Cleveland Guardians skipper Stephen Vogt won the American League Manager of the Year Award in his first two seasons at the helm, 2024 and 2025. There have been some impressive dugout leaders in the junior circuit this year, but Vogt’s team has been good amid some uncertain and difficult circumstances in 2026. As a result, he has to be at least in the running for the piece of hardware once again.
That’s not the point of this piece, though. It’s fair to wonder if this has been Vogt’s best season yet as an MLB manager, given how much adversity the Guardians have had to navigate. Analyst Ken Carman certainly believes what he has done has been impressive.
“Would you not say that this is the most impressive of the three years that [Stephen Vogt’s] been here? How could this year be not as impressive? If you just leave it to baseball, you can make an argument that this [year] is more impressive. Last year was historic, but you lost three players at one time,” Carman said.
"Would you not say that this is the most impressive of the three years that he's been here?"
➡️ @KenCarman and @SportsBoyTony on the job that #Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has done this season pic.twitter.com/QYgfbdff8D
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) September 23, 2026
For starters, Vogt has the Guardians with an 82-75 record. They are first in the AL Central, and could make the playoffs as soon as Wednesday with a win and a Texas Rangers’ loss. He has done it with his superstar, Jose Ramirez, producing below-average offensive numbers, as his 94 wRC+ suggests. He also lost five weeks to a hamate bone injury.
Additionally, key players such as Chase DeLauter, Angel Martinez, Shawn Armstrong, Hunter Gaddis, and others have had to spend some time on the injured list. In fact, DeLauter, Ramirez, and Martinez all got hurt on the same day, June 13, and all of them were placed on the IL, missing a few games in all cases.
Vogt’s Guardians have won 21 of their last 30 games, enabling a comeback in the AL Central standings just like last year. Yes, as Carman says, what happened last season was more impressive because Cleveland was further behind the Detroit Tigers and still won the division, but he had more hurdles in 2026. So far, he and his players have sorted them all.
You can say what you want about Vogt’s bullpen management or lineup card sometimes, but he has been able to build a trusting, nurturing relationship with his players, and they would all go to war for him. That’s not insignificant.
NEXT: Insider Reveals Guardians' Magic Number To Make Playoffs
