Bob Melvin, for the second time in his career, is selected as the Manager of the Year when the Baseball Writers’ Association of America name him first on 16 of 28 ballots to narrowly outpoint Buck Showalter of the Orioles, 116-108. The Oakland skipper, the National League’s BBWAA managerial award recipient in 2007 with the Diamondbacks, guided the A’s to the American League West title before losing Game 5 in the ALCS to Detroit.

Davey Johnson, who led the Nationals to the most victories in the major leagues with a record of 98-64, is selected as the National League Manager of the Year, easily outdistancing runners-ups Dusty Baker of the Reds and Bruce Bochy of the Giants, when he receives 23 of the 32 first-place votes cast by the writers. The 69 year-old manager, honored by the BBWAA in 1997 for his managerial efforts with the Orioles, joins Bobby Cox (Blue Jays, Braves), Tony La Russa (White Sox and A’s, Cardinals), Lou Piniella (Mariners, Cubs), and Jim Leyland (Pirates, Tigers) as the fifth skipper to have won the award in both leagues.

The Cardinals name former catcher Mike Matheny to succeed Tony LaRussa as their manager. An outstanding defensive player, Matheny has no managerial experience and was most recently a minor league instructor for the World Champs.

2010 – The Marlins trade perennial prospect, OF Cameron Maybin, to the Padres for relievers Edward Mujica and Ryan Webb. A former first-round draft pick in 2005, Maybin was the youngest player in the American League in 2007, but has had only a season’s worth of at-bats over four years in the majors, hitting .246.

The Marlins send outfielder Cameron Maybin to the Padres for Edward Mujica and Ryan Webb, who are both right-handed relievers. The 23 year-old outfielder, the 10th overall pick in 2005, was traded by Detroit two years later in a major multiplayer Winter Meeting deal that included Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

During an auction at the Louisville Slugger Museum, the winning bid for the ball Yankee slugger Babe Ruth hit for his 702nd career home run is $264,500, three times the estimated price. The historic horsehide, hit at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in 1934 off Ted Lyons, had been passed down by three generations of a Minnesota family before being made available to the public.

The Yankees look to upgrade their offense by trading for OF Nick Swisher. They also pick up P Kanekoa Texeira in the deal with the Chicago White Sox, while giving up prospect Jeff Marquez, infielder Wilson Betemit and pitcher Jhonny Nunez.

With a year left on his contract, Ron Gardenhire agrees to a two-year extension to remain as the Twins skipper through 2001. The 51 year-old manager, who replaced Tom Kelly in 2002, has compiled a 622-512 record during his seven-year tenure in Minnesota, winning four division titles with the small market team.

In a five-player trade with the White Sox, the Yankees obtained Nick Swisher and Triple-A right-hander Kaneoka Texeira in exchange for pitching prospects Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez, as well as infielder Wilson Betemit. The Bronx Bombers plan to use the flexible 27 year-old switch hitter to replace departing first baseman Jason Giambi but could be moved to the outfield if the team acquires a big name free agent to play first.