By Jordan Long
Major League Baseball announced their finalist for Manager of the Year for both leagues. For the National League, those names are Craig Counsell, Gabe Kapler, and Mike Shildt. The names for the American League are Dusty Baker, Kevin Cash, and Scott Servsais. The winners will be announced next Tuesday.
Counsell is the manager for the Milwaukee Brewers. This was his 7th year in Milwaukee. In the shortened MLB season of 2020, the Brewers finished the season at 29-31, they made the postseason but were beaten by the Dodgers in the Wild Card Round 2-0. This season the Brewers played hot baseball throughout the year. They won the National League Central Division with a 95-67 record, the 2nd best with Counsell as the Manager. Their season ended in the National League Division Series by losing to the Atlanta Braves in 4 games.
Kapler is probably the favorite to win the award. Kapler is the manager of the San Francisco Giants. He guided the Giants to the best record in all of baseball, 107-55. Unfortunately, the regular season success didn’t carry over to the postseason. The Giants were knocked off in the National League Division Series by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games.
Out of all these managers, Shildt had the most exciting September. He helped the St. Louis Cardinals earn a Wild Card spot. It took a 17 game winning streak for them to earn it finishing 90-72. They were the 2nd Wild Card team in the National League. The Dodgers took them down in the Wild Card Game 3-1. Shildt was fired as the manager of the Cardinals once the season ended for his failure to advance this talented team further into the playoffs.
In the American League, Cash completed a 100-62 record with the Tampa Bay Rays. This was the first time in franchise history Tampa Bay won 100+ games in the season, good enough to be the top team in the American League. They were one of the favorites in the postseason to advance to the World Series. They fell short of that goal, falling to their divisional rivals, the Boston Red Sox, in 4 games in the National League Division Series.
The surprising name on this list is Scott Servais. He is the manager of the Seattle Mariners. Seattle completed a 90-72 record. They didn’t even earn a playoff spot. The Mariners were 2 games back of the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees for the 2nd Wild Card Spot. Sure, it was a much improved year for them. They hadn’t ended a year over .500 since 2018. He shouldn’t be in the Manager of The Year conversation because Seattle didn’t even make it to the playoffs.
Baker is the only name that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to earn the award. The Astros record was 95-67. That’s a decent record, but the fact is the Astros have been a great team for the past 5 years. In that span, they went to the World Series 3 times including this year. They also have two American League Championship losses. This team was built to advance far in the playoffs. They went all the way to the World Series but lost to the Atlanta Braves in 6 games.
The winner in my mind in the National League is Kapler. The Giants finished with the MLB’s best record. The results weren’t there in the playoffs but he still managed the Giants to 100+ victories. In the American League, it has to be Cash. He won 100+ games for the Rays and is the only manager deserving of it in the American League. We will have to wait and see who takes home the honor. It will be announced next Tuesday.
Leave a Reply