Meet Stephen Vogt, the Guardians' new manager to replace Terry Francona
The Guardians have hired Stephen Vogt as the manager who will replace future hall-of-famer Terry Francona. But who is Vogt?
In a nutshell, he's a journeyman catcher who worked his way to becoming an All-Star across a 10-year major league career. He has just one year of true coaching experience (last year with the Seattle Mariners as a bullpen coach), which makes him the total opposite of the situation Cleveland walked into when they hired Francona.
But Vogt was much more than simply what was on the back of his baseball card. He was known as a superb teammate and quickly became a fan favorite in Oakland for his everyman-like personality.
Meet Stephen Vogt, the Guardians' new manager to replace "Tito."
Stephen Vogt does a dynamite Chris Farley impression
The Guardians' new manager once lived in a van down by the river — well, not really, but he plays a character who did.
Vogt can absolutely nail the Chris Farley "Matt Foley" bit from Saturday Night Live. When Major League Baseball was introducing the new pace of play rules, Vogt was asked to think of a creative way to relay the details to teammates, so he reworked Farley's famous speech as Foley.
He also did a rendition live on MLB Network and later won an MLB Esurance Award for Best MLB Interview.
Stephen Vogt also is known for his basketball referee impression
The man is an impressionist.
Vogt showed off his impression of an NBA referee on MLB Network, and things took off from there. Fans began coming to the stands dressed as referees, and the A's even did a bobblehead for it.
Stephen Vogt's nickname is 'Everything Bagel'
The A's at one time had a few players with breakfast-related nicknames, including Coco Crisp. Vogt declared that he'd like to be known as "Everything Bagel" for his ability to play different positions.
Maybe it was a joke, but the name caught on. People made jerseys with "E Bagel" on the back, and some even had him autograph a bagel.
He earned the 'I believe in Stephen Vogt' chant from Oakland A's fans
Vogt worked his way to two All-Star teams (2015-16) and became a fan favorite in Oakland. During that time, A's fans began re-working the well-known soccer chant "I believe that we will win" into "I believe in Stephen Vogt" and it became a recurring theme.
He played 10 seasons in the majors before joining the Seattle Mariners coaching staff in 2023
As for his on-the-field exploits, Vogt played 10 years in the majors with six different teams. Six of those seasons came with the A's. His best season came in 2015, when he hit 18 home runs and drove in 71 runs en route to his first All-Star selection.
In 2023, he was with the Mariners as their bullpen coach before joining the Guardians.
His kids announced his name for his final at-bat, and then he hit a home run
Vogt had a storybook ending to his career.
On Oct. 5, 2022, Vogt played in his final major league game. His last at-bat came in front of the hometown A's fans, who gave him a standing ovation.
To make it even more special, his kids announced him to the plate on the PA system. And then, to complete the magical day, Vogt belted a home run.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 6 things to know about Guardians new manager Stephen Vogt
