OMAHA, Neb. – Oregon State’s Adley Rutschman was named the 42nd winner of the Golden Spikes Award on Thursday in a presentation during “Baseball Tonight” on ESPN2. Presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the Golden Spikes Award honors the top amateur baseball player in the United States based on their athletic ability, sportsmanship, character and overall contribution to the sport.
Rutschman is the first athlete from Oregon State University and ninth Pac-12 Conference player to win the award, following Bob Horner (Arizona State, 1978), Terry Francona (Arizona, 1980), Oddibe McDowell (Arizona State, 1984), Mike Kelly (Arizona State, 1991), Mark Prior (Southern California, 2001), Tim Lincecum (Washington, 2006), Trevor Bauer (UCLA, 2011) and Andrew Vaughn (California, 2018). This is the first time the Pac-12 Conference has had back-to-back Golden Spikes Award winners.
“USA Baseball is proud to name Adley Rutschman the forty-second winner of the Golden Spikes Award after a remarkable record-breaking season for Oregon State University,” said USA Baseball Executive Director and CEO Paul Seiler. “His ability to manage one of the elite pitching staffs in the nation while also leading the NCAA in multiple offensive categories was unmatched in the amateur game this year, making him a truly deserving recipient of this prestigious award.”
After earning College World Series MVP honors and leading Oregon State to the national championship in 2018, Rutschman followed with a record-setting junior season in Corvallis that garnered Pac-12 Player of the Year, Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Batting Champion honors. The switch-hitting catcher managed the pitching staff for the Beavers to a 3.02 team ERA and finished his junior season hitting .411 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs and a .751 slugging percentage. He started all 57 games in his final season and his Oregon State-record 76 walks contributed to an NCAA-leading .575 on-base percentage.
A consensus first-team All-American, he was selected with the number one overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft, making him the first Golden Spikes Award winner to be taken first overall since Bryce Harper in 2010. He is the eighth Golden Spikes Award winner to be selected with the first overall pick in the Draft, joining Horner (1978), Ben McDonald (1989), Phil Nevin (1992), Pat Burrell (1998),
David Price (2007), Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Harper (2010).
Rutschman joins a group of past winners that include Andrew Vaughn (2018), Brendan McKay (2017), Kyle Lewis (2016), Andrew Benintendi (2015), A.J. Reed (2014), Kris Bryant (2013), Mike Zunino (2012), Trevor Bauer (2011), Bryce Harper (2010), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Buster Posey (2008), and David Price (2007).
Historically, Golden Spikes Award winners have gone on to have tremendous success in Major League Baseball. Of the 41 previous winners, five have earned Rookie of the Year honors, two have won the Cy Young, three were named MVP and 10 have won a World Series championship as a player or manager, combining for a total of 16 championships. In addition, 18 previous winners have made one or more All-Star Game appearances as a player or manager, combining for 56 total selections.
The award winner was selected through the distribution of ballots to a voting body consisting of national baseball media, select professional baseball personnel, previous Golden Spikes Award winners and select USA Baseball staff, totaling a group of over 200 voters and accounting for 95% of the vote. Fan voting continued to be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2019 and contributed to the remaining 5% of the total vote.
For more information on the Golden Spikes Award and its past winners, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com or follow along on social media at @USAGoldenSpikes on Instagram and Twitter.
About 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 2018 Golden Spikes Award winner was Andrew Vaughn from the University of California Berkeley. Past winners of this prestigious award include current Major League Baseball players such as Andrew Benintendi (’15), Kris Bryant (’13), Mike Zunino (’12), Trevor Bauer (’11), Bryce Harper (’10), Stephen Strasburg (’09), Buster Posey (’08), David Price (’07) and Alex Gordon (’05). Former Major League stars that have captured the award include Tim Lincecum (’06), Pat Burrell (’98), Mark Kotsay (’95), 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 Rod Dedeaux Foundation
The Rod Dedeaux Foundation was formed to continue Rod’s spirit by supporting youth baseball and softball programs in underserved areas. Currently, inner city organizations are fighting for survival as public funding is drying up, coupled with the game’s waning popularity with children in Urban areas. Through the efforts of the Foundation, youth receive more than just uniforms and renovated facilities, they receive a sanctuary from challenging environments and a support system specifically designed to build character and academic support to enable underprivileged youth to achieve their dreams. For more information, please visit DedeauxFoundation.org.
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, Olympic, Premier12 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. The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives including PLAYBALL and Pitch Smart. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. For more information, please visit the organization’s official websites: USABaseball.com, SportDev.Org, PLAYBALL.org, PitchSmart.org, GoldenSpikesAward.com and USABaseballShop.com.
