Associated Press

Davey Johnson, a former Cincinnati Reds manager, was named National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday for his work guiding the Washington Nationals while current Reds skipper Dusty Baker took second in the voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Johnson received 23 first-place votes, Baker five and San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy four.

Bob Melvin of the Oakland Athletics was honored in the American League, beating out Baltimore’s Buck Showalter in a close vote. Under Melvin, the A’s made a 20-game improvement, finished 94-68 and won the AL West.

Voting was conducted at the end of the regular season, before the playoffs began. Bochy’s Giants won the World Series, which did not factor into the BBWAA voting.

Johnson managed Washington to the best record in baseball, 98-64, to win the NL East. It was the first playoff appearance for the franchise since 1981, when it was the Montreal Expos.

Baker, also runner-up when Cincinnati won the NL Central in 2010, took the Reds to a 97-65 regular-season record, second-best in baseball. The Reds were in first place most of the summer despite losing All-Star first baseman Joey Votto for 48 games due to a knee injury.

Johnson, who turns 70 in January, was honored for the second time. He was tabbed as the AL’s top manager in 1997, hours after he resigned from the Orioles in a feud with owner Peter Angelos.

This time, Johnson will get a while to enjoy the accolade.

The Nationals announced this month that he will guide them in 2013, when he will be the oldest manager in the majors. He’s set to leave the Washington dugout and become a team consultant in 2014.

“World Series or bust,” Johnson said on the MLB Network. “It’s going to be my last year, anyway.”

Melvin also became a two-time winner, having been chosen in 2007 with Arizona.

Melvin got 16 first-place votes. Showalter got the other 12 firsts, and Robin Ventura of the Chicago White Sox finished third.