Detroit Tigers manager A. J. Hinch finished third in the voting for the 2024 American League Manager of the Year Award on Tuesday evening, receiving one of 30 first-place votes.
Hinch lost to Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro, as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Vogt received 27 first-place votes to run away with the award in the first year of his managerial career. The Tigers finished with an 86-76 record in the 2024 season for third place in the AL Central, trailing the first-place Guardians and the second-place Royals in the division standings.
Q&A:How Tigers manager A. J. Hinch brought postseason baseball back to Detroit“I’m so proud of our team and our year and our coaches and our resilience,” Hinch said Tuesday on MLB Network, before the winner was announced, “and our ability to play the whole schedule and see what happens after you post 162 times.
That led us to the playoffs. It’s been our identity. As the manager, when you see that flourish, you are so proud for so many people and enjoy every minute coming to the ballpark.
”Hinch remains in search of his first Manager of the Year trophy, despite five top-five finishes throughout his 11-year managerial career. He previously finished second in 2015, third in 2017, fourth in 2018 and fifth in 2019, all as the manager of the Houston Astros. He became the Tigers’ manager in October 2020.
A total of 30 voters from the BBWAA ranked their top three Manager of the Year candidates before the beginning of the postseason. The votes were worth five points for first place, three points for second place and one point for third place. PLAYOFF TEAM:Tigers secret is out: A rare team meeting sparked stunning MLB playoff surgeHinch — one of three finalists — received one first-place vote, six second-place votes and 18 third-place votes for 41 total points.
Vogt led the way with 142 total points, followed by Quatraro with 73 points. Houston Astros manager Joe Espada finished in fourth place with six points. “I’m very proud,” Vogt said Tuesday on a conference call.
“I’m always going to give the credit to the people that have to go out and do it, and that’s the players. For me, I think this award goes to show that when you show up to work every day, and you put the people around you ahead of yourself, and you’re there to support them and have their back through everything and encouraging them and empathize with them, it’s not always easy and it’s not always fun, but all those little conversations, all the little things that we do day in and day out, it definitely does show that this is the way we go about it. ”Eight AL managers received at least one vote.
Vogt, who was the only manager on every ballot, became the third AL manager to win the award in his first season as a manager, joining Jeff Banister in 2015 and Rocco Baldelli in 2019. There have been seven first-year winners in the National League, most recently Skip Schumaker in 2023. [ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]The Tigers shocked the baseball world in 2024, thanks to Hinch’s leadership.
The front office — led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris — traded four veteran players in exchange for seven prospects at the July 30 trade deadline, but Hinch didn’t let the young players give up on the season. Hinch implemented his tactical skills as a manager to create wins in the margins, using an opener-bulk reliever pitching strategy for unpredictability on the mound and pinch-hitters for matchup advantages at the plate. Players bought into the plan.
After that, Hinch pushed all the right buttons. The postseason odds were down to 0. 2% with a 55-63 record after Aug.
10, but that’s when the Tigers went on an improbable 31-11 run — part of a 31-13 record in their final 43 games — to clinch a spot in the postseason. “A. J.
has always been great to me, even playing against him when he was in Houston when I was with Oakland,” Vogt said. “He was just always respectful and wonderful. I’ve developed a professional relationship with him now over the last couple of years, and A.
J. has been nothing but kind and nothing but helpful. We bounce ideas off each other.
I ask him a lot of questions. What he and the Tigers accomplished this year is something truly special. I remember we played them right at the trade deadline, and it was a very different team than what we saw in the playoffs.
It’s just a credit to their organization, their players and what A. J. ’s leadership brought.
I’m looking forward, but not looking forward, to competing with A. J. in the AL Central for years to come.
”The Tigers haven’t had a Manager of the Year winner since Jim Leyland in 2006. Here are the full results of the BBWAA vote for 2024 AL Manager of the Year: Stephen Vogt, Cleveland Guardians (142 points), Matt Quatraro, Kansas City Royals (73 points), A. J.
Hinch, Detroit Tigers (41 points), Joe Espada, Houston Astros (6 points), Aaron Boone, New York Yankees (3 points), Mark Kotsay, Oakland Athletics (3 points), Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota Twins (1 point), Alex Cora, Boston Red Sox (1 point). Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress. com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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