Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro is one of six finalists for Manager of the Year, announced on Monday, after leading the team to a remarkable 30-game improvement in 2024.
Quatraro, 50, guided the Royals to a stunning turnaround. After finishing with a poor 56-106 record and last place in 2023, the Royals bounced back in 2024 under his leadership, finishing 86-76 and securing second place in the American League Central.
This year, the Royals had a strong postseason showing, sweeping the Baltimore Orioles 2-0 in the wild-card series, though they were later knocked out by the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series, losing 3-1.
Quatraro faces tough competition from two rivals in the AL. A.J. Hinch of the Detroit Tigers and Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians are also finalists.
Hinch led the Tigers to an 86-76 record, matching Quatraro, and had his team advance to the postseason, where they beat the Houston Astros 2-0 in the wild-card series before losing to the Guardians in five games in the ALDS.
Vogt’s Guardians finished first in the AL Central with a 92-70 record, and they also made a strong postseason run. They beat Detroit in the ALDS and advanced to the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2016, though they lost to the Yankees in five games.
In the National League, the Manager of the Year finalists include Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers, Mike Shildt of the San Diego Padres, and Carlos Mendoza of the New York Mets.
Murphy and Shildt both led teams that finished 93-69 and made the playoffs. Murphy’s Brewers lost to Mendoza’s Mets in the NL Division Series, while Shildt’s Padres won their wild-card series 2-0 against the Atlanta Braves but were later eliminated by the Mets.
Mendoza’s Mets made it to the NL Championship Series, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 in the Division Series before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
