Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award

The Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award was created in 1998 by Commissioner Bud Selig to honor an exceptional achievement by a personality associated with Major League Baseball that is of historic significance. It is not given out on a fixed schedule, but at the Commissioner's discretion whenever it is determined that someone's achievement merits this exceptional recognition. The award includes a trophy which was crafted by Tiffany & Co. and features a sterling silver base with a gold baseball mounted at the top.

The first 14 awards, covering 15 recipients, were given out by Selig. It took six years after the nomination of his successor, Rob Manfred, for him to bestow the award for the first time.

Recipients

• 1998 - Cal Ripken Jr., in recognition of his record consecutive game streak of 2,632 games
• 1998 - Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, in recognition of breaking the single-season home run record
• 2001 - Barry Bonds, for setting a new single-season home run record
• 2001 - Rickey Henderson, for setting new career records for stolen bases (1,406), walks (2,190) and runs scored (2,295)
• 2001 - Tony Gwynn, for winning his 8th batting title, tying the all-time record
• 2001 - The Seattle Mariners, for setting the American League record for wins in a season (116)
• 2004 - Roger Clemens, for recording his 300th win and winning a record seven Cy Young Awards
• 2005 - Ichiro Suzuki, for breaking the single-season record for hits (262)
• 2006 - Roberto Clemente (posthumously), for his outstanding career on the field and his contributions as a humanitarian
• 2007 - Rachel Robinson, on the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and for her own work in continuing her husband's legacy
• 2011 - Ken Griffey Jr., for his outstanding career and great personal popularity
• 2013 - Mariano Rivera, for retiring as the all-time saves leader (652)
• 2014 - Vin Scully, for his 65 years as a baseball broadcaster
• 2014 - Derek Jeter, for his postseason records for hits (200), runs (111) and total bases (302)
• 2021 - Shohei Ohtani, for his exceptional and unprecedented season as a two-way player