Breaking down the AL Manager of the Year favorites

With the World Series over, MLB awards season will soon begin.

With most awards, the criteria are simple: The best player wins MVP, the best pitcher wins the Cy Young, the best rookie wins Rookie of the Year and so on.

However, the manager of the best team usually does not win Manager of the Year. Although the Yankees won the AL pennant, New York manager Aaron Boone has just the seventh-best odds of winning AL Manager of the Year, per the most recent FanDuel odds.

Here are the managers with the best chances of earning the award, determined by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and announced Nov. 19:

Rocco Baldelli | Minnesota Twins (+3000)

His season: Despite the Twins going 12-27 in their last 39 games to finish the 2024 season at 82-80, Baldelli is among the top four candidates. Minnesota also announced at the end of the season that he wouldn’t be fired. The team was pegged to win the AL Central. Instead, three AL Central clubs made the playoffs, but the Twins weren’t one of them. 

His outlook: FanDuel has long odds for Baldelli to win, so it’s a good bet he won’t.  

Alex Cora | Boston Red Sox (+25000)

His season: The Red Sox, who won 78 games in 2023, improved to 81-81 with a young roster this season. The organization embraces Cora. He “remains popular among his players in part because he has had a range of experiences, good and bad: a star collegiate player, a draftee of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a regular for a few years in L.A., then a part-time player,” veteran ESPN MLB reporter Buster Olney wrote during the season.

His outlook: 81-81 won’t earn many Manager of the Year honors, and Cora likely won’t be an exception. 

Stephen Vogt | Cleveland Guardians (-105)

His season: The Guardians were mediocre in 2023, going 76-86, a record bad enough to put them in the running for the No. 1 overall draft pick, which they ended up getting. They won’t have the No. 1 draft choice again next season, and a lot of that is because of the job Vogt did in getting them an AL Central championship. Cleveland (92-69) won 16 more games in the regular season than in 2023 and did well in the playoffs, too, making it to the ALCS.

His outlook: Only two managers have a realistic chance to win AL Manager of the Year, and Vogt is one of them. 

Matt Quatraro | Kansas City Royals (-135)

His season: As bad as Cleveland was in 2023, it didn’t finish last in the AL Central. That’s because the 106-loss Royals were far worse. This year, the Royals (86-76) joined the Guardians in the postseason. That’s the type of performance that wins a Manager of the Year award.

His outlook: Although Vogt has a realistic shot to win, Quatraro is the favorite. Only one other team in big-league history has gone from 100+ losses to the postseason in just a year. That team was the 2017 Twins, and their manager, Paul Molitor, won Manager of the Year. Odds are Quatraro will do the same.