Hernandez Named Finalist for Clemens Award
June 5, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Freshman left-handed pitcher Chris Hernandez is one of four finalists for The Roger Clemens Award, given to the nation’s top pitcher. Hernandez is the first ever freshman to be named a finalist for the award.
Aaron Crow of Missouri, Joshua Fields of Georgia and Brian Matusz of San Diego join Hernandez as a finalist for The Roger Clemens Award. The winner will be announced this summer in Houston.
The four pitchers were selected from a field of 10 semifinalists in a national vote of all Division 1 head baseball coaches, selected national college baseball media, previous winners of the R. E. “Bob” Smith Award, which was presented to the top player in college baseball in 1988-2003, and the 13 previous finalists for the Clemens Award.
Hernandez, the first freshman to be named a Clemens Award finalist, will lead the top-ranked Hurricanes into the NCAA Coral Gables Super Regional series this weekend against Arizona. He is 11-0 with a 2.55 ERA so far this season. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference freshman of the year and earned Louisville Slugger First Team All-American honors.
Final voting for the 2008 Clemens Award will begin on June 16. David Price of Vanderbilt won the fourth Clemens Award last July, joining Andrew Miller of North Carolina (2006), Luke Hochevar of Tennessee (2005) and Jered Weaver of Long Beach State (2004) in being honored with college baseball’s version of the Cy Young Award.
The Clemens Award was named after pitching legend Roger Clemens, who began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the College World Series title in 1983. As a major-leaguer, Clemens won 354 games (eighth best in history), fanned 4,672 hitters and won seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball.
The event is administered by the Greater Houston Baseball Association, which has donated more than $300,000 to the charities from the net proceeds from the first four dinners. The GHBA is a non-profit 501.3 (C) organization dedicated to the growth of amateur baseball in the Houston area.
