*Photo by Regina Rickert
Amateur baseball’s top award to be presented live on July 17 during noon ET show
DURHAM, N.C. – USA Baseball and ESPN jointly announced on Tuesday that the 2014 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, presented annually to the top amateur player in the U.S., would be presented live on ESPN’s flagship program, SportsCenter, on Thursday, July 17.
“USA Baseball is thrilled to announce our partnership with ESPN on the Golden Spikes Award presentation,” said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball’s executive director/CEO. “ESPN has positioned itself as the leading network in college baseball, so it is exciting to have the top amateur award presented on the flagship program.”
The prestigious award will be announced during the noon ET edition of SportsCenter on ESPN2 and presented by ESPN’s lead college baseball analyst, Kyle Peterson, who has provided color commentary for ESPN college baseball telecasts since 2003. The coverage will originate from ESPN’s studios in Los Angeles.
“College baseball has been a cornerstone of ESPN’s programming since our launch in 1979 and we continue to grow our coverage each year,” said Brent Colborne, director, ESPN programming. “The Golden Spikes Award has an incredibly strong lineage of recognizing the best players in the amateur game and fits with our mission to serve the fan.”
A daily sports news television program, SportsCenter has led ESPN’s programming since the network’s launch in September of 1979. In nearly 35 years, SportsCenter has aired more than 50,000 unique episodes, the most of any program in American television history.
George Grande, who introduced the U.S. to ESPN when he co-anchored the first episode of SportsCenter on September 7, 1979, will be in attendance at the presentation as a member of the USA Baseball board of directors.
The Golden Spikes Award previously aired on ESPN networks in 2006 and 2007 when Tim Lincecum and David Price were awarded the honor in presentations on ESPNU.
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About the Golden Spikes Award
Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the country with the Golden Spikes Award. Following the first-ever presentation of the Award to Bob Horner of Arizona State, the Golden Spikes Award has been presented each year to the player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship. The 2013 Golden Spikes Award winner was Kris Bryant of the University of San Diego. Past winners of this prestigious award include current Major League Baseball players such as Mike Zunino (’12), Trevor Bauer (’11), Bryce Harper (’10), Stephen Strasburg (’09), Buster Posey (’08), David Price (’07), Tim Lincecum (’06), Alex Gordon (’05), Jered Weaver (’04), Rickie Weeks (’03) and Mark Kotsay (’95). Former Major League stars that have captured the award include Pat Burrell (’98), Robin Ventura (’88), Jim Abbott (’87), Will Clark (’85), Dave Magadan (’83), Terry Francona (’80), Tim Wallach (’79), and Horner (’78). For more information, please visit GoldenSpikesAward.com. Fans can follow the Golden Spikes Award on Twitter @USAGoldenSpikes.
About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, World Cup and Pan Am teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. For more information, please visit USABaseball.com.
