Stephen Vogt earns second straight AL Manager of the Year award after Guardians' improbable division title run
Vogt has hit the ground running since taking over the club in 2024.
The Cleveland Guardians dug themselves out of a 15.5-game hole in the AL Central and came all the way back to rip the division title from the Detroit Tigers.
While the Tigers bested the Guardians in a three-game wild-card series, Cleveland's improbable run to the playoffs behind stellar pitching and pesky offense, known under the tag line of "Guards Ball," earned Stephen Vogt his second AL Manager of the Year award in as many years on the job.
Responsible for conducting the historic turnaround, Vogt earned the honor Tuesday.
Vogt edged Blue Jays manager John Schneider and Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson, both of whom spearheaded surprising trips to this year's ALCS. All three are former catchers. Vogt was a two-time All-Star as a backstop and collected a World Series ring with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.
He's now making an even bigger name for himself calling the shots in the clubhouse.
After taking over for a future Hall of Famer in Terry Francona last season — during which Vogt led the Guardians to 92 wins, an AL Central title and an ALCS appearance — Vogt went through a less linear and more adversity-worn 2025 campaign. The Guardians finished 88-74 and benefited from the Tigers' epic collapse as well as a superb September that saw them post a 2.61 team ERA and 20-7 record over the month.
Despite finishing the season with a minus-6 run differential, Cleveland's small-ball tactics, hard base running and surgical pitching, particularly from the bullpen, booked its ticket to the postseason.
In addition to making the most of a limited lineup that produced the third-fewest runs in baseball this season, Vogt was tasked with navigating scandal, as two of his top arms — closer Emmanuel Clase and starter Luis Ortiz — were placed on leave in July as a sports gambling investigation took place.
The U.S. District Attorney's Office announced Sunday that Clase and Ortiz have been been indicted by the Department of Justice with several charges, such as conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy.
Their midseason absences threw Vogt a curveball.
Before that, he had to deal with a 10-game skid that dropped the Guardians to 40-48, a year removed from the team occupying first place in the AL Central for most of the 2024 season.
And yet, Vogt kept his team together.
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