National Harbor, MD -- Bart Swain, Director of Baseball Information for the Cleveland Indians, has been named the recipient of the 2016 Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence, presented this evening during the Baseball Winter Meetings.
The Robert O. Fishel Award, named after the longtime baseball executive, goes to the "active, non-uniformed representative of Major League Baseball whose ethics, character, dedication, service, professionalism and humanitarianism best represent the standards propounded by Robert O. Fishel." Fishel, an executive with the Indians, the St. Louis Browns, the New York Yankees and the American League Office, was the inaugural winner of the Award in 1981.
Swain just completed his 25th season with the Indians, having joined the franchise in 1992. For the last 22 years, he has served as the media's primary conduit to Cleveland's players, manager and coaching staff, and baseball operations department. The 1992 graduate of Ohio University has overseen media operations for the Indians' nine Postseason appearances during his tenure, including for three World Series (1995, 1997 and 2016); the 1997 All-Star Game; and the 1994 opening of Progressive Field (then Jacobs Field). The native of Elyria, Ohio is known for helping carry on the Club's tradition of innovative practices in servicing members of the media.  
For a third straight year in 2016, Swain has led the Club's internal efforts in supporting efforts to raise money to find a cure for cancer through VeloSano, an annual bike ride fundraiser for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Not only did he train and personally ride the 50-mile race, but under his leadership - with support from ownership - the Indians organization raised nearly $125,000 for the cause. A lifelong Clevelander, Swain attended roughly 20 Indians games per year at Cleveland Stadium as a teenager. Swain and his wife, Carrie, reside in Rocky River, Ohio with their children Joe, Livia and Luke.
Fishel Award nominees are submitted by the 30 Major League Clubs and league officials. The nominees are voted upon by active past winners and MLB officials. The previous winners of the Fishel Award are:
1981 - Robert O. Fishel, American League
1982 - Robert W. Brown, Baltimore Orioles
1983 - Larry Shenk, Philadelphia Phillies
1984 - Arthur E. (Red) Patterson, California Angels
1985 - Jim Ferguson, Cincinnati Reds
1986 - Fred Claire, Los Angeles Dodgers
1987 - Jim Toomey, St. Louis Cardinals
1988 - Tom Mee, Minnesota Twins
1989 - Donald Davidson, Houston Astros
1990 - Ned Colletti, Chicago Cubs
1991 - Phyllis K. Merhige, American League
1992 - Richard Griffin, Montreal Expos
1993 - John Blake, Texas Rangers
1994 - Katy Feeney, National League
1995 - Howard Starkman, Toronto Blue Jays
1996 - Bill Guilfoile, National Baseball Hall of Fame
1997 - Dick Bresciani, Boston Red Sox
1998 - Jay Horwitz, New York Mets
1999 - Bob DiBiasio, Cleveland Indians
2000 - Tim Mead, Anaheim Angels
2001 - Rob Matwick, Houston Astros
2002 - Mike Swanson, Arizona Diamondbacks
2003 - Rick Vaughn, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2004 - Jeff Idelson, National Baseball Hall of Fame
2005 - Randy Adamack, Seattle Mariners
2006 - Rob Butcher, Cincinnati Reds
2007 - Richard Levin, Major League Baseball
2008 - Scott Reifert, Chicago White Sox
2009 - Patrick Courtney, Major League Baseball
2010 - Jay Alves, Colorado Rockies
2011 - Jim Trdinich, Pittsburgh Pirates
2012 - Staci Slaughter, San Francisco Giants
2013 - Tim Hevly, Seattle Mariners
2014 - Jason Zillo, New York Yankees
2015 - Brian Bartow, St. Louis Cardinals