The Cleveland Guardians were one of the first teams to hire a new manager this offseason.
With free agency underway, the Guardians wanted to make sure they had their skipper in place.
Cleveland showed strong interest in former Oakland A’s catcher Stephen Vogt this offseason.
He ended up being their choice to replace Terry Francona on the bench.
We have seen many former big league catchers become great managers.
Just look at Bruce Bochy, who led the Texas Rangers to the World Series.
He was a catcher in the big leagues for nine seasons and turned into one of the greatest managers of all time.
Also, Joe Torre and Joe Girardi are World Series-winning managers who were catchers.
While those may be unfair comparison for Vogt, it does show how catchers can have success.
One person who loves the Vogt hire for Cleveland is pitcher Adam Oller.
He played with Vogt in Oakland and thinks he will be a great manager.
According to Jessica Kleinschmidt, Oller said:” I can’t think of a better man to coach and mold young players than Vogt.”
Pitcher Adam Oller via text on Stephen Vogt’s hiring. Adam once told me Vogt was one of the best teammates he’s ever had: pic.twitter.com/hwYevE2oMJ
— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) November 6, 2023
Oller recently signed a minor league contract with the Guardians and will get the chance to be managed by Vogt.
He has always been a strong personality and should bring plenty of life to Cleveland.
Playing in the AL Central should give the Guardians a shot at the playoffs next year.
That is the worst division in baseball and Cleveland may only be a few moves away from competing.
While the Guardians can use some help with their roster, at least it looks like they have the right man leading the team.
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