John Farrell named AL manager of the year by the Sporting News

(UPI) -- John Farrell was named the AL Manager of the Year by the Sporting News on Tuesday, the day before his Boston Red Sox will begin the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Sporting News named Clint Hurdle of the Pittsburgh Pirates the NL Manager of the Year. The Red Sox and Pirates both finished below .500 in 2012 and went on to qualify for the postseason in 2013.

Farrell was the Red Sox pitching coach from 2007 to 2010 before leaving to manage the Toronto Blue Jays. Boston had the best record in the league at 97-65 after losing more than 90 games just a year ago under the leadership of manager Bobby Valentine.

The Red Sox are not going to change the way they play they game against St. Louis.

"We're not going to run from our strengths. ... We pride ourselves on being consistent, and that's how we deal with guys in our clubhouse or how we approach the game," Farrell said. "And that's put us in the position that we've been able to play in October. We're not going to deviate from that."

Hurdle emphasized pitching and defense while leading the Pirates to their first winning season since 1992.

"We get asked a lot about what we can't do, but we've done enough to win a number of games," Hurdle said. "And it's basically been predicated on pitching and defense. And that still wins games. It's an old-school mentality and some of our guys have actually bought into that. There's a lot of new things going on, but they call it 'old school' for a reason. I don't hear the tune 'new school' bouncing off the walls in any clubhouse. And I think our guys have just gotten real good with good old-fashioned effort and grit. That's been a formula that's played well for us."

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona finished second in the AL voting for getting things heading back in the right direction for the Cleveland Indians.