My awards picks for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance for AL Manager of the Year

Subway Squawkers is part of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, and for the second year, we voted our own version of end-of season awards. Here were my picks for the BBA's Connie Mack Award (Manager of the Year) for the American League, and how my picks stacked up against the rest of the BBA, as well as the Baseball Writers Association of America's official awards:

My choices:
1. Ron Washington, Texas Rangers
2. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
3. Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox

I thought Washington did a great job with a team that was beset by bankruptcy and a team sale. Not only that, but given Washington's revelation that he failed a drug test, it could have been easy for him to lose control of the team. But he didn't. Thus, he deserved to win the award.

As for my other two choices, Gardenhire guided an injury-ridden team to the playoffs, and Francona kept his own injury-ridden team in the hunt until September.

My votes were identical to the New York Yankees Baseball Bloggers Alliance Chapter'schoices:

1st Place: Ron Washington, Texas Rangers – 26 points
2nd Place: Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins – 24 points
3rd Place: Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox – 20 points

Please note that even a Yankee-based chapter had enough respect for what Terry Francona did with Boston to pick him third.

As a whole, the BBA voted the following choices for our Connie Mack Award:

1. Ron Washington, Texas (10) 74
2. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota (7) 67
3. Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay (4) 35
4. Terry Francona, Boston (3) 20
5. Cito Gaston, Toronto 9
6. Buck Showalter, Baltimore 9
7. Joe Girardi, New York 2

However, the Baseball Writers Association of America saw things a little differently, making the following picks:

1. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
2. Ron Washington, Texas Rangers
3. Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

Terry Francona finished fourth in the BBA voting, with Cito Gaston of the Toronto Blue Jays fifth, and Joe Girardi sixth.

What would be your choices? Tell us about it!

My AL Manager of the Year picks

Squawker Jon and I are members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. As part of our responsibilities with the group, we will be voting on regular-season award winners. Here's my ballot for the Connie Mack Award (AL Manager of the Year Award). I made my choices in my mind at the end of the season, and playoff performances have nothing to do with my picks:

1. Ron Washington, Texas Rangers: Washington's spring started out with his admission that he had tested positive for cocaine in an MLB drug test. The team went through a chaotic bankruptcy and sale. And Josh Hamilton was hurt for the last month of the season. Through all that trauma, Washington defied the experts, and led his team to its first AL West  title in a decade.

2. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins: Gardenhire got his team yet another AL Central title, despite the loss of closer Joe Nathan for the season, and star Justin Morneau for most of the second half of the year. Oh, and superstar Joe Mauer only hit one homer in Target Field all year. No matter.

3. Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox: GM Theo Epstein basically dashed playoff hopes this winter, calling this a "bridge year." And then half the team got injured -- or so it seemed.  Yet Francona kept the Red Sox in the race until September. He deserves credit for that.


What do you think?  Tell us about it.