With the end of the postseason, we have reached the start of the offseason rumor mill, but it is also awards season. The Silver Slugger finalists are set to be announced this week, Gold Gloves have already been handed out, and the biggest end-of-season awards just had their finalists named. Unsurprisingly, the Atlanta Braves find themselves right in the middle of a number of awards races, but one particular race sticks out.
This past week, it was announced by the powers that be that Braves ace Chris Sale is a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award and manager Walt Weiss is a finalist for NL Manager of the Year. While Sale's 2026 season would make him a strong favorite in most years, the Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski was in a class of his own this season. If he doesn't win, it would be a major upset and rightfully so.
However, Manager of the Year is a different race entirely, and one where Weiss should absolutely win, no matter how much Milwaukee fans complain about it if he does end up with the trophy.
Walt Weiss had to overcome far more with the Braves than Pat Murphy did in 2026, and he also has the voter fatigue edge
Before a legion of Brewers fans come after me (okay, that is going to happen anyway), Pat Murphy has been a very good manager this season, and his previous Manager of the Year wins were well-deserved. While giving Phillies manager Don Mattingly much consideration seems deeply silly, supporting Murphy for MOY is perfectly defensible.
However, that doesn't mean Murphy should win. Given the Brewers' trajectory, they were a team that was SUPPOSED to be good this year. The exact level of their playoff dominance was striking and impressive, but Manager of the Year is decided before the postseason and is considered a regular-season award. In many ways, what the Brewers accomplished in 2026 had less to do with Murphy's interventions and more to do with it being the outcome of being a well-run organization from the front office down to the players.
On the flip side, you have Weiss and the Braves, who dealt with a litany of injury issues once again while coming off a terrible 2025 season. Despite the headwinds and with two teams in the NL East (Phillies and Mets) who are among the league's bigger and more motivated spenders, Weiss still piloted Atlanta in his first season as manager to a division title.
One other factor working in Weiss' favor is the likely voter fatigue when it comes to Murphy. Murphy has won Manager of the Year the last two seasons, and while both wins were deserved, there will be a significant contingent of voters that are going to be looking for deserving new blood. The list of guys that fit the profile of an alternative candidate with a strong case is exactly one name long, and that is Walt Weiss.
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