The Cleveland Guardians had a 76-86 record in 2023, missing the playoffs and finishing third in the AL Central standings.
With the same core of players this year, many fans were actually pessimistic about their chances in 2024.
That core, however, was, and is, very young and talented, which means development and evolution were always a possibility.
That’s what some of the position players and young pitchers have done through the winter, in spring training, and in the early stages of the 2024 season: evolve.
That, and a fresh voice from the dugout in Stephen Vogt.
Speaking of Vogt, the first-year manager won another game on Monday, beating the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in the series opener.
His team is now 11-5, and that’s better than every start Terry Francona had in any season with the Guards.
“Cleveland is now 11-5 in Stephen Vogt’s managerial debut season. During Terry Francona’s 11-year tenure as Cleveland’s manager, Cleveland never started better than 9-7 through 16 games,” Cleveland Stats tweeted.
Cleveland is now 11-5 in Stephen Vogt's managerial debut season.
During Terry Francona's 11-year tenure as Cleveland's manager, Cleveland never started better than 9-7 through 16 games.
— Cleveland Stats (@CLE_STATS) April 15, 2024
The goal of this tweet is not to directly compare Francona, an accomplished dugout star, with a rookie manager in Vogt.
However, it serves to illustrate two things: the state of the franchise is actually very healthy and was during the whole offseason, and two, Vogt is very talented in his own right.
Cleveland, especially now that they will be without ace Shane Bieber for the rest of the year, will have to go little by little, game by game.
They have to “trust the process,” as some say, because their prospects and young players have shown continued growth over the weeks and months.
And little by little, Vogt is proving to be a very capable skipper who is loved and respected by his players.
NEXT: Stephen Vogt Continues To Make Perfect Pinch-Hitting Decisions
