Did A.J. Hinch get robbed in AL Manager of the Year voting? Tigers fans think so

The Manager of the Year awards were handed out on Tuesday, and while several managers in both leagues had cases, it felt as if there were two clear favorites to win the award. In the National League, it felt as if Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers was the runaway favorite, and sure enough, he did win the award handily. Things did appear to be a bit tighter in the American League, but it felt as if Detroit Tigers skipper A.J. Hinch was the clear favorite to run away with that award. Somehow, that wasn't the case.

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt wound up winning the AL Manager of the Year award. He didn't only win it, but he received 27 of the 30 first-place votes. The craziest part about the way the rankings lined up is that Hinch didn't even finish in second place. Matt Quatraro of the Kansas City Royals slipped ahead of Hinch thanks to an extra first-place vote and 13 more second-place votes.

Understandably, Tigers fans are furious with this decision. If we're being honest, it's really hard to get behind.

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Tigers fans have reason to be frustrated with AL Manager of the Year outcome

It's as if the voters for this award simply weren't paying attention to what the Tigers were able to do down the stretch of the regular season. It was truly something to behold.

With Detroit seemingly out of postseason contention, they were clear-cut sellers at the trade deadline. That didn't only mean trading somewhat impactful veterans like Mark Canha, Andrew Chafin, and Carson Kelly for whatever they could, but it also meant parting with their No. 2 starter, Jack Flaherty in a last-second deal with the Dodgers. Trading Flaherty, an All-Star caliber starter, signaled that the organization had waved the white flag. The Tigers were looking at their eighth straight losing season and their tenth straight season without a postseason appearance.

Somehow, that was not the case. The Tigers went 17-11 in August and 17-8 in September to go from a team virtually out of it to making the playoffs. When it mattered most, the Tigers were winning seemingly every single day.

What makes what the Tigers accomplished that much more special was the fact that they essentially pulled it off with two starting pitchers - Tarik Skubal and Reece Olson. Having the soon-to-be AL Cy Young Award winner pitch every fifth day obviously helps, but Hinch pulled off miracles willing the Tigers to wins the other four days. Sure, the players performed too, but Hinch pushed seemingly every right button with their pitching staff. This was especially impressive because even when they were winning, the Tigers offense didn't exactly light the world on fire.

Despite all of the adversity that Hinch led his team through, he didn't even come close to winning the award. It's a real shame.

This is no slight at the job Vogt did with the Guardians. Not many expected them to win the AL Central before the season, and they coasted to the division title while also earning a bye. What Vogt did was impressive, but Hinch, with no margin for error, leading his team back from the brink to the postseason was truly special to watch. Somehow, despite all he has accomplished, Hinch remains without a single Manager of the Year award on his resume.