by By Nathan Smee
Cleveland, OH- With the retirement of Terry Francona, the Cleveland Guardians were tasked with finding a new manager. Enter former MLB catcher, Stephen Vogt. It was announced Monday morning by the team on social media that Vogt, 39, would be their 45th manager.
Vogt will be a first-time manager as he will join the team off the back of a year stint with the Seattle Mariners as a bullpen coach. While having no prior experience as a manager, he was seen as a leader within the clubhouses he was in. This praise was shared by his teammates as Ernie Clement, who played with Vogt in Oakland, tweeted, “best hire ever” following the announcement. Vogt was among many candidates for this position including the likes of newly appointed Cubs manager Craig Counsell who has the task of replacing 2016 World Series hero David Ross in the dugout in Chi-town.
Following his appointment, the Guardians wasted no time improving their roster as they claimed catcher Christian Bethancourt off waivers. He will trade sunny Tampa Bay for snowy Cleveland as he looks to learn from Vogt who himself was drafted by the Rays in 2007. Vogt also spent time with the Athletics, Brewers, Giants, Diamondbacks, Braves, and the Athletics again to close out his 10-year career. Within that time, Vogt became a 2-time All Star while posting a career 7.1 WAR.
Once the news of his appointment hit social media, many fans voiced their opinions. Unlike most big deals in the sports world, Guardians fans seemed to post a shared belief; they were over the moon with the hiring of Stephen Vogt. While he will have the tough task of following in the footsteps of a potential Hall of Famer in Francona, he also has a great slate to work with to build his own legacy.
The Guardians still field a roster with plenty of young talents such as AL Rookie of the Year finalist Tanner Bibee (24), Emmanuel Clase (25), Bo Naylor (23), and Gabriel Arias (23) to name a few. Beyond them, he will also have 2023 Gold Glove winners Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan at his disposal. The cherry on top of this group is Jose Ramirez. Besides being named a finalist for the Silver Slugger Award, he is the heart and soul of Cleveland baseball. With teams galore for him to choose from, Ramirez stayed loyal to Cleveland and stayed. With those leaders and other up-and-coming talents, Vogt will attempt to bring Cleveland back to the playoffs after finishing 2023 with a 76-86 record.
While the future remains a mystery, the man in the dugout does not. Vogt’s legacy on the game as of now is hitting one final homerun in his final MLB at bat, giving a special moment for Athletics fans and the Vogt family alike. However, he looks to forge a new path with new memories. Guardians’ fans hope that Vogt can finally deliver a World Series to Cleveland for the first time since 1948.
