Insider Reveals How Stephen Vogt Has Evolved As A Manager

Life is full of lessons for everybody. Many people say it is the best teacher: you just have to pay attention and be willing to learn.

When it comes to learning, Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt sure pays attention and uses life and baseball experiences to improve as a skipper and a leader of men.

One would think that a guy who opens his career with two AL Manager of the Year Awards doesn’t have much left to absorb in terms of knowledge, but that’s what makes Vogt great and separates him from the rest: he is always willing to adjust and learn.

In 2026, his best player, Jose Ramirez, went from putting up exactly 6.3 fWAR in each of the 2024 and 2025 campaigns to just 2.2. Far from giving up and calling it a season, Vogt adapted, found more pieces, trusted others, and took the team to a third straight AL Central title.

Guardians insider Paul Hoynes discussed how he has evolved as a manager this year.

“I did see a guy [in Stephen Vogt] that kind of leaned more and more toward a set lineup. When he got Adell, this guy was in there … so you saw a guy that was kind of leaning more towards stability of a lineup than constantly platooning,” Hoynes said. “Maybe another manager, when he saw Jose struggling, would have perhaps given him less playing time. But he’s stuck with Ramirez. He knows what he means to the organization, knows what he means to the team.”

For years, Cleveland and Vogt tried to acquire a right-handed-hitting slugger who could provide some power. Once he got him in Adell, he got comfortable with him in the third or fourth spot of the lineup, and the batting order became more productive.

Vogt deserves huge credit for sticking with Ramirez even when he was slumping badly, and especially for keeping Steven Kwan in the lineup after running a wRC+ in the low 80s in the first half. Nobody knows his players better than he does, and they end up repaying that faith more often than not.

Angel Martinez, Travis Bazzana, Brayan Rocchio, and many others had cold spells this season. Vogt stuck with them, and the rest is history.

Players love Vogt because he always has their backs. However, he has also improved in specific game situations, such as lineup construction and bullpen management.

Cleveland is where it is, in the Division Series waiting for an opponent, in large part because of their manager. He is one of the best in the business.