Ivan Melendez was named the winner of the 44th Golden Spikes Award, presented by USA Baseball, Friday evening on ESPN. Melendez is the first student-athlete from Texas to win the award.
2022 WINNER: How Ivan Melendez made Texas history
Arkansas’ Kevin Kopps became the second Razorback to win the illustrious award in 2021.
2021 WINNER: More about Razorback star Kevin Kopps
Adley Rutschman of Oregon State ended his illustrious college career as the winner of the 42nd Golden Spikes Award. The announcement was made June 14 at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha at the MLB in Omaha game between the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.
2019 WINNER: 3 essential facts about Adley Rutschman
Rutschman joined 2018 winner Andrew Vaughn (California), Navy’s Noah Song and Vanderbilt’s JJ Bleday as the finalists for the 2019 award. The award has gone to amateur baseball players ever since Division I college baseball’s Bob Horner took home the first honors in 1978 as a member of the Arizona State Sun Devils. So, what is it that makes the Golden Spikes Award so special?
THE GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD: What is it?
The Golden Spikes Award isn’t simply an award for Division I college baseball players, although that’s how it has turned out a majority of the time. USA Baseball in conjunction with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation awards the Golden Spikes to the student-athlete who combines his skills on the field with his sportsmanship the best.
That includes baseball players from every level including high school, NAIA, and junior colleges as well as all divisions of NCAA play. Just twice in the 41-year history of the award has the honor not gone to a DI baseball player: Alex Fernandez out of Miami Dade Community College (1990) and Bryce Harper out of Southern Nevada in 2010.
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The award itself looks exactly how you would imagine it. Gold is molded into a pair of the baseball player’s footwear but it’s changed a bit over the years. Once surrounded by crystal that appears to be in the shape of a baseball, it was mounted atop a base that lists the year and winner’s name. Now the golden spikes rest one atop the other laying in front of a baseball field and resting atop a base with past winners names etched on it. The gold certainly helps add a little shine to any trophy case.
The big mystery is where the name…
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