Matt Williams wins NL Manager of the Year award

In his first year as a major league skipper, Matt Williams has earned the top award in his profession. Williams has been named National League Manager of the Year for the 2014 season, as voted on at the end of the regular season by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Williams received a total of 109 votes, including 18 of the 30 first-place votes. The Nationals manager also received six second-place votes and was written in as the third-place finisher on one ballot. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle received 80 total votes, and Giants manager Bruce Bochy finished third with 30 total votes. Both Hurdle and Bochy have previously won Manager of the Year honors. "I am incredibly honored and humbled by this award," Williams said in a statement. "This was a very special year for us, and I am proud of what we accomplished in my first season at the helm. For me, as a newcomer to the managerial fraternity, it is a privilege just to be considered amongst the best in our game. Clint and Bruce are certainly that. "While this is an incredible acknowledgement by the writers, I know we have bigger goals to accomplish in Washington and I look forward to the challenge that the 2015 season will bring." Williams led the Nationals to a 96-66 record and a NL East title. The Nats made a 10-win improvement over 2013, when they went 86-76 and finished 10 games back of Atlanta. This year, the Nats finished 17 games ahead of the Braves and Mets, who tied for second place in the division. "On behalf of the Lerner Family and the entire Washington Nationals organization, I want to offer heartfelt congratulations to Matt on this well-deserved award," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement. "His first year in the dugout was excellent, and it was a pleasure to watch him grow throughout. He is a respected leader, and the steady hand that navigated our team through many challenges this season. "What we accomplished this season would not have been possible without the right man at the helm. That was Matt this season, and we're all looking forward to 2015." Since the inception of the Manager of the Year award in 1983, Williams is just the fourth first-year skipper ever to win it. He joins Hal Lanier (Houston Astros, 1986), Dusty Baker (San Francisco Giants, 1993), and Joe Girardi (Florida Marlins, 2006) in a pretty prestigious club. Williams, 48, was also voted by his managerial peers as the 2014 Sporting News Manager of the Year. This is the second time in three years that the Nationals manager has won the official league-endorsed NL Manager of the Year award; Davey Johnson also won the award in 2012.