Stephen Vogt's managerial career is off to a mighty fine start. After being selected as the manager of the Cleveland Guardians, his first official game was against his former team, the Oakland A's… on the road. Vogt's first game as a manager was against the team that loved him like their own… on their own turf.
A few years ago, Vogt treated the A's faithful to quite the finale, nailing one final home run to cap his career off. The A's made sure to welcome Vogt back in style, playing the Guardians manager's walk-up music during the game. After the game, Vogt talked about that awesome gesture made by the A's. (video via Bally Sports)
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt: “That was so cool. That was a nice touch from the A's, to throw up the walk-up song on for our team. The Oakland A's are such a class place, they've always treated myself and my family phenomenally. That was just one last touch that meant a lot to me.”
From the A's playing his walk-up music to his @CleGuardians team giving him an easy night, Stephen Vogt won't forget his first win as an MLB manager and this night as a whole. #ForTheLand | #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/FpqW8qH1Zh
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) March 29, 2024
It was quite the memorable night for Vogt, starting his new career in front of the fans that loved him dearly. The Guardians made sure to make this day a happy one for their new manager. Shane Bieber put on an electric showing, striking out 11 batters in six innings to secure the win.
Guardians off to a hot start
After a few years of middling performances, the Guardians are eager to get over the hump. They've always hovered around the AL Central race, but they've never reached the level where they could claim the admittedly weak division for themselves. The push to make Vogt their new manager was an effort to spice things up, in order to spark change in the team.
After retiring in 2022, Vogt took a position with the Seattle Mariners' coaching staff for the 2023 season. Managing a team has been one of the star's goals, and he's reached that with the Guardians. His first order of business was to make sure that Shane Bieber stays, knowing how integral he is to the team.
It seems like Bieber is back towards that same player that terrorized opposing hitters in 2021. After failing to record double-digit Ks last season, the Guardians ace recorded 11 in the first game of 2024. Bieber is looking like a strong Cy Young candidate, which should bode well for his next contract.
In addition, the Guardians' offense gave Bieber all the help he could ask for. After a pair of doubles gave them a slim 1-0 lead, Cleveland broke open the game in the fourth inning. After loading the bases with one out, Cleveland stretched the lead out to 6-0 with RBIs from Andres Gimenez, Austin Hedges, and rookie Brayan Rocchio.
RBIs from Jose Ramirez and David Fry late in the game secured the win for the Guardians. There's a lot of reasons to be excited about this Guardians team. Granted: it's still early in the season, and Cleveland faced an A's team that doesn't exactly inspire a ton of fear onto other teams. Still, the way Vogt's squad handled Oakland should be a good sign for them.
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