It was a magical summer for the Boston Red Sox and manager Chad Tracy, as the then-interim skipper helped turn the tide on what had been on pace to be the worst Red Sox season since 1965. Unfortunately, for the now full-time manager, his incredible rookie season will not end in history, as Major League Baseball announced the winner of the American League Manager of the Year award on Tuesday night, with Chicago White Sox skipper Will Venable taking home the award. 

When Tracy took over as interim manager of the Red Sox, the team was 11-17 and on pace to win only 63 games, which would have been the worst Red Sox season by winning percentage since 1965. Things didn't turn around overnight; the Red Sox hit a low point in late June, dropping a series to the Colorado Rockies and falling 14 games under .500 to 32-46, the worst record in the American League. At that point, the Red Sox playoff odds sat at just 9.4 percent. 

However, the team began to turn things around immediately following that rock-bottom moment in the Rocky Mountains. The Red Sox returned to Fenway Park and swept the rival New York Yankees, kicking off a historic 32-5 stretch that propelled them into the playoff picture.  

From June 24 to the end of the regular season, Tracy led the Red Sox to a league-best 55-29 and became the first American League team to lose 46 of its first 81 games and reach the postseason, joining the 1973 Mets as the only two teams to accomplish the feat.

Overall, Tracy went 77-58 in his first 135 games as manager, giving the Red Sox the second-best record in the American League in that stretch. 

The Red Sox were bounced in the American League wild card round of the playoffs, losing twice against the New York Yankees.

The 46-year-old Tracy received three first-place votes, five second-place votes and 17 third-place votes, finishing third in voting, behind Venable and Tampa Bay Rays skipper Kevin Cash.

It was undoubtedly a fantastic second season at the helm of the White Sox for the former Red Sox bench coach. Chicago entered the 2026 season with little to no expectation. After winning only 60 games in 2025, Chicago was expected to take a small step forward with their young group, with Fangraphs projecting a 67-win season and only a 1.2 percent chance of making the postseason. 

Instead, Chicago took a major step forward, powered by a breakout season from All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas, rookie first baseman Munetaka Murakami, and one of baseball's most fun young cores, which features former Red Sox' farmhands Chase Meidroth, Braden Montgomery and Kyle Teel.

On the back of that offensive core, Chicago was neck and neck with the Cleveland Guardians at the top of the American League Central for much of the season. Ultimately, the White Sox finished the season 84-78 and in second place in the AL Central, winning their first postseason series since the 2005 World Series. 

They were beaten by the Guardians in five games on the ALDS, but the award voting is based only on the regular season.