Rutschman claims awards after strong season

OSU Baseball junior catcher swings at the plate during the NCAA Regionals on June 1st at Goss Stadium. 

Oregon State Baseball junior catcher Adley Rutschman has collected numerous awards in the few weeks since the end of the baseball season. Rutschman’s awards follow his selection as the number one overall MLB Draft pick to the Baltimore Orioles in early June. 

Rutschman’s first award was as the 2019 and 42nd Golden Spikes Award Winner with USA Baseball. The award is presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation. 

The Golden Spikes Award is given to the top amateur baseball player who shows both athletic ability on the field and sportsmanship off the field. Rutschman joins seven other PAC-12 baseball players who have been honored by the award and is the first OSU baseball player to be selected. 

Rutschman was a Gold Glove recipient as he was selected by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings to the NCAA Division I Gold Glove Team. 

Rutschman joins former OSU Baseball infielder Nick Madrigal with the honor. Madrigal was the fourth overall pick in the MLB Draft in 2018 and currently plays within the White Sox minor leagues. 

Rutschman additionally was honored with the Dick Howser Trophy, which is presented to the national baseball player of the year. The award is given as a tribute to the collegiate and MLB player Dick Howser, who passed away from brain cancer in 1987 at 51 years old, and is based on the four values of courage, character, leadership and performance. 

Rutschman is the first OSU baseball player to receive this award and is the second PAC-12 baseball player to be honored since the award’s beginning in 1987. Southern California pitcher Mark Prior was the first and only other PAC-12 baseball player to be a recipient and was honored in 2001. 

Rutschman joins the inaugural College Baseball Foundation All-America First Team with California junior first baseman Andrew Vaughan and UCLA junior pitcher Ryan Garcia for 2019. 

The Foundation’s award committee voted on the team selections. The Foundation chose to begin this selection in response to its success with its three other post-season awards, including the Pitcher of the Year Award, the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award and the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Ward. 

Rutschman won multiple selections of National Player of the Year, including Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game and D1Baseball. 

Rutschman is the ninth PAC-12 baseball player to win Baseball America Player of the Year since the award’s conception in 1981 and is the first OSU baseball player to receive the award. 

He is the fourth PAC-12 baseball player to win Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year since it was first awarded in 1984. He is the first OSU baseball player to receive the award. Rutschman additionally won Perfect Game Player of the Year and D1Baseball Player of the Year. 

Rutschman was selected for the Consensus First Team All-American along with UCLA junior pitcher Ryan Garcia. 

These national awards are paired with multiple PAC-12 recognitions for Rutschman. He was selected as the PAC-12 Baseball Player of the Year and is the sixth OSU baseball player to receive the honor in the last 10 years. 

Rutschman was selected to the PAC-12 First Team and the PAC-12 Defensive Team. Additionally, he was chosen as PAC-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year alongside Stanford junior catcher Maverick Handley. 

Rutschman was chosen for several awards throughout the season as well. He was named the National College Baseball Writers Association National Player of the Month in April 2019 and was named a two-time PAC-12 Player of the Week for March 19, 2019 and April 8, 2019. 

Rutschman is additionally a finalist for the Buster Posey Award, which will be announced on June 27th. The award honors Florida State alumnus catcher Buster Posey who played in 2006-2008. The award was initially titled the Johnny Bench National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award. This is the first year that the award has been given in recognition of Posey’s college career and is presented to the top catcher in college baseball. 

With a signing bonus of approximately $8.5 million, Rutschman is expected to continue his career in baseball with the Baltimore Orioles in response to being the first overall draft pick.

Rutschman’s 2019 season stats: 

    .411 season batting average 

    Played and started in 57 games 

    185 at-bats with 76 hits and 57 runs 

    10 doubles with 1 triple and 17 home runs 

    58 runs batted in 

    .751 slugging percentage 

    76 base on balls 

    .575 on base percentage 

Rutschman’s career stats: 

    .352 career batting average 

    Played in 185 games and started in 180 games 

    644 at bats with 227 hits and 151 runs

    39 doubles with 5 triples and 28 home runs 

    174 runs batted in 

    .559 slugging percentage 

    156 base on balls 

    .473 on base percentage 

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