A's Bob Melvin nabs AL Manager of the Year honors

Oakland Athletics skipper Bob Melvin was named American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday after guiding the team with the lowest payroll in baseball to a 97-65 record and its first playoff berth in four years.

Oakland's 97 wins were the most by any A's team since 2002, and a 22-win improvement from 2017. The A's would go on to lose to the New York Yankees in the AL wild-card game.

Melvin beat out fellow finalists Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay's Kevin Cash.

Three of the past four AL Managers of the Year (Paul Molitor, Buck Showalter, Jeff Bannister) were fired this year.