Jake Diekman named recipient of 2017 Rchard Durrett Hardest Working Man award

Pitcher Jake Diekman is the recipient of the 2017 Richard Durrett Hardest Working Man Award, it was announced today by the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
This is the fourth year that the local BBWAA chapter has presented the award to a player who demonstrates significant improvement over the previous season or seasons. It is named in memory of Richard Durrett, who covered the Rangers for over a decade for the Dallas Morning News and ESPN Radio before his sudden passing on June 17, 2014 at the age of 38.
Since being diagnosed in his youth with ulcerative colitis, Diekman has been forced to manage this disease for much of his life. Things took a turn for the worst in November 2016 when a significant flare-up of his condition led to the recommendation by doctors that Diekman have a series of three surgical procedures in which his colon would be removed and replaced by a "reservoir" to account for the loss of the colon. Following the surgeries on January 25, April 12, and June 9, 2017, Diekman made a remarkable recovery, returning to the Rangers and compiling a 2.53 ERA in 11 appearances over the final month of the season.
In August 2017 Jake and Amanda Soltero, who he married on New Year's Eve, announced the creation of the Gut It Out Foundation to further raise awareness and funding.
On January 24, Diekman will receive the 53rd Hutch Award which is presented annually by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and honors the Major League player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of Seattle native and MLB player and manager Fred Hutchinson, who passed away from cancer at age 45 in 1964 while managing the Cincinnati Reds. The Hutch Award will be presented at a luncheon at Seattle's Safeco Field.
Diekman will be honored with the Richard Durrett Hardest Working Man Award at the 2018 Dr Pepper Texas Rangers Awards Dinner, which takes place on Friday, January 19 at Gilley's Dallas. Tickets for the dinner, which will honor a number of baseball personalities and feature appearances by Texas Rangers past and present, are now on sale at www.texasrangers.com/awards. Individual tickets for the Dr Pepper Awards Dinner are priced at $110.00 each with tables of ten also available. Net proceeds benefit the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation. The dinner will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Gilley's Dallas is located at 1135 S. Lamar St. in Dallas. The 2018 Dr Pepper Texas Rangers Awards Dinner is also sponsored by FOX Sports Southwest, CBS11/TXA21, and 105.3 The FAN.