Skip to main content

Bob Melvin and Brian Snitker Win Manager of the Year Awards

The Braves won the NL East title with a 90-72 record, while the A's finished the season at 97-65.

A's skipper Bob Melvin was named the 2018 American League Manager of the Year Award, while the Braves' Brian Snitker took home the 2018 National League Manager of the Year honors.

Melvin beat finalists Alex Cora of the Red Sox and Kevin Cash of the Rays in the AL. Snitker emerged as the NL winner over the Brewers' Craig Counsell and the Rockies' Bud Black.

Snitker received 17 first-place votes and Melvin finished with 18.

Melvin received the honor for the third time in his career, previously winning it in 2007 with the Diamondbacks and 2012 with the A's. After starting his managerial career with the Mariners in 2003, Melvin, 57, is one of the more tenured skippers in baseball. The A's started the 2018 season with the lowest payroll in the league at $62.6 million but ended the year with a 97-65 record. Oakland finished in last place in the AL West the previous three seasons.

Snitker and the Braves finished the 2018 regular season with a 90-72 record after going 72-90 in 2017. The Braves held first place in the NL East for 115 days of the season and never lost more than four consecutive games en route to winning the division crown. Snitker's team relied on a dynamic young core, including 2018 NL Rookie of the Year winner Ronald Acuna Jr. Known for his positive attitude, Snitker also embraced the analytics first-year general manager Alex Anthopoulos brought to the organization. Snitker is only the second Braves skipper to be named the NL Manager of the Year, joining three-time winner Bobby Cox.