{"id":7041,"date":"2017-06-23T12:33:28","date_gmt":"2017-06-23T16:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=7041"},"modified":"2017-06-23T12:33:28","modified_gmt":"2017-06-23T16:33:28","slug":"players-fans-still-believe-stephen-vogt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2017\/06\/23\/players-fans-still-believe-stephen-vogt\/","title":{"rendered":"Players, Fans Still Believe in Stephen Vogt, Even if Management Doesn&#8217;t"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Athletics twitter-verse was abuzz with tweets about <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vogtst01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephen Vogt<\/a><\/strong> yesterday morning. Vogt, a fan-favorite and one of the longest-tenured players on the current roster, was designated for assignment and is expected to be claimed off waivers or traded to another team. Clearly, fans still believe in Stephen Vogt. In fact it seems that everyone (fans, media, and team mates old and new) still believes in Stephen Vogt.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Twitter reminding us today that baseball fans are Stephen Vogt fans. Vogt is, to borrow a phrase he used often, some kind of special.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JaneMLB\/status\/877942480410353664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A look at his stats for the 2017 season thus far seems to belie all the positive tweets. Why wouldn\u2019t fans be happy to see a guy batting just .218 with four homers go? A catcher who leads all catchers in the AL in errors and is league-worst at throwing out base-stealers?<\/p>\n<p>One reason is that it\u2019s hard to forget a game-winning, walk-off hit in the 2013 ALDS. Or that he was a two-time All-Star (2015 and 2016).<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/SayHey14\/status\/878099293197934592<\/p>\n<p>But even more so, it\u2019s hard to dislike a guy like Vogt. He is seen as a veteran clubhouse leader:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Doolittle is reeling over loss of Vogt. &quot;He was the unquestioned captain of this team.  I&#39;m still processing it.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/susanslusser\/status\/877947376492716032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Fans Still Believe in Stephen Vogt<\/h2>\n<p>He is a fan-favorite, likely because he engages with fans and is always willing to chat, sign an autograph, or take a photo.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My favorite memory of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SVogt1229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SVogt1229<\/a>&#8230; when he actually stopped before getting on the bus and signed for us during the LAD series in LA. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IBISV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#IBISV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Petty LaBelle (@shicetygrl) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shicetygrl\/status\/878073666168266752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 23, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>His fan-favorite status was cemented by a hilarious sketch that he did on MLB Network in which he hilariously imitated a basketball referee, SNL-style (he can also do a great Matt Foley).<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/lbRnCn-oU3M<\/p>\n<p>Fans in the right field bleachers loved him so much that they made up a chant for him, the now famous (in Oakland) \u201cI believe in Stephen Vogt!\u201d. The chant became so popular, in fact, that it was incorporated into a talking bobble head as well as a t-shirt.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=URGVoTVo3no<\/p>\n<p>Besides being a clubhouse leader and a fan-favorite, Vogt\u2019s admirable character shines through in his work in the community. In particular, he has been very involved with the School of Imagination. The School of Imagination serves children on the Autism spectrum. Stephen started the Vogt Family Fund. He also appeared at benefits and helped with fundraising efforts. His true character is revealed, though, by the way he interacted with the students on a personal level. It is evident from the video below that he is a kind and caring individual.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fdiablomagazine%2Fvideos%2F10153964529730855%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>So, yes, fans are sad. They are angry at management:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Athletics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Athletics<\/a> want to win again, buy out Beanes 40mil contract, and say goodbye to HIM! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DFABeane?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#DFABeane<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jorge Leon (@Jorgeleon17) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jorgeleon17\/status\/877939555470499840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>But, according to Susan Slusser of the SF Chronicle, even management had a hard time with the decision:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Forst says decision to DFA Vogt incredibly hard given all he has meant to team and community.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/susanslusser\/status\/877944161701208064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Despite all the love and support being shown to Stephen Vogt on social media right now, baseball is, in the end, a business. A\u2019s fans will have to find a new player to cheer and chant for, but it will be hard to find a guy who compares to Stephen. Those are some big white cleats to fill.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/697329660\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/697329660?et=pwhiRUPYRo51F5llllwKUg&amp;tld=com&amp;viewMoreLink=on&amp;sig=h3WUF3AB-wbwnSS9r7C7LJHgi5WsALoJidSWr5ytKMM=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Athletics twitter-verse was abuzz with tweets about Stephen Vogt yesterday morning. Vogt, a fan-favorite and one of the longest-tenured players on the current roster, was designated for assignment and is expected to be claimed off waivers or traded to another team. Clearly, fans still believe in Stephen Vogt. In fact it seems that everyone [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1845,"featured_media":7044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1071],"tags":[68,69,652,283,907],"class_list":["post-7041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-mlb","tag-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-oakland-as","tag-oakland-athletics","tag-stephen-vogt"],"modified_by":"Josh Greenberg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1845"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}