Stephen Vogt is an AL Manager of the Year Finalist, and deservedly so

The three finalists for the American League Manager of the Year Award are out, and it is a group dominated by the AL Central. Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt leads a group that also features Matt Quatraro of Kansas City and Detroit's A.J. Hinch.

Each candidate is vying for their first Manager of the Year Award, with Hinch being the only one of the group that has been nominated as a finalist previously, having done so multiple times during his time with the Houston Astros. Both Vogt and Quatraro are early in their managerial careers, with Vogt being named a finalist in his first year and Quatraro in his second. When factoring this into the equation, it is these two finalists who should garner a little more consideration than the previously mentioned and nominated Hinch.

When evaluating the possible winners of the award, there may be a tendency by some to try and not pick Vogt, going with Quatraro or, for some reason, Hinch. Credit to where credit is due, both Quatraro and Hinch did an excellent job for their respective ballclubs in 2024, but the situation in Cleveland was a bit different than those in Detroit and Kansas City.

Vogt was taking over a franchise that was at somewhat of a crossroads, and the way things played out in the early parts of the 2024 season could determine how they were going to operate moving forward. Not helping matters was that the Guardians were coming off a 2023 season that did not go as planned and was also headlined by future Hall of Fame and recently hired Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona stepping down from the position in Cleveland. When it comes to pressure? It is clear that Vogt had the most, and it was not particularly close.

The relatively low expectations in Kansas City and Detroit may be weighed more heavily than Vogt taking over a team that had talent but did not perform the year before. But it is Vogt's handling of the added pressure in Cleveland, combined with having to work with a pitching rotation put together on the fly while winning the AL Central and advancing to the ALCS, that should give him some sort of advantage over the other two. However things play out, it is obvious that the Guardians picked the right man to take over managerial duties in Cleveland.