Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers was voted the 2016 National League Manager of the Year. He was selected head of Chicago Cubs skipper Joe Maddon and Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker. Maddon won the award in 2015 after guiding the Cubs to a 24-win turnaround.
Roberts received 16 first-place votes, seven second-place votes and seven third-place votes, totaling 108 overall points. Maddon received eight first-place votes, eight second-place votes and six third-place votes, totaling 70 overall points.
Baker earned four first-place votes, 12 second-place votes and 10 third-place votes to finish with 66 total points. New York Mets field general Terry Collins was the only other manager to receive first-place votes (two). Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly received two third-place votes.
Roberts joins Tommy Lasorda (1983, ’88) as the only Dodgers manager to win the award. During his five seasons as manager, Mattingly finished eighth in voting (2011), second (2013), sixth (2014) and fifth (2015).
Coinciding with quickly developing into one of the more respected managers in baseball, Roberts is lauded for his ability to connect with players and maintain a positive clubhouse.
That was particularly evident when the Dodgers fell to eight games back of the San Francisco Giants in the NL West standings and lost Clayton Kershaw to a back injury.
In his rookie season as manager, Roberts faced a historic number of injuries as the Dodgers placed a Major-League record 28 different players on the disabled list.
Los Angeles used 55 different players and 31 different pitchers (including 15 starters) this season to offset recurring injuries. Total players and pitchers used tied team records.
Despite that, the Dodgers posted a fourth consecutive 90-plus win season for the first time in franchise history and became the first team to win the NL West four straight years.
Roberts credited president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman for allowing him full autonomy on daily duties. Roberts was previously named NL Manager of the Year by Sporting News.
Maddon led the Cubs to the best record in the Majors and their first World Series title since 1908. The Nationals reached the postseason in their first season under Baker, but once again failed to advance beyond the first round.
Baker and Maddon are both three-time Manager of the Year winners, tying for second-most all-time. Only Bobby Cox (1994, ’95) has won the award in back-to-back years.
