Stephen Vogt followed Terry Francona as manager of the Guardians, and now he has followed Francona in another way. Vogt on Nov. 19 was announced as the overwhelming choice as American League Manager of the Year for guiding the Guardians to a 92-69 record and the Central Division title a year after they finished 76-86 in Francona’s final season in the Cleveland dugout. Vogt received 27 first-place votes, two second-place votes and one third-place vote for a total of 142 points. Matt Quataro of the Royals was second in the Manager of the year voting with 73 points. Quatraro received two first-place votes, 19 for second place and six third-place votes. Stephen Vogt reacts to being named American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday. #Guardians pic.twitter.com/GLXvKF1IXy — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) November 20, 2024 Francona was named Manager of the Year in 2013 in his first year guiding the Indians. The Indians were 68-94 in 2012. Francona turned them into a 92-70 wild-card playoff team in one year. Francona also won the honor in 2016 and 2022 with the Indians/Guardians. “For me, I needed to come in and be myself,” Vogt said via Zoom from his home in Seattle after winning the award. “I knew I’d never be able to replace Tito. I just wanted to come in and be me and help our players be as good as they could be. That was the goal from Day 1. “I’m so fortunate to work with some amazing people. I have too many texts to reply to right now from our players, coaches and front office people. Just the closeness of this group is something special. A lot of teams have a special group, but this one was by far the closest group I’ve ever been around. The guys just care about each other so much. I appreciate the love and support from all of them.” Francona had previous managing experience with the Phillies and Red Sox before being hired by the Indians. Vogt was a catcher for the A’s in 2022 and the bullpen coach of the Mariners in 2023. He had no prior experience as a manager before being hired by Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti. Vogt, 40, is the fifth-youngest manager to win the award, trailing Rocco Baldelli, Buck Showalter, Tony La Russa and Eric Wedge. Baldelli was the youngest when he won the award in 2020 at age 38.