IBWAA NAMES LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS TOM HOFFARTH HONORARY CHAIRMAN

IBWAA NAMES LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS TOM HOFFARTH HONORARY CHAIRMAN

 

Los Angeles – In celebration of its sixth anniversary Saturday, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) is proud to announce the naming of Tom Hoffarth as Honorary Chairman of the organization.

 

Hoffarth is a sports and media columnist at the Los Angeles Daily News, regularly writing about baseball through the prism of the Dodgers and Angels influences in Southern California. He won an Associated Press column writing award for a piece on the Angels' 2002 World Series run that involved an "interview" with the Angels Rally Monkey.

 

Annually since 2007, he has written a review of 30 baseball books during the 30 days of April on his InsideSoCal.com blog, "Farther Off the Wall."

 

His prized possessions are six versions of the Jim Bouton "Ball Four" books (all signed by the author), a Vin Scully signed ball that includes the notation "God Bless," and more than 100 Dodgers-related books on team history and biographies. His favorite baseball movie is "The Natural" (his father, Tom, worked in the movie prop business and has actual copies of the fake "Life" magazine cover featuring Robert Redford that was used in the film).

 

Hoffarth, who succeeds ESPN.com’s Jim Caple as the organization’s second honorary chairman, will announce the results of each IBWAA election via social media and generally champion the group’s efforts during a one-year term. His successor will be announced July 4, 2016.

 

The IBWAA was established July 4, 2009 to organize and promote the growing online baseball media, and to serve as a digital alternative to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Voting for full season awards takes place in September of each year, with selections being announced in November. The IBWAA also holds a Hall of Fame election in December of each year, with results being announced the following January.

 

Among others, IBWAA members include Jim Bowden, Jim Caple, David Schoenfield, Mark A. Simon and Dan Szymborski, ESPN.com; Kevin Baxter Los Angeles Times; Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports; Craig Calcaterra, NBC Sports Hardball Talk; Bill Chuck, GammonsDaily.com; Chuck Culpepper, Washington Post; Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; King Kaufman, Bleacher Report; Kevin Kennedy; Kostya Kennedy, Sports Illustrated; Jonah Keri, Grantland; Vlae Kershner, SFGate.com; Will Leitch, Sports on Earth; Bruce Markusen, Hardball Times; Ross Newhan; Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com; Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News; Tom Hoffarth and J.P. Hoornstra Los Angeles Daily News; Pedro Moura, Orange County Register; Neil Payne, FiveThirtyEight.com; Tracy Ringolsby, MLB.com; Ken Rosenthal, FoxSports.com; Bob Ryan, Boston Globe, Dan Schlossberg, USA Today; and Jesse Spector, Sporting News.

 

Association membership is open to any and all Internet baseball writers, with a yearly fee of $20, or $35 lifetime. Discounts for groups and scholarships are available. Members must be 18 years of age to apply.

For more information please visit www.ibwaa.com.

Contact:

 

Howard Cole
Founding Director, IBWAAbaseballsavvy@aol.com