If Stephen Vogt’s career had played out as he expected, he would never have become an All-Star catcher for the Oakland Athletics. He would never have ended a playoff game with a hit, and he would never have been asked to share his comedy skills on television.
Instead, Vogt would have held a dubious major league record. In 2012, he had 25 at-bats without a hit for the Tampa Bay Rays. Vogt turned 28 after the season and believed he had blown the only shot he would ever get in the majors. He kept the ball he had used for his first caught stealing, he said, because he doubted he would ever get one for a hit.