Stephen Vogt’s run of award recognition hit an unexpected pause this year.
After winning AL Manager of the Year in both 2024 and 2025, Vogt was left off the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s finalist list on Monday. Justin Lada noted that Vogt is “not a finalist for AL Manager of the Year for the first time” since he took over in Cleveland.
“Stephen Vogt is not a finalist for AL Manager of the Year for the first time in his three year tenure with Cleveland,” Lada wrote.
The three finalists are Kevin Cash of the Rays, Chad Tracy of the Red Sox and Will Venable of the White Sox. Cash guided Tampa Bay to a 98-64 record and the AL East crown, a 21-win jump from 2025.
Tracy stepped in after Alex Cora’s departure and finished 77-58. Venable led Chicago to an 84-78 mark and became the first manager to reach the playoffs after back-to-back 100-loss seasons.
The winner will be announced on Nov. 10.
Vogt still had a strong case. Cleveland finished 85-77, claimed its third straight AL Central title and ended up ahead of Venable’s White Sox.
The Guardians did it with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball and an offense that ranked 24th in runs scored. They also had to get through extended absences from José Ramírez and Angel Martínez after injuries in the same June game against Detroit.
The finish Cleveland put together only adds to the surprise. On Aug. 18, the Guardians’ playoff odds were just 24.4 percent.
By Sept. 3, they were 70-70 and three games back in the division race. From there, Vogt’s club ripped off a 15-6 stretch to win the Central, the kind of late surge that usually gets noticed in award voting.
He also got major production from a wave of rookies, including Parker Messick, Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana, all of whom became important pieces.
His October work didn’t help the ballot, but it did reinforce the broader picture. Votes are cast before the postseason starts, so Cleveland’s comeback from an 0-2 deficit against Venable’s White Sox in the ALDS did not count. That was the first time in franchise history the Guardians had turned that kind of hole into a series win.
There were other details that backed up Vogt’s year as well. Cleveland won 30 of 41 replay challenges, a 73.2 percent success rate that was easily his best across three seasons. In his three years at the helm, he has gone 265-220 and collected three division titles.
Cash, Tracy and Venable all put together worthy seasons, but Vogt’s omission still stands out. Cleveland winning has become so familiar that voters may have simply gotten used to it. For Guardians fans, the encouraging part is that Vogt is staying despite outside interest, and he’ll be back in the dugout in 2027 with another shot at bringing a championship to Cleveland.
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