For the third time in 10 seasons, Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona is the American League Manager of the Year.
Francona was named the 2022 AL Manager of the Year on Tuesday, being given the honor by Major League Baseball and the Baseball Writers Association of America. Francona beat out Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and Seattle Mariners skipper Scott Servais for the award.
Francona received 17 first-place votes, more than Hyde (nine) Servais (one) and Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker (three) combined. New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone and Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash also received votes.
The award is Francona’s third, having previously won with Cleveland in 2013 and 2016, and serving as runner-up in 2017 as well. The 63-year-old also finished in the top five of the voting five other times, including four times as the Boston Red Sox’s manager from 2004-2011. He joins Tony La Russa (1983, 1988, 1992) and Buck Showalter (1994, 2004, 2014) as the only managers to be named Manager of the Year three times in the AL.
Cleveland was guided by Francona to a 92-70 record this season, winning 38 of their final 56 games, en route to the AL Central title. Perhaps the biggest feather in Francona’s hat, the Guardians did that despite having the youngest roster in the game and having 17 players make their MLB debuts in 2022. Cleveland swept Tampa Bay in two games in the Wild Card Series, then lost the ALDS to New York in five games. The award is based on regular season performance.
