If you ask most Los Angeles Angels fans about new manager Kurt Suzuki, chances are you’ll get a healthy dose of skepticism. Part of that is about Suzuki’s lack of managerial experience, but most of it is about owner Arte Moreno. Angels fans know that the owner is on the frugal side, to put it politely, and GM Perry Minasian isn’t exactly known for great managerial hires.
But at least one major league manager thinks Suzuki’s lack of managerial experience won’t be an important issue, because he recognized Suzuki’s potential to be a manager early on. That would be Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who’s won two AL Central Division titles after taking over for future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona.
Vogt’s pivotal experience with Suzuki dates back to 2013. Vogt was with the then-Oakland A’s as a catcher, and Suzuki had been traded and then brought back. The A’s were fighting for an American League West title in August 2013, and their two catchers, Vogt and Derek Norris, were relatively inexperienced.
Suzuki was there for the final five weeks of the season, but that was enough time for Suzuki to make an indelible impression on Vogt.
“It was my first opportunity to really play in the big leagues and we picked up Kurt late in the season and he just came in with everything he’d accomplished and poured it in to help me learn how to navigate big league games, a big league pitching staff, get through the playoffs,” Vogt said in a piece written by Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “Just one of my favorite teammates. It was a short time, but it was unbelievable. I learned a tremendous amount from him that I continued to use for the rest of my playing career.”
The Guardian’s manager sees Suzuki as being in an analogous position now, according to Vogt.
“Kurt’s in a similar bucket as I was, where we played through the analytical transition, so to speak,” Vogt said. “When we came through the minor leagues and broke into the big leagues, we didn’t have a ton of information. Then as we went through our careers, we got it all thrown at us. We learned how to apply it in our playing careers.
“I think a lot of that is understanding how to digest all the information and then make it player-facing. Kurt’s going to be outstanding with that. He knows how to relate to guys and get to them to understand what it takes to play 162 games and do it at an elite level.”