Nov 14, 2007 3:19 pm US/Mountain
Rockies' Hurdle Loses Mgr. Of Year To Melvin
DENVER (AP/CBS4) ―
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Clint Hurdle (file)
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
Arizona's Bob Melvin has been voted the NL Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers of America. Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle placed third.
Melvin won the NL prize for leading the young Arizona Diamondbacks to the top mark in the league.
Melvin was chosen on 19 of the 30 first-place ballots and got 119 points. Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel (76), Hurdle (58) and the Cubs' Lou Piniella (25) followed.
Melvin, 46, was chosen for his steady hand in leading a team that sometimes started six rookies to a 90-72 mark. Back in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, Arizona swept Chicago in the first round and then got swept by Colorado in the NLCS.
Melvin played 10 years in the majors with seven different teams. He managed Seattle in 2003-04, then took over in Arizona in 2005.
A year after Arizona went 76-86 and tied Colorado for last place in the NL West, the Diamondbacks surged to the top. They did it despite getting outscored by 20 runs, becoming the first team in the majors since the 1906 Chicago White Sox to have the league's best record despite the worst batting average.
Melvin's evenhanded approach meshed well with his young team, which lost stars Randy Johnson and Orlando Hudson to season-ending injuries. After losing eight of 10 going into the All-Star break, Arizona went 43-29 in the second half.
Eric Byrnes and rookie Chris Young led the offense, and Melvin could always count on ace Brandon Webb and closer Jose Valverde. Melvin also benefited from the experience of bench coach Kirk Gibson.
Seven managers got votes on the NL ballot. Manuel received seven first-place votes after Philadelphia won the NL East, Hurdle got four first-place votes with the NL champion Rockies and Piniella got two first-place tallies after winning the Central in his first season with Chicago.
San Diego's Bud Black, Washington's Manny Acta and Milwaukee's Ned Yost also received votes.
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 ERA and strikeouts, is the heavy favorite.
Boston's Dustin Pedroia and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun were voted the Rookies of the Year on Monday.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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