Melvin finishes third in AL Manager of the Year vote

OAKLAND -- Reigning American League Manager of the Year Bob Melvin finished third in voting for the 2013 award, as announced on MLB Network on Tuesday evening.

The honor went to Indians skipper and first-time winner Terry Francona, who was awarded 16 first-place votes by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Boston's John Farrell received 12 first-place votes, while Melvin tallied two, along with five second-place votes and 11 third-place votes.

Melvin was looking to become just the second manager to win the award in consecutive seasons and the fourth to claim it three times. Still, the A's skipper remains one of only six to have won the award in both leagues (he also won with the D-backs in '07).

Melvin guided the A's to 96 wins, two more than they collected in a memorable 2012 campaign, and a second straight AL West title, despite the Rangers and Angels entering the season as favorites.

Not only did the A's take home the crown, but they did it with ease, running away with the division and finishing 5 1/2 games ahead of Texas. They did this with baseball's fourth-lowest payroll to boot.

Melvin put together 140 lineups along the way -- utilizing as many as four platoons at a time -- with a roster void of any true big-name players.

"It just means our organization had another good year," Melvin said on MLB Network on Tuesday. "We had a special group of guys, and they understand that if we're going to win here, it has to be a team concept. So whether it was the platoons or the conditions we were playing in or whatever, it really didn't matter. We had a very tight-knit group that played very well together, and I think that's what makes us who we are."