Cubs’ Maddon voted NL Manager of Year

In his first season on Chicago’s North Side, Maddon oversaw a roster of highly-touted prospects and rookies who made a 24-game improvement from the 2013 season and advanced to the National League Championship Series before bowing out to the NY Mets.

Of Cubs managers, only Jim Frey, who won the award in 1984, did it without the Rookie of the Year by his side.

Banister, who led Texas to an unexpected AL West title, was the first to win the AL award in his first full season managing and fifth overall, joining Hal Lanier (’86 Astros), Dusty Baker (’93 Giants), Joe Giradi (’06 Marlins) and Matt Williams (’14 Nationals).

“To be able to have this in year one, tremendous”, Banister said during a conference call with BBWAA members. In Chicago, he instituted pajama night on an overnight flight, brought zoo animals to the ballpark for players’ families and stressed a “less is more” attitude about the game.

“All the things that I’ve been through in my lifetime – and there were a lot of times that I asked why – well, there were times this year that I knew exactly why”, the 51-year-old Banister said.

Houston’s A.J. Hinch, a Midwest City native, was second, receiving eight first-place votes and 82 points. Molitor got two first-place votes and 33 points.

ANGELS: Veteran infielder Cliff Pennington became the first free agent to switch teams this offseason, signing a two-year, $3.75 million deal with Los Angeles.

Read on to see the manager’s five best moves from the award-winning season.

Voting for the award was completed prior to the start of the playoffs, in which Maddon’s Cubs beat the Pirates in the NL wild-card game at PNC Park and upset three-time defending NL Central champion St. Louis in the NL Division Series.

“It’s not overachieving necessarily as much as it is understanding how to play this game daily and actually meeting your level of expectation regarding the talent level, because the talent level is that good, ” Maddon said. “I believe what occurred eventually was that we kind of realized our potentials”. Mets skipper Terry Collinswas listed atop three ballots and had 49 points. The 2015 season was a special one for Maddon and the Cubs, even if it came up short of the World Series. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced the winners on Tuesday, with Maddon and Banister winning the awards after leading their teams to the postseason.

“Obviously, the spotlight is shining from Wrigley Field”, Maddon said.