Cleveland Guardians Introduce New Manager Stephen Vogt

Stephen Vogt was enamored with emotion as the Guardians welcomed their 45th manager in franchise history in an introductory press conference.

Stephen Vogt was officially introduced as the new manager of the Cleveland Guardians on Friday afternoon. 

Within the first few minutes of taking the podium, it was clear through his emotions the gratitude he felt for the opportunity to join the Guardians organization as Terry Francona's successor.

Vogt thanked not only those who welcomed him to the organization, but also his family and children for going on this next great adventure with him. 

He mentioned his dad being instrumental in learning the game and loving baseball from a young age, all of which made the newly minted manager tear up a bit.

But right after, he had the press room laughing when making references to “living in a van down by the river” as he has a reputation for doing a tremendous Chris Farley impression. 

Nov 10, 2023; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt talks to the media during an introductory press conference at Progressive Field / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Having just turned 39 in November, Vogt is the second-youngest manager in MLB. 

He didn’t balk at the opportunity to discuss this when asked about the challenges it may present — but made light of the fact he had been on the older side of players in the clubhouse when he just hung up the cleats at the end of the 2022 season. 

He did present a unique perspective in being freshly removed from the player side, saying he can still relate to the feelings of the day-to-day experiences that the young Guardians roster may be going through. 

In their opening remarks, both Guardians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti and General Manager Mike Chernoff provided context that Vogt checked off all the boxes they were looking for in the next manager. 

Vogt wagered they spent north of 23 hours on discussions with him, and Antonetti mentioned 50 people were involved in his interview process.

And for those wondering, Vogt has had the opportunity to speak with Francona. 

Cleveland's new manager elaborated that Tito made it clear he would be available as a resource whenever he wanted to reach out. Vogt also mentioned connecting with seven or eight Guardians players, including grabbing a bite to eat in Arizona with Shane Bieber.

When asked about leading a small-market team, Vogt outlined his time spent as a catcher with the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and Milwaukee Brewers. 

While each team in their respective market is different in their own ways, they had some overlap in terms of how they operated.

As for now, we wish you a warm welcome in Cleveland, Stephen! We can’t wait to see you take the field on Opening Day next season in Oakland. 

But this time, instead of taking the field as a player where you spent the majority of your career and hit a home run in your final MLB at-bat, you’ll begin a new one as the next manager of the Cleveland Guardians.