(670 The Score) Recently fired by the White Sox, Rick Renteria has been named one of the three American League Manger of the Year finalists.
Renteria led the White Sox to a breakout 35-25 campaign before they were eliminated by the Athletics in the wild-card round. It marked their first playoff appearance in 12 years. The team then dismissed Renteria on Oct. 12, with general manager Rick Hahn proclaiming the White Sox wanted a manager with recent championship experience. That paved the way for the White Sox to hire 76-year-old Tony La Russa as their new manager. He’s a Hall of Famer with three World Series titles to his name, but he hasn’t managed since 2011.
“Congratulations to Rick Renteria on being named a finalist for A.L. Manager of the Year,” the White Sox’s official Twitter account posted.
The Rays’ Kevin Cash and the Blue Jays’ Charlie Montoyo are the other two finalists for the AL Manager of the Year award. The Rays advanced to the World Series, where they lost to the Dodgers in six games.
Additionally, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu was named an AL MVP finalist, while center fielder Luis Robert was named an AL Rookie of the Year finalist.
Abreu, 33, hit .317 with 19 homers, 60 RBIs and a .987 OPS in 60 games. He led the AL in hits, RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases while tying for the lead in WAR. Abreu became just the fourth player in MLB history to lead the AL in hits and RBIs, joining Jim Rice (1979), Carl Yastrzemski (1967) and Lou Gehrig (1931).
Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez and Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu were the other AL MVP finalists.
Robert, 23, hit .233 with 11 homers, 31 RBIs and a .738 OPS in 56 games. He was named a Gold Glove finalist as well. Astros right-hander Cristian Javier and Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis were the other two finalists.
MLB awards will be revealed by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America next week. The Rookie of the Year winners will be announced on Nov. 9, the Manager of the Year winners on Nov. 10, the Cy Young winners on Nov. 11 and the MVP winners on Nov. 12.