OAKLAND, Calif. – A memorable 2018 season for the Oakland Athletics had plenty of Cal Baseball influence along the way and one of those Golden Bears has been recognized for his efforts as A's manager Bob Melvin was named American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
 
Tuesday's honor marks the third time Melvin, who was a catcher at Cal in 1980, has earned the award. He won it in 2007 as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and was recognized again in 2012 for leading the A's to the AL West title. He becomes only the eighth manager in Major League history to win the award three or more times, joining a list that includes current Cal Baseball dad Dusty Baker.
 
This year's honor comes on the heels of a season in which the A's took Major League Baseball by storm as one of the league's best stories of the year. A 97-65 record was Oakland's best mark since 2002 and represented the fourth-best record in all of baseball in 2018.
 
The A's improved their 2017 record by 22 games and competed in the Wild Card playoff game against the New York Yankees. And, Melvin wasn't the only former Cal player to play a large part in Oakland's turnaround as shortstop Marcus Semien and outfielder Mark Canha both enjoyed standout seasons during the A's run to the postseason.
 
Melvin sits third on Oakland's all-time managerial wins list after just seven-plus seasons at the helm. His 634 wins rank behind only Connie Mack and Tony LaRussa. He has 1,127 career wins in 15 years as a big league manager.