Cleveland Baseball Insider

Cleveland Guardians place outside of Top Ten in Inaugural MLB Open

Here's how Cleveland Guardians pitcher Slade Cecconi and Kenny Lofton faired in the inaugural MLB Open golf event.
Matthew Pisani|
Slade Cecconi and Kenny Lofton pose with the trophy at the inaugural Capital One MLB Open
Slade Cecconi and Kenny Lofton pose with the trophy at the inaugural Capital One MLB Open | Cleveland Guardians on X

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The inaugural Capital One MLB Open is in the books. It has been for multiple days, but TNT finally aired the coverage last night at 9:30. There will be more coverage coming on the MLB app and MLB Network over the course of the week.

Good luck finding out more information after the showing, though, as you can only find information on the winners and the top ten teams.

All 30 MLB teams participated in this event during Awards Week in Las Vegas, NV, at the course Shadow Creek. The pairing featured one current player and one player from the past. The Guardians’ pairing was Slade Cecconi and Kenny Lofton.

As stated before the tournament aired, this is a unique tournament. Each hole allowed pairings to score points and work their way up the leaderboard.

MLB players are notorious golfers in the offseason, so you saw some really good performances. But it is golf. It is a hard sport. As a result, you had some hilarious duds occur throughout the tournament as well.

The tournament was close, with the Minnesota Twins taking home the ultimate prize. They put up 78 points, securing the win with an Eagle on 18. Second place was the Rangers with 73 points, followed by the Braves and Red Sox at 71 points apiece. The top ten was rounded out by the Tigers (70 points), the Angels (69 points), the Jays, Rays, and Nationals all tied for 7th with 68 points, and then the Yankees finished in 10th with 67 points. The Twins were represented by Royce Lewis and Aaron Hicks.

Unfortunately, the Guardians’ duo of Slade Cecconi and Kenny Lofton did not crack the top ten. Lofton admitted to MLB Network last week that he is not the greatest golfer. That does not mean he is bad, he just likes to keep things simple, “I know my limits on the golf course. I just try to go straight ahead, that’s all I try to do.” 

Baseball legends like John Smoltz were hitting Tiger fist pumps. Ernie Clement was hitting beautiful approach shots. Tarik Skubal was hitting 60-foot putts. Competition host, Mookie Betts, was smashing drives. And there was trash being talked on the links. The competition was fierce for those bragging rights.

So fierce that these players were growing frustrated with their own skills and even tried switching up routines mid-round to improve their luck.

For a first-time event, the players and all those involved had an absolute blast. It got different players from different teams together in the same area to show off their skills that are not on the diamond.

Do not be surprised if this event is replicated again next year during MLB Awards week, as it offered a great peek into the lives and personalities of baseball’s biggest stars, both past and present. Let us just hope that the content is easier to consume the next go round.

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Matthew Pisani
MATTHEW PISANI

Matthew Pisani is a sports producer and writer with specialities in sports betting and baseball. Also a music lover, you will see him frequenting concerts in the area.

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