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Guardians hire Tony Arnerich as bench coach, who could be Stephen Vogt's long lost twin
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- Guardians hire Tony Arnerich as bench coach, who could be Stephen Vogt's long lost twin
You may be tempted to check your TV settings or your eyeglass prescription the next time baseball season rolls around, but don't be fooled — you're not seeing double.
The Guardians hired Tony Arnerich to become the club's bench coach, replacing Craig Albernaz , who took the managerial job with the Baltimore Orioles .
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Arnerich will be charged with being Stephen Vogt 's right-hand man, especially when it comes to in-game decision making. It means he'll often be sitting or standing right next to Vogt. And in addition to the two already being familiar with one another — they were both on the Seattle Mariners ' 2023 coaching staff — they happen to be dead ringers for each other.
If Vogt had a long-lost twin, it's the person who will now be right next to him in the dugout.
"That was the whole reason we brought him in, was so that we could confuse people," Vogt joked on Zoom. "We've been getting jokes before we even met that we looked similar. I'm like, do I really want to wear this? But that's how valuable Tony's going to be for us."
Vogt was Seattle's bullpen coach in 2023, when Arnerich was the hitting coach. After Vogt left for Cleveland to become Guardians manager, Arnerich took over some the responsibilities he left with the Mariners. Now, Arnerich has again followed Vogt, this time to Cleveland.
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In addition to now being able to play a wide array of pranks on anyone they want, since they both effectively have a body double at the ballpark every day, some of the key reasons Arnerich was chosen to replace Albernaz — commonly thought to be among the best in the business at what he was doing the last few years — revolves around trust and communication during games, when time is a premium.
"I'm a verbal processor. I know it's going to surprise you that I'm talking the whole game," Vogt said, joking that he happens to have the gift of gab. "So when I throw ideas out, either be ready to confirm that it's the right one or challenge that it's not.
"Albi was great at that. I know Tony's going to do a great job of that, too. … There's a lot to be thinking about during a game, and it happens fast."
Guardians hire Andy McKay as fielding coordinator
Vogt has another full-circle-type moment with the 2026 coaching staff. The Guardians recently also hired Andy McKay to be the club's major league fielding coordinator. That position was vacated by Kai Correa, who left to be the New York Mets bench coach.
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McKay, incidentally, is the person who hired Vogt to be the Mariners bullpen coach in 2022. McKay had been acting as an assistant GM, but he also had a desire to return to being in uniform.
"I got to know Andy through the interview process, and he really become a mentor of mine," Vogt said. "He helped develop me as a coach and think about things through different lenses.
"It's maybe a little unorthodox to bring someone from an assistant GM title into the dugout, but Andy's a coach. Andy's been a coach his whole life. That's who he is."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians hire Tony Arenrich as Stephen Vogt's bench coach
