Twins' Paul Molitor Named American League Manager of the Year

And on Tuesday, Molitor was rewarded by being named the American League Manager of the Year, as voted by a 30-member committee of Baseball Writers of American members.

Molitor, who was in his third season as manager of the Twins, has posted a 227-259 managerial record so far.

Molitor is only the second Hall of Famer to be named Manager of the Year, joining Frank Robinson, who won the award with the Baltimore Orioles in 1989. Molitor prevailed in the BBWAA balloting over fellow award finalists Terry Francona of the Indians and A.J. Hinch of the Astros.

Molitor guided the Twins to a historic turnaround, finishing with an 85-77 record after posting a 59-103 record in 2016. That marked the Twins' first playoff berth since 2010. Francona finished with 11 first-place votes, nine second-place votes and eight third-place votes for a total of 90 points.

The St. Paul native has managed the Twins for three seasons after playing in the league for 21 years with the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays and finally the Twins. And he fashioned a winning record despite a pitching staff roiled by injuries and ineffectiveness; 36 different players took the mound during the season. The new leaders validated Pohlad's confidence by rewarding Molitor with a three-year contract extension in October.

"It's not a totally comfortable thing", Molitor said. "I still feel driven". "But I think for the most part, staying task-focused. obviously having a competitive season with a wild card appearance, helped keep that focus consistent without being too distracted by it".