AL Manager: Bob Melvin

Melvin's Oakland A's are the only team that can rival the Orioles in the out-of-knowhere success category. With a low payroll and few household names, they won 94 games and took the AL West from the two-time AL champion Texas Rangers by sweeping them in the last series of the season. Showalter and Melvin, a former Orioles catcher, are widely considered the frontrunners.

September 25, 2012