Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award
 Lou Piniella won the 2008 National League Manager of the Year Award, and won twice in the American League. | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Awarded for | Best manager of American League and National League |
| Country | United States, Canada |
| Presented by | Baseball Writers' Association of America |
| History | |
| First award | 1983 |
| Most recent |
|
In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). Each submits a vote for first, second, and third place among the managers of each league.[a] The manager with the highest score in each league wins the award.[1]
Several managers have won the award in a season in which they led their team to 100 or more wins. They are:
- Lou Piniella – 116 (Seattle Mariners, 2001)[2]
- Joe Torre – 114 (New York Yankees, 1998)[3]
- Gabe Kapler – 107 (San Francisco Giants, 2021)[4]
- Sparky Anderson – 104 (Detroit Tigers, 1984)[5]
- Tony La Russa – 104 (Oakland Athletics, 1988)[6]
- Dusty Baker – 103 (San Francisco Giants, 1993)[7]
- Larry Dierker – 102 (Houston Astros, 1998)[8]
- Whitey Herzog – 101 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1985)[9]
- Rocco Baldelli – 101 (Minnesota Twins, 2019)[10]
- Buck Showalter – 101 (New York Mets, 2022)[11]
- Brandon Hyde – 101 (Baltimore Orioles, 2023)[12]
- Kevin Cash – 100 (Tampa Bay Rays, 2021)[4]
In 1991, Bobby Cox became the first manager to win the award in both leagues, winning with the Atlanta Braves and having previously won with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1985.[13] La Russa, Piniella, Showalter, Jim Leyland, Bob Melvin, Davey Johnson, and Joe Maddon have since won the award in both leagues.[2][6][14] Cox, La Russa, and Showalter have won the most awards, with four.[6][13] Baker, Leyland, Piniella, Maddon, Melvin,[15] and Terry Francona have won three times.[2][7][14] In 2005, Cox became the first manager to win the award in consecutive years.[13] Cash became the second manager in 2021, and first in the AL, to win the award in consecutive years.[16] Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians and Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers are the most recent winners; with Murphy's win, every MLB franchise has won the award at least once. Vogt and Murphy are also the third and fourth managers to win the award in consecutive seasons, and the first to do it in their first two seasons as manager of a team.[17] When Vogt and Murphy won in 2025, it was the first time that both leagues had repeat Manager of the Year winners in the same season.[17]
Because of the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike cut the season short and canceled the post-season, the BBWAA writers effectively created a de facto mythical national championship (similar to college football) by naming managers of the unofficial league champions (lead the leagues in winning percentage) (Buck Showalter and Felipe Alou) as Managers of the Year.[18][19] The Chicago White Sox have seen five managers win the award, the most in the majors.
Only five managers have won the award while leading a team that finished outside the top two spots in its division. Buck Rodgers was the first, winning the award in 1987 with the third-place Expos.[20] Tony Peña and Showalter won the award with third-place teams in back-to-back years: Peña with the Royals in 2003, and Showalter with the Rangers in 2004.[21][22] Joe Girardi is the only manager to win the award with a fourth-place team (2006 Florida Marlins);[23] he is also the only manager to win the award after fielding a team with a losing record.
Key
| † | Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame |
|---|---|
^
|
Indicates multiple award winners in the same year |
| (#) | Number of wins by managers who have won the award multiple times |
| Year | Each year links to that particular Major League Baseball season |
| Bold | The manager's team won the World Series in the same season |
Winners
American League
_(cropped).jpg)
| Year | Manager | Team | Division | Finish | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983 |
Tony La Russa † | Chicago White Sox | West | 1st | 99–63
|
1984 |
Sparky Anderson † | Detroit Tigers | East | 1st | 104–58
|
1985 |
Bobby Cox † | Toronto Blue Jays | East | 1st | 99–62
|
1986 |
John McNamara | Boston Red Sox | East | 1st | 95–66
|
1987 |
Sparky Anderson (2)† | Detroit Tigers | East | 1st | 98–64
|
1988 |
Tony La Russa (2)† | Oakland Athletics | West | 1st | 104–58
|
1989 |
Frank Robinson† | Baltimore Orioles | East | 2nd | 87–75
|
1990 |
Jeff Torborg | Chicago White Sox | West | 2nd | 94–68
|
1991 |
Tom Kelly | Minnesota Twins | West | 1st | 95–67
|
1992 |
Tony La Russa (3)† | Oakland Athletics | West | 1st | 96–66
|
1993 |
Gene Lamont | Chicago White Sox | West | 1st | 94–68
|
1994[b] |
Buck Showalter | New York Yankees | East | 1st | 70–43
|
1995 |
Lou Piniella | Seattle Mariners | West | 1st | 79–66
|
| 1996^[c] | Johnny Oates | Texas Rangers | West | 1st | 90–72
|
| 1996^[c] | Joe Torre† | New York Yankees | East | 1st | 92–70
|
1997 |
Davey Johnson | Baltimore Orioles | East | 1st | 98–64
|
1998 |
Joe Torre (2)† | New York Yankees | East | 1st | 114–48
|
1999 |
Jimy Williams | Boston Red Sox | East | 2nd | 94–68
|
2000 |
Jerry Manuel | Chicago White Sox | Central | 1st | 95–67
|
2001 |
Lou Piniella (2) | Seattle Mariners | West | 1st | 116–46
|
2002 |
Mike Scioscia | Anaheim Angels | West | 2nd | 99–63
|
2003 |
Tony Peña | Kansas City Royals | Central | 3rd | 83–79
|
2004 |
Buck Showalter (2) | Texas Rangers | West | 3rd | 89–73
|
2005 |
Ozzie Guillén | Chicago White Sox | Central | 1st | 99–63
|
2006 |
Jim Leyland (3)† | Detroit Tigers | Central | 2nd | 95–67
|
2007 |
Eric Wedge | Cleveland Indians | Central | 1st | 96–66
|
2008 |
Joe Maddon | Tampa Bay Rays | East | 1st | 97–65
|
2009 |
Mike Scioscia (2) | Los Angeles Angels | West | 1st | 97–65
|
2010 |
Ron Gardenhire | Minnesota Twins | Central | 1st | 94–68
|
2011 |
Joe Maddon (2) | Tampa Bay Rays | East | 2nd | 91–71
|
2012 |
Bob Melvin (2) | Oakland Athletics | West | 1st | 94–68
|
2013 |
Terry Francona | Cleveland Indians | Central | 2nd | 92–70
|
2014 |
Buck Showalter (3) | Baltimore Orioles | East | 1st | 96–66
|
2015 |
Jeff Banister | Texas Rangers | West | 1st | 88–74
|
2016 |
Terry Francona (2) | Cleveland Indians | Central | 1st | 94–67
|
2017 |
Paul Molitor† | Minnesota Twins | Central | 2nd | 85–77
|
2018 |
Bob Melvin (3) | Oakland Athletics | West | 2nd | 97–65
|
2019 |
Rocco Baldelli | Minnesota Twins | Central | 1st | 101–61
|
2020[d] |
Kevin Cash | Tampa Bay Rays | East | 1st | 40–20
|
2021 |
Kevin Cash (2) | Tampa Bay Rays | East | 1st | 100–62
|
2022 |
Terry Francona (3) | Cleveland Guardians | Central | 1st | 92–70
|
2023 |
Brandon Hyde | Baltimore Orioles | East | 1st | 101–61
|
2024 |
Stephen Vogt | Cleveland Guardians | Central | 1st | 92–69
|
2025
|
Stephen Vogt (2) | Cleveland Guardians | Central | 1st | 88–74
|
National League
| Year | Manager | Team | Division | Finish | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983 |
Tommy Lasorda † | Los Angeles Dodgers | West | 1st | 91–71
|
1984 |
Jim Frey | Chicago Cubs | East | 1st | 96–65
|
1985 |
Whitey Herzog† | St. Louis Cardinals | East | 1st | 101–61
|
1986 |
Hal Lanier | Houston Astros | West | 1st | 96–66
|
1987 |
Buck Rodgers | Montreal Expos | East | 3rd | 91–71
|
1988 |
Tommy Lasorda (2)† | Los Angeles Dodgers | West | 1st | 94–67
|
1989 |
Don Zimmer | Chicago Cubs | East | 1st | 93–69
|
1990 |
Jim Leyland† | Pittsburgh Pirates | East | 1st | 95–67
|
1991 |
Bobby Cox (2)† | Atlanta Braves | East | 1st | 94–68
|
1992 |
Jim Leyland (2)† | Pittsburgh Pirates | East | 1st | 96–66
|
1993 |
Dusty Baker | San Francisco Giants | West | 2nd | 103–59
|
1994[b] |
Felipe Alou | Montreal Expos | East | 1st | 74–40
|
1995 |
Don Baylor | Colorado Rockies | West | 2nd | 77–67
|
1996 |
Bruce Bochy | San Diego Padres | West | 1st | 91–71
|
1997 |
Dusty Baker (2) | San Francisco Giants | West | 1st | 90–72
|
1998 |
Larry Dierker | Houston Astros | Central | 1st | 102–60
|
1999 |
Jack McKeon | Cincinnati Reds | Central | 2nd | 96–67
|
2000 |
Dusty Baker (3) | San Francisco Giants | West | 1st | 97–65
|
2001 |
Larry Bowa | Philadelphia Phillies | East | 2nd | 86–76
|
2002 |
Tony La Russa (4)† | St. Louis Cardinals | Central | 1st | 97–65
|
2003 |
Jack McKeon (2) | Florida Marlins | East | 2nd | 75–49
|
2004 |
Bobby Cox (3)† | Atlanta Braves | East | 1st | 96–66
|
2005 |
Bobby Cox (4)† | Atlanta Braves | East | 1st | 90–72
|
2006 |
Joe Girardi | Florida Marlins | East | 4th | 78–84
|
2007 |
Bob Melvin | Arizona Diamondbacks | West | 1st | 90–72
|
2008 |
Lou Piniella (3) | Chicago Cubs | Central | 1st | 97–64
|
2009 |
Jim Tracy | Colorado Rockies | West | 2nd | 92–70
|
2010 |
Bud Black | San Diego Padres | West | 2nd | 90–72
|
2011 |
Kirk Gibson | Arizona Diamondbacks | West | 1st | 94–68
|
2012 |
Davey Johnson (2) | Washington Nationals | East | 1st | 98–64
|
2013 |
Clint Hurdle | Pittsburgh Pirates | Central | 2nd | 94–68
|
2014 |
Matt Williams | Washington Nationals | East | 1st | 96–66
|
2015 |
Joe Maddon (3) | Chicago Cubs | Central | 3rd | 97–65
|
2016 |
Dave Roberts | Los Angeles Dodgers | West | 1st | 91–71
|
2017 |
Torey Lovullo | Arizona Diamondbacks | West | 2nd | 93–69
|
2018 |
Brian Snitker | Atlanta Braves | East | 1st | 90–72
|
2019 |
Mike Shildt | St. Louis Cardinals | Central | 1st | 91–71
|
2020[d] |
Don Mattingly | Miami Marlins | East | 2nd | 31–29
|
2021 |
Gabe Kapler | San Francisco Giants | West | 1st | 107–55
|
2022 |
Buck Showalter (4) | New York Mets | East | 2nd | 101–61
|
2023 |
Skip Schumaker | Miami Marlins | East | 3rd | 84–78
|
2024 |
Pat Murphy | Milwaukee Brewers | Central | 1st | 93–69
|
2025
|
Pat Murphy (2) | Milwaukee Brewers | Central | 1st | 97–65
|
Multiple-time winners
| Manager | # of Awards | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Tony La Russa† | 4 | 1983 (AL), 1988 (AL), 1992 (AL), 2002 (NL) |
| Bobby Cox† | 1985 (AL), 1991 (NL), 2004 (NL), 2005 (NL) | |
| Buck Showalter | 1994 (AL), 2004 (AL), 2014 (AL), 2022 (NL) | |
| Dusty Baker | 3 | 1993 (NL), 1997 (NL), 2000 (NL) |
| Jim Leyland† | 1990 (NL), 1992 (NL), 2006 (AL) | |
| Lou Piniella | 1995 (AL), 2001 (AL), 2008 (NL) | |
| Joe Maddon | 2008 (AL), 2011 (AL), 2015 (NL) | |
| Terry Francona | 2013 (AL), 2016 (AL), 2022 (AL) | |
| Bob Melvin | 2007 (NL), 2012 (AL), 2018 (AL) | |
| Sparky Anderson† | 2 | 1984 (AL), 1987 (AL) |
| Joe Torre† | 1996 (AL), 1998 (AL) | |
| Mike Scioscia | 2002 (AL), 2009 (AL) | |
| Jack McKeon | 1999 (NL), 2003 (NL) | |
| Tommy Lasorda† | 1983 (NL), 1988 (NL) | |
| Davey Johnson | 1997 (AL), 2012 (NL) | |
| Kevin Cash | 2020 (AL), 2021 (AL) | |
| Pat Murphy | 2024 (NL), 2025 (NL) | |
| Stephen Vogt | 2024 (AL), 2025 (AL) |
See also
- "Esurance MLB Awards" Best Manager (in MLB)
- Baseball America Manager of the Year
- Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball Awards Manager of the Year
- Chuck Tanner Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award
- Associated Press Manager of the Year (discontinued in 2001)
- Honor Rolls of Baseball#Managers
- MLB All-Time Manager (1997; BBWAA)
- Sporting News Manager of the Decade (2009)
- Sports Illustrated MLB Manager of the Decade (2009)
- Major League Baseball all-time managerial wins
- Best Coach/Manager ESPY Award (all sports)
Notes
- a The formula used to calculate the final scores is Score = 5F + 3S + T, where F is the number of first-place votes, S is second -place votes, and T is third-place votes.[24][25]
- b The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike ended the season on August 11, as well as cancelling the entire postseason, with writers effectively turning the vote into a de facto mythical national championship, similar to college football.[26]
- c Johnny Oates and Joe Torre tied for the lead among voters in the American League in 1996.[27]
- d Teams played a truncated 60-game season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
- General
- "Manager of the Year Award Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- "MLB Awards (Manager of the Year Award Winners)". Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- Inline citations
- ^ Castrovince, Anthony; Beck, Jason (November 14, 2007). "Wedge named AL's top manager". Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Lou Piniella Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "Joe Torre Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ a b "SF's Kapler, Rays' Cash named top managers". MLB.com.
- ^ "Sparky Anderson Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Tony La Russa Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ a b "Dusty Baker Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "Larry Dierker Managerial Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "Whitey Herzog Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "Rocco Baldelli Managerial Record".
- ^ "Mets' Buck Showalter wins Manager of the Year for the fourth time, with four different teams". BBWAA.com.
- ^ "Brandon Hyde Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Bobby Cox Managerial Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ a b "Jim Leyland Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "MLB Awards 2018". BaseballBliss.com. BaseballBliss. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Rays' Kevin Cash wins back-to-back Manager of the Year honors, a first in the AL – BBWAA".
- ^ a b Castrovince, Anthony (November 11, 2025). "Central skippers' back-to-back wins a first for Manager of the Year Award". MLB.com. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
- ^ "Buck Showalter Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "Felipe Alou Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "1987 Montreal Expos Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "2003 Kansas City Royals Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "2004 Texas Rangers Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "2006 Florida Marlins Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "2008 NL Manager of the Year Voting". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 12, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ Spira, Greg (October 28, 2004). "Internet Baseball Awards". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ Bryant, Howard (2005). Juicing the Game. Penguin Group. p. 53. ISBN 0-670-03445-2.
- ^ "MLB Awards (Manager of the Year Award Winners)". Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
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