Newtown Twp Baseball Writer Honored At State Capitol

HARRISBURG, PA — A Newtown Township resident and national baseball writer was recognized by lawmakers Monday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg for winning a prestigious sportswriting award.

Longtime local and national baseball writer Jayson Stark was recognized by lawmakers in celebration of his election as the 2019 winner of the prestigious J.G. Taylor Spink Award.

Stark earned the honor for “meritorious contributions to baseball writing,” according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He will be presented his award during the Hall of Fame’s induction weekend this July in Cooperstown, New York.

In the voting for this award, Stark received 270 votes from 463 ballots cast by Baseball Writers’ Association of America members. The award is named for its first recipient, J.G. Taylor Spink, publisher of The Sporting News from 1914 until his death in 1962.

A Senate resolution introduced by state Sen. Steve Santarsiero was unanimously approved to recognize Stark for his award.

“Jayson Stark embodies the best of sports journalism,” 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.”

Stark, a Syracuse University graduate, has covered baseball for more than four decades. He currently writes for The Athletic and is a studio analyst for MLB Network.

He previously covered the Phillies for the Philadelphia Inquirer, was senior baseball writer for ESPN.com and won an Emmy for his work on Baseball Tonight. He is the author of three books on baseball.

“I’ve never stopped being a Philadelphian. I love this city,” 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."