A regular season award given to each league’s top manager, circumstances surrounding individual teams often play a large role in determining the top candidates each season.
With the 2026 MLB season winding down and focus shifting to the postseason and end-of-season awards, fans often forget about those who have a drastic impact on how their team performs without ever taking the field.
Although nobody could fully agree on how much responsibility a manager sheds for the performance of their team, there’s no question that culture, clubhouse expectations and answering to adversity all fall on the manager’s shoulders more than anyone else.
Every franchise also has a radically different approach to how much a given manager is trusted, how much of a leash they have with their job and what kind of expectations must be met in order to keep things moving.
While teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins have shown a penchant for cycling through big league managers, others, such as the New York Yankees, have had just three managers over the past three decades.
Although every manager wants to establish the level of organizational trust that Bobby Cox had with the Atlanta Braves, even long tenures also come with abrupt endings when there is no sign of making things better – even when you know the manager isn’t fully to blame.
Take Bud Black for example, who managed the Colorado Rockies for over eight seasons before eventually being fired early last year following a 7-33 start to the season. Despite never being given anywhere near the tools to succeed with the franchise following a rebuild, the optics had grown bad enough that even Black had to go.
When it comes to the Manager of the Year award in each league, these factors often take the spotlight as voters decide which manager had the most significant impact on their team’s success – meaning it isn’t always just the managers of the best teams being honored for the award.
This was proven to fans in 2006, when Joe Girardi took home the NL Manager of the Year award for his performance with the then-Florida Marlins. Despite the Marlins missing the playoffs with a 78-84 record, Girardi was lauded for leading a viable team that featured six different rookies receiving votes for NL Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.
Therefore, there’s quite the range in what kind of seasons and circumstances warrant a Manager of the Year award, though many of the sport’s most revered managers have taken home the honor at least once.
Here’s a look at the last time a manager from each team won the award:
- Milwaukee Brewers: 2025, Pat Murphy
- Cleveland Guardians: 2025, Stephen Vogt
- Miami Marlins: 2023, Skip Schumaker
- Baltimore Orioles: 2023, Brandon Hyde
- New York Mets: 2022, Buck Showalter
- San Francisco Giants: 2021, Gabe Kapler
- Tampa Bay Rays: 2021, Kevin Cash
- St. Louis Cardinals: 2019, Mike Shildt
- Minnesota Twins: 2019, Rocco Baldelli
- Atlanta Braves: 2018, Brian Snitker
- Athletics: 2018, Bob Melvin
- Arizona Diamondbacks: 2017, Torey Lovullo
- Los Angeles Dodgers: 2016, Dave Roberts
- Chicago Cubs: 2015, Joe Maddon
- Texas Rangers: 2015, Jeff Banister
- Washington Nationals: 2014, Matt Williams
- Pittsburgh Pirates: 2013, Clint Hurdle
- San Diego Padres: 2010, Bud Black
- Colorado Rockies: 2009, Jim Tracy
- Los Angeles Angels: 2009, Mike Scioscia
- Detroit Tigers: 2006, Jim Leyland
- Chicago White Sox: 2005, Ozzie Guillen
- Kansas City Royals: 2003, Tony Peña
- Philadelphia Phillies: 2001, Larry Bowa
- Seattle Mariners: 2001, Lou Piniella
- Cincinnati Reds: 1999, Jack McKeon
- Boston Red Sox: 1999, Jimy Williams
- Houston Astros: 1998, Larry Dierker
- New York Yankees: 1998, Joe Torre
- Toronto Blue Jays: 1985, Bobby Cox
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