Monday, The Hall of Very Good™ added four more members when it announced its Class of 2017. Joining Dave Parker, Roger Maris, Ila Borders and celebrity inductee Tracy Reiner is this year’s Glenn Burke Memorial Courage Award recipient.
But, first…about Glenn Burke.
From 1976-1979, Burke played parts of four seasons in the Majors, splitting time between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland A’s. But as impressive as his combination of power and speed was, it was his courage off the field that made headlines. In 1982, the former outfielder came out as homosexual, thus ending any real chance he had at possibly making any sort of comeback.
Burke was found to have AIDS in 1994. Less than a year later, he was dead.
The Glenn Burke Memorial Courage Award is an annual award presented to a person who has made a significant impact on the game of baseball and, in the process, overcome adversity to succeed on the field. So it is with great honor and pleasure that The Hall of Very Good™ announces STACY PIAGNO as the 2017 recipient of The Glenn Burke Memorial Courage Award.
This past July, while with the Sonoma Stompers, Piagno made history when she became just the third woman to get a win in men’s professional baseball since the 1950s. But it’s not just that. In July 2015, Piagno threw the first no-hitter in women’s baseball at the Pan American Games.
Not too shabby.
“It is insanely cool to be able to tell my three-year-old niece that I know a woman who is a pro baseball player,” HOVG podcast co-host Lou Olsen said. “Even though Stacy probably doesn’t walk around every day feeling like a hero, she is. As my niece and nephew get older, we will undoubtedly play baseball in the backyard. It is a humbling thought to know that my niece can have a female ballplayer to emulate.”
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The Hall of Very Good™ Class of 2017 is presented by Out of the Park Developments, the creators of the wildly popular baseball simulation game Out of the Park Baseball. Out of the Park Developments has made a generous donation to The Hall.
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