MLB 2016 Awards: My IBWAA Ballot
By Matt Veasey
AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR
It didn’t take much thought for me to select Cleveland Indians skipper Terry Francona as my American League Manager of the Year. Francona guided a club that had some key injuries and faced stiff divisional competition to first place in the AL Central with a 94-67 record during the regular season.
Coming into the season, most prognosticators had the Indians for no better than third place in the division. The Indians were just 10-12 after a loss on May 1, but played to an 84-55 record thereafter as Francona kept them upbeat and believing in themselves.
Just two games up in the division race as late as August 2, the Tribe would pull away with a 10-4 stretch of play that opened that lead up to 7.5 games in just two weeks.
Runner-up Scott Servais led the Mariners to a second place finish in the AL West, just three games back of an AL Wild Card berth, with a 10-win improvement over 2015.
Third place John Farrell guided a talented Boston club to the AL East crown and a 15-game improvement over their 2015 record.
MY BALLOT: 1 – Terry Francona (CLE), 2 – Scott Servais (SEA), 3 – John Farrell (BOS)