Stephen Vogt leads Guardians against manager who first officially made him a big leaguer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — In Stephen Vogt’s first season as Guardians manager, his club has already faced several teammates and coaches that the 13-year major league veteran says he was honored to play for or work with.

But when Cleveland welcomed Giants skipper Bob Melvin and his club to Progressive Field on Friday to open a three-game weekend series, Vogt said it carried a little deeper meaning than most others.

“He was the manager that shook my hand for the first time and said, ‘Congratulations, you’re officially a big leaguer,’” Vogt said. “For him to give me the opportunities that he did and allow me to take them and run, and to constantly push me to be at my best and to be a leader, I learned so much from him for my playing career.”

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Vogt played under Melvin with Oakland from 2013-17. He told reporters before Friday’s series opener that for him to be in the seat he is in now, he owes a lot of that to the experiences he had with Melvin.

“He treated us like we were the best team in baseball, even when we lost 90 games,” Vogt said. “If you don’t show up to the field thinking you’re going to win, don’t come. We have what it takes to win a major league baseball game every night. We just have to put it together and do it.”

In five seasons, Vogt said Melvin showed him the importance of being the same person every day.

“I learned how to not react to tough things during the game by watching him, the stoicism that he shows, I try to show some of it,” Vogt said. “The constant way he loved us in his way, knew when to talk to us, when to leave us alone, really picked up on a lot of that stuff from him.”

Melvin told reporters he knew Vogt would someday be a manager because he told him so.

“I know how he was respected by players,” Melvin said. “He’s been an All-Star, he’s been sent down. He’s been through it all.”

Vogt also spent the 2019 season with San Francisco, posting a career-high .804 OPS in 99 games. He was part of the Giants in legendary manager Bruce Bochy’s final year with the club, and spent time backing up All-Star Buster Posey behind the plate. For Vogt, who grew up a Giants fan on the west coast, suiting up for San Francisco was a childhood dream come true.

“Getting to wear that uniform was really special,” Vogt said. “And the Bay Area, obviously getting to spend time in Oakland and growing up a Giants fan, it was really special to play that year.”

So, while Melvin and the Giants are in town, there might be some question as to which team Vogt’s family will be rooting for. But Cleveland’s skipper put any question about their loyalties to rest right away. At least, most of his family.

“The Guardians,” Vogt said when asked who his family would cheer for. With one possible exception. “My Grandma, that might be a little tougher.”