Where’s the Rickey Henderson Award?

It's not like Major League Baseball doesn’t award enough plaques and trophies in November, but one more couldn't hurt. The Rickey Henderson Award for Leadoff Excellence would be an easy and logical addition to the list.

It’s about time these table-setting catalysts got their just due, since they so rarely are recognized with the existing awards. A great idea would be to shape the trophies in the form of home plate, every leadoff man's desired destination.

The men at the top of the lineup jump-start the offense, setting a tone. They work counts. They bunt, run and steal. They do whatever it takes to generate offense and excitement. They are crucial to any team's scoring, but they generally find themselves overshadowed by the big men muscling their way to glory behind them.

Consider Henderson, universally recognized as the greatest leadoff hitter in the game's history. The Man of Steal is the all-time leader in runs scored with 2,295. He stole 1,406 bases -- 468 more than anyone else in history -- including a record 130 in 1982. That's two seasons worth for a steals king these days.

Opposing managers frequently called him the most impactful, intimidating player in the game, even when he played alongside Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco with the A's. Henderson was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1990, one of just three seasons in which he was named a Silver Slugger Award winner for offensive excellence.
Those trophies usually go to bash brothers, guys who pound 30-plus homers and drive in 100 or more runs. A player who scores in triple digits gets overlooked even though logic suggests it's much harder to score 100 than drive in 100. RBIs can come in bunches. But you score one run at a time.

That's something Rickey liked to point out whenever he was asked to talk about Rickey.
"Scoring runs is the most important part of the game, right?" Henderson told a reporter during his time with the Yankees in the 1980s, during which he crossed home plate 146 and 130 times in consecutive seasons. "Who scores more than Rickey?"

The answer is unchanged all these years later. Nobody.

"I always said that Rickey's the greatest player I ever played with," said Dodgers manager and former Yankees superstar Don Mattingly. "He influenced a game in so many ways. Rickey was a force, one of the all-time greats."

"Rickey was my favorite player growing up," said Oakland-born Jimmy Rollins, the 2007 National League MVP as the Phillies' leadoff generator. "He's the guy I wanted to be like, play like. I loved the way he attacked the game."

A trophy honoring his abilities, accomplishments and dedication to the game would soon be one of the most coveted awards in baseball.  Think about it, commish.

Jim Palmer: Auctioning Trophies to Make a Difference

Jim Palmer said he no longer needs trophies as mementos of his Hall of Fame career, so the former Baltimore Orioles ace has put his three Cy Young Awards and two of his four Gold Gloves up for auction.

Palmer, currently a TV analyst for the Orioles, did not say he was financially hurting. He's just looking to make some money by selling some of the hardware he received during his 19-year run in the major leagues.

"At this juncture of my life, I would rather concern myself with the education of my grandchildren," Palmer said. "I also have a stepson, (15-year-old) Spencer, who is autistic and will need special care for the rest of his life. My priorities have changed."

A portion of the profits will also be given to the autism project of Palm Beach County.
Hunt Auctions is taking bids online and over the phone through July 8 for the Cy Young Awards that Palmer won in 1973, 1975 and 1976, as well as the Gold Gloves he earned in 1976 and 1979. The live auction will take place on July 10.

Each of the Cy Young Award trophies, given to the best pitcher in each league by vote, is expected to garner between $60,000 and $80,000. The Gold Gloves are expected to receive bids up to $15,000.

"Certainly, when you talk about Cy Young Awards and Gold Gloves, these are the elite level of personal awards," said David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions.

Palmer is the latest in a long line of Hall of Fame stars to put items up for auction, and his reasoning is not necessarily unique.

"Joe DiMaggio did it. So did Ted Williams," Hunt said. "They lived the moments, and their accomplishments are really the reward. It's not all about dollars and cents, either. They want to make sure the items go to homes where people enjoy them. With Jim, we got together and he just decided it was the right time."

Palmer realized his trophies and popularity could be used for charitable gain several years ago when in was Colorado at a fund raiser for cystic fibrosis.

"I donated a Gold Glove, a Cy Young, a round of golf at Caves Country Club and four seats to an Oriole game. And this was back when the Orioles were good — or better than they are now," he said. "There was a gentleman who had a daughter with cystic fibrosis who paid $39,000 for that and never ever took it. It was for the cause."

Until recently, Palmer kept the three Cy Young Awards on a wall in his Florida home. The Gold Gloves were in storage, mainly because his wife, Susan, didn't want them in their home. "Gold doesn't go with my wife's design," Palmer said. "She has a design shop for women's wear in Palm Beach, and she doesn't do gold."
Palmer, 66, says he doesn't need polished pieces of hardware to remind him of what he accomplished over 19 seasons.
"You can't erase the memories of 1973 or 1975 when I came back from my arm injury, when I had 10 shutouts and had to win the last day of the year to beat Catfish Hunter to win a Cy Young and get the ERA down to 2.09," he said. "To me, those are things that happened in the past. I'm really lucky to remember all of them. Whether I have the awards or not, it's not going to take those memories away."

Palmer's recollection of the four straight Gold Gloves he received for fielding prowess at his position is just as vivid. "I was a good fielder to get those, but I didn't win it until Jim Kaat went over to the National League," he said, referring to Kaat's 14-year run of Gold Gloves with the Minnesota Twins.

Palmer hopes his awards end up in the hands of someone who will appreciate them as much as he once did.

"While I am immensely proud to have received these awards, that chapter of my life has passed," he said. "I am aware of people that love baseball and would treasure items like mine. Hopefully, these awards will bring happiness into baseball fans' lives and allow me to make a difference in my family's future."

Trophies – Baseball Trophies

It is a nice time of year.  The weather is finally getting warmer and it staying lighter out longer.  For many young children this marks the beginning of their first season playing baseball.  This is a time when it is important to nurture a child’s experience so baseball will be a pass time they will enjoy for years to come.  The most important thing is that the child has fun.  As a coach you have to incorporate fun into every practice while at the same time teaching the children the basics of the game. 

Handing out a trophy to all of the kids on the team is a great way to celebrate the team’s accomplishments and keep the kids engaged in the game.  Since the trophy is for little kids it is important that the trophy is fun as well.  A pinwheel trophy is a fun trophy to hand out.  The trophy actually spins.  It is a colorful trophy that a child can actually play with.  A squish ball trophy is another great idea for a kid’s trophy.  There is actually a squish ball that the kids can remove from the trophy and they can play with.  This particular trophy is a great kid’s trophy because most kids aren’t interested in something that is meant to just sit in their room.  Kids can actually play with the trophy.

Enjoy the warm weather and get a local little league team started.  Be part of child’s love of baseball.  Remember to incorporate fun in your practice this even includes fun baseball trophies.  

Baseball Trophies For Children

Now that we're approaching that World Series time of year, all of the organized baseball  leagues are starting to wrap up their seasons with various forms of tournaments.  As an aside, whoever thought that this year the Rangers and the Giants would battle it out in the Series?  i guess that's why they play the game!

If you're involved in baseball team sports, now's the time you need to be thinking about awards.  Psychologists now insist that all participants in T-Ball and younger little leagues receive participation trophies or awards regardless of how  their team fared. This  article will take a look at some baseball trophies appropriate for the younger age groups
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T-Ball

I really don't know why they start kids in baseball this young.  I think the only value may be for the child to start developing some coordination skills.  After watching T-Ball through my own kids, I'm convinced that the parents get more out of it than the kids do!  That being said, there are several really neat baseball trophies and awards that are available through Crown Awards, a company that's been in the Awards business for over 30 years.

Participation Trophies:  I really like the medals for this type of award.  Crown has just a ton of these, and they start at just $1.49.  When the kids are this young and can't read, just having a baseball related medal on a ribbon hung around their neck at the team party is really exciting for them.

Top Finishing Team Trophies:  If the budget is tight, these very same medals can be bought with "first, second or third" place on them.  However, even at this age kids know the difference between just participating and winning the most games.  Of course, if you're partial to medals, you can get larger, nicer medals for between $5 & $10.   However, there are other options as well.  Crown Awards has this really neat 9" movable, posable baseball figures on a marble base at a promotion special cost of $3.95 with free engraving.  This is a super deal, and really would make any small child happy.

Little League

These baseball players are of the age where they're really beginning to understand the game.  Trophies for winning really do mean something to these teams, not just for participating, but for excelling and being the best.  I've listed several options from which to choose, with budget being the overriding factor.

Medals:  Always an option, especially for 2nd and 3rd place finishers

Posable Baseball Figures:  As mentioned previously, these figures (both male and female) are sure to satisfy, and look great on display at home.

Spinners:  These baseball trophies are very popular with kids.  Crown has one with a baseball emblem that spins inside a wreath that is sure to please.  It also is mounted on a marble  base and comes with free engraving for about $5.

Crystalline Baseball Figures:  For $6., you can get a 7" crystalline baseball player on an engravable base.  Crown Awards also offers a 5.5" lucite star that any young player would be proud to receive.

There are many more possibilites to be had, some less expensive and some costing a whole lot more.  The variety of baseball trophies at Crown Awards is almost endless, from medals to cups, to plaques, to figurines and more.  The advantage in dealing with an experienced company Crown Awards is that there's probably not a whole lot that they haven't seen or been asked to help with over the past thirty years.  There's no substitute for experiece, especially when it comes to making kids and their parents happy.

Baseball Trophies: Warren C. Giles

The Warren C. Giles Baseball Trophy is presented annually to the champion of the National League. This famous trophy was named after Warren Giles, who was league president from 1951 to 1969. This award is passed from champion to champion, rather than a new trophy being created each season.

Warren's son Bill Giles not to be confused with Bill Gates (dry humor), the honorary league president and owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, presents the trophy to the National League champion at the conclusion of each National League Championship Series. The San Francisco Giants, as the 2010 National League champions, are the current holders of the Giles Trophy.

Looking for great baseball trophies for your team? Check out the largest selection of baseball trophies now.

Baseball Trophies for All

As kids in the US many grew up playing the game of baseball. Even as little sluggers all kids know baseball and baseball trophies go hand and hand. As a kid you are told winning is not everything yet the kids who left with the trophies always seemed happier. Back in the day if you did not win or were not the player of the game you left empty handed although good lessons can be learned from losing. If you give if you best that is all you can do.

Nowadays the game remains the same yet the awards are presented differently. In most leagues its baseball trophies for everyone. The winners get a trophy and everyone else gets a participation trophy. It is important to give everyone who tries there best a reward as not everyone little kid is blessed with athletic ability. It is a game and it is meant to be fun and when everyone leaves with a reward there is a feeling of accomplishment wins or loss.

So it is baseball trophies for all even though the parents with the shinning star athletes may not approve it is nice for the kids and parents who are just looking for a little after school fun whether the world series is in their future or not.

Giants take the 106th Fall Classic World Series Trophy

The San Fransisco Giants made franchise history this past Monday evening with a 3-1 victory in Game 5 of the World Series. They may have been called the underdogs through the season but they will now be known as the Giants.

In an unprecedented fashion the San Fransisco Giants take the 106th Fall Classic World Series Trophy, four games to one.

Not only did the Giants win their first Series since relocating from New York to San Francisco in 1958, but they also earned baseball's biggest prize for the first time since 1954 -- ending the Majors' third-longest dry spell.

Yet two team left now the Cubs (102 years) and Indians (62 years) wishing they were in San Fran's shoes.
The Giants won more games between 1958 and 1971 than any other ballclub with rosters that included, at various times, future Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda and Gaylord Perry. Now they are no longer baseballs sore thumb but World Series Champs. Hopefully there will be more baseball trophies to come for the Golden Gates.