Steven Kwan says he would like to sign a long-term contract to stay with the Guardians before he is tempted by the siren’s call of free agency in 2028.

Kwan is eligible for salary arbitration in 2026 and 2027. He answered a question about re-signing with the Guardians briefly but clearly Oct. 2 after Cleveland was eliminated by the Tigers in Game 3 of the wild-card playoffs at Progressive Field.

“I would (like to stay here),” he said.

Kwan, as he did in the 156 games he played in the regular season, batted leadoff in all three playoff games. He had two hits in 12 at-bats (.187). Both were doubles — one in Cleveland’s five-run eighth inning of Game 2 to help them win, 6-1, and one in the bottom of the eighth in Game 3 when the Guardians were trailing, 6-1. The Guardians lost, 6-3.

The month-by-month splits on Kwan reflect his up and down season. He has a habit of starting hot and not staying hot. He hit .322 in 30 games in March and April, .308 in 26 games in May, .244 in 23 games in June and .255 in 23 games in July. He hit .214 in 27 games in August and jumped up to .279 in 27 games in September.

Despite his strong finish in the final full month of 2025, Kwan hit only .185 over the final seven days of the season. Unfortunately for the Guardians, that cold streak carried over to the playoffs.

“He’s had a rough five-game stretch,” manager Stephen Vogt said before Game 2 of the playoffs. “Kwanny is one game away from getting on track, and it’s been a kind of up-and-down second half for Kwanny.

“When Kwanny gets going, we get going. It’s not that it’s all on him. But for me right now, he’s chasing up a little bit. Got to get the ball a little lower in the zone and get it going. He’s well aware of that, but it’s easier said than done.”

Vogt used multiple lineups with various players batting second nightly. The one constant was Kwan batting leadoff and Jose Ramirez batting third.

“I wasn’t happy with my year,” Kwan said in the somber Guardians’ clubhouse after Game 3. “I know what I need to work on and go from there. I need to work on consistency.

“This (losing) stings. I think it’s a good motivator. On those days when it’s cold out and you don’t feel like getting out of bed, just remember we don’t want to feel this again, and I think that will get us over the hump.”

Overall, Kwan batted .272 with 11 home runs and 56 RBI in 156 games in 2025. Injuries a year ago limited him to 122 games, yet he hit 14 homes runs while driving in 44 runs.

Dizzy Dean’s brother was Daffy

This story on Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean is the last in a season-long series looking back on a baseball player known better by his nickname than his given name.

They definitely don’t make big-league pitchers like they used to.

Jay Hanna Dean, born in Lucas, Ark., in 1910, pitched seven seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals and three with the Cubs from 1930-40. He did not play in 1931. He pitched one inning of one game for the Cubs in 1941 and six years later pitched four innings of one game for the American League St. Louis Browns in 1947.

Dean was nicknamed “Dizzy” by an unnamed scout from the St. Louis Cardinals who got wind of Dean’s pitching talents while Dean was on an Army Base in San Antonio, Texas, in 1927. A Master Sergeant from the base named James K. Brought told the scout, Dean was “the dizziest kid I ever had in my outfit.” according to a Society for American Baseball Research story.

The nickname stuck. The Cardinals signed Dean and later signed his brother, Paul. Sportswriters wanted a clever nickname for Paul and tabbed him “Daffy” Dean.

The Cardinals were in a tight pennant race with the Giants in late September in 1934.

“I’ll pitch today, and if I get in trouble, Paul will relieve me,” Dizzy Dean said in a team meeting.  “He’ll pitch tomorrow, and if he gets in trouble I’ll relieve him. And I’ll pitch the next day and Paul will pitch the day after that and I’ll pitch the last one.  Don’t worry, we’ll win five games straight.”

Indeed, Dizzy Dean started three games in the final week of the season. He won and completed all three. Dean finished 30-7 in 1934. His brother finished 19-11.

The 1934 Cardinals beat the Tigers in seven games in the 1934 World Series. Dizzy Dean made three starts and was 2-1. He threw 101 pitches in a complete-game shutout (11-0) in Game 7 two days after throwing 110 pitches in a 3-1 loss in Game 5. Daffy Dean was the winning pitcher in Games 3 (4-1, 155 pitches) and 6 (4-3, 128 pitches). Both were complete games.

I didn’t know that

… until I read my Snapple bottle cap.

A 15-year-old boy named Chester Greenwood in 1873 invented earmuffs so he could go ice skating more comfortably. … The Hawaiian alphabet has only 13 letters — vowels a, e, i, o plus u and consonants h, k, l, m, n, p w, f, g, j, s, y plus z. … Giraffes and humans have the same number of cervical (neck) vertebrae — seven. … Forty is the only number with letters in alphabetical order. … The Statue of Liberty wears a size 879 sandal. … A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.