Pat Murphy Becomes the First Manager to Win Three Straight Manager of the Year Awards, and Will Venable Takes the AL Honor

By The Arena Staff

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2026 — Pat Murphy accepted a piece of baseball history from a hospital bed.

The Milwaukee Brewers manager was named National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday night for the third straight season, the first skipper in either league to win it three years in a row, the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced on MLB Network. The 67-year-old, who had back surgery in June, spoke to the network from the hospital after a recent hip replacement, according to MLB.com.

The voting wasn't especially close. Murphy was named on all 30 ballots, with 20 first-place votes, seven seconds and three thirds for 124 points. Atlanta's Walt Weiss was second with 86 points, and Philadelphia's Don Mattingly, who took over after the Phillies fired Rob Thomson in late April, finished third with 25, one point ahead of San Diego's Craig Stammen, according to MLB.com and CBS Sports.

Ballots were turned in before the postseason, so Milwaukee's run to its first World Series title didn't count. Murphy didn't need it. The Brewers won a franchise-record 103 games, had the best record and run differential in baseball and took a fourth straight NL Central title, CBS Sports reported, all from the game's smallest market with a payroll in the bottom half of the league, according to the AP.

Murphy is the 10th manager to win the award at least three times. Buck Showalter, Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa lead the list with four apiece.

The American League winner turned around one of the worst franchises in modern baseball in two seasons. Will Venable took over a Chicago White Sox team coming off a 41-121 season in 2024, the most losses in the modern era. His first team went 60-102. His second went 84-78, made the playoffs and beat Houston in the AL Wild Card Series.

According to the AP, the White Sox became the first team in major league history to reach the postseason after consecutive 100-loss seasons.

That race was much tighter. Venable got 15 first-place votes and 111 points, edging two-time winner Kevin Cash of the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays, who had 12 first-place votes and 98 points. Boston's Chad Tracy, who took over the Red Sox in April and got them to the playoffs, was third with 47.

Venable, a nine-year big league outfielder and the son of former major leaguer Max Venable, is the first White Sox manager to win the award since Ozzie Guillén in 2005, according to MLB.com. Awards week continues Wednesday with the Cy Young Awards and wraps up Thursday with MVP.

Sourcing: MLB.com, CBS Sports and the AP via NBC Sports.