CHICAGO -- It’s possible that one specific day this past season cost Chicago Cubs skipper Joe Maddon his second consecutive National League Manager of the Year Award. Maddon lost out to Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Tuesday, coming in second place while earning eight first-place votes.

Roberts, who got 16 first-place votes, deserved the honor. He was a first-time manager who won his division, overtaking the San Francisco Giants, all while ace Clayton Kershaw and others were injured. Still, as evidenced by the voting, Maddon had an outside chance to win, but he shouldn’t second-guess any of his decisions for costing him the award. Instead, he can blame Mother Nature.

Joe Maddon finished second in NL Manager of the Year voting despite leading the Cubs to 103 wins and capturing the NL Central crown by 17.5 games. Rob Foldy/Getty Images

Here’s the thinking: The Cubs probably needed to win closer to 110 games for Maddon to win, a number that few teams have reached. The record, of course, is 116 victories. You can bet he wins Manager of the Year if the Cubs reach that win total, but even getting close might have put him over the top. So, where were there more wins to be had? How about the only time they slumped all season, a stretch where talent was trumped by fatigue?

On April 30, the Cubs and Atlanta Braves were rained out. It set in motion a grueling end of the first half that included making that game up. The Cubs played 24 games in 24 days, on top of 23 of 33 on the road, to finish the first half. They were exhausted, and it showed -- they went 6-15 in the final 21 games of that stretch. There is no doubt the schedule affected their play.

Under normal circumstances, it’s doubtful that the Cubs would have lost all 15 of those games. Teams slump all the time, but there is a reason why organizations have to give approval to MLB to play more than 20 consecutive days. The Cubs agreed to it in order to make up their game against the Braves, but it cost them. They even lost that makeup game, then flew overnight to Pittsburgh, only to lose the next two.

Whatever criticism Maddon received for his decision-making in the World Series obviously had no effect on the voting, which takes place before the playoffs begin. And it’s not like Maddon was in need of second-guessing throughout the regular season. He might have been slower than most wanted to move Jason Heyward down in the lineup, or perhaps he took out a starter or two earlier than expected, but that’s dwarfed by the tone he set both last year and from day one of this season. Besides, all managers are second-guessed over the course of 162 games.

Maddon’s "embrace the target" theme in spring training was a stroke of genius and set the Cubs up for their incredible start, which led to an easy regular-season finish. That finish allowed the team to rest its starters and prepare for three rounds of the playoffs. It paid off in the Cubs' first world championship in 108 years. Maddon might not have won the award this time around, but he did plenty to keep the Cubs on top all season.