In an MLB awards season with little intrigue, the American League Manager of the Year race offered a rarity: Three finalists with compelling arguments to win.
Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt guided his club to a division title in his first year. Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch authored an impressive comeback story, leading the franchise to the postseason for the first time in 10 years. And all Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro did was take a team that had lost 106 games in 2023 — his first season on the job — back to the playoffs after an eight-year drought.
In the end, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America revealed on Tuesday it selected Vogt, 40, whose team finished 92-69 and bested the field in an unexpectedly competitive AL Central. Vogt was in his first season in Cleveland since replacing long-time manager Terry Francona, who stepped away after 2023 before signing on to lead the Cincinnati Reds last month.
Vogt received 27 of 30 first-place votes on his way to earning 142 points. Quatraro was second with 73 points, including two first-place votes, while Hinch earned 41 points and one first-place vote.
The Guardians’ front office did little to raise expectations last offseason following a 76-86 finish in 2023. But Vogt, who finished his 11-year major-league playing career in 2022, guided the team to a scorching start, fostered a positive culture that helped overcome the loss of ace Shane Bieber, and managed the best bullpen in baseball across the course of 2024.
Vogt, who had never managed at any level, is the fastest former player to win the Manager of the Year award, surpassing Joe Girardi, who won the award with the Florida Marlins in 2006, just three years after his final major-league season. The last first-year manager to win the award was the Marlins’ Skip Schumaker in 2023. The Milwaukee Brewers’ Pat Murphy and the New York Mets’ Carlos Mendoza, both first-year managers, are also finalists for NL Manager of the Year, announced later Tuesday.
Francona, Vogt’s predecessor, previously won AL Manager of the Year for Cleveland in 2013, 2016 and 2022.
As with other BBWAA awards, the voting for AL Manager of the Year takes place before the postseason. But after securing a first-round bye, the Guardians defeated the Tigers in the American League Division Series before losing to the New York Yankees in five games in the AL Championship Series.
More than most MLB awards, the Manager of the Year honors often come down to a good narrative. Hinch and Quatraro both had strong cases, too. But Vogt’s argument won out.
(Photo of Stephen Vogt: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
