Pat Murphy of the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers made MLB history with his third consecutive National League Manager of the Year Award on Tuesday night.
Will Venable, whose Chicago White Sox became the first team in MLB history to reach the postseason after losing 100-plus games in each of the previous two seasons, was named American League Manager of the Year for the first time.
The 67-year-old Murphy, in his third season at the helm in Milwaukee, is the 10th manager to win the award three or more times. Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Buck Showalter share the record with four wins apiece since the Baseball Writers’ Association of America established the award in 1983.
The Brewers won a franchise-record 103 games, most in the majors, and their fourth consecutive NL Central title in the 2026 regular season. Manager of the Year voting took place before the start of the playoffs and Milwaukee’s run to its first World Series crown. It was the ninth time that a Manager of the Year also won the World Series in the same year.
Venable, in his second season as manager, guided the White Sox to an 84-78 record, second place in the AL Central and a playoff berth. Chicago swept the Houston Astros in two games in the AL wild-card round before losing to the Cleveland Guardians in five games in the AL Division Series.
The White Sox lost a modern-era record 121 games in 2024 before Venable took the job. The team improved to 60-102 in 2025 and then made a 24-win improvement from that record in 2026. The White Sox finished fifth in the majors in runs scored (776) and home runs (221).
Venable, 44, totaled 111 points in voting by 30 members of the BBWAA. He received 15 first-place votes, 11 second-place votes and three third-place votes.
Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash finished second with 98 points (12 firsts, 12 seconds, two thirds). The Boston Red Sox’s Chad Tracy, who took over for the fired Alex Cora in April as interim manager, received 47 points (three firsts, five seconds, 17 thirds). Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt was fourth with nine points, while the New York Yankees’ Aaron Boone finished fifth with four points and Houston’s Joe Espada finished sixth with one point. The Astros and Espada parted ways after the season.
Murphy finished with 124 points, 20 first-place votes, seven second-place votes and three third-place votes. Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss placed second with 86 points (seven firsts, 16 seconds, three thirds), followed by the Philadelphia Phillies’ Don Mattingly, who took over for the fired Rob Thomson in April as interim manager, with 25 points (one first, three seconds, 11 thirds). San Diego Padres first-year manager Craig Stammen was fourth with 24 points and two first-place votes, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dave Roberts with seven points, the Chicago Cubs’ Craig Counsell with three points and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Don Kelly with one point.
–Field Level Media
