Here in Ohio, we have a wide range of major sports teams to get behind. Hoops fans will currently be getting over the Cavs limping out of the playoffs after such a storming regular season, while those who follow the Bengals and Browns will be hoping that this will be the year when their team finally wins a Super Bowl. Although soccer fans have enjoyed the exploits of Columbus in recent years, it is the Major League Baseball season that is currently taking up most of the interest around here.
Unfortunately, whether you are a fan of the Cincinnati Reds or the Cleveland Guardians, you will need to have a good memory in order to cast your mind back to the last time a World Series was won. The Guardians were still the Indians the last time a pennant was even won by an Ohio team, so it is fair to say that there has been something of a drought. You would have to look hard into the list of best Ohio sportsbooks before finding one that has the Reds or Guardians going all the way. But are we being a little unfair on our local teams?
Cleveland has improved in recent years and has now become something of a postseason regular. The playoffs are still a rarity for the Reds but if Cincy can sneak in, we all know how unpredictable they can be. Maybe Ohio might have a championship-winning team before too long after all.
It feels like the perfect time to analyze the chances of an Ohio World Series-winning team this year, as the Major League Baseball regular season reaches its halfway point. It is around now when every team decides on what is needed to improve in the second half – and whether turning into buyers at the trade deadline will be worth the financial outlay.
A quick glance at the current standings might fool you into thinking that the Guardians look like having the best chance of making the playoffs this year. They sit second in the AL Central, while the Reds find themselves back in fourth in the NL’s counterpart. But a closer look at the win totals shows that it is Cincinnati who has recorded more victories and probably has a better chance of winning the division. The Guardians have a resurgent Tigers to deal with and it seems unlikely they will make the postseason as divisional champs. If the Reds can work their way through the slog that is the NL Central, a divisional title there is not out of the question.
That is a very big “if” though. As good as Cincinnati has been this year, the record against divisional rivals is nothing to write home about. Beating teams from other divisions is all very well but losing to the Cubs, Brewers, and Cards will result in the action finishing with the 162nd game. It is not as though the other divisions don’t have a number of strong teams as well – the East provided three of the playoff teams last year, for example – so winning the NL Central feels like the best chance for the Reds to make the postseason.
Bringing in Terry Francona this year was the first sign of the Reds looking to improve quickly and it could be argued that he has had a good effect on the entire ball club. There might not have been as many wins as he would have liked but there is hope in Cincinnati now. Most exciting is that we have recently seen the MLB debut of Chase Burns. Adding the rookie to the rotation gives the Reds one of the best in the league and also bodes well for the future. A second-half run is not out of the picture.
Cleveland won its division last year, of course, and then went on to beat Detroit before falling to the Yankees. The Tigers have improved a lot this season, so sneaking in as a Wild Card team seems more likely if the Guardians are to keep on playing once the days get shorter. There is already a growing gap between the two but Cleveland should finish second in the AL Central this year and that gives them a much better chance of claiming one of the Wild Card berths. A lot is resting on the shoulders of Jose Ramirez and, as much as it is great to see another season from him worthy of the MVP award, the rest of the Guardians roster could do with helping the slugger out. Cleveland could do with a little help on both sides of the mound, to be honest, so don’t be too surprised if they join the Reds as buyers at trade deadline time.
All of this talk assumes that one of the Reds or Guardians might win the World Series in 2025, of course. A quick look at the history books will tell you that these are not teams that win a lot of championships, with Cleveland particularly tardy on that point. With no championships since 1948, it will probably take a little more than some impact additions in July to bring immediate success to the ball club.
If we are focusing on this season, both teams have the chance to make the playoffs but there isn’t much hope of a deep run – even if they can be a very unpredictable time. Looking a little longer term, the young pitching team of the Reds could develop into one that consistently troubles the playoffs and might have a better chance. Then again, baseball is nothing if not surprising – who’s to say we don’t end up with a Reds-Guardians World Series in the Fall?
