Terry Francona Rightfully Named AL Manager of the Year

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona was named the American League Manager of the Year, marking the second time he has won the award in Cleveland.

In what comes as no surprise, Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona brought home some hardware Tuesday night after being named the AL Manager of the Year.

It is the second time he has won it in the past four years, bringing home his first during the 2013 season, when the Indians made the Wild Card game.

The voting does not take the postseason into account, but Francona still deserved the award for his regular season marks.

The Indians won the team’s first AL Central title since 2007 in a season that included a 14-game winning streak. But the most impressive part of the year was how Francona never let his team make excuses after losing key players to injury.

No team is going to fold over and give up after key players are injured, but it is easy to tense up and put too much emphasis on individual games. But Francona kept his team loose, never making it seem like the team was playing shorthanded.

Francona beat out Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter and Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister for the award, but it was clear that the Indians’ skipper was the easy choice.

This win gives the Indians two postseason awards, as Francisco Lindor brought home a Gold Glove last week. Tyler Naquin finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, but Corey Kluber can bring home the Cy Young later this week.

The ultimate goal is to win a championship, but it is nice to see members of this great team be recognized for an amazing season.

Next: Naquin Had a 2016 to Remember

Francona has only been in Cleveland for four seasons, but it is clear he should hold the job for as long as he wants. It is nice to have a Hall of Fame manager in town, and he will surely have this team playing competitive baseball once again in 2017.