Behind Tanner Bibee’s “Different” Mound Visit From Stephen Vogt, Guardians News

Everyone at Progressive Field, including Tanner Bibee and his teammates, thought that his day was over when the Minnesota Twins managed to get two runners on base with two outs in the top of the seventh inning.

However, that wasn’t the case, and Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt decided to personally go out to the mound to encourage Bibee to finish off the inning.

This was a new experience for the Guardians pitcher, but it worked wonders for his confidence.

“Well, that one was pretty different,” said Bibee with a large smile on his face after the game. "That was the first time he's done that to me."

“[Andres Gimenez] and [Josh Naylor] come up to me and they’re like, ‘Good job man. Way to compete today.’ And [Vogt] gets out there and he says, ‘You’re not leaving this mound.’ I was kind of shocked at first and then I locked it back in. And he says, ‘You’re gonna strike this blank out.’ And I said ‘Alright. Let’s do it!’”

This is the kind of stuff you love seeing from a rookie manager. Maybe Vogt’s decision goes back to his catching days and he thought his pitcher needed a little extra encouragement. Whatever it was, it clearly worked.

He struck out Carlos Santana looking and an emotional Bibee yelled in excitement on his way to the dugout. He finished his days with 7.0 innings pitched, one earned run, eight strikeouts, four hits, and one walk.

Vogt revealed that the coaching staff was ready to pull Bibee from the game. But after thinking more about it, they wanted to challenge him and see how he would respond.

“We had Cade [Smith] ready to go and it kind of felt like it was the moment [to take Bibee out],” said Vogt. “Then just talking with Carl [Willis] and [Craig Albernaz] and was like ‘You know what, let’s go challenge him. Let’s see if he can step up.’ I wanted to challenge him and give him an opportunity and he answered. It was awesome.”

Bibee’s start to his sophomore season has been a roller coaster of good starts, bad starts, command issues, and dominance. No one would have batted an eye if Vogt had opted to turn to the bullpen in this situation.

May 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt (12) talks to starting pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) during the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports | Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Ultimately, he kept Bibee in the game and the team was better off for it.

“I really appreciate him letting me stay out there and letting me finish that,” said Bibee. “I really do believe that was my game and I’m happy I executed that last pitch.”