Eric Wedge of the Cleveland Indians was named the American League manager of the year on Wednesday.
Wedge received 19 of 28 first-place votes and 116 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The Los Angeles Angels' Mike Scioscia was second with 62 points, and Joe Torre of the New York Yankees was third with 61 points.
Eric Wedge of the Cleveland Indians was named the American League manager of the year on Wednesday.
(Elsa/Getty Images)
Wedge, the first Cleveland manager to win the award, won by virtue of leading the Indians to a 96-66 mark last season, the best record (tied with Boston) in baseball.
He also helped the Indians, who lost to Boston in seven games in the AL Championship Series, earn a playoff berth for the first time since 2001.
Bob Melvin of the Arizona Diamondbacks won the National League's manager of the year award.
Melvin was chosen on 19 of the 30 first-place ballots and tallied 119 points, finishing ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies' Charlie Manuel, with 76 points, and the Colorado Rockies' Clint Hurdle, with 58 points.
Melvin led the young Diamondbacks to a 90-72 mark, the best record in the NL last season, and helped the club reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Last season, Arizona went 76-86 and tied Colorado for last place in the NL West.
Arizona swept the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the 2007 post-season and then got swept by Colorado in the NLCS.
Interestingly, Wedge and Melvin were both former backup catchers during their playing days and each hit .233 in their careers.
The 39-year-old Wedge, who signed a three-year contract extension in July, played 39 games for Boston and Colorado in the early 1990s. Melvin, 46, played 10 years in the majors with seven different teams.
The NL Cy Young Award will be announced Thursday. San Diego's Jake Peavy, who led the league with 19 wins and topped the majors in earned-run average and strikeouts, is expected to win the honour.
Boston's Dustin Pedroia and Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers were voted the rookies of the year on Monday.
More Sports Headlines »
- Iginla keeps Flames' winning streak alive
- Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla combined with linemates Kristian Huselius and Daymond Langkow for five goals and 12 points in a 5-3 victory over the Blues in St. Louis on Sunday night.
- B.C.'s Brydon places 2nd in super-G
- Canadian Emily Brydon came agonizingly close to winning Sunday's women's World Cup super-G race in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
- Sharks' Thornton spoils Niedermayer's return
- Joe Thornton beat Jean-Sebastien Giguere with a shot high to the stick side to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 2-1 shootout win over Anaheim Sunday night and spoil defenceman Scott Niedermayer's return to the Ducks.
- Lueders wins bronze in bobsled
- Edmonton's Pierre Lueders piloted his team to a third-place finish in Sunday's World Cup four-man bobsled race in Lake Placid, N.Y.
- Coyotes win in Gretzky's return to New York
- Back in the building where he played the final game of his Hall of Fame career eight years earlier, Gretzky stood behind the Phoenix Coyotes bench for the first time in New York and coached his club to a 5-1 rout of the New York Rangers Sunday night.
Sports Features
- NBARaptors Basketball
- Sun, Jan. 6 at 1:00 pm ET: Cleveland at Toronto