Tony Conigliaro Award

The Tony Conigliaro Award is a annual award created in 1990 by the Boston Red Sox to honor the memory of their former star Tony Conigliaro. Conigliaro whose career was tragically shortened when he was hit in the face by a pitch in 1967 and would later die from a heart attack at 45. It is given to a Major League Baseball player who best overcomes an obstacle and adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage that were trademarks of Conigliaro. It can be likened to the National Hockey League's "Bill Masterton Award", which honors similar qualities.

A special panel is composed of the media, representatives of the commissioner and the two leagues' offices as well as Conigliaro's brothers Billy and Richie make the selection. Announcement of the award is made at the annual major league winter meetings in December and the formal presentation takes place at the Boston Baseball Writers Association dinner in January.

Award Winners

Year	Player	Reason
1990	Jim Eisenreich	Tourette syndrome
1991	Dickie Thon	Recovered from a beaning in 1984 very similar to Conigliaro's
1992	Jim Abbott	Born without a right hand
1993	Bo Jackson	Came back from hip replacement surgery in 1992
1994	Mark Leiter	Lost 9-month-old son to Werdnig-Hoffman disease during offseason
1995	Scott Radinsky	Came back from Hodgkin's disease
1996	Curtis Pride	Deaf from birth
1997	Eric Davis	Came back after diagnosis of colon cancer early that season
1998	Bret Saberhagen	Came back from serious shoulder injuries
1999	Mike Lowell	Came back from testicular cancer
2000	Kent Mercker	Came back from cerebral hemorrhage
	Tony Saunders	Came back after breaking his arm while throwing a pitch
2001	Graeme Lloyd	Wife suffered from Crohn's disease, which would cause her death in 2004
	Jason Johnson	Johnson is a Type 1 diabetic who wears an insulin pump on the field
2002	José Rijo	Came back after five years out of baseball with serious elbow injuries
2003	Jim Mecir	Born with two club feet
2004	Dewon Brazelton	Underwent reconstructive knee surgery and Tommy John surgery before graduating from high school
2005	Aaron Cook	Came back after surgery in 2004 to remove blood clots from both lungs
2006	Freddy Sanchez	Born with a club foot (right) and pigeon toed foot (left)
2007	Jon Lester	Diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2006
2008	Rocco Baldelli	Diagnosed with a mitochondrial disorder that causes muscle fatigue
2009	Chris Carpenter	Had Tommy John surgery and nerve problems in his throwing arm
2010	Joaquin Benoit	Sat out a year after a rotator cuff tear
2011	Tony Campana	Diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma as a child
2012	R.A. Dickey	Child sexual abuse victim, pitches without an ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm
2013	John Lackey	Underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011 and missed 2012 season
2014	Wilson Ramos	Was kidnapped while playing winter ball in 2011 and overcame various serious injuries
2015	Mitch Harris	Delayed his professional baseball career for five years while serving in the US Navy
2016	Yangervis Solarte	Lost his wife to cancer in 2016
2017	Chad Bettis	Overcame testicular cancer
2018	Stephen Piscotty	Death of his mother to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
2019	Rich Hill	Numerous arm injuries; death of his son
2020	Daniel Bard	Unretirement; MLB comeback in 2020 after not playing there since 2013; overcame control issues
2021	Trey Mancini	Came back after missing 2020 season after diagnosis of colon cancer
2022	José Cuas	Overcame numerous setbacks and obstacles to make it to the big leagues
2023	Liam Hendriks	Came back from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Further Reading

• Bill Nowlin and Clayton Trutor, eds.: Overcoming Adversity: Baseball's Tony Conigliaro Award, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2017. ISBN 978-1-943816-43-9