Cleveland Guardians: 3 can’t miss series on Cleveland’s 2022 schedule

3 can’t miss series on the Cleveland Guardians 2022 schedule

Under the cover of night, Major League Baseball unleashed a surprise to all on Wednesday (Aug. 4) by unveiling the 2022 schedule. It might not have been in the midst of the night or a surprise to all, but it was kept under wraps rather well. In the middle of the current 2021 season, the schedule for next year has already been released.

Like the draft, the MLB does the schedule release a bit differently from the NFL and NBA. Instead of waiting until the current season has concluded, the MLB gives teams a hint of the future with around two months remaining in the season that’s going on. While it can easily get swept under the rug in the news, the schedule does give teams something to look forward to beyond this season.

With July being jammed full of events, beginning with the 2021 MLB Draft, then the All-Star Week and finally the trade deadline, this is the time of year when the most eyes or on the MLB. There’s no NFL or NBA games to compete with just yet and while the Olympics are going on now, most year’s this is baseball’s best time. Perhaps even more attention grabbing than the postseason.

For that reason, releasing the schedule now makes a lot of sense. The momentum carried from July can swing into the schedule release and it also gets out just before the NFL begins playing games. They cut it close too, just about 30 hours before the Hall of Fame Game.

However, it also can keep fans engaged. For teams that just sold off every well known name left, the 2022 season is all there is to look forward to at this point. The 2021 season might be over, but now there’s things to keep in mind and watch for on the field. It isn’t much, but it might be enough to hold the interest of more fans through the final two months.

For fans of the current Cleveland Indians, and soon-to-be Cleveland Guardians, this means looking ahead to the next era of Cleveland baseball. As that time draws near, these three series should be circled and underlined on the calendar for the 2022 season.

Cleveland Guardians Home Opener: vs. Kansas City (March 31-April 3)

Introducing the Cleveland Guardians. It still seems a bit surreal that we’re just a couple months away from entering into the next era of Cleveland baseball and that era will take a huge step on March 31. For the first time since 1950, a professional baseball team other than the Cleveland Indians will call the city home.

While the Tribe have been around for a lot longer than 1950, that was the final season of the Cleveland Buckeyes. Now, the Cleveland Guardians will usher in the 2022 season at Progressive Field on March 31 against the Kansas City Royals.

Not only will this game carry significance as being the first game ever for the Cleveland Guardians, but it will also serve as a test-run for so many different aspects of the organization that could be changing.

We’ll get to see the new uniforms in action for the first time. The giant script “Indians” above the scoreboard, what happens there? Will John Adams still have his drum in the bleachers when runners are in scoring position?

While the name is now known, there’s still so many new things that will come with the first game of the season and for fans of the organization it will truly be a “can’t miss” event.

Cleveland Guardians Interleague Play: vs. Arizona (August 1-3)

Every year there’s a few teams that make a rare trip to Progressive Field, or just play against Cleveland in general. In 2022, one of those teams will be the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-Backs will be making the trip to Northeast Ohio on August 1-3, marking the team’s first trip to Cleveland since 2014.

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The Tribe went out to Arizona in 2017, but you have to go back to the 2014 series in Cleveland to find the club’s last win over the Diamondbacks. When Cleveland made the trip out to the desert in 2017 they unfortunately were swept by a margin of 21-7. Luckily, the series is much better when it’s in Cleveland.

When the D-Backs are at Progressive Field, the Tribe lead the all-time series with a 5-3 record. However, when Cleveland is out in Arizona the Diamondbacks lead the series 4-7. For the math wizards, that means that the two clubs have faced a grand total of 19 times since Arizona entered the league in 1998.

This is a rare matchup for the club and it’s even more rare to have the chance to see Arizona in Cleveland. For fans who like to see different teams, this is a must-go series to kickoff August 2022 after the trade deadline.