July 11, 2007
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Houston — Vanderbilt’s David Price completed his run through the major college baseball awards Wednesday by winning the fourth Roger Clemens Award as the best pitcher on the college game in 2007.
The junior left-hander from Murfreesboro, Tenn., outdistanced Charlotte senior Adam Mills and Virginia sophomore Jacob Thompson for the honor. New York Yankee legend Roger Clemens, the Houston resident for whom the award is named, presented Price with the bronze at the historic Crystal Ballroom of The Rice.
Price, who was the first overall selection in last month’s major league draft by Tampa Bay, had previously won the Golden Spikes Award as the best in amateur baseball, and the Dick Howser and Brooks Wallace awards as college’s player of the year. He went 11-1 for the Southeastern Conference champion Commodores and led the nation with 194 strikeouts.
“This is the best award I’ve ever won,” Price told the sold-out crowd. “To get an award named from a man who shows the character that Roger Clemens shows, both on the field and off. There are 10-year veterans pitching in the league that want to pitch like him. He’s the guy.”
The winner of the 2007 Roger Clemens Award was selected in three rounds of voting by all Division 1 head baseball coaches, a selection of national media who cover collegiate baseball, the 16 winners of the R. E. “Bob” Smith Award, which was presented to the top player in the country in Houston in 1988-2003, and the 10 previous finalists for the Clemens Award. Jered Weaver of Long Beach State (2004), Luke Hochevar of Tennessee (2005), and Andrew Miller of North Carolina (2006) were previous winners of the Clemens Award.
The Roger Clemens Award was named after future Hall of Famer who began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the College World Series title in 1983. As a professional, Clemens has won 350 games (eighth best in history), fanned more than 4,600 hitters and won seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball.
The event is administered by the Greater Houston Baseball Association, which has donated more than $300,000 to the charities from the net proceeds from the first three dinners. The GHBA is a non-profit 501.3 (C) organization dedicated to the growth of amateur baseball in the Houston area.
