Baker finishes third in NL Manager of the Year vote, Roberts wins

Dusty Baker finished third in voting for National League Manager of the Year, recognized by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America for helping lead the Nationals back to the postseason in his first season at the helm.

Dave Roberts, who had to overcome a Dodgers club ravaged by injuries in order to win a division title, won this year's award. The rookie manager received 16 of 30 first-place votes and 108 total points in balloting performed by two writers from each NL city prior to the start of the postseason.

Joe Maddon, who led the Cubs to 103 wins and the franchise's first World Series title since 1908, finished second with eight first-place votes and 70 total points.

Baker did have support among the BBWAA voters. He received four first-place votes, 12 second-place votes and 10 third-place votes for a total of 66 points. The Mets' Terry Collins (24 points) finished fourth, with the Marlins' Don Mattingly (two points) finished fifth.

Baker was seeking to become only the third person ever to win four Manager of the Year awards, joining Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa. A three-time winner while managing the Giants in 1993, 1997 and 2000, he also finished second in voting three times (2003 with the Cubs, 2010 and 2012 with the Reds).

The 67-year-old was out of work for two seasons after getting fired by Cincinnati following the 2013 NL wild card game but emerged as the Nationals' new manager last winter after contract negotiations with former Padres skipper Bud Black fell apart. Baker immediately put his stamp on the organization, helping foster a more laid-back clubhouse and earning the trust of his players from the outset.

Though the Nationals were in some disarray after underachieving in 2015, they were still expected to win in 2016, no matter the identity of their new manager. Baker inherited a roster that included reigning MVP Bryce Harper, a pair of aces in Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, and a core of talented veterans around them.

Though he led that group to a 95-win season, Baker did ultimately win with a team that was supposed to win, and did so without much adversity along the way.

Contrast that with the obstacles Roberts had to overcome in his first season as a big league manager - the Dodgers put a record 28 players on the disabled list and still won 91 games - and the pressure Maddon faced trying to break the Cubs' longstanding curse, and it's not hard to see why voters sided more with the latter two candidates than Baker.

Baker was trying to become the Nationals' third NL Manager of the Year in five seasons. Davey Johnson won the award in 2012 and Matt Williams followed suit in 2014.