National League
3) Fredi Gonzalez, Atlanta Braves
After future Hall of Fame manager, Bobby Cox, retired at the end of the 2010 season, there was a pair of size 2,504 cleats to fill. Fredi has done a great job so far. Some people would argue that the Atlanta Braves’ epic collapse in September of 2011 was Gonzalez’s fault, but in my mind the players were to blame. They made the playoffs in 2012, only to fall short in the Wild Card play-in game to the St. Louis Cardinals, due in part to the controversial infield fly call. That brings us to 2013, a year where I think Gonzalez definitely deserves to be in the conversation for National League Manager of the Year.
The Braves are 70-45 so far this season, good for second best in the majors and a mind-blowing 15.5 games ahead of the Washington Nationals in the NL East. The thing that impresses me the most about Gonzalez this season is that he’s managing a club that has been, and continues to be, severely banged up. The team has been without bullpen studs Jonny Venters and Eric O’Flaherty all season and recently lost veteran starter Tim Hudson for the rest of the year. Evan Gattis, B.J. Upton, Brandon Beachy, Reed Johnson, Jason Heyward, and Paul Maholm have all also spent time on the disabled list this year. Fredi has done a great job maneuvering around these injuries so far, and have guided the Braves to the current 13 game win streak they are on.
2) Don Mattingly, Los Angeles Dodgers
It didn’t look very good for the Dodgers as they closed out the month of June. They were still in the National League West picture, but were missing several key players including Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford. Since being 8.5 games back at that point, the Dodgers have gone 25-7 up to this point in the season and now LEAD the NL West by five games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mattingly has done a fantastic job of managing through the injuries and keeping his players focused on the task at hand : winning ballgames. Of course, the team has received a major boost from rookie sensation Yasiel Puig, who Mattingly has also managed to keep grounded throughout his first season. The Dodgers recently strung together 15 straight road wins and have won eight out of their last 10 games overall.
1) Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates got off to a similarly hot start last year as they have so far in 2013. However, soon after the 2012 All-Star break, things fell apart for Pittsburgh. They took a one game lead in the National League Central into the break, but finished with a disappointing 79-83 record. This year is the final year of manager Clint Hurdle’s three year contract with the team, and he is determined to make it a winning season. Most baseball minds picked the Pirates to finish no better than third in the very strong NL Central. However, as it stands now, Hurdle’s club leads the St. Louis Cardinals in the Central by four games and owns the best record in the majors at 70-44. What makes their success even more impressive is that they’re doing it with very few household names and an offense that ranks 19th or worse in batting average, runs scored, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. If the Pirates make the postseason and win a couple of games, I can’t think of a reason why Clint Hurdle wouldn’t be the National League Manager of the Year.
American League
2) John Farrell, Boston Red Sox
In my opinion, the American League Manager of the Year will almost certainly come out of the American League East. An obvious candidate from the division is Red Sox manager John Farrell. In his first year as skipper, Farrell has managed to keep his squad very consistent amidst the turmoil that is the AL East; and he’s done it without some key players from past years. Adrian Gonzalez, Jonathan Papelbon, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Kevin Youkilis all went to different teams, yet the Sox maintain a two game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays and have posted the most wins (70) in the American League to this point. They’ve also collected more runs than any other team in the majors with a ridiculous 590. The AL East is a long way from being decided, but if the Red Sox end up winning the division, don’t be surprised to see the AL Manager of the Year award being handed to John Farrell.
1) Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays
It’s never a dull moment at Tropicana Field because there’s always a chance for a moist ball. Out of the 60 home runs the Rays have launched at home this year, none have found their way into the Rays Touch Tank in right-center; however Tigers’ slugger Miguel Cabrera managed to find the water in June. That’s neither here nor there; I just thought it was an interesting fact. The Rays’ offense does have skipper Joe Maddon in contention for his third American League Manager of the Year award though.
They rank in the top eight in the majors in runs scored, batting average, slugging, and on-base percentage. If they continue to receive solid pitching from David Price and Matt Moore (when he returns from the disabled list), then there is no reason why they can’t stick right with the Red Sox for the rest of the season. As I stated earlier, I think the AL Manager of the Year will come from the AL East; it’s just a matter of which team wins the division. Remember, this is a year where the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees were projected to finish first and second in the division, yet they are both chasing the Rays, Red Sox, and Orioles.