| 6/5/2006
Price one of five finalists for the top award in college baseball NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sophomore lefthander David Price was recently named one of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, considered by many to be the top award in collegiate baseball. Price is the first finalist ever from Vanderbilt. He is 9-4 on the year with a 3.81 ERA and 147 strikeouts (school single season record) in 104.0 innings this year. The presentation of the Golden Spikes Award for the second consecutive year will be broadcast to a nationwide audience on ESPNU at a date to be announced. This will also mark the inaugural year Major League Baseball Productions has produced the show. The five finalists for the 2006 Golden Spikes Award listed alphabetically are as follows: NAME – SCHOOL – POSITION – YEAR TIM LINCECUM – Washington – RHP – Junior Considered one of the top pitchers in the nation, the right-handed pitcher completed the 2006 regular season with a sparkling 1.94 ERA and a 12-4 record. Along the way, he recorded 199 strikeouts in 125.1 innings and had 2 shutouts. In his April 18th start against the UCLA Bruins, Lincecum struck-out 18 on the way to a 5-0 victory. He is the first Huskies’ player ever to be named a Golden Spikes Award Finalist. EVAN LONGORIA – Long Beach State – IF – Junior The Long Beach State third baseman finished the regular season as the Big West Conference leader in slugging percentage (.602) and on-base percentage (.468). He was also amongst the conference’s Top-10 in average (.353), home runs (11), and RBIs (43). In the summer of 2005, Longoria was the Cape Cod League MVP and is projected to be a Top-10 pick in the 2006 MLB Draft. The last Long Beach State player to be a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award was 2004 Award winner Jered Weaver. ANDREW MILLER – UNC (Chapel Hill) – LHP – Junior The tall left-handed pitcher is considered one of the top prospects in the 2006 MLB Draft. In 2006, he went 11-2 while notching 102 strikeouts and recording a 2.07 ERA. He was the 2006 ACC Pitcher of the Year and a 3-time ACC Pitcher of the Week. Miller is the fourth Golden Spikes Award Finalist from the Tar Heel program, joining Russ Adams (’02), B.J. Surhoff (’85) and Scott Bankhead (’84). DAVID PRICE- Vanderbilt – LHP – Sophomore The only sophomore on the list, he went 9-4 in 2006 while recording 147 strikeouts in 104 innings. In the summer of 2005, Price was a member of the USA Baseball National Team where he went 2-0 with a 1.26 ERA. He is the first Golden Spikes Award Finalist in the history of the Vanderbilt baseball program. DREW STUBBS- Texas – OF – Junior The Longhorns starting centerfielder for the past three seasons had a career best .347 batting average in 2006 to go along with 11 home runs and 50 RBI’s. He was among the Top-10 in the Big 12 Conference in seven offensive categories, including home runs, steals and slugging percentage. A two-time USA Baseball National Team member, he was an integral part of Texas’ 2005 national title squad. The last Golden Spikes Award Finalist from the University of Texas was relief pitcher Huston Street, the American League’s 2005 Rookie of the Year. Four of the five schools will be hoping to have a player capture the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award for the very first time (Washington, UNC Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt and Texas), while Long Beach State is looking for its second trophy. The USA Baseball Golden Field Award – given to the Athletic Department and Head Coach of the Golden Spikes Award winner – has gone to 22 different schools. The 2006 Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced during the broadcast of the 29th Annual Golden Spikes Award on June 23rd at 1:00PM EST on ESPNU. The broadcast, presented in conjunction with Major League Baseball, will also highlight USA Baseball’s athlete programs as well as some of the various organizational youth baseball initiatives supported by USA Baseball and Major League Baseball. “USA Baseball is proud to recognize these five players who have performed at the highest possible level throughout the regular season. We are pleased to have Major League Baseball as a presenting sponsor of this award and their continued support of the organization and amateur baseball players, especially at the grassroots level,” said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director / CEO. For the past 28 years, 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 in 1978, the Golden Spikes Award has been presented each year to the player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship. The 2005 Golden Spikes Award winner was Alex Gordon of the University of Nebraska. Past winners of this prestigious award include current Major League Baseball stars such as Khalil Greene (’02), Mark Prior (’01), Jason Jennings (’00), Pat Burrell (`98), J.D. Drew (’97), Travis Lee (’96), Mark Kotsay (’95), Jason Varitek (’94), Darren Dreifort (’93), and Phil Nevin (’92). Former Major League stars that have captured the award include Alex Fernandez (’90), Ben McDonald (’89), Robin Ventura (’88), Jim Abbott (’87), Will Clark (’85), Dave Magadan (’83), Terry Francona (’80), Tim Wallach (’79), and Bob Horner (’78). USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The organization selects and trains the USA Baseball Olympic Team, the USA Baseball National Team (collegiate), the USA Baseball Junior National team (18-under), and the USA Baseball Youth National Team (16-under) which participate in various international competitions each year. |
