All you need to know about MLB's Manager of the Year award, including past winners, the trophy, when it is awarded, and more.
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Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch has been a perennial Manager of the Year candidate since his tenure with the Houston Astros. Last season was Hinch's third in Detroit, and the team won 78 games to mark his most successful season there. The Tigers have a young core headlined by Tarik Skubal, Colt Keith, Riley Greene, Reese Olson, and Spencer Torkelson, and they added veterans in Jack Flaherty, Kenta Maeda, and Andrew Chafin to boost their pitching ranks. With three players in the top 25 of MLB's pre-2024 prospect rankings, Hinch will be relied on to take the Tigers to the next level in 2024.
Former Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro was named Kansas City Royals manager before last year, and things can't get much worse than the Royals' 56-win 2023 season. In the offseason, KC signed star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to a long-term extension and brought in Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Will Smith to boost their pitching options and Hunter Renfroe and Adam Frazier to provide some offense.
The Tampa Bay Rays have improved almost every season since Kevin Cash took over as manager in 2015, to the point that the Rays can hang with the New York Yankees in the AL East despite Tampa rarely giving out big contracts. The Rays have another major prospect in the pipeline in shortstop/third-baseman Junior Caminero, ranked fourth in MLB's prospect rankings. With Randy Arozarena, Yandy Diaz and Josh Lowe in the lineup and a healthy pitching staff, fans could see the Rays confound their critics some more this season if Cash can put it all together.
Ron Washington was named Los Angeles Angels manager after the 2023 season ended, and he has a tough job. Reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani left the team in the offseason and the remaining star players, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, have struggled to stay healthy over the last four seasons. Still, Washington has a nice collection of young players to work with: first baseman Nolan Schanuel was called up to the big leagues just 40 days after he was drafted, former top pick Mickey Moniak started to hit in the Majors, and Zach Neto and Jo Adell flashed their potential at times despite not playing more than 100 games last year.
The Seattle Mariners have reached the playoffs just once since Scott Servais took over as manager ahead of the 2016 season, and in that playoff appearance, the team was swept. Julio Rodriguez is the star and he's supported in the lineup by decent talent in JP Crawford, Ty France, and new additions Luis Urias, Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco, and Mitch Haniger. But can Servais get the best out of his new-look lineup?
After one season as the Seattle Mariners bullpen and quality control coach, former MLB catcher Stephen Vogt was hired to replace Terry Francona as the Cleveland Guardians manager at 39 years old. The team has talented pitchers in starters Tanner Bibee, Shane Bieber, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams pluscloser Emmanuel Clase. The Guardians have four players in MLB's top 100 prospects, two of whom are estimated to earn their first MLB call-up in 2024. If Vogt can turn Minor Leaguers and bit-part players into Major League contributors, he can make a run for the award.
Probably the biggest non-player offseason addition, the Chicago Cubs snagged Craig Counsell from NL Central rivals the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs added starting pitcher Shota Imanaga as their marquee offseason addition, and top prospects Pete Crow-Armstrong and Cade Horton are expected to develop into full-time MLB players this season. Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman departed in free agency and last season's centerfielder Cody Bellinger is still unsigned, but even without both players, the Cubs have a nice mix of youth and experience headlined by star shortstop Dansby Swanson.
The Cincinnati Reds have an exciting, young roster full of talent and David Bell is the man in charge. Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Hunter Greene, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand all enter 2024 younger than 25 years old, and Jonathan India, Tyler Stephenson, and TJ Freidl aren't much older than that. Coming off an 82-80 season, Bell could see his odds shrink if he gets more from his young core and can finish higher than third in the NL Central.
Rob Thomson has never been short on talent in his season and a half as Philadelphia Phillies manager. He guided the team to the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS in 2023, and his goal for 2024 will be to get the team over the hump and win it all. He has Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber at the heart of his lineup, and not many teams can compete with that level of talent. The question is if the Phillies can challenge the NL East's resident superteam, the Atlanta Braves, for the division title while getting more out of younger players like Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, Johan Rojas, and Christian Pache.
In Oliver Marmol's first season as St. Louis Cardinals manager, the team went 93-69 and won the NL Central. In his second season at the helm, the team went 71-91 and finished last in the division. Marmol is MLB's youngest manager at only 37, and most of his team's best players - Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Wilson Contreras - are not far off in age. St. Louis doubled down on building an experienced roster this offseason by bringing in 37-year-old Lance Lynn, 36-year-old Kyle Gibson, and 34-year-old Sonny Gray to boost the pitching rotation. With young players like Masyn Winn, Tink Hence, Jordan Walker, and Alec Burleson needing playing time, Marmol will have to strike a balance, keep the respect of the veterans, and win more games.
As the manager of the Atlanta Braves, Brian Snitker has one of the (theoretically) easiest jobs in baseball. All he has to do is keep his super talented roster confident and the wins will follow. Things will get more stressful in October as the Braves lost in the NLDS in each of the last two seasons after winning the 2021 World Series, but with reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. leading a lineup with Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley, he has as much top-end talent as any manager could hope to have. Add young star pitchers in Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder plus highly-rated pitching prospects in Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver, and Snitker has plenty of options on his roster.
Like Snitker, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has one of the easiest jobs in baseball now that his employer signed Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto among a bunch of game-changing offseason signings. In addition to adding the reigning AL MVP and the hottest pitching import in years to their roster that already includes perennial MVP candidates in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, LA also brought in Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernandez, and James Paxton. Plus, they brought back Clayton Kershaw and Jason Heyward to fill out the ranks. Like with the Braves, the Dodgers have not made it past the NLCS since winning the World Series in 2020.
The Milwaukee Brewers new manager Pat Murphy was appointed to replace Craig Counsell in the offseason, and the Brewers made a few smart moves to support the new man in charge. Rhys Hoskins was signed to a two-year deal with an option for a third season after missing 2023 with a torn ACL, and top prospect Jackson Chourio was given a long contract before even playing in MLB. Milwaukee traded Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, but 28-year-old starter Freddy Peralta posted near-ace-level numbers last year. If Murphy can help the team improve upon last year's seventh-worst team batting average while repeating as NL Central champions, his season will be a success.
Year | American League winner | National League winner |
2023 | Brandon Hyde | Skip Schumaker |
2022 | Terry Francona | Buck Showalter |
2021 | Kevin Cash | Gabe Kapler |
2020 | Kevin Cash | Don Mattingly |
2019 | Rocco Baldelli | Mike Shildt |
2018 | Bob Melvin | Brian Snitker |
2017 | Paul Molitor | Tory Lovullo |
2016 | Terry Francona | Dave Roberts |
2015 | Jeff Banister | Joe Maddon |
2014 | Buck Showalter | Matt Williams |
2013 | Terry Francona | Clint Hurdle |
2012 | Bob Melvin | Davey Johnson |
2011 | Joe Maddon | Kirk Gibson |
2010 | Ron Gardenhire | Bud Black |
2009 | Mike Scioscia | Jim Tracy |
2008 | Joe Maddon | Lou Piniella |
2007 | Eric Wedge | Bob Melvin |
2006 | Jim Leyland | Joe Girardi |
2005 | Ozzie Guillen | Bobby Cox |
2004 | Buck Showalter | Bobby Cox |
2003 | Tony Pena | Jack McKeon |
2002 | Mike Scioscia | Tony La Russa |
2001 | Lou Piniella | Larry Bowa |
2000 | Jerry Manuel | Dusty Baker |
1999 | Jimy Williams | Jack McKeon |
1998 | Joe Torre | Larry Dierker |
1997 | Davey Johnson | Dusty Baker |
1996 | Joe Torre & Johnny Oates | Bruce Bochy |
1995 | Lou Piniella | Don Baylor |
1994 | Buck Showalter | Felipe Alou |
1993 | Gene Lamont | Dusty Baker |
1992 | Tony La Russa | Jim Leyland |
1991 | Tom Kelly | Bobby Cox |
1990 | Jeff Torborg | Jim Leyland |
1989 | Frank Robinson | Don Zimmer |
1988 | Tony La Russa | Tommy Lasorda |
1987 | Sparky Anderson | Buck Rodgers |
1986 | John McNamara | Hal Lanier |
1985 | Bobby Cox | Whitey Herzog |
1984 | Sparky Anderson | Jim Frey |
1983 | Tony La Russa | Tommy Lasorda |
The Manager of the Year Award winners are announced around two weeks after the World Series concludes as part of MLB's awards season. In 2023, the winners were announced on Nov. 14.
The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) votes on the winners of the Manager of the Year Award. Two writers in each MLB city get to vote, and votes must be submitted before the postseason begins. Voters get a first-, second-, and third-place vote which are worth five, three, and one point respectively. The manager with the most points, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
MLB's Manager of the Year trophy is a baseball diamond on a pedestal that includes the name of the award and the name of the winning manager.