HARRISBURG − June 3, 2019 − The Pennsylvania State Senate and House today approved by unanimous consent resolutions introduced by State Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10) and State Representative Perry Warren (D-31) that congratulate Newtown resident and nationally recognized sportswriter Jayson Stark for winning the Baseball Writers’ Association of America J.G. Taylor Spink Award and his contributions to the sport of baseball.
“Jayson Stark embodies the best of sports journalism,” Sen. Santarsiero said. “For decades, Jayson has been a fixture in Major League Baseball and, in particular, the Philadelphia sports scene. All baseball fans have appreciated his insightful analysis over the years, but of course he will always have a special place in the hearts of the Phillies’ faithful.”
“With the Phillies in first place, it is exciting to have Newtown resident Jayson Stark, formerly a Phillies beat writer, here in the Capitol to be recognized for this prestigious award,” Rep. Warren said. “For 40 years, Jayson has shared his unique perspective on America’s Past-time with his readers in Bucks County and throughout the world.”
“I’ve never stopped being a Philadelphian. I love this city,” Mr. Stark said during a speech at the Philly Sportswriters Dinner in January. “I grew up reading the great sportswriters of Philadelphia. They inspired me to dream this dream and then to live this dream. None of this could have happened without Philadelphia.”
The award and resolution follow Mr. Stark’s illustrious career as a baseball writer for institutions including the Philadelphia Phillies, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and ESPN. The award is granted annually to sportswriters “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing” and is named after the first recipient, J.G. Taylor Spink, the publisher of The Sporting News from 1914 to 1962.
The resolution highlights how Mr. Stark, a Philadelphia native and Syracuse University graduate, had his first taste of big-league coverage for the Providence Journal on the Boston Red Sox beat before returning to his hometown to cover the Phillies, including their first World Series championship in 1980.
An author of three books on baseball, Mr. Stark has won an Emmy for his work on Baseball Tonight, is a two-time winner of the Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year award and in 2017, and was issued a Jayson Stark baseball card by Topps. Mr. Stark currently writes for The Athletic and is an MLB Network studio analyst.
The full text of the resolution is below. Photos provided in attachments are free to use for publication.
A RESOLUTION
Congratulating Jayson Stark, a resident of Newtown, Pennsylvania, who was elected the 2019 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Whereas, Jayson Stark, who for more than four decades has exhibited passion and humor in equal measure in his baseball coverage, was elected the 2019 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America; and
Whereas, He will be honored with the award that is presented annually to a sportswriter “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing” during the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s induction weekend in July 2019, in Cooperstown, N.Y.; and
Whereas, Jayson Stark received 270 votes from the 463 ballots in becoming the 70th winner of the award since its inception in 1962 and named for the first recipient; and
Whereas, The Philadelphia native and Syracuse University graduate had his first taste of big-league coverage for the Providence Journal on the Boston Red Sox beat before returning to his hometown to cover the Phillies, including their first World Series championship in 1980; and
Whereas, Stark made his mark in Philadelphia for 21 years as a Phillies beat writer and national baseball columnist for the Inquirer and nationally for 17 years as senior baseball writer at ESPN.com; and
Whereas, His popular “Baseball Week in Review” is a master example of that baseball writing staple – the notes column – in which Jayson has been a curator for all things weird, wacky, unique, statistically inclined and historically rare in the game.
Whereas, He is the author of three books on baseball, has won an Emmy for his work on Baseball Tonight, is a two-time winner of the Pennsylvania sportswriter-of-the-year award and in 2017, Topps issued an actual Jayson Stark baseball card; therefore be it
Resolved, That the Senate congratulate Jayson Stark, who has been at the pinnacle of his profession for decades, on being elected the 2019 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
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