The Baseball Writers' Association of America have been announcing their awards, and early Wednesday, they announced the respective managers of the year. Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays was named the AL Manager of the Year and took home 26 of 28 first-place votes, now holding two of the top three spots in voting for the award.
One of the two remaining first-place votes went to Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who finished second in the Manager of the Year voting. Leyland, on the last year of his contract, led the Tigers to a 95-67 record, behind only the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League. It was a rough start to the season, but they eventually pulled ahead of the Indians and White Sox to take the Central Division title for the first time in just under a quarter-century.
Detroit beat the Yankees in the AL Division Series, but stalled out in the Championship Series, falling to the Rangers in game six. Washington finished third in the voting, and received the other first place vote, while Indians manager Manny Acta rounded out the top four, with three second-place votes.