After competing with Aaron Judge, Guardians star Steven Kwan opens up about the importance of mental strength in MLB

Since making his major league debut in April of 2022, left fielder Steven Kwan has established himself as one of the Cleveland Guardians' most important players.

The 27-year-old had arguably the best season of his career in 2024, finishing with a .292 batting average, along with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs, earning his first-ever All-Star selection and third career Silver Slugger award.

Kwan played a key role as the Guardians won the AL Central, ultimately making it all the way to the ALCS, where they heartbreakingly came up short against Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees.

Speaking to Nick Adgar on Wednesday's episode of the "No Agenda" podcast, Steven Kwan shed some light on the crucial role that mental strength played for any successful major league ball player, regardless of how physically blessed they were.

"Baseball obviously needs some talent, but it's a mental game. Look at me, a 5'8" kinda guy; I get to play next to Aaron Judge. No body type is the same, but the only similarity we have is being solid up here. I firmly believe baseball is one of the hardest mental sports to be part of," Steven Kwan said [39:50 onwards].

"Nobody fails as often as we do on a daily basis, and are expected to show up the next day and do the same thing. That could beat somebody down. You need a tool to be able to filter that and be able to move to the next day. I think that's why it's so important [to be mentally strong], because it can manifest into something really nasty down the road, if you're not handling it every day," Kwan added

---

Steven Kwan talks about his relationship with skipper Stephen Vogt

Along with the players who did their part, a significant share of the credit for the Guardians' successful 2024 sesaon must go to their manager, Stephen Vogt.

Speaking about his relationship with his skipper, Steven Kwan told former big league pitcher and two-time Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber how Vogt was 'like one of the guys' in the Guardians' clubhouse.

"He just had incredible feel. He wasn't the kind of guy that goes, 'I'm the new manager. This is how things are going to be, and you guys are going to listen.' It's like, 'Hey, guys, we got something really special here, but we have to make sure we're on the same page.' Door is always open kind of guy," Kwan said.

"Having fun, walking around cracking jokes. He played like a couple of years before, so it didn't feel tacky; it felt genuine. He was like one of the guys, as people like to say," Kwan added. "Easy to talk to. He had his expectations, but it was a tender style of coaching," Kwan added.

With the new season around the corner, Guardians fans will be hoping Stephen Vogt can guide Steven Kwan and co. to more success.