Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts scraped together just seven total points in the National League Manager of the Year voting this year, finishing fifth overall. While that is an improvement from his 2025 shutout, where he received zero votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, it pales in comparison to the historic run pulled off by the man at the top.
Pat Murphy’s Historic Three-Peat Dominates the League
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy didn’t just win Manager of the Year, he completed a remarkable three-peat, making him the first manager in the award’s 44-year history to capture the honor three straight times. His Brewers, remember, were the team that swept Roberts’ Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, stopping Los Angeles from a three-peat of their own. Murphy was absolutely dominant in the voting, named on all 30 ballots and racking up 20 first-place votes.
The award was also a big moment for new faces across the league. Walt Weiss of the Atlanta Braves, in his debut year managing, nabbed seven first-place votes to finish second. Philadelphia Phillies manager Don Mattingly, another first-year boss, came in third with one first-place vote. And Craig Stammen of the San Diego Padres, also a rookie manager, grabbed two first-place votes to finish fourth. It shows you, any kind of on-field success in your first year often paves a solid path to votes for this award.
The Voting Rollercoaster: From First-Place Glory to Scrappy Fifth
Roberts’ own performance in the 2026 voting saw him earn just two second-place votes and one third-place vote, tallying up those seven total points for his fifth-place finish. It’s a far cry from his rookie year, 2016, when he took home NL Manager of the Year in his first year with the Dodgers, securing 16 first-place votes and 108 total points. He followed that up with a strong second-place finish in 2017, earning 55 points.
But since then, his voting record has been a wild ride. In the nine years since 2017, he’s only finished higher than fourth place once. That one time, in 2022, it took a historic 111-win season, the most wins by a National League team in over a century, for him to grab second place again. Looking at the numbers, 2025 was a low point with zero votes across the board. His 2026 fifth-place finish, with its two second-place and one third-place vote, certainly put him back on the ballot, but it highlights a significant shift from his initial award-winning trajectory.
This latest voting result for Roberts isn’t just a number; it is a stark reminder of how much the narrative can shift over a manager’s career. From winning the award in his debut season to needing a record-breaking 111-win campaign just to sniff second place again, Roberts’ path shows how consistently hard it is to stay at the top of the voters’ minds. After a 2025 shutout, at least he made it back on the ballot, but the competition is clearly fierce, especially with new faces making immediate impacts.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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