Relaxed in Year 2, Vogt takes it all in this spring

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- In Stephen Vogt¡¯s first season as a Major League manager, he led the Guardians to 92 wins and the American League Central crown while earning the AL Manager of the Year Award. With that under his belt, Vogt looks to build off last season¡¯s success and apply some early lessons he has learned on the job.

¡°I think the main thing [I observed] is just how long it is,¡± Vogt said. ¡°It¡¯s a long season. So being able to know now what it feels like to go [from] start to finish, it¡¯s helping me adjust kind of where I put my time, how I do some things maybe a little differently. But at the same time, it¡¯s ¡®continue to just get through each day and learn as much as you can.¡¯¡±

Now that he knows what to expect, Vogt has been able to settle in and is feeling a bit more relaxed than he did a year ago. However, his approach hasn¡¯t changed.

¡°No, it¡¯s been very much the same,¡± Vogt said. ¡°I think, if anything, I have a lot more time on my hands because I¡¯m trying to learn as much as I can about everything and now I know our coaches have everything under control, our players have expectations down. They know.

¡°So, for me, it¡¯s just, go sit back and watch them play and be there to encourage, be there to have conversations, be there to keep us going in the direction we want to go. But our coaching staff is unbelievable, and I have full trust in all of them to do what they do.¡±

Selected in the 12th round of the 2007 MLB Draft by Tampa Bay, Vogt saw his professional career get off to a slow start. He spent his first four professional seasons toiling away in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues. By the time he hit age 24, still in High-A, he began having thoughts of transitioning from playing to coaching.

¡°I think it started back in 2009, when I was 24 in High-A,¡± Vogt said. ¡°And I was like, ¡®Man, I want to coach. I want to stay in the game.¡¯ Then I didn¡¯t really think about managing [when I was] in the big leagues until probably like 2016, something like that. But, yeah, I always wanted to do this.¡±

Vogt says that his desire to manage influenced him as a player.

¡°It made me a better player,¡± Vogt said. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the talent that a lot of other people had, so I had to win things on the margins. I had to be more cerebral. I had to think ahead. I had to understand why we were doing things, and that helped me be a better player.¡±

It wasn¡¯t until 2014 that Vogt stuck on a big league roster. He batted .279 with nine home runs in 84 games that year and proved to be a key reinforcement for the playoff-bound Athletics. He was named an All-Star in each of his next two seasons and established a reputation as one of Major League Baseball¡¯s best clubhouse guys.

Over the course of his 10-season Major League career, Vogt played for some of baseball¡¯s brightest minds, including Bruce Bochy, Craig Counsell, Bob Melvin, Brian Snitker and Torey Lovullo. Vogt still talks to each manager and enjoys picking their brains.

While he was taught valuable lessons from each skipper, he knows the most important thing he learned:

¡°Be yourself,¡± Vogt said. ¡°You can¡¯t try and do it the way somebody else has done it. You have to be yourself, because if you¡¯re not genuine, the players are going to smell that out right away. So I just try to be me every day. I admit when I mess up. I admit when I don¡¯t know, and if I don¡¯t have the answer, I say, ¡®I¡¯ll get back to ya.¡¯ And I have a lot of good support around me.¡±

Vogt¡¯s authenticity and his sincerity when dealing with players is his greatest asset, according to Guardians pitcher Ben Lively.

¡°Everyone truly cares here,¡± Lively said, ¡°and I feel like that¡¯s what really pushed us toward the end of the postseason last year. That was insane. It¡¯s really hard to explain, actually. You feel like you¡¯re literally wanted at the field, and everyone feels like that and everyone just wants to go have fun and play.

¡°It makes a lot of big games a lot easier for us. ... There¡¯s nothing better than that guy. He¡¯s so cool.¡±