NEW YORK -- Dusty Baker won the National League Manager of the Year award for a record third time Thursday after leading the San Francisco Giants to the best record in the major leagues.

Baker received 30 of 32 first-place votes, one second and one third for 154 points in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

	Voting results
	Voting for the Manager of the Year Award, on a 5-3-1 basis:
	Manager	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
	Baker, S.F.	30	1	1	154
	La Russa, Stl.	1	16	6	50
	Cox, Atl.	1	8	12	41
	Valentine, NYM	--	4	4	16
	Boles, Fla.	--	3	6	15
	Bell, Col.	--	--	2	2
	Alou, Mon.	--	--	1	1

Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals was second with 59 points, getting one first, 16 seconds and six thirds.

Bobby Cox of Atlanta was third with 41 points, followed by Bobby Valentine of the New York Mets (16), John Boles of Florida (15), Buddy Bell of Colorado (2) and Felipe Alou of Montreal (1).

Baker also won the award in 1993 and 1997. In the American League, La Russa is the only three-time recipient, winning with Chicago in 1983, and with Oakland in 1988 and 1992.

San Francisco went 97-65, finishing 11 games ahead of second-place Arizona, the largest margin among the six division winners. The Giants then lost 3-1 to the Mets in the first round of the playoffs.

"We're all young, and hopefully this is the start of a long good run for us," Baker said. "It takes a long time to build this sort of team. In my 33 years in baseball, I can name on one hand the teams I've seen like this."

After the playoff loss, Baker signed his fourth two-year contract with the Giants, a $5.25 million deal that made him one of baseball's highest-paid managers.

"Hopefully, next year we will take it farther and better," Baker said. "This is something very positive to build on."

As late as July 1, the Giants trailed Arizona by 6½ games. But in their first season at Pacific Bell Park, the Giants pulled ahead in the second half and finished with a 55-26 home record, matching the Mets for the best in the major leagues.

The spacious new clubhouse seemed to be filled with kids playing as their fathers celebrated most days.

"It's fun to win," Baker said. "It's a good feeling coming out here every day knowing you have a great chance to win."