Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt can do something incredible this year, a thing that no other skipper has achieved in the history of Major League Baseball. He can become the first man to win three consecutive Manager of the Year awards.
A few men have won it twice in a row, including Vogt himself (2024, 2025), Pat Murphy (2024, 2025), Kevin Cash (2020, 2021), and Bobby Cox (2004, 2005).
Vogt has his Guardians with a 33-25 record, the third-best in the American League. Cash, however, is at 34-19 with the Rays before Thursday’s games, the best in the junior circuit. It would be a cruel thing for fate to decide that Cash will be the one taking away the “three-peat” from Vogt, but things are trending that way right now.
“It’s officially Stephen Vogt Fatigue, right? Based on how voters tend to approach this award — final team record versus preseason sentiment — it seems like it’s Kevin Cash’s hardware to lose in the AL (though Will Venable could have a great case, too). How appropriate would it be for Cash to end Vogt’s mini-reign?” Guardians insider Zack Meisel wrote.
Of course, it’s still ridiculously early to be talking about potential Manager of the Year Award candidates when May hasn’t even finished. However, it does look like these two will be fighting neck-to-neck for the piece of hardware, unless Venable’s Chicago White Sox manage to make the playoffs or win the AL Central division, thus entering the race.
If you ask Vogt, he will probably tell you that the award is the last thing on his mind right now. He is trying to deliver the first World Series trophy to Cleveland since 1948. But it would sure be a cool achievement if he could become the first man to get three Manager of the Year Awards.
Vogt continues to show that the Guardians have barely missed Terry Francona. He took on a role filled with pressure and big shoes to fill in that 2023-24 offseason, but so far, he has been outstanding. He is always there, motivating his players and reminding them about the important things, such as resilience and hard work.
Vogt has made the postseason in each of his two years at the helm and advanced to the League Championship Series in 2024 as a rookie manager. He may have a hard time winning the individual award for the third season in a row, but as long as he can compete for the World Series, he probably will be OK with the trade-off.
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