Stephen Vogt Ejected After Questionable Balk Call, Cleveland Guardians News

Cleveland Guardians rookie manager Stephen Vogt was ejected for the first time in his managerial career.

Jul 28, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt (12) walks to the mound for a pitching change against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Tensions are running high for the Cleveland Guardians as their slide continues. That all came to a head on Friday night as rookie manager Stephen Vogt was ejected for the first time in his career after a questionable call.  

Guardians reliever Tim Herrin was called for a balk in the bottom of the seventh inning, which ended up scoring Christian Vazquez from third base, making it a 6-3 ballgame.

It didn’t inherently seem like Herrin did anything wrong when he was on the mound, but home plate umpire Jim Wolf made the call after Twins hitter Jose Miranda stepped out of the box and Austin Hedges jumped up, signaling to Herrin to step off the mound.

Stephen Vogt got ejected arguing this balk call pic.twitter.com/6yf3EsNkGT

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Wolf made the call, and Herrin immediately started making his way to home plate to plead his case emotionally.

Vogt immediately ran out of the dugout to protect his player, and after a brief shouting match with him, the Guardians manager was ejected. 

Perhaps this is the spark and wake-up call the Guardians need. The team had lost six straight games heading into the second game of their doubleheader on Friday, and they ended up making it seven.

Vogt is typically level-headed and likes to see the positives and learning experiences from each situation, but he looks more than frustrated as he heads to the locker room early.