MANAGERS OF THE YEAR McKeon, Pena earn awards

The 72-year-old McKeon led the Florida Marlins to a World Series title.
MIAMI (AP) -- Jack McKeon insists he's no miracle worker. Being the best manager in the National League will do just fine.
The Florida Marlins' 72-year-old, cigar-chomping skipper was voted NL Manager of the Year for the second time Wednesday after he turned a last-place team into a World Series champion.
Kansas City's Tony Pena won the AL honor after the Royals rebounded from their first 100-loss season to stay in contention until the final week.
Florida was 16-22 when McKeon replaced Jeff Torborg on May 11. The Marlins dropped to 10 games under .500 on May 22, falling into the NL East cellar, then rebounded to finish 91-71 and win the NL wild card.
"I believed that we could win," McKeon said between cigar puffs. "I just had to get this across to the players. To their credit, they accepted that, grabbed the ball and ran with it. In the end, we're sitting here world champions. It's a nice feeling."
Milestones
McKeon is the first manager to win the award after taking over a team during the season, receiving 19 of 32 first-place votes and 116 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
He's the third-oldest manager in major league history, trailing Hall of Famers Connie Mack (88) and Casey Stengel (75). McKeon also won the award in 1999 with Cincinnati.
"This is very special, much more special than the 1999 award," McKeon said. "The way these players participated and competed and the desire and determination that they had -- it was fun, it was a fun year for me."
In the playoffs, Florida upset San Francisco in the first round, overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat the Cubs in the NL championship series, then rebounded from a 2-1 deficit to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
"I've never had a group of players that I've loved like I do this club," said McKeon, who managed in the postseason for the first time.
Dusty Baker, a three-time winner of the award, finished second with 62 points after leading the Cubs to the NL Central title in his first season as Chicago's manager.
Overwhelming choice
Pena was an overwhelming choice for the AL award, getting 24 first-place votes and 130 points. Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire was second with four firsts and 44 points.
"When they told me, I got on my knees to thank God. Then I cried with my family," Pena said in a telephone interview from his home in Santiago, Dominican Republic. "There are no words to describe what I feel."
Pena, 46, took over the Royals in May 2002 and Kansas City finished 62-100. The Royals won their first nine games this year, got off to a 16-3 start and were 51-41 at the All-Star break, leading the AL Central by seven games.
But the Royals slumped in the second half and wound up 83-79, their first winning season since 1994.
He's only the second Dominican to win the award. Felipe Alou was NL Manager of the Year in 1994, when he was with Montreal.
"Felipe was the one that opened the gate for us," he said. "Dominicans, and all Latinos, are showing that we can take on large responsibilities in baseball. We know how to do more than throw hard or hit well."