Manager of the Year 2018: Sizing up the finalists and making our picks

Awards week is upon us, which for the 24 finalists over four different categories means a career-changing honor could be hours or days away. Youth will be served Monday night with the announcement of MLB’s top rookies from the American and National League. On Tuesday, our attention shifts to the dugout generals, as the Baseball Writers Associated of America reveals its choices for Manager of the Year.

This is definitely an interesting year for the manager’s award. As teams have become more comfortable going outside the box, implementing unique strategies such as bullpenning, managers are more in focus than ever before. Half of this year’s finalists have been at the forefront of that movement, which shows progressive thinking is definitely working in some cases. It also gives the award a whole new wrinkle for voters to consider.

This year’s group of finalists includes a pair of former winners in Bob Melvin of the Oakland Athletics and Bud Black of the Colorado Rockies. In 2012, Melvin became the fifth manager since the award was introduced in 1983 to win in both leagues, joining Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland and Joe Maddon.

The AL field is rounded out by Alex Cora, who led the Boston Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 victories during the regular season, and Kevin Cash, who guided the Tampa Bay Rays to their first 90-win season since 2013. In the NL, it’s all about the underdogs. Craig Counsell of the Milwaukee Brewers and Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves both managed teams that exceeded expectations and ended up taking home division championships.

That’s just a quick rundown of the names to know. Now here’s a breakdown of the three finalists in each league. The winners will be announced Tuesday in an MLB Network special that begins at 6 p.m. ET. It’s worth noting again that the voting took place prior to the postseason.

American League

Kevin Cash — Tampa Bay Rays

Would you believe a team that traded Chris Archer, Nathan Eovaldi, Wilson Ramos, Alex Colome, Jake Odorizzi and Evan Longoria before or during the season went on to win 90 games? That’s exactly what the 2018 Rays did despite playing in the same division as two 100-win teams. A lot of the credit for that definitely goes to Kevin Cash.

Cash and the Rays counteracted their lack of depth by becoming the first team to go all-in on using an “opener” — having relievers start games based on matchups and then piling on several more relievers while looking for 27 outs. It was far from conventional, but it definitely worked. The Rays 3.75 team ERA was sixth in MLB despite playing nearly a quarter of their games against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

Alex Cora — Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox were the best team in baseball in 2018 and by season’s end it wasn’t even close.
Boston ran away in a highly competitive AL East by winning a franchise record 108 games.

Cora’s clubhouse demeanor has been credited many times as a reason for Boston’s success. With the exception of J.D. Martinez, the rookie manager essentially took over the same team that often looked directionless under John Farrell and made them a well-oiled machine. Cora’s season was a reminder of how truly important the manager’s role can be beyond the obvious in-game strategies.

Bob Melvin — Oakland Athletics

Playing with the lowest payroll in the entire league, the Athletics went toe-to-toe all season long with the Houston Astros and ultimately cemented a Wild-Card berth with 97 wins. That was the franchise’s most since 2002, when it won 103 games at the height of the Moneyball era.

If the low payroll wasn’t enough to handcuff Bob Melvin, he also had to work around a starting rotation that was decimated by injuries and ineffectiveness. By the end of the season, he was depending on Edwin Jackson, Trevor Cahill and Mike Fiers for starts. As he always does, Melvin focused on getting the most out of the players he did have. At times, that meant following the lead of Kevin Cash by using his pitchers in unfamiliar roles. Considering how high the odds were stacked against the A’s succeeding, this may have been Melvin’s best season on the bench.

National League

Bud Black — Colorado Rockies

Managing 81 games in Coors Field isn’t for everyone. It’s worked out well though for Bud Black. The veteran skipper has led the Rockies to two straight postseason appearances by managing to keep his players’ focus on the game, not the surroundings.

Granted, it doesn’t hurt that the Rockies boast their best starting rotation in franchise history, or that they have three All-Stars in Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon in the lineup. But Black has done a great job bringing it together while reshaping a franchise that’s typically defined more by where it plays than who plays for it.

Craig Counsell — Milwaukee Brewers

After falling painfully short of a postseason berth on the final weekend of 2017, Craig Counsell’s crew rebounded to win the NL Central in dramatic fashion in 2018. The addition of MVP finalist Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain was a nice boost. But Counsell did his part to make sure the Brewers wouldn’t disappoint again.

Though it didn’t really take effect until October, Counsell was also willing to use his pitching staff in creative ways to best serve his team. He also had a lot of interchangeable parts to manage, especially after the team added Mike Moustakas, Jonathan Schoop and Gio Gonzalez in trades. Keeping a lineup overflowing with options happy and somewhat consistent was a challenge Counsell met. The proof is in the pudding as Milwaukee played its best ball in September, going 20-7.

Brian Snitker — Atlanta Braves

In the NL, no team exceeded expectations more than the Braves. With a talented young core, we knew good days were ahead. But everyone had circled 2019 or 2020 as the most likely year for their ascension. Instead, it came in 2018, and it was truly fun to watch a young and talented team play with such poise and consistency. That all traces back to Brian Snitker.

The Braves’ manager found a really good mix with his budding stars and established veterans, which allowed him to get the most out of the entire roster. Because of that, the Braves controlled their own destiny all season long. At no point did they seem overmatched or feel like they didn’t belong in the postseason discussion.

Our Picks

Chris Cwik

AL — I had an AL Manager of the Year vote this season. My full ballot can be seen at BBWAA.com once the results are announced.

NL — Craig Counsell: You could make a legitimate case for all three finalists, so I don’t think there’s a wrong answer here. I would lean Counsell based on his competition. The Brewers finished with the most wins in the NL despite playing in the same division as the Cubs, Cardinals and even the 82-win Pirates. He also did a tremendous job navigating through Milwaukee’s questionable starting staff and utilized his bullpen well. Counsell not only turned Josh Hader into devastating, multi-inning weapon, but also managed Hader’s workload so the reliever stayed healthy all season.

Mike Oz

AL — Bob Melvin: The Oakland A’s, by the end of the season, were depending on Brett Anderson, Edwin Jackson and Trevor Cahill to keep them on pace with teams like the Houston Astros and New York Yankees in the AL playoff hunt. And they were doing it! There may be no greater testament to Melvin’s success as a manager as taking a team that no one expected much of, losing a bunch of pitchers to injury at the start of the season and *still* surpassing expectations by the length of a BART train. Every manager in the AL finalists was impressive, but none of them had the challenge in front of them that Melvin did.

NL — Craig Counsell: Counsell got every bit out of his players in 2018, whether it was his bold bullpen management or figuring out where to play Travis Shaw when their infield got crowd. It paid off too. The Brewers were the unlikely NL Central champs. They were good, sure, but they also seemed to make all the right moves. Kudos to Counsell for that. Like the AL, there are multiple worthy candidates here, but Counsell gets my vote for deftly make all the right decisions in Milwaukee.

Liz Roscher

AL — Alex Cora: No brainer. He may have run the best team in baseball, but that alone doesn’t get you to 108 regular season wins. And on top of that, his players are devoted to him. The way they talk about him and wanting to play for him, not a lot of managers get that kind of buy-in from their players. What we saw in Boston this year was special.

NL — Craig Counsell: Counsell and his Brewers weren’t the most talented team in the National League, but they survived a dogfight in the NL Central, a Game 163, and nearly made it to the World Series. The players themselves did a lot, but the manager’s job is to put his players in a position to succeed while simultaneously making up for the team’s deficiencies. Counsell did all that and more.

Mark Townsend

AL — Alex Cora: 108 wins speak for themselves. Cora was the right man at the right time for Boston. Sure, he had a talent advantage over virtually every manager in MLB. But got the absolute most out of his players from day one in spring training until the very end. That’s mighty impressive for a first-year manager and deserves to be rewarded.

NL — Brian Snitker: The talent in Atlanta is undeniable. So too is the guidance this squad clearly received, which pushed them to make the playoffs at least a year ahead of schedule. People were always ready to dismiss this Braves’ squad, but Snitker kept them clicking on all cylinders.

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