Guardians Manager Lands Rough Take For Critical Playoff Decision

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt made some questionable decisions in one particular area during the team's ALCS loss to the New York Yankees.

Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt listens during a press conference before playing against the New York Yankees in game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt did a phenomenal job all season, leading the Guardians to 92 wins, an AL Central division title and an improbable run to the ALCS.

However, Vogt made some decisions during the Guardians' ALCS loss to the New York Yankees that proved pretty costly.

Perhaps the most grievous choice of all was refusing to intentionally walk Giancarlo Stanton, who smashed four home runs in the series and won ALCS MVP.

Quincy Wheeler of Covering The Corner recently assessed Vogt's managerial decisions throughout the five-game loss, and he gave Vogt a "D" grade for not walking Stanton in Games 4 and 5, where Stanton hit a pair of crucial homers.

While Wheeler didn't have a huge problem with not putting Stanton on first base in Game 4, he didn't like Vogt's rationale to pitch to Stanton in the series-clincher.

"I think it is fair to say that Vogt should have just straight-up intentionally walked Stanton with two outs and pitched to Jazz Chisholm," Wheeler wrote. "I think this is even more justifiable than the previous scenario because Cade Smith was warm and Chisholm was far worse as a hitter in this series than Anthony Rizzo was..."

In that scenario, Stanton stepped to the plate with a runner on third and two outs. Cleveland actually led 2-0 at the time, and Chisholm—who has struggled mightily in the playoffs—was on deck. Vogt opted to allow Tanner Bibee to face Stanton, who then clocked one 446 feet into the left-center field seats to tie the score.

Vogt insisted after the series that he made the right decision in challenging Stanton, but he definitely may have been better served walking him, especially considering how dangerous of a hitter Stanton has been throughout his postseason career.