Baseball writer and sportscaster Tom Verducci has been named the first recipient of the Italian American Baseball Foundation Media Award. He will be honored at a ceremony in New York in December.
Verducci is a longtime writer for Sports Illustrated and studio analyst for Fox Sports and MLB Network. He is a three-time recipient of National Sportswriter of the Year honors. The New Jersey native and Penn State alumnus won Sports Emmy Awards in 2012 and 2018 for Outstanding Sports Personality/Sports Reporter and in 2013 for Outstanding Sports Personality/Studio Analyst.
“The Italian American Baseball Foundation values the baseball media and are really proud to debut this new honor in 2021,” said IABF President/Founder Joe Quagliano. “We are even more proud to name Tom Verducci as the first recipient. His name is synonymous with the game and he has educated, informed and entertained millions of fans during his career.”
He is also the author of “The Yankee Years,” a No. 1 New York Times bestseller co-authored with Joe Torre, and “The Cubs Way,” “Chasing the Dream: My Lifelong Journey to the World Series” also with Torree, and “Inside Baseball: The Best of Tom Verducci.”
Verducci joins Orioles star Trey Mancini, this year’s IABF Tommy Lasorda Award recipient, and Nationals President/ GM Mike Rizzo, our IABF Executive of the Year, as the first three honorees to be announced. Other award honorees will be announced in the coming months.
The annual IABF Awards Gala will be held in December in Brooklyn, N.Y. More information about tickets, location and logistics will be available later this summer.
About IABF
Started in 2016 with our inaugural dinner honoring Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, the Italian American Baseball Foundation (IABF) is a registered 501c3 charity that is committed to the future of baseball & softball for Italian & Italian – American youths on the high school, college and professional levels. While we move forward, we remember those who paved the way and brought us recognition and respect. Names like Dimaggio, Berra, Rizzuto, Righetti, and Franco still resonate today among the young students of the game. The IABF is adamant about adding new names to the list of Italian – American Baseball greats!
Our focus on developing young talent both in the US and Italy is top priority. Each year we sponsor several showcases and clinics that are conducted by former MLB players and top college coaches. We invite professional scouts and college recruiters to attend and evaluate the talent. We are working closely with several colleges and are deeply committed to helping those who qualify academically achieve a college education through baseball & Softball.
The IABF provides citizenship documentation assistance for Americans to play on the Italian Olympic and WBC Baseball teams.
The IABF donates equipment to individuals, teams, and leagues that qualify. Helping families by giving their children the opportunity to have the proper equipment is as important to us as if it was our own children.
