Terry Francona Comes Up Short For Major Award After Leading Reds to Playoffs

Cincinnati – The Reds have not had a manager win the Manager of the Year Award since 1999, when Jack McKeon won the award after leading the Reds to a second-place finish in the National League Central and a 96-win season.

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy becomes just the third back-to-back winner of the Manager of the Year Award in MLB history. He joins Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox and Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash. Cash was a player under Reds manager Terry Francona in Boston for two years, winning a World Series in 2008.

Murphy received 27 out of the 30 possible first-place votes. Francona finishes second in voting with two first-place votes, and Phillies manager Rob Thomson finishes third with one first-place vote. The two first-place votes for Francona come from Miami and Pittsburgh writers. Dusty Baker was the last Reds manager to finish this high in voting; that was in 2012, when he finished second behind Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson.

Francona led the Reds to an 83-79 record in his first season as the team's manager, and his first season back after retiring after the 2023 season. This was the Reds' first postseason appearance since 2020, and their first in a 162-game season since 2013. This is the third time that Francona has led a team to the postseason in his first season as manager. He did it with Boston in 2004 and in Cleveland in 2014.

The results in the postseason may have been the same outcome Reds' fans have grown accustomed to since 1995, their last playoff series win, but Francona seems to be setting a new standard. That standard is being felt throughout the farm system as well.

“Yeah, I am very, very, very excited for the future of just the Reds organization. I think, like, the way that Terry Francona is going about things is making everybody realize that." Reds catching prospect Ryan McCrystal told me in an exclusive interview. "Winning is very possible, and we can win, like as who we are. It doesn't matter how you get the job done, as long as you get the job done.”

While Francona may not have won the award, the Reds are trending in the right direction. This offseason will be pivotal in keeping this team on that path to continued postseason appearances and potential success.

Below are the complete NL Manager of the Year results and interview with Reds' prospect Ryan McCrystal

Pat Murphy received 27 of the 30 first place votes for NL Manager of the Year pic.twitter.com/avN8m0nm0e
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) November 12, 2025

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