A's Melvin, Braves' Snitker named top managers
Bob Melvin of the Oakland Athletics and Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves were winners of the Manager of the Year awards in the American League and National League, respectively, announced on Tuesday. Melvin, a three-time winner of the award (2007 with Arizona, 2012 with Oakland), led the A's to the fourth-best record in the major leagues (97-65) and a postseason berth in 2018. With 18 of 30 first-place votes, he beat out Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox (seven) and Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays (five) for this year's honor. Since the award's inception in 1983, only eight managers have earned the honor three or more times, including Dusty Baker, Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Joe Maddon, Lou Piniella and Buck Showalter. Snitker, who led the Braves to the playoffs this season for the first time since 2013, received 17 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America, six more than Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell. The Rockies' Bud Black and Cubs' Joe Maddon each received one vote. The Braves went 90-72, their first winning record since 2013, and won the NL East in Snitker's second full year at the helm. Snitker, who has been a part of the organization in a variety of roles dating back to 1977, is 221-227 through two-plus seasons as manager after taking over for Fredi Gonzalez midway early in 2016. Snitker joins Hall of Famer Cox as the only Braves manager ever to win the award. Snitker twice won Manager of the Year awards during 20 years managing for the Braves in the minor leagues. --Field Level Media
