NewsTracy favored to add more hardware
Rockies skipper is front-runner for BBWAA's top manager
By Thomas Harding / MLB.com
11/17/09 4:30 PM EST
DENVER -- Rockies manager Jim Tracy fashioned a turnaround of historic proportions. When Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle as manager on May 29, the Rockies were 18-28. Under Tracy, they went 74-42 and earned the National League Wild Card berth.
Tracy became the third manager in history to take a team that was at least 10 games below .500 and finish 10 or more games above .500 -- in the Rockies' case, the finish was a club-record 92-70.
On Wednesday, it's likely that Tracy will be rewarded for the turnaround with the Baseball Writers' Association of America National League Manager of the Year Award. Tracy has already earned Sporting News' NL Manager of the Year honor and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum's NL C.I. Taylor Award for top skipper. The BBWAA awards are considered the highest postseason individual honors. If Tracy wins as expected, he can compare the hardware with a member of his staff. Don Baylor, the Rockies' original manager, earned the award in 1995 by leading the club to the playoffs in just its third season of existence. Baylor was Colorado's hitting coach this season. Tracy originally was hired as bench coach under Hurdle. Only Cito Gaston, who led the 1989 Blue Jays to the American League Championship Series after taking over, and Billy Southworth, who took over the Cardinals during the 1940 season, took over teams 10-below and led them to at least 10-above prior to Tracy's stewardship this season. Tracy became the eighth of 32 managers since 2000 who have taken over during the season and led their teams to an above-.500 finish. The Rockies went 15-5 in their first 20 games under Tracy -- the best record in that amount of time since Joe Morgan's Red Sox went 19-1 in 1988. In addition, Tracy's 20-7 start marked the fastest a Rockies manager had reached 20 wins. Hurdle, who took over in 2002, reached 20 wins in his first 28 games. The 2009 turnaround also did wonders for Tracy's career record. He managed the Dodgers to winning seasons in four of his five seasons (2001-05). But his Pirates teams went 135-189 in two seasons (2006-07). When he took over the Rockies, he was 10 games below .500. Now he is 663-614. Other NL Manager of the Year candidates are Charlie Manuel, whose Phillies have made two straight World Series trips; Joe Torre, who led the Dodgers to the NL West title; Tony La Russa, whose team won the NL Central; and the Marlins' Fredi Gonzalez and the Braves' Bobby Cox, whose teams were surprising contenders this season.Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
