Cincinnati Reds' skipper Terry Francona is among the three finalists for this year's NL Manager of the Year Award. Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers and Rob Thomson of the Philadelphia Phillies are the other managers up for this year's honors.
Murphy is the odds-on favorite to win this year's award, and he should be. The Brewers' manager led his team to the No. 1 seed in the National League this season, but were outmatched by the Los Angeles Dodgers after reaching the NLCS.
Tito's inclusion is mildly curious, however. While the Reds skipper certainly deserves credit for helping to guide Cincinnati back to the playoffs for the first time in a 162-game season since 2013, 83 wins is hardly worth the recognition that comes with being a finalist for the Manager of the Year.