Melvin, Johnson named Baseball Managers of the Year

Bob Melvin of the Oakland Athletics and the Washington Nationals’ Davey Johnson were named baseball’s Managers of the Year Tuesday, Melvin for the American League and Johnson in the National League. Melvin beat out the Baltimore Orioles’ Buck Showalter in a close vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. In his first full season with Oakland, the A’s made a 20-game improvement, finished 94-68 and won the AL West with baseball’s lowest payroll. Johnson easily won the honor in the NL after the Nationals, who’d never had a winning season, posted the best record in the majors and made their first playoff appearance. Both managers also won the honor once previously, and join the small club of managers who’ve won the award in both leagues.