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Lou Piniella won two Manager of the Year awards in the American League, and now he has one in the National League. The Cubs' skipper earned the NL's top manager honor for 2008, receiving 15 of 32 first-place votes, while the runner-up, Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel, finished with eight.

Below, check out the top candidates. Then see the choices of ESPN baseball analysts and contributors, both individually and collectively. Whom did you choose?

THE TOP CANDIDATES

LOU PINIELLA, CHICAGO CUBS

In his second season at the helm, Piniella managed the Cubs to the best record in the National League, making the playoffs for the second straight year.

Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

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JOE TORRE, LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Torre led the Yankees to 12 straight playoff appearances. So what did he do his first season in L.A.? He led the Dodgers to their first NL West title in four years.

Photo by Chris Williams/Icon SMI

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CHARLIE MANUEL, PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Under Manuel, the Phillies have acquired a good reputation as strong finishers; they overcame the Mets in September for the second straight year for the NL East crown.

Photo by Jeff Conner/Icon SMI

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TONY LA RUSSA, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The 2008 season was La Russa's 30th as a manager, but he showed no signs of a letdown, guiding the undermanned Cardinals to a surprising 86-win season.

Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images

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FREDI GONZALEZ, FLORIDA MARLINS

The young Marlins responded under Gonzalez, improving by 13 games over the previous season and putting a scare in the Mets and Phillies before finishing third in the NL East.

Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

ESPN'S NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR PICKS
Jorge Arangure Jr. ESPN The Magazine Lou Piniella Cubs	Howard Bryant ESPN.com Lou Piniella Cubs	Jim Caple ESPN.com/Page 2 Lou Piniella Cubs	Jerry Crasnick ESPN.com Charlie Manuel Phillies
Peter Gammons ESPN Lou Piniella Cubs	Pedro Gomez ESPN Lou Piniella Cubs	Orel Hershiser ESPN Joe Torre Dodgers	Eric Karabell ESPN.com Fantasy Charlie Manuel Phillies
Jonah Keri ESPN.com/Page 2 Tony La Russa Cardinals	Bob Klapisch ESPN.com contributor Joe Torre Dodgers	John Kruk ESPN Joe Torre Dodgers	Tim Kurkjian ESPN The Magazine Fredi Gonzalez Marlins
Keith Law ESPN.com/Scouts Inc. Fredi Gonzalez Marlins	Sean McAdam ESPN.com contributor Tony La Russa Cardinals	Amy Nelson ESPN.com Lou Piniella Cubs	Rob Neyer ESPN.com Lou Piniella Cubs
Buster Olney ESPN The Magazine Tony La Russa Cardinals	Peter Pascarelli ESPN/Baseball Today Joe Torre Dodgers	Steve Phillips ESPN Joe Torre Dodgers	Karl Ravech ESPN Joe Torre Dodgers
Phil Rogers ESPN.com contributor Fredi Gonzalez Marlins	Enrique Rojas ESPNdeportes.com Lou Piniella Cubs	John Shea ESPN.com contributor Lou Piniella Cubs	Chris Singleton ESPN Lou Piniella Cubs
Larry Stone ESPN.com contributor Lou Piniella Cubs	Jayson Stark ESPN.com Lou Piniella Cubs	Gene Wojciechowski ESPN.com Charlie Manuel Phillies
ESPN's choice: Lou Piniella (12) Honorable Mention: Joe Torre (6); Fredi Gonzalez (3); Tony La Russa (3); Charlie Manuel (3)