can do from the coaching aspect in baseball, whether
collegiately professionally, and the one thing remains the same. He
loves as players, and I think that's why we jive
so well, as we have a very similar outlook on
how we like the game to be played. But we
(17:48):
love our players and we love talking about him in
ways to get better, and he's been a great mentor
and friend to me, and I couldn't be more happy
for him. The Brewers organization, it's a testament to their
entire group, just like it is to our entire group.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Voter, I appreciate the time. Congratulations once again on American
League Manager of the Year for a second consecutive season,
and thanks so much for coming back.
Speaker 5 (18:10):
Thank you, Rosie.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
It's good to talk to you as manager. Steven Voter
The Guardian Stay tuned more to come after this. Welcome
(18:39):
back to Guardians Weekly. Jim ros in House back with
you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. It's our final
show before we go on hiatus until after the new year.
That means our final look back at a game of
the week from our twenty twenty five season, and it's
the final win for the Guardians Game two of the
American League Wildcard Series against the Tigers. The Tigers had
(19:02):
won Game one two to one, a thriller at Progressive Field,
and that set up a win or go home scenario
for Cleveland as they were trying to extend the series
to a decisive Game three and a wild start to
this one, the Guardians with Tanner Bibby on the hill
against Casey Mize for Detroit, and Bibby was in trouble
immediately as the first two Tiger hitters reached, but that
(19:26):
didn't seem to FaZe Bibby as he was on the
mound looking sharp for Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Runner stayed the pitch strike three called he knew it.
Speaker 7 (19:34):
What a curveball. Wow.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
So Tanner Biby gets the first out of the game.
Torkel sent the pitch to him and he cuts and misses.
He struck him out, two down a two strakeouts. Now
the dangerous Riley Green off speed got him swinging. What
a job by Biby, and they're on their feet at
(19:57):
the corner of Carnegie and a fist puff from Tanner
Baby two on nobody out, pay strikes out Carpenter torkl
sinning Green.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Then in the bottom of the first inning, some power
from an unlikely source in George Valera.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Payoff swung and hit a ton deep bright center field.
This ball on.
Speaker 7 (20:22):
How about that?
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Sixteen major league games in the regular season, and George
Valera into the teeth of a strong win with a
solo home run the right center Wow, one nothing Cleveland
here and ending number one, and that gets this crowd
into it.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
It stayed one nothing Guardians until the fourth inning. That's
when the Tigers offense got going. A double and a
pair of walks loaded the bases with two men out
and the dangerous veteran hitter Hobby Baiez at the plate.
Oh and won the count on Biez. Here's Bibby's pitch
swung on ground ball near the middle, on through base
at center field. One run is in. They're going to
(21:05):
wave Dingler around. The throw goes to third. Safe at
third base is McKinstry. Has Dingler crossed home plate and
the Tigers take a two to one lead on the
two run single from Biaz who moves up to second
on the throw. Very close play at third, and the
(21:28):
Guardians want to challenge what big point in this game.
The Guardians as it stands right now are trailing two
to one, but we'll see if that changes based on
the replay review. Here we go.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
After review the call, the fields overturned Thurday. Also the
second run does not count.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Wow, a double win for the Guardians. Gunner will helmy
early candidate for Game MVP. He is the video replay
ree coordinator for the Guardians. So the Tigers do score
the tying run, but the out at third and negates
that second run and ends the inning. We will head
(22:12):
to the fifth tied at one in downtown Cleveland. Once again,
great defense by the Guardians a staple for them, especially
down the stretch. So still tied at one. In the seventh,
the Tigers again threatened after the first two men reached,
but out of the bullpen for the Guardians, Tim Herron
stepped up in a big way.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Tigers at the corners two down in the seventh. Here's
the two strike pitch say the last high he got him.
Oh Tim Herrod, he never shows emotion, pumping his fists,
screaming coming off the mound.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Jacob Junas shut down Detroit in the top half of
the eighth inning. Then in the bottom of the inning,
the man they call playoff Rochio stepped in the next pitch, swung.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
It hit a ton deep right field. Got a chance
go Bryan Rochioll Sunday game winner up the fold. Pull
today game leading solo shot to the seats in right
and Cleveland's got a two to one lead. Bottom of
(23:22):
the eighth inning, and that.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Was just the beginning of a biginning for the Guardians,
as Stephen Kwan followed with a double and then Daniel
Schneman delivered sneaming rickson in the right.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
That's a nice hit, it'll go to the wall in
the scores gone in the second of Schneeman and back
to back doubles and Cleveland's got a three to one lead.
This club has found away. In the eighth former double
double off the kid Troy Mountain.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Jose Ramirez was intentionally walked, putting two on and two
out for bow Nailer.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
A swinging a high drive deep break that goes perss
track walk on. There will be a game three tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
What an ending for the Guardians. Progressive Field was going
bananas and it looked like an easy win for Cleveland,
but the Tigers. They created some traffic on the base
pass in the ninth, but in the end Kate Smith
was up to the challenge and finished the job.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
No.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Won two pips, swinging a liner the first cut on
a late by capus ball game six to one.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Cleveland wins it well. Unfortunately for Cleveland, that proved to
be their last win, as the Tigers won the deciding
Game three and moved on to the American League Division Series,
ending the season for Cleveland. But what a season it was,
and you can never take away the regular season American
(25:02):
League Central Division crown that they earned by wiping out
a fifteen and a half game deficit to the Tigers
as late as July. The seventh remarkable season. It was
ended early, earlier than many wanted, but certainly an exciting season.
To be sure, stay with us when we come back.
We'll hear from one of the top pitching prospects for
Cleveland in our final segment. That's after this time out
(25:24):
on the Cleveland Clinic, Guardians Radio.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Network, Progressive Nos. There's so many great things about being
a sports fan, like scoring the company box seats. How
great is that trick place that actually worked, prevent defense
when your team is winning by a lot, and even
(25:46):
more preventive prevent defense as they're hanging on by a thread.
And of course saving money when you bundle your home
and auto with Progressive. That's pretty great, just like trick
plays that actually work.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yeah, but how often does that happen?
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Complaining about sports? Not so great? Progressive Casualty Interns Company
of Philip's another injur is not available in all Stateser situations.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Welcome back to Guardians Weekly, Jim rosen House along with
you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland and our last
chance to hear from one of the right young prospects
in the Guardian's minor league system. On the pitching side,
right hander Cal Stephen acquired from the Blue Jays and
the Shane Bieber deal right at the trade deadline. He's
a former second round pick out of Mississippi State for
(26:40):
Cleveland this year, he pitched in four games after the
trade with Double A Akron after recovering from some shoulder
issues and he should be good to go and ready
to hit the garround running in spring training twenty twenty
six in Goodyear. Earlier this summer, shortly after the trade
double a announcer, Marco Lenave does great work with the
(27:00):
Akron Robert Dux. He had a chance to sit down
with Steven after a couple of starts and get his
thoughts on how things are going and also some of
his earliest memories in the game of baseball, as we
learned a little bit more about one of the top
prospects in the Guardians organization.
Speaker 7 (27:16):
Marco Lenave joined by Rubber Ducks pitcher Cal Steven and Count.
What are your earliest memories of the game of baseball?
Speaker 8 (27:23):
I would say just like growing up, Like I'm from
a small town, maybe just back to like little league
days and like being a little kid. But I've got
two older brothers, so like I grew up around the game,
going to their games, as you know, running around diapers
and stuff like that.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
So just always being around it and wanting to pursue it.
Speaker 7 (27:41):
What made you fall in love with the game?
Speaker 8 (27:43):
I mean, I think just being able as a kid,
like being outside and being with your friends and being
able to be competitive about it.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
I think kind of that's probably where it started.
Speaker 7 (27:53):
For me and your older brothers. How far did they
end up going with baseball?
Speaker 8 (27:57):
Yeah, so I've got two older brothers and we all
played a lot of sports in high school. And my
oldest brother he went on to play Division III baseball,
but middle brother just stopped at high school.
Speaker 7 (28:07):
And when did it seem like baseball could be something
more for you beyond maybe what your brothers even did.
Speaker 8 (28:15):
Yeah, I mean, I'd like to say my whole life,
I like I had dreamed this, and you know that
is true. But when it when it got like real,
it was probably like my sophomore junior year, Like when
I hit ninety for the first time. That was when, like,
so back then I was still like, am I gonna hit?
Speaker 6 (28:30):
Am I gonna pitch? What am I gonna do?
Speaker 8 (28:32):
So that was when I kind of, you know, really
went all in on pitching and and chose that path.
So about middle of my high school days.
Speaker 7 (28:41):
And as a kid, who were your favorite players and
teams to follow?
Speaker 8 (28:45):
So I grew up in a Saint Louis Cardinals family,
so that was kind of the team I root for
growing up and I'd probably just say, like Adam Wayne Wright,
like the way he.
Speaker 6 (28:55):
Was like as mature as he was.
Speaker 8 (28:57):
Obviously now he's a veteran, he's out of the game.
Just the way he like posed himself as a leader,
and just the maturity he brought to the game. I
think was something good to fall in to watch now.
Speaker 7 (29:10):
In terms of family background, any baseball backgrounds in your family.
Speaker 8 (29:14):
Nothing crazy, I'm the first one to I guess, besides
my brother going and playing after high school. But really
it's kind of the start of a new journey for
our family. So it's exciting and I'm super honored and
proud to be able to express that.
Speaker 7 (29:32):
And how did you go about your college decision.
Speaker 8 (29:37):
I spent two years at Purdue, and how I kind
of ended up there or got on campus there was
like Purdue's like my backyard. It's like forty minutes away,
and like I grew up a diehard Purdue fan. My
parents were like, our family is kind of a Purdue family.
So in Indiana there's a lot of rivalries and I
(29:57):
kind of fell towards Purdue with everything, So it was
an easy decision. It was nice to be home. Like
I said, like thirty five forty minutes from home, so
just comfortable decision. My parents could could come and see
me play, and I thought I had a real chance
to play as a freshman. So it was just a
really good fit for me.
Speaker 5 (30:16):
And then.
Speaker 8 (30:18):
After my sophomore year, I end up transferring And that's
also kind of a long story, but the gist of
it is like I fell into a really good program.
I had a lot of connections there, and ultimately it
ended up being a great fit and I had a
really good season at Misissippi State. So grateful for both
schools and having about how it all worked out.
Speaker 7 (30:40):
Now, differences and exposure to big ten SEC baseball.
Speaker 8 (30:45):
Yeah, I mean there's definitely differences, maybe the crowds of
the stadium stuff like that, but.
Speaker 6 (30:51):
At the end of the day, it's baseball.
Speaker 8 (30:53):
Like each team, like in whatever league you play in,
like there's elite players and you got to be able
to step up to this challenge. So it was definitely different,
you know, traveling and like actually feeling you know, when
you're at an away stadium, like it really feels like
you're a way and that they have an advantage. So
just I guess, just like owning those moments and being
(31:15):
aware of the different scenarios and different situations was the
biggest difference for me.
Speaker 7 (31:20):
You mentioned coming from a little bit of a smaller
town in Indiana. Was there a point along your journey,
even amateur or professionally, that you came to an environment wow, Wow,
this this is a big step up.
Speaker 6 (31:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (31:32):
I mean definitely, I would say just just getting on
campus there in Starkville, and man, the way like the
fans interact with the players and they know everyone by name,
whether you haven't seen the field in ten games or
you play every day like they're so invested. So just
to be around a environment like that was definitely eye
opening and special.
Speaker 7 (31:54):
At what point did a professional career seem like a
possibility for you.
Speaker 8 (31:59):
Yeah, I'd like to say when I was going through
high school, like the end of high school, like I
had some looks and you know, these different guys were
coming to see me. I went and did some professional
workouts and stuff like that. So that was when it
kind of felt real. And then it took like a
two year hiatus, and then I'd say my junior year
(32:19):
in college was it was like like, man, we have
a good season here. Like some really cool stuff that
could happen, So just trying to not think about that
while you're on the field or why you.
Speaker 6 (32:32):
Go through your season.
Speaker 8 (32:33):
It is probably the most important thing, but like it's
always there in the back of your mind.
Speaker 7 (32:37):
And what was the impact of your time at each
of your college stops that led to the success that
you were able to have to kind of put you
on such a radar for pro teams.
Speaker 8 (32:46):
Yeah, I mean, I think my time Purdue, I was,
you know, through a couple of roles, like my freshman
year I was in like a back end bullpen roll,
and then my sophomore year getting back into a starting role,
and that carried over time at State. But I think, honestly,
like like I grew up a lot, like I was
a kid when I was seventeen eighteen, Like, yeah, sure,
(33:08):
I'm still a kid now, but just there's so much
to learn and you just don't know until you're in
those situations and you're in the heat of battles. So
I think just maturing and being able to like own
the moment has been what I've grown the most in
in my time in college.
Speaker 7 (33:25):
And the experience of being drafted. Of course, it wasn't
with the Guardians but by the Toronto Blue Jays. What
was that like for you and your family?
Speaker 8 (33:31):
Yeah, it was extremely extremely special and the so draft
night when I had like a group of my close
family and friends with me. So it was really really
cool to you know, see my name come across the
TV and celebrate with my family and like it feels
like you did everything for that moment and it's and
it's just the start. So it's it's a beautiful journey
(33:53):
and I'm super grateful.
Speaker 7 (33:55):
As a picture, what pitches do you throw and when
things are going well, what are they doing?
Speaker 6 (33:59):
Yeah, so I've got kind of a heavy mix.
Speaker 8 (34:01):
I got like a true for seam fastball, and then
I have a cutter, kind of a wrinkle off the heater, slider, curveball,
and a new splitter. So I mean these the answers.
When it's going good, I'm missing bats. But for the
most part, like I like to attack with my with
my fastball and uh just be able to you know,
(34:22):
tunnel that with with different pitches that are going to
spend you know, a little opposite. So kind of my
game plan is protect the heater, like throw the heater
a lot but be able to uh, you know, keep
keep hitters off balance.
Speaker 7 (34:35):
Of those pitches, which was the hardest for you to learn.
Speaker 8 (34:39):
I would say, like the cutter, just because it's been
you know, in between a couple of pitches, like we've
been in my progression of my career so far, it's
been kind of trying to find that.
Speaker 6 (34:49):
Right slider, cutter, whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 8 (34:51):
And so this has been a process for about a
year now and it's feeling a lot more comfortable and
it's a pitch you know, I've gained for the last
two three months, So just being able to feel like
I owned the pitch and not like just trying to
throw it at the right time. So that's been probably
the biggest challenge.
Speaker 7 (35:09):
And count of the success that you've had this season.
Looking back, it started with single a in the Blue
Jays organization, but what has led to some of the
success overall.
Speaker 8 (35:18):
This year, Yeah, I think just for me, like being
able to attack early accounts, like being able to have
count leverage. That's kind of been the identity I've tried
to place myself under, is just always be ahead of
hitters and being able to put them away in those
premium accounts.
Speaker 7 (35:34):
And the opportunity of course, the Blue Jays getting you
up to double A. And as it got closer to
the trade deadline, did you have anything in mind or
recognize what might be happening.
Speaker 8 (35:45):
Yeah, I mean there was a handful of that thought,
you know, something could happen. Obviously, the Blue Jays the
big league clubs, so we were aware of it. There
was a couple of my friends we all ended up
getting moved, so it was something we were aware of.
And obviously you don't wish that to happen, but it's
the way it goes.
Speaker 6 (36:04):
And I'm very happy with my time here so far.
Speaker 7 (36:07):
What was your first impression of the Guardians organization.
Speaker 8 (36:10):
Yeah, so, I mean, I guess my initial conversations were
pretty like stress free. Like it was like the first
phone call I had was pretty much like explaining, Hey,
this is what happened. And then secondly it was like
when do you want to get out here? And I
was like, I don't care. What do you guys got
playing there? Like a take the day, we'll figure it
out tomorrow. Like we got a lot of stuff to
(36:31):
do too. So basically, just everyone being very friendly is
an easy word. I'm trying to think of a better one,
but open to you this opportunity and make me feel
welcome and comfortable with the orgs. So it's been countless
names to try and remember and figure out.
Speaker 6 (36:48):
And get to know. So it's been a lot of
new but it's been really good.
Speaker 7 (36:52):
Okay, we really appreciate the time. We should the best
of luck. Thanks for giving me some time.
Speaker 6 (36:55):
Yeah, absolutely, thank you.
Speaker 7 (36:57):
That's ruber Duck's picture Cal Stephen. I'm Marco.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
That's right hander Cal Stephen, a highly regarded young prospect.
And thanks again to Akron rubber Ducks announcer Marco Lenave
for his work in that interview shortly after the trade
to acquire Stephen this summer from the Blue Jays, and
it's going to do it. For this week's edition of
Guardians Weekly. We are on hiatus now until after the
(37:21):
new year. Our next show will be Saturday, January the tenth.
That's when we will join you again as we ramp
up to spring training twenty twenty six. Hope you enjoyed
our shows throughout the season, and we hope you enjoyed
this twenty twenty five season. There are a lot of
seasons that run together but this one will always be
memorable for so many different reasons, not the least of
(37:43):
which the Fast and Furious comeback by the Guardians with
some great play down the stretch and on into September.
Hopefully it was enjoyable for you as it was for
us to call it for you and bring you all
the action on a nightly and daily basis. So as always,
thanks to Brian for helping to put together our shows
each and every week until we join you after the
(38:05):
first of the year. This is Jim Rosenhouse reminding you
that you've been listening to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland
Clinic Guardians Radio Network. Thanks for being a part of
it so long.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Everybody, Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive
helping Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Hi, everyone, welcome to Guardians' Weekly. Jim Rosen house along
with you as we join you from Progressive Field in
downtown Cleveland. Our last show before our holiday break, and
we take a lately holiday break, covering Thanksgiving and then
on into the Christmas holiday and New Year's as well.
Our next show will be the Saturday after New Year's Day,
(01:21):
so we hope you can join us then for the
run up to spring training and a brand new season
in twenty twenty six. But again, this will be our
final show, kind of recapping twenty twenty five and tying
up some loose ends on the twenty twenty five season,
including our final look back at some of the great
games of the past season. And our last great game
(01:42):
will be the last win for the Guardians, Game two
of the American League Wildcard Series against the Detroit Tigers.
We'll have that in the second half of our show.
We will also hear from Cal Stevens, who is the
pitcher acquired for Shane Bieber from the Toronto Blue Jays
and someone that both the Blue Jays initially and now
(02:03):
the Guardians are extremely high on that he could become
a very strong major league pitcher in the very near future.
We will also visit with Manager of the Year in
the American League, Steven Vote, winning it for a second
consecutive season. We'll hear from Voter after our first break.
But first some odds and ends to tie up for you.
The Guardians this week earlier in the week adding four
(02:25):
players to their forty man roster in advance of the
Rule five draft at the Winter Meetings. They have to
get a little bit closer to that final roster set,
so they have selected the contracts from TRIPAA Columbus of
right handed pitcher Austin Peterson and outfielder Khalil Watson, as
well as the contracts from Double A Acron of infielder
(02:46):
on hell Hanau and right hander Jorman Gomez. And again
these are all players young players in the system who
have potentially very bright futures and the Guardians want to
make sure they protect them on that forty men roster.
And just some quick notes on each. Watson, who was
in major league camp a year ago during spring training
(03:06):
split the season between Double A Acron and Triple A Columbus.
He was the young prospect acquired in the Josh Bel
trade two summers ago, a former top round draft pick
of the Miami Marlins. All the potential in the world
and it's starting to come around a little bit for Watson,
who had a solid season making good progress at both
(03:27):
Double A and Triple A. Peterson an innings eater of
sorts at Double A Acron first and then Triple A
Columbus this year one hundred and forty five innings, which
is a ton in the minor leagues. He ended up
going eight and six with an earned run average of
three point two one. Gomez could be really intriguing. He's
a twenty three year old right hander. Breakout season in
(03:49):
twenty twenty five led the Guardians player development system and
victories with a dozen strikeouts with one hundred and thirty
nine and had the second lowest earned run average in
the organ organization at two point nine to six. He
was lights out at Double A Akron after being promoted
from Single A Lake County. So a real solid season
(04:10):
for Gomez and he'll be interesting to watch during spring
training and hanw whose season was cut short. He had
a shoulder issue in spring training and that caused him
to start his year late. After a big season in
twenty twenty four at High A, Lake County, ended up
at Double A Acron this year and spent most of
his season the year there, but posted a three to
(04:31):
eighteen average in his first twenty two games and went
on to lead to Akron in both base hits and
runs batted in from the time of his season debut
to the conclusion of the season, so he showed he
was healthy and when he was more of the same
from Hanal from what they've seen throughout his minor league
career so far, so he'll be fun to watch next
spring as well. In goodyear and new to the coaching
(04:53):
staff for the Guardians, a new bench coach for manager
Steven Vote. Tony Arnerich after four seasons in the major
league staff for Seattle. Nine seasons overall with Seattle, he's
been a hitting coach, a bullpen coach, and a catching instructor.
And now he'll be side by side with Steven Vote
in that dugout, and he was in that bullpen in
(05:14):
Seattle and Stephen Vote in his one season as a
coach before becoming a major league manager. That was his
role in Seattle in the twenty twenty three campaign, and
now Tony Arnerich will be by his side in the
dugout for Cleveland as they shake things up with the
move of Craig Albernez to become the manager of the
Baltimore Orioles. The longtime friend and a two year bench
(05:38):
coach for the Guardians with Voter the past two seasons.
So some changes there, sir, roster moves and when we
come back, we'll hear from the Guardians manager, the now
two times the American League Manager of the Year, Steven Vote.
That comes your way. Next.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
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very best in Cleveland sports the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall
of Fame Class of twenty twenty five Induction ceremonies presented
by Echo Health and Event Source, featuring Steve A. Miocech
Tianna Madison, Wanda Ford, Jack Turbin, and Chris Fielman, who
(06:20):
will join the more than five hundred and fifty sports
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dot com.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
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Speaker 2 (07:12):
Welcome back, It's Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhause back with you
from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland, and last week we
had a chance to catch up with the back to
back now American League Manager of the Year Stephen Vote.
He won it again in his second season as a
major league manager. The best at John Schneider of the
Blue Jays and Dan Wilson of the Mariners for the
(07:33):
honors this year, in no doubt because of that unbelievable
comeback by the Guardians from fifteen and a half games
back to win the American League's Central Division on the
final day perhaps the most dramatic division title of any
team in baseball history, certainly record wise, it was in
terms of games behind. And it's been quite a start
(07:55):
to the career for Voter as this year The Guardian's
finishing at eighty eight and seventy four, up a ninety
two win season a year ago, and very much as
he said last season when we caught up with him
with Steven Vote, it's not about just him. It is
a true team effort. When he is recognized as manager
of the.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Year, first of all, I'm just I'm super honored, Rosie.
It's not something that you it's not why you do
what you do. It's not a you're not trying to
earn this award, because really the players and coaches are
the ones.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
That earn it for you.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
And I'm just super thankful for what we have in Cleveland.
We're what we're building and continuing to build, and it's
just a really cool tip of the cap, I feel
like from the writers that recognize what we went through
in our season and what we accomplished, and I couldn't
be more thrilled with how the first two years have gone.
But we have a lot of work left to do
(08:48):
as we always talk about.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
You know, you look mid season, when when there were
so many things going on that were challenging, no question,
as many challenges as any team in baseball could. Could
you ever have imagined, even if you were doing manager
of the year work at that time, that the result
would lead to this at the end of the season.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
You know, it seemed dire at times, right, I mean,
we all felt it, But I think we did a
really good job as a group of not getting ahead
of ourselves because it's so easy to play the oh
we're down, Oh we're eight games under five hundred, this
is a lost season. All right, let's switch into just
trying to get our young guys better. And you know,
(09:28):
but no one accepted that it was the only way
we're going to get back in this is if we
do it one day at a time and we just
win today, worry about tomorrow, and not think about yesterday.
And I felt like our group did a phenomenal job
of staying in that headspace for the remainder of the year.
And when you look up, that's why you play all
one hundred and sixty two games, right, And.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
I feel like almost every manager in baseball says that
same thing, that theme of just playing for today and
it's a long season. That's a difference maker, maybe among
among your coaches or in that clubhouse that allowed this
team to make that successful.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
I think we lived it right. A lot of people
say it, A lot of people say the cliches they say,
and I know I say my their share cliches every day.
But we have to live those. We have to live
those mantras. We have to live those. You can't just
say the words, you have to put it into action.
And our player leadership, it starts there. You know, Jose Ramirez,
(10:28):
Austin Hedges, David Fry, Stephen Kwan, bow Naylor in a
slew of pitchers that owned that mentality and they made
it their own and they pushed it. And then as
a coaching staff, we did the best we could to
support that and to model that with our words and
our actions. And Chris Antonetti in the front office, they
did the same. They didn't get too far ahead of themselves.
(10:51):
They didn't go down those rabbit holes. We stayed focused
on each day and we lived being focused on each day,
and I think that's what led to our players, that
consistency every day to get back into it.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Steven Vote joining US Guardians manager American League Manager of
the Year. You win American League Manager of the Year
a year ago. How much did you grow this year
in that second season? And what's still I'm sure very
much a new position for you.
Speaker 5 (11:17):
Yeah, I mean I don't have enough time to really
walk through everything where I grew, right. I think you're
still reflecting back on the season even daily now, and
there's things that pop into your head. But to me,
I really learned that I'm resilient and I work really
hard every day to not allow the outside, uncontrollable things
to dictate my mindset or my mood. And it's really
(11:39):
difficult to model that every day, and I work extremely
hard and use a lot of really good people around
me to help keep me in that mindset.
Speaker 6 (11:46):
And there's anything I learned is.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
That our players, they want to work, they want to
get better, They're resilient, they're mentally tough, and we can
throw anything we need to at them and they can
handle it and get better from it.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
And I know that's such a big key. Any manager
who's won this award has mentioned what the staff does.
When you first started hard to delegate and know that
that that's how it needs to be when when you
want to accomplish something big.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
I you know, it wasn't hard for me to delegate
Rosie because you know, and it's not lost on me
how quickly, you know, I made it to this position
and I had never been a pitching coach, hitting coach,
third base coach, infield coach, and so I didn't know
how to do it other than to just support those guys.
And so for me, delegating has always been fairly easy.
(12:36):
And then I just want to support them. What do
you need from me? How can I help? What questions
can I ask to help us get better? And the
coaching staff has really helped me learn how to do
this quickly. And we definitely wouldn't be in the position
that we are without our coaching staff. And you know,
it starts with, you know, Carl Willis and his leadership
and obviously what Albie and Kai brought to us, our
(12:57):
our hitting team, our defensive team. It really is a
full all you know, full court press, all hands on
deck mentality that we have.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
And speaking of the coaching staff, inevitably there's changes almost
every year to certain parts of it. For you though.
This is a big one. Craig Albernaz gets the managerial
job with the Baltimore Orioles. A lifelong friend and you
guys so good at working together to accomplish some good things.
What did he bring and how much will he be
missed next season?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Yeah? I couldn't be more happy for for Albi and
Jen and and their their kids, their family. He is
going to absolutely do a great job at Baltimore. He
was made for this, you know, Albi, Alb meant a
ton to us. He touched every area, He kept people connected.
He and I, you know, we finish each other's sentences.
(13:50):
We know what we're thinking before we think it. Whatever
I was thinking, He'd throw out the opposite, whatever he
was thinking, I throw out the opposite, just to make
sure we weren't, you know, missing anything, and to have
someone that you know that closely and trust. It's tough
to watch him leave, but like I said, it's I
couldn't be more thrilled for him. But Albi gave Albi
(14:10):
gave our players consistency. He gave me consistency, our entire
organization consistency, And that's all you can ask for out
of coaches, and.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
You do have a new coach already named as a
major league field coordinator to replace Kai. Correa. Tell us
a little bit about Andy McKay, who's coming over from
the Seattle Mariners organization.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Yeah, so, well, first I got to say it, we're
so we're super excited for Kai. It's a great opportunity
for him with the Mets and couldn't pass up on it,
and super thankful for what Kai meant to us. He
helped build a lot of the systems that we use.
He helped run you know, spring training, which is no
easy chore, and scheduling throughout the year, and so much
more defensive alignments. So there's there's a lot to replace
(14:50):
there as well. But we feel really excited to add
Andy McKay to our staff. You know, Andy, somebody I've
known for three years. There's familiarity, but Andy has done
just about everything you can do in the game of baseball,
from coaching in college, coaching in the Big League's you know,
farm director assistant GM, running the minor league systems, building
(15:10):
processes for player development, building processes for player development at
the major league level, and not to mention he's an
unbelievable teammate, great human, and very knowledgeable in the game
of baseball. So he's wanted to coach for a really
long time. When we get back in the dugout, and
I'm just so happy that we're able to provide that
opportunity for him, and then we get to add someone
(15:31):
of that caliber to our major league staff to help
our players and coaches continue to grow.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
There's always something going on in the baseball calendar, even
if there's not games being played this time of year.
Obviously you got some coaching spots to take care of.
But are you able to get away from it a
little bit around the holidays?
Speaker 5 (15:48):
You know, I find pockets, find pockets to be able
to turn off, but you know, it does. It slows
down a little bit here in this coming week with Thanksgiving.
We kind of pause around the holidays and then get
a nice little breather, you know, between you know, Christmas
and the New Year. So we're always working. I am
able to get some time to turn off. I played
a little bit of golf and coaching my kids sports teams,
(16:12):
watching them practice and grow, and it's it's I've been
able to find some downtime. But the work never.
Speaker 7 (16:18):
Stops, Rosie.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
You know that, And you mentioned your your family. I
know last year they were with you when when the
announcement came down, and it was a little bit different
this year. But were they able to be as excited
as they were a year ago? And let you know that, oh.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
Yeah, they were really excited as soon as I'm you know,
we were done with the show, just calling them and
hearing them cheering in the background, and you know, it's
the hardest part of our game. And I'm so fortunate
and blessed to do what we do for a living.
But you do you sacrifice some family time and so
we share a lot of moments over FaceTime. We share
(16:52):
a lot of moments over watching videos and talking through them.
But this is definitely something that my wife Alyssa and
my kids, they they've helped help support me and they
fully believe in the Guards.
Speaker 6 (17:04):
They're the biggest Guards.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Fans on the planet and I'm just so thankful for
them and what they mean to me.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
And just to finish up once again in the National League,
Pat Murphy awarded the Manager of the Year award over
there for his great work with the Brewers. You guys
are close friends. What did that mean to you that
he's been named again and has that same opportunity to
celebrate a great season.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
Yeah, I'm so happy for Murph. Really loved playing for
him and we've developed a nice friendship. He's done everything
you can do from the coaching aspect in baseball, whether
collegiately professionally, and the one thing remains the same. He
loves as players, and I think that's why we jive
so well, as we have a very similar outlook on
how we like the game to be played. But we
(17:48):
love our players and we love talking about him in
ways to get better, and he's been a great mentor
and friend to me, and I couldn't be more happy
for him. The Brewers organization, it's a testament to their
entire group, just like it is to our entire group.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Voter, I appreciate the time. Congratulations once again on American
League Manager of the Year for a second consecutive season,
and thanks so much for coming back.
Speaker 5 (18:10):
Thank you, Rosie.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
It's good to talk to you as manager. Steven Voter
The Guardian Stay tuned more to come after this. Welcome
(18:39):
back to Guardians Weekly. Jim ros in House back with
you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. It's our final
show before we go on hiatus until after the new year.
That means our final look back at a game of
the week from our twenty twenty five season, and it's
the final win for the Guardians Game two of the
American League Wildcard Series against the Tigers. The Tigers had
(19:02):
won Game one two to one, a thriller at Progressive Field,
and that set up a win or go home scenario
for Cleveland as they were trying to extend the series
to a decisive Game three and a wild start to
this one, the Guardians with Tanner Bibby on the hill
against Casey Mize for Detroit, and Bibby was in trouble
immediately as the first two Tiger hitters reached, but that
(19:26):
didn't seem to FaZe Bibby as he was on the
mound looking sharp for Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Runner stayed the pitch strike three called he knew it.
Speaker 7 (19:34):
What a curveball. Wow.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
So Tanner Biby gets the first out of the game.
Torkel sent the pitch to him and he cuts and misses.
He struck him out, two down a two strakeouts. Now
the dangerous Riley Green off speed got him swinging. What
a job by Biby, and they're on their feet at
(19:57):
the corner of Carnegie and a fist puff from Tanner
Baby two on nobody out, pay strikes out Carpenter torkl
sinning Green.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Then in the bottom of the first inning, some power
from an unlikely source in George Valera.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Payoff swung and hit a ton deep bright center field.
This ball on.
Speaker 7 (20:22):
How about that?
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Sixteen major league games in the regular season, and George
Valera into the teeth of a strong win with a
solo home run the right center Wow, one nothing Cleveland
here and ending number one, and that gets this crowd
into it.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
It stayed one nothing Guardians until the fourth inning. That's
when the Tigers offense got going. A double and a
pair of walks loaded the bases with two men out
and the dangerous veteran hitter Hobby Baiez at the plate.
Oh and won the count on Biez. Here's Bibby's pitch
swung on ground ball near the middle, on through base
at center field. One run is in. They're going to
(21:05):
wave Dingler around. The throw goes to third. Safe at
third base is McKinstry. Has Dingler crossed home plate and
the Tigers take a two to one lead on the
two run single from Biaz who moves up to second
on the throw. Very close play at third, and the
(21:28):
Guardians want to challenge what big point in this game.
The Guardians as it stands right now are trailing two
to one, but we'll see if that changes based on
the replay review. Here we go.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
After review the call, the fields overturned Thurday. Also the
second run does not count.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Wow, a double win for the Guardians. Gunner will helmy
early candidate for Game MVP. He is the video replay
ree coordinator for the Guardians. So the Tigers do score
the tying run, but the out at third and negates
that second run and ends the inning. We will head
(22:12):
to the fifth tied at one in downtown Cleveland. Once again,
great defense by the Guardians a staple for them, especially
down the stretch. So still tied at one. In the seventh,
the Tigers again threatened after the first two men reached,
but out of the bullpen for the Guardians, Tim Herron
stepped up in a big way.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Tigers at the corners two down in the seventh. Here's
the two strike pitch say the last high he got him.
Oh Tim Herrod, he never shows emotion, pumping his fists,
screaming coming off the mound.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Jacob Junas shut down Detroit in the top half of
the eighth inning. Then in the bottom of the inning,
the man they call playoff Rochio stepped in the next pitch, swung.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
It hit a ton deep right field. Got a chance
go Bryan Rochioll Sunday game winner up the fold. Pull
today game leading solo shot to the seats in right
and Cleveland's got a two to one lead. Bottom of
(23:22):
the eighth inning, and that.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Was just the beginning of a biginning for the Guardians,
as Stephen Kwan followed with a double and then Daniel
Schneman delivered sneaming rickson in the right.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
That's a nice hit, it'll go to the wall in
the scores gone in the second of Schneeman and back
to back doubles and Cleveland's got a three to one lead.
This club has found away. In the eighth former double
double off the kid Troy Mountain.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Jose Ramirez was intentionally walked, putting two on and two
out for bow Nailer.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
A swinging a high drive deep break that goes perss
track walk on. There will be a game three tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
What an ending for the Guardians. Progressive Field was going
bananas and it looked like an easy win for Cleveland,
but the Tigers. They created some traffic on the base
pass in the ninth, but in the end Kate Smith
was up to the challenge and finished the job.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
No.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Won two pips, swinging a liner the first cut on
a late by capus ball game six to one.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Cleveland wins it well. Unfortunately for Cleveland, that proved to
be their last win, as the Tigers won the deciding
Game three and moved on to the American League Division Series,
ending the season for Cleveland. But what a season it was,
and you can never take away the regular season American
(25:02):
League Central Division crown that they earned by wiping out
a fifteen and a half game deficit to the Tigers
as late as July. The seventh remarkable season. It was
ended early, earlier than many wanted, but certainly an exciting season.
To be sure, stay with us when we come back.
We'll hear from one of the top pitching prospects for
Cleveland in our final segment. That's after this time out
(25:24):
on the Cleveland Clinic, Guardians Radio.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Network, Progressive Nos. There's so many great things about being
a sports fan, like scoring the company box seats. How
great is that trick place that actually worked, prevent defense
when your team is winning by a lot, and even
(25:46):
more preventive prevent defense as they're hanging on by a thread.
And of course saving money when you bundle your home
and auto with Progressive. That's pretty great, just like trick
plays that actually work.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yeah, but how often does that happen?
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Complaining about sports? Not so great? Progressive Casualty Interns Company
of Philip's another injur is not available in all Stateser situations.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Welcome back to Guardians Weekly, Jim rosen House along with
you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland and our last
chance to hear from one of the right young prospects
in the Guardian's minor league system. On the pitching side,
right hander Cal Stephen acquired from the Blue Jays and
the Shane Bieber deal right at the trade deadline. He's
a former second round pick out of Mississippi State for
(26:40):
Cleveland this year, he pitched in four games after the
trade with Double A Akron after recovering from some shoulder
issues and he should be good to go and ready
to hit the garround running in spring training twenty twenty
six in Goodyear. Earlier this summer, shortly after the trade
double a announcer, Marco Lenave does great work with the
(27:00):
Akron Robert Dux. He had a chance to sit down
with Steven after a couple of starts and get his
thoughts on how things are going and also some of
his earliest memories in the game of baseball, as we
learned a little bit more about one of the top
prospects in the Guardians organization.
Speaker 7 (27:16):
Marco Lenave joined by Rubber Ducks pitcher Cal Steven and Count.
What are your earliest memories of the game of baseball?
Speaker 8 (27:23):
I would say just like growing up, Like I'm from
a small town, maybe just back to like little league
days and like being a little kid. But I've got
two older brothers, so like I grew up around the game,
going to their games, as you know, running around diapers
and stuff like that.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
So just always being around it and wanting to pursue it.
Speaker 7 (27:41):
What made you fall in love with the game?
Speaker 8 (27:43):
I mean, I think just being able as a kid,
like being outside and being with your friends and being
able to be competitive about it.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
I think kind of that's probably where it started.
Speaker 7 (27:53):
For me and your older brothers. How far did they
end up going with baseball?
Speaker 8 (27:57):
Yeah, so I've got two older brothers and we all
played a lot of sports in high school. And my
oldest brother he went on to play Division III baseball,
but middle brother just stopped at high school.
Speaker 7 (28:07):
And when did it seem like baseball could be something
more for you beyond maybe what your brothers even did.
Speaker 8 (28:15):
Yeah, I mean, I'd like to say my whole life,
I like I had dreamed this, and you know that
is true. But when it when it got like real,
it was probably like my sophomore junior year, Like when
I hit ninety for the first time. That was when, like,
so back then I was still like, am I gonna hit?
Speaker 6 (28:30):
Am I gonna pitch? What am I gonna do?
Speaker 8 (28:32):
So that was when I kind of, you know, really
went all in on pitching and and chose that path.
So about middle of my high school days.
Speaker 7 (28:41):
And as a kid, who were your favorite players and
teams to follow?
Speaker 8 (28:45):
So I grew up in a Saint Louis Cardinals family,
so that was kind of the team I root for
growing up and I'd probably just say, like Adam Wayne Wright,
like the way he.
Speaker 6 (28:55):
Was like as mature as he was.
Speaker 8 (28:57):
Obviously now he's a veteran, he's out of the game.
Just the way he like posed himself as a leader,
and just the maturity he brought to the game. I
think was something good to fall in to watch now.
Speaker 7 (29:10):
In terms of family background, any baseball backgrounds in your family.
Speaker 8 (29:14):
Nothing crazy, I'm the first one to I guess, besides
my brother going and playing after high school. But really
it's kind of the start of a new journey for
our family. So it's exciting and I'm super honored and
proud to be able to express that.
Speaker 7 (29:32):
And how did you go about your college decision.
Speaker 8 (29:37):
I spent two years at Purdue, and how I kind
of ended up there or got on campus there was
like Purdue's like my backyard. It's like forty minutes away,
and like I grew up a diehard Purdue fan. My
parents were like, our family is kind of a Purdue family.
So in Indiana there's a lot of rivalries and I
(29:57):
kind of fell towards Purdue with everything, So it was
an easy decision. It was nice to be home. Like
I said, like thirty five forty minutes from home, so
just comfortable decision. My parents could could come and see
me play, and I thought I had a real chance
to play as a freshman. So it was just a
really good fit for me.
Speaker 5 (30:16):
And then.
Speaker 8 (30:18):
After my sophomore year, I end up transferring And that's
also kind of a long story, but the gist of
it is like I fell into a really good program.
I had a lot of connections there, and ultimately it
ended up being a great fit and I had a
really good season at Misissippi State. So grateful for both
schools and having about how it all worked out.
Speaker 7 (30:40):
Now, differences and exposure to big ten SEC baseball.
Speaker 8 (30:45):
Yeah, I mean there's definitely differences, maybe the crowds of
the stadium stuff like that, but.
Speaker 6 (30:51):
At the end of the day, it's baseball.
Speaker 8 (30:53):
Like each team, like in whatever league you play in,
like there's elite players and you got to be able
to step up to this challenge. So it was definitely different,
you know, traveling and like actually feeling you know, when
you're at an away stadium, like it really feels like
you're a way and that they have an advantage. So
just I guess, just like owning those moments and being
(31:15):
aware of the different scenarios and different situations was the
biggest difference for me.
Speaker 7 (31:20):
You mentioned coming from a little bit of a smaller
town in Indiana. Was there a point along your journey,
even amateur or professionally, that you came to an environment wow, Wow,
this this is a big step up.
Speaker 6 (31:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (31:32):
I mean definitely, I would say just just getting on
campus there in Starkville, and man, the way like the
fans interact with the players and they know everyone by name,
whether you haven't seen the field in ten games or
you play every day like they're so invested. So just
to be around a environment like that was definitely eye
opening and special.
Speaker 7 (31:54):
At what point did a professional career seem like a
possibility for you.
Speaker 8 (31:59):
Yeah, I'd like to say when I was going through
high school, like the end of high school, like I
had some looks and you know, these different guys were
coming to see me. I went and did some professional
workouts and stuff like that. So that was when it
kind of felt real. And then it took like a
two year hiatus, and then I'd say my junior year
(32:19):
in college was it was like like, man, we have
a good season here. Like some really cool stuff that
could happen, So just trying to not think about that
while you're on the field or why you.
Speaker 6 (32:32):
Go through your season.
Speaker 8 (32:33):
It is probably the most important thing, but like it's
always there in the back of your mind.
Speaker 7 (32:37):
And what was the impact of your time at each
of your college stops that led to the success that
you were able to have to kind of put you
on such a radar for pro teams.
Speaker 8 (32:46):
Yeah, I mean, I think my time Purdue, I was,
you know, through a couple of roles, like my freshman
year I was in like a back end bullpen roll,
and then my sophomore year getting back into a starting role,
and that carried over time at State. But I think, honestly,
like like I grew up a lot, like I was
a kid when I was seventeen eighteen, Like, yeah, sure,
(33:08):
I'm still a kid now, but just there's so much
to learn and you just don't know until you're in
those situations and you're in the heat of battles. So
I think just maturing and being able to like own
the moment has been what I've grown the most in
in my time in college.
Speaker 7 (33:25):
And the experience of being drafted. Of course, it wasn't
with the Guardians but by the Toronto Blue Jays. What
was that like for you and your family?
Speaker 8 (33:31):
Yeah, it was extremely extremely special and the so draft
night when I had like a group of my close
family and friends with me. So it was really really
cool to you know, see my name come across the
TV and celebrate with my family and like it feels
like you did everything for that moment and it's and
it's just the start. So it's it's a beautiful journey
(33:53):
and I'm super grateful.
Speaker 7 (33:55):
As a picture, what pitches do you throw and when
things are going well, what are they doing?
Speaker 6 (33:59):
Yeah, so I've got kind of a heavy mix.
Speaker 8 (34:01):
I got like a true for seam fastball, and then
I have a cutter, kind of a wrinkle off the heater, slider, curveball,
and a new splitter. So I mean these the answers.
When it's going good, I'm missing bats. But for the
most part, like I like to attack with my with
my fastball and uh just be able to you know,
(34:22):
tunnel that with with different pitches that are going to
spend you know, a little opposite. So kind of my
game plan is protect the heater, like throw the heater
a lot but be able to uh, you know, keep
keep hitters off balance.
Speaker 7 (34:35):
Of those pitches, which was the hardest for you to learn.
Speaker 8 (34:39):
I would say, like the cutter, just because it's been
you know, in between a couple of pitches, like we've
been in my progression of my career so far, it's
been kind of trying to find that.
Speaker 6 (34:49):
Right slider, cutter, whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 8 (34:51):
And so this has been a process for about a
year now and it's feeling a lot more comfortable and
it's a pitch you know, I've gained for the last
two three months, So just being able to feel like
I owned the pitch and not like just trying to
throw it at the right time. So that's been probably
the biggest challenge.
Speaker 7 (35:09):
And count of the success that you've had this season.
Looking back, it started with single a in the Blue
Jays organization, but what has led to some of the
success overall.
Speaker 8 (35:18):
This year, Yeah, I think just for me, like being
able to attack early accounts, like being able to have
count leverage. That's kind of been the identity I've tried
to place myself under, is just always be ahead of
hitters and being able to put them away in those
premium accounts.
Speaker 7 (35:34):
And the opportunity of course, the Blue Jays getting you
up to double A. And as it got closer to
the trade deadline, did you have anything in mind or
recognize what might be happening.
Speaker 8 (35:45):
Yeah, I mean there was a handful of that thought,
you know, something could happen. Obviously, the Blue Jays the
big league clubs, so we were aware of it. There
was a couple of my friends we all ended up
getting moved, so it was something we were aware of.
And obviously you don't wish that to happen, but it's
the way it goes.
Speaker 6 (36:04):
And I'm very happy with my time here so far.
Speaker 7 (36:07):
What was your first impression of the Guardians organization.
Speaker 8 (36:10):
Yeah, so, I mean, I guess my initial conversations were
pretty like stress free. Like it was like the first
phone call I had was pretty much like explaining, Hey,
this is what happened. And then secondly it was like
when do you want to get out here? And I
was like, I don't care. What do you guys got
playing there? Like a take the day, we'll figure it
out tomorrow. Like we got a lot of stuff to
(36:31):
do too. So basically, just everyone being very friendly is
an easy word. I'm trying to think of a better one,
but open to you this opportunity and make me feel
welcome and comfortable with the orgs. So it's been countless
names to try and remember and figure out.
Speaker 6 (36:48):
And get to know. So it's been a lot of
new but it's been really good.
Speaker 7 (36:52):
Okay, we really appreciate the time. We should the best
of luck. Thanks for giving me some time.
Speaker 6 (36:55):
Yeah, absolutely, thank you.
Speaker 7 (36:57):
That's ruber Duck's picture Cal Stephen. I'm Marco.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
That's right hander Cal Stephen, a highly regarded young prospect.
And thanks again to Akron rubber Ducks announcer Marco Lenave
for his work in that interview shortly after the trade
to acquire Stephen this summer from the Blue Jays, and
it's going to do it. For this week's edition of
Guardians Weekly. We are on hiatus now until after the
(37:21):
new year. Our next show will be Saturday, January the tenth.
That's when we will join you again as we ramp
up to spring training twenty twenty six. Hope you enjoyed
our shows throughout the season, and we hope you enjoyed
this twenty twenty five season. There are a lot of
seasons that run together but this one will always be
memorable for so many different reasons, not the least of
(37:43):
which the Fast and Furious comeback by the Guardians with
some great play down the stretch and on into September.
Hopefully it was enjoyable for you as it was for
us to call it for you and bring you all
the action on a nightly and daily basis. So as always,
thanks to Brian for helping to put together our shows
each and every week until we join you after the
(38:05):
first of the year. This is Jim Rosenhouse reminding you
that you've been listening to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland
Clinic Guardians Radio Network. Thanks for being a part of
it so long.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Everybody, Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive
helping Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance.
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