The 2023 calendar year witnessed numerous highs and lows for the Browns, Cavaliers and Guardians. It also witnessed the death of an icon that transcended the sport he dominated and the retirement of the winningest manager in the history of Cleveland baseball.
But don’t close the book on 2023 just yet because the best story of the year is still being written.
1. Browns make playoffs despite injuries: The Browns’ march to the playoffs not only is the best thing that happened on the Cleveland sports scene in 2023; it has become such a feel-good story because of all the injuries they overcame to clinch that even Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel talked about them during a news conference in Miami. That’s noteworthy because the Dolphins were preparing for a huge Dec. 31 game with the Ravens in Baltimore. Normally a coach would say something like, “I’m just thinking about our team.”
McDaniel was responding to a question from a Dolphins beat writer who mentioned watching the Browns beat the Jets on Dec. 28 and compared the way they’re playing to the Texas Rangers winning the World Series despite being without starting pitchers Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom.
“A lot of people were worried about what (the Browns) didn’t have except them,” McDaniel said. “When your focus is on the opponent and not what you don’t have, really cool things can happen. And because they were put behind the eight ball with injuries, now the accomplishments are that much more satisfying.
“Henceforth, adversity is opportunity. That’s kind of the name of the game in life and football. They’re doing a tremendous job providing that example.”
The Browns are 11-5. The only team in the AFC with a better record is the Ravens (13-3). Six Browns starters are on injured reserve — running back Nick Chubb, quarterback Deshaun Watson, right tackle Jack Conklin, left tackle Jedrick Wills, middle linebacker Jacob Phillips and kick returner Jakeem Grant.
Backup right tackle Dawand Jones and backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson are also on I.R. Kicker Dustin Hopkins, middle linebacker Anthony Walker, punter Corey Bojorquez and defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo are too injured to play but they are not on I.R.
2. Terry Francona retires: Terry Francona began managing the Indians in 2013 and quickly put his stamp on the team. The Indians were 68-94 in 2012. A year later they were 92-70 and an American League wild-card team. The Tampa Bay Rays eliminated them in a one-game playoff.
Francona, 64, on Aug. 22 during his routine pregame news conference casually hinted 2023 would be his last season, even though he didn’t come right out and say it until Oct. 3. He did not want the focus of the last six weeks of the season to be about him.
“I need to get healthy for my life, and this lifestyle is just too difficult,” Francona said in August. “I also know how I feel about doing the job a certain way, and I don’t think I can necessarily do that anymore. And that bothers me.
“When I got done as a player (1990), I had given everything I could — and I knew it and never looked back. I think that’s probably where I’m at now. I’m in a pretty comfortable place. I’m at peace with it.”
Francona was 921-757 as manager of the Indians/Guardians. He took them to the playoffs six times — four times as AL Central Division champions and twice as a wild-card team. The Indians played for the World Series title in 2016 and lost to the Cubs in the 10th inning of Game 7.
3. Browns sign Joe Flacco: Browns general manager Andrew Berry became infatuated with Dorian Thompson-Robinson because the rookie quarterback from UCLA played well against the Jets in the Hall of Fame game Aug. 3. DTR also completed nine of 10 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders in a preseason game.
The confidence in Thompson-Robinson prompted Berry to trade veteran backup Joshua Dobbs to the Cardinals for a fifth-round draft pick in August. It was a bad miscalculation by Berry, because when the games began to count and Deshaun Watson was sidelined with a shoulder injury, DTR was exposed as not being ready to lead a team to the playoffs. P.J. Walker, who started the season on the practice squad, was even more unqualified.
Berry was in a jam, so he invited Joe Flacco to Berea for a tryout on Nov. 17. Flacco, 38, last played for the Jets in the 2022 season finale. He said as September, October and mid-November went by he became convinced he wouldn’t play football in 2023.
The call from Berry changed that, and it changed the course of the Browns this season. Had Berry not traded Dobbs, Flacco might still be on his couch back home in South Philadelphia.
4. Nick Chubb injured: Right tackle Jack Conklin suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener. One week later, Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick took down Browns star running back Nick Chubb with a tackle at the knees.
Chubb suffered a torn ACL and MCL. His season was over. Injuries are part of football, but Chubb is much more than a 1,000-yard rusher for the Browns. He is the heart and soul of the team. Just imagine how formidable the offense would be if Flacco had Chubb in the backfield.
“I’m very disappointed for Nick,” Coach Kevin Stefanski said a day after the injury. “He means a lot to this team, means a lot to this organization. So he will be missed, but he will bounce back. Of that, I have no doubt.”
The MCL was surgically repaired in September. The ACL surgery was performed Nov. 14.
The Browns have been running back by committee without Chubb. Led by Jerome Ford (807 yards), the Browns have rushed for 1,913 yards (3.9 average) and 15 touchdowns,
5. Jim Brown dies: I remember talking with Jim Brown during training camp about 10 years ago. He still looked fit at 75 years old, but he sometimes had to lean on a cane.
“Father Time is undefeated,” he said.
Brown passed away on May 18 at age 87 after a long unspecified illness.
The Browns selected Brown with the sixth pick of the 1957 draft. He played nine seasons, all for the Browns, and was the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 12,312 yards when he retired after the 1965 season. He was voted the NFL’s MVP in his final season.
Brown was an actor, an activist and in his later years an ambassador for the Browns when they returned to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999. He would speak to the team in training camp until his health began to decline. He commanded a room like few people can and told the players about the history of the Browns but also about how their position as a professional athlete gave them a platform to make a difference in the community.
The Browns are honoring Brown with a “32” patch on the front of their uniforms.
6. Browns hire Jim Schwartz: Jim Schwartz on Jan. 17 was hired as defensive coordinator to replace fired Joe Woods and immediately the personality of the Browns was transformed.
Schwartz let his players know he would use an attacking philosophy, and that is exactly how they’ve played all season. It helped, too, that Berry fortified the defensive line by signing defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson, Maurice Hurst and Shelby Harris plus defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo in free agency. He acquired defensive end Za’Darius Smith plus a 2025 sixth-round pick and a 2025 seventh-round pick for the Browns’ fifth-round pick in 2024 and 2025. Smith has 5.5 sacks, second only to the 14 posted by Myles Garrett.
Third-year linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is having his best season with the Browns because of Schwartz’ philosophy. Garrett has been dominant even though he went five weeks without a sack.
“In my mind the definition of a great player is when an opponent starts their game plan with ‘we’re gonna take care of this guy,’” Schwartz said when asked about Garrett. “Like ‘we’re not gonna let this guy beat us’ and he’s still able to be effective and he’s still able to play at a high level.
“In my career, I’ve really seen that from three players. I’ve seen it from Myles. I’ve seen it from (Lions Hall of Fame wide receiver) Calvin Johnson and I saw it from (Ravens Hall of Fame linebacker) Ray Lewis. Guys that every week the opponent said ‘this guy’s not gonna beat us’ and every week that player still made plays.”
The Browns are on a four-game winning streak.
7. Cavs exit playoffs quickly: Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman boldly traded first-round draft picks in 2025, ‘27 and 2029 along with Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton and 2022 rookie Ochai Agbaji to the Utah Jazz for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell about a month before the 2022-23 training camp started. The Cavs and Jazz agreed to swap picks in 2026 and 2028.
The trade helped the Cavs improve from 44-38 to 51-31 in the regular season. It was good enough for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, but the Cavaliers were eliminated by the Knicks in five games in the first round of the playoffs. The Knicks won twice at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, where the Cavs lost only 10 games in the regular season.
Altman declared the season a success despite the poor performance in the playoffs. He vowed to keep the core four — Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — together. He held true to that vow but did tweak the roster (see No. 10). Altman believes the experience gained will pay off in the playoffs this spring. We shall see.
8. Guardians hire Steve Vogt: Francona managed 23 years in the Majors with the Phillies, Red Sox and Indians/Guardians. The man hired to take over in the dugout, Stephen Vogt, was a catcher for the Oakland A’s as recently as 2022.
Vogt was the bullpen coach for the Seattle Mariners in 2023. Despite his inexperience, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti is confident Vogt is ready to be a big league manager.
“Steven is wise beyond his years,” Antonetti said Nov. 10 at Vogt’s introductory news conference. “He has a unique blend of self-confidence and humility. He has a great baseball mind. There were so many things that stood out as we thought about the leader we were trying to bring to the organization. He checks all the boxes for us.”
Vogt believes being a catcher for 11 seasons groomed him to be a manager.
“I know how to deal with position players because I was one, and I know how to deal with pitchers because I worked with them throughout my whole career,” Vogt said. “They are two very different breeds. To put it nicely.
“I also think the majority of my career was game planning and making in-game decisions. There are 150 to 175 in-game decisions that as a catcher you make every night. Any one of them could be the impact that leads to a win or loss. So having that ability and having gone through that process is really going to help.”
The Guardians were 76-86 in 2023.
9. Young pitchers come through: Injuries decimated the Guardians’ starting rotation. Pitchers normally make about 30 starts a year if they stay healthy. Triston McKenzie made four starts, Cal Quantrill 19, Shane Bieber 21 and Aaron Civale 13 before being shipped to the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline. Zach Plesac made just five starts before being demoted to Triple-A Columbus. He subsequently was designated for assignment.
The injuries accelerated the promotions of Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams to the Guardians. They started 25, 24 and 16 games respectively and finished with a combined record of 20-17. Bibee was the best of the three. He was 10-4 until a hip injury ended his season.in mid-September. The injury is not expected to affect him when spring training begins in February.
No team has too much starting pitching, but the emergence of Bibee, Allen and Williams means the Guardians might trade Bieber. He will be a free agent in 2025 without a new contract.
10. Cavs add Strus, Niang: Altman figured the best way to improve the Cavs without breaking up the band was to acquire outside shooting. To that end, he traded with the Miami Heat for Max Strus and signed Georges Niang in free agency.
The Strus trade was not costly to the Cavaliers regarding assets used to facilitate the deal. The Cavs sent a 2026 second-round pick (via the Lakers) to Miami, and traded forwards Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens plus Cleveland’s own 2030 second-round pick to San Antonio in a three-team trade.
Strus has started all 32 games (18-14) and has helped the Cavs stay above .500 while Garland (fractured jaw) and Mobley (knee surgery) recover from their injuries. Strus is averaging 14 points a game.
Niang provides offense off the bench. He has played in all 32 games but started only once. He is averaging 8.1 points in 22 minutes a game.
