The Cleveland Guardians have one of the great bullpens around the league. Emmanuel Crace, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Rookie Cade Smith played a key role in helping the Guardians reach the ALCS before losing to the New York Yankees in the Pennant Series.
In an interview with MLB Network Radio on Sunday, Smith shed light on the Guardians bullpen chemistry. In the class that serves the team’s dominant closer, the main responsibility of the reliever is to pass the lead to him as is to the ball.
Smith clearly acknowledged the role, emphasizing that despite being a rookie he was well received by veterans.
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“I’ve made our job pretty clear. We’re trying to take them all to him and leave the lead still there,” Smith said.
“But you know, I think the older guys did a good job setting up culture in the bullpen from the start. They communicate well, welcomed the group with open arms, and I learned a lot from them.”
Despite the use of different pitchers in different situations, no ego is involved within the group. When the phone rings, they are ready to answer the call.
“There were a lot of different people pitching in different scenarios,” Smith added.
“So it wasn’t a situation where pride was in the way. The phone rang when everyone was ready for something that could be asked, regardless of the name. .”
Emmanuel Crace’s historic season with the Guardians earns him credit from the manager
If the Guardians were leading the game heading into the nine innings, they were almost certain that Emmanuel Crace would come and leave the ballpark with a victory. There was 82 such cases where Cleveland took the ninth lead, but they won them all, mostly thanks to Cles.
This was Cleas’ dominance in the 2024 season, seeing him pitch 0.61 ERA and 74.1 innings in 74 regular season appearances. He was the leader of the AL and had a career-high 47 saves.
“We were lucky to see it every night,” said Guardians manager Stephen Fogg.
“What Emmanuel did throughout this season was incredible, so he should have been if he were to be recognized as one of the top three pitchers in the American League.”
Emmanuel Crace was recognized as a finalist for the CY Young Award in 2024. This is a great achievement for rescuers. It was in 2003 when Eric Garne brought back the hardware that someone from the bullpen won the coveted award.
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From Sport Kida
Edited by Bhargav
