Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers was named a finalist for the 2016 National League Manager of the Year. He’s joined by Chicago Cubs skipper Joe Maddon and Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker.
Maddon won the award last year, receiving 18 first-place votes, doubling the total of St. Louis Cardinals’ Mike Matheny who finished second. Former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly received one third-place vote and finished tied for fifth.
In his rookie season Roberts guided the Dodgers to a 91-71 record, which was the fourth straight year Los Angeles won at least 90 games — a franchise first.
What’s more, the Dodgers became the first team in NL West history to win the division four consecutive seasons. They did so by overcoming a record number of injuries — 28 players were placed on the disabled list — and tracking down the San Francisco Giants in the standings.
Roberts was forced to juggle a patched together starting rotation and rely heavily on the bullpen. It’s a formula that went against convention yet yielded positive results.
Roberts credited Dodgers baseball of operations Andrew Friedman and the front office for allowing him to remain focused on day-to-day duties that came with managing the club. Sporting News recently named Roberts their NL Manager of the Year.
Maddon led the Cubs to the best record in the Majors and their first World Series title since 1908. The Nationals reached the postseason in their first season under Baker, but again were unable to advance beyond the first round.
Baker and Maddon have each won Manager of the Year three times. American League and NL Managers of the Years will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 15 on MLB Network.
