Overseeing the rebirth of the New York Mets impressed voters just a little more than leading the Dodgers to one of the most successful regular seasons in MLB history.
Buck Showalter of the Mets and Dave Roberts of the Dodgers each received eight first-place votes in the BBWAA balloting for Manager of the Year. But Showalter also received 10 second-place and seven third-place votes to Roberts’ four second-place votes and three third-place votes, outpointing him to win the 2022 National League Manager of the Year award.
Five managers received multiple first-place votes – Showalter, Roberts, Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves (seven), Oliver Marmol of the St. Louis Cardinals (five) and Rob Thomson of the Philadelphia Phillies (two). No manager was named on every ballot.
It was the second time Roberts finished second for the award.
He was voted the NL Manager of the Year following his first season with the Dodgers in 2016 and has received votes every year since, finishing second following the 2017 season and in the top five each of the past four years.
The 2022 season was the Dodgers’ fourth 100-win campaign in Roberts’ seven years as their manager and the 111 wins tied for the fourth-most in baseball history. No team before the 2022 Dodgers had won as many as 106 games one season (the Dodgers’ total in 2019 and 2021) and then improved on the total the next year.
The Dodgers’ (and Mets’) early exit from the postseason did not factor into the voting. Ballots had to be submitted before the first playoff game.
Showalter is just the third person to win a fourth Manager of the Year award and the first to win with four different franchises. He won with the New York Yankees in 1994, Texas Rangers in 2004, Baltimore Orioles in 2014 and now the Mets.
The other four-time winners are Hall of Famers Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa.
“The game has changed,” Showalter said of his four awards in four decades. “But in a lot of ways it’s stayed the same.”
Showalter led the Mets to the second-best regular season in franchise history, finishing with 101 wins, which was a 24-win improvement over 2021. They finished second in the NL East to the Braves, who rallied to win the division.
The 66-year-old Showalter brought a sense of stability and gravitas to a franchise that had been saddled with on- and off-the-field issues over the past several seasons.
Cleveland’s Terry Francona was voted the American League Manager of the Year, winning the award for the third time in 10 seasons after leading the Guardians to the AL Central title.
Francona received 17 of 30 first-place votes and nine second-place votes for 112 points.
Baltimore’s Brandon Hyde finished second – earning nine first-place votes and 79 points – after leading the Orioles to a 31-win turnaround. Seattle’s Scott Servais was third with one first-place vote, eight second-place votes and 14 third-place votes. He led the Mariners back to the postseason this season, breaking a playoff drought that lasted two decades.
Houston’s Dusty Baker finished fourth, while the Yankees’ Aaron Boone was fifth.
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A two-time World Series winner with Boston, Francona’s 10th season in Cleveland might have been his best managing job. He’s the ninth person to win the award three times.
“It should be considered an organizational award, because that’s how I feel,” Francona said. “You start hearing people talk about you personally, it makes you a little uneasy, but for the things that it allows me to brag about our organization, that makes me really happy.”
Baseball’s youngest team, the Guardians unexpectedly won the AL Central, overtaking the Chicago White Sox in September and running away with the division. Cleveland then swept Tampa Bay in the wild-card round before losing in five games to the Yankees in the AL Division Series.
Francona made it through the season after major health issues forced him to leave the team in 2020 and 2021. The 63-year-old said he was re-energized by his young team, which had 17 players make their big-league debuts this season.
He intends to return in 2023, but Francona and the Guardians have an open agreement that would allow him to step aside if he needed.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.