NEW YORK -- Two championships and eight successful seasons in Boston brought Terry Francona exactly zero first-place votes in Manager of the Year balloting. Blank Football Jerseys For Sale . It took him one year with the surprising Cleveland Indians to bag the prize. Francona and Clint Hurdle of the Pittsburgh Pirates won the Manager of the Year awards Tuesday after guiding their small-budget teams to charming turnarounds. In a close vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America panel, Francona edged old friend John Farrell of the World Series champion Red Sox 112 points to 96 for the American League honour. "I have a feeling he wouldnt trade what they did for this any day of the week," Francona said on a conference call from Tucson, Ariz. Hurdle was a runaway winner in the NL, selected first on 25 of 30 ballots after taking the Pirates to the playoffs in their first winning season since 1992. "It is so rewarding for me to see whats happened, the synergy in the city," Hurdle said in Pittsburgh. "To be a small part of a group thats able to bring joy at so many different levels -- thats whats rewarding to me in life." It was the first Manager of the Year award for Francona even though -- in an interesting twist -- he steered the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. During his initial season with the Indians, he directed them to a 24-win improvement and a late surge that produced their first playoff berth in six years. Cleveland lost the AL wild-card game to Tampa Bay, but voting is conducted before the post-season. Francona said he called Farrell, a longtime colleague and his former pitching coach in Boston, on Tuesday morning because he thought it was funny they were up against each other as finalists. If they heard such news years ago, Francona said, "both of us would have laughed each other out of the room." Hurdle also was quick with a self-deprecating joke after he won. "Theres guys laughing all over the place," he said in an interview on MLB Network. "The players know so many times this season wed have a big series, getting together just trying to break the ice Id tell them, Hey, look guys, youve got to step it up, play big this week because Im going to get outmanaged. I can tell you one thing thats going to happen: Ill get outmanaged. So really step it up. And they did. They believed me every series." Just like Francona, the 56-year-old Hurdle won Manager of the Year for the first time. His highest finish had been third in 2007, when he led Colorado to the World Series. Don Mattingly of the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers came in second and Fredi Gonzalez of the NL East champion Atlanta Braves was third. "Im grateful," Hurdle said. "But its kind of weird." The only other Pittsburgh manager to win was Jim Leyland in 1990 and 1992, the bookends to three consecutive division titles for the Pirates. After that, they endured a record 20 straight losing seasons -- the longest drought in any of the four major professional sports -- before going 94-68 this year to capture an NL wild card. Riding a wave of excitement from a rejuvenated fan base in a city finally enthralled by baseball again, Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati in the wild-card game before losing to league champion St. Louis in a division series that went the full five games. "I know were scratching the surface of something thats dynamic," said Hurdle, who has managed the Pirates for three seasons. Hurdle was chosen second on the other five ballots and was the only manager picked on every one. He had 140 points in the 5-3-1 scoring system to 68 for Mattingly, who received two first-place votes. Gonzalez got three firsts and 43 points. Mike Matheny of the Cardinals was the only other skipper to appear on an NL ballot. He was tabbed second by four voters and third by seven. The 54-year-old Francona garnered 16 first-place votes to 12 for Farrell, who lifted the Red Sox from last place to first in the AL East in his debut season as their manager. Boston won 97 games, tied for most in the majors, one year after going 69-93 under Bobby Valentine. Bob Melvin, last years winner, received the other two first-place votes and came in third after his low-payroll Oakland Athletics won their second consecutive AL West crown. Francona never received a first-place vote during eight seasons as manager of the Red Sox. He had never finished higher than fourth for this award in 12 years as a big league skipper, including his stint with Philadelphia. After a messy split from the Red Sox following their 2011 collapse, Francona spent a year in broadcasting that he said helped him become more patient and less stubborn. This season with the Indians was among his most fun in baseball, he said, and he loves the people he works for because when challenges arise "we tackle them together." "Boston is, youre not really supposed to ever lose a game, and thats difficult to do," Francona said, adding the job there is "to manage all the noise thats around the team so the guys can play." "You cant have all that passion and not have some of the headaches that come with it," he explained. "Its a little different in Cleveland because its more just baseball, which I enjoy." Cy Young Award winners will be announced Wednesday evening, and MVPs on Thursday. Jesse Lingard Shirt Sales . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Jordan Henderson England Jersey .com) - No Sidney Crosby, no problem. http://www.worldcup2018jerseysengland.com/jersey-jamie-vardy.html . Chris Capuano. Shane Greene. And now, Esmil Rogers.Phil Kessels star continues to shine. One of the hottest scorers in the NHL prior to the Olympic break, Kessel has been Team USAs most dynamic player through the preliminary round scoring four goals and seven points in three games to help his team remain undefeated. Kessel scored three goals and was the first star of the game as the United States registered an easy 5-1 win over Slovenia Sunday. The Toronto Maple Leafs right-winger shot Team USA into a quick 2-0 lead scoring on his teams first shot of the game and then batting a puck out of mid-air a few minutes later. Kessel completed his hat trick at 11:05 of the second period when he popped a rebound past Slovenian goaltender Luka Gracnar. "Im just trying to help my team win; do whatever I can," Kessel said. He added it is a bonus to be playing on a line with James van Riemsdyk, his linemate in Toronto. Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks in the lines centre. "It helps a lot that I play with JVR all year," Kessel said. "I played with Pav at the last Olympics and were just trying to keep going." Slovenia, coming off a thrilling 3-1 victory over Slovakia Saturday, had nothing left in the tank to face the United States. It was as though its win over Slovakia was its Stanley Cup victory and the team checked out mentally. Likewise, the Americans celebrated a monumental shootout win over the host Russians knowing thhey could go at half speed and not lose on this day. England World Cup Football Shirt 2018. A goal in the final minute by Slovenia was inconsequential other than the fact it affected Team USAs goal differential. The Americans complete the round robin with a 3-0 record having outscored their opponents 15-4. The game had all the intensity of two last-place teams in a beer league hooking up late in the season. The Slovenians had a couple of decent scoring chances, but that said, they were never really in the game. The United States took the lead and then coasted to the victory. With 13 goals since Jan. 2, Pavelski has been one of the hottest scorers in the NHL in 2014. He has continued to hold a hot hand in the Olympics scoring a goal and adding three assists through three games. Ryan Miller was the hero of the 2010 Olympic Games for Team USA, leading his team to the gold medal game and earning most valuable player honors. He had a 5-1 record in Vancouver, but has been designated as the teams backup goalie in this years tournament, giving way to Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings. Miller made his first start against Slovenia. Forward Derek Stepan of the New York Rangers also saw his first action replacing Max Pacioretty in the lineup. Slovenias best player, Anze Kopitar, was late joining his team for the second period and then skipped the third period all together. No reason was given for his absence. Jerseys NFL China Wholesale Jerseys Cheap NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Gear Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Wholesale NFL White Jerseys ' ' '