A right-handed center fielder, Vogel played in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system from 1983 to 1985. He was with the Johnson City Cardinals in 1983, and the Savannah Cardinals in 1984 and 1985. Vogel was a center fielder for SIU-Edwardsville from 1980 to 1983. During that time, he had a composite batting average of .315 with more than 200 games played. He was the first player in school history to record more than 200 hits. He holds the school record for most home runs, stolen bases, and triples. He had twelve triples in 1980 which is a school record. In 1982, he was named one of the top seven athletes at SIU-Edwardsville. In 1983, he was an AllMidwest Region outfielder. In 1982 and 1983, Vogel was the starting center fielder for SIU-Edwardsville in the NCAA tournament. SIUE finished fourth in the nation in 1983. In 2010, Vogel was inducted into the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame. He played outfield for Pattonville High School from 1976 to 1979. His senior year, he was named to the Post-Dispatch All-Metro team. From 1977 to 1979, Vogel played for the Maryland Heights American Legion team. He starred for the Metro Collegiate Dodgers in 1980, and the Edwardsville Civics in 1981 and 1982.