Hal McCoy is a former beat writer for the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), covering the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 as the winner of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, which is awarded annually "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing." He has won 52 Ohio and national writing awards and was the first non-Cincinnati newsperson elected to the Cincinnati Journalists Hall of Fame. He also was inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame and the Irish-American Baseball Hall of Fame. He has a stone on Dayton's Walk of Fame and the press box at Dayton's Howell Field is named the Hal McCoy Press Box. McCoy has been the Cincinnati BBWAA Chapter Chair 22 times and was the BBWAA national president in 1997. He is the third writer from the Dayton Daily News to win the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, joining Si Burick (1982) and Ritter Collett (1991). Residing in Englewood, Ohio, McCoy is an honors graduate in journalism from Kent State University.
Bye-Bye Bruce....At the rate it's going fans will soon buy a copy of a baseball prospectus at the ballpark instead of a scorecard. The trend is trades made not for actual major league players, but for unheard-of names that come cheap, and too often, play that way, too. Read Hal 'at large' in today's Press Pros inside feature.
Volume ten of questions for hall of famer Hal McCoy from Press Pros readers around the area, and around the country...on uniforms, getting kicked out of games, #1 draft choice Nick Senzel, and why some baseballs get thrown out of games while others don't. A good read...in today's Press Pros inside feature.
Once a feared hitter with the Braves, Cardinals, and Mets, and later a manager, Joe Torre, the player, had a reputation for being critical of ball and strike calls. Now, as a baseball administrator, he says it detracts from the integrity of the game, and umpires. And interesting read from Hal McCoy in his latest "at large" column.
Joey Votto's batting average is approaching respectability again, but he won't be an All-Star. And if the All-Star game is to be merely an exhibition game with no reason to win other than pride, which as it should be, then it is OK to include a .255 hitter if he's the best his team has to offer. Read Hal McCoy "at large" in today's feature.
