David Freese of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals was the only multiple award winner, as he earned Postseason MVP and top Postseason Moment for his dramatic game-tying, ninth-inning triple in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.

In addition to the Cardinals, four other Clubs claimed multiple GIBBY winners, including the Arizona Diamondbacks (Kirk Gibson, Manager of the Year; Ian Kennedy, Breakout Player of the Year); Detroit Tigers (Justin Verlander, Starting Pitcher of the Year; Jose Valverde, Closer of the Year); New York Yankees (David Robertson, Setup Man of the Year; Robinson Cano, Wow Factor of the Year; Derek Jeter, Performance of the Year); and Tampa Bay Rays (Dan Johnson, Moment of the Year; Evan Longoria, Walk-Off of the Year).

This year’s winners of the GIBBY Awards – the ultimate trophies honoring the best players and must-see moments from the 2011 Major League Baseball season – were determined through a comprehensive six-week voting process (Oct. 29-Dec. 4) that included national and local media members, Major League Club front office personnel, former Major League players and online fan balloting at MLB.com. Over the past four seasons, fans have cast more than 40 million online votes for the 19 categories, none of which were restricted to individual League affiliation. A complete list of 2011 winners and highlights can be found at MLB.com/GIBBYs.

QUOTES FROM THE 2011 GIBBY AWARDS SHOW

GIBSON – “I’d like to thank all the fans and everybody who voted for me for Manager of the Year. It’s an exceptional honor for me, being a rookie manager. … It’s exemplary of why we all get up and play the game hard with dedication, and do it the right way every day.”

KENNEDY – “I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me for this award. It’s an honor. Every one of those guys is deserving and had great years. I’d like to thank my teammates for putting me in this position to win this award.”

JOHN MOZELIAK (Executive of the Year) – “I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me on this award. It’s a great honor, and I take a lot of pride in being recognized in this. … There are so many great people who work in our front office who deserve credit for this award. I’m honored and humbled by this. I also want to recognize our ownership that gives us so much support throughout the year.”

BEN REVERE (Play of the Year) – “I just want to say thank you to the fans who voted for me, to the Minnesota Twins faithful, and to MLB.com and MLB Network for allowing me to accept this honor.”

ROBERTSON – “This is a huge honor. This is one of those things I didn’t expect to win.”

MLB Network Radio channel broadcasts live from Chase Field and MLB All-Star FanFest in Phoenix July 9-12

Cal Ripken Jr. and Bill Ripken to host “Ripken Baseball” live in front of fans at MLB All-Star FanFest on July 11

Sirius XM Radio announced that it will offer baseball fans comprehensive coverage of 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Week in Phoenix, AZ, July 9-12.

SiriusXM will carry the 82nd All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 12 (8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT), and the State Farm Home Run Derby on Monday, July 11 (8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT), live from Chase Field on XM channel 176.

SiriusXM will also offer the exclusive radio broadcast of the XM All-Star Futures Game, featuring the top minor league prospects from the U.S. and abroad, on Sunday, July 10.  Pre-game coverage starts at 5:30 pm ET on XM channel 89.  SiriusXM’s Mike Ferrin will be the play-by-play voice for the Futures Game broadcast and former Major League GM and daily SiriusXM host Jim Duquette will be the analyst.  SiriusXM’s Grant Paulsen and Baseball America’s John Manuel will provide reports from on the field and in the dugouts.  Paulsen will host a special edition of his weekly show, Minors & Majors, live from the ballpark (3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT) leading into the XM All-Star Futures pre-game.

On Monday and Tuesday, SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio – channel 89 on XM and channel 209 on Sirius Premier (formerly known as “The Best of XM”) – will offer listeners extensive pre- and post-game coverage of both the State Farm Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game that will feature one-on-one interviews with current and former All-Stars, managers, coaches and other personalities from around the game.

Former All-Star pitcher Rob Dibble, former GM Jim Bowden and Casey Stern will team up for the State Farm Home Run Derby pre-game coverage starting at 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT as well as the post-Derby recap.  On Tuesday, Dibble, former GM Jim Duquette and Stern will host the All-Star pre-game coverage live from Chase Field starting at 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT.  Following the game, Dibble and Duquette will host the post-game show with Stern and Ferrin on the field and in the clubhouse talking one-on-one with the All-Stars.

Additionally, each day leading up to the All-Star Game, MLB Network Radio hosts will broadcast live from the MLB All-Star FanFest.  Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and Bill Ripken will host their exclusive show, Ripken Baseball, live in front of fans on Monday, July 11 (3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT).  Former pitcher Jeff Nelson, Jim Bowden, Jim Duquette, Casey Stern, Mike Ferrin and Grant Paulsen will also host live from the SiriusXM broadcast stage at the Phoenix Convention Center.

The following programs will originate from MLB All-Star FanFest and air on MLB Network Radio (channel 89 on XM; channel 209 on Sirius Premier):

Other hosts from across the SiriusXM programming spectrum will also broadcast from the All-Star festivities in Phoenix.

On Sunday, July 10 (3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT), Monday, July 11 (6:00 pm ET/3:00 pm PT) and Tuesday, July 12 (11:00 am ET/8:00 am PT), SiriusXM’s Steve Covino and Rich Davis will host their daily show from MLB All-Star FanFest, talking with special guests and fans and trying out FanFest’s interactive exhibits live on air.  Covino & Rich airs daily on SiriusXM Stars Too, SiriusXM’s talk radio channel for guys (channel 104).

SiriusXM airs every game from all 30 Major League Baseball teams live on XM channels 176 to 189, with some on XM channel 89, and in Spanish on XM channel 175.  A schedule of MLB games on XM can be found at www.siriusxm.com/mlb.

MLB Network Radio, the only radio channel dedicated to covering Major League Baseball seven days a week, 365 days a year, is available to both XM and Sirius subscribers and features a daily lineup of call-in talk shows hosted by Cal Ripken Jr., Bill Ripken, Jim Bowden, Rob Dibble, Jim Duquette, Kevin Kennedy, Jeff Nelson, Rico Petrocelli, and others.  MLB Network Radio also airs MLB Network television programming including MLB Tonight, the network’s live nightly studio show featuring live game look-ins and analysis by Harold Reynolds, Al Leiter, Mitch Williams, Bill Ripken, Dan Plesac and others.

“We are gratified fans responded so favorably to the material changes we made this off-season across our web sites, mobile applications and live game products,” said Dinn Mann, Executive Vice President, Content, MLB.com. “As we do every season, we will continue to develop and deploy additional technology and content offerings to further daily fan engagement with the game.”

Among the traffic records established at MLB.com during the first days of the season (March 31 – April 19) include:

• Fans watched 7 million video streams per day during the season’s opening 20 days, including 1 million live video streams per day.

• MLB.com averaged 11.5 million visitors per day, representing an increase of 17 percent from 2010 (9.8 million), highlighted by its single-highest visited day ever in the month of April with 13 million visitors on Friday, April 8.

• MLB.com averaged 122 million page views per day, 48% higher than the comparable 2010 average, and reached 2 billion page views earlier than ever before.

• MLB.com’s mobile sites have totaled 992 million page views across all Internet-enabled devices, a 138% increase from the 2010 season’s first 20 days.

• At Bat 11, the #1 selling suite of mobile applications available on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android and BlackBerry, has been accessed 35 million times since Opening Day, a daily average of 1.75 million accesses and a 115 percent increase over the 2010 comparable time period.

Washington Nationals’ left fielder Michael Morse has earned the top spot on Brand Affinity Technology’s monthly list of Rising Sports Stars.  This special MLB-only edition of the list identifies baseball players with the most significant leaps in popularity during the preseason – athletes poised for greatness as the season starts.  Morse turned heads with nine home runs during spring training, making him one of the most watched players as the regular season begins.  His popularity increased a whopping 92% over the preseason, putting him at the top of the list of stars to watch in the month of April.

This month’s Rising Stars list is the youngest to date, with none of the athletes more than 25 years old.  The top three spots on the list were rounded out by up-and-coming young pitchers Brett Anderson of the Oakland Athletics and Jeremy Hellickson of the Tampa Bay Rays. The full list and additional details are available at: www.brandaffinity.net/RisingStars/april2011.

Rising Sports Stars is distributed by Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT), a company that calculates daily consumer affinity based on a proprietary combination of media exposure, performance, awards, popularity, engagement, and fan base, among other indicators, for more than 45,000 athletes and celebrities.  The list identifies sports stars with the greatest leaps in popularity, on a percentage basis.  A meteoric rise may indicate a standout on-the-field performance, off-the-field achievement, or emergence from utility player to celebrity.

“Fans have continued to demonstrate, in record numbers, their desire to consume live baseball in the most convenient ways possible,” said Noah Garden, Executive Vice President, Revenue, MLB.com. “We remain committed to expanding MLB.TV for our subscribers by leveraging emerging technological platforms and partnerships that deliver a rich experience.”

In 2011, fans will be able to follow every game wherever they are with MLB.TV support across a variety of mobile and connected platforms, including iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android devices through the top-selling MLB.com At Bat apps for each and Sony PS3 and other connected devices. Additional platform offerings for MLB.TV live streaming will be announced as they become available.

Along with portability, this year’s product offers subscribers a host of cutting-edge features in the award-winning MLB.TV media player, delivering a dynamic live viewing experience for every out-of-market regular season game. Those include:

• HD Quality Picture – Speed detection technology delivers live high definition video at the industry standard of 720p on any size monitor.
• Home and Away Feeds – Watch either the home or away teams’ broadcasts.
• Alternate Audio Options – Overlay the home or away teams’ radio broadcasts over the live video or use the “Park” option to include the ballpark’s natural sounds.
• Live Game DVR Functionality – Pause and rewind or fast-forward live games.
• Clickable Linescores – Go directly to any at-bat or half-inning of a game.
• Multi-Game Viewing Options – Watch up to four games simultaneously.
• Picture-in-Picture – Choose one game and track another or watch in-game highlights simultaneously in a secondary window.
• Live Game Highlights – Real-time highlights and player stats automatically load into the media player. With one click, the clip instantly launches in a picture-in-picture window.
• Player Tracker – Customize a list to feature entire fantasy rosters and receive on-deck notifications to watch live at-bat look-ins for each player.
• Spring Training – Watch about 150 live games from Florida and Arizona.

The 35-year-old native of Columbus, Ga., made his major league debut with the Oakland Athletics in 1999. Since joining the Braves just prior to the 2005 season, Hudson has become a staple in the team’s pitching rotation. In 2008 Hudson underwent an extensive reconstructive surgery on his right elbow, but he returned to become more dominant than ever during the 2010 season, earning his third All-Star selection.

Hudson said he is honored to win the Hutch Award and anticipates his upcoming visit to Seattle and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, founded by Fred’s brother Bill, a prominent Seattle surgeon, after Fred died of cancer at age 45.

“My wife Kim and I have seen firsthand the devastation that a cancer diagnosis can have on a family,” Hudson said. “We intend to do all that we can to help to find a cure.”

On and off the field, Hudson has a heart for children living with a life-altering or terminal disease. The Hudson Family Foundation, launched in 2009 by Hudson and his wife, helps kids and their families ease the financial burdens of critical illnesses. The Hudsons support the Make-A-Wish Foundation, helping fulfill the wishes of critically ill children by hosting their visits to Atlanta’s Turner Field and chairing major fundraisers. In addition, the Hudsons partner with The Moyer Foundation, founded by major league pitcher Jamie Moyer and his wife, Karen, to expand the reach of Camp Erin, a bereavement camp for children age 6-17 who have experienced the death of a loved one.

“We are so thankful to have been placed in a position to be able to help children and families in need,” Hudson said. “We know that we are here to serve others.”

When Hudson comes to Seattle to receive his Hutch Award, he will visit the Hutch School, an accredited education program for cancer patients and young family members of patients. Joining him will be broadcast analyst and baseball Hall-of-Famer Joe Morgan, who will be the keynote speaker at the Hutch Award Luncheon on Jan. 26 at Safeco Field in Seattle.

The Hutch Award recipient is selected annually through a vote of all surviving former awardees. A total of 45 players have been honored since 1965, when Mickey Mantle accepted the inaugural award. Baseball Hall-of-Famers Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie McCovey and Lou Brock all received the Hutch Award; in more recent years Jamie Moyer, Craig Biggio, Mike Sweeney, Jon Lester and Mark Teahen have joined their ranks.

The Hutch Award will be presented to Hudson at the Jan. 26 luncheon, which raises vital funds for early cancer detection research at the Hutchinson Center. For more information or to register for the luncheon, visit www.fhcrc.org/hutchaward.

Postseason.TV, the live interactive online viewing experience powered by MLB.com and MLB Postseason national television rightsholders, Turner Sports and FOX Sports, returns on Wednesday, October 6, 2010, when the Division Series begins on TBS. Postseason.TV will be accessible from MLB.com, FoxSports.com on MSN and MLB.com/TBSHotCorner.

After a successful debut last fall, Postseason.TV powered by TBS HotCorner and FOX Feeds again delivers a customized and interactive online viewing experience with up to 10 different stationary camera angles, synchronized with live audio, for every MLB Postseason game, blackout free. For fans, Postseason.TV provides an interactive enhancement to the Division Series and American League Championship Series broadcasts on TBS and the National League Championship Series and World Series on FOX.

Fans can pick-and-choose from any of the available camera angles or up to any four different angles simultaneously in a multi-view option. In addition, Postseason.TV will offer in-game video highlights, up-to-the-moment statistics and play-by-play and social media integration through a live Twitter feed.

For fans on-the-go, Postseason.TV will offer portability via At Bat 2010, the award-winning suite of mobile applications developed by MLB.com, by providing mobile access to the same live camera angles, the quad mode option and live audio. Postseason.TV again will be available on iPhone and iPod touch and new for this year through At Bat 2010 on iPad as well as select Android devices.

The entire package of live Postseason companion streaming is available for a one-time fee of $9.95.

“MLBAM has undertaken groundbreaking work to make its web sites accessible and has assumed a strong leadership position among sports, media and entertainment properties in doing so,” said Mitch Pomerantz, President of the American Council of the Blind. “We certainly urge similar sites to make this level of commitment in following MLBAM’s lead.”

As part of its initiative, MLB.com launched an accessible media center for its MLB.com Gameday Audio(TM) subscribers, offering features such as volume control, ability to choose the home or away feed and access to archived games. Additionally, MLB.com has ensured that fans with visual impairments can continue to participate in the annual online voting programs associated with the All-Star Game and will be providing an accessibility page on its site detailing information on accessibility, usability tips and customer service resources. As it continues to deliver technological innovations for following baseball games, MLB.com will make additional accessibility enhancements available to fans with visual impairments.

Brian Charlson, a Boston baseball fan and Director of Computer Training Services at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, Massachusetts, described how MLB.com’s accessibility efforts have improved his enjoyment of the game: “As a member of the blind community, the kind of changes MLB.com was willing to make on its web sites keeps me coming back for more. It shows how much can be done when people with disabilities find willing partners. For example, with the changes in Gameday Audio, I find myself enjoying switching back and forth between the home and away broadcasters the same way my sighted friends do. And knowing my votes were counted in this year’s All-Star balloting made listening to the game much more meaningful. I’m excited about what MLB.com has done and about its commitment to further improvements.”

MLB.com utilized guidelines issued by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The web content accessibility guidelines are of particular benefit to blind baseball fans who use a screen reader, through which information on a page is read aloud, or magnification technology on their computers and who rely on a keyboard instead of a mouse.

Source: MLB.com

“These year-end awards are a privilege to present and have grown in importance, both in terms of fan participation and in how they are received by the winners,” said Dinn Mann, Executive Vice President, Content, and Editor-in-Chief, MLB.com. “We are grateful for every vote, and more, for the platform to celebrate greatness in baseball and to continue to identify ways to expand this significant, deserved recognition.”

A complete list of 2009 winners is below:
Hitter of the Year: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins (.365, 28 HR, 96 RBIs)
Starting Pitcher of the Year: Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals (16-8, 2.16 ERA, 242 Ks)
Closer of the Year: Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (44 SV, 1.76 ERA)
Setup Man of the Year: Jeremy Affeldt, San Francisco Giants (74 G, 1.73 ERA)
Rookie of the Year: J.A. Happ, Philadelphia Phillies (12-4, 2.93 ERA)
Manager of the Year: Jim Tracy, Colorado Rockies (92-70, NL Wild Card)
Executive of the Year: Ruben Amaro Jr., Philadelphia Phillies (93-69, NL East champs)
Defensive Player of the Year: Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox (.994 FPCT)
Unsung Star of the Year: Jayson Werth, Philadelphia Phillies (36 HR, 99 RBIs, 20 SB)
Performance of the Year: Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox (Perfect game, 7/23)
Play of the Year: Dewayne Wise, Chicago White Sox (Catch preserved perfect game, 7/23)
Moment of the Year: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (Passed Gehrig for NYY hits, 9/11)
Postseason Moment of the Year: Johnny Damon, New York Yankees (WS Game 4)
Oddity of the Year: Phillies fanatic (Dad’s catch thrown back by daughter, 9/15)

A special, first-ever X-Factor of the Year was awarded to former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre through a media-only vote by MLB.com editors, reporters and multimedia personnel. In 2010, this category will be added to the overall voting process. The 2010 This Year in Baseball Awards will include additional exciting enhancements to be unveiled at a later date.

Awards will be presented individually to this year’s winners in on-field pre-game ceremonies during the 2010 regular season.

Source: MLB.com

For the ninth consecutive year, Fox Sports en Espanol is offering live Spanish-language coverage of the MLB postseason. Tune-in to Fox Sports en Espanol for the 2009 World Series, where the defending World Champions Philadelphia Phillies, take on the American League champions, New York Yankees starting on Wednesday, October 28th at 7:30pm ET.

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen joins Fox Sports en Espanol as a pregame and postgame analyst, providing exclusive Spanish language analysis and content, for the network’s coverage of the 2009 Fall Classic.

Guillen’s engaging personality, honesty and candor have made him a popular media figure both in Chicago and nationally. His previous MLB television experience was as an analyst for the Hispanic television broadcast of the 1992 MLB All-Star Game in San Diego.

A complete schedule of Fox Sports en Espanol’s MLB telecasts is available at www.foxsportsla.com.

Following his 16-year playing career that stretched from 1985 through 2000, Guillen served as a coach for the Montreal Expos (2001-2002) and third-base coach for the Florida Marlins in 2003, where he won his first World Series ring. He was named the 37th manager in Chicago White Sox history on November 3, 2003; and in 2005, guided the team to their first American League Pennant since 1959, and their first World Series title in 88 years with a four-game sweep of the Houston Astros. He is the first Latin-born manager in the history of the game to have won a World Series. Guillen is also the only manager in White Sox history to guide the team to more than one division/league title and was named the 2005 American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Guillen managed the 2006 AL All-Star team to a 3-2 victory and has an overall career managerial record of 512-461.

World Series Programming
10/28 Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees Gm 1 7:30pm ET
10/29 Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees Gm 2 7:30pm ET
10/31 New York Yankees @ Philadelphia Phillies Gm 3 7:30pm ET
11/1 New York Yankees @ Philadelphia Phillies Gm 4 8:00pm ET
11/2 New York Yankees @ Philadelphia Phillies Gm 5* 7:30pm ET
11/4 Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees Gm 6* 7:30pm ET
11/5 Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees Gm 7* 7:30pm ET

*Games 5-7 are only if necessary games.

Source: Fox Sports en Espanol