|
 |
Dusty Baker
finished second in the voting for the National League's Manager of the
Year for the Cincinnati Reds. Washington's Davey Johnson won the honor
as the Nationals went to the post-season for the first time in the
teams short history. Giants coach Bruce Bochy was third.
Cincinnati Reds
Baker second in
NL Manager of the Year voting
CINCINNATI - Although the Reds were regarded by many as a preseason
favorite to win their division, and finished first in the National
League Central by a wide margin, it was a journey filled with adversity.
Leadership took on added importance as times got tough. It was on this
front in 2012 that Reds manager Dusty Baker had one of the best years
of his 19-season career in a dugout.
On Tuesday, Baker came in second in NL Manager of the Year voting
conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
The Nationals' Davey Johnson was the winner after placing first on 23
of the 32 ballots, with a total of 131 points. Baker was next with 77
points, including five first-place votes while the Giants' Bruce Bochy
finished third with 61 points and four first-place votes. Points are
awarded with the 5-3-1 tabulation system.
Baker, 63, won NL Manager of the Year honors three times previously for
the Giants in 1993, 1997 and 2000. The last and only Reds skipper to
receive the award was Jack McKeon in 1999.
This past season, the Reds finished with a 97-65 record while winning
their second NL Central title in the last three years.
The season began with three top relievers getting injured during Spring
Training, including closer Ryan Madson being lost for the year with a
torn elbow ligament. During the season, top hitter and first baseman
Joey Votto needed left knee surgery and missed six weeks.
Under Baker, Cincinnati responded to Votto's injury by improving on the
field as it went 32-16 minus the 2010 NL MVP. The team, which had a
one-game division lead over the Cardinals when Votto went down July 15,
had expanded it to eight games upon his return.
At one point, the Reds won 22 of 25 games to take control of the NL
Central for good.
"I really enjoy playing for Dusty. I have a tremendous amount of
respect for him," Votto said in September.
Cincinnati seemed to corner the market on tense games, with an
NL-leading 31 one-run victories while being second in the league with
44 come-from-behind wins. One of the team's finest moments of the
season came on July 19 when it rallied from a 6-0 deficit against the
D-backs for a 7-6 victory.
The Reds' rotation had four starters pitch 200 innings and five
starters make 30 starts during the season. No one from the starting
five missed a start during the regular season because of injury. And
despite the loss of Madson, Nick Masset and Bill Bray, the Reds'
bullpen had the best ERA in the Majors.
One key decision that helped the Reds came on May 20, when Baker moved
Aroldis Chapman from a setup role to become the team's closer. Chapman
responded by notching 38 saves and often providing shutdown
ninth-inning relief.
Baker missed 11 games in September after being diagnosed with an
irregular heartbeat. During his time in a Chicago hospital, he suffered
a minor stroke but was healthy enough to return for the final three
games of the regular season.
Cincinnati lost a heartbreaking five-game NL Division Series vs. the
Giants in the postseason, but all BBWAA voting was completed before the
playoffs began.
After the Reds' postseason exit, the team re-signed Baker to a two-year
contract extension through the 2014 season with hopes he can finally
get his first World Series ring as a manager.
Read the rest of the article at Cincinnati Reds
|
|
|
|
