Major League Baseball has announced the winners for the 2020 Manager of the Year award as voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). This week, the BBWAA will announce some of the remaining awards as the week continues with the 2020 Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year awards being announced on Monday.
The World Series appearing Tampa Bay Rays watched as their manager, Kevin Cash, took home the honors in the American League (AL). After leading a resilient Miami Marlins team back from a major COVID-19 outbreak, manager Don Mattingly took home the National League (NL) honors. Last year, Mike Shildt from the St. Louis Cardinals and Rocco Baldelli of the Minnesota Twins who took home the 2019 Manager of the Year honors.
Don Mattingly is your NL Manager of the Year for 2020. ? pic.twitter.com/IlWGWJcUiS
— MLB (@MLB) November 10, 2020
For Don Mattingly, 2020 was no easy task. The Miami Marlins experience a COVID-19 outbreak that wreaked havoc on their roster, but they still found a way to get to the playoffs. He would manage the Marlins to a 31-29 finish over the course of the 2020 season, where they would end up falling to the Atlanta Braves after defeating the Chicago Cubs in the Divisional round.
Mattingly was able to really get the organization going after a horrifyingly bad 57-105 record for the 2019 season. He was well deserving of the award, taking it home for the fifth time of his ten year managerial career. Over in the American League, there was not much shock either for that winner.
Kevin Cash is the 2020 AL Manager of the Year. ? pic.twitter.com/JYIEq8HZ3i
— MLB (@MLB) November 10, 2020
In his sixth year with the Rays, Cash takes home his first Manager of the Year award after finishing as a finalist in each of the past two seasons. Cash managed the Rays to a 40-20 season in 2020, where the organization would be the first seed in the AL postseason bracket.
They would push their way into the 2020 World Series, where they were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who finally got their World Series title after quite the drought. But Cash, who relies heavily on analytics, has done a fine job with the Rays and helped them become an exceptional ballclub, finding effective ways to use the talents of his ballclub.
