CINCINNATI -- It appears Bob Boone will get to manage the Cincinnati Reds in their new ballpark.

The Reds exercised the option on Boone's contract Tuesday, giving him a chance to lead the transition to the Great American Ball Park, which is scheduled to open next season.

The additional year was a reward for the Reds' unexpected success in the NL Central. The tight-budget club led the division for 51 days earlier this season and was 4 1/2 games behind St. Louis on Tuesday.

"Not many people expected out of spring training that the Reds would be in a pennant race as we enter August,'' general manager Jim Bowden said.

Boone, 54, got the job on Nov. 3, 2000, after Jack McKeon was fired and Ron Oester turned it down amid controversy. Oester said Bowden had told him to hold out for more money -- an accusation the general manager denied.

Instead, the Reds offered Boone a two-year contract with an option for 2003. He didn't care that he was among the lowest-paid managers in the majors -- Boone made $300,000 and $350,000 in the first two years and will get $400,000 next year.

After a stormy two-year stay as the Kansas City Royals' manager in 1989 and 1990, Boone just wanted to manage again. After his first season in Cincinnati, it appeared he wouldn't last long there, either.

The Reds lost 96 games for only the fifth time in franchise history. They lost a franchise-record 54 at home and Boone was criticized by fans for overmanaging.

Things have gone much better the second time around, even though Ken Griffey Jr. again has been sidelined by injuries for most of the season.

"He deserves it,'' Griffey said. "He's done a great job and he should be rewarded with another year. At the beginning of the year, he was on the hot seat list. His only rules are you come here and you play hard. That's it. He lets everything else take care of itself.''

McKeon was the NL Manager of the Year in 1999, when he led the Reds to a wild-card tiebreaker playoff against the Mets. But some of the team's stars didn't like his laid-back approach, and he was given only a one-year extension through 2000, Griffey's first season in Cincinnati.

Boone, who played 19 seasons in the majors as a catcher, has a little more security than McKeon, but not much.

"He's been great,'' shortstop Barry Larkin said. "I'm happy to see that. Some stability is important in that position. It will be nice to go into the off-season knowing he's going to be here. It makes everybody more comfortable.''

Perhaps the most uncomfortable thing for Boone has been managing his son, Aaron, who struggled offensively but stayed at third base in the first half of the season while other slumping hitters got time off.

"I think, to a man, everybody in this clubhouse respects him,'' Aaron Boone said. "With all that's been going on, to have us in this position speaks loudly for him.''

Players like the way Bob Boone handles their mistakes by pointing them out without singling them out.

"Oh, he gets hot, but he doesn't show you up,'' outfielder Adam Dunn said. "Of course, if we have any problems with him, we just beat the tar out of Aaron.''