If the Schu fits...
Marlins field boss Skip Schumaker is honored as NL Manager of the Year
After guiding the Marlins to 84 wins and a surprising playoff appearance, manager Skip Schumaker—in his rookie season at the helm—was honored last night as the National League Manager of the Year.
2 members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) from each NL city vote for a first-, 2nd- and 3rd-place choice for the honor, with managers receiving 5 points for every first-place vote, 3 points per 2nd-place vote and one point for a 3rd-place vote.
Here’s a look at the final voting totals:
Skip Schumaker, Marlins: 8 1st-place votes, 8 2nd, 8 3rd (72 points)
Craig Counsell, Brewers: 5 1st, 7 2nd, 5 3rd (51 points)
Brian Snitker, Braves: 8 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd (48 points)
Torey Lovullo, D-Backs: 4 1st, 5 2nd, 7 3rd (42 points)
Dave Roberts, Dodgers: 4 1st, 5 2nd, 6 3rd (41 points)
David Bell, Reds: 1 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd (13 points)
David Ross, Cubs: 1 2nd (3 points)
Schumaker joins Jack McKeon (2003), Joe Girardi (2006) and Don Mattingly (2020) as the 4th Marlin to take home the honor.
The award has been presented by the BBWAA in each league annually since 1983.
In all of Baseball, only the White Sox (5) have had more Managers of the Year than the Marlins. Among NL clubs, the Marlins, Cubs, Braves and Giants lead the way with 4 honorees over the last 41 seasons. Nipping at the heels of the White Sox in the AL are the Orioles, Guardians, Rays and White Sox, who have each had 4 Managers of the Year.
Included among the Orioles’ award recipients is 2023 AL recipient Brandon Hyde, who formerly managed in the minor leagues and coached at the big league level for the Marlins.
Notably, Girardi had already been fired by then owner Jeffrey Loria after one season at the helm of the Marlins when he was announced as the league’s Manager of the Year in November of 2006.
McKeon and Mattingly both spent only 2 more seasons in Miami after winning their awards.
Schumaker is the 9th manager overall, the 7th in the NL, to earn the honor in his first full managerial season.
Hal Lanier, Astros (1986)
Dusty Baker, Giants (1993)
Joe Girardi, Marlins (2006)
Matt Williams, Nationals (2014)
Jeff Banister, Rangers (2015)
Dave Roberts, Dodgers (2016)
Torey Lovullo, D-Backs (2017)
Rocco Baldelli, Twins (2019)
Skip Schumaker, Marlins (2023)
After guiding the 3rd-place Marlins to a Wild Card, Schumaker became just the 6th man to be recognized as his league’s Manager of the Year in a season in which his team didn’t finish first or 2nd in its division.
Buck Rodgers, Expos (3rd place in 1987)
Tony Pena, Royals (3rd place in 2003)
Buck Showalter, Rangers (3rd place in 2004)
Joe Girardi, Marlins (4th place in 2006)
Joe Maddon, Cubs (3rd place in 2015)
Skip Schumaker, Marlins (3rd place in 2023)
The BBWAA provides a breakdown of the 30 individual ballots in its press release announcing the award winner.
MEANWHILE…
If I had a vote, I’d have undoubtedly cast my ballot for Schumaker, a first-year manager who guided a club no one expected to make the playoffs to 84 wins and an NL Wild Card.
And while the Marlins are right to celebrate his recognition, it seems odd that the guy in the dugout is deservedly feted as Manager of the Year while at the end of the same season general manager Kim Ng was asked by owner Bruce Sherman to accept a demotion to 2nd in command, a request that led to her departing the organization.
It was Ng who hired Schumaker, reportedly over the wishes of the majority of others in the organization who had a voice in the selection process. In fact, depending on how the next few years play out, there’s a chance the managerial hire could go down as Ng’s most significant contribution during her 3 seasons with the Marlins.
And it was Ng who, during her 2 years of autonomy overseeing the club’s baseball operations after Derek Jeter’s departure, acquired several of the most important members of the 2023 Marlins, including batting champion, All-Star and Silver Slugger Luis Arraez, 36-home run All-Star slugger Jorge Soler, late-season bullpen ace Tanner Scott and crucial deadline additions Jake Burger and Josh Bell.
It is easy to argue that if you were to remove any one of those players from this season’s club, it would not have played in October. And if that were the case, the national conversation this morning would be about NL Manager of the Year Craig Counsell accepting the honor for the Brewers the day after he was formally introduced as the new manager of the rival Cubs.
Ng’s record was far from perfect. But yesterday’s BBWAA vote serves as a reminder of how fine the line is between being toasted nationally and being on the wrong end of a dubious decision that cost Major League Baseball’s first female GM her position.
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An interesting thought, Dean, but as I’ve written recently, my sense is Bruce Sherman’s hiring of Peter Bendix and the owner’s apparent desire to try to turn the Marlins into the Rays 2.0 is a strong indication that the payroll will not be going up in a meaningful way any time soon.
Ironically, you mention the Yankees paying part of Stanton’s salary in the deal you propose, but it’s actually the Marlins who are on the hook to have to pay the Yankees $10 million a year toward Stanton’s deal between 2026 and 2028.
So he could still be wearing pinstripes, but Stanton will be one of the highest-paid players on the Marlins’ payroll in 2026, 2027 and 2028. The Marlins will have to pay $30 million to the Yankees over those 3 years. I’m guessing Jeter assumed he’d be gone by then when he agreed to that part of the original Stanton trade to New York.
The other thing is Stanton has full no-trade protection in his deal. If he were to be traded, he would have to agree to it. He made his feelings about Miami pretty well known on his way out the door. So while there are recent rumblings he may not be thrilled with the Yankees, you’d see him accept a trade to the West Coast or potentially some other places long before he’d accept a deal to Miami.
It’s part of the sadness around this team. Remember the excitement when he first came up in 2010? Remember how you held your breath every time he came to the plate? I sure did. Remember 59 home runs and an MVP award in 2017? It’s such a shame that a player like that couldn’t have spent his entire career in Miami.
Ironically, the massive contract he signed with the Marlins is what guaranteed he couldn’t stay here. This franchise was never going to be able to pay that deal out. And everyone knew that the day it was signed. Loria knew he was going to sell the team within a few years, so it wouldn’t be his problem. And new ownership never for a second considered keeping him.
No doubt this lineup needs some power, Dean. Unfortunately, I don’t see any scenario in which your guy Stanton comes back any time soon to provide it.
Thanks for reading and for reaching out!
Hi Glen! Let me preface this comment first by saying I’m a fan of GianCarlo Stanton. I’m aware, I’m aware, of his issues. I personally, would love to see him in a Marlin uniform again. Nobody punishes the ball like he does. In fact I would go to more games. (Promise)! I guess I’m asking if you see a scenario where he can play here again. ( I’m guessing if New York will pay some of his salary, maybe).