Skip Schumaker wins 2023 NL Manager of the Year, Braves’ Brian Snitker finishes 3rd.
The Miami Marlins’ unexpected playoff season has won first-time manager Skip Schumaker his first ever BBWAA NL Manager of the Year award. Braves’ manager Brian Snitker and former Brewers’ manager Craig Counsell were the other two finalist
The Marlins were projected by basically every outlet in baseball to finish 4th in the NL East in 2023, behind the Braves, Mets and Phillies. But a red-hot first half (53-39) allowed them to weather a rather terrible second half (31-39) and sneak into the last Wild Card spot after the Chicago Cubs mini September collapse. Miami finished the season with a -57 run differential.
Schumaker amassed 72 total points in the voting, despite only getting 8 first place votes. Counsell finished at 51 and Snitker at 48. Here’s the total vote:
Snitker’s case was largely built on the Braves having the best record in all of baseball, despite missing two major pieces of their rotation for most of the year and having to patch together the pitching staff for most of the summer. But most of these Manager/Coach of the year awards have become “which team was much less terrible than we thought they’d be” and Miami this season fits the bill to a tee.
Craig Counsell accepting the award for the Brewers while wearing his new Cubs gear would’ve also made for an entertaining evening, but the Brewers were supposed to be good in 2023, as were the Braves. The Marlins were not and that pretty much ended the race.
On the American League side, Brandon Hyde of the Orioles won the award over Kevin Cash of the Rays and Bruce Bochy of the Rangers. The Orioles finished with a 101-61 record, the best mark in the American League and the second best record in all of baseball.
As a reminder, the voting for full-season awards is completed before
the playoffs, so as to not let playoff performances impact regular season awards.
