NEW YORK -- Jimy Williams is a lot better at managing than he is at talking about what he does.

	Jimy Williams could smile even without Mo Vaughn in the middle of the Red Sox' lineup.

"I just try to listen to our kids, not talk at them or to them," he said Thursday after winning the American League Manager of the Year award for leading the Boston Red Sox into the playoffs.

"It's a two-way conversation. I let my eyes evaluate what I see."

Despite the loss of Mo Vaughn, Williams led Boston to the AL wild-card berth. For that, he received 20 of 28 first-place votes and five seconds for 115 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is a team award," Williams said. "It's pretty special."

Oakland's Art Howe was second for keeping the Athletics in contention until September despite a $25.2 million payroll, 24th among the 30 major league teams. He got five firsts, 19 seconds and three thirds for 85 points.

Joe Torre of the World Series champion Yankees, last year's winner, was third with 21 points, followed by Johnny Oates of the Texas Rangers with 18 and Mike Hargrove, fired by the Cleveland Indians after losing to Boston in the playoffs, with 13. Hargrove will manage Baltimore next season.

	Manager of the Year balloting
	Voting results from the Baseball Writers Association of America, with first-, second- and third-place votes and total points on a 5-3-1 basis:
	Manager	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
	Williams, Bos.	20	5	3	115
	Howe, Oak.	5	19	3	85
	Torre, NYY	0	4	9	21
	Oates, Tex.	1	0	13	18
	Hargrove, Cle.	2	0	3	13

Boston had been expected to struggle after Vaughn left as a free agent and signed with the Anaheim Angels.

"Certainly Mo was an integral part of this ballclub in the past years, but wasn't with our team," Williams said. "He was with another team, and you have to move on. We weren't trying to replace Mo. Maybe some other players could step up and do a little more here and a little more there. Basically, that's what happened. A lot of different people stepped up."

Boston, 22 games behind the New York Yankees when it won the AL wild-card in 1998, finished only four games back this year, improving from 92-70 to 94-68.

The Red Sox pressed New York in September, sweeping a three-game series at Yankee Stadium and closing within three games during the final two weeks.

After the votes were cast, the Red Sox overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Cleveland Indians in the best-of-5 first-round series, then lost to the Yankees in the AL Championship Series.

"The thing I felt good about was being down 0-2 and coming back and watching these kids win," he said.

Williams wouldn't look ahead to trying to catch the Yankees next season.

"We open up against Seattle -- that's what we're geared for," he said. "I guess I'm too simple."

He said his style probably has changed throughout the years.

"I probably see life a lot differently than when I was with Toronto," he said, "maybe not so excitable, from a standpoint of having to say something all the time."