AL Manager of the Year Rankings: It's Time to Give Bobby Valentine Some Credit

Jun 3, 2018

Had you asked me a month ago, Bobby Valentine would have been dead last on my list of American League Manager of the Year contenders.

Things are different now. Valentine and the Boston Red Sox have shrugged off a brutal start to the season by winning 10 of their last 13 games. In this span, Valentine has pushed all the right buttons.

With the Red Sox starting to make a move in the American League East, now is the time to start showing Bobby V some respect. He took a dreadful team and turned it into a respectable contender, and the process wasn't simple by any stretch of the imagination.

He is now a Manager of the Year contender, make no mistake about that. The only question is where he ranks.

Good question. Let's take a look at this week's AL Manager of the Year rankings.

Note: Feel free to check out last week's rankings.

5. Bobby Valentine, Boston Red Sox

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Last Week: Unranked

When the Red Sox got drubbed by the Cleveland Indians by the score of 7-1 back on May 10, they seemed doomed. Their record stood at 12-19, and they had lost eight of nine to open the month of May.

Now look at them. The Sox are an even .500 at 22-22, and they just won two out of three in Baltimore against the first-place Orioles. They're still in last place in the AL East, but they're only 5.5 games out of first.

Valentine's button-pushing has a lot to do with Boston's revival. He's done a fine job of putting decent lineups together despite an ever-growing list of injured players, and he's turned Boston's bullpen into a formidable unit.

That's his greatest accomplishment. Boston's bullpen had an ERA of 6.10 in the month of April, the highest in Major League Baseball. In May, the bullpen has an ERA of 2.08.

Bobby V's patience with Alfredo Aceves in particular has paid off, as Aceves has converted all six of his save opportunities this month. He's had to get more than three outs in three of them.

If the Red Sox can play this well now, there's no telling how well they'll be able to play when all their injured players return. They hit rock bottom earlier this month, but things are looking up.

4. John Farrell, Toronto Blue Jays

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Last Week: Unranked

The Blue Jays are a scary team. They've got some powerful bats in their lineup, and they have a starting rotation stocked with young, talented arms.

But you know what the really scary part is?

The Blue Jays haven't peaked yet.

The Jays have been successful this season, but it's been a struggle for John Farrell. He's had to deal with underachieving hitters (i.e. Adam Lind, Colby Rasmus and, at first, Jose Bautista), and he's also had to proceed with caution with his young starting staff. And of course, Toronto's bullpen has been a mess all season.

Given the circumstances, the Blue Jays shouldn't be in the thick of the AL East race. Yet there they are at 24-21, just four games behind the Orioles.

The Jays are where they are because Farrell simply hasn't let his team fall apart at the seams. It hasn't been easy, but he's kept things together and gotten his guys to play good baseball.

Farrell's Blue Jays are definitely a team to watch going forward. They have a ton of potential, and they have the assets to make a major deal or two at the trade deadline.

3. Manny Acta, Cleveland Indians

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Last Week: No. 3

The Indians had a chance to make a major statement with the Detroit Tigers coming to town for a three-game series this week, and boy, did they ever make one.

The Indians swept the Tigers, and the nail in the coffin was a 2-1 win in which Justin Masterson out-dueled Justin Verlander. As a result, the Indians now have comfortable lead over the Tigers in the AL Central.

The Indians aren't blessed with a wealth of talent, but Manny Acta has done a heck of a job getting the most out of the talent he has at his disposal. Moving Shin-Soo Choo to leadoff, for example, was a stroke of genius that has paid major dividends.

Acta has done a great job of pushing buttons, to be sure, but his best skill is his ability to motivate his troops. He has the Indians believing they can win, and they are winning.

I have to be honest, I really wanted to move Acta up to No. 2 this week. I'll explain why I didn't on the next slide.

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2. Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

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Last Week: No. 2

Joe Maddon is a mad genius.

At this point, we know all about the infield shifts. You can never expect the Rays to play straight up against any hitter. If Maddon sees something in his notes about Dustin Pedroia having a tendency to hit grounders slightly to the right of the second base bag, he will adjust his infield accordingly.

These shifts seem like gimmicks, but the Rays are third in the majors in defensive runs saved despite being 29th in fielding percentage.

That's not all Maddon does. He does things like bat Carlos Pena leadoff, a highly unconventional place for a power hitter like him to bat. Naturally, Pena responded by collecting a pair of hits, one of which was a three-run homer.

A day later, Maddon batted Drew Sutton in the cleanup spot, and he went 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Maybe it was because Maddon equated Sutton to Superman.

No matter what Maddon does, it works.

1. Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles

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Last Week: No. 1

When you look at the Orioles on paper, you don't see a team that should have the best record in the American League.

But the Orioles do have the best record in the American League, and that's mainly Buck Showalter's doing.

The Orioles have talent, especially on offense and in the bullpen. They lead the majors in home runs, and their 2.31 bullpen ERA ranks second in the majors behind Texas. In and of themselves, though, these two things alone shouldn't translate to the best record in the American League.

Showalter has provided the missing ingredient: confidence. It took some time, but he's managed to change the losing culture in Baltimore into a winning culture.

In other words, Showalter is doing the exact same thing in Baltimore that he did in New York, Arizona and Texas. He's taken an underachieving team under his wing, and he's gotten it to overachieve (I mean that as a compliment).

The Orioles aren't going to maintain the AL's best record all season long, but this is a team that can at least stay in contention. Every team in the Junior Circuit will agree that the O's are no longer a pushover.