Stephen Vogt hung around as long as he could as an MLB player. Then he became the AL Manager of the Year in his first year in the job.
The Cleveland Guardians skipper was named the winner of the award on Tuesday, beating finalists Matt Quatraro of the Kansas City Royals and AJ 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.
Vogt received 27 of 30 first-place votes from the BBWAA, with Quatraro taking two and Hinch getting the last one. Joe Espada (Houston Astros), Aaron Boone (New York Yankees), Mark Kotsay (Oakland Athletics), Rocco Baldelli (Minnesota Twins) and Alex Cora (Boston Red Sox) all received second- or third-place votes.
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 in 2023, then made the jump to manager in Cleveland after one season.
Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, it’s the quickest a person has ever gone from player to Manager of the Year. Joe Girardi was the previous record-holder, having gone from player in 2003 to winning the award in 2006 with the Miami Marlins.
In hiring Vogt, 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 change after a 76-86 season, and they 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 guys with an ERA below 2.00 across 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 made the playoffs after not being expected to come close to .500, but Vogt arguably had an even harder job than his counterparts, as he took 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 seasons to come to add to his list of accomplishments.