Banister a finalist for Manager of the Year

First-year manager Jeff Banister, who guided the Rangers to their first American League West title since 2011, has been named one of three finalists for AL Manager of the Year.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Houston's A.J. Hinch and Minnesota's Paul Molitor are also in the running for the award, which will be announced on MLB Network at 5 p.m. CT on Nov. 17.

Banister, 51, inherited a Rangers team that won just 67 games in 2014 and, despite working with an injury-ridden roster, came out with 88 victories, for the second-largest increase of any Major League club.

Banister is not only looking to become the third Manager of the Year winner in club history -- following Johnny Oates in 1996 and Buck Showalter in 2004 -- he can be the fifth rookie manager to win.