Pat Murphy and Stephen Vogt were named Coaches of the Year for the second consecutive season. Murphy received 27 of the National League’s 30 first-place votes. The American League was closer, but Vogt retained his title with 17 first-place finishes.
Both captains won the award in their first two seasons. They each led a small-market team to Central Division titles in back-to-back seasons. Milwaukee has won 97 games and posted .500 or better ball every month after starting 0-4 in the final days of March. The Brewers repeated as division champions and defeated the Phillies to become the top seed in the senior tournament.
The Brewers have seamlessly integrated some quality prospects along the way. Caleb Durbin, Isaac Collins, Chad Patrick and Jacob Misiorovsky All made huge contributions in their debut campaigns. Milwaukee also weathered a series of early-season rotation injuries Freddie Peralta. Transactions in mid-April Quinn Priest Huge dividends were paid. Meanwhile, the offense trails only the Yankees and Dodgers in runs despite free-agent departures. Willie Adams.
Milwaukee defeated the Cubs in the five-game Division Series. They were swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS and are still looking for a trip to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1982. Award voting occurs at the end of the regular season, so postseason performance is irrelevant.
While the Brewers were poised to make the playoffs at the end of June, the Guardians’ late-season performance surprised even Cleveland’s front office. The Guard are deadline sellers and seem to have more or less done it once Emmanuel Claes Placed on administrative leave. A ten-game losing streak dropped them to eight games below .500 shortly before the All-Star break, and they were a whopping 15.5 games behind Detroit in the division.
The Guards went 14-13 in August and then went 20-7 in September to capture the conference title. They never led the AL Central by more than one game, but dominated when it mattered most and ended the season with an 88-74 record. That includes a 5-1 record against the Tigers in the final two weeks of the regular season. However, Detroit finally had the last laugh in October, advancing to Cleveland and beating the Defenders in the wild-card series.
Murphy finished first or second in all but one National League polls. Cincinnati’s Terry Francona and Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson also received at least one first-place vote. They finished second and third respectively. Craig Counsell, Clayton McCullough, Torey Lovullo and Mike Shildt all received votes. Toronto’s John Schneider finished a close second in the junior circuit. He received 10 first-place votes. Seattle’s Dan Wilson (the other finalist) and Boston’s Alex Cora also finished at least first. AJ Hinch and Joe Espada received votes.
Complete voting tally provided by BBWAA. Picture from Imagn Images.
