Former Guardians scapegoat thrust onto national stage after World Series performance

While Myles Straw’s tenure with the Guardians was relatively nondescript, he ended up becoming a divisive member of the team due to the fact that he was seemingly always up with the game on the line. 

In 2022 (his first full-season with the Guardians after signing his five-year, $25 million extension), he hit .152 in high-leverage. In 2023, his batting average was .198 in the same situation. 

Seemingly every time the Guardians were playing in a close game, Straw walked up to the plate and hit a weak grounder to the infield. 

And although he’s helped turn his career around this year with a strong showing in the postseason, Blue Jays fans got a full taste of the Straw experience yesterday (and this morning) in Toronto’s 18 inning loss to the Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series. 

Straw, who entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, went 0-for-4 at the plate in the Blue Jays’ loss. That’s right: The guy who entered the game in the eighth inning ended up having four at-bats. It was that kind of game. 

But it was also a vintage Straw performance, for all the wrong reasons. 

Myles Straw’s World Series failures should look plenty familiar to Guardians fans

Straw’s first at-bat came in the ninth inning when he grounded out to third base with runners on first and second. Three innings later, he came up to the plate with a runner on first… and he promptly put down one of the worst bunts in recent memory.

He then led off the 14th inning by a fly out to center field before ending the 16th inning by looking foolish against Dodgers pitcher Will Klein, who was pitching for just the second time in the past month. 

The Blue Jays slugged their way to the World Series, but their bats ended up failing them in extra innings. By the time extra innings rolled around, three of the nine spots in Toronto’s lineup were filled by Straw, Tyler Heineman and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Not exactly a murder’s row. 

But, until Freddie Freeman’s deciding blast in the 18th inning, the Dodgers’ supercharged lineup also struggled. There wasn’t a ton of production from the contingent of former Guardians, as Straw, Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez and Alex Call combined to go 3-for-21 across the 18 innings. 

Straw still holds value with his speed and defense (he’s largely been a fan favorite in Toronto this year), but Monday’s marathon forced him into a situation where his flaws were exposed on the biggest stage. 

We’ll see if he gets any more playing time when Game 4 starts less in less than 12 hours.