Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy carefully scheduled his hip replacement surgery for after the World Series, a decision that proved both pragmatic and timely.
However, the timing of the National League Manager of the Year announcement was not on his radar.
Consequently, Murphy found himself recovering in a hospital bed on Tuesday night, having just undergone surgery on his right hip, as he made history by becoming the first manager from either league to win the award three consecutive times.
“I’ve got nothing to do. I’m just sitting here,” Murphy joked at the conclusion of a media call.
The prestigious honor arrived less than two weeks after the Brewers captured their franchise-first World Series title, and just one day after Murphy underwent his procedure in Milwaukee.
\”The doctor gave me some options and I just picked a date one day, with no idea that it would coincide like this. I wasn’t thinking in those terms,\” said Murphy, who turns 68 on November 28. \”I was just thinking about the task at hand. I likely picked it a month ago, choosing a date after the World Series, though I didn’t know we would actually be in the World Series then. I just thought it was a safe date to get it done.\”
In the American League, Will Venable earned Manager of the Year honors after leading the Chicago White Sox to become the first major league team to reach the playoffs following consecutive 100-loss seasons. The third of those three straight losing campaigns occurred under Venable, who took the helm in 2025, and Chicago finished the year at 84-78.
The voting, conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America prior to the postseason, was officially announced on Tuesday night.
Under Murphy’s guidance, Milwaukee has captured the NL Central title in all three of his seasons managing the club, following eight years on Craig Counsell’s coaching staff. This year, the Brewers led the major leagues with a franchise-record 103 regular-season wins, swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, and defeated Tampa Bay in a five-game World Series.
Murphy also demonstrated remarkable resilience, surviving a heart attack in August 2020 that occurred on the day of a Brewers workout.
Despite playing in Major League Baseball’s smallest market and operating with a payroll in the lower half of the league, the Brewers have posted the best record in the big leagues over each of the past two seasons.
Following their NLCS sweep that secured their first World Series appearance since 1982, Murphy famously remarked that while the Dodgers had Hall of Famers, his team had gamers.
\”I think it’s just a reflection of what our team has done,\” Murphy stated Tuesday night. \”First and foremost, we have hungry players who are willing to uphold certain standards, with a keen focus and awareness of what it takes to win.\”
Murphy is only the fourth manager in history to win the award three times with the same franchise. Bobby Cox, one of three four-time winners alongside Buck Showalter and Tony La Russa, won three of his awards with the Atlanta Braves (1991, 2004, and 2005). Cox remains the only other manager to win back-to-back NL honors.
Terry Francona is another notable three-time winner, earning the award with Cleveland in 2013, 2016, and 2022, while Dusty Baker won three times during his tenure with the San Francisco Giants in 1993, 1997, and 2000.
Venable, a former major league outfielder, accepted his first managerial role with the White Sox as the franchise was rebounding from 121 losses in 2024—the most in a single season since 1900—following 101 losses the year prior. After a 60-102 debut campaign, the team integrated 19 rookies this season and secured their first playoff appearance since 2021.
\”I am really proud of the playoff appearance because it represents what the players believed from day one, at a time when nobody, certainly nobody outside our walls, believed we were a playoff team,\” Venable said. \”There was genuine belief within our player group, and beyond that, they were willing to do whatever was necessary to turn that belief into reality.\”
The White Sox advanced by sweeping Houston in two road games during the AL Wild Card Series, took a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series, but ultimately fell to Cleveland in a five-game matchup.
Prior to joining Chicago, Venable served on Bruce Bochy’s coaching staff in Texas, contributing to the Rangers’ franchise-first World Series championship in 2023.
Having played briefly under Murphy with the San Diego Padres in 2015, Venable became the first White Sox manager to win this award since Ozzie Guillen in 2005.
Murphy secured 20 of the 30 first-place votes, totaling 124 points. Atlanta’s Walt Weiss finished in second place with seven first-place votes and 86 points, while Philadelphia’s Don Mattingly rounded out the top three as the other NL finalist with one first-place vote. San Diego’s Craig Stammen received the remaining two first-place votes.
In the AL race, Venable earned 15 of the 30 first-place votes and accumulated 111 points. The other finalists included two-time winner Kevin Cash of the AL-champion Tampa Bay Rays, and Chad Tracy, who took over the Boston Red Sox in April and guided them to the postseason.
Cash finished as the runner-up with 12 first-place votes and 98 points, while Tracy received three first-place votes and 47 points.
The AL and NL Cy Young Award winners, along with the Relievers of the Year, are scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, with the MVP winners to follow on Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this coverage.
