Elephant Rumblings: Stephen Vogt announces retirement

Happy Friday, Athletics Nation!

Stephen Vogt returned to the A’s before the 2022 season began, and it has turned out that this final stint in green and gold will be a most fitting swan song for the gritty and determined clubhouse leader, fan favorite, and two-time All-Star. Prior to yesterday’s series finale between the A’s and Mariners, Vogt announced that he will retire at the end of this season, his tenth MLB campaign.

Melissa Lockard at The Athletic reported on the announcement and recapped some of Vogt’s career highlights. In his rookie season, he memorably drove in Yoenis Céspedes to give the A’s a walkoff win against the Tigers in Game 2 of the 2013 ALDS, but his favorite career moment came while behind the plate in the same game, when he went against the orders of manager Bob Melvin and threw out Jhonny Peralta in a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play.

Vogt has been a model of perseverance throughout his baseball career. He was drafted 365th overall in 2007 by the Tampa Bay Rays and called up to the majors for the first time in 2012, at age 27. He went 0-for-27 in sporadic appearances with the Rays and was traded to the A’s ahead of the 2013 season, when he finally began cementing his role as a key presence in Oakland.

Vogt missed all of 2018 due to a shoulder injury; his future was in doubt, but the Giants signed him to a minor-league deal in 2019. All Vogt did with that opportunity was earn his way back to the bigs and post a career-high .804 OPS platooning with fellow catcher Buster Posey.

Fans celebrated Vogt’s return to the A’s this season, as he is a great mentor to have in a clubhouse teeming with young prospects. He has struggled at the plate the past few seasons, but still seems to come through in the clutch fairly regularly; this tendency was on display as recently as yesterday, when Vogt got the A’s on the board with a game-tying three-run triple.

Vogt was full of emotion while reminiscing about his experiences before reporters yesterday.

Vogt has endured a lot of wear and tear through the years, but he fought back from his career-jeopardizing injury in 2018, and now he can say goodbye on his own terms. You will be missed, Stephen Vogt! Athletics Nations salutes you and thanks you for all the memories. Here’s to hoping for a few more as the season—and Vogt’s career—wind down.

We will always believe in Stephen Vogt.

A’s Coverage:

• Castillo: Vogt delivers ‘big hit’ after emotional retirement announcement
• Lockard: A’s fan favorite Stephen Vogt set to retire at year’s end: ‘I feel so fortunate’ ($)
• ESPN: Oakland Athletics fan favorite Stephen Vogt retiring after 10 MLB seasons
• Gallegos: Sinking feeling: New strategy pays off for Kaprielian
• Gallegos: The key behind Machín’s September spark
• Pratt: A’s help create happy housewarming for new Ronald McDonald House in Oakland

MLB News & Interest:

• Slusser: Will restrictions on Giants’ unvaccinated pitching director affect free-agent pursuits? ($)
• Ahram: Julio Rodríguez Undergoing MRI Due To Lower Back Tightness
• Franco: Dodgers Agree To One-Year Extension With Daniel Hudson
• Baggarly: Why Buster Posey, Giants owner, is the most Buster Posey move ever ($)
• Heyman: Aaron Judge, Yankees both benefit from staying together
• Heyman: It will be hard for Shohei Ohtani to get raise he deserves from Angels
• Today in Baseball History

Best of Twitter:

Vogt on his decision.

Seems like a wise wager.

Doubles Machín!

That’s a tough slate of pitchers to face.

Smith with some dazzling defense. He might be ready for another look in the bigs.

Rey said it better than I could.

You otter know about yesterday’s Nonprofit Parter of the Game.

A doozie, indeed.

Sodie’s first AAA bomb.