Overcoming injuries: Rangers' Jeff Banister wins AL Manager of the Year

If doing more with less is the perfect formula for winning the Manager of the Year award, then Jeff Banister is the ideal winner. After the Texas Rangers were written off by most analysts in March, Banister manager to lead them to an American League West division crown.

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Banister faced some tough competition in the form of Houston Astros skipper A.J. Hinch and Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor. All three men battled for two playoff spots up until the final days of the regular season.

Banister finished first on 17 of the 30 ballots. Hinch managed to snag eight first place votes, while Molitor grabbed two. In the end, Banister leading his team to a division title resonated the most with the voters.

It wasn’t easy. Texas came into spring training with modest expectations to begin with. There was some thought that, if they stayed healthy, maybe the team could surprise. Then, disaster struck. Ace Yu Darvish went down on March 5, effectively ending any chance at the Rangers making it to the postseason.

Darvish was just one of the many injuries Banister had to deal with this season. The club opened the year without Derek Holland or Martin Perez in the rotation, and lost key third baseman Adrian Beltre to an injury in May. On top of that, Shin-Soo Choo and Roughned Odor got off to slow starts, leaving Prince Fielder as the only offensive player Banister could really trust.

Despite that, Banister found a way to tread water before taking his club on an incredible second-half run. The Rangers went 46-28 over the second half of the season, ultimately winning the AL West on the final day of the regular season.

It was one heck of a ride. Though it was his first season as a manager, Banister had to deal with a number of issues that would trip up even the most experienced skippers.

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Leading a team many predicted would finish fourth in the division to an 88-74 record and a division title is the epitome of doing more with less. The Rangers weren't supposed to compete once Darvish went down, but Banister found a way to will them to victory.

With all the odds stacked against him, Banister led to his team to a division title. Just imagine what he can accomplish now that the team will have some real expectations.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik