As a result, Tracy was awarded the 2009 National League Manager of the Year award. He received 29 first place votes, with Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals finishing second with two first place votes.

To reward Tracy for a job well done, the Rockies announced a few hours after the Manager of the Year award that Tracy and the team had agreed on a new three-year contract. Tracy will now have a chance to build off the great play of the 2009 season.

Over in the American League, Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels won the American League Manager of the Year award. He got 15 first place votes, while Ron Gardenhire of the Minnesota Twins got six and Joe Girardi of the New York Yankees got four.

Scioscia led the Angels to the playoffs even though the team dealt with a number of injuries in addition to the death of starting pitcher Nick Adenhart early in the season.

Jim Tracy - Colorado Rockies (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Times are changing. On Friday, Colorado fired manager Clint Hurdle — the same manager who guided the Rockies to the 2007 World Series. In the history of the franchise, that was the first and only trip to baseball’s biggest stage.

Going into Friday’s game, the Rockies had a record of 19-28. In the National League West, the squad was already 14.5 games in back of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

To replace Hurdle, the Rockies named Jim Tracy as the manager for the rest of the 2009 baseball season. Tracy had been acting as the Rockies bench coach.

Post from: Knuckle Curve