CLEVELAND — Guardians manager Stephen Vogt didn't walk to the mound to take the ball from Tanner Bibee . The first-year manager walked out there to challenge his starting pitcher.
It was unusual. It was unconventional. And, most important, it worked.
Bibee and the Guardians were protecting a one-run lead in the seventh inning of Sunday's game against the Minnesota Twins . A Max Kepler ground-rule double to lead off the inning put the potential tying run in scoring position, though Bibee recovered to record the next two outs without further damage.
But as he tried to end the inning — and likely his outing — with the lead intact, Bibee walked Alex Kirilloff on four pitches. He had just hit the 90-pitch mark and seemingly had lost the strike zone. This was the game's biggest moment to that point. Reliever Cade Smith was warmed up and ready to enter the game.
It was a moment that often would have led to a team turning to the bullpen. That's almost a guarantee if the manager is the one to walk out of the dugout and not the pitching coach, which almost always means it's just for a quick chat. So when Vogt walked to the mound, the expectation for everyone in the ballpark — Bibee included — was that a pitching change was coming.
Except it wasn't. Vogt went out there to challenge Bibee to finish the inning.
"That one [mound visit] was pretty different," Bibee said with a laugh after the game. "First time he's done that to me. He goes out there, [Andres Gimenez] and [ Josh Naylor ] come up to me, like, 'Good job, man, way to compete today.' And [Vogt] gets out there and he goes, 'You're not leaving this mound.'"
Nobody on the mound, from Bibee to the other infielders, saw that coming from the manager.
"I was kind of shocked at first," Bibee said. "Then I kind of locked it back in, and he says, 'You're going to strike this 'blank' out. And I said, 'All right, let's do it.'"
Five pitches later, Bibee struck out Carlos Santana looking. As he walked off the mound, he yelled "Let's go!" to the crowd and wildly gestured for everyone to get up on their feet. The Guardians went on to win the game 5-2 with a wild ninth inning.
And why did Vogt choose that moment to challenge Bibee, rather than go to Smith in the bullpen? He said the idea initially came from bench coach Craig Albernaz, and it had the endorsement of pitching coach Carl Willis. Vogt was originally going to pull Bibee but opted to make the final call on challenging him instead.
"I'll be completely honest with you, I said, 'All right, I'm going to go get him after this hitter.' And Alby goes, 'What if you challenge him?'" Vogt said, giving credit to Albernaz. "I'm not thinking about that, I'm trying to think about the strategy, and that's why it's so valuable to have Alby next to me. … [Willis] goes, 'Yeah, I like it.' So I went out there and challenged him."
It was a moment that not only illustrated the importance of Albernaz and Willis on the rookie manager's coaching staff , but Vogt's willingness to act on feel in a key moment. And for a Guardians team surging into first place and a winner of five consecutive games with Tuesday's win over the New York Mets , the team might not mind if Vogt surprises everyone in the ballpark a little more often.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt challenged Tanner Bibee
