Stephen Vogt, in the American League, and Pat Murphy, in the National League, were named managers of the year Tuesday in major league baseball.
Vogt led the Cleveland Guardians to a 92-win season and a section title in his first year as manager.
The 40-year-old defeated Matt Quatraro of the Kansas City Royals and AJ Hinch of the Detroit Tigers.
Vogt received 27 of 30 first-place votes. Quatraro had two, and Hinch, one.
“I was a lot more excited when one of our players hit a home run than when I hit one myself,” Vogt said. I think that’s the beauty of this role and this job: it’s not about you. It’s about your players and their success. »
Replacing Terry Francona, Vogt led the Guardians to the playoffs with a 92-69 record. The former major league baseball catcher saw his team eliminated in five games by the New York Yankees in the championship series.
Quatraro, 51, led the Royals (86-76) to the playoffs in his second season. They defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the first round, but were eliminated by the Yankees in the sectional series.
Hinch, 50, also led his team to the playoffs in his fourth season with the Tigers. However, his team was eliminated by the Guardians in the sectional series.
Pat Murphy in the spotlight in the National
Murphy, 65, led the Milwaukee Brewers to the Central Division title with a 93-69 record.
PHOTO SUE OGROCKI, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pat Murphy (au centre)
He became the first manager in Brewers history to win Manager of the Year, which was established in 1983.
Murphy became manager of the Brewers when Craig Counsell left the organization to join the Chicago Cubs in the off-season. Management immediately turned to Murphy, who had been one of his deputies since 2015.
“I just didn’t want to disappoint the Brewers,” Murphy said. Be it the owners, management, players or coaching staff. I didn’t want to disappoint them. I wanted to be ready. I wanted to do something to move the team forward. »
In the playoffs, the Brewers lost in three games in the first round, against the New York Mets.
Murphy defeated Mike Shildt of the San Diego Padres and Carlos Mendoza of the Mets. He received 27 of 30 first place votes. Shildt, Mendoza and Rob Thompson of the Philadelphia Phillies each received one.
Shildt led the Padres (93 wins) to the playoffs in his first season there. He was named manager of the year in 2019 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
In his first campaign at the helm of the Mets, Mendoza helped the Mets reach the playoffs with 89 victories. They were eliminated in six games in the championship series against the eventual World Series winners Los Angeles Dodgers.
