Pop quiz! How well does Vogt know Vogt?
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GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Most pop quizzes end when you¡¯re finished with school, but when you¡¯re in the manager¡¯s hot seat, you need to be ready for anything.
Stephen Vogt has had to quickly become an A-plus student in Guardians knowledge. We needed to find something else to challenge him.
So, how well does Stephen Vogt know Stephen Vogt?
Q: Let¡¯s start with an easy one. Who was your first at-bat against and what was the result?
Vogt: David Robertson. Struck out on four pitches.
Fact checker: That¡¯s correct.
Q: Who hit when you were in the on-deck circle waiting for your first at-bat?
Vogt: Carlos Pe?a.
Fact checker: Yes.
Q: Who did you pinch-hit for in that first at-bat?
Vogt: Sean Rodriguez.
Fact checker: Goodbye 1.000 average. Vogt pinch-hit for Elliot Johnson, not Rodriguez.
Vogt¡¯s competitive side starts to show as he grits his teeth and subtly hits the table in front of him, angry he didn¡¯t get it right.
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Q: Do you know how many games you played before you caught?
Vogt: Give me a second here. I had a ton of pinch-hits. (Pauses for 15 seconds to count through his games in his head.) I¡¯d say my seventh game?
Fact checker: Close, eighth.
There¡¯s nothing subtle about the competitiveness now. Vogt lunges forward in his chair while saying, ¡°Dang it!¡± with a frustrated smile on his face.
Q: Do you know who that game was against?
Vogt: Braves
Fact checker: Correct. We¡¯re back on track.
Q: Who was the first pitcher you caught?
Vogt: David Price.
Fact checker: Incorrect. The first pitcher he caught was Cesar Ramos.
Vogt was ready to challenge this answer.
Vogt: ¡°Jose Molina got foul-tipped, I came in and I caught one inning of David Price and then Cesar Ramos was the first [reliever]. I finished David Price¡¯s inning and then Cesar Ramos. Pretty sure.¡±
Fact checker: For the sake of the quiz, we allowed that to be a mystery and continued. But Vogt was shown the proof after the fun that it was Ramos he caught first. Price was his next game.
Q: Who was the starting pitcher in your first time starting behind the plate?
Vogt: Toronto Blue Jays. Jeremy Hellickson. Six innings. Shutout.
Fact checker: That is 99.99% correct. Hellickson went 5 2/3 innings. But we aren¡¯t nitpickers here.
Q: How many at-bats did you have before your first hit (homer)?
Vogt: 32. 35 plate appearances. 32 at-bats.
Fact checker: Correct.
Q: Who was the homer off of and what was the count?
Vogt: Joe Kelly, 0-2.
Fact checker: Nailed it.
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Q: Do you know how many home runs you had in your career?
Vogt: 82
Fact checker: Right again.
Q: How many career RBIs?
Vogt: I think it was like -- oh man, I¡¯m fogging. 200-something. 300-something.
Fact checker: 313.
Q: You know you had five stolen bases, but do you know how many times you were caught stealing?
Vogt: Two?
Fact checker: Nope, five.
Vogt: So five and five, 50% success rate. That¡¯s pretty good. I¡¯m a speed demon.
Q: Do you know your career OPS?
Vogt: .707
Fact checker: Correct.
Q: How many career games?
Vogt: Did I get over 600? Yeah ¡ 620-something?
Fact checker: 794.
Vogt: Wow, not giving myself enough credit.
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Q: What team did you play against the most?
Vogt: Man ¡ I¡¯ll say the Angels?
Fact checker: Correct.
Q: Which team did you have the best average and OPS against?
Vogt: This isn¡¯t small sample size, big sample size, I¡¯m going to say the Kansas City Royals.
Fact checker. Nope. D-backs (.333 average/.990 OPS in 19 games).
Q: Which pitcher did you face the most?
Vogt: It¡¯s either F¨¦lix [Hern¨¢ndez] or [Jered] Weaver. I¡¯m gonna go F¨¦lix.
Fact checker: Nope, Weaver.
Vogt yells, ¡°Dang it!¡± again.
Q: Of pitchers you saw at least 15 times, who did you have the best average and OPS against?
Vogt: I don¡¯t know if I got to 15 plate appearances, but Jeremy Guthrie.
Fact checker: Nope.
Vogt: F¨¦lix?
Fact checker: He was second. Lance McCullers Jr. was No. 1 (.467 average, 1.329 OPS).
Q: What ballpark did you have the highest average and OPS in?
Vogt: Kansas City.
Fact checker: Correct.
Q: We¡¯ll end with an easy one: Aside from Oakland, which ballpark did you play in the most?
Vogt: I mean, it has to be San Francisco.
Fact checker: That is correct.
Q: Did you look at your numbers or Baseball-Reference as a player?
Vogt, laughing: ¡°You know what your numbers are. ¡®Oh, I don¡¯t look.¡¯ Bull crap. You know exactly where you¡¯re at.¡±