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The Cleveland Guardians, despite their pencil-thin payroll, remain one of the best clubs in the Major Leagues year in and year out. Really, since the arrival of Terry Francona for the 2013 season. Since then, just about every year has seen the club a contender for the Central Division in the AL and one of the top teams to beat in the American League.
All this despite not having the same budget as clubs in Los Angeles, New York, or parts of the state of Texas. Somehow, the Guardians have found a way to do the one thing that matters more than anything else: win.
According to Fox Sports' official Twitter/X account, the Cleveland Guardians have the fourth-best regular-season record in the Major League over the last 10 years. As of the post on May 4, the Guardians are 882-714, with a winning percentage of .553.
Every MLB team’s overall record from 10 seasons ago to today 👀 pic.twitter.com/1rQhB6LSHs
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) May 4, 2026It's quite remarkable to see the Guardians competing regularly with the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros, three of the bigger spenders in the league. It seems like every other year or so, the Guardians lose a major name to one of those teams, or teams like them. Case in point, the New York Mets acquisition of Francisco Lindor.
More: ESPN names the Cleveland Guardians top 10 prospects for May
The Guardians sent Lindor to the Mets in 2021, and received back INF Andrés Giménez, INF Amed Rosario, RHP Josh Wolf, and OF Isaiah Greene. Yet, since 2016, the Mets are just 791-778 or a winning percentage of just .504. The Mets are one of the most eager spenders in the league, and they've constantly underperformed. In fact, the Mets are currently 12-22 after losing 12 straight. They're currently 4-17 in their last 21, despite all of that money spent.
The Guardians are currently tied for first in the AL Central with an 18-17 record, while they watch some of their best hitting prospects in the last 10 years take the field and excel. Clearly, money isn't everything in the game.
Now it should be noted that the Minnesota Twins, with a record of 767-798 (.490), are the only other AL Central club in the Top 20 on this list at the 17th spot. The Detroit Tigers were 25th, with a record of 704-860 (.450), the Kansas City Royals were 28th with a record of 685-873 (.440), and the Chicago White Sox were 30th with a record of 668-890 (.429). So, clearly not the strongest division in baseball consistently, but each team has had stretches where they were a real threat over that time frame.
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