Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli Beats Out Yankees' Aaron Boone For AL Manager Of The Year Honors
NEW YORK (AP) — Rocco Baldelli of the Minnesota Twins has narrowly beaten out Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees to win AL Manager of the Year.
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Both received 13 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed Tuesday night, but Baldelli got more second-place votes in his first year on the job. The 38-year-old is the youngest to win the award.
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Baldelli took over a team that won 78 games in 2018 and pushed them to 101 victories and an AL Central title. He worked tightly with Minnesota's analytics-focused front office — a shift from predecessor Paul Molitor, who won this award in 2017 — and oversaw a turnaround propelled by the team's major league record 307 home runs.
The NL winner was set to be announced later Tuesday. The finalists are the Braves' Brian Snitker, Brewers' Craig Counsell and Cardinals' Mike Shildt.
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