MLB Managers of the Year

I've always felt that Manager of the Year Awards were silly. I'm thinking about this because it was just announced that Jim Tracy of the Colorado Rockies won the award in the NL this year, whereas Mike Scioscia won after leading the Angels to the ALCS.

Now, I don't want to discount what each of these managers achieved, but does anyone really know how good of a manager these guys are? For example, there are plenty of managers who never received a vote for the award when they were one team, then they go to a new team with better players and all of a sudden they are the best in the league? Or Joe Maddon of Tampa Bay and Lou Piniella of the Cubs won last season, but this year neither one got a single vote? Did they forget how to manage over the offseason?

A telling example in the Midwest League was the fact that Doug Dascenzo won the Manager of the Year Award this season. I like Doug, and I think he's a fine manager, but isn't it amazing that a guy who had missed the playoffs for two straight seasons is suddenly the best manager in the league when he gets a team full of top prospects?

With all that being said, I actually think that this year, the MLB Managers of the Year are probably the most legitimate that this award has ever been.

Consider that the Rockies were a train wreck through the first month of the season, they fire the manager, bring in Jim Tracy, and they end up making the playoffs. Same players, same ownership, but a new manager and they start winning. I think that goes a long way to proving he was deserving this season.

In the AL, the Angels dealt with more injuries than most teams, and had to overcome the death of Nick Adenhart. Perhaps Scioscia best managing job this season wasn't calling for the hit-and-run or knowing when to go to the bullpen, but rather keeping this team united and focused despite the tragic loss of a teammate.

So while the award itself is still a bit overrated, I think they got it right this season.