CLEVELAND — It's time for some October baseball, and Guardians fans couldn't be more excited.
"It's such a magical moment," Guardians fan Ryan Rasile said. "Especially coming off of last season's disappointment."
The post-season has Rasile flying home from the Virgin Islands. She'll be in the stands for games one and two against division rivals, the Detroit Tigers.
"I believe Cleveland is going to win," she said. "I think it's going to be an ugly battle, and I am so happy to be there and I am so excited. I feel like this is our year."
Other loyal fans, like Pam and Richard Hricik, will be watching from home. The married couple has been together for 27 years, and they said they have to thank baseball for their long marriage.
"I said 'The problem with baseball is they don't call the high strike anymore,'" Richard said, recalling one of the couple's early dates. "She said 'And they won't let the pitchers throw inside like they used to.' That was just the most romantic thing that I ever heard."
The couple even held their wedding reception at what was then Jacobs Field. While they're amazed at the Guardians season, they aren't willing to say just yet if the team will bring home a World Series title.
"One game at a time," Pam said. "That's all we're worried about."
Others think the Guardians are strong enough to beat the Tigers and any other team that stands in their way of bringing home that title.
"I think our bullpen is pretty strong," fan Kimberly Strunak said. "That's really been the key in getting us this far in the post-season. So, as long as we keep our bullpen strong, we can do really well in the game. We just gotta get some runs in."
Fans want that World Series title for the sake of the players.
"Jose Ramirez, we all love him," Andrew Marks, a fan, said. "Jhonkensy Noel always has a big smile on his face. Andrés Giménez is so incredibly sassy. I just love the individual personalities on the team. That's why I'm so invested."
Other fans want that World Series title for the sake of the city.
"If the Cleveland Guardians baseball team can win a championship," Richard Hricik said. "It will silence people in a way that nothing else could."
Game one of the Guardians post-season begins at 1:08 p.m. on Saturday at Progressive Field. Game two will be played Monday at 4:08 p.m.
