Stephen Vogt hung around as long as he could as an MLB player. Then he became the AL Manager of the Year.
The Cleveland Guardians skipper was named the winner of the award on Tuesday, beating out finalists Matt Quatraro of the Kansas City Royals and A.J. Hinch of the Detroit Tigers in an all-AL Central affair. Just like in the division standings this year, the Guardians came out on top.
The win comes 26 months after Vogt announced his retirement as a player. After 10 years in the big leagues, he started his coaching career as a bullpen and quality control coach for the Seattle Mariners, then made the jump to manager after one season.
The Guardians were certainly taking a risk on a first-time manager with limited coaching experience, but they needed to aim high after the "retirement" of longtime manager Terry Francona (Francona has since emerged from retirement to become manager of the Cincinnati Reds). In retrospect, the Guardians needed a chance after a 76-86 season, and got one with Vogt.
Cleveland made a 16-win jump in 2024, winning a competitive division and reaching the ALCS. Their lineup, led by José Ramírez and Steven Kwan, was one of the more underrated in baseball. Their rotation was a clear weak link, but it was backed up by the best bullpen in the league, featuring four different guys with an ERA below 2.00 in at least 65 innings thrown: Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin.
The roster was eventually overwhelmed by the New York Yankees in the ALCS (which didn't factor in the BBWAA voting), but 2024 represented a significant step forward for Cleveland. The Royals and Tigers might have made the playoffs after not being expected to come close to .500, but Vogt arguably had an even harder job than his counterparts, taking over a team trying to return to the playoffs after the loss of a Hall of Fame manager and few notable additions.
Vogt pulled it off, and he should have plenty of time to add to his list of accomplishments.