NEW YORK — Bud Black hung on to win this race. Ron Gardenhire also became a first- time manager of the year after many near-misses.
A month after his Padres were knocked out of the playoff chase on the final day, Black nudged Cincinnati’s Dusty Baker by one point for the NL award Wednesday.
“I guess this vote was sort of like our season — it came down to the wire,” Black said.
Gardenhire was the clear choice in the AL, earning the honor after five times as the runner-up. He led Minnesota to its sixth Central title in nine seasons.
Black was selected after guiding San Diego to a 15- game turnaround despite the second-lowest payroll in the majors. The Padres finished 90-72 and led the NL West until a late, 10-game slump and then a loss to San Francisco on the last day eliminated them.
Black drew 16 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and got 104 points. Baker had 13 first-place votes and 103 points.
“I’m not terribly disappointed because I didn’t expect it,” Baker said. “Buddy did a great job.”
The announcement came on the one-year anniversary of his father’s death.
“When I woke up today, I was thinking about my dad, not the award,” Baker said. “He’d be proud of me.”
Gardenhire drew 16 first- place votes and 108 points, and was the only AL manager listed on all 28 ballots.
Ron Washington, who started the year with a cocaine admission and ended it with Texas’ first trip to the World Series, was next in the AL with 10 first-place votes and 81 points.
Footnotes.
All-star catcher John Buck and the Marlins have finalized an $18 million, three-year contract.
• The Tigers reached a preliminary agreement on a $16.5 million, three-year contract with Joaquin Benoit, a deal that could raise prices for setup relievers.
• The Blue Jays acquired speedy outfielder Rajai Davis from the Athletics for minor- league right-handers Trystan Magnuson and Daniel Farquhar.
Denver Post wire services
