Joe Maddon, manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Lou Piniella, manager of the Chicago Cubs, took home their respective league's Manager of the Year awards.

New York ? oe Maddon easily won the American League Manager of the Year award Wednesday after guiding the Tampa Bay Rays from baseball’s basement to the World Series. Lou Piniella of the Chicago Cubs took the NL honor.

Maddon, who succeeded Piniella as Tampa Bay manager in 2006, was a runaway winner in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He received all but one of the 28 first-place votes – the other went to Minnesota’s Ron Gardenhire.

There never has been a unanimous winner for Manager of the Year.

Piniella led the NL Central champion Cubs to the league’s best record and beat out Charlie Manuel of the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies to earn his third Manager of the Year award and first in the NL.

The fiery Piniella also won in 1995 and 2001 with Seattle.

This time, he got 15 of 32 first-place votes and totaled 103 points to 67 for Manuel, listed first on eight ballots. Florida’s Fredi Gonzalez finished third with five first-place votes and 48 points.

Two other managers garnered first-place votes: Joe Torre of the Los Angeles Dodgers (three) and Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals (one).