Country United States First awarded 1978 Official website Golden Spikes Award | Presented by USA Baseball Currently held by Kyle Lewis, Mercer | |
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Awarded for Amateur baseball's best regular season player | ||
The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to an amateur player who best exhibits and combines "exceptional on-field ability and exemplary sportsmanship." The award is considered the most prestigious in amateur baseball.
Ten winners of the Golden Spikes Award are members of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, including Bob Horner, the inaugural winner in 1978. In that same year, he was the first overall MLB draft pick and proceeded to win the Rookie of the Year Award. Seven Golden Spikes Award winners went on to become the first overall draft pick. Only Horner achieved the Rookie of the Year Award in the same year (although Jason Jennings and Buster Posey were voted the top rookies of the National League several years after winning the Golden Spikes Award). Jim Abbott, Jered Weaver and Tim Lincecum are the only award winners to pitch a no-hitter, while Horner is the only one to hit four home runs in one game. Furthermore, 16 players won the Dick Howser Trophy (considered to be the Heisman Trophy of college baseball) alongside the Golden Spikes Award. No player has won the award more than once.
The award has been presented annually at Studio 42 of the MLB Network since 2009. The most recent recipient of the award is Kyle Lewis of the Mercer University. Although it can be given to any amateur player, the award has always been given to a college baseball player. In addition, only two winners were not attending NCAA Division I institutions when they won the award—junior college players Alex Fernández in 1990 and Bryce Harper in 2010.