NL Manager of the Year: Breaking down the ballot
By Bill Felber
The NL Manager of the Year voting is wide open and likely to remain so until season’s end.
There are a half dozen plausible candidates for the NL Manager of the Year award,, and the chances of almost all of them probably hinge on whether their teams qualify for post-season play. That’s a reflection both of the closeness of the National League races and also of the surprising nature of some of the teams in contention for those spots.
There is no specific criteria for Manager of the Year; the decision is left entirely up to voters. Often the manager of a team with a lesser record but also lesser expectations will finish ahead of the manager of a team that was expected to do well and did.
That’s one reason why Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, the 2016 award winner, is not considered among the front-runners this season. Roberts’ Dodgers are solidly in contention for a repeat NL West title, but their 76-64 record is underwhelming for a team expected to all but formally have the division wrapped up by now. Instead the Dodgers entered Thursday play a game and a half behind Colorado in the NL West and two games behind St. Louis in the wild card race.
Torey Lovullo, the 2017 selectee, is in the same boat, at least of this moment. If the Diamondbacks rip through the final three weeks and fight their way into post-season play, Lovullo might be a repeat winner. As of now, however, the D-Backs are a half game behind the Dodgers and fading, having lost five of their last six games.
The six managers who received votes last year were Lovullo, Roberts, Colorado ‘s Bud Black, Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell, Washington’s Dusty Baker, and Chicago’s Joe Maddon.
Here’s a look at the top contenders as the end of the 2018 season approaches: