Guardians, Mets Managers Make MLB History As Championship Series Start

Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians and Carlos Mendoza of the New York Mets are the first pair of rookie managers in the Championship League series in the same season.

Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt is introduced before playing against the New York Yankees game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

MLB is down to the final four teams in their playoff bracket. Each Championship Series is set with the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees on the American League side and the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets representing the National League.

So many great storylines are already writing themselves with the players on the field, but this narrative focuses on the leaders at the dugout's top step.

Stephen Vogt has done a great job in his first year as a manager, leading the Guardians to their first ALCS since the 2016 season. However, he's not the only rookie manager leading a team in the Championship series. Carlos Mendoza of the Mets is also in his first year as New York's skipper, and he has helped his team go on an improbable run since the end of May to be in this situation.

Vogt and Mendoza are the first duo of rookie managers to reach the League Championship Series in the same season (per MLBN Research).

The ironic part of this story is that Mendoza was reportedly in the mix for Cleveland's managerial opening last fall until the Guardians decided to hire Vogt. Mendoza then took the Mets job just a few days after Cleveland officially made Vogt their manager.

Oct 12, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt (12) celebrates defeating the Detroit Tigers during game five of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Clearly, either choice for the Guardians would've been a good one, but both organizations are already seeing immediate impacts from their decisions.

If either the Guardians or the Mets advance, it would be the first time a rookie manager has led their team to the World Series since Rob Thompson with the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2022 season.