Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award

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. The manager with the highest score in each league wins the award.

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) Joe Torre – 114 (New York Yankees, 1998) Gabe Kapler – 107 (San Francisco Giants, 2021) Sparky Anderson – 104 (Detroit Tigers, 1984) Tony La Russa – 104 (Oakland Athletics, 1988) Dusty Baker – 103 (San Francisco Giants, 1993) Larry Dierker – 102 (Houston Astros, 1998) Whitey Herzog – 101 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1985) Rocco Baldelli – 101 (Minnesota Twins, 2019) Buck Showalter – 101 (New York Mets, 2022) Brandon Hyde – 101 (Baltimore Orioles, 2023) Kevin Cash – 100 (Tampa Bay Rays, 2021)

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. La Russa, Piniella, Showalter, Jim Leyland, Bob Melvin, Davey Johnson, and Joe Maddon have since won the award in both leagues. Cox, La Russa, and Showalter have won the most awards, with four. Baker, Leyland, Piniella, Maddon, Melvin, and Terry Francona have won three times. In 2005, Cox became the first manager to win the award in consecutive years. Cash became the second manager in 2021, and first in the AL, to win the award in consecutive years. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. Joe Girardi is the only manager to win the award with a fourth-place team (2006 Florida Marlins); 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

Year Manager Team Division Finish Record † Chicago White Sox West 1st † Detroit Tigers East 1st † Toronto Blue Jays East 1st Boston Red Sox East 1st (2)† Detroit Tigers East 1st (2)† Oakland Athletics West 1st † Baltimore Orioles East 2nd Chicago White Sox West 2nd Minnesota Twins West 1st (3)† Oakland Athletics West 1st Chicago White Sox West 1st New York Yankees East 1st Seattle Mariners West 1st Texas RangersWest1st † New York Yankees East 1st Baltimore Orioles East 1st (2)† New York Yankees East 1st Boston Red Sox East 2nd Chicago White Sox Central 1st (2) Seattle Mariners West 1st Anaheim Angels West 2nd Kansas City Royals Central 3rd (2) Texas Rangers West 3rd Chicago White Sox Central 1st (3)† Detroit Tigers Central 2nd Cleveland Indians Central 1st Tampa Bay Rays East 1st (2) Los Angeles Angels West 1st Minnesota Twins Central 1st (2) Tampa Bay Rays East 2nd (2) Oakland Athletics West 1st Cleveland Indians Central 2nd (3) Baltimore Orioles East 1st Texas Rangers West 1st (2) Cleveland Indians Central 1st † Minnesota Twins Central 2nd (3) Oakland Athletics West 2nd Minnesota Twins Central 1st Tampa Bay Rays East 1st Tampa Bay Rays East 1st Cleveland Guardians Central 1st Baltimore Orioles East 1st Cleveland Guardians Central 1st (2)Cleveland GuardiansCentral1st

National League

Year Manager Team Division Finish Record † Los Angeles Dodgers West 1st Chicago Cubs East 1st † St. Louis Cardinals East 1st Houston Astros West 1st Montreal Expos East 3rd (2)† Los Angeles Dodgers West 1st Chicago Cubs East 1st † Pittsburgh Pirates East 1st (2)† Atlanta Braves East 1st (2)† Pittsburgh Pirates East 1st San Francisco Giants West 2nd Montreal Expos East 1st Colorado Rockies West 2nd San Diego Padres West 1st (2) San Francisco Giants West 1st Houston Astros Central 1st Cincinnati Reds Central 2nd (3) San Francisco Giants West 1st Philadelphia Phillies East 2nd (4)† St. Louis Cardinals Central 1st (2) Florida Marlins East 2nd (3)† Atlanta Braves East 1st (4)† Atlanta Braves East 1st Florida Marlins East 4th Arizona Diamondbacks West 1st (3) Chicago Cubs Central 1st Colorado Rockies West 2nd San Diego Padres West 2nd Arizona Diamondbacks West 1st (2) Washington Nationals East 1st Pittsburgh Pirates Central 2nd Washington Nationals East 1st (3) Chicago Cubs Central 3rd Los Angeles Dodgers West 1st Arizona Diamondbacks West 2nd Atlanta Braves East 1st St. Louis Cardinals Central 1st Miami Marlins East 2nd San Francisco Giants West 1st (4) New York Mets East 2nd Miami Marlins East 3rd Milwaukee Brewers Central 1st (2)Milwaukee BrewersCentral1st

Multiple-time winners Manager# of AwardsYears 4 1983 (AL), 1988 (AL), 1992 (AL), 2002 (NL) 1985 (AL), 1991 (NL), 2004 (NL), 2005 (NL) 1994 (AL), 2004 (AL), 2014 (AL), 2022 (NL) 3 1993 (NL), 1997 (NL), 2000 (NL) 1990 (NL), 1992 (NL), 2006 (AL) 1995 (AL), 2001 (AL), 2008 (NL) 2008 (AL), 2011 (AL), 2015 (NL) 2013 (AL), 2016 (AL), 2022 (AL) 2007 (NL), 2012 (AL), 2018 (AL) 2 1984 (AL), 1987 (AL) 1996 (AL), 1998 (AL) 2002 (AL), 2009 (AL) 1999 (NL), 2003 (NL) 1983 (NL), 1988 (NL) 1997 (AL), 2012 (NL) 2020 (AL), 2021 (AL)2024 (NL), 2025 (NL)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 The formula used to calculate the final scores is , where F is the number of first-place votes, S is second -place votes, and T is third-place votes. 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. Johnny Oates and Joe Torre tied for the lead among voters in the American League in 1996. Teams played a truncated 60-game season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Won the award after taking over the team mid-season, the record listed indicates the team's record after taking over.

References General

Inline citations