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Blue Jays present annual organizational awards

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays handed out their annual awards on Thursday afternoon and recognized the efforts of Nate Murrie, Matt Anderson, Richard "Stubby" Clapp and Taylor Cole.

The recipients were honored for their work in amateur scouting, professional scouting, player development and community service. The awards are handed out at the end of each season and come on the heel's of the Minor League Most Valuable Player Webster Awards that were announced on Wednesday.

Murrie was selected for the Al Lamacchia Award, which is 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 is named." Murrie has served as an area scout for five years and during his tenure has signed Daniel Norris, Clint Hollon and Lane Thomas.

Anderson is the pro scout of the year after spending the 2014 season covering three Major League organizations. Cole picked up the community service award for his work in Dunedin, Fla. The 25-year-old right-hander participated in the annual "Bookin' it to the Ballpark" reading program and the summer "Kickball Tour," which is a health and wellness initiative.

Clapp, a former infielder with Baseball Canada, received the Bobby Mattick Award for excellence in player development. He has spent the past two seasons as the hitting coach in Class A Advanced Dunedin and played a key role in developing players such as current Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey and Minor Leaguers Dwight Smith Jr., Jon Berti, Andy Burns and Derrick Chung.

Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, North of the Border, and follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB.
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