ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611080075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York's Joe Torre and Texas' Johnny Oates had a lot in common this baseball season: Their teams overcame slumps, made it to the playoffs and helped their managers reach previously unattained goals.
And now they share this year's American League Manager of the Year award.
``There were a lot of similarities,'' Torre said after the voting was announced Thursday. ``The big thing about our slide was the fact that it happened a little earlier. His happened so late. For him to be able to right the ship before they disappeared I thought was a great job of managing and not panicking, and I told him that.''
Torre helped the Yankees bounce back after their lead over Baltimore in the AL East Division dwindled from 12 games to 21/2 games in early September.
Texas' lead was cut from nine games Sept.11 to one nine days later before Seattle faded in the West.
``The only guy happier than me is Joe Torre, and that's because he won the World Series,'' Oates said. ``He's the only one in the major leagues who can say he did it. But to be recognized by the writers is an honor and I'm very proud of it.''
Oates and Torre each received 89 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America, the first tie in the 14 years of the award. (Voting in Scoreboard. B7)
Torre, who guided the Yankees to their first World Series title since 1978, received 10 firsts, 12 seconds and three thirds. Winning the World Series made the award special.
And to top it off, his brother Frank left Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center on Thursday, 13 days following a heart transplant.
``It's really magical. It's unbelievable,'' Torre said. ``It's probably the happiest time of my life. There's a bizarre plan out there somewhere and I'm glad to be a part of it.''
Oates, who guided the Rangers to the first postseason appearance in the 36-year history of the team, received 12 firsts, eight seconds and five thirds.
``We did something no other Texas Rangers team has ever done before,'' said Oates, a Virginia Tech alumnus. ``I know that going to spring training next year there's one question I won't have anymore.''
Balloting is conducted before the postseason, and two writers from each AL city voted. First-place votes are worth five points, second-place votes are worth three and third-place votes are worth one.
It was the first tie in BBWAA voting since 1979, when Keith Hernandez and Willie Stargell shared the National League Most Valuable Player award, and Alfredo Griffin and John Castino split AL Rookie of the Year. The only other ties have been for the 1976 NL Rookie of the Year (Butch Metzger and Pat Zachry) and the 1969 AL Cy Young Award (Mike Cuellar and Denny McLain).
Torre, 56, took over from Buck Showalter after the 1995 season.
Torre, who also managed the New York Mets, Atlanta and St.Louis, became the third former MVP to win the manager award, joining Frank Robinson and Don Baylor.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshots of Torre and Oatesby CNB