KeepScore Baseball/Softball Scorebooks Announces First Edition in Time for Major League Championships
BEAVER FALLS, PA, September 22, 2013 – With the pennant races heating up on both the east and west coasts, KeepScore, a Beaver Falls, PA-based publisher and designer of sports and entertainment merchandise and equipment, has announced that it has published the first edition of the KeepScore Baseball/Softball Scorebook.
Printed in a 12” X 13” format, the expanded size of the scorebook accommodates 12 innings of play and 45 batting positions, thereby virtually eliminating the need for using more than one page per team when scoring a ballgame.
The scorebook also features a unique rolling pitch count system that allows for recording balls and strikes, the end of at-bats, the ends of innings and changes of pitchers.
“The KeepScore Baseball/Softball Scorebook is the most complete, most comprehensive and easiest-to-use scorebook available anywhere,” said KeepScore co-founder Kevin Lane. “It has more statistical categories and provides more detailed record-keeping for all levels of baseball and softball, from youth programs to the major leagues.”
Co-founder Tom Lane, the younger of the two founding Lane brothers, added that the scorebook also is ideal for coaches at all levels, including for youth leagues, high schools and university programs. “KeepScore also has had early interest from a number of professional teams,” said Lane. “Both the major and minor leagues are always looking for unique fan appreciation gifts or attendance promotions, other than the same old ubiquitous bobbleheads, which typically end up in garage sales or our nation’s landfills soon after they are given away.”
“In addition, KeepScore can customize the scorebook’s cover to feature a team’s and sponsor’s logos or brands,” said Lane. “We also can imprint the inside front cover to feature an organization’s history or sponsors’ advertisements. Coupon sheets are available options, as well. Aside from all the scorebook’s unique features inside, the customization options also are what differentiate it from all other scorebooks.”
The KeepScore Baseball/Softball Scorebook is available for purchase online at www.keepscore.us. The Web site features an instructive how-to video that was narrated by Lanny Frattare, the voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1975 through 2008. The video, “Scoring With KeepScore Baseball/Softball Scorebooks” also can be found on YouTube.
###
Clint Hurdle to Receive Baseball Manager of the Year Award
Having led the Pittsburgh Pirates from the basement to its first winning season and playoff berth in 21 years, Clint Hurdle was named the seventh annual MLB Baseball Manager of the Year by the Chuck Tanner Baseball Manager of the Year Awards committee.
Hurdle is a former Major League Baseball outfielder whose 10-year career was spent with the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. After retiring from playing baseball, Hurdle spent eight seasons as manager with the Colorado Rockies, leading his 2007 club to the franchise’s first National League pennant. On November 14, 2010, Hurdle was hired as the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
At the 2011 All-Star break, Hurdle had led the Pirates to a 47–43 record, one game out of first place in the NL Central. It was the first time the Pirates had been over .500 going into the All-Star break, since winning the 1992 National League East.
At the 2012 All-Star break, Hurdle had led the Pirates to a 48–37 record, leading the NL Central division by one game over the Cincinnati Reds. However, both seasons ended with collapses that led to the Pirates 19th and 20th straight losing seasons.
In late 2013, the Pirates led the National League Central, with the best record in the major league, again aiming to snap the franchise’s 21-year losing streak. On September 9, 2013 with a 1-0 win over the Texas Rangers, Hurdle’s Pittsburgh Pirates attained win number 82. And on September 23, 2013 with a 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates secured their first playoff berth since 1992, as well as their 90th win.
Sponsored each year by the Pittsburgh chapter of Rotary International, the Chuck Tanner Baseball Manger of the Year Awards banquet is held in Pittsburgh. The highlight of the event is the presentation of the Chuck Tanner MLB Manager of the Year Award as, selected by a distinguished group of baseball professionals from around the country. Previous winners of the Chuck Tanner MLB Manager of the Year award were Joe Torre, Joe Maddon, Ron Gardenhire, Charlie Manuel, Jim Leyland, Bob Melvin and Davey Johnson. This year’s award presentation will take place on November 16, 2013 at the Rivers Club in downtown Pittsburgh.
The Master of Ceremonies for the event will be Paul Alexander of 93.7-FM “The Fan.” Returning to conduct the live auction will be James Roddey, former Allegheny County Executive. Noted documentary filmmaker Ken Burns has donated for the auction two autographed DVD sets of his award-winning film, “Baseball.”
Nationally recognized celebrity sports artist Kevin-John is returning to create a special limited edition Kent Tekulve memorabilia print for everyone in attendance and will be present to personally sign his creation. Kevin-John’s artwork has been showcased on ESPN, Spike TV, and NBC, at Super Bowl XXXIX, XL, XLI and the PGA Tour.
To purchase tickets to the banquet or to find out about other ways to support the event, go to www.chucktannerbanquet.com or call (412) 471-6210. This charitable event and its silent auction of sports memorabilia and other items will be used to support Pittsburgh Rotary Club operations and its global humanitarian relief programs including, polio inoculation and shoes for Nicaraguan children, as well as post-high school scholarships and an annual high school ethics symposium, which is attended annually by more than 400 students.
Kent Tekulve to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
KeepScore’s Tom “T.J. Lane” shares a moment with former Pirate ace reliever Kent Tekulve after he received the Chuck Tanner Lifetime Achievement Award.
Former Pittsburgh Pirate relief pitcher Kent Tekulve has been selected to receive of the 2013 Chuck Tanner “Life-Time Achievement Award.” Tekulve’s selection is part of the seventh annual Chuck Tanner Baseball Manager of the Year Awards, named in honor of the former Pirate manager and favorite son of western Pennsylvania. Tekulve and this year’s Major League Baseball Manager of the Year, who will be named in early October, will be feted at a gala fundraising banquet in November.
Proceeds from the event assist global humanitarian relief efforts, such as polio inoculation in third-world countries and shoes for children in poverty-stricken regions. Proceeds also help to fund an annual high school ethics symposium (attended annually by more than 400 students), as well as Rotary youth post-high school scholarships.
Past recipients at the event have included Jim Leyland, Steve Blass and Pittsburgh area native Sean Casey. Tekulve was selected based on his stellar baseball career, both on and off the field. He enjoyed a very successful professional baseball career that has continued into a lifetime of involvement in Major League Baseball. The Cincinnati native and 1969 graduate of Marietta (OH) College signed that year as a free agent with the Pirates and remained with that organization for 11 years. He made his major league debut in 1974.
His best seasons came in 1978 and 1979, in both of which he saved 31 games and posted earned run averages of 2.33 and 2.75, respectively. He saved three games in the 1979 World Series, including the winning game, as the Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles. He was selected as an All-Star in 1980.
Tekulve continued to be an effective reliever into his 40’s. Early in the 1985 season, Tekulve was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He then signed with the Cincinnati Reds, before the 1989 season and pitched in 37 games before retiring in July of that year.
Tekulve led the major leagues in games pitched four times. He appeared in 90 or more games a year in three different seasons, becoming one of only two pitchers in baseball history to do so. Tekulve’s three saves in the 1979 World Series tied the single-series mark set by Roy Face in the 1960 World Series. Tekulve also holds the National League record for career innings pitched in relief (1,436⅔), and he formerly held the major league record for career relief appearances. His 1,050 career games, all in relief, ranked second in major league history to Hoyt Wilhelm’s 1,070. Kent Tekulve owns the career record for most appearances and innings pitched without making a single start. In 1986 he broke Roy Face’s NL record of 846 career games pitched, and he held the record, until John Franco passed him in 2004. In August of 1987, he pitched in a record nine consecutive games.
Tekulve was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies television broadcast team from 1991 to 1997. After several years involvement with the Washington, PA Wild Things of the independent Frontier League, The all-time leading closer of the Pirates once again joined his former professional ball club, when he took a job as the Pirates’ advance scout in 2006.
Tekulve currently works for Root Sports Pittsburgh and provides analysis after each Pittsburgh Pirates game.
Tekulve will receive his award at the 2013 Chuck Tanner Awards Banquet held on Saturday November 16th at the Rivers Club in downtown Pittsburgh. For more information about the banquet and for tickets to attend this year’s event, visit www.chucktannerbanquet.com or call (412) 471-6210.
KeepScore Baseball/Softball Scorebooks is a contributor on the Chuck Tanner Banquet committee.
The Chuck Tanner Baseball Manager of the Year Award
“I don’t think a manager should be judged by whether he wins the pennant, but by whether he gets the most out of the twenty-five men he’s been given.”
The Chuck Tanner Awards Featured Some Pretty Big Names
Even before he came to Pittsburgh from Oakland in 1977, and throughout his 17 full seasons of managing Major League Baseball, Chuck Tanner was known for his unwavering confidence and infectious optimism.
Having guided the Pirates to a World Series win over the Orioles in 1979, after having fallen behind three games to one, is a testament to his patience, his aggressiveness and his innovation. Sparky Anderson once said of Tanner, “They do everything with abandon, because that’s the way Chuck Tanner wants it. He’s an aggressive manager, a manager who doesn’t go by the book.”
These leadership qualities and others are embodied in the annual Chuck Tanner Baseball Manger of the Year Awards, which include both Major League and collegiate managers.
Take a look at past MLB winners:
2007 – Joe Torre (New York Yankees, New York Mets)
2008 – Joe Maddon (Tampa Bay Rays)
2009 – Ron Gardenhire (Minnesota Twins)
2010 – Charlie Manuel (Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies)
2011 – Jim Leyland (Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers)
2012 – (Tie) Davey Johnson (New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals) and Bob Melvin (Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics)
Each year, the Chuck Tanner Baseball Manager of the Year Award is determined by a prestigious national selection committee, which previously have included Major League Baseball executives Roland Hemond (Arizona Diamondbacks, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Oriols) and Tal Smith (Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Houston Astros.)
The committee also has included former MLB players and sports journalists, like Hal Bodley (MLB.com), Murray Chass (The New York Times, Associated Press) and former Pirates broadcaster Lanny Frattare. Selections are based on the quality of current season and total career and are made within a week of the final regular season game.
In addition, the Chuck Tanner awards honors the collegiate baseball manager of the year, along with professional players who perform non-profit community service, making this a truly national representation of baseball’s future legacy.
Planned and hosted by the Pittsburgh Rotary, all funds raised during the event are used to assist worldwide efforts in polio inoculation, as well as annual high school ethics symposia and post-high school scholarships.
The event includes a live auction and nationally recognized celebrity sports artist Kevin-John, who creates a special limited edition print given to everyone in attendance. Kevin-John will be present to personally sign his creation, and his artwork has been showcased on ESPN, Spike TV, NBC and at three Super Bowls, as well as the PGA Tour.
Held in downtown Pittsburgh, any serious baseball fan from any American city where baseball is played should book their flights now for Saturday, November 16, 2013.
Stay tuned to this space for more details, but for more info now, visit: Chuck Tanner Baseball Manager of the Year Award.
KeepScore Baseball/Softball Scorebooks is a contributor on the Chuck Tanner Banquet committee.
