CLEVELAND, Ohio — Steven Kwan looked around the outfield in the middle of Wednesday’s crucial Game 2 against Detroit and realized something he never expected so soon: he’s the veteran now.
With rookies Chase DeLauter in center and George Valera in right, Kwan, still just 28, found himself in the middle of Cleveland’s postseason push not as the upstart sparkplug he was in 2022, but as the “uncle” of a new generation.
“It was funny,” Kwan said before Game 3 on Thursday at Progressive Field. “We had a pitching change and I looked around and it was me, Chase, and George. I’m like, ‘Dang, I’m the uncle now.’ It came out fast.”
That realization hasn’t changed Kwan’s preparation, but it has sharpened his responsibility. He’s leaned into his role of helping Cleveland’s young outfielders feel like they belong. He doesn’t bark advice. He makes sure they feel part of the group.
“The biggest thing for them is understanding they deserve to be here,” Kwan said. “Not patronizing them, not trying to be some big brother. These guys are smart. They just want to be one of the boys. The faster they feel that way, the faster they can help us win.”
Kwan, who doubled in Cleveland’s five-run eighth inning to seal Wednesday’s 6–1 win, knows how much one swing can flip momentum in October. He’s been through it. His rookie season in 2022 taught him that postseason baseball doesn’t always reward the prettiest swings — it rewards the ones that come at the right time. Just ask Playoff Rocchio.
“Momentum is a huge thing,” Kwan said. “Rocchio hits that homer, the place gets loud, and maybe I told myself their pitcher was rattled. Maybe that gave me the false confidence to tag a fastball. Sometimes you just need that one, and one hit can mean the difference in the game.”
That confidence steadied Kwan after a couple quiet nights at the plate, and he believes it’s contagious in the dugout. He points to how DeLauter, after dropping a fly ball in his debut, came right back to make the next play. How Tanner Bibee picked up the defense with three straight strikeouts, then DeLauter later picked him up with a big throw.
“That’s what winning baseball is — picking each other up,” Kwan said.
Kwan admits nerves are part of the package in elimination games. But he also sees the Guardians as uniquely conditioned for the moment after clawing their way back into the postseason picture over the final month.
“I saw a quote from Vogter the other day: our backs have been against the wall the whole year,” Kwan said. “This just feels like that again. We’ve been through it. We’re not changing what got us here.”
For Kwan, that means routines — the same defensive work, the same cage sessions, the same dinners with his wife after games to turn his brain off from baseball. He laughs when asked about playoff superstitions, admitting he once believed in them before realizing they didn’t guarantee wins.
“Maybe I’m still searching for one,” he said. “But right now, it’s just doing the same thing every day. No reinventing the wheel.”
As the Guardians take the field for Game 3 against Detroit, Kwan knows the weight of the moment. He also knows the value of keeping it light for the rookies next to him.
“We’ve got the talent. We’ve got the fight,” Kwan said. “It’s just about being ourselves, sticking to what we do. If we do that, I like our chances.”
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