Editing Cleveland Guardians (section)

====1997: Two outs away====
{{main|1997 Cleveland Indians season}}

In 1997, Cleveland started slow but finished with an 86–75 record. Taking their third consecutive AL Central title, the Indians defeated the [[1997 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]] in the [[1997 American League Division Series|Division Series]], 3–2. After defeating the [[1997 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore Orioles]] in the [[1997 American League Championship Series|ALCS]], Cleveland went on to face the [[1997 Florida Marlins season|Florida Marlins]] in the [[1997 World Series|World Series]] that featured the coldest game in World Series history. With the series tied after Game 6, the Indians went into the ninth inning of Game Seven with a 2–1 lead, but closer [[José Mesa]] allowed the Marlins to tie the game. In the eleventh inning, [[Édgar Rentería]] drove in the winning run giving the Marlins their first championship. Cleveland became the first team to lose the World Series after carrying the lead into the ninth inning of the seventh game.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Bloch |title=Cleveland's Legacy of Loss |url=http://www.panmodern.com/cleveland_Mark_Bloch.html |work=[[ESPN.com]] |date=October 27, 1997 |access-date=October 5, 2024}}</ref>