The Cleveland Guardians are now up to a 40-20 record and have capitalized on an easier stretch of their schedule to open up a 5-game lead in the AL Central over the Kansas City Royals, and they couldn’t have gotten off to such a start without first-year manager Stephen Vogt steering the ship.
One analyst is so impressed with the job Vogt has done thus far that he is ready to emphatically declare him the favorite for a major award at the end of the season.
John Fanta pointed out on Twitter that the Guardians’ season win total according to Las Vegas was just 79.5 and noted the slew of big injuries the club has dealt with already with Shane Bieber, Gavin Williams, and Steven Kwan, and because of this, he says that Vogt is the manager of the year up to this point.
The Cleveland Guardians are 40-20 on the season.
Their over/under win total was 79.5. They lost Shane Bieber to a season-ending injury. Gavin Williams has been rehabbing. Steven Kwan missed time. Others have been banged up. Stephen Vogt is the manager of the year to this point.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) June 5, 2024
It would be tough to make a convincing case for anybody else at the moment, as most of the teams with records similar to the Guardians are teams that were expected to be great, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Yankees.
Vogt has this team humming and they’re starting to get healthier as well, as Kwan just returned, while Williams is making rehab starts and should be back shortly.
On the field, Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, Emmanuel Clase, and guys like David Fry and Ben Lively have stepped up and elevated their game while filling in for Kwan and Bieber.
However, none of this likely happens without Vogt.
It’s great to see him getting his flowers.
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