Rays skipper Kevin Cash will look to do something that no other American League manager has ever done: win the Manager of the Year award in back-to-back seasons.
Cash, who won the award in 2020, is a finalist for the fourth consecutive season for American League Manager of the Year again in 2021, joined by Astros skipper Dusty Baker and Seattle’s Scott Servais.
The Rays manager took a team that lost two of its three biggest starting pitchers — left-hander Blake Snell and righty Charlie Morton — and saw the third go down to Tommy John surgery in the middle of the season, and still led Tampa Bay to its first 100-win season in franchise history and a second straight American League East division title.
If Cash does win the award, he would join Bobby Cox as the only managers to win the award in consecutive seasons. Cox won the award in 2004 and 2005 while managing the Atlanta Braves.
The winner will be announced on MLB Network on November 16.
See More About The Three Manager Of The Year Finalists Here!
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
