Arlington, Texas — Texas Rangers area scout Takeshi “T-Money” Sakurayama has been selected as winner of the 2021 Jim Ridley Scout of the Year Award by the Canadian Baseball Network in an announcement on Friday morning. He is the first Texas Rangers scout to be selected for the honor, which was first presented in 1994.

“On behalf of the Rangers organization and scouting staff, we are grateful to Bob Elliott and the Canadian Baseball Network for recognizing Takeshi with this honor," said Rangers Vice President/Assistant General Manager for Scouting Josh Boyd. "T-Money’s passion for scouting is infectious, and his work ethic and competitive drive to find players seemingly allows him to be in multiple places at the same time. What sets him further apart is the way he represents himself and the Rangers in the communities he scouts. He has a very natural ability to form personal connections and relationships with the players and their families, and we are so happy to congratulate him for this award.”

Sakurayama is just the fifth non-Canadian based scout to win the award from the Canadian Baseball Network. He was credited with the signing of left-handed pitcher Mitch Bratt, an Ontario native who was selected by Texas in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Bratt was one of four Canada natives drafted and signed by the Rangers this year, along with two other non-drafted free agent signings.

Sakurayama began his position as a full-time scout for the Rangers in 2012 and he has spent 11 total seasons with the club. He was selected as the organization’s 2016 Red Jacket Scout of the Year. 

After graduating from KEIO University in Tokyo, Sakurayama received his Master’s of Sports Management degree from Indiana State University. He spent five years as an international scout with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2006-10.