Orioles' Brandon Hyde wins AL Manager of the Year while Marlins' Skip Schumaker takes NL award in rookie season
Brandon Hyde and the Baltimore Orioles showed promise in 2022, winning 86 games in a tough AL East. They fully arrived in 2023, winning 101 games and their first division title in nearly a decade.
Hyde picked up one final victory Tuesday, winning the American League Manager of the Year award on Tuesday. He beat Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash for the award.
Meanwhile, Skip Schumaker of the Miami Marlins got his managing career off to a good start, taking home the NL award.
Out of 30 BBWAA votes, Hyde received 27 first-place votes and three second-place votes. The only other manager to get first-place votes was Bochy. It is worth noting that the BBWAA submits votes at the end of the regular season, so the Rangers' World Series title run wouldn't have helped Bochy, nor would the Orioles' ALDS exit have hurt Hyde.
It's been a long road for Hyde, who joined the Orioles at the nadir of the team's current run. The Orioles went 131-253 in his first three years at the helm. The team posted its first winning season under Hyde in 2022. He was up for the Manager of the Year award following that turnaround, though finished behind Cleveland's Terry Francona.
This season, Hyde left no doubt, leading the Orioles to the most wins in the American League and securing his first Manager of the Year award.
Marlins' Skip Schumaker wins NL award in 1st season with team
Schumaker narrowly beat NL finalists Craig Counsell of the Milwaukee Brewers (and now of the Chicago Cubs) and Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves.
Schumaker garnered eight first-place votes, eight second-place votes and eight third-place votes out of 30 voters, which shows how wide open the voting was this season. In addition to the finalists, the Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo, Los Angeles Dodgers' Dave Roberts and Cincinnati Reds' David Bell all received first-place votes.
Schumaker is the fourth Marlins manager to win the award, joining Don Mattingly in 2020, Joe Girardi in 2006 and Jack McKeon in 2003.
The Marlins hired Schumaker, previously the St. Louis Cardinals' bench coach, last offseason to replace longtime manager Don Mattingly. The results were encouraging, with the Fish going from a 69-93 record last season to 84-78 this season. The Marlins made their first full-season playoff berth since 2003 as the second wild-card before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round.
"I think we set a new standard in that clubhouse, and now it's time to protect the standard."
- 2023 NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker on his successful first season with the @Marlinspic.twitter.com/4bFOjNlRe5— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 14, 2023
The more difficult task will be replicating that success next season after losing former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara to Tommy John surgery. The Marlins are also in a leadership transition above Schumaker after the controversial exit of trailblazing general manager Kim Ng and hire of Tampa Bay Rays general manager Peter Bendix as president of baseball operations.
