Chicago Cubs skipper Joe Maddon was named the 2015 National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday. Maddon received 18 first-place votes, and 11 and 1 second and third-place votes to finish with 124 points.
St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, whose club was the only to reach 100 wins last season, finished in second place with 87 points, receiving nine first-place votes.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly tied with San Francisco Giants skipper Bruce Bochy for fifth in balloting, with each receiving one third-place vote.
Since taking the helm with the Dodgers, Mattingly has finished eighth in NL Manager of the Year voting in 2011, second in 2013 and sixth last year.
For Maddon, it’s the third time he’s been honored with a Manager of the Year Award; previously winning in 2008 and 2011 with the Tampa Bay Rays.
He joins Bobby Cox (four), Tony La Russa (four), Dusty Baker (three), Jim Leyland (three), Lou Piniella (three) & Buck Showalter (three) as managers to win the award at least three times. Moreover, Maddon is the seventh to be named Manager of the Year in both leagues.
In his first season with the Cubs, Maddon guided the club to the third-best record in the Majors (97-65) with a 24-game improvement, and their first playoff appearance since 2008 when Chicago was swept by the Dodgers in the National League Division Series.
Maddon has received plenty of praise for his decision in August to move rookie Addison Russell from second base to shortstop, which is Russell’s natural position. The Cubs promptly went on an eight-game hitting streak.
Three-time All-Star Starlin Castro accepted a reduced role and made the most of his playing time at second base. The Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in the NL Wild Card game, then dispatched the Cardinals in four games to reach the NL Championship Series.
The Cubs postseason run was halted by the New York Mets, who swept the NLCS. Chicago is among the early favorites to win the NL pennant and 2016 World Series.
