Texas Rangers Virtual Awards Show to honor team award recipients from the 2020 season
Arlington, Texas¡ªThe Texas Rangers Virtual Awards Show will honor the recipients of seven team awards from the 2020 season.
The hour-long Texas Rangers Awards Show, which has been created and produced by the team¡¯s productions department, is scheduled to be broadcast on FOX Sports Southwest with the initial telecast on Friday, January 29 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. CT. The Awards Show will also air on FSSW next week on Sunday, January 31 from 9:00-10:00 p.m. CT; Tuesday, February 2 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. CT; Thursday, February 4 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. CT; Friday, February 5 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. CT; and Saturday, February 6 from 7:00-8:00 a.m. CT.
Hosted by FSSW broadcasters Emily Jones and John Rhadigan, the Texas Rangers Virtual Awards Show will feature seven presentations honoring individuals for their accomplishments in 2020:
2020 JIM SUNDBERG COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Bench Coach Don Wakamatsu
In 2017 Wakamatsu founded the WakWay Foundation, which impacts hunger issues by leading innovative food solutions to change the lives of inner-city children and their families. For more information, go to wakway.org.
2021 MARK HOLTZ TEXAS RANGERS ALUMNI AWARD: Former MLB Player & Executive Eddie Robinson
Robinson celebrated his 100th birthday on December 15, 2020 and is the older living former Major League Player. He batted .268 with 172 homers and 723 RBI in 1315 games as a first baseman with seven A.L. clubs from 1942-57. The four-time A.L. All-Star was a member of the Indians¡¯ 1948 World Series champions. Robinson went on to enjoy a long career as a MLB Executive and scout, serving as General Manager of the Atlanta Braves (1972-76) and Texas Rangers (1976-82).
2020 TEXAS RANGERS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: RHP Jonathan Hernandez
Hernandez was 5-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 27 relief appearances in 2020 and led the Major Leagues with 31.0 relief innings. He tied for third in MLB in relief wins (5) and ranked among the A.L. relief leaders in games (T6th) and strikeouts (T12th, 31).
2020 RICHARD DURRETT HARDEST WORKING MAN: C Jose Trevino
In November 2014, the Dallas-Fort Worth BBWAA Chapter established a new annual award in the memory of Richard Durrett, who covered the Rangers for more than decade before his sudden passing in June 2014. The award is presented to a Texas Ranger who has demonstrated significant improvement over the previous season or seasons through hard work. Trevino batted .250 with two homers and nine RBI despite being limited to 24 games due to injury in 2020.
2020 TEXAS RANGERS PITCHER OF THE YEAR: RHP Lance Lynn
Lynn led all A.L. pitchers with 13 starts and 84.0 innings pitched while tying for the league¡¯s top spot with ten quality starts. He also ranked among the A.L. leaders in wins (T4th, 6), strikeouts (5th, 89), opponent batting average (5th, .206), and ERA (10th, 3.32). He went 4-1, 1.93 in his first eight starts and threw at least 100 pitches in all 13 outings.
2020 HAROLD McKINNEY GOOD GUY AWARD: Manager Chris Woodward
The Harold McKinney Good Guy Award is named for the late Rangers beat writer from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and is awarded annually by the Dallas-Fort Worth BBWAA Chapter for outstanding cooperation with the local media. Woodward completed his second season as Rangers manager in 2020 and participated in more than 175 media zoom calls during the abbreviated season.
2020 TEXAS RANGERS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: 3B Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Kiner-Falefa batted .280 with three homers and ten RBI in 58 games in 2020. He ranked among the A.L. leaders in singles (T2nd, 49), triples (T2nd, 3), and stolen bases (T7th, 8). Kiner-Falefa also topped the Rangers in batting average, runs (28), hits (59), multi-hit games (16), and total bases (78). He was selected as the recipient of the 2020 Rawlings Gold Glove Award at third base.
The Awards Show also features conversations with new Rangers Executive Vice President & General Manager Chris Young and Woodward. Rangers Hall of Famers Tom Grieve, Eric Nadel, and Michael Young. team broadcasters Matt Hicks and C.J. Nitkowski, and WayWay Foundation Co-Founder Michelle Truman also participate in the program.
2021 TEXAS RANGERS WINTER CARAVAN PRESENTED BY COMERICA BANK
CONTINUES THIS WEEK
The 2021 Texas Rangers Virtual Winter Caravan Presented by Comerica Bank continues this week with the following public events (schedule of participants is subject to change and additions):
*_Wednesday, January 27, 7:00 p.m.
*_Caravan Chat on Texas Rangers Facebook
Scheduled to Participate: Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nate Lowe, Dave Raymond
Thursday, January 28 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Texas Rangers Hot Stove Program on 105.3 The FAN (streamed on 1053thefan.com/fancam)
Scheduled Guests: Willie Calhoun, Nick Solak
Saturday, January 30, 10:00 a.m.
Texas Rangers/Tarrant Area Food Bank Mask and Food Distribution (Drive-thru event/1st 250 cars)
Globe Life Field, Lot R (located south of ballpark)
Scheduled to Appear: Rangers Captain