After guiding the Orioles to 96 wins and their first American League East division title in 17 years, Buck Showalter was officially named 2014 AL Manager of the Year Tuesday night.
Receiving 25 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Showalter finished ahead of fellow finalists Mike Scioscia and Ned Yost to win the third Manager of the Year award of his career. The 58-year-old also won in 1994 with the New York Yankees and 2004 while managing the Texas Rangers, but some regarded 2014 as possibly Showalter’s finest managerial job.
Losing All-Star catcher Matt Wieters and All-Star third baseman Manny Machado to season-ending injuries and 2013 home run king Chris Davis to a 25-game suspension for amphetamine use, Showalter and the Orioles didn’t blink as they pulled away from the rest of the division in August to win the AL East by 12 games. An expert at manipulating his roster, Showalter received meaningful contributions from career journeymen such as Steve Pearce as well as longtime minor leaguers like rookie catcher Caleb Joseph.
Though voting was completed at the end of the regular season, Showalter also guided the Orioles to their first postseason series win since 1997 before they were swept by the Kansas City Royals in the AL Championship Series. This was the fourth different club he’d taken to the playoffs and second time he’d made it with the Orioles.
Showalter has 1,259 career wins in 16 seasons as a major league manager, third on the active list. He is 377-328 in five seasons as the Baltimore skipper since being named the 19th manager in club history on Aug. 2, 2010. From the day he arrived in Baltimore, Showalter began changing a losing culture that had persisted for more than a decade and led the 2012 Orioles to the AL wild card, ending a stretch of 14 consecutive losing seasons. The Orioles have now posted three consecutive winning season for the first time since 1992 through 1994.
He becomes the third manager in franchise history to be named AL Manager of the Year, joining Frank Robinson in 1989 and Davey Johnson in 1997.
