Scioscia, Tracy bag Managers of the Year

The MLB Awards for the 2009 season drew to a close and while many walked home with trophies in their bags, some favourites were left hanging high and dry only to look back at things hoping for something more next year. The Manager of the Year title was probably a real close-fought affair but here is how things turned out in the end:

American League

Things seemed to have headed downhill when news of talented young pitcher, Nick Adenhart’s murder hit the news. “There are things that can happen that you can prepare for and then there are things that happen that you have no manual for,” said Mike Scioscia, manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim>. In this, his tenth season at the helm of the Angels, Scioscia was faced with a never-before challenge at various mental & performance levels.

From being down in the dumps to almost taking the Angels to the World Series crown, Scioscia did everything but hit, field, pitch and catch himself. Unable to beat the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, Scioscia regrets that they couldn’t make the World Series but also believes that considering what the team went through in the season, it really took at lot out of the guys and that the result, in the end, was quite above what most people would have expected of the Angels.

A worthy winner of the award, Mike Scioscia took no time to dedicate it to his team, his staff and every single person in his life who has helped him get to this stage.

National League

The Colorado Rockies> were down in the dumps and the appointment on May 29th, of Jim Tracy, was seen as a stop-gap measure to stem the flow of problems. 29 of the 32 votes gave Tracy the unanimous thumbs up when it came to the Manager of the Year award. At a time when the entire team was struggling, Tracy looked at things and knew that more could be done, than simply stabilizing the ship.

Ending the regular season at 74-42, the Rockies went on to win the NL Wild Card while Tracy took the Manager of the Year title, unsurprisingly so. Pushing players and standing behind those who needed support, Tracy got the best out of a team that looked like it was stuck in quicksand. It is no surprise that the man has been the main choice for the Manager of the Year in almost every award ceremony.