For the National League, Jim Tracy from the Colorado Rockies won the 2009 Manager of the Year Award. The Rockies who started off with former coach Clint Hurdle started off a little “rockie”. Hurdle in the beginning of the season had a record of 18-28, dead last in the NL West. But May 29, 2009, Hurdle was fired and was sent home packing. It was than when beach coach Jim Tracy was giving the job to turn things around for the Rockies in 2009. After Tracy took over the Rockies had a better record with 72 wins and 42 losses, and now were neck and neck with the San Francisco Giants in the NL Wild Card race. Near the end of the season the Rockies even came close to winning the division from the Los Angeles Dodgers who had a big lead in the middle of the season, but the Dodgers would pull away and win the NL West Division. The Rockies would yes win the NL Wild Card with a 92-70 record and would head back to the playoffs for the second time in three years. In the NLDS the Rockies would fall to the defending World Series Champions, Philadelphia Phillies three games to one and that would be the end for the Colorado Rockies in 2009. You can't be that up-set if you’re a Rockies though with a team that didn't even look that good from the start and then to make the playoffs is just something great and they could be one of the better teams in the NL two years to come. Jim Tracy would become the first ever Colorado Rockies manager to win this award and I wish him the best of luck in the 2010 season.
For the American League Mike Scioscia, from the Los Angeles Angels would win his second Manager of the Year Award, his first was back in 2002 where the Angels won the World Series over the San Francisco Giants. In 2009 things started off a little rough for Scioscia and his club. April 9th, 2009 the Angels would lose one of their own, starting pitcher #34 Nick Adenhart who was killed in a car accident just after pitching 6 scoreless innings in his 4th or 5th big league start. Around June the Angels were just 29-29 and didn't look that good for the team who had a few injuries but the Angels would somehow clime their way back into the AL West race with the Texas Rangers. Angels center fielder, Torii Hunter said "were doing this for Nick, he’s smiling down at us and saying hey lets go out and win one today" and the Angles would do so. The team would finish with 97 wins at the end of 2009 (the second most wins in the AL) and win the AL West Division crown five times out of six and knock off the Texas Rangers. In the ALDS the Angles would face the AL Wild Card winners the Boston Red Sox and sweep them three games to nothing and head to the ALCS to take on the best team in baseball, the New York Yankees. The Yankees would end the Angles long journey in the ALCS by beating them four games to two. Throughout this season it was still a good one for the Angles, losing a close friend, starting off slow, and then working their way back into things to win the division is just great. I see the Angles next year being a pretty good team; with a few players on the free agent list I think they will still have a pretty good year in 2010.
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