2021 BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner Dick Kaegel
Kaegel stint at the Sporting News marked in many ways the glory days of the publication, when readers waited impatiently for the Thursday mail when the weekly copy of TSN arrived. In the days prior to the internet and with ESPN just getting a foothold on the cable TV landscape, the Sporting News delivered the inside info of the day – especially on the baseball beat.
Assembling a topflight stable of writers, Kaegel prioritized coverage of the National Pastime.
Kaegel moved on to the Kansas City Star and the Royals beat in 1988, staying with the paper until 2003. He finished his career at MLB.com, famously covering every one of the Royals’ 162 games in 2011 four years after receiving a liver transplant following a cancer diagnosis.
Kaegel, who has twice served on the Hall of Fame’s Eras Committees that consider long-retired players as well as managers, umpires and executives, retired following the 2014 season.