Looking back at Vogt's most memorable moments

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The biggest question of the Guardians’ offseason has been answered. Former catcher Stephen Vogt has been named the team’s new manager, replacing Terry Francona. But the press conference to introduce him as Cleveland’s 45th skipper won’t take place until Friday. That means we must wait to learn more about his expectations for his new role and the reasons that the Guardians’ front office was so drawn to him.

Until then, let’s look back at his playing career that wrapped up just 13 months ago and included some memorable (and entertaining) moments:

The first hit
It took more than a year after making his Major League debut for Vogt to finally feel the sweet relief of logging his first career hit on June 28, 2013. After beginning his career 0-for-33 with the Rays and A’s, he enjoyed his first big league milestone in style, launching a home run into the right-field seats at the Oakland Coliseum.

Little did he know that his journey would come full circle 10 seasons later.

The impressionist
Vogt was known to be an excellent teammate with a high baseball-IQ -- similar to most catchers. But what made him unlike anyone else was his personality away from the field. He’s known to be an impressionist and explained to MLB.com in 2016 that he began impersonating the late comedian Chris Farley when he was 13 or 14 years old. Farley had a famous skit on “Saturday Night Live” pretending to be a motivational speaker named Matt Foley, who became Vogt’s favorite character to imitate.

So, Vogt decided to bring his antics to the clubhouse, rewriting Foley’s lines to reflect baseball’s pace-of-play rules in 2016. After that, he took his act in front of the camera, appearing on MLB Network’s “Intentional Talk” dressed as Foley, as he made his pitch for why he belonged at the All-Star Game that season.

The walk-off
He recorded his first hit in June of the 2013 season, but he saved his first walk-off performance for the postseason.

In Game 2 of the ‘13 American League Division Series against the Tigers, Vogt stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning in a scoreless game with the bases loaded. With the infield in, Vogt sent a line drive up the middle into the outfield, easily scoring the winning run from third base. As soon as the ball left his bat, Vogt lifted his hand high in the air and leaped into the arms of his teammates in celebration.

The singer
He doesn’t just do impressions. Vogt is also known for his singing ability -- specifically Disney tunes.

In 2017, Vogt stood on the field in Oakland with ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian and serenaded the television cameras with his own (and may I say, spot-on) rendition of “Under the Sea” from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” He also sang songs from “Aladdin” and “Tarzan,” proving that his children’s movie soundtracks IQ is just as sharp as his baseball IQ.

The last hit
After nearly five seasons in Oakland, Vogt played for Milwaukee, San Francisco, Arizona and Atlanta before he finished his 10-year career back with the A’s in 2022. On Oct. 5, he arrived at the ballpark for the final time as a player and walked to the plate to the voices of his children announcing his name on the public address system. That alone would’ve been enough to make his final game memorable and meaningful, but the backstop had more in store.

In his final plate appearance, he sent a fly ball into the seats in right field in Oakland -- nearly in the exact spot his first career home run (and hit) landed. Usually poised on the baseball field, Vogt let all the emotions out, high-stepping his way to second base, while yelling with pure elation like a child in Little League as his team waited to greet him outside of their dugout for the final time.