Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt speaks during a news conference after winning Game 2 of the American League Wild Card baseball playoff series against the Detroit Tigers in Cleveland, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
November 11, 2025 was an historic day for Major League Baseball managers.
On that day, Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, 41, was selected as the 2025 American League Manager of the Year.
It was the second consecutive year Vogt was honored with the award.
Vogt made history, when he became the first manager to be named Manager of the Year in his first two seasons.’
The other two American League finalists for the Manager of the Year Award were John Schneider of the World Series runner-up Toronto Blue Jays, and Seattle Mariners manager, Dan Wilson.88
Milwaukee Brewers manager, Pat Murphy, 66, was named the National League Manager of the Year. He, too, won the award for a second consecutive year.
Murphy managed the San Diego Padres for 95 games in 2015.
Vogt faced some incredible obstacles in his stewardship of the Guardians.
-First and foremost, his Guardians team finished with a .226 team batting average. Only the Los Angeles Angels were lower, at .225.
-The Guardians scored 643 runs, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies and the Pittsburgh Pirates in all of Major League Baseball.
Only the Rockies had a worse on-base percentage than the .292 recorded by the Guardians.
Yet, despite that alarmingly low offensive production, the Guardians won the American League Central Division, with a record of 88-74, one game ahead of the Detroit Tigers.
The Guardians went on to lose the American League Wild Card Series, 2-1, to those same Detroit Tigers.
CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 02: Hunter Gaddis #33 of the Cleveland Guardians looks on during the seventh inning in Game Three of the American League Wildcard Series against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field on October 02, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
Diamond Images/Getty Images
How They Got To The Postseason:
There are some amazing statistics that will follow the 2025 edition of the Cleveland Guardians into baseball lore.
-From June 3-July 7, the team won nine of 31 games. Nine wins in 31 games.
-They had a ten-game losing streak from June 26-July 7.
Many MLB teams would have folded after that losing streak.
Not the Cleveland Guardians.
-In early July, the Guardians were buried 15.5 games behind the division leading Detroit Tigers.
Many MLB teams would have folded after with that type of deficit in the standings.
Not the Cleveland Guardians.
Here is a look at the Guardians 2025 month-by-month record:
March=2-2
April= 15-11
May=14-13
June=9-16
July=14-12
August=14-13
September=20-7
It was as if the Guardians reinvented themselves in the crucial month of September. A Renaissance, if you will.
At the center of it all? Stephen Vogt.
Vogt was a steady, calm, and collected leader.
With a quiet strength, and reassuring words, Vogt never wavered in his belief in his team.
Cleveland Guardians’ Jose Ramirez warms up before Game 3 of the American League wild card baseball playoff series against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Led by Super Star Jose Ramirez and defensive wizard Steven Kwan, the Guardians kept plugging away.
With fantastic pitching as the September focal point, the Guardians kept the opponents from piling up runs, and scoring just enough to win close games.
Their pitching staff of Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Slade Cecconi, rookie Parker Messick, and Logan Allen consistently gave their team a chance to win every game in September.
The bullpen, led by newly anointed closer, Cade Smith worked tirelessly in game-after-game to hold leads and finish out games.
The entire relief corps of Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski, Matt Fest, Tim Herrin, and at times Kolby Allard, closed the door on the opposition.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 17: Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the ninth inning at Oracle Park on June 17, 2025 in San Francisco, California. The Guardians won the game 3-2. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
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Gambling Controversy:
If his ineffective offense wasn’t enough of a concern for Vogt, he also had to handle the ramifications of a gambling scandal that engulfed two of his pitchers.
In July, Guardians starter Luis Ortiz, and later, All Star closer Emmanuel Clase began to be investigated for alleged gambling issues.
Ortiz and Clase were put on Administrative Leave (with pay) by MLB.
The Guardians, and Stephen Vogt would finish the season without a starter and their All Star closer.
In November, the state of New York indicted both Ortiz and Clase on charges they rigged MLB games with “prop” bets on specific pitches.
If convicted, they could face prison time.
Ortiz was arrested at Logan Airport. Classe is said to be somewhere in the Dominican Republic, his home.
A scandal like the one created by the alleged gambling violations of Ortiz and Clase could tear a team apart.
Not the Cleveland Guardians.
In his usual caring, yet confident manner, Vogt kept his team energized for the prize at hand-a chance to go to the playoffs and ultimately, potentially win the World Series.
Against all odds, the Guardians made it to the playoffs.
The World Series remains an unmet goal.
When spring training begins in February, Stephen Vogt will begin his third season at the helm of the Cleveland Guardians.
The only person to win Manager of the Year Awards in his first two years, Vogt will bring his calm and caring approach to his new season.
Perhaps a third consecutive award is within his grasp.