New York, NY (Sports Network) - Tampa Bay Rays skipper Joe Maddon was selected as the American League Manager of the Year on Wednesday, as chosen by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella was adorned with a similar honor in the National League after guiding his team to an NL-best 97 wins and their second consecutive NL Central title.
Maddon, who became the first Tampa Bay manager to win the award, finished first on 27 of 28 ballots cast by two writers in each league city for a total of 138 points.
Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire received the other first place vote and finished second with 58 points, while Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia, the 2002 winner of this award, finished third with 45 points
The 54-year-old Maddon led the Rays to a franchise-best 97 wins en route to their first AL East title in team history after having finished out of last place just once in their 10 previous seasons of existence.
Maddon's team, which had finished with the worst record in baseball the last two seasons, advanced all the way to the World Series, despite ranking 29th out of 30 teams in payroll. The Rays, though, ran out of magic in the Fall Classic, where they were upended by the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.
Piniella, who was a two-time AL Manager of the Year (1995, 2001) received 15 first place votes, eight seconds and placed third on four others for 103 points, 36 more than Philadelphia Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel, who placed first on eight ballots.
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