Jeff Banister is the American League Manager of the Year after leading the Texas Rangers to the AL West title in his rookie season.
Banister received 17 first-place votes to beat Houston manager A.J. Hinch and Minnesota manager Paul Molitor in voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The results of the voting, which take place at the end of the regular season, were announced Tuesday evening.
“I’m truly honored and blessed,” Banister said. “It’s an organization award.”
The Rangers went 88-74 despite a 7-14 record in April. Beginning May 4, the Rangers went 80-58. Beginning July 21, when they trailed Houston by nine games, they went 45-25.
Banister was hired to replace Ron Washington on Oct. 16, 2014, despite having never been a big-league manager. Players credited Banister with holding the club together after the lousy April amid a struggling offense and injuries to key players, including starting pitchers Yu Darvish and Derek Holland.
“The way that he carried the team with the leadership and made us cover some serious ground, he definitely deserves it,” Holland said. “A strong leader. A great vocal guy to have. I’m blessed to say that’s my manager.”
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