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The most ambiguous award in baseball was handed out last night, and although Alex Cora led the Red Sox to one of the best seasons in the history of baseball, he did not have a chance. has not been appointed manager of the American League.
Oakland A manager Bob Melvin won the award for the third time.
In leading an injury that undermined A's team with a $ 66 million payroll on opening day for a 97-win season, 22 more than in 2017, Melvin joined Bobby Cox , Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Lou Piniella, Dusty Baker, Buck Showalter and Joe Maddon is the only leader to have won this award three times. Russa and Cox are the only managers to have won four victories since the introduction of this award in 1983.
Melvin finished with 18 first place votes out of 30 possible. He also got 10 second place votes and a third place vote. Cora had seven votes for first place, 11 for second place and 11 for third, while Rays manager Kevin Cash was third with five first, six seconds and 14 thirds.
"The three guys who deserved this award deserved it," said Melvin.
It is always important to remember that the vote of the manager of the year takes place before the start of the playoffs.
If the 30 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America knew that Cora would take almost all the bold decisions while maneuvering a dubious corrector among three of the best baseball offenses in October, the vote might have been different.
Cora has also impressed in the regular season, but managers in large markets with expensive teams are not generally praised. A Red Sox coach has not won since Jimmy Williams in 1999. A Yankees coach has not won since Joe Torre in 1998.
It's hard enough to pinpoint the effect of a manager on your club, and even harder to do it while covering only one team throughout the season, as most writers do. the right to vote. Rewards are most often awarded to managers like Melvin, who were overwhelmed by a team from A who was not supposed to be very good.
The As used a record 15 starting pitchers during the season. Ten of them made their mark on the disabled list, including Sean Manaea, who started a draw against the Red Sox in April.
"I think at first we were a little surprised that we lost so many guys in the beginning," Melvin said. "After that, it was no longer a badge of honor. Someone broke down and we had to keep hoping to win and we knew that our organization had depth. This is the next man who gets up.
Melvin said the A's paid attention to the Rays' strategy of using a "opener" instead of traditional launchers. And with so many injuries, the A's adopted this mid-year strategy.
"We took a look at it," said Melvin. "We always try to be as good as we can. Based on the large number of starters who dropped and our strike force, we were looking for ways to improve. "
Without consistency in the rotation, the A's relied on a powerful offense. They earned 48 homerands from Khris Davis and a second season of the second year, Matt Chapman, to third, after finishing third in the majors with 227 homesticks, while scoring more than five points per game.
The A's had 34-36 on June 15 and then 63-29 to finish the season.
The Red Sox started the year with a payroll of $ 234 million. They collected 17-2 and have never lost more than three consecutive games before winning their third straight league title in the AHL. They held the lead of July 2 at the end of the season, winning eight wins and ending with a record win of 108 wins.
In the National League, Brian Snitker of Atlanta won the manager of the year award, beating the Craig Counsell of the Brewers. The young Braves team won the National League East with 90 wins, an increase of 18 from 2017.
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