Cleveland Guardians home opener officially sold out

Things looked dicey for a moment, but the Guardians have finally announced that their April 15 home opener is sold out.

It took a while, but tickets to the Cleveland Guardians home opener on April 15 are officially sold out.

This marks the 29th consecutive Opening Day sellout for the team; Cleveland has also sold out every home opener since Progressive Field opened in 1994.

There were likely a lot of factors that led to such a delay in selling out. There’s no doubt the 99-day lockout soured some fans on baseball this season, and the team’s name change to the Guardians no doubt still has its detractors. And up until a week or so ago, there was the constant perception (at times quite valid) that the Dolans were cheap owners, unwilling to field a competitive team.

That perception was aided by an offseason in which the Guardians did practically nothing while the rest of baseball spent money like it was going out of style. But as the team has worked to give notable contract extensions to key players like José Ramírez, Myles Straw and Emmanuel Clase, there may have been something of a shift in the way many fans view the potential future of this team.

It also doesn’t hurt at all that rookie outfielder Steven Kwan is currently lighting the world on fire, setting every major-league record he can find four games into his career. His hot start should certainly help sell some of those remaining standing-room-only tickets.