Joe Maddon, who steered the Chicago Cubs to their first playoff appearance since 2008, was named Tuesday the National League Manager of the Year. It's the third award overall for Maddon, who won it twice in the American League with the Tampa Bay Rays, in 2008 and 2011. He's the seventh manager to have won three or more times.The vote: Maddon received 18 first-place votes and totaled 124 points to beat out Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals (87 points) and Terry Collins of the New York Mets (49).
Why Maddon won: Maddon built a stellar reputation in his nine seasons leading the Tampa Bay Rays, and he infused the Cubs with confidence from the moment he took the job by declaring they would contend for the playoffs. They did more than that. Chicago secured a wild-card spot early on and even made a late charge at the NL Central title by winning its last eight games.Entrusted with a club packed with first-year players like Kris Bryant – the NL rookie of the year – Jorge Soler, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber, Maddon provided an experienced hand – and several unconventional tactics – to help Chicago navigate the majors’ toughest division.The Cubs finished 97-65, a 24-win improvement that represented the majors’ biggest turnaround, in posting their first winning record since 2009.“It’s not overachieving necessarily as much as it is understanding how to play this game daily and actually meeting your level of expectation regarding the talent level, because the talent level is that good,’’ Maddon said.In their fourth season under Matheny, the Cardinals had the majors’ best record at 100-62 to win their third consecutive NL Central crown despite losing ace starter Adam Wainwright for most of the season and key figures like Matt Holliday and Matt Adams for extended stretches.With some of its big boppers sidelined, St. Louis ranked only 11th in the NL in runs scored but fashioned the majors' lowest ERA at 2.94, as Matheny got outstanding work out of his bullpen and strong seasons out of starters Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and John Lackey.The feisty Collins was no shoo-in to finish the season, let alone reach the playoffs for the first time in his 11 years as manager. The Mets opened the year with heightened expectations despite competing in the same division as the Washington Nationals, considered by many strong candidates to make it to the World Series.New York had a formidable collection of young arms headed by Matt Harvey, reigning NL rookie of the year Jacob deGrom and budding star Noah Syndergaard. But with David Wright sidelined most of the season by back trouble, the Mets had the least-productive offense in the league, and Collins also had to navigate all the drama around Harvey and his innings limit.They hovered around .500 at 49-48 on July 24, but a series of trades in late July – capped by the acquisition of Yoenis Cespedes at the deadline – infused life into the attack and sparked a turnaround. The Mets went 41-24 the rest of the way, including a critical three-game sweep of the Nationals from Sept. 7-9, and finished at 90-72 to win the NL East for the first time since 2006. That was also the last time they made the playoffs.The reaction: Maddon and Collins, two managers in their 60s with different styles, both engineered playoff seasons with clubs that relied on young talent. Their candidacies were considered a toss-up, while Matheny seemed more like a dark horse because his Cardinals are always in postseason contention despite playing in a tough division.Maddon was lured to Chicago with a five-year, $25 million deal after an escape clause in his contract with Tampa Bay was triggered by the departure of general manager Andrew Friedman.“It’s truly good to know that what you believe in works in other places,'' said Maddon, who took the Rays to the 2008 World Series. "You go to a larger market, probably a more-traditional fan base, and the ballpark, and we didn’t do anything differently. I didn’t tweak anything. It was the same approach. And to know that it works there, that’s the validating component for me.’’Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY Sports
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