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Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt Moved to Tears By Team's Comeback Victory

Vogt got emotional talking about team's vibe.

Kyle Koster

Vogt loved seeing his players celebrate together after late home run.
Vogt loved seeing his players celebrate together after late home run. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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The Cleveland Guardians spotted the Minnesota Twins a 3-0 lead on Monday night but fought back in the late innings to steal a 4-3 victory and move that much closer to an American League Central crown. Rookie Kyle Manzardo blasted a titanic, two-run shot in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead and the unhittable Emmanuel Clase took care of the rest as Cleveland extended its buffer over the Kansas City Royals to five games with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season.

“Everyone that grows up wanting to play baseball has pretended that moment has happened from the time they could walk,” Vogt said of Manzardo's blast postgame. The first-year skipper than got emotional talking about watching his team celebrate the big moment together—a microcosm for what has already been a special year.

“I love these guys,” Vogt said, through tears. “They’re so much fun to watch. They love each other. They work hard. That was an emotional night. And to see two teammates come together like that, that’s powerful.”

That's some good stuff right there. Players enjoy a human manager, especially if the team is winning. It's really cool that Vogt, who has seen a tremendous amount of baseball in his life, can still get moved by new moments.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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