HOUSTON – The national recognition continues to roll in for the Houston Astros, as it was announced Monday Dusty Baker and Luis Garcia are finalists for top American League honors.
Baker was named a finalist for American League Manager of the Year after helping lead the Astros to the American League pennant and a berth in the World Series. The Astros won the American League West division with a 95-67 record. In doing so, Baker became the first manager in Major League Baseball history to win division titles with five different ballclubs. Baker has three times previously won league Manager of the Year, receiving the honor in 1993, 1997, and 2000. If he receives this year’s honor, he would become the third Astros manager to do so, joining Hal Lanier in 1986 and Larry Dierker in 1998. Baker recently agreed to a one-year extension to return as Astros manager for the 2022 season.
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The other finalists for AL Manager of the Year are Tampa’s Kevin Cash and former Astros catcher and current Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais.
Garcia is a finalist for American League Rookie of the Year after going 11-8 with a 3.48 ERA in his 30 appearances, including 28 starts. The righthander led all AL rookie pitchers in WAR (3.0), wins (11), innings pitched (155.1) and strikeouts (167). If Garcia goes on to win Rookie of the Year, he would become the fourth Astro to do so, joining Jeff Bagwell (1991), Carlos Correa (2015), and Yordan Alvarez (2019).
The other two finalists for AL Rookie of the Year both play for Tampa: Randy Arozarena and Wander Franco.
The winners of the awards will be announced on November 15 and November 16.