Blue Jays award winners
The TORONTO BLUE JAYS are proud to recognize the achievements of BLAKE CROSBY, JIM SKAALEN, CHAD MOTTOLA and DANIEL BARNES with awards for excellence in Amateur Scouting, Professional Scouting, Player Development and Community Service, respectively.
CROSBY has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the AL LAMACCHIA AWARD given annually to the amateur scout that exemplifies the work ethic and perseverance best demonstrated by the longtime Blue Jays executive for whom the award was named. A native of Los Alamitos, California, Blake played in the Oakland Athletics farm system before joining the Blue Jays scouting department in 2010. In his three years with the Blue Jays, Blake has drafted and signed Aaron Sanchez, Mitch Nay, Andy Burns, Jorge Flores, Art Charles, Taylor Cole and Kramer Champlin.
SKAALEN has been named the Blue Jays 2012 PRO SCOUT OF THE YEAR. Born in Michigan and raised in Coronado, California, Skaalen joined the Blue Jays scouting department in 2011, offering a wealth of knowledge from his days as a player, coach, and executive. Upon finishing four seasons in the minor leagues with the Baltimore Orioles, he began his professional coaching career with the Houston Astros in 1981. Jim has had a successful record as a minor league manager and hitting instructor, including three seasons as Farm Director for San Diego. The former 1B/3B joined the Milwaukee Brewers as Minor League Hitting Coordinator 2000-2006, and later served as the Major League Hitting Coach 2007-2008. Before joining the Blue Jays, he held the position of Major League Hitting Coach from 2009-2010 with the Oakland Athletics.
MOTTOLA is being recognized as this year’s recipient of the BOBBY MATTICK AWARD for excellence in Player Development. Born in Augusta, Georgia and raised in Florida, Chad has spent the last three seasons as the Hitting Coach for the Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League (AAA) overseeing the development of many top Toronto hitting prospects. The former 1st round pick (5th overall) of the 1992 draft played in parts of five seasons with Cincinnati, Florida, Baltimore and Toronto, where he appeared in 13 games for the Blue Jays. The University of Central Florida product began his coaching career in 2007 assisting with the Blue Jays Extended Spring Training program before serving as the Hitting Coach for the Gulf Coast Blue Jays in 2007-2008. Mottola served as the minor league hitting coordinator for the 2009 season before his move to Las Vegas.
BARNES has been named this year’s winner of the COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD. The 22 year-old Dunedin closer has proven his commitment to the community through his tireless efforts and positive attitude. BARNES participated in nearly all of the team community appearances, always representing the organization with class and professionalism. Danny was an integral part of the Blue Jays "Bookin' it to the Ballpark" initiative, making every single appearance at local schools to read to students and encourage them to read themselves, allowing the team to positively promote literacy throughout the community. The right-handed reliever represented the Blue Jays on local TV at the Dunedin Orange festival, helped fans set up tents on the field after a game for a family sleepover and participated in Relay for Life night at the stadium to help raise money for the American Cancer Society. A perfect example of his commitment to the team and the community occurred at the beginning of August after the D-Jays had just completed a grueling stretch of 48 games in 49 days. With "Movie Day with a Jay" scheduled at 11AM the morning of August 6th - the first day off for the club in 26 days, Danny eagerly volunteered for the event, and joined a group of excited young "Jr. Jays" to see Ice Age 4. Barnes also gave his time during the Blue Jays baseball camp and his work in the community has been topped only by his performance on the field. He finished the season with 34 saves (most in the Florida State League in 2012 and Dunedin Blue Jays history) an ERA of 1.40 and 63 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. The Princeton University product has gone high above and far beyond the call of duty.