Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt won his second straight AL Manager of the Year award and Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy repeated for the NL honor.
Vogt received 17 of 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, beating out Toronto’s John Schneider and Seattle’s Dan Wilson. Voting was conducted before the postseason, and results were announced Tuesday night.
Murphy got 27 first-place votes. Cincinnati’s Terry Francona was second, followed by Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson.
The last AL manager to win the award in consecutive seasons was Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash in 2020 and 2021. The previous NL manager was Bobby Cox for Atlanta in 2004 and 2005.
The Cy Young Award winner for each league will be announced on Wednesday, and the MVPs are revealed on Thursday.
Vogt led Cleveland to a second straight AL Central title in his second year in charge. The 41-year-old played in the big leagues for 10 years, then retired after the 2022 season. He had a one-year stint as Seattle’s bullpen coach and was hired by the Guardians in November 2023.
Cleveland trailed Detroit by 15 1/2 games in early July and by 11 games in early September before storming back to clinch the division title on the final day of the season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the largest in-season comeback in Major League Baseball history.
The Guardians also became the fourth big league team to reach the playoffs despite having a losing streak of at least 10 games during the regular season, joining the 2017 Dodgers, 1982 Braves and 1951 New York Giants. Vogt’s club dropped 10 in a row from June 26 to July 6.
Cleveland went on its big September run after closer Emmanuel Clase and starting pitcher Luis Ortiz were placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a MLB investigation into sports betting.
Murphy directed Milwaukee to a major league-best 97-65 record this year, setting a franchise record for wins. The Brewers were in second in the NL Central in early July before overtaking the Chicago Cubs with a remarkable 29-4 stretch that included a 14-game win streak, another franchise record.
Milwaukee eliminated Chicago in a memorable NL Division Series before it was swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS. The five-game victory over the rival Cubs was the Brewers’ first postseason series win since sweeping Colorado in a 2018 NLDS.
The folksy Murphy, who turns 67 on Nov. 28, was Milwaukee’s bench coach for eight seasons before he was promoted after Craig Counsell left for the Cubs in November 2023. The Brewers also won the NL Central in Murphy’s first season in charge, finishing with a 93-69 record.
“This is a tremendous and well-deserved honor for the second year in a row,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said in a release.
Murphy had a long coaching career at the college level, including stints at Notre Dame and Arizona State, before serving as a special assistant with the San Diego Padres for the 2010 season. He went 42-54 as the interim manager of the Padres in 2015.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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