Will Venable and Pat Murphy Named Managers of the Year

It's Individual Awards Week in MLB. Last night, for example, we learned that Kevin McGonigle and Sal Stewart had won the Rookie of the Year award in their respective leagues.

And tonight, it was the turn of the top managers to be recognized. The league announced the Manager of the Year winners in both leagues.

First, in the American League, we saw an extremely close race between Will Venable and Kevin Cash, both of whom were excellent candidates.

But in the end, it was Venable who earned the title for the work he was able to accomplish with the White Sox.

His 15 first-place votes allowed him to edge out Cash, who received 12. The remaining three first-place votes went to Chad Tracy.

Although Cash led the Rays to the best record in the American League (a tremendous achievement in itself), Venable's work in turning around the White Sox was duly recognized. The young manager helped his team reach the playoffs after years of struggle.

Stephen Vogt, Aaron Boone, and Joe Espada also each received at least one vote.

In the National League, the race was expected to be much less close. Pat Murphy, who had won the award the past two seasons, was once again seen as the favorite.

And the outcome was as expected: Murphy received 20 first-place votes to win the title once again. He finished ahead of Walt Weiss, Don Mattingly, and Craig Stammen, who each received at least one first-place vote.

The Brewers, true to form, had an exceptional season. They managed to finish atop the National League—a league where just about everyone expected the Dodgers to finish first.

Dave Roberts, Craig Counsell, and Don Kelly also each received at least one vote.

And Murphy, who spoke to the media after his win was announced, accepted his award while he was… in a hospital bed. The Brewers' manager recently underwent hip replacement surgery.

It's worth noting that the World Series victory didn't even factor into Murphy's case, since the vote was tallied at the end of the regular season. Had the vote taken place after the postseason, it's likely Murphy would have won the award unanimously.

And perhaps Kevin Cash, who narrowly missed out on the title, would have edged out Venable. But in the end, it was Venable who came out on top in the American League… and he certainly deserved it.

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