Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora finished fourth in the American League Manager of the Year voting on Tuesday night. Cora was not named as a finalist, meaning he could not finish higher than third.

Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians won the award for the second straight year. John Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays was second. Dan Wilson of the Seattle Mariners was third.

Cora received seven total points. He actually got a first-place vote as well, which was somewhat surprising.

The case for Cora

The Red Sox finished third in the American League East race, but Cora did lead them to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. It was admirable how he handled drama and injures to accomplish that feat.

First off, Cora had to deal with the Rafael Devers situation in the offseason and through the first two months of the regular season. The Red Sox front office angered Devers by signing Alex Bregman and then Cora had to handle the fallout of his attitude and his unwillingness to play first base when the team needed it.

So the Red Sox traded Devers. He overcame it. They lost Triston Casas for the year to a nasty leg injury in May. He overcame it. Kutter Crawford didn't throw a pitch in the big leagues this year. He overcame it.

Tanner Houck was lost to Tommy John surgery midway through the year. He overcame it.

And Cora helped navigate a lineup full of young kids to the playoffs, and then he overcame it again when Roman Anthony was lost for the rest of the regular season in early September.

Cora's legacy

Cora has spent seven years with the Red Sox (2018-19, 2021-25), going 610-524. He led the Red Sox to a World Series title in 2018 and playoff appearances in 2018, 2021 and 2025. That 2018 team won 108 games in the regular season, becoming one of the most successful ballclubs of the 2000s.

He's got four winning seasons to his ledger and the Red Sox should be in position to be successful again in 2026.

News and notes

--Vogt is only the second Guardians manager to win the Manager of the Year Award multiple times, joining former Sox skipper Terry Francona.

--Schneider engineered a worst-to-first turnaround, taking the Blue Jays from 74 wins to 94 in one season.

--Wilson helped the Mariners win the American League West for the first time since 2001.

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