FanSided Names AL Manager of the Year

The votes are in! The baseball side of the FanSided Sports Network voted for AL Manager of the Year, and the results are in! The AL Manager of the Year is…

Joe Maddon.

Or at least, according to the baseball writers here on FanSided. Personally, I voted for Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers. Leyland, who guided the Tigers to an impressive 95-67 regular season record, has the Tigers playing exceptionally well here in October.

Go back one month ago, the Tigers led the AL Central by 8.5 games. They finished the season 15 games ahead of the second-place Indians.

But, Maddon is certainly one of the top managers in the game. While his Rays were eliminated by the Rangers in the ALDS, Maddon’s team showed great audacity during the regular season on their quest for a postseason birth. It’s no surprise, then, that our baseball writers here on FanSided chose him as the AL’s best. Leyland was second, with Manny Acta coming in third to round out the top three choices.

But another coach deserving of a ton of recognition is Texas’ Ron Washington.

Washington, a former member of the A’s, has the Rangers winning in Texas. I was sad to see him leave Oakland, but how could you blame him for accepting a managing gig? Wash deserves a lot of recognition for the turn around in Texas. But so does Nolan Ryan.

For the complete breakdown of the votes, please head on over to FanSided’s Call to the Pen.