Dodgers manager Dave Roberts finished a distant seventh in National League Manager of the Year voting, in results announced by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Pat Murphy of the Brewers won the award in his first year on the job, capturing 27 of 30 first-place votes.
Mike Shildt of the Padres finished second and Carlos Mendoza of the Mets was third, both like Murphy in their first season managing their teams.
Roberts received only three third-place votes.
He’s received votes in all nine years on the job, but the three total points was Roberts’ second-lowest point total, and this was his lowest finish to date.
Manager of the Year is the hardest award to define, because the bulk of a manager’s duties are unseen. The award tends to go to the manager who best outpaces expectations, and Murphy easily fits that bill, winning a division with a Brewers team that traded ace Corbin Burnes and lost manager Craig Counsell, who was the longest-tenured manager in the National League before signing with the Cubs.
Expectations for the Dodgers are sky high every single year, which hurts Roberts in this regard. When you are the favorite, there’s not much you can do to exceed expectations. He won the award in his first year on the job in 2016, and has topped that winning percentage (91-71, .562) in all eight seasons since. But Roberts’ best finish in Manager of the Year voting — during a period in which he won 100 or more games five times and posted a .717 winning percentage during the truncated 2020 campaign — was second place, in both 2017 and 2022.
I voted on NL Manager of the Year this year, my third such award vote. I picked Murphy first, Shildt second, and Roberts third.
I gave Shildt credit for finding success in his first year at the helm of a Padres team that looked lost in 2023. He took over a San Diego team that cut payroll and traded Juan Soto, but still won 93 games.
An argument could be made that Roberts had an even tougher road, having to navigate through a season that saw 11 starting pitchers land on the injured list. Guiding a team Dodgers that used a franchise-record 40 pitchers and still won 98 games, the best record in baseball, was worthy of Manager of the Year consideration. I thought about Roberts over Shildt for second place, but I would not have voted him over Murphy.
Six of the top eight Brewers pitchers by games started in 2023 — accounting for 107 total starts — were gone in 2024, led by Burnes, who was traded to the Orioles. But Murphy kept the Milwaukee train rolling in his first year, winning the NL Central by 10 games.
But I definitely did not think I’d be one of only three voters to have Roberts anywhere on the ballot.
Leave a Reply