After the first three MLB awards went as expected, we now have the AL and NL Managers of the Year, which will both be handed out on Wednesday. Not only do we get one race for Manager of the Year, we get two. In the AL, it's between the pair of Rons who manage the former Washington Senators--Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire and Ron Washington of Texas. Tim McCarver said that he thinks Boston's Terry Francona should receive consideration, but we all know Tim McCarver's an idiot. When a manager's team is supposed to be good, then finishes third (injuries or not), he NOT the Manager of the Year! The NL race is even tighter, as Cincinnati's Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy of the Giants, Bud Black of the Padres and good ol' Bobby Cox are all in the mix.
American League
Ron No. 1 is Ron Gardenhire of the Twins. He's been a good manager for years, but this year was definitely his best managing job. Gardy was Minnesota's third base coach under the great Tom Kelly, then took over as manager when Kelly retired after the 2001 season. The Twins are 803-656 since he took over, finished below .500 just once in nine seasons, won the AL Central six times (losing in the Division Series five times, four of those to the Yankees), and finished second after Game 163 in 2008. He's finished second in Manager of the Year voting five times, but never won. Here's why he should this year: The Twins finished with the second-best record in the American League (94-68), despite losing their second-best player (Justin Morneau) for the season after he got a concussion in Toronto in early July. Instead of going away (like most people expected), Minnesota only got better, battling the Rays and Yankees for the best record in the AL until the wire. The Twins lost their closer, Joe Nathan, for the year in Spring Training, then lost Morneau, but still had Joe Mauer and gave Jim Thome the same magic elixir that the Vikings gave to Brett Favre last year. But, they also didn't have a pitching staff, which is really the most amazing thing about Gardy's managing job.
Ron No. 2 is Ron Washington of the Rangers. His year started with an admission of cocaine use, but he got a vote of confidence (from both the owners and players), then led Texas to the best season in franchise history. The Rangers pretty much dominated the AL West from May on, winning 90 games. He became just the second manager in franchise history to lead them to the playoffs, then won a postseason series for the first time in franchise history (then did it again to reach the World Series). Of course, all that postseason stuff doesn't count, but Ron Washington's a great manager. 2008 winner Joe Maddon also deserves a look for leading Tampa Bay to the best record in the American League and winning a division that included the Yankees and Red Sox. With that being said, however, my vote goes to the Ron in Minnesota.
National League
As much as I love Bobby Cox, and as incredible as the Braves' season was (especially when their entire starting lineup got hurt, but they still rallied to win the Wild Card), he's won the award four times and frankly didn't do the best managing job in the National League this year. Charlie Manuel's Phillies have taken over as the team that wins the NL East every year (four years in a row now), and Philadelphia finished with the best record in baseball (97-65), but, again, he wasn't the National League's best manager in 2010.
The way I see it, Dusty Baker and Bud Black are the two guys in contention. Bruce Bochy of the Giants probably isn't going to get that much consideration, but I'm not really sure why. San Francisco wasn't supposed to be good and had absolutely no hitting when the season started. Then Buster Posey got called up and Bengie Molina got traded, setting the wheels in motion for a surprise NL West title and World Series championship. Of course, I do see the point that Cincinnati's and San Diego's success was a little more unexpected, but Bochy deserves some love.
Dusty Baker has already been the NL Manager of the Year three times, but this year he could (and probably should) win his fourth. He took the Reds from fourth place last season to 91 wins and the NL Central title this year. It was Cincinnati's first playoff berth in 15 years, and the Reds are the third different team Baker has taken to the postseason. They led the National League in batting average, but, seriously, can you name anybody on the Reds other than Joey Votto? Didn't think so. Granted, the NL Central is the division that features the Pirates, Cubs and Astros, but it also includes the Cardinals. What Dusty Baker did with that team this year can't be overlooked.
Nor can the job Bud Black did with the Padres. If you can't name anybody on the Reds other than Joey Votto, you really can't name anybody on the Padres other than Adrian Gonzalez (I know they added a bunch of old guys like Miguel Tejada and Ryan Ludwick at the trade deadline, but the point is better made if you just forget about that). But somehow, San Diego, a team that can't hit at all, managed to lead the NL West for most of the season. The Padres were supposed to finish last (even below the Diamondbacks), but won 90 games. However, they faded down the stretch and were caught by the Giants on the last day. That might be Black's undoing. If the Padres had held on to win that very good division, I think he'd be the guy, but their fade, coupled with Cincinnati's surprising run gives the advantage to Baker.
Tomorrow we've got AL Cy Young, and the debate over that one should be fun.
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