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MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy became the first manager in either league to win Manager of the Year three seasons in a row Tuesday night, taking the National League award one day after hip replacement surgery. Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable won the American League award.
Murphy was in a hospital bed recovering from surgery on his right hip when he did interviews on MLB Network before and after the announcement. He had the operation in Milwaukee on Monday, less than two weeks after the Brewers won the first World Series title in franchise history.
Murphy also took questions from reporters on a call Tuesday night, The Associated Press reported.
“The doctor gave me some dates and I just picked a date one day, and I had no idea that it was going to coincide,” Murphy said. “I wasn’t thinking in those terms. I was just thinking about what we had, task at hand.”
“I mean, I probably picked it a month ago and obviously I picked it after the World Series was done, but I didn’t know we were going to be in the World Series at that time,” Murphy said. “But I thought it was a safe date to do it.”
Pat Murphy Takes Third Straight NL Manager Of The Year Award
Murphy received 20 of 30 first-place votes, 7 second-place votes, and 3 third-place votes for 124 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss finished second with 7 first-place votes and 86 points.
Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly, who replaced the fired Rob Thomson in April, was third with 25 points. San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen received the other 2 first-place votes.
Voting was conducted before the postseason. The Brewers led the majors with a franchise-record 103 wins, swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, and beat the Tampa Bay Rays in a five-game World Series.
Milwaukee has won the NL Central in all three of Murphy’s seasons as manager. He spent eight seasons on Craig Counsell’s staff before taking over. The Brewers play in MLB’s smallest market and carry a payroll in the bottom half of the sport, and they have had the best record in the majors in each of the last two seasons.
Murphy is the tenth manager to win the award three times. Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa, and Buck Showalter each won it four times. Cox, Terry Francona, and Dusty Baker are the only other managers to win three with the same organization.
Murphy turns 68 on Nov. 28. He survived a heart attack in August 2020 on the day of a Brewers workout.
“I think it’s just a reflection of what our team has done,” Murphy said. “First and foremost is players, hungry players that are willing to live up to certain standards and have a focus and awareness about winning.”
Brewers president of baseball operations and general manager Matt Arnold released a statement after the announcement.
“With his ‘win tonight’ approach, Pat Murphy led our club to another historic season and the first World Series championship in franchise history,” Arnold said.
Will Venable Wins AL Honors After White Sox Playoff Run
Venable received 15 of 30 first-place votes, 11 second-place votes, and 3 third-place votes for 111 points. Rays manager Kevin Cash, a two-time winner, finished second with 12 first-place votes and 98 points. Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy, who took over in April, was third with 3 first-place votes and 47 points.
Chicago went 84-78 and finished second in the AL Central. The White Sox became the first team in MLB history to reach the playoffs after three consecutive 100-loss seasons. They lost 101 games in 2023 and 121 in 2024, the most in the majors since 1900, before going 60-102 in Venable’s first season.
The White Sox used 19 rookies this season and made the playoffs for the first time since 2021. Chicago swept the Houston Astros in two road games in the AL Wild Card Series and took a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series before losing in five games to the Cleveland Guardians.
Venable, 44, is the first White Sox manager to win the award since Ozzie Guillen in 2005. He spoke with reporters Tuesday night.
“I’m really proud about the playoff appearance because it’s what the players believed from day one, you know, at a time when nobody, certainly nobody outside of our walls, believed that we were a playoff team,” Venable said.
“There was real belief internally with our player group that they were a playoff team and beyond that, they were also willing to do the things necessary to turn that into a reality,” Venable said.
Before Chicago hired him, Venable was on manager Bruce Bochy’s staff with the Texas Rangers and was part of the franchise’s only World Series title in 2023. He played briefly for Murphy with San Diego in 2015.
The AL and NL Cy Young Award winners and Relievers of the Year will be announced Wednesday. The MVP winners will be revealed Thursday.
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