Late Boston Globe sportswriter NICK CAFARDO has been named the "winner of the 71st J.G. Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing," according to Peter Abraham of the BOSTON GLOBE. ESPN Dir of Communications BEN CAFARDO, Nick Cafardo's son, "received a standing ovation" when the announcement was made yesterday at the Winter Meetings. Nick Cafardo, 62, was in his 30th year with the Boston Globe when he died unexpectedly on Feb. 21 while covering the Red Sox during Spring Training in Ft. Myers, Fla. Cafardo "covered baseball for the majority of his career, switching over to the Patriots beat for a time before going back to the Sox and familiar terrain" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/11). WEEI.com's Rob Bradford noted Cafardo's career "will be honored with the award" during the Baseball HOF induction weekend July 24-27, 2020, in Cooperstown. He "received 243 votes from the 427 ballots cast" by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (WEEI.RADIO.com, 12/10).
WELL DESERVED: Cafardo being selected for the award drew an outpouring of support on Twitter. Ben Cafardo wrote, "My dad's favorite trip each year was to Cooperstown, and now, he'll be remembered there forever." The Athletic's Steve Buckley wrote Nick Cafardo was "one of the great ones." The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey wrote his award is "so very well deserved." The Worcester Telegram & Gazette's Bill Ballou: "No metrics, no advanced analytics, no WAR or OPS needed for this choice. His Cooperstown Career was beyond being quantified." WBZ-FM's Tony Massarotti: "Cannot possibility express how happy I am that Nick Cafardo has been elected into the writers wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Well deserved. His family should be proud." The Athletic's Evan Drellich wrote it "couldn't be more deserved."
