The Cleveland Guardians dug themselves out of a 15.5-game hole in the AL Central and came all the way back to rip the division title from the Detroit Tigers.
While the Tigers bested the Guardians in a three-game wild-card series, Cleveland’s improbable run to the playoffs behind stellar pitching and pesky offense, known under the tag line of “Guards Ball,” earned Stephen Vogt his second AL Manager of the Year award in as many years on the job.
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Responsible for conducting the historic turnaround, Vogt earned the honor Tuesday. In similar back-to-back fashion, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy won the National League Manager of the Year award for the second straight season earlier in the night.
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Vogt edged Blue Jays manager John Schneider and Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson, both of whom spearheaded surprising trips to this year’s ALCS. All three are former catchers. Vogt was a two-time All-Star as a backstop and collected a World Series ring with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.
He’s now making an even bigger name for himself calling the shots in Cleveland’s clubhouse.
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After taking over for a future Hall of Famer in Terry Francona last season ā during which Vogt led the Guardians to 92 wins, an AL Central title and an ALCS appearance ā Vogt went through a less linear and more adversity-worn 2025 campaign. The Guardians finished 88-74 and benefited from the Tigers’ epic collapse as well as a superb September that saw them post a 2.61 team ERA and 20-7 record over the month.
Despite finishing the season with a minus-6 run differential, Cleveland’s small-ball tactics, hard base running and surgical pitching, particularly from the bullpen, booked its ticket to the postseason.
In addition to making the most of a limited lineup that produced the third-fewest runs in baseball this season, Vogt was tasked with navigating scandal, as two of his top arms ā closer Emmanuel Clase and starter Luis Ortiz ā were placed on leave in July as a sports gambling investigation took place.
The U.S. District Attorney’s Office announced Sunday that Clase and Ortiz have been been indicted by the Department of Justice with several charges, such as conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy.
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Their midseason absences threw Vogt a curveball.
Before that, he had to deal with a 10-game skid that dropped the Guardians to 40-48, a year removed from the team occupying first place in the AL Central for most of the 2024 season.
And, yet, Vogt kept his team together, even after a 1-9 stretch in August that preceded Cleveland’s September success.
“We can only control what we can control, and that’s showing up every day with a winning mindset and coming to work ready to go,” Vogt told MLB Network during its awards show Tuesday night.
“And our group, our players every single day, whether we were in the middle of losing 10 in a row or our 1-9 stretch ā or we got some bad news off the field ā they showed up ready to win every single day. They believed they were good. They went out there and played like they were good, and they were. At the end of the day, we were able to win the division and get into the postseason.”
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In part thanks to the stardom of third baseman JosĆ© RamĆrez, a seven-time All-Star and this season’s only player with 30-plus homers and 40-plus stolen bases, and left fielder Steven Kwan, who made his second consecutive All-Star team and won his fourth straight Gold Glove Award, the Guardians made enough happen at the plate. Their pitching, of course, carried in key moments.
Vogt held down the fort and is now a two-time AL Manager of the Year.
