New York, NY (My Sportsbook) -
St. Louis Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa was named National League Manager of the Year on Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. La Russa won the award for a record fourth time, but earned the honor for the first time in the NL.
La Russa received 22 first-place votes, six second-place votes and one third for 129 points.
La Russa's Cardinals saw six different starting pitchers go on the disabled list in 2002. Starting pitcher and clubhouse favorite Darryl Kile passed away in June while the team was on the road in Chicago. Legendary broadcaster Jack Buck died the same week as Kile. J.D. Drew, expected to break through with an MVP-caliber season, was hampered all year by a knee injury. First baseman Tino Martinez struggled in his introduction to the National League.
Still, the Cardinals won 97 games, the franchise's highest win total since 1985. They ran away with the Central Division by 13 games. La Russa showed strength, helping his team keep its head up and stay focused on winning games. He showed flexibility, getting away from his famous rigid bullpen structure and keeping his reserves sharp and his regulars fresh.
The honor caps off a year of accomplishments for La Russa. He climbed from 11th to eighth on the all-time wins list, ending the year with 1,924 and passing Bill McKechnie, Gene Mauch and Casey Stengel on the way. La Russa also joined Sparky Anderson and Leo Durocher as the only managers to win 600 games with two different teams.
La Russa, who earned the AL award with Chicago in 1983 and with Oakland in 1988 and 1992, joined Atlanta's Bobby Cox as the only managers to win the award in both leagues.
Cox, who led his team to 100 wins for the fifth time, something no other National League manager has ever done, finished second in the voting. Beginning on May 15, the Braves won 60 of 80 games on their way to winning the East by 19 games with a NL-best 101-59 record.
Cox, who was the NL Manager of the Year in 1991, led Atlanta to its 11th division title in a row in 2002. Cox finished with nine first-place votes, 14 seconds and six thirds for 93 points.
Frank Robinson, who in his first season with Montreal kept the Expos in contention until midseason, was third with 23 points, followed by Jim Tracy of Los Angeles (22) and Dusty Baker of San Francisco (18).
Tracy, who was the runner-up for the award last season, led the Dodgers to a 92-70 mark and a third-place finish in a very tough National League West, which had the best composite winning percentage of any division in the league. The Dodgers remained in contention for the postseason until the day before the season ended. Tracy's two-year managerial record is 178-146.
BaBaker led the Giants to a wild card playoff berth with a 95-66 record. San ker led the Giants to a wild card playoff berth with a 95-66 record. San Francisco upset Atlanta and St. Louis before falling to Anaheim in Game 7 of the World Series.
In his 10th year at the helm of the Giants, he guided a team without a large payroll through numerous injuries and even helped them overcome a dugout shoving match between his two best players, Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent.
Bob Brenly, who led the Diamondbacks to a second consecutive West Division title with a record of 98-64 in a very tough race all season with the Giants and Dodgers, received just two third-place votes. In two seasons as skipper of the Diamondbacks, Brenly has compiled a 190-134 record with a pair of West Division titles and a World Series championship.
Cincinnati's Bob Boone received one third-place vote.
