June 1, 2010
DURHAM, N.C. – Georgia Tech’s Derek Dietrich and Deck McGuire have been named as semifinalists for the 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award (GSA), it was announced by the organization Tuesday. The two members of the eighth-ranked Yellow Jackets are apart of 30 student-athletes in the running for the prestigious award given to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.
The names of the 30 semifinalists will now be forwarded to a group of nearly 200 voters which will select the five finalists and the eventual winner. Beginning Tuesday, fans will also be able to vote for their favorite amateur player in the running by visiting www.GoldenSpikesAward.com.
Today also marks the third year in a row that GoldenSpikesAward.com – powered by MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball – will be the online home for the award. The Web site features content devoted exclusively to the GSA, including news, voting history, past-winner photo galleries, and photographs and video highlights for the 2010 semifinalists. Fans can follow online at GoldenSpikesAward.com as the list of 30 players is narrowed to five finalists on Tuesday, June 8, en route to the announcement of this year’s winner on Tuesday, July 13.
The 2010 GSA will be awarded live at MLB’s All-Star FanFest in Anaheim as part of a production by Major League Baseball and MLBAM. Online footage of the event will air live exclusively at GoldenSpikesAward.com.
Headlining this year’s semifinalists are Daniel Bibona (UC Irvine), McGuire (Georgia Tech), Anthony Rendon (Rice) and Alex Wimmers (Ohio State), all of whom were also 2009 GSA semifinalists.
In total, 25 colleges and universities are represented on the 2010 semifinalist list. Dietrich and McGuire are two of 19 juniors on the list. They join Miami’s Yasmani Grandall, Virginia’s Danny Hultzen, and Florida State’s Mike McGee to give the Atlantic Coast Conference five representatives – tying the Big 12 for the most from one conference.
In 2007, USA Baseball instituted a new selection and balloting procedure for the most prestigious award in amateur baseball, and it will follow the same model again in 2009. After accepting nominations from sports information directors across the country, a committee voted to determine the 30 semifinalists.
“USA Baseball is proud to recognize these 30 student-athletes and their respective baseball programs,” said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO. “There were many individual standout performances in 2010, and we look forward to ultimately honoring the top performance at All-Star FanFest in July.”
