D-backs' Roland Hemond to receive Arizona Major League Alumni Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award

PHOENIX, AZ - The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today that Special Assistant to the President and CEO Roland Hemond will be the 2011 recipient of the Arizona Major League Alumni Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes an individual for their lifetime contributions to baseball in Arizona. Honorees will be presented their awards at 7:00 pm tonight during a special dinner at the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe, AZ.

In its third year, the annual Arizona Major League Alumni Baseball & Softball dinner will honor the outstanding athletes from across the state of Arizona. Award recipients include Arizona's top professional, minor league, college and high school players. Among this year's honorees include Boston Red Sox infielder Dustin Pedroia and Arizona State softball coach Clint Meyers. MLB's Vice President of Western Operations and Special Projects Laurel Prieb will be the keynote speaker for the event.

Hemond, who is considered the architect of the highly successful Arizona Fall League, once sought to create a six-week off-season showcase for each Major League team's top prospects. The Arizona Fall League began play in the fall of 1992 and is currently playing its 20th season. Notable D-backs and Arizona Fall League participants include: SP Ian Kennedy ('09), C Miguel Montero ('05), OF Chris Young ('05) & INF Stephen Drew ('05). Arizona Fall League Director Steve Cobb will present the award to Hemond.

In February of 2011, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's Board of Directors selected Hemond as the recipient of the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary efforts to enhance the game's positive impact on society. Hemond was honored on July 23, 2011 as the second winner of the Buck O'Neil Award, which was established in 2007 to honor an individual whose efforts broadened the game's appeal and whose character, integrity and dignity is comparable to the late Buck O'Neil.

Hemond, a three-time winner of MLB's Executive of the Year award, has 61 years of professional baseball experience, including 23 seasons as a general manager with the White Sox (1971-85) and Baltimore Orioles (1988-95) and five seasons as Senior Executive Vice President with the D-backs (1996-2000). He later served as Executive Advisor with the White Sox (2007-07). Hemond recently completed the fifth season of his second tour with the D-backs, after rejoining the organization in 2007.