Call to the pen
Fansided

MLB Awards: The Race for American League Manager of the Year

By Sarah Maninger

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 01: Manager Bob Melvin #6 of the Oakland Athletics signals the bullpen to make a pitching change against the Seattle Mariners in the top of the second inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on September 1, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 01: Manager Bob Melvin #6 of the Oakland Athletics signals the bullpen to make a pitching change against the Seattle Mariners in the top of the second inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on September 1, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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MLB Awards
FORT MYERS, FL – FEBRUARY 23: Manager Alex Cora and Chris Sale /

 The American League has been nothing if not wild, and entertaining, and voting for MLB awards in the AL will likely be the same, so who should take home this year’s AL Manager of the Year Award?

Managing a baseball game is no easy task. It takes focus and strategy. It takes a certain level of relatability, and it requires the coaches to take risks. When managers walk out from the dugout to the mound and point at the bullpen, they don’t know how the following out, or following inning is going to go. Even Mariano Rivera can give up a run or two. Voting for MLB awards for managers id doubly difficult for that reason.

This year, we have seen new managers make their very first pitching change, and take the kind of risks that mean everything in October. We have seen the great, the bad, and the downright difficult types of moves.

A lot of managers have proven their talent this season. Even new managers who manage teams already out of the pennant, like Ron Gardenhire, deserve credit.

That said, there are four standouts this season that are making this list of bold and intelligent managers. Now, I’m not saying that AJ Hinch (who has been left off this list) is not intelligent or observant. Of course he is, all managers have to be, but in MLB awards, Managers of the Year tend to be skippers who take their team and set them on a new course. The reigning World Series Champs are good this year, just like they were last year. Not too much has changed (a testament to Hinch’s consistent and informed managing skills).

The new guys, however, guys like Alex Cora and Aaron Boone, walked into this season with something to prove. They walked in with a vision and have been consistently able to see it through as the season goes on.

Then, there are the managers like Scott Servais and Bob Melvin, managers of teams that play in a division dominated by the Houston Astros. And yet, that division race is closer than we predicted it to be.

Manager of the Year has little correlation with the results of one team’s season come November. It’s about leadership and the intangible team chemistry that can alter the direction of a season.

It’s about making an impact. So, who’s made the biggest one so far this season?

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