MLB | Lou Piniella, Joe Maddon honored

Around

the majors |

NEW YORK — Joe Maddon had a good reason for interrupting his honeymoon.

About an hour after he landed in Rome, the newly married Maddon easily won the American League Manager of the Year award Wednesday for guiding Tampa Bay from baseball's basement to the World Series in one astonishing season.

Lou Piniella took the NL honor after leading the Chicago Cubs to the league's best record.

Maddon, who succeeded Piniella as Tampa Bay manager in 2006, was a runaway winner in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He received all but one of the 28 first-place votes — the other went to Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire.

It was a nice wedding gift for Maddon and his wife, Jaye, who got married last weekend. But it meant that one of the first things he did in Italy was get on the phone for a conference call with reporters.

"Jaye is very understanding of the whole situation. We knew this was a possibility," Maddon said. "Truly a remarkable season in so many different ways."

Piniella beat out Charlie Manuel of the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies to earn his third Manager of the Year award and first in the NL. The fiery skipper also won in 1995 and 2001 with the Mariners.

This time, he got 15 of 32 first-place votes and totaled 103 points to 67 for Manuel, listed first on eight ballots. Florida's Fredi Gonzalez finished third with five first-place votes and 48 points.

Piniella, 65, earned a $100,000 bonus for winning, which he plans to donate to the team's charity partner.

Two other managers garnered first-place votes: Joe Torre of the Los Angeles Dodgers (three) and Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals (one).

Notes

• The Oakland Athletics completed their trade with the Colorado Rockies for star outfielder Matt Holliday, securing the big bat Oakland sought for the middle of its order.

Colorado received right-handed reliever Huston Street, left-handed starter Greg Smith and promising outfielder Carlos Gonzalez from the A's. The clubs reached a tentative agreement Monday, but had to wait for the results of physicals and other details to be worked out.

Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said the Rockies earlier this year offered Holliday a deal worth $107.5 million over five seasons, but agent Scott Boras rejected it.

• Former major-leaguers Al Leiter and Harold Reynolds, a longtime Mariner, were hired as studio analysts for the MLB Network, which launches Jan. 1.

• Tampa Bay center fielder B.J. Upton had surgery on his left shoulder this week, and the Rays expect him to be ready by opening day.

• For the first time in more than a decade, the Boston Red Sox aren't increasing their ticket prices at Fenway Park for the 2009 season.

• Left-hander Damaso Marte and the New York Yankees agreed to a $12 million, three-year contract that includes a club option for 2012.