Clint Hurdle Wins NL Manager of the Year

Clint Hurdle has won the NL Manager of the Year award after guiding the Pittsburgh Pirates to the playoffs in their first winning season since 1992.

Hurdle was a runaway winner, selected first on 25 of 30 ballots from a Baseball Writers’ Association of America panel in voting totals revealed Tuesday. Don Mattingly of the Los Angeles Dodgers was second and Fredi Gonzalez of the Atlanta Braves finished third.

It is the first Manager of the Year honor for Hurdle. His highest finish had been third in 2007, when he led the Colorado Rockies to the World Series.

The only other Pittsburgh manager to win the award was Jim Leyland in 1990 and 1992. After that, the Pirates endured a record 20 straight losing seasons before going 94-68 this year to capture an NL wild card.