To win MLB Manager of the Year just be the new guy
Bruce Bochy of the Texas Rangers won AL manager of the year in 2023 when he led the team to a World Series victory. Bochy did not win AL Manager of the Year however, which went to the Oriole’s Brandon Hyde. In the National League it was a different story as Marlin’s rookie manager Skip Schumaker won the award.
Rookie managers winning Manager of the Year used to be a rare occurrence. That is the case no longer. The award for Manager of the Year was not created until 1983. Connie Mack never won Manager of the Year in his 53 years managing the A’s. Neither did Casey Stengel of the Yankees, or Walter Alston of the Dodgers in his 23 years with the team. Changing managers often goes hand in hand with changing a team’s vibe if not its philosophy. Far from being a rookie Manager, when Buck Showalter joined the Mets in 2022, he changed the direction of the team and won NL Manager of the Year. He was fired after the 2023 season.
Manager of the Year votes are made without consideration of the playoffs and World Series performance of the manager and team. The idea is that the entire field is given the same opportunity. Since the awards are made long after the World Series, I’ve always felt it’s silly to ignore than postseason performance of managers in considering their MOY worthiness.
Rookie Managers who’ve won the World Series
Alex Cora (2018 Red Sox), Bob Brenley (2001 D’backs), Ralph Houk (1961 Yankees), Eddie Dyer (Cardinals 1946), Bucky Harris (1924 Senators) are the five rookie managers to win the World Series. None of them won Manager of the Year. Brenley did not win NL Manager of the Year in 2001 which went to Larry Bowa of the Phillies. And Cora lost out to Bob Melvin of the Oakland As. Melvin has won an impressive eight MOY awards, six with Oakland.
Rookie Managers who’ve won Manager of the Year
After its inception in 1983, it only took three years for the first rookie manager to win Manager of the Year. In 1986, Astros Hal Lanier led the Killer Bs to the NL West title, and they lost a heartbreaking six game series to the Mets in the NLCS. Seven years later in 1993, Dusty Baker Jr. helmed the Giants to 103 wins and an NL West second place finish to the Braves who won 104. The Giants did NOT make the playoffs. But Dusty got the hardware winning NL Manager of the Year (MOY).
It would take 13 years for the next rookie manager to win MOY. In 2006 Joe Girardi in his first season managing with the Florida Marlins, led the team to a 78–84 finish good enough for 4th place in the NL East. Somehow, he won the NL Manager of the Year. Girardi would not win the award for leading the Yankees to a 2009 World Series title. Guess which one he might prefer?
Rookie managers winning Manager of the Year become a regular thing
Special mention to Kirk Gibson who finished out the 2010 campaign as manager of the Diamondbacks winning NL Manager of the Year the following season in 2011. But he was not a rookie manager.
In 2014, Matt Williams, a rookie manager for the Nationals, won NL Manager of the Year leading the Nats to a first-place finish in the NL East. They lost in the NLDS (3–1) to the eventual World champion Giants.
In 2015, the Texas Rangers hired Jeff Banister as a rookie manager and after an 88–74 finish and an AL West title, he was named AL Manager of the Year. The team lost 3–2 to the Blue Jays in the ALDS.
Note about 2016, Dodger fans will no doubt protest, but current manager Dave Roberts piloted the team for one game in 2015 (the team lost) but won NL Manager of the year the following season in 2016. Technically Roberts was not a rookie manager, but you could make that argument.
In 2017, Torey Lovullo, rookie manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, won NL Manager of the Year after leading the team to a 93–69 record good for second place in the NL West behind the Dodgers. They were swept in the NLDS by those same Dodgers.
Only two years after that in 2019, Rocco Baldelli as a rookie manager for the Twins won AL Manager of the Year leading the team to a 101–61 record and division title. They were swept in the ALDS by the Yankees
Four rookie Managers of the Year in six years (not counting Dave Roberts), are an epidemic compared to three in the first 23 years the award was doled out! If you add in Schumaker’s 2023 it’s five in nine years, more than a quarter of all MOY awards over the period.
This year is off the charts with rookie MOY candidates
Then there’s this season. It’s already a near-certainty that a rookie manager will win the award in both the National League and the American League. Pat Murphy of the Brewers is the leading NL candidate over first year Padre’s manager (but not rookie), Mike Shildt, and the underrated rookie manager Carlos Mendoza of the Mets. In the American League the battle for MOY is likely between Matt Quartaro of the Royals and Stephen Vogt of the Guardians — both of whom are rookie managers.
What gives here?
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Why rookie managers are so much more successful than they used to be
The most important reason today’s rookie managers are achieving higher success rates is that they are managing better teams. For such a long time if the team was a good team already, it was unlikely to turn it over to an inexperienced manager who could mess everything up. Today’s rookie and often ‘younger’ managers are more versed in the technology that’s deeply associated with MLB, and they can effectively communicate with players who eat up analytics as well as those that prefer to use a combination of analytics and their overall feel for the game and its situations. They’ve likely demonstrated their ability to run a ballclub at the minor leagues or winter leagues. Recently retired Yadier Molina has designs on being a future MLB manager and has managed winter baseball teams in Venezuela as well leading the Puerto Rican team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He will be a rookie manager for the Cardinals one day.
Could we have the first ever rookie manager to win both Manager of the Year AND the World Series? Manager of the Year is a nice award to win for any manager — rookie or otherwise. But wouldn’t you much rather have a first-year manager who won the World Series?
About the Author: Mark Kolier along with his son Gordon co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown’. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and Substack.com.
