CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 27: Players and fans celebrate after the Cleveland Indians defeated the Kansas City Royals in their final home game known as the Indians during the Major League Baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians on September 27, 2021, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. The team begins play in 2022 as the Guardians. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Guardians hitting coach Chris Valaika will miss Game 3 of the ALDS against the Yankees to get married in Oregon this Saturday.
This conflict isn’t due to a lack of belief in his team — his fiancé just set the wedding date before he landed an MLB coaching job with Cleveland.
He hopes to make the trip back to New York for Game 4 on Sunday, per Guardians beat reporter Mandy Bell.
Valaika and the Guardians went down 1-0 to the Yankees on Tuesday night, losing Game 1 with a 4-1 final score. Game 2 will kickoff tomorrow night at 7:37 p.m. ET in Yankee Stadium.
Hopefully the Guardians can hold on long enough for Valaika to return later on in the weekend. The series could be over if the Yankees win tomorrow night and on Valaika’s wedding day.
Congrats to the soon-to-be couple and good luck with this difficult scheduling conflict.
