On Tuesday, November 10th Tampa Bay Rays skipper, Kevin Cash was named as 2020 American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, making him the second Rays skipper to win the award, joining Joe Maddon, who received the honor in ’08 and ’11.
Cash finished third in the voting in each of the previous two seasons, becoming just the fifth AL manager to record three consecutive top-three finishes, joining Minnesota’s Ron Gardenhire, Los Angeles’ Mike Scioscia and Oakland’s Art Howe and Tony La Russa.
Cash received 22 first-place votes and 126 total points in the BBWAA’s scoring to win over former White Sox manager Rick Renteria (61 total point) and former Rays bench coach and current Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo (47 total points). With Marlins manager Don Mattingly winning the NL Manager of the Year Award, both awards stayed in Florida for the first time.
“When you’re being voted and appreciated by people that don’t always agree with your opinion and there can be some back-and-forth, I think it says a lot,” Cash said on winning the award. “It’s a huge honor.”
Terry Francona, who managed the Rays’ skipper as a player and had him on the Indians’ staff as a bullpen coach for two seasons announced the winner on MLB Network and he told cash, “I’m so proud of you. We knew when we had him in Cleveland that we weren’t going to be able to keep him very long, and that’s a big compliment because he made such a big impact in such a short amount of time. He’s just getting better and better, and I’m happy for him. I’m happy for the Rays, and I’m thrilled for his family.”
when asked about the biggest challenge aside from the protocols he faced as manager during 2020 season. Cash said, “I think the injuries were up there, We all dealt with protocols and we can’t talk about those enough. But if I had to pick one, it would be the injuries.”
The Rays had 13 players on the injured list one at one point during the regular season, with five pitchers going down for the season. Cash guided the Rays through the injuries, using 24 pitches this season and tying a Major League record with 12 pitchers recording a save. Cash used 59 unique lineups in the 60-game season.
Cash also made more in-game moves than most managers in 2020. He used 4.7 pitchers per game, which was more than the MLB average. He also used more pinch-hitters than any manager in the AL, using 1.15 per game. Cash was also unafraid to do quirky things, including constructing the only all-lefty lineup in Major League history.
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