Weiss finishes 2nd in NL Manager of the Year voting

ATLANTA – Nearly 40 years after being named the 1988 American League Rookie of the Year, Walt Weiss came just short of becoming the 21st individual to be named Manager of the Year during his first year with a team.

Weiss finished second in the BBWAA’s voting for National League’s Manager of the Year on Tuesday night, to Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy. The announcement was made a little more than a calendar year after Weiss’ patience was rewarded with the chance to become the Braves manager.

Weiss received seven first-place votes and 86 total points. Murphy received 20 first-place votes, and 124 points overall. Don Mattingly, who led the Phillies to the playoffs after taking over in late April, finished third.

All votes were cast before the postseason began. So, Murphy’s bid to become the first person to win this honor three straight years wasn’t bolstered as he led the Brewers to the World Series title.

How rare is it for a former Rookie of the Year to be named Manager of the Year? Well, Weiss would have joined Frank Robinson, Lou Piniella and Ozzie Guillen as the only men to ever do so.

Three-time winner Bobby Cox (1991, 2004 and 2005) and Brian Snitker (2017) are the only managers to win this award while with the Braves. Weiss played shortstop for Cox from 1998-2000 and he served as Snitker’s bench coach from 2018-25.

When Snitker’s tenure ended at the end of the 2025 season, Weiss had to wait nearly a month before learning he would be succeeding his former boss. The wait proved to be worthwhile for both the manager and the team, which quickly realized its new leader was the perfect fit.

Considering the many pitfalls the Braves faced during Spring Training and throughout the regular season, it was remarkable that the team won 94 games and captured the NL East for the seventh time in the past nine years.

Weiss repeatedly showed he had his players’ backs in more ways than one. The 62-year-old manager’s successful season was first highlighted on April 7, when he tackled Angels designated hitter Jorge Soler during a benches-clearing brawl. Atlanta’s players responded with a 20-6 stretch that enabled them to claim early command of the NL East.

The Braves lost four starting pitchers to injuries during Spring Training and one of their top right-handed hitters, Jurickson Profar, was given a 162-game suspension for PEDs before the season began. But the Braves sat atop the NL East standings from April 8 through the end of the season.

Ronald Acuña Jr. missed nearly two months because of two separate left hamstring strains and top setup man Robert Suárez missed most of the season’s final three months with an elbow injury. But even as injuries continued to wreck his rotation depth, Weiss kept the ship afloat and provided his team a chance to finish strong.

Weiss’ club entered June with a nine-game division lead and then went 9-14 during what proved to be the season’s roughest month. The even-keeled manager’s refusal to show any sign of panic paid off when the Braves won 15 of their first 20 games after the All-Star break.

Weiss also had his team ready for what proved to be some of the season’s most important stretches. A three-game sweep of the Dodgers in late August was followed by the Braves taking four of the seven games played against the second-place Phillies in September.