Toronto Blue Jays, ESPN play-by-play commentator Dan Shulman captures media award

ST. MARYS, Ont. — Toronto Blue Jays play-by-play commentator Dan Shulman has been named the winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2020 Jack Graney Award.

The honour is presented annually to a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada.

The Toronto-born Shulman calls Blue Jays game for Sportsnet and also does play-by-play on baseball and college basketball for ESPN.

Shulman joined ESPN full-time in 2001 and returned to the Blue Jays broadcast booth for a second stint in 2016.

Shulman also is one of eight finalists for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2020 Ford C. Frick Award, which is presented annually for broadcasting excellence.

Retired Toronto Sun columnist Ken Fidlin won the Jack Graney Award last year. Previous winners include sportswriters Milt Dunnell, Bob Elliott and Alison Gordon and broadcasters Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek and Dave Van Horne.

Details about the presentation of the 2020 Jack Graney Award will be announced in the coming months.

“I am tremendously honoured to be receiving this award,” Shulman said in a statement. 

“As a Canadian kid who fell in love with baseball very early on, the opportunity to cover the sport for as long as I have has been one of the great joys of my life. To be part of a list with so many people I have admired for so many years is very humbling.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2020.

The Canadian Press