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Call for nominations: 2022 Ballpark Digest Awards

Ballpark Digest squareIt’s that time of year again: We’re asking for nominations for the 2022 Ballpark Digest Awards, as we honor the best and the brightest in the baseball industry, ranging from MLB and MiLB to summer collegiate and college.

Our annual Ballpark Digest Awards are industry awards as chosen by the site editors. The lineup may change from year to year, but over the years we’ve been blessed to highlight some great achievements in the game. Here are the categories we’re working with this season, but there’s no guarantee we’ll make an award in all of them.

Broadcaster of the Year (MiLB) Who notably calls a game? Who presents the best face of the game? Who tells the best stories?

Broadcaster of the Year (MLB) Which MLB broadcaster consistently calls a great game? An entire body of work will be evaluated in this case, so longtime broadcasters will be considered for accomplishments over their whole careers, rather than just one season.

Best Renovation What renovations best impacted operations and gave a fresh start to fans and a franchise? Here we are looking at large-scale, coordinated renovations affecting the entire ballpark.

Best Continual Ballpark Improvements What ballpark has undergone gradual, but beneficial changes in recent years? This award is for a ballpark that just finished a major multiyear renovation or has benefited from a series of smaller capital improvements over the last 3-4 seasons.

Best New Logo/Branding What teams overhauled their looks to a positive effect? What team successfully enhanced their image with a new branding? 

Best Promotion Promotions are the heart and soul of professional baseball. What team showed the most imagination in bringing a new promotion to fans? We like to see flair and imagination, as well as effectiveness, when it comes to noteworthy promotions.

Best Charity Event / Commitment to Charity Successful teams usually have some level of commitment to charity, giving back to their communities. What team or organization should be recognized for their commitment to charity? 

Best New Food Item What new ballpark food item made your mouth water?

Executive of the Year Who is a leading light in the front office, making an impact on the game?

Team of the Year What team made the biggest mark on the industry with improved operations, increased attendance and noticeable buzz? 

Organization of the Year What front office boosted the fortunes of their team to best effect? We’re looking to honor the entire front-office team here, as well as owners of multiple teams who excel across the board.

Continued Excellence It’s one thing to put together a great year; it’s another thing to do it for years. This award is designed for extended excellence.

Editor’s Choice We use this as a wild-card category; past winners have included MiLB for charity efforts, MLB for a Fort Bragg game and the Cape Cod League for sending a league baseball to space. If there’s something that does not fit in the previous categories, enter it here. We want to recognize the truly noteworthy, not just fill a checklist. 

Ballpark of the Year Because there were so few new ballparks in pro ball this year, we’re opening nominations without a set criteria. It could be a ballpark reaching a milestone, it could be a ballpark making history, it could be a ballpark offering something new and unique. We want to hear from you, so make your best case via email. No, just don’t throw out the name of your favorite ballpark on Twitter–what makes this ballpark truly unique?

We are likely to refine this list further after all the submissions are in—our goal is to recognize accomplishments in the industry, not to ignore them because of some arbitrary restrictions. If appropriate, we may divide this list into MLB and MiLB/indy/summer collegiate divisions.

Our deadline: August 31.

Awards will be rolled out over a period of months, beginning in September. If it works out, we’ll try to return to the annual Ballpark Digest reception at the Winter Meetings.

At this point, we want to see your nominations. We usually receive 400 or pages of documentation from teams and PR agencies making a pitch for an award, and these presentations are a great help. But you don’t need to create a big presentation to nominate yourself, your team or your friend for an award: All we need is an email (editors@augustpublications.com). All submissions, of course, will be treated with absolute privacy, so go ahead and push your credentials!

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