On Tuesday, Twins skipper and Minnesota native Paul Molitor was named American League Manager of the Year for 2017. Molitor prevailed in the BBWAA balloting over fellow award finalists Terry Francona of the Indians and A.J. Hinch of the Astros.
Over on the National League side, Torey Lovullo of the Diamondbacks was named 2017 NL Manager of the Year.
By way of reminder, the votes are cast before the postseason begins, so this is a regular-season award. Here's the voting breakdown:
This season, Molitor guided the Twins to an 85-77 record and a spot in the AL Wild Card Game. That marked the Twins' first playoff berth since 2010. As well, the Twins in 2016 went 59-103, so Molitor's team managed 26-game improvement in the standings this season. After three seasons on the job in Minnesota, Molitor, age 61, has a record of 227-259.
Molitor becomes the third Twins manager to win the award. Previously, Ron Gardenhire took AL honors in 2010, and Tom Kelly won it in 1991.
As a player, Molitor spent three of his 21 seasons with his hometown Twins. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2004. He joins Frank Robinson as the only Hall of Fame players to ever win Manager of the Year.
For those interested, here's a breakdown of the voters and how they cast their ballots:
