(Every week we will take a look at one award and break down the race on who we think the favorites are. One week we will breakdown MOY, the next week ROY, following week MVP. And then we keep rotating until the voting is done at the end of season)
What makes an SASL Manager of the Year? The winner is almost always the boss of one of the very best teams in the league. Last year in the American League Ali Ghumman/John Sans won for HeavyHittaz who finished as the second seed. In the National League last year Ronak Jain/Aasheesh Shravah won and they also finished as the second seed. In 2018 we had Saad Yousuf of undefeated The Mighty Ducks won the award. Sajid Kakana led his Dyansty team in the National League 2018 to a third place finish and the MOY.
Voters usually look for teams that have very good records that seem like they overachieved their talent level. Usually voters also take into account the retooling of a roster during the offseason and early on the season as well.
Managers of the Year:
1. Charley Robinson/Irfan Musliwala (The North):
9-1. Top of the standings and top of our latest Power Rankings. They have continued their early season hot streak and put themselves in a great position with mid-season approaching this weekend. Their schedule does get tougher in the second half, so it will be interesting to see Charley and Irfan juggle winning and roster management. The team was rebuilt after a Fall Ball championship and all the new additions have contributed big time. Steve, Shawn, Saeed and Akil have solidified the fielding and has produced with the bat. Yasar gives them an ace on the mound. The bench has been one of the best with Pops, Adeel, Nitin, Jito producing like starters.
2. Salman Quader/Sajeel Haque (MonStars):
Slow and steady. They are quietly marching towards a top seed before the end of the season. The team was built around Vinny and Kunal Sra, and the supporting cast has been wonderful with Faizan, Shane, Salman etc doing damage and having career years. They still have room to improve. They have lost 2 games on walk-offs. If they had won those games (both they led in late innings), they would be tied for first place. Moiz, Sajeel, Nabeel are former all stars who have yet to heat up. If they can put it all together, they will be the scariest team in the playoffs with all their championship experience. The captains have done a tremendous job juggling the rotation of players. It can’t be easy to have 15 man roster who shows up every week and can all start for most teams.
3. Ali Najimi/Ammad Sheikh (Hit Squad):
Sacrifice! The captains with wall full of trophies are now sacrificing their playing time in order to rack up wins. SASL 2020 has so much parity, that any given Sunday any team can sweep any other team. Knowing the importance of each and every game, the captains have had to deal with prioritizing getting their top players every at bat over distributing at bats evenly. Their in game re-entry and defensive substitutions are a doozy to keep up with, but they make it work. Their offense still hasn’t taken off but the captains scouting report on other teams is unmatched. Their next 3 upcoming games will be a big challenge (MonStars/Dothrakis/The Ones), and the dynamic duo of Ali and Ammad will have to be their absolute best to keep the troops feeling good.
4. Sajid Kakana/Gaurav Bhasin (Dynasty):
They finally took their first losses last week, but a 8-2 record shouldn’t be diminished due to one bad week. Sajid and Sonu probably hold the most practices with their team and it shows on their on field work. The chemistry is top notch as their core have stayed together for multiple seasons now. Their offseason acquisitions have both worked out brilliantly so far. Let’s face it: this is a championship or bust season for them. They have everything in place to finally take the cup (and they hope someone knocks out Hit Squad in playoffs for them). Dynasty already won Manager of the Year in 2018 with a similarly great regular season. So we have seen this dance before.
5. Azhar Naqvi/Ayaz Dar (Black Mambas):
No team has improved as much as Black Mambas since the season began. Before the roster freeze happened at the end of July, Mambas captains Azhar and Ayaz were able to add: 1) the highest rated player in SASL In Dan DiIorio, 2) stud leadoff hitter and smooth outfielder Jonathan Cayetano, 3) long time SASL veteran outfielder with multiple championships Khaled Ahmedy, and 4) a power hitter of the bench that can clear any fence in Asad Hamdani. They remade their entire roster with a flurry of moves and now they are the ‘buzziest’ team in SASL….but how long will it last? Once teams put a target on their backs, will Azhar/Ayaz be able to return the favor?
