Arizona Diamondbacks: Lovullo successfully leaps over important hurdle
By Mark Brown
Taking the next step
If the Arizona Diamondbacks would be successful in the physical reality of moving through the division, then the ultimate goal of winning a World Series would clearly be in sight.
Should Lovullo’s guidance, direction, and management showcase the future, then achievements of the players would result in championships and significant post-season awards. The first of what Lovullo hopes will be a plethora of such achievements became clear Tuesday when the native of Santa Monica, Calif. was named the National League manager-of-the-year by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
In the voting, Lovullo placed first on 18 ballots, second on five and third on six from the 30 submitted by two writers in each National League city. Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers was second, and Bud Black of the Colorado Rockies placed third.
While Lovullo was third Arizona manager to win the award and follows Bob Melvin (2007) and Kirk Gibson (2011), he is the seventh manager to earn this honor in his first year.
Because the award stands as a principal achievement to a 48-game turnaround from the previous season and qualification for post-season play in 2017, the challenge ahead to reach that next pyramid remains prodigious.
That’s because the three candidates for the NL manager-of-the-year award all came from the West Division, and two Wild Card participants (Diamondbacks and Rockies) also reside in the West Division. If the Diamondbacks are to continue to trend upward, the task seems formidable.