Alex Cora didn't win the 2018 American League Manager of the Year award, and frankly, it wasn't close. But the Boston Red Sox skipper still found support in some notable places.
The Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday released its full voting results for the 2018 Manager of the Year awards, which went to the Oakland Athletics' Bob Melvin in the AL and the Atlanta Braves' Brian Snitker in the NL.
Cora received just seven first-place votes to Melvin's 18, while garnering 11 second- and third-place votes apiece from the 30 writers who submitted ballots.
Here are the seven writers who deemed Cora worthy of first place:
- Rob Bradford, WEEI.com (Boston chapter)
- Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic (Boston chapter)
- David Skretta, The Associated Press (Kansas City chapter)
Boston Red Sox
- Bryan Hoch, MLB.com (New York chapter)
- Pete Caldera, Bergen (N.J.) Record (New York chapter)
- Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News (Texas chapter)
- Stefan Stevenson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas chapter)
That both Boston chapter members voted for Cora is no surprise. But both New York chapter members who cover the rival Yankees also voted for the first-year manager, a sign that Cora is well-respected even in enemy territory.
As often is the case, one writer -- Nobuhiro Saito of Nikkan Sports News in the Los Angeles chapter -- perpexingly snubbed Cora entirely, leaving the 43-year-old off his ballot while voting for Melvin, A.J. Hinch of the Houston Astros and Aaron Boone of the Yankees.
We should note these votes were cast right after the end of the regular season, so Boston's World Series title didn't factor into the equation. Melvin arguably achieved more with less talent in Oakland than Cora did with a stacked roster in Boston, so these results shouldn't be too surprising despite the hand-wringing they'll likely cause among Red Sox fans.