The Daily News announced it’s first ever “Sportsperson of the Year” award, and the voting was, predictably, dominated by the Phillies.

Brad Lidge won the inaugural award, and it is hard to argue with a guy was was literally perfect the entire season, and then went out in the playoffs, when any normal Philadelphia athlete would then subsequently choke, and was perfect 7 more times. It’s the kind of stuff that makes you think that we aren’t destined to root for teams that exist solely to break our hearts.

Charlie Manuel came in second, with Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard rounding out the quartet of Phils at the top of the voting.

Had I been voting, Lidge would most likely have been third on my ballot behind Charlie (1st) and Cole Hamels (2nd).

Successfully managing a baseball team requires strong leadership to say the least. For countless years, the Phils have struggled to find a manager who could command respect from his players while requiring accountability from them at the same time.

Lesser managers would have crumbled under multiple dust ups during the Phils’ 2008 run – the Jimmy Rollins benching in New York, J-Roll’s “front-runner” controversy and Brett Myers’ histrionics coming off the mound after being yanked in the 8th inning of a 4-2 win against the Pirates in August to name a few. Manuel instead thrived during these moments; going with his gut instincts in how to handle his players. Very few leaders can toe the line successfully between accountability and respect. The Phillies are not a team that could just be managed by anyone and they would have won it all regardless. Charlie led them there.

Charlie’s management during the playoffs was exemplary, and his ability to make small changes to the lineup, specifically swapping Victorino and Werth periodically, in most cases paid off quite well. Joe Maddon may have gotten all of the press for being such a great baseball mind, but Charlie outmanaged him in the World Series after doing the same to Joe Torre in the NLCS.

Since this award looks at the entire year, including the playoffs, as opposed to awards like the MVP or Cy Young, strong consideration must be given to Cole Hamels. Cole is that rarest of athletes who actually gets better as the stage gets bigger. He had a solid, if not stellar, regular season, but in the playoffs he became Philly’s Mr. October. He set the table in all 3 playoff series, and was the finisher in the final 2 as well. Only the misguided meteorological calculations of one Bud Selig prevented Hamels from going 5-0 in the playoffs. His 1.80 ERA and 30 Ks in 35 innings pitched was the stuff we dream of. Who knew that a kid from California who was 9 years old the last time the Phils won the pennant would take a team and it’s fan base on his shoulders and lead us to our wildest dreams? It’s enough to make a grown man cry.

And lastly, no love in the voting for dark horse Joe Blanton? Blanton’s contributions to the Phillies 2008 campaign have been criminally overlooked. He provided stability in the rotation after Adam Eaton turned his starts into nothing more sure than a game of roulette. In the playoffs he also elevated his game, pitching a huge game in all 3 series; games the team went 3-0 in. I am not saying that Blanton should have won, but it would be nice to see him get a nod or two.