The Sporting News story says the voting went:

Shapiro 20 1/3
Williams 18 1/3
Schuerholz 12 1/3

Looks like each of the sixty voters - two from each team - got only one vote but could split it if they wanted. Maybe politicians could adopt this idea for ticket-splitters.

When is the voting done for this award? Much depends on that...voters may have seen the ChiSox during a lead-squandering of historic proportions (which they turned around, of course)...and doing that losing to the Indians. It may have been based on the expectations of the teams, as well. Those top three are all pretty deserving...

The Sporting News says the voting "began in late September and finished in early October." So maybe the Sox' late-season near-swoon affected a few votes.

I'm going to guess some of the media hype about how the Indians were not supposed to be ready to turn around until 2006 helped Shapiro.

That's got to be a huge part of it...plus, they really di play some pretty outstanding baseball, and only stumbled right at the end. They were the WC front-runners and had a legit shot at catching the ChiSox up through the last week of the season.

I find this ridiculous. In only 2 years, Ken Williams completely revamped the White Sox.

2003 White Sox - homer-dependent, slow on the bases & in the field, few pitchers of note, 2nd in the AL Central

2005 White Sox - The long ball and small ball, massively upgraded defense, 6 legitimate starters with 2 Cy Young contenders, deep bullpen with 2 solid closers, best record in the AL all year, and never challenged in the playoffs thru the World Series sweep.

Much credit to Ozzie Guillen and his staff, but who brought Ozzie, Harold Baines, Rock Raines and Joey Cora to the South Side? Kenny Williams.

Almost lost the lead? That's just a negative way of saying "In first place every single day." How a near-but-failed Wild Card bid overshadows a wire-to-wire lead and 11-1 postseason is beyond reason.

Cleveland gets credit for overcoming expectations? Has everyone forgotten that almost no one picked the Sox to even win the AL Central, let alone dominate all year long? Yes, Dominate.

Good run Cleveland, but you weren't even in the top 4 in the AL, and you got swept by the Sox when you were playing for postseason existence and the Sox were playing for nothing (with all but 2 starters sitting in the first game).

Ken Williams got players that would work best with the coaching staff he assembled, made moves "experts" said he shouldn't (acquiring Bobby Jenks), didn't make moves everyone was screaming he should ("Sign Ken Griffey!!!"), and brought a World Series Championship to Chicago for the first time in 88 years.

Ken Williams was the best GM this year, period.

Good points, Token. To wit your "overcoming expectations" comment, our very own David Pinto predicted the Indians and White Sox to place 2nd and 4th (respectvely) in the AL Central. The Indians did what was expected. The White Sox blew the doors off of the expectations.

Um, Token, would you be a White Sox fan, by any chance?

Guilty as charged...but I think my points stand for themselves...

I think the point is that the ChiSox's amazing last weekend finish to put away Cleveland and their incredible postseason occurred after the voting...I think Williams clearly wins it on a lark if the whole season/postseason outcome is taken into consideration, but it wasn't. When many of the writers voted, they saw a team teetering on the brink of an historical collapse, and an upstart Cleveland team...made almost wholly of homegrown players...on the verge of taking the Wild Card, or even the AL Central lead. Of course, the Sox turned it around, and big time, and all kudos in the world to Williams, but the voters didn't vote based on that turnaround: they voted based on what they were seeing at the time. Hindsight says that hell yes Williams deserves the honors. I think this speaks more about the timing of the voting than the voting itself.

I agree wichoo, Dave S. I don't really have a problem with the voting, I have a problem with the timing of the voting. It seems pretty obvious that the voting should take place after the World Series. That's a no-brainer. Any further comments are superfluous.