The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA).

[13] La Russa, Piniella, Showalter, Jim Leyland, Bob Melvin, Davey Johnson, and Joe Maddon have since won the award in both leagues.

[6][13] Baker, Leyland, Piniella, Maddon, Melvin,[15] and Terry Francona have won three times.

Because of the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike cut the season short and canceled the post-season, the BBWAA writers effectively created a de facto mythical national championship (similar to college football) by naming managers of the unofficial league champions (lead the leagues in winning percentage) (Buck Showalter and Felipe Alou) as Managers of the Year.

Only five managers have won the award while leading a team that finished outside the top two spots in its division.